Displaying items by tag: Lionsgate

Today’s My Two Cents update begins as always with more new disc reviews...

Tim and I have taken a look at Kino Lorber Studio Classics’ new 4K Ultra HD upgrade of the classic Joseph Sargent heist thriller The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), which stars Robert Shaw and Walter Matthau. Among other things, it’s a great New York City movie and if you’ve ever wondered where director Quentin Tarantino got the idea for his character names in Reservoir Dogs, look no further.

Also today, we’ve gone in-depth on Via Vision’s new Dirty Dancing: Limited Edition Steelbook 4K Ultra HD release, which takes Lionsgate’s already fine remastering work on the title and adds a few more extras via their own exclusive bonus Blu-ray Disc.

And Tim has also reviewed Bob Clark’s Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things: 50th Anniversary Edition in 4K Ultra HD from VCI Entertainment, which includes a new 4K scan and remaster but only Standard Dynamic Range, as well as Nico Mastorakis’s Nightmare at Noon (1988) on Blu-ray from our friends at Arrow Video.

More reviews are on the way tomorrow and beyond, so be sure to watch for them. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a bunch of ground to cover today, and the subject for today’s My Two Cents post is what we’re hearing from our industry and retail sources about forthcoming 4K Ultra HD catalog titles expected in the new year. But first, we have a pair of new reviews for you this afternoon...

Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Daniel Man’s 1952 drama Come Back, Little Sheba, which is now available on region-free Blu-ray from the Aussie label Imprint Films. The film stars Burt Lancaster and Shirley Booth.

And Stephen has delivered his in-depth take on AGFA and Something Weird Video’s nine-film, three-disc The Films of Doris Wishman: The Moonlight Years Blu-ray box set, distributed by Vinegar Syndrome.

As always, more new disc reviews are on the way over the coming days, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them.

Now then, we’ve been circling back with our many industry and retail sources here at The Bits, and we’ve got an update on some interesting titles that are coming to 4K Ultra HD in the months ahead. [Read on here...]

We’ve got no less than five more new disc reviews for you all to enjoy today...

I’ve just posted my thoughts on Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs (1992) in 4K Ultra HD from Lionsgate.

Stephen has checked in with a look at Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) in 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome.

Dennis has reviewed Julien Temple’s Earth Girls Are Easy (1988), the new Vestron Video Collector’s Series title on Blu-ray from Lionsgate.

And Tim has taken a look at Lewis Gilbert’s Damn the Defiant! (1962) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films, as well as Montgomery Tully and Dennis O’Keefe’s The Diamond Wizard (1954) on Blu-ray 3D from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, via a great new restoration by the 3-D Film Archive.

In announcement news today, Lionsgate has set Hype Williams’ Belly for release on 4K Ultra HD on 1/24/23. There will be a wide release that includes a Blu-ray and Digital copy, along with a Best Buy-exclusive Steelbook package. Look for the package to have a new Dolby Atmos mix, along with the following special features: audio commentary with Williams, Spoken Word, a deleted scene, and the Grand Finale music video. [Read on here...]

Morning, folks! We’ve got an early update here on The Bits today with a few more new disc reviews, and some interesting release news as well. First, those reviews...

I’ve just completed a look at Universal’s new E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial: 40th Anniversary Edition 4K Ultra HD release, which came out a few weeks ago. It’s interesting in that both the 4K and accompanying Blu-ray are completely new discs, each of which carries over all the extras from the previous 35th Anniversary release while adding a couple of new features too. A/V quality is essentially the same as before, though the 4K disc is now a BD-100, presumably to allow for the addition of the special features. You can learn more here.

Tim has also just completed a review of Harry Essex’s I, the Jury (1953) which is now available in 4K from ClassicFlix. The package includes a Blu-ray as well, featuring the film in HD and also 3D. And he’s posted a review of Brian De Palma’s Dressed to Kill (1980) in 4K from Kino Lorber Studio Classics for your reading enjoyment too.

More reviews are forthcoming soon, including my take on Criterion’s new 4K Ultra HD release of WALL-E from Pixar.

Also here at the site this morning, we’d like to call your attention to Michael Coate’s retrospective look at Steven Spielberg’s sci-if classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which celebrated its 45th anniversary yesterday. Michael shared a great Q&A with film historians on the occasion of its 40th anniversary in 2017, and that discussion is well worth checking out if you missed it then. You’ll also find interesting details on the film’s original theatrical release. Enjoy! [Read on here...]

We’ve got three more new disc reviews for you today...

Stephen has taken a look at Ben Stiller’s uneven Vietnam war comedy Tropic Thunder (2008) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Dennis has offered his thoughts on Alexander Hall’s I Am the Law (1938) on Blu-ray from Imprint films.

And I’ve taken a look at Universal’s new 4K Ultra HD release of Robert Mulligan’s To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), with an assist by our old friend Dr. Adam Jahnke via his thoughts on the film itself.

