Displaying items by tag: Roman Polanski

We have no less than four new disc reviews for you to enjoy today, and--surprise!--I even managed to finish one for a change...

First, Tim has taken a look at Sidney Lumet’s excellent Murder on the Orient Express (1974) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Hanna-Barbera’s animated Top Cat: The Complete Series (1961-1962) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Also, Dennis has reviewed another Warner Archive title: Norman Foster’s Journey Into Fear (1943) on Blu-ray.

And finally today, I’ve shared my thoughts on M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs (2003), a tense and effective alien invasion thriller, on 4K Ultra HD from Touchstone Pictures, Disney, and Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

As always, more reviews are forthcoming this week, so be sure to stay tuned for them!

In announcement news this afternoon, there is just not much to report. But we do have a couple things for you...

First, Paramount is reissuing Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) as a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo on 1/14, simply without the Paramount Presents packaging. It also looks like the studio is doing the same thing with Roman Polanski’s Chinatown (1974) that same day. We assume they’re the same 4K discs as before. (If otherwise, we’ll confirm and post an update here.) You can see the new cover art for the former at left and also below. [Read on here...]

We’re starting things off this week as always with another new disc review...

Stephen has just checked in with his in-depth thoughts on Roman Polanski’s Chinatown (1974) in 4K Ultra HD, a new Paramount Presents title that also includes Jack Nicholson’s 1990 sequel, The Two Jakes, on Blu-ray. Sounds like it’s a pretty good release, so do give it a look.

Speaking of good 4K, I had the great fortune yesterday afternoon to attend the West Coast premiere of the new Janus Films 4K restoration of Akira Kurosawa’s legendary masterpiece Seven Samurai (1954), which was held at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. It was my... I don’t know, forty or fiftieth viewing of the film? And I brought my friend Tom Beckett-Maines along for his first ever viewing. It goes without saying that we both enjoyed the film, and it was very encouraging to experience it with a packed crowd filled with young people who were really into it. Tip of the hat to the American Cinematheque for a great screening. If I lived a little closer to L.A. I would definitely become a card-carrying member, because they always do it right.

I think we can reasonably expect that Seven Samurai will be announced for physical 4K Ultra HD release by Criterion sooner rather than later, and I personally can’t wait for it. I still have a few “holy grail” physical media releases on my bucket list, and one of them is surely a Blu-ray/4K Ultra HD upgrade of Criterion’s wonderful AK100 DVD box set. But I’ll take all the Kurosawa I can get in 4K in the meantime. [Read on here...]

Welcome to a new week, Bits-ers! Hope you all had a good one, including all those of you who attended WonderCon in Anaheim this weekend.

Today is obviously April Fool’s Day, but rest assured we aren’t going to waste time with such tomfoolery here at the site this afternoon because we’ve got more new disc reviews for you, as well as some really great actual news too.

Let’s get to those reviews first. Today we have...

Stephen’s review of Ted Kotcheff’s North Dallas Forty (1979) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as his take on György Kovásznai’s Bubble Bath (1980) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

And Stuart’s look at William Grefé’s Impulse (1974) on Blu-ray from Grindhouse Releasing, as well as Emmanuel Carrère’s Between Two Worlds (2021) on Blu-ray from Cohen Media Group.

Late last week, we also posted Tim’s reviews of Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell (2009) in both regular and limited edition Blu-ray, as well as his reviews of Quentin Tarantino (etc)’s Grindhouse (2007) in both regular and limited edition Blu-ray, all from Via Vision’s Imprint Films.

And not to be outdone, Dennis has also reviewed Peter Yates’ The Dresser (1983) on Blu-ray from Imprint as well. [Read on here...]

We’re kicking things off today with Todd’s latest Doogan’s Queue installment, covering the best of this week’s new Blu-ray and DVD titles. Some fine releases this week – House of Cards: Season 2, new Wes Anderson and more – so don’t miss it.

The good Dr. Jahnke has also delivered this week’s Burnt Offerings: MOD DVD, running down the latest in small batch catalog DVDs from the Warner Archive. Be sure to check that out too. [Read on here…]

Criterion has just announced their February release slate and it includes great filmmakers and films, both new and old.  Starting on 2/4, you’ll get a BD/DVD Dual Format updating of François Truffaut’s Jules and Jim (Cat #281).  On 2/11, Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue Is the Warmest color arrives in separate Blu-ray and DVD versions (Cat #695).  This film was a bit of a sensation at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (winning the Palme d’Or), and this is its debut release on home video in the States, thus the separate SKUs.  However, Criterion says that a true BD/DVD Dual Format special edition is coming at a later date.  Moving on, 2/18 will see Alfred Hitchcock’s Foreign Correspondent (Cat #696) as a Dual Format release along with Wes Anderson’s animated Fantastic Mr. Fox (Cat #700).  Finally, Jean-Luc Goddard’s Breathless (Cat #408), Steven Soderbergh’s King of the Hill (Cat #698) and Roman Polanski’s Tess (Cat #697) will all street on 2/25 as Dual Format releases. [Read on here…]