Displaying items by tag: Dune

We’re wrapping up the week today with another new disc review, a major piece of announcement news, and some very interesting things to check out around the Interwebs. We’ll start with the review...

Tim has posted his thoughts on Alfred E. Green’s The Fabulous Dorseys: Special Edition, which is newly available on Blu-ray from our friends at The Film Detective. The film is essentially a biopic about big band leaders Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, staring themselves along with Janet Blair. Do give it a look if you’re interested.

Now then, the big release news today is that Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution and Marvel have just officially announced the 2/15 release of Chloé Zhao’s The Eternals on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD, with the Digital release expected on 1/12. (Note that I haven’t yet seen any indication of an international Blu-ray 3-D release, but one may appear eventually.)

This film was actually finished as a native 4K Digital Intermediate and should feature HDR10 high dynamic range on UHD, with Dolby Atmos audio (the Blu-ray will feature 7.1 DTS-HD MA). Note that the aspect ratio for both disc and digital on this title will be 2.39:1, though it’s likely to appear as IMAX enhanced at 1.90 as a Disney+ streaming exclusive. Extras will include an audio commentary (with Chloé Zhao, Stephane Ceretti, and Mårten Larsson), 4 deleted scenes, a gag reel, and 2 featurettes (Immortalized and Walks of Life). You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a few new disc reviews to start the day out…

Tim has turned in his thoughts on Eugenio Martin’s The Fourth Victim (1971), new on Blu-ray from Severin Films.

Dennis has taken a look at Jack Smight’s The Screaming Woman (1972) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stephen has reviewed Edward Dmytryk’s The Sniper (1952) on Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment.

More reviews are on the way in the days ahead, so be sure to stay tuned for them.

Now then, Paramount has informed us that their Paramount Presents Blu-ray release of The Sheik has been delayed from 10/19 to 11/2. Adjust your plans accordingly.

Paramount has also set a wide-release of their Indiana Jones 4-Movie Collection 4K Steelbook for 11/2.

GKids (via Shout! Factory) is releasing the Hayao Miyazaki-directed anime series Future Boy Conan: The Complete Series on Blu-ray on 11/16. [Read on here...]

We’re starting out the new week today here at The Bits with a trio of new disc reviews...

First up, Tim and I have taken a look at Arrow Video’s terrific new Limited Edition Blu-ray of Ridley Scott’s Legend. The 2-disc set is absolutely loaded with vintage and new extras, and it includes the US Theatrical Cut newly-remastered from a 4K scan, as well as the Director’s Cut. Legend is a challenging title for a lot of reasons, but Arrow’s done a really great job with this one. If you’re a fan of the film, this is as good as it’s ever looked, and this is essentially a complete archive of all the previous special features and more.

Also today, Stephen has reviewed Chloe Zhao’s first film, Songs My Brothers Taught Me, newly-released on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. If that name is familiar, it’s because Zhao is the filmmaker who’s just made The Eternals for Marvel Studios. It sounds like this earlier work is pretty terrific.

And finally, Dennis has given Wallace Worsley’s 1923 version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame a look on Blu-ray from Kino Classics. As many of you will already be aware, this version features the great Lon Chaney in the role of Quasimodo. It’s worth a look if you haven’t seen it yet.

While we’re on the subject of Universal Monsters, I’m currently working on a review of the Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection in 4K and should have that up by the end of the week. I’m giving myself the week to work on it, however, because I’m attending a studio screening of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune tomorrow afternoon. And I have a sneaking suspicion that’s going to occupy my mind for the next few days afterwards. I’ll definitely post a few non-spoiler thoughts about that film as well this week, rest assured. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ll have a bit of additional announcement news for the week tomorrow here at The Bits, and I’ll be spending the afternoon working on a review of Akira Kurosawa’s Ran in 4K UHD, which will be posted then as well.

But today, I want to talk about Denis Villeneuve’s DUNE.

I had the opportunity last night to attend one of Warner and Legendary’s IMAX sneak peek events for the film as a member of the press.

A little background first... I would definitely go so far as to call myself an expert on the subject of science fiction cinema. I’ve been reading literary science fiction my entire life (including DUNE many times), I’m known in some circles to be well-versed on the topic human spaceflight, and I’m a life-long student of science in general. I read physics and astronomy research papers like some people read comic books.

So as I noted in my recent review of Voyagers in 4K, I have certain critical expectations of science fiction films and TV series. Is the story and its science setup plausible, or does it require too many contrivances or conveniences? Is the story logically consistent? Is the world-building credible and convincing? And most importantly, is the story entertaining, engaging, or thought-provoking? The vast majority of genre programming fails on one or more of those criteria. In other words, on both the big and small screen, truly great science fiction is rare. [Read on here...]

Well folks, this news is not unexpected. But it’s certainly shocking to see a major Hollywood film studio finally do more than just dip their toes in the streaming waters.

Warner Bros. has now official confirmed that it plans to bypass traditional theatrical windowing and release its entire 2021 slate of films titles day-and-date on HBO Max with the normal theatrical release. Each film will be available for streaming on the service for a 31-day window. This includes Dune, The Matrix 4, The Suicide Squad, Godzilla vs. Kong, and Space Jam: A New Legacy.

We already saw Warner Bros. signal this shift last month with the announcement that Wonder Woman 1984 will arrive on HBO Max with its long-awaited theatrical release on 12/25. Now it looks like they’ve just pushed their chips all in on this move. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a bit of fun news today, some release news and some other...

First up though, we also have a new disc review. Dennis has just turned in a look at director George Marshall’s classic Destry Rides Again (1939) now on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection. It’s a classic western starring James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich that’s well worth your time.

And while we’re speaking of Criterion, that brings us to our first bit of release news, which is that Criterion has just announced a Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits Blu-ray box set (Spine# 1036), which is set to include The Big Boss (1971), Fist of Fury (1972), The Way of the Dragon (1972), Enter the Dragon (1973), and Game of Death (1978). [Read on here...]