Displaying items by tag: streaming

We have four new disc reviews for you to enjoy today, including...

Tim’s look at Giuliano Carnimeo’s The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972) in 4K Ultra HD from our friends at Celluloid Dreams... and we mean friends literally—the company was launched by former DVD Review editor Guido Henkel and his son Lucas. (Congrats to both of them on their first successful title!)

Stuart’s take on George Roy Hill’s The Little Drummer Girl (1984) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Stephen’s thoughts on John Mackenzie’s The Long Good Friday (1980) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video UK, a region-free British import title.

And Dennis’ look at Chad Ferrin’s H.P. Lovecraft’s The Old Ones (2024) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

Also, we’ve just posted a massive update of our Release Dates & Cover Art section featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and especially 4K Ultra HD titles that are available for pre-order on Amazon.com. There are tons of new titles, and remember that anytime you order one using our links you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits (and we really do appreciate it)!

We’ve also got some great release news for you today, starting with word that Arrow Video has just announced their forthcoming Shawscope: Volume Three Blu-ray box set, which will street on 11/26. [Read on here...]

Today’s editorial is going to be brief, because frankly some of us here at The Digital Bits have grown a bit frustrated at this point. Disheartened by the state of things, as it were. So too—we suspect—have many of you, our dear readers and fans of physical media. But lately, after nearly twenty-six years of passionate advocacy for film, TV, and special edition content on disc, it’s come to our attention that a couple of the major Hollywood studios don’t seem to have quite that same passion for the subject anymore.

One of these—let’s call ‘em Garner Brothers—just announced a long awaited 4K Ultra HD catalog release with almost no special features. Certainly no newly-created special features, because this studio doesn’t seem to do many of those anymore, and almost no special features on the actual discs, which is where disc fans tend to prefer them. Instead, most of this title’s special features are included as Digital extras only.

Nor does this title include the most obvious extra that fans have been wanting for years, which is the uncut 81-minute “Festival Version” of a certain making-of documentary about this film. Why? Honestly, we’re not sure there’s many people left at this studio who even know that it exists or why fans might care about it. (And if there is, that person should definitely be given a bigger role in making these decisions.)

Now, all of this is particularly frustrating, because if you pre-order this same title on 4K UHD in the United Kingdom, you do get those extras on disc. What’s more, you get a couple of different deluxe packaging options with swag in the UK, both of them terrific, whereas here in the States, the packaging’s artwork simply makes fans of this film weep, created—as it seems to have been—by an intern and novice Photoshop user for reasons unknown (rather than using the film’s already existing poster or production art, which… again… is the kind of thing this studio’s best customers would actually prefer.) [Read on here...]

Our old friend Drew Stewart—who is a longtime Digital Bits reader—is the webmaster for Star Wars Revisited and also curates the Star Wars Visual Comparisons blog.

He’s been working diligently to create a kind of visual guide to all the changes found in the recent Disney+ 4K version of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

Drew’s created a set of comparison images showing all of these updates and alterations—39 of them in all—and he’s kindly allowed us to compile them here in a 7-page gallery on The Digital Bits for all of you to see.

We definitely think that Star Wars fans will find this gallery both interesting and useful, not just to compare the new Disney+ 4K version to past Blu-ray and DVD releases, but also as a baseline in the event that further changes appear in the future. [Read on here...]

Our old friend Drew Stewart—who is a longtime Digital Bits reader—is the webmaster for Star Wars Revisited and also curates the Star Wars Visual Comparisons blog.

He’s been working diligently to create a kind of visual guide to all the changes found in the new Disney+ 4K version of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

Drew’s created a set of comparison images showing all of these updates and alterations—nearly 40 of them in all—and he’s kindly allowed us to compile them here in a 6-page gallery on The Digital Bits for all of you to see.

We definitely think that Star Wars fans will find this gallery both interesting and useful, not just to compare the new Disney+ 4K version to past Blu-ray and DVD releases, but also as a baseline in the event that further changes appear in the future. [Read on here...]

Our old friend Drew Stewart—who is a longtime Digital Bits reader—is the webmaster for Star Wars Revisited and also curates the Star Wars Visual Comparisons blog.

He’s been working diligently to create a kind of visual guide to all the changes found in the new Disney+ 4K version of Star Wars: A New Hope.

Drew’s created a set of comparison images showing all of these updates and alterations—nearly 40 of them in all—and he’s kindly allowed us to compile them here in a 7-page gallery on The Digital Bits for all of you to see.

