Displaying items by tag: HBO

We’ve got news, news, and only news here at The Bits today, and we’re starting with the big announcement: Criterion has just unveiled their November Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release slate...

It kicks off with Věra Chytilová’s 1966 Czech New Wave classic Daisies (Spine #1157 – Blu-ray only) and a 4K update of Wong Kar Wai’s evocative 2000 gem In the Mood for Love (Spine #147 – 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD) on 11/1. Following on 11/8 is Jane Campion’s cold but captivating The Power of the Dog (Spine #1158 – 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD). On 11/15, look for Andrew Lau Tak-wah and Alan Mak’s The Infernal Affairs Trilogy (Spine #1159 – Blu-ray only – includes Infernal Affairs, Infernal Affairs II, and Infernal Affairs III). Finally, Spike Lee’s Malcolm X round out the month’s slate on 11/22 (Spine #1160 – 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray).

Note that Malcolm X and The Power of the Dog will include Dolby Vision HDR (In the Mood for Love appears to be HDR10 only), while The Power of the Dog will also feature Dolby Atmos audio.

You can see the cover artwork for all of these titles at left and also below. We’ve also updated our Criterion Spines Project and 4K Ultra HD Release List pages here at the site accordingly. And more detail about the special features included on these titles is available here at the Criterion website. [Read on here...]

We begin our post today with a few more new disc reviews...

Dennis has posted his thoughts on the 1945 musical revue classic Ziegfeld Follies, an MGM title now available on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Dennis has also reviewed Billy Wilder’s The Emperor Waltz (1948), an old Paramount title that’s coming on Blu-ray in August from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stephen has checked in with his look at the latest entry in the Saw franchise, Darren Lynn Bousman’s Spiral (2021) on 4K Ultra HD from Lionsgate.

Speaking of 4K Ultra HD, the big news today is that Kino Lorber Studio Classics has just revealed that it’s going to be releasing Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs (1991) on 4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray) on 10/19, featuring Dolby Vision HDR, a new audio commentary with film historian Tim Lucas, and lots of legacy extras. You can see the cover artwork at left. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a bit of ground to cover today. First, we’ve got a few new disc reviews for you to enjoy...

I’ve posted my thoughts Doug Liman’s Chaos Walking in 4K from Lionsgate. It’s not a great science fiction film, but it looks fantastic in 4K (it was shot with the Alexa 65 camera) and it features some very nice special features too created by our old friend Cliff Stephenson. So it’s well worth a look.

I’ve also posted my review of George Cukor’s My Fair Lady (1964) on 4K Ultra HD from Paramount, and that is absolutely a reference-grade title. As some of you may know, it was shot using the Super Panavision-70 camera and was restored by our old friend Robert A. Harris back in 2015 in 4K using an 8K scan of the original camera negative. The film just looks absolutely fantastic and it’s a classic Hollywood musical too. Don’t miss it.

Also seriously worth a look is Arrow Video’s new Battle Royale: Limited Edition in 4K Ultra HD, a UK import boxset that I’ve reviewed in-depth here at the site as well. It features both versions of Kinji Fukasaku’s original film in beautifully-remastered 4K, along with both versions of the sequel on Blu-ray, plus an amazing collection of special features and swag. And even though it’s a UK import, the 4K discs will play fine worldwide. The two Blu-rays in the box are Region B locked, but one of them will still play on any US player anyway (details in my review). If you’re a fan of the film, this is a must-have box. [Read on here...]

We start our post today with two new Blu-ray Disc reviews...

Tim has taken a look at Richard Fleischer’s Million Dollar Mystery (1987) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, which streets on 5/25.

And Dennis has chimed in with his thoughts on Gilbert Cates’ The Last Married Couple in America (1980), which just arrived last week (on 5/4) also from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Also, though I forgot to mention it in our last post, Dennis has also recently reviewed Hubert Cornfield’s The Night of the Following Day (1969) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, a film that stars Marlon Brando and Richard Boone and also streets on 5/25. So do give those a look if you’re interested.

Now then, in announcement news today, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has officially set Space Jam for release on 4K Ultra HD and Digital 4K on 7/6, just as we expected. [Read on here...]

Just a quick post today, but we do have a bit of interesting release news to report.

First, we know that lots of you have been eagerly awaiting details on the Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Many international retail sites have—for weeks now—had it up for pre-order, set to street on or about 5/26. Indeed, we’ve had it on our 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits for a few months now, anticipating a 5/25 US street date. Just today, the Australian retailer JB Hi-Fi put the title up for pre-order with the 5/26 date. (Thanks to Bits reader Tim P. for the heads-up on that one.) So, as we noted here last week, we’re pretty confident that—barring some sort of manufacturing or shipping delay—Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will be announcing it any time now for a 5/25 release in the States on both formats. It’s possible it will be released under the Warner Archive label, like Snyder’s recently 4K-remastered Batman v Superman, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Now then, these aren’t actual announcements, but we’re learned that Paramount has just made a new 4K remaster (with HDR) of Saturday Night Fever available on Kaleidescape and iTunes, so it’s possible that there could be a physical 4K release in the offing. However, the company has also recently made 48 Hours and Another 48 Hours available in Digital 4K, with only remastered Blu-rays currently set for physical release, so we’ll have to wait and see. [Read on here...]

All right, we haven’t posted a news update in a few days, because frankly there hasn’t been a ton of news to report, and also because we’ve been working on more new discs reviews. To that end we’ve recently posted...

