Displaying items by tag: Michael Mann

All right, I’d intended to have a news update yesterday, but we all day working on a major upgrade of the Release Dates & Cover Artwork section here at The Bits. Not only have added tons of new Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links, we’ve done some software and server upgrades to the section as well, so it should be working better than ever. Better yet, we’re going to have new updates of the section every Tuesday to keep it fresh with all the latest titles!

As you may know, The Digital Bits is an Amazon Affiliate, so anytime you order literally anything after clicking to them through one of our links, you’re helping to support our work at The Bits. It makes a big difference and we truly appreciate it. So we hope you’ll find our upgraded Release Dates & Cover Artwork useful and use it often!

Now then, we have some new disc reviews for all of you to enjoy here today...

Stephen has offered his in-depth thoughts on Robert Altman’s Thieves Like Us (1974) in 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome’s Cinématographe label, along with Destin Daniel Cretton’s Just Mercy (2019) in 4K from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, and also Peter Hyams’ Sudden Death (1995) in 4K UHD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Stuart has weighed in with a look at Ken Loach’s The Old Oak (2023) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, as well as Fred Zinnemann’s The Nun’s Story (1959) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Dennis has reviewed Phil Karlson’s 99 River Street (1953) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics as well.

In announcement news today, Universal and Illumination have just set the CG-animated Despicable Me 4 for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 9/24, with the Digital version available next week on 9/10. Scores of featurettes and deleted scenes will be included. [Read on here...]

All right, we haven’t had a lot of news updates this week, because frankly there just hasn’t been a lot of news to report. And also because we’ve all been working on a lot of disc reviews for you to enjoy. In fact, today we have no less than TEN to share with you, including...

My thoughts on Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) in 4K Ultra HD from Lionsgate, Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams (1990) in 4K UHD from The Criterion Collection, and Gil Kenan’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) in 4K UHD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Tim’s review of Ernie Fosselius’ Hardware Wars (1978) on Blu-ray and Albert Band’s Ghoulies II (1987) in 4K UHD from the MVD Rewind Collection, Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi’s Goodbye Uncle Tom (1971) in 4K from Blue Underground (which is definitely not for the faint of heart), and Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) in 4K UHD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Dennis’ take on Ted Geoghegan’s Brooklyn 45 (2023) on Blu-ray from Shudder.

And Stephen’s look at Mark Waters’ Mean Girls (2004) on 4K Ultra HD from Paramount, as well as the import version of Michael Mann’s Ferrari (2023) in 4K UHD from Neon and Sky via Universal in UK.

More reviews are on the way for Monday, including my look at Luc Besson’s La Femme Nikika (1990) in 4K from Sony, and Alex Garland’s Civil War (2024) in 4K from Lionsgate, so be sure to watch for them.

Also, just a heads up: Our very own Russell Hammond has posted the new update of our ever-popular Release Dates and Cover Art section (see Cover Art above), which includes all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover art and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, you can sort by date, by format, even isolate the Criterion titles! And as an Amazon Affiliate, literally anything you order from Amazon after clicking to them through one of our links (like this one) goes to help support our work here at The Bits and we greatly appreciate it! [Read on here...]

We’ve got just a few items for you this evening to round out the week of release news...

First, Arrow Video has announced their July 2024 slate of Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD titles, which is set to include...

Thomas Sainsbury’s Loop Track (2023) on Blu-ray in the UK only.

Nick Castle’s The Last Starfighter (1984) on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD in the UK only.

Howard Hawks’ Red Line 7000 (1965) on Blu-ray in the US and Canada only.

The Nico Mastorakis Collection on Blu-ray in the UK, US, and Canada, including The Time Traveller (1984) (aka The Next One), Sky High (1985), Terminal Exposure (1987), Glitch! (1988), Ninja Academy (1989), and The Naked Truth (1992).

And Guy Ritchie’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) in both Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD in the UK, US, and Canada.

