Displaying items by tag: Wes Anderson

Evening, folks! Sorry about the lack of an update yesterday, but I was A) busy working on several new disc reviews, and B) roped into doing the Thanksgiving grocery shopping here. And you know how that goes: It’s a zoo out there!

But as a result of our work, we’ve got no less than five new disc reviews for you to enjoy today...

First, Tim has taken a look at Brett Ratner’s The Silence of the Lambs prequel Red Dragon (2002), which is new on 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Dennis has offered his take on William Kaufman and Johnny Strong’s Warhorse One (2023) on Blu-ray from Well Go USA Entertainment.

Stephen has delivered a look at Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City (2023) on Blu-ray from Universal, as well as Béla Ternovszky’s animated Cat City (1986) on Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile and Vinegar Syndrome.

And I’ve posted my thoughts on Andrew Davis’ The Fugitive (1993) which just arrived today in a terrific new 4K Ultra HD release from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, mastered from a new 8K scan of the original camera negative no less!

I’m also working on a review of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (2023) in 4K for posting very soon. The title streets today, but I’m still waiting on my review copy from Universal, which should be here in the next couple days. (FedEx is a little slow, what with the holiday week and all.) My review of the film itself is already complete, and as soon as the disc arrives I’ll dive right in and get the review posted ASAP. So be sure to watch for it. [Read on here...]

We begin as always today with several more new disc reviews for you to enjoy here at The Bits...

First of all, I’ve begun to review Paramount’s new Star Trek: The Next Generation feature films in 4K Ultra HD, and so far I’ve completed David Carson’s Star Trek: Generations (1994) and Jonathan Frakes’ Star Trek: First Contact (1996). I should also have Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) finished by the end of the day as well.

Meanwhile, Tim has posted his thoughts on the regular Amaray 4K and Steelbook 4K Ultra HD versions of Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) from Dark Sky Films. He’s also shared his take on John D. Lamond’s Nightmares (1980) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome. And he’s just posted his look at Don Coscarelli’s Bubba Ho-Tep (2003) in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory.

Stuart has delivered a review of Jerry Hopper’s Secret of the Incas (1954) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stephen has offered his review of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive (2011) in 4K Ultra HD, a UK-import title from Second Sight.

More reviews are on the way, including the rest of the Star Trek: TNG films in 4K, as well as All Quiet on the Western Front, Disney’s new Cinderella (1950) 4K, and much more, so be sure to keep checking back. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a little more announcement news for you today here at The Bits. But first, a new feature...

Our own Michael Coate has just posted a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column celebrating the 60th anniversary of The Dick Van Dyke Show. It features a great Q&A with television historian Herbie J. Pilato, who reflects on the series’ appeal, impact, and legacy six decades after its debut. We hope you all enjoy it!

Now then, let’s get to the announcement news...

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has just announced Wes Anderson’s latest film, The French Dispatch, for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 12/28, with the Digital release (including 4K) set for 12/14. Audio will be DTS-HD MA. There’s no indication of special features, but you can reasonably imagine that a Criterion special edition is forthcoming next year. The film stars Benicio Del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Timothée Chalamet, Jeffrey Wright, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Christoph Waltz, Edward Norton, and Jason Schwartzman. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

Our friends at the Criterion Collection have just announced their April slate of Blu-ray and DVD titles, and it’s a nice line-up.

They include: A re-issue of Jean-Pierre Melville’s Army of Shadows (1969 – Spine #385 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 4/7, George Marshall’s Destry Rides Again (1939 – Spine #1024 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 4/14, Jura Herz’s The Cremator (1969 – Spine #1023 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 4/21, and Miranda July’s Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005 – Spine #1026 – Blu-ray and DVD) and Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014 – Spine #1025 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 4/28.

Naturally, we’ve updated our Criterion Spines Project pages here at The Bits accordingly. [Read on here...]

All right, I posted my in-depth review of HBO’s new Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season in 4K Ultra HD last night here at The Bits. I’m really surprised at how good it looks. Way better than I expected given the production resolution. It’s a genuine upgrade over the previous Blu-ray release in terms of A/V quality, so I recommend that fans give it a look.

We’ve got more 4K reviews coming soon and we’re also going to be taking a look at some interesting recent Blu-ray 3D titles thanks to our friends at the 3-D Film Archive. So be sure to watch for those.

One note however: We will probably not be reviewing Disney and Pixar’s The Incredibles in 4K Ultra HD. I picked up a copy of the disc this morning, and have found it to offer a modest (but definite) image and sound improvement over the previous Blu-ray release – probably enough for fans to want to make the upgrade. Note that it has Dolby Vision, HDR10, and Dolby Atmos audio. But Disney chose not to send this title for out review and we have a good number of titles to cover here that the studios (Disney included) have sent out for our consideration. With limited time at our disposal, we feel that we should focus our attenion on those. Just FYI. But if you’re a fan of the film, you might want to check the 4K edition out and Best Buy does have mighty nice exclusive Steelbook packaging. So there you go. [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...]

Happy President’s Day, folks! Otherwise known as the day you may or may not be lucky enough to have off. Whatever your case may be, we’ve got a couple of good things for you today...

First up, Doogan’s Queue for this week is now live in Todd’s Gripe Soda section, running down the week’s Blu-ray and DVD releases. Don’t miss it!

Also today, our own Russell Hammond has posted the weekly Release Dates & Artwork update featuring all the latest Blu-ray and DVD cover art and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, a portion of anything you order from Amazon after clicking through our links (on the right) goes to help support our work here at The Bits and we really do appreciate it.  [Read on here…]

Criterion has just announced their February release slate and it includes great filmmakers and films, both new and old.  Starting on 2/4, you’ll get a BD/DVD Dual Format updating of François Truffaut’s Jules and Jim (Cat #281).  On 2/11, Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue Is the Warmest color arrives in separate Blu-ray and DVD versions (Cat #695).  This film was a bit of a sensation at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (winning the Palme d’Or), and this is its debut release on home video in the States, thus the separate SKUs.  However, Criterion says that a true BD/DVD Dual Format special edition is coming at a later date.  Moving on, 2/18 will see Alfred Hitchcock’s Foreign Correspondent (Cat #696) as a Dual Format release along with Wes Anderson’s animated Fantastic Mr. Fox (Cat #700).  Finally, Jean-Luc Goddard’s Breathless (Cat #408), Steven Soderbergh’s King of the Hill (Cat #698) and Roman Polanski’s Tess (Cat #697) will all street on 2/25 as Dual Format releases. [Read on here…]