Displaying items by tag: Wes Craven

Good afternoon, folks! We’re starting the week off with four new disc reviews...

Stuart has given Via Vision’s On the Buses Film Collection box set a review, which includes On the Buses (1971), Mutiny on the Buses (1972), and Holiday on the Buses (1973) all on Blu-ray. These of course are based on the popular British TV sitcom from the late 1960s and early 70s.

Dennis has taken a look at Raoul Walsh’s They Drive by Night (1940) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Stephen has offered his thoughts on Andrei Tarkovsky’s Nostalghia (1983) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And finally, I’ve completed an in-depth review of one of my favorite films: Sergio Leone’s magnificent Western epic Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount via their Paramount Presents line. And I’m afraid the disc is... complicated.

In any case, more new disc reviews are on the way this week, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them! [Read on here...]

We’re kicking things off this week with a pair of new disc reviews...

Tim has posted his thoughts on Neil Jordan’s The