All of these titles are expected to street on or around 7/30, with the exception of The Last Starfighter which is due on 7/15. [Read on here...]

Afternoon, folks! We’ve got a few new disc reviews, some great release news, and a fine bit of streaming TV news for you today as well! First as always, those reviews...

Kicking things off, Stephen has turned in his thoughts on Michael Mann’s Ferrari (2023), as released in 4K Ultra HD by Eagle Pictures in Italy. It’s a great little film, and here’s hoping that Neon and Decal will see fit to release it here in the States in 4K soon as well.

Stephen has also reviewed Lucio Fulci’s City of the Living Dead (1980) in 4K Ultra HD from our friends at Arrow Video.

Not to be outdone, Tim has turned in his thoughts on Jesús Franco’s Night of the Blood Monster (1970), aka The Bloody Judge, in 4K Ultra HD from the good people over at Blue Underground.

Dennis has offered his take on Theodore J. Flicker’s The President’s Analyst (1967) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stuart rounds things out today with his review of Yasuharu Hasebe’s Black Tight Killers (1966) on Blu-ray from the team at Radiance Films.

As always, more reviews are on the way so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them!

Now then, a quick follow up. As many of you know, we’ve been running an interactive poll on our Patreon and Twitter/X pages over the past week on behalf of Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The question was: For the studio’s new 4K catalog Steelbook line, would you prefer new custom artwork or original poster artwork? Nearly three thousand of you voted in all (2,959 to be exact), with 1,166 votes (38.41%) for new custom artwork and 1,793 votes (60.59%) for original poster artwork. [Read on here...]

More new disc reviews and more release news—that’s the order of business for today here at The Bits!

We start with Tim’s look at S.S. Wilson’s Tremors 2: Aftershocks (1996) in 4K Ultra HD from our good friends over at Arrow Video. Looks like they’ve done a nice job on this title, so do check it out.

Speaking of which, we’ve gotten a look at Arrow’s new Conan the Barbarian (1982) and Conan the Destroyer (1984) 4K Ultra HDs, and—by Crom—they’re fantastic! Watch for our in-depth reviews over the next few days here at the site.

Also today, we have another Toho Japanese kaiju 4K review from Stephen, who takes a look at Ishirō Honda’s Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) on Ultra HD. Keep in mind, these titles do not include English subtitles, but there’s a workaround for that with certain models of UHD player. Stephen explains it all in the review.

In announcement news this morning, Neon has finally officially set the Blu-ray and DVD release of Michael Mann’s Ferrari (2023) for 3/12, with the 4K Digital release expected to drop tomorrow. Extras will include 5 behind-the-scenes featurettes, among them Michael Mann: Building the World, Building Perfection, The Mille Miglia, Adam Driver on Enzo Ferrari, and Penélope Cruz on Laura Ferrari. The Blu-ray will include Dolby Atmos audio. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

Well, folks... it’s a new year and time to get right back into the thick of things in terms of physical media news. And we have a bunch to catch you up on here at The Bits today.

Before we get started though, I wanted to call your attention to Michael Coate’s latest History, Legacy & Showmanship column here at The Bits, which we posted on New Year’s Eve. It features a great retrospective and roundtable interview with film historians celebrating the 50th anniversary of George Lucas’ classic American Graffiti (1973). Its 9 pages and 17 chapters are packed with great reading, so do be sure to check it out.

I’d also like to start the new year by with another quick Patreon pitch: If you believe in the work we do here at The Bits in support of physical media, we’d like to ask you to consider becoming a supporter of the site on Patreon. I’ve been sharing exclusive blog posts there, and it’s becoming a great little community—a fun and welcoming place to share your love of Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD with fellow enthusiasts. You can join for as low as $6 a month (or as much as you’d like to contribute) and it really makes a difference in helping us to grow and continue our work here at the site. So thank you!

