Displaying items by tag: Star Wars

Today’s post is a brief one, as I’m still grappling with this Facebook hacking issue. I’m pleased to report that progress is being made, finally, but very slowly. With a little luck, hopefully this will all be straightened out by next week. Thanks for all your kind words of support – they’re much appreciated.

In the meantime, you’re all welcome to follow me on Twitter here (and The Bits here) for social media updates. Note that The Digital Bits Facebook page is unaffected.

Also today, we continue to post new Blu-ray reviews for you to enjoy, recently including my looks at Apollo 11 from Universal and Baa Baa Black Sheep: The Complete Series from Elephant Films, Tim’s take on Mondo Bizarro and Mondo Freudo from Severin, The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire from Arrow, and Tarantula! from Scream, and Chase’s thoughts on Jackie Chan’s Police Story and Police Story 2 from Criterion. And more reviews are on the way. [Read on here...]

“Fanboys is significant in that it shows how fandoms can argue without completely going toxic.” — Bill Watters, BleedingCool.com

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 10th anniversary of the release of Fanboys, the cinematic love letter to Star Wars (and geek culture and fandom in general).

Directed by Kyle Newman (The Hollow, Taylor Swift music videos Clean and Style) and with a screenplay by Ernest Cline (Ready Player One) and Adam F. Goldberg (The Goldbergs), the long-in-production comedy starred Jay Baruchel (Tropic Thunder, She’s Out of My League), Dan Fogler (Balls of Fury, Good Luck Chuck), Sam Huntington (Being Human, Superman Returns), Christopher Marquette (Freddy vs. Jason, Race to Witch Mountain), and Kristen Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Frozen). The film also features a series of amusing celebrity cameos, including Carrie Fisher, William Shatner and Billy Dee Williams. [Read on here...]

“With its dramatic and satisfying conclusion of the overall plot and its upbeat finale, Return of the Jedi set the future of the Star Wars brand on an extremely sure footing and ensured that the trilogy would be regarded as one of the greatest of all time.” — Craig Stevens, author of The Star Wars Phenomenon in Britain

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 35th anniversary of the release of Return of the Jedi, the concluding chapter of George Lucas’ original Star Wars trilogy, which featured Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher reprising their popular roles of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia, respectively.

Tying up all of the loose ends of the previous chapter and showcasing a galaxy’s worth of creatures, robots and visual effects, Return of the Jedi opened to record-breaking box-office thirty-five years ago this week. [Read on here...]

“Star Wars is a landmark film, a work of such soaring imagination that it will set standards for years to come.” — Bob Thomas, Associated Press

[This is a revised and updated version of a previously published article.]

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective article commemorating the 40th anniversary of the release of Star Wars, George Lucas’ legendary space opera that introduced the world to The Force and a host of memorable planets, spaceships and characters. [Read on here...]

We have a couple items to report today…

First, a quick note: I’ve updated our post from yesterday (regarding the interview with Kathleen Kennedy on Star Wars) to more accurately reflect the context of her comments. It’s worth giving another look, if you’re interested. Just FYI.

Here at the site today, Tim Salmons has posted reviews of Arrow Video’s House: Two Stories and House: The Collection Blu-ray box sets. One is a U.S. release while the other is a U.K. release (but it plays in both Region A and B). The sets are pretty terrific if you’re a fan, so do give them a look. [Read on here…]

All right, as I work to finish these hardware reviews we’ve some good things for you today here at the site...

First, Tim has posted three new disc reviews, including looks at Synapse Films’ Popcorn Steelbook Blu-ray, Scream Factory’s Slumber Party Massacre II/III Double Feature Blu-ray, and Shout! Factory’s new Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXXVIII DVD set. All are worth a look, so do check them out.

Also today, our own Mario Boucher has turned in a new Inside Cinema report on Warner Bros’ recent Wonder Woman panel from the WonderCon 2017 convention here in Anaheim. Both producer Geoff Johns and director Patty Jenkins were on hand to discuss the making of the film and it sounds as if it’s shaping up nicely. The film arrives in theaters on 6/2. [Read on here…]

All right, we’ve got a rare Saturday update for you, as there’s some major news to let you all know about since yesterday’s post…

First up, Criterion has announced their October slate of Blu-ray releases, which is set to include the Trilogía de Guillermo del Toro set (Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone, and Pan’s Labyrinth) and Pan’s Labyrinth separately (Cat #838 - Blu-ray and DVD) on 10/11, Richard Linklater’s Boyhood (Cat #839 - Blu-ray and DVD) and Robert Altman’s Short Cuts (Cat #265 - Blu-ray and DVD) on 10/18, and Ermanno Olmi’s The Tree of Wooden Clogs (Cat #840 - Blu-ray and DVD) and Luis García Berlanga’s The Executioner (Cat #841 - Blu-ray and DVD) on 10/25. Note that Criterion is also working on a Blu-ray box set of Linklater’s “Before” Trilogy (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight) for release at a later date.  [Read on here…]

All right, there’s not much in the way of announcement news today, but we do have a couple things to share with you.

First, there’s a brand new official behind-the-scenes video and poster for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story that were shared earlier today at Star Wars Celebration in London. You can see the poster at the left there.

And you can watch the video via YouTube here (be sure to watch it in 1080p)…  [Read on here…]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to follow us on Twitter @thedigitalbits @BillHuntBits and on Facebook here and here. And you can help support The Bits by pre-ordering Blu-rays and other items from Amazon through this link.]

All right... yesterday’s editorial column on the new 4K Ultra HD format was a lot of work as you can imagine, but I’ve been very gratified at the positive reaction to it. If you missed it, you can find it here. I’m going to have more 4K coverage and reviews soon, but I’m just trying to balance it all out with the regular Blu-ray news and whatnot.

On that score, we have a pair of new Blu-ray reviews for you to check out today, including Tim Salmons’ thoughts on The Zero Boys from Arrow Video, as well as Jim Hemphill’s take on In the French Style from Twilight Time. Both titles are now available and are well worth a look.

Also today, in case you missed it when we posted it earlier this week, our own Mario Boucher has delivered a great new Inside Cinema column on the subject of “Duelity” in modern cinema. I think you’ll find it well worth a read, so do check it out here.  [Read on here…]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to follow us on Twitter @thedigitalbits @BillHuntBits and on Facebook here and here.]

First things first today: We’re hearing from readers that Samsung’s UBD‑K8500 UHD Blu-ray player is now starting to appear for sale on retailer shelves – including Best Buy – in at least some places around the country. Additionally, Best Buy employees are suggesting in-store that the first UHD Blu-ray titles will start to become available tomorrow (2/11), probably from Lionsgate but maybe also from Fox.

Meanwhile, I’ve now received word from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment that the studio’s first round of UHD Blu-ray titles, including The Martian, Kingsman, Exodus, and Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, will officially be available starting on Sunday 2/14 at Best Buy stores. Note, however, that it’s possible some stores will begin selling them earlier, or that some stores will not have their stock in yet by then. [Read on here…]