Displaying items by tag: Ralph Bakshi

In reviews this morning, Dennis has taken a look at Raphael Sbarge’s 2022 Laemmle Theatres documentary Only in Theaters on DVD from Kino Lorber. The film chronicles the 80+ year history of the family-owned cinema chain, which is based in L.A., and looks at the family’s efforts to see it survive the current challenges facing the industry.

More reviews are coming, so be sure to watch for them.

Now then... the big news today is two-fold: First, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has just revealed that Babylon 5: The Complete Series is coming to Blu-ray Disc for the first time ever on 12/5! Of course, the series was originally produced and finished in SD resolution only. But its live-action footage was shot on film, so that’s been scanned in 4K and downsampled to HD, while the CGI and VFX shots have been upsampled to HD from SD. But if you’ve seen the series recently as it appears on the Max streaming app, you’ll be familiar with the quality. (Note that it’s presented in the original 1.33 broadcast aspect ratio, and will include English SDH subtitles.) All 110 episodes of the show will be included, along with the 1993 pilot film, The Gathering. It appears that this title will be available via online retailers only, so don’t expect to find it at your local brick-and mortar shop. SRP is $99.99. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. (Oddly, it doesn’t actually include an image of the Babylon 5 space station itself, which.. ahem... seems like very strange marketing choice.)

And second, here’s some exciting news for fans of 1980s animation: The great Ralph Bakshi has announced on his Facebook page that American Pop (1981) is finally coming to Blu-ray Disc from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on 8/22! [Read on here...]

We start things off today here at The Bits with a pair of new Blu-ray Disc reviews...

Tim has taken a look at Marty Feldman’s The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977), new on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. It comes with a terrific audio commentary by our friend Alan Spencer—the longtime writer, executive producer of TV’s Sledge Hammer, and personal friend of Feldman—that’s worth the purchase price of the disc all by itself. Don’t miss it.

Also, Dennis has offered his thoughts on Elia Kazan’s Baby Doll (1956) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection. Do give that a look as well.

Speaking of the Warner Archive Collection, we want to take a moment to remind everyone that even though WB Shop has officially closed, Warner Archive Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K titles can now be purchased from their brand store on Amazon.com (click here for that). Warner Archive has just revealed more new upcoming titles (see our post yesterday) and we have word that they’ll have new titles through the end of 2021 at least. It’s likely that the label will continue indefinitely, just run by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment itself, rather than its former, dedicated team. [Read on here...]

All right, it’s a slow news day today so we’re focusing on getting some new Blu-rays done for you for next week, including The Desolation of Smaug. Watch for that starting on Monday.

Meanwhile, Warner Home Video has now officially announced the Blu-ray and DVD release of the Veronica Mars movie on 5/6 (SRP $29.98 and $28.98). Extras will include the By the Fans: The Making of the Veronica Mars Movie documentary, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and 6 More On-Set Fun featurettes (including Welcome to Keith Mars Investigation, Game Show with Kristen Bell and Chris Lowell, On Set with Max Greenfield, Veronica Mars’ Backers, “It’s Not All About You, Monkey”, and Young Veronica). [Read on here...]