Now then, the big news item this afternoon is that Lionsgate has just officially set Francis Lawrence’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 2/13, with the Digital release due on 1/30. There will also be a Walmart-exclusive 4K Steelbook release on 2/13. The 4K and Blu-ray will include the following special features: audio commentary with Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson, the 8-part Predator or Prey: Making The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes documentary (note that both the commentary and documentary are exclusive to the physical release), Rachel Zegler’s The Hanging Tree music video, the A Letter to the Fans featurette, and the theatrical trailer. You can see the 4K cover art at left and also below.

FYI, Lionsgate is also releasing John Woo’s Silent Night (2023) on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/30. The film stars Joel Kinnaman (of For All Mankind fame). [Read on here...]

I’m about to dive back into disc reviewing here this afternoon, but before I do we have two new reviews for you this morning and a major piece of release news as well. First those reviews...

Stephen has checked in with his thoughts on a fascinating Russian fantasy film from 1956, Aleksandr Ptushko’s Ilya Muromets, which also happens to be the first Russian film in both anamorphic widescreen and color. Russian cinema is fascinating, and this film is no exception, so it’s definitely worth a look on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

Stephen has also given Cy Endfield, Roger Corman, and Gordon Hessler’s De Sade (1969) a look on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, also a fascinating film from American International Pictures.

Now for that news... Marvel and Disney have just officially set Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 7/26, with the Digital release anticipated for 6/22. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a pair of new disc reviews for you to enjoy this afternon, starting with Stephen’s look at Makoto Shinkai’s The Place Promised n Our Early Days (2004) on Blu-ray from GKids via Shout! Factory

Also, Dennis has delivered his thoughts on Sony’s standard Blu-ray release of Jon Watts’ recent Spider-Man: No Way Home.

More reviews are on the way this week, so be sure to stay tuned for them.

Speaking of which, I wanted to take a moment to address the lack of reviews from yours truly in recent weeks. The reason is two-fold. First, I’ve been very focused on the upgrade to the Bits website, which has been long overdue and much needed. There’s a little more of that to go, but what’s been done already has resulted in a significant improvement in the site’s speed and functionality. [Read on here...]

We’ve got another new review for you today: Stephen has taken a look at Lewis Gilbert’s The 7th Dawn (1964), which stars William Holden and Susannah York. It’s now available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Stephen has also posted a first for The Bits—A Blu-ray Review Supplemental—this one for his review from yesterday of Allan Arkush’s Get Crazy on Blu-ray, also from KLSC. After reading Stephen’s review, Arkush himself was generous enough to provide some additional background information on the remastering work and the making of the disc and its special features. If you’re a fan of the film, I think you’ll really enjoy it.

Now then... some release news: Kino Lorber Studio Classics has officially set their 4K Ultra HD of In the Heat of the Night for release on 4/19. You can see the cover artwork on the left. Note that this is one of KLSC’s 4K titles that will have SDR only, along with 5.1 and the original 2.0 mono audio. Extras on the UHD disc will include a new audio commentary by film historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson, along with Robert Mirisch (nephew of Walter Mirisch, and son of the Mirisch Company founder Harold Mirisch). You’ll also get the existing commentary with director Norman Jewison, cinematographer Haskell Wexler, and actors Rod Steiger and Lee Grant. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a brief update for you this morning here at The Bits, but it’s an important one.

In the wake of Disney’s announcement Wednesday of their plans to release Jan de Bont’s Speed (1994) in 4K Ultra HD on 5/4, which is a 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios) catalog title, there have been a number of questions raised.

The official press release seemed to indicate that the Digital version of the film in 4K would include object-based Dolby Atmos audio, but the actual physical 4K Ultra HD disc would not.

There have also been rumors that the title would not include HDR, or that the studio would only include HDR on the Digital release.

As you can imagine, I decided to cut through the confusion to ask the studio about this directly. I’ve now heard back, so here are the official confirmed details on this release… [Read on here...]