We’ve got more new disc reviews coming all week, so be sure to watch for them. And tomorrow, we expect to have a brand new History, Legacy & Showmanship column from our own Michael Coate for you to enjoy—a nice longform read for cinephiles to distract from all the Election Day lunacy here in the States. So be sure to watch for that.

In announcement news today, 20th Century Studios and New Regency have set David O. Russell’s Amsterdam for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 12/6, with the Digital release expected on 11/11. Look for the 4K to include HDR10 high dynamic range, Dolby Atmos audio, and one extra: Welcome to Amsterdam. [Read on here...]

We have four new disc reviews for you to enjoy today, along with some release news...

First, I’ve taken a look at the long-awaited physical 4K Ultra HD release of Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick from Paramount. You’ll be glad to know that the disc’s A/V quality is demo worthy, though the extras are somewhat wanting and you have to buy the Blu-ray version separately.

Stephen has offered up a review of Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist, also in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. And he’s got a review of Rob Zombie’s The Munsters on regular Blu-ray as well from Universal.

Finally, Tim has reviewed a film that was thought to be lost but has now been re-discovered and restored for Blu-ray release: George A. Romero’s The Amusement Park (1975) from Shudder and RLJ Entertainment.

More reviews are definitely on the way, so be sure to watch for them.

And we’ve also posted a major update of our Release Dates & Artwork section here at The Bits (listed as Cover Art in the navigation bar above), featuring a ton of new Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover images and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, anytime you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking through to them from one of our links, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really appreciate it! (Thanks to our own Russell Hammond for his work on that section.) [Read on here...]

We’ve got two more new disc reviews for you today here at The Bits...

Stephen has taken a look at The Films of Doris Wishman: The Twilight Years on Blu-ray from AGFA, Something Weird, and Vinegar Syndrome, a three-disc set that includes seven exploitation films that Wishman directed between 1970 and 1977.

And Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Gordon Hessler’s The Oblong Box (1969), an American International Pictures film on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

As for today’s release news, let’s start with the big announcement up front: Lionsgate has just officially set Russell Mulcahy’s Highlander: Director’s Cut (1986) for release on 4K Ultra HD on 12/13, just as we expected.

Based on a new restoration done by StudioCanal, the disc will feature Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10 high dynamic range, along with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio surround sound.

Two versions will be available, a wide release 4K in Amaray packaging and a Best Buy-exclusive Steelbook. Each will include the film on Ultra HD and Blu-ray, along with a selection of four art cards. [Read on here...]

We’ve got three new disc reviews for you today, starting with my take on Paramount’s new George Pal Double Feature of Byron Haskin’s The War of the Worlds (1953) on 4K Ultra HD and Rudolph Maté’s When Worlds Collide (1951) on regular Blu-ray Disc. Unfortunately, both discs are... problematical... as you may have heard here and elsewhere. (And I should note that we have Paramount’s official position on War of the Worlds in the review text.) But they may still be worth your consideration so do check it out.

Also today, Tim has posted his thoughts on Jack Bender’s Child’s Play 3 (1991) in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory.

And Stephen has chimed in with his thoughts on Jeff Kanew’s Natural Enemies (1979) on Blu-ray from Fun City Editions via Vinegar Syndrome.

I’ve also just gotten my hands on Imprint Film’s new all-region Blu-ray of Akira Kurosawa’s Dersu Uzala (1975) and it’s pretty terrific. I’ve never seen the film looking better than it does here, and there are some nice extras on board as well, including a cracking new audio commentary by Japanese film expert Stuart Galbraith IV. I’ll have a full review here on The Bits in the next day or two. [Read on here...]

Well, go figure. I’d planned on working on disc reviews today, but it turns out that Paramount’s War of the Worlds (1953) 4K color grading issue isn’t the only problem with that release.

First though, the rest of The Bits team has turned in a couple reviews of their own...

Stephen has taken a look at Pierre Chenal’s Native Son (1951) on Blu-ray from Kino Classics.

And Dennis has reviewed Lewis Milestone and Byron Haskin’s The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) on Blu-ray as well, from Kino Lorber Studio Classics proper.

Both titles are worth a look, and I promise that more reviews are on tap for next week, including 4K titles.

Now then (speaking of Byron Haskin), I mentioned yesterday that there’s a color grading problem with Paramount’s new War of the Worlds: Paramount Presents 4K Ultra HD release. [Read on here...]

We have a few quick items of you today...

First, Lionsgate has just announced the Blu-ray and DVD release of Kevin Smith’s Clerks III on 12/6, with the 4K Digital release expected on 10/14.

Special features will include audio commentary (with writer/director Kevin Smith, and actors Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Trevor Fehrman, and Austin Zajur), 2 documentaries (The Clerks III Documentary and We’re Not Even Supposed To Be Here Today: 3 Decades of Clerks), deleted and alternate scenes, and the theatrical trailer.

We’re still awaiting the final Blu-ray cover artwork for this release, but you can see the film’s promotional art at left.

Lionsgate has also set Fall for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 10/18, with the Digital version expected on 9/27.

1901 Pictures has set the psychological horror film Nix for Digital release on 9/27. [Read on here...]