Displaying items by tag: Steven Spielberg

All right, we’ve got some more release news today and a follow-up on recent news as well...

First though, Tim has turned in his thoughts on Andrew Lane’s Jake Speed (1986), recently released on Blu-ray by Arrow Video.

Now them, first up today: I’ve officially confirmed with Universal Studios Home Entertainment that they have not officially announced the release of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws on 4K Ultra HD yet. HOWEVER... they will be doing so soon. So we’ll have the officially details for you when they do.

I guess this is a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, or more likely there are simply a LOT of people who need to weigh in and approve such things before they get officially announced. Which we expect to happen soonish. [Read on here...]

The news today is brief, but we’ve got a couple things to report today...

First though, Tim has reviewed a couple of Blu-ray titles for you, including Universal’s Munster, Go Home! (1966) from Scream Factory and Bone Tomahawk (2015), a kind of western horror film from RLJ Entertainment starring Kurt Russell.

But the big news today is that Universal is releasing Steven Spielberg’s Jaws as a 45th Anniversary Edition on 4K Ultra HD on 6/2.

Of course, we first mentioned this title was coming many weeks ago here at The Bits. You can now consider the release almost—but not quite—official. [Read on here...]

All right, there’s not a whole lot going on today news-wise, so we’re busy working on new disc reviews.

But we did want to check in briefly with a new interesting odds and ends.

To start with, we have a sneak peek at temp cover artwork from our retail sources (in Europe in this case) for Universal’s Spartacus and Jaws on 4K Ultra HD, which are expected to street widely in June or July (street date TBA). You can see Jaws at left and both of them below. This should be close to final, but know that it’s not actually final until the studio officially announces the titles.

Also coming from Universal on 6/2 (only at Best Buy stores in the US) is a new 4K Ultra HD Steelbook version of Ron Howard’s Apollo 13. You also can see that below. [Read on here...]

Morning folks!

This is just a very quick update to let you all know that we’ve got two items of interest for your attention here at The Bits today...

First up, I posted my review of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood in 4K Ultra HD last night. The disc is now available from Sony, and I actually think it’s one of Tarantino’s most interesting films. It’s certainly well worth your time, so do give it a look.

Also, our own Michael Coate has a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column for you today looking back at Steven Spielberg’s classic screwball comedy 1941 in honor of the film’s 40th anniversary. The great film music historian Mike Matessino joins Michael for a fun new interview on the film, its music, and history. We hope you enjoy it!

And that’s all for now. Back with more soon. Stay tuned...

(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)

“Any legitimate study of Spielberg’s career has to include 1941.” — film music historian Mike Matessino

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 40th anniversary of the release of 1941, Steven Spielberg’s zany, whacky, epic World War II comedy featuring a screenplay by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale (Used Cars, Back to the Future) and John Milius (Big Wednesday, Red Dawn), an all-star cast headed by Dan Aykroyd (The Blues Brothers, Ghostbusters) and John Belushi (Animal House, The Blues Brothers), and Oscar-nominated Cinematography, Sound and Visual Effects.

The large ensemble cast also featured Nancy Allen (Dressed to Kill), Ned Beatty (Deliverance), Eddie Deezen (Grease), Bobby DiCicco (I Wanna Hold Your Hand), Lorraine Gary (Jaws), Murray Hamilton (Jaws), Diane Kay (Eight is Enough TV series), Christopher Lee (The Man with the Golden Gun), Tim Matheson (Animal House), Frank McRae (Used Cars), Toshiro Mifune (The Hidden Fortress), Warren Oates (The Wild Bunch), Slim Pickens (Dr. Strangelove), Wendie Jo Sperber (Back to the Future), Robert Stack (The Untouchables TV series), Lionel Stander (Hart to Hart TV series), and Treat Williams (Prince of the City). [Read more here...]

Today’s post is going to be brief for reasons I’ll explain in a moment. But we do have some pretty significant announcement news we need to tell you all about.

First, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has just officially announced the long-expected 4K Ultra HD release of Richard Donner’s original Superman: The Movie on 11/6. The 4K release will include the theatrical version of the film only on 4K and on the newly-remastered Blu-ray included in the package as well. The 4K version will feature both Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos object-based audio. Our information is that, in addition to Atmos, the 4K release will include 5.1 audio mixed from the original 1978 6-track 70mm as well.

Extras on both discs will include the audio commentary with Pierre Spengler and Ilya Salkind. The Blu-ray will add the 1978 The Making of Superman: The Movie TV special, the 58-minute Superman and the Mole-Men (1951) feature starring George Reeves, additional cartoon shorts, trailers, and TV spots. You can see the cover artwork there at left and also below. SRP for the set is $41.99, though it’ll be on sale for much less on Amazon and elsewhere. [Read on here...]

All right, we’re starting with a trio of additional Blu-ray reviews for you today...

Tim has taken a look at John Flynn’s Brainscan (1994) from Scream Factory.

David offers his thoughts on Tom Konkle’s indie film noir Trouble Is My Business (2018) on BD-R.

And Dennis has checked out Albert Pyun’s direct-to-video Crazy Six from MVD Visual Entertainment.

Now then... the Universal Classic Monsters: Complete 30-Film Collection, Creature from the Black Lagoon: Complete Legacy Collection, and The Invisible Man: Complete Legacy Collection all arrived in stores yesterday from Universal. [Read on here...]

“It takes a filmmaker as deeply imaginative, but also technically savvy as Steven Spielberg to orchestrate and bring [all of the elements] together into a cohesive whole that works with his intricate vision as a storyteller, in both moments and big picture. There are other filmmakers who would have made wonderful adaptations of the Crichton book, no doubt, but the project landed in the right, highly skilled hands, heart and imagination.” — Steven Awalt, author of Steven Spielberg and Duel: The Making of a Film Career

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the silver anniversary of the release of Jurassic Park, Steven Spielberg’s popular and franchise-inspiring adaptation of Michael Crichton’s best-selling novel starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough and which showcased groundbreaking and award-winning visual effects and audio. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a trio of disc reviews for you today...

We start with Tim’s look at Dario Argento’s Deep Red (1975) on Blu-ray from Arrow Video, and Federico Fellini’s Orchestra Rehearsal (1978) on Blu-ray from Arrow Academy.

I’ve also checked in with my thoughts on The Greatest Showman in 4K Ultra HD, from director Michael Gracey and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The musical features an absolutely reference quality A/V presentation, including some of the best looking 4K video yet seen on the format. Do give it a look.

We’ve also updated the Release Dates & Artwork section here at The Bits with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, anytime you order products through our links, we surely do appreciate it – it makes a difference for us. So thank you! [Read on here...]

“Close Encounters helps demonstrate perhaps better than any other why Steven Spielberg is one of the greatest American filmmakers.” — Spielberg biographer Joseph McBride

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 40th anniversary of the release of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Steven Spielberg’s legendary science-fiction film starring Richard Dreyfuss as Roy Neary, an electrical lineman who obsesses over the sighting, physical evidence and, ultimately, contact with a UFO.

The film, which also starred Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon and Francois Truffaut, was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning for Vilmos Zsigmond’s cinematography (and also receiving a special achievement award for sound effects editing). [Read on here...]