Displaying items by tag: Robert Meyer Burnett

Sorry for our absence yesterday. We’ve been dealing with various and sundry server issues over the weekend and we’re just starting to get back to normal. Honestly, it’s a wonder the Internet still works at all these days. So anyway, thanks for your patience.

We have a bunch of title announcements to cover today, but first, today marks the 20th anniversary of our friends Robert Meyer Burnett and Mark A. Altman’s film Free Enterprise. So we wanted to call your attention to Michael Coate’s retrospective on the film from its 15th anniversary back in 2014. You can read Still Loving Long & Partying: Remembering Free Enterprise on its 15th Anniversary right here. The film isn’t on Blu-ray yet and so it’s always surprising how many people haven’t see it. But if you’re a fan of classic Star Trek, pop culture, and actors William Shatner and Eric McCormack, we think you’ll really enjoy it.

Meanwhile, we’re starting to get back to reviews. I still have two more Batman 4Ks coming, plus Tim and Dennis have some Blu-rays they’ve reviewed for you too. I’ve also got a trio of science fiction Blu-ray releases I’m going to try to cover soon as well. So be sure to watch for those. [Read on here...]

So… this is going to be an interesting post for you longtime Bits readers. It’s been interesting for me to compose, certainly, writing it as I do from the perspective of someone who’s covered the home video industry now for more than twenty years (and followed it since the 1980s). I hope it will be at least thought-provoking to you all. But I’ll get to the meat of it in a moment.

First, let me take care of a bit of routine business: We’ve posted (in the last 24 hours) no less than seven new Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD reviews, beginning with my own in-depth look at Damien Chazelle’s First Man in 4K, a film which I believe is a masterpiece and one that will come to be regarded as such with time.

Also newly posted here are Tim’s thoughts on one of my favorite François Truffaut films, Jules and Jim, as released on Blu-ray from Criterion, along with Tony Williams’ Next of Kin from Umbrella Entertainment. You’ll find too Dennis Seuling’s take on Drew Goddard’s Bad Times at the El Royale on Blu-ray from Fox and the documentary Tea with the Dames on DVD from MPI. Finally, we have David’s take on Anne of the Thousand Days from Twilight Time and Godard Mon Amour from Cohen Media, both on Blu-ray. All of these films are worth a look and we hope you enjoy them. [Read on here...]

We start the new week with a few more Blu-ray reviews, including Tim’s review of Absurd from Severin Films, David’s look at Street Mobster from Arrow Video, and Dennis’ take on Gun Crazy from the Warner Archive Collection. Enjoy!

Also, we’ve posted another new 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. And as we work our way towards Thanksgiving and Black Friday week, we ask that whenever you’re going to shop on Amazon for literally anything, please consider starting by clicking through one of our links (link this one). It makes a real difference in helping us to keep The Bits and we really do appreciate it.

In terms of announcement news, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has just set Jonathan Demme’s Philadelphia: 25th Anniversary Edition for release on 4K Ultra HD on 11/27, just as we expected. All of the existing extras will carry over, and there will be a new featurette with new Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, and Mary Steenburgen interviews too. Audio will be Dolby Atmos and there will be HDR10 high dynamic range. [Read on here...]

Today’s update is a quickie, but we’ve got some good stuff for you.

Let’s get the usual site business out of the way first...

We’ve got three new reviews for you today, including Tim’s take on The Addiction: Special Edition Blu-ray from Arrow, David’s thoughts on Let’s Make Love on Blu-ray from Twilight Time, and Dennis’ look back at Laugh-In: The Complete Fifth Season on DVD from Time Life. All are worth checking out.

Also today, we’ve posted a brand new History, Legacy & Showmanship column from our own Michael Coate, in which he takes a look back at Live and Let Die with a roundtable of Bond experts in celebration of the film’s 45th anniversary. It’s a great retrospective and another fine addition to Michael’s Bond series, so definitely give it a read. We think you’ll really enjoy it. [Read on here...]

As planned, my old friend Robert Meyer Burnett and I – joined by our significant others – saw Star Wars: The Last Jedi last night here in fiery SoCal. In Dolby Cinema no less, which is a helluva great way to see a film, let me tell you. We had absolutely perfect reclining seats, bright and vibrant laser projection, and Atmos sound to shake our backsides. And a good time was had by all, as you can see by the pictures.

