Displaying items by tag: Jonathan Rinzler

“As soon as Indy stepped out of the shadows in that first scene and revealed himself to us with that badass confidence and intensity, I feel like in that moment, Harrison Ford truly became a movie star of the highest order.” – Charles de Lauzirika, producer/director of Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this multi-page retrospective article commemorating the 40th anniversary of the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Lucas & Spielberg action classic that introduced moviegoers to the globe-trotting adventures of Indiana Jones and spawned a franchise of sequels, prequels, games, and theme park attractions.

Raiders, featuring Harrison Ford as everyone’s favorite cinematic archaeologist, was the most successful movie of its year of release and for a period of time the third highest-grossing motion picture of all time. The Oscar-winning movie also starred Karen Allen as heroine Marion Ravenwood, Paul Freeman as archvillain Belloq, Ronald Lacey as villain Toht, John Rhys-Davies as sidekick Sallah, and Denholm Elliott as colleague Marcus Brody.

In 1999 the Library of Congress selected Raiders of the Lost Ark for preservation in the National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant,” and earlier this year, Raiders and the other movies in the series were released for the first time on 4K UHD (reviewed here). [Read on here...]

All right, we have a bunch of good release news and reviews for you today…

Before we get to it though, a quick personal note: Often, the first place I post breaking news about Blu-ray and 4K (along with other items I find interest in related to film, science, spaceflight, science fiction, etc) is on my personal Twitter page (@BillHuntBits). So I encourage you all to follow me there if you’re interested. Everyone is welcome and I’m also easier to reach there than via email. So follow if you wish.

Now then, let’s get down to business…

First up, though it’s not officially announced yet, we have word from retail and studio sources that Warner’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald will street on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 3/12/19. Watch for the official announcement in the weeks ahead.

This one IS officially announced: Warner’s A Star Is Born will street on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 2/19. The 4K disc will include Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. Extras will include The Road to Stardom: Making A Star Is Born, 3 Jam Sessions and Rarities (Baby What You Want Me to Do, Midnight Special, and Is That Alright), and 4 Music Videos (Shallow, Always Remember Us This Way, Look What I Found, and I’ll Never Love Again). [Read on here...]

“There was no way for Spielberg to top himself, and perhaps it is just as well that Last Crusade will indeed be Indy's last film. It would be too sad to see the series grow old and thin, like the James Bond movies.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The Digital Bits is pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the silver anniversary of the release of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, George Lucas & Steven Spielberg’s third entry in the popular Indiana Jones movie series starring Harrison Ford as everyone’s favorite archaeologist-adventurer.

The Bits celebrates the occasion with this retrospective featuring a compilation of box-office data that places the movie’s performance in context, quotes from well-known movie critics, production and exhibition information, and a list of the 70-millimeter “showcase” presentations.

The article also features an interview segment with a quartet of film historians (found on Page 2), who discuss the attributes of the movie and whether or not it has endured. [Read on here…]