Displaying items by tag: John Houston

I hope all of you are having a good and relaxing Saturday afternoon, or are at least enjoying the weekend in your own unique manner.

We’ve got just two quick news items to report for you this afternoon, a quick site update, and another new disc review to share with you. As always, the review comes first...

I’ve just posted our very in-depth review of Michael Curtiz’s classic cinema masterpiece Casablanca (1942) as newly remastered in 4K Ultra HD by Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging and released on physical disc by our friends at Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

There are precious few films that—no matter how often you see them—you finish watching and just immediately think, “Well, that’s a masterpiece.” Casablanca is one of them. The film never gets old. It’s one of the all-time classics. There’s a real argument to be made that it’s the single best film produced in the Golden Age of the Hollywood studio system.

Longtime Bits readers will probably remember that our dear friend and Classic Coming Attractions columnist Barrie Maxwell—who passed away in 2012—wrote a terrific review of this film here at The Bits when it first appeared on HD disc in 2007. Barrie’s enthusiasm for the film shines through in every word, so I’ve taken his thoughts on the film and updated them to include my own commentary on the A/V quality and extras on Warner’s new 4K release.

Whether you’ve seen this film a hundred times or never before, it’s an experience that’s not to be missed, and the new 4K disc is certainly the best way to do so. So I hope you enjoy both the review (linked here) and the disc when you get your hands on it this coming week. [Read on here...]