My thoughts on Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride, as released late last year on 4K Ultra HD by Turbine Media in Germany. The accompanying Blu-ray is locked to Region B, but the 4K disc is compatible with UHD players worldwide, and the image quality is absolutely gorgeous.

My review of Tim Burton’s Big Fish, newly released on 4K Ultra HD here in the States by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Tim’s take on Rolf de Heer’s Bad Boy Bubby (1993), which dropped back in February on region-free Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment.

And Dennis’ look at Richard C. Sarafian’s Eye of the Tiger (1986), coming soon on Blu-ray from Scorpion Releasing via Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

More reviews will follow next week, including my thoughts on Arrow Video’s recent UK release of Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale in 4K, among others. So be sure to check back then. [Read on here...]

We’re starting the new week off today with a bunch of new disc reviews. I’ve gone on a 4K Ultra HD review spree over the last week, and have completed and posted my looks at the following titles:

Jan de Bont’s Speed in 4K from 20th Century Studios and Disney, which streets tomorrow.

Ric Roman Waugh’s Greenland in 4K, a German import disc that came out earlier this year from Tobis Film and LEONINE Distribution. (It’s worth importing if you like the film, as Universal and STX seem to have no plans as yet to release it in 4K here in the States).

Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in 4K from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, a must-have disc which came out last week but is out of stock almost everywhere at the moment. (Rest assured, the company says more copies are on the way very soon, so do NOT pay scalper prices).

And Don Taylor’s The Final Countdown in 4K from Blue Underground, which streets on 5/25.

Meanwhile, Dennis has just offered his thoughts on Shaka King’s Judas and the Black Messiah on standard Blu-ray from Warner Bros, a disc which also streets tomorrow. [Read on here...]

We’ve got just another quick news update here today, as I’m diving into some long overdue work on new disc reviews...

Speaking of which, Tim has shared his thoughts on Augusto Caminito and Klaus Kinski’s Nosferatu in Venice (1988) as recently released on Blu-ray by Severin Films. You’ll find that here.

In announcement news today, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and HBO have just set His Dark Materials: The Complete Second Season for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 6/29. The season is already available for streaming viewing on HBO Max. In addition to all 7 episodes, extras will include 11 behind-the-scenes featurettes (Noble Rogue: The Legend of Lee Scoresby (exclusive to Blu-ray and DVD), Exploring His Dark Materials: Panserbjørne, Exploring His Dark Materials: Daemons, Exploring His Dark Materials: Portals & The Multiverse, Exploring His Dark Materials: Witches, His Dark Materials: Bringing Daemons and Bears to Life, His Dark Materials: Exploring Cittàgazze, His Dark Materials: Worlds Collide, The Powerful Mrs. Coulter, Lyra, and The Subtle Knife). [Read on here...]

All right, I’ve had a pretty steady stream of plumbers and carpenters here the last couple days as my wife and I work get our water leak sorted out. On top of which, yesterday was our annual visit to the tax man. LOL. So I appreciate your patience with the lack of an update yesterday.

We did at least get Tim’s Facebook problems resolved today. He’s back up and able to access his account there. Turns out it being disabled was just an error on Facebook’s part, so special thanks to a friend of the site who helped us to sort it all out.

While he was off the Book, Tim completed work on a new Blu-ray review for Arrow’s excellent He Came from the Swamp: The William Grefe Collection box set, which includes Sting of Death (1965), Death Curse of Tartu (1966), The Hooked Generation (1968), The Psychedelic Priest (1969), The Naked Zoo (1970), Mako: Jaws of Death (1976), and Whiskey Mountain (1977). You can find that here.

In announcement news today, HBO has set His Dark Materials: Season Two for Blu-ray and DVD release on 12/31, presumably not long before the BBC and HBO debut of Season Three in very early 2022. The second season has been available in the UK since December of last year. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got an announcement news update for you here at The Bits this afternoon...

First up today, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has officially set their long-awaited Spaceballs (1987) 4K Ultra HD for release on 4/12. The 4K disc will include Dolby Vision HDR and audio commentary by Mel Brooks. Audio will be includes in 5.1 and 2.0 (format TBA) with optional English subs. You’ll also get the film on Blu-ray, which will include lots of additional legacy extras. You can see the 4K art at left. We’ve updated our 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits accordingly.

The company also has a nice March slate of catalog Blu-ray titles, which is expected to include Sidney Lanfield’s My Favorite Blonde (1942), David Butler’s Caught in the Draft (1941), and Elliott Nugent’s Nothing But the Truth (1941) on 3/2 (all Bob Hope films), followed by Don Jones’ The Forest (1982, for Code Red), Sam Peckinpah’s Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974), Robert Aldrich’s The Choirboys (1977), and Richard Fleischer’s The Don is Dead (1973) on 3/9, Jim O’Connoly’s Tower of Evil (1972, for Scorpion Releasing), Andy Anderson’s Positive I.D. (1986), Francis Megahy’s Taffin (1988), Andrei Konchalovsky’s Runaway Train (1985), and Marty Feldman’s The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977) and In God We Trust (1980) on 3/16, Don Jones’ Schoolgirls in Chains (1973, for Code Red), Frank Perry’s Doc (1971), George Seaton’s Showdown (1973), Henry Hathaway’s Shoot Out (1971), and Richard Fleischer’s Crossed Swords (1977, aka The Prince and the Pauper) on 3/23, and Otto Preminger’s Rosebud (1975), Andrew Bergman’s Isn’t She Great (2000), Édouard Molinaro’s A Pain in the Ass (1973), and Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution (2007) on 3/30. [Read on here...]