Displaying items by tag: Warner Archive Collection

Before we begin today, a quick note: Our own Tim Salmons has just posted his in-depth review of Warner’s new Batman Beyond: The Complete Series Blu-ray box set. And it sounds like the set is quite good, very much in keeping with their recent Batman: The Animated Series BD set. So here’s the review and we hope you enjoy!

All right, I’ve now had a good solid day to play with Disney+ and I have to say that I’ve been very impressed, in principle, with what I’m seeing and experiencing. I’ll have some more comments later this week on how I think streaming services (and specifically Disney+) will impact the home video market. But I certainly do like what I’m seeing. (Note that I’m viewing via the Disney+ app on the Roku Ultra 4K, running through the Oppo UDP-203 to two different display devices—a flat panel and a projector).

One of the best aspects of Disney+ are the surprises: The chance to see deep catalog Disney live action and animated films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Sword and the Stone, and The Black Cauldron in native 4K with HDR is absolutely tremendous. And the more of this kind of experience Disney+ (and other streaming services) can give us, the better. [Read on here...]

All right, thanks for your patience while I was away at the end of last week. My father-in-law passed away, so my wife and I flew across the country to attend his memorial and see family.

But there’s a good deal to catch up on today news-wise, so let’s get right to it. First things first...

Yes, we are aware of the rumors that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is planning to bring The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films to 4K Ultra HD. They originated on the excellent 4K Filme.de website, which (I’m told) found the titles briefly listed on a Warner B2B website for German retailers. All six films were indicated for release on UHD (with the Extended Editions included) and with a tentative street date given of June 25, 2020. All right, now let’s put this in context...

First of all, there’s no doubt that Warner Bros. is going to release these films on physical 4K Ultra HD. These are literally their most demanded catalog titles on the format. Also, 2021 is the 20th anniversary of Fellowship of the Ring. And Amazon’s new Lord of the Rings prequel series, which reportedly begins production next month and will apparently be in production for two years, is likely to debut on Amazon Prime in late 2022. So the studio is certainly going to want to get those films ready for 4K release by then. [Read on here...]

We start this week with a great new Blu-ray review, this one of Scream Factory’s Universal Horror Collection, Volume 1 box set, which includes The Black Cat (1934), The Raven (1935), The Invisible Ray (1936), and Black Friday (1940). Do give it a look.

Also, just a heads-up: We’re going to be reviewing Warner Archive’s new Jonny Quest: The Complete Series Blu-ray soon. A review copy is on the way.

And we’ve posted the weekly update of the Release Dates & Artwork section featuring all of the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K cover artwork with Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, whenever you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking to them through one of our links, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really do appreciate it. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a pair of new Blu-ray reviews for you to check out today...

Late yesterday I posted my thoughts on Paramount’s Jack Ryan: Season One, as well as Eagle Rock Entertainment’s Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out documentary. And I’m working on a review of Kino’s Hannibal 4K and more for Monday.

The big news today is that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and DC have announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of Shazam! on 7/16, with the Digital version expected on 7/2.

The 4K Ultra HD version will include Dolby Atmos audio and Dolby Vision HDR. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a news roundup and a couple of updates for you today...

First, Tim has posted a new review of Book of Monsters on Blu-ray from Dread and Epic Pictures. Also, Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Michael Haneke’s Funny Games (1997) on Blu-ray from Criterion. Enjoy!

The big news today is that Warner Archive has just officially announced the Blu-ray release of Jonny Quest: The Complete Original Series (1964). We hear the set is expected next month (street date TBA). The 3-disc set will include all 26 original episodes newly-remastered in full HD from the original film elements. Audio will be 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio. Extras will include the Jonny Quest: Adventures in Animation featurette, a special version of the Double Danger episode with Quest Files facts and trivia, the Jonny Quest Video Handbook, and a Vintage P.F. Flyers Sneaker Commercial. You can see the cover artwork at left. [Read on here...]

All right, quick update today...

First of all, I’m going to be finishing my Aquaman 4K review later today, so watch for that sometime before the end of the day.