We definitely think that Star Wars fans will find this gallery both interesting and useful, not just to compare the new Disney+ 4K version to past Blu-ray and DVD releases, but also as a baseline in the event that further changes appear in the future. [Read on here...]

Today’s Retro Release Day title here at The Bits is one that caught the eye of more than a few of our readers in the background of photos I’ve posted of recent Retro Release Day titles. I’m speaking of ADV Films’ 4-disc Farscape: Starburst Edition DVDs!

Farscape, which celebrated its 20th anniversary on March 19, was a Sci-Fi Channel original series that debuted in 1999 from The Jim Henson Company and Hallmark Entertainment. An Australian-American production, the live action science fiction series was created by Rockne S. O’Bannon and starred Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Virginia Hey, Anthony Simcoe, Gigi Edgley, Paul Goddard, Lani Tupu, and Wayne Pygram.

The series was first released on DVD starting in 2001 by ADV Films in a regular DVD edition (with 2 episodes per set plus extras on one DVD-9 disc). This was followed in 2005 by an initial Starburst Edition release (with 6-7 episodes per set plus additional extras on 2 DVD-18 discs). Both releases presented the series in the original broadcast 1.33:1 (or 4x3) TV aspect ratio, save for Season Four which switched production to 1.78:1 (or 16x9). Audio was lossy Dolby Digital. [Read on here...]

First things first today...

No sooner did we post word from retail sources yesterday that Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom is expected to street on Blu-ray, DVD, Blu-ray 3D, and 4K Ultra HD on 9/18 (pending Universal’s official announcement), we learned this...

20th Century Fox Home Entetainment is now expected to release John McTiernan’s original Predator (1987) on 4K Ultra HD on 8/7. And we know this because the title is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com for that date (SRP $39.99, but Amazon has it for $34.19). You can see the official cover artwork at left and also below the break.

We’re awaiting Fox’s official announcement, which we expect at any time now, but this should be a full new native 4K film scan and restoration from the original camera negative and it should finally rid the film of the godawful DNR scrubbing it’s been given on past Blu-ray editions.

The disc will also include a Blu-ray copy in the package, and we suspect that this will be mastered from the same 4K scan too (but we’ll have to wait for the press release to confirm that officially, along with other details). [Read on here...]

All right, this is just a quick post today, but it’s an important one...

First up, I’ve just completed my in-depth review of Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther in 4K Ultra HD from Marvel and Disney. As you probably already know, it’s a great installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and an interesting 4K release for a couple of reasons. Do check it out.

I’m currently working on a review of Universal’s The Incredible Hulk in 4K Ultra HD too (speaking of the MCU). What’s more, I expect to have my hands on Paramount’s Braveheart and Gladiator in 4K Ultra HD sometime today. So those reviews will be posted as soon as possible too. Be sure to check back for them. [Read on here...]

Okay… the first of our big 4K Ultra HD catalog reviews this week is in the works and we hope to have it for you bright and early tomorrow morning. First though, we need to take care of an important bit of site business. Please read on (and bear with us a moment)...

For over twenty years now, from the dawn of DVD to the rise of 4K Ultra HD, The Digital Bits has been a powerful advocate for home media enthusiasts online. From our unique position within the industry, we’ve shared our love and knowledge of film, advised our readers honestly and well through two format wars, helped to make the adoption of the latest home theater technology easier, and served as a bridge between enthusiasts and the Hollywood professionals that produce our favorite content.

But in recent years, our costs to operate The Bits have unfortunately increased, from contributors and equipment, to servers, bandwidth, even cybersecurity, even as advertising revenue has dropped all across the Internet (outside of social media), leading to the disappearance of all too many popular websites. When even an enthusiast-favorite company like Oppo can’t keep going in this climate, you know things are tough. Yet we think it’s incredibly important for us to keep fighting for the continued survival of physical media on behalf of all of you out there who love it. [Read on here...]

Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed an alarming increase in the number of MOD titles that are simply re-releases of out-of-print discs and a decrease in the number of never-before-released movies. We’re probably going to be seeing a lot more of that, unfortunately. But at least this week, there are a few brand new Most Wanted picks making their overdue DVD debuts. Let’s take a gander at them and at a special all-scary-movie edition of Wide Awake In Streamland for your Halloween viewing pleasure. [Read on here...]