Displaying items by tag: Michael Coate

“The Spy Who Loved Me was a celebration the moment it premiered. It’s not so much a movie or a story as it is a wondrous tour through the exotic, sexy, dangerous, and beautiful world of Roger Moore’s 007.” — 007 historian John Cork

The Digital Bits is pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 40th anniversary of the release of The Spy Who Loved Me, the tenth (official) cinematic James Bond adventure and, arguably, the fan favorite of the Roger Moore era.

As with our previous 007 articles (see You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, Casino Royale, For Your Eyes Only, Thunderball, GoldenEye, A View to a Kill, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Goldfinger, and 007… Fifty Years Strong), The Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship continue the series with this retrospective featuring a Q&A with an esteemed group of James Bond scholars, documentarians and historians who discuss the virtues, shortcomings and legacy of The Spy Who Loved Me. [Read on here...]

Afternoon, folks! All right, a couple things today...

First, today is Prime Day on Amazon. If you’re a Prime member, there are supposed to be some good deals on various things over there, reportedly including 4K Ultra HD displays. Now, I haven’t had time to go over there and check myself, so that may or may not be, but if you do purchase anything, here’s our Amazon link to take you there (we appreciate the support!): Bits Amazon Link.

Now then... Tim has turned in a pair of new Blu-ray reviews, featuring Scream Factory’s terrific new Species: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray and also a recent release from Australian distributor Umbrella Entertainment. The title in question is The Punisher (1989), and it’s an all region release for those who may be interested. Enjoy! [Read on here…]

“Tron should be remembered as a very daring, risky adventure on the part of a few young visionaries and artists. They believed that by using computers for animation and visual effects, they could change moviemaking.” — The Making of Tron author William Kallay

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 35th anniversary of the release of Tron, the Walt Disney Company’s groundbreaking science-fiction computer adventure starring Jeff Bridges and David Warner. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got big news for you today. We’ve been saying this was coming for quite a while now here at The Bits, given that this is the film’s 35th anniversary year and that its long-awaited sequel was coming soon to theaters, but Warner Bros Home Entertainment has finally made it official: Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner: The Final Cut is coming to the 4K Ultra HD format on 9/5.

The Ultra HD release will include the previous Blu-ray edition (you can read our epic and in-depth review of that package here) in addition to the 4K disc, with its 7+ hours of bonus features (we’re waiting to see the exact disc configuration to determine if the alternate cuts will be included or if it’s just The Final Cut with extras), as well as a digital copy. The audio will be Dolby Atmos. There’s no word whether Dolby Vision HDR is included or not yet (there was no mention of it in the press release). The package will sell for an SRP of $44.95. [Read on here…]

“Even after decades of imitators, bigger budgets and more advanced technology, Blade Runner still stands high as a groundbreaking, unparalleled masterpiece.” — Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner documentarian Charles de Lauzirika

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 35th anniversary of the release of Blade Runner, Ridley Scott’s neo-noir sci-fi adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young and Edward James Olmos. [Read on here...]

To kick things off today here at The Bits, we start with some daily site business: Tim has turned in his thoughts on Shout! Factory’s new Blu-ray release of Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie. It’s certainly worth a look if you’re a fan of the film.

Also here at The Bits today, we’ve got the weekly update of the Release Dates & Artwork section, featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, whenever you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking through any one of our links, you’re helping to support our work here at the site and we really do appreciate it.

One last reminder: Be sure to follow Bits editor Bill Hunt (aka, yours truly) on Twitter and Facebook if you’re plugged into social media. I’m trying to be a little more active there, as it’s often a better way to communicate with you guys than e-mail. Social media is also usually the first place I share new BD/4K reviews and breaking industry news before it gets written up into a Bits post. Plus, you’ll get my observations on other areas of interest. Hope to see you there! [Read on here…]

We’re doing a bit of server work here at The Bits today, but we’ve got a couple good things for you today…

First up, Michael Coate has been busy again this weekend. He’s just turned in a new retrospective column in his History, Legacy & Showmanship column, this time featuring a look back at Tim Burton’s Batman Returns, which celebrates its 25th anniversary today. Michael’s piece includes a new roundtable discussion with film historians, including Jeff Bond, Scott Mendelson, and Bruce Scivally. Do give it a look; I think you’ll really enjoy it. [Read on here…]

“[Batman Returns is] the first auteur superhero movie. I think the execs at Warners realized that you just let Tim Burton alone and let him make a Tim Burton movie and people will see it in droves.” — Danse Macabre: 25 Years of Danny Elfman and Tim Burton author Jeff Bond

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the silver anniversary of the release of Batman Returns, Tim Burton’s follow-up to the immensely popular 1989 Dark Knight adventure, starring Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito and Michelle Pfeiffer. [Read on here...]

We’ve got another History, Legacy & Showmanship column from Michael Coate here at The Bits today, this one looking back at the classic James Bond film You Only Live Twice on its 50th Anniversary. It features another great roundtable discussion with film historians John Cork, Bill Desowitz, Lee Pfeiffer, Bruce Scivally, and Matt Sherman. Don’t miss it!

Also here at the site today, Tim Salmons has a review of Arrow Video’s new Madhouse: Special Edition Blu-ray that’s well worth your time.

The big release news today is that Lionsgate has set The Circle, starring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson, for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/1, with the Digital HD version due on 7/18. [Read on here…]

“Ken Adam’s production design is a work of genius. Incredibly, he was not nominated for an Oscar, but the people who designed the living room set for Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner were.” — 007 historian Lee Pfeiffer

The Digital Bits is pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the golden anniversary of the release of You Only Live Twice, the fifth (official) cinematic James Bond adventure and first of three directed by Lewis Gilbert.

As with our previous 007 articles (see Diamonds Are Forever, Casino Royale, For Your Eyes Only, Thunderball, GoldenEye, A View to a Kill, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Goldfinger, and 007… Fifty Years Strong), The Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship continue the series with this retrospective featuring a Q&A with an esteemed group of James Bond scholars, documentarians and historians who discuss the virtues, shortcomings and legacy of You Only Live Twice. [Read on here...]