But looking around on social media today, I’m struck by this thought: I kinda miss the days when people could just watch a movie. Seems to me, we used to know how to do that without all the handwringing and chest-puffery and whatnot. This is Star Wars, after all… not the Allied plans for the invasion of Normandy. [Read on here…]

“With Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gene Roddenberry proved that you can do Star Trek without Kirk and Spock and McCoy, that the dream of humanity reaching for the stars could be shared in many different ways, with many different characters, telling many different stories. And I think that all of us who love Star Trek are so much richer for it.” — Michael Okuda, co-author of The Star Trek Encyclopedia

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 30th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the first in a string of live-action television follow-ups to Gene Roddenberry’s legendary 1960s science fiction series. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a couple things for you today...

First, as promised, we’re very proud today to present Michael Coate’s latest History, Legacy & Showmanship column here at The Digital Bits, entitled Still Boldly Going: Celebrating “Star Trek” on its 50th Anniversary! In this lengthy piece, Michael moderates a great roundtable discussion on the history of the beloved franchise with Trek luminaries Mark A. Altman, Jeff Bond, Robert Meyer Burnett, Marc Cushman, Daren R. Dochterman, Dorothy Fontana, Gary Gerani, David Gerrold, Edward Gross, Bill Kraft, Herbie J. Pilato, and Melinda Snodgrass. It’s a terrific discussion and a rare opportunity to hear from so many leading Treksperts all in one place. We hope you enjoy it and, as always… “Live Long and Prosper!”  [Read on here…]

“Star Trek has left a legacy of hope and optimism that humankind has a future. If we cultivate the potential of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations so that we embrace a universe brimming with the riches of life in all of its forms, then humankind can evolve into something finer and nobler. I think that is what Gene Roddenberry meant when he said that the human adventure is just beginning.” — Bill Kraft, author of Maybe We Need a Letter from God: The Star Trek Stamp

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective article commemorating the golden anniversary of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry’s legendary science-fiction television series depicting the voyages of Captain James T. Kirk and his crew of the starship Enterprise.

The memorable television series premiered 50 years ago this week (September 6th, 1966, on CTV in Canada, and September 8th, 1966, on NBC in the United States), and similar to our other Star Trek roundtables (here and here) and classic television retrospectives (here, here, here, and here), The Bits for the occasion has assembled a Q&A with an esteemed group of Treksperts, historians and Star Trek writers who examine the best episodes and offer commentary on the show’s enduring appeal, influence and legacy.  [Read on here...]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to like TheDigitalBits.com page on Facebook for breaking news, site updates on the go, discussion with our staff and other readers, giveaways and more!]

We’ve got a bit of good Blu-ray release news for you today, and a new Bits staffer too! First the news…

Anchor Bay Entertainment has set The Walking Dead: The Complete Fifth Season for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/25 (SRP $79.99 and $69.98). That’s the regular edition and, as always, there will be another McFarlane Toys Limited Edition too that will be announced shortly.  [Read on here…]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to like TheDigitalBits.com page on Facebook for breaking news, site updates on the go, discussion with our staff and other readers, giveaways and more!]

We’re closing out the week today with official details about our Digital Bits panel down at San Diego Comic-Con! As many of you know, the Con announced the Thursday (7/9) program schedule yesterday, and we’re on it. Here’s our official panel description:

1:00-2:00 (Thursday, 7/9/15) Digital Bits Blu-ray Sneak Peek: Star Trek: Axanar

Join Digital Bits editor Bill Hunt, veteran Blu-ray/DVD producers Charles de Lauzirika (Twin Peaks, The Martian), Cliff Stephenson (Hannibal, The Hunger Games), and Robert Meyer Burnett (Free Enterprise, Star Trek: The Next Generation Blu-rays), and executive producer Alec Peters (Star Trek: Axanar), as they discuss major upcoming Blu-ray titles and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray developments, and explain the groundbreaking process of creating studio-quality independent Blu-ray releases, including the new Prelude to Axanar: Special Edition. We’ll have audience Q & A and lots of great giveaways – don’t miss it! Room 23ABC   [Read on here…]