Meanwhile, Tim has posted a couple more Blu-ray reviews here today, including his look at Herschell Gordon Lewis’s Color Me Blood Red (1965) from Arrow Video and Dennis’ take on Boy Erased from Universal.

And on Friday, Tim posted his thoughts on HGL’s The Wizard of Gore (1970) from Arrow and Geoff Murphy’s The Quiet Earth (1985) from Umbrella Entertainment.

Also here at the site today, Russell Hammond has updated the Release Dates & Artwork section with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. Anytime you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking through to them from one of our links (like this one), you’re helping to keep The Bits alive and we really, really appreciate it. So thank you! [Read on here...]

All right, Disney has just officially announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of Rob Marshall’s Mary Poppins Returns on 3/19, with their Digital 4K and Movies Anywhere release set for a week earlier on 3/12. There will apparently also be a “Digital Bundle” of the film with the original 1964 Mary Poppins (we don’t know what resolution that original film will be). Audio on the Blu-rays will be English 7.1 DTS-HD MA. Assume standard HDR10 at least on the physical 4K (the digital 4K may offer Dolby Vision).

In terms of extras, the Blu-rays will include the deleted song The Anthropomorphic Zoo, the 4-part The Practically Perfect Making of Mary Poppins Returns documentary (includes Introduction, (Underneath the) Lovely London Sky, Can You Imagine That?, and Nowhere to Go But Up), the 4-part Seeing Things From a Different Point of View: The Musical Numbers of Mary Poppins Returns documentary (includes Trip a Little Light Fantastic, The Royal Doulton Music Hall/A Cover Is Not the Book, Turning Turtle, and Can You Imagine That?), Back to Cherry Tree Lane: Dick Van Dyke Returns, Practically Perfect Bloopers, 3 deleted scenes (Leaving Topsy’s and Trip a Little Light Fantastic), and a Sing-Along Mode. The Digital version only will also feature exclusive audio commentary by director Rob Marshall and producer John DeLuca.

You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got some interesting release news to report today. First though…

We’ve posted several new Blu-ray reviews in the last couple of days, including my take on Warner Archive’s Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero and the Kino Lorber Studio Classics title Joan of Arc, as well as Tim’s thoughts on Warner Archive’s Joe Versus the Volcano, Arrow Video’s There’s Always Vanilla, Shout!/Scream Factory’s Colossus: The Forbin Project and 78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene, and Universal’s Happy Death Day. Enjoy!

Now then, Shout! Factory has announced that they’re going to be bringing Disney’s Gravity Falls: The Complete Series to Blu-ray and DVD on 7/24 (SRP $99.99 and $59.97 respectively, though if you purchase them from Shout! directly you get $20 off the BD and $10 off the DVD). [Read on here...]

All right, we’re starting the new week this afternoon with a trio of fresh Blu-ray reviews…

First up, Tim has checked out Scalpel (1977) on BD from Arrow Video, as well as Val Guest’s When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970) from the Warner Archive Collection.

I’ve also just posted my thoughts on the Warner Archive’s long-awaited Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero on Blu-ray, a great upgrade of the original direct-to-DVD release and a nice aperitif for their upcoming release of the complete Batman: The Animated Series on Blu-ray later in 2018. Enjoy! [Read on here...]

We’ve got some great new title announcements for you today!

First or all, The Criterion Collection has just revealed their August Blu-ray and DVD slate, which breaks down as follows. Look for Michael Curtiz’s The Breaking Point (Cat #889 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 8/8, Mike Leigh’s Meantime (Cat #890 – Blu-ray and DVD) and an updating of Ronald Neame’s Hopscotch (Cat #105 – Blu-ray, DVD, and iTunes) on 8/15, and Sacha Guitry’s La Poison (Cat #891 – Blu-ray and DVD) and an updating of Alex Cox’s Sid & Nancy (Cat #20 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 8/22. Also, it now appears that Orson Welles’ Othello (Cat #870 – Blu-ray and DVD) has finally been rescheduled for release on 9/26. We’ve updated our Criterion Spines Project page accordingly. [Read on here…]