Displaying items by tag: The Wachowskis

We’re starting the new week here at The Bits, as always, with more new disc reviews...

Stephen has turned in his thoughts on Albert Magnoli’s celebration of all things Prince, Purple Rain (1984), in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Discover Home Entertainment. The film celebrates its 40th anniversary this summer, and the city of Minneapolis has been partying all weekend in honor of it (more on that here).

Also, I’ve shared my thoughts on Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount Home Entertainment. I’m not sure the title actually needed a 4K upgrade, but what the heck—blame Canada. You can read all the details here.

And Dennis has shared his perspective on The Wachowskis’ Bound (1996), which is new on Blu-ray (and 4K UHD) from our friends at The Criterion Collection.

More reviews are forthcoming this week, so be sure to stay tuned for them.

Now then... we’ve got a pretty significant piece of industry news to share with you today. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has completed an “umbrella” distribution deal with Studio Distribution Services (SDS) that covers not only their own Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD product, but also titles from Lionsgate and Disney (along with 20th Century Studios, Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures, and the other Disney-owned labels), which Sony produces for those studios. We first broke the news of this for our Patreon subscribers over the weekend.

The reason this deal is important is that it guarantees Sony, Disney, 20th Century Studios, and Lionsgate a direct and stable distribution channel for their physical media product into Walmart stores. And as we’ve reported previously, Walmart is the biggest disc retailer in North America with a whopping 45% share of the disc sales market (as of earlier this year—that number may have grown a bit with the recent exit of Best Buy, which had approximately 4% of the business). [Read on here...]

All right, we’ll have a bit of additional announcement news for the week tomorrow here at The Bits, and I’ll be spending the afternoon working on a review of Akira Kurosawa’s Ran in 4K UHD, which will be posted then as well.

But today, I want to talk about Denis Villeneuve’s DUNE.

I had the opportunity last night to attend one of Warner and Legendary’s IMAX sneak peek events for the film as a member of the press.

A little background first... I would definitely go so far as to call myself an expert on the subject of science fiction cinema. I’ve been reading literary science fiction my entire life (including DUNE many times), I’m known in some circles to be well-versed on the topic human spaceflight, and I’m a life-long student of science in general. I read physics and astronomy research papers like some people read comic books.

So as I noted in my recent review of Voyagers in 4K, I have certain critical expectations of science fiction films and TV series. Is the story and its science setup plausible, or does it require too many contrivances or conveniences? Is the story logically consistent? Is the world-building credible and convincing? And most importantly, is the story entertaining, engaging, or thought-provoking? The vast majority of genre programming fails on one or more of those criteria. In other words, on both the big and small screen, truly great science fiction is rare. [Read on here...]

“The Matrix managed to outdo Star Wars in terms of truly reshaping the zeitgeist mere months before George Lucas’ first prequel was supposed to roar into theaters and show everyone how big budget sci-fi is supposed to work.” — Zaki Hasan, co-author of Geek Wisdom: The Sacred Teachings of Nerd Culture

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 20th anniversary of the release of The Matrix, the popular, franchise-inspiring action/sci-fi/cyberpunk adventure starring Keanu Reeves (Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, John Wick) and highlighted by Academy Award-winning editing, sound effects editing, sound, and visual effects.

Directed by The Wachowskis (Bound, Speed Racer), produced by Joel Silver (Die Hard, Lethal Weapon) and co-starring Laurence Fishburne (Boyz n the Hood, What’s Love Got to Do with It), Carrie-Anne Moss (Memento, Disturbia), Hugo Weaving (V for Vendetta, The Lord of the Rings), and Joe Pantoliano (Midnight Run, The Fugitive), The Matrix introduced moviegoers to Bullet Time and featured the music of Deftones, Marilyn Manson, Prodigy, Rage Against the Machine, Rammstein, and Rob Zombie. [Read on here...]

All right, first up today we have two more Blu-ray reviews from Tim for you, including his thoughts on Warner Archive’s Doc Hollywood and also Dragonwyck from Twilight Time. Both are worth a look. And a little later today I’ll be back with my review of Sony’s The Dark Crystal on 4K Ultra HD (I’ll add the link here when it’s up).

Now then, the BIG news this afternoon (weren’t we just talking about this yesterday?) is that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has now officially announced the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of the Wachowskis’ 1999 sci-fi/cyberpunk classic The Matrix on 5/22 (SRP $41.99). The 4K release has been produced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, a remaster supervised by the film’s director of photography, Bill Pope. The resulting image has been given HDR color grades in both HDR10 and Dolby Vision, both of which will be featured on this 4K UHD release. Furthermore, the 4K release will feature Dolby Atmos object-based audio. The actual 4K disc will also include a written introduction by the Wachowskis, along with all four previously-available audio commentaries (including the Philosopher, Critics, Cast & Crew, and Composer tracks). [Read on here...]

We’ve got three more new reviews for you today from Tim, each well worth your time, including his thoughts on Shout! and Scream Factory’s A Quiet Place in the Country and Umbrella Entertainment’s region-free Silver Bullet on Blu-ray, as well as Shout!’s Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume VIII box set on DVD. Do check them out.

FYI, I’ve been busy with server work these last couple weeks, but I’m diving back into disc reviews myself as well – on both Blu-ray and 4K – so watch for more of those starting tomorrow. [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!]

All right, we’ve got even more big title announcements for you this afternoon...

First, Warner Home Video has officially set Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper for Blu-ray Combo and DVD release on 6/30 (SRP $44.95 and $28.98). Extras on the Blu-ray will include a pair of behind-the-scenes documentaries, including The Making of American Sniper and One Soldier’s Story: The Journey of American Sniper. By the way, some of you will be glad to learn that the Blu-ray will include a 7.1 audio mix compatible with Dolby Atmos.  [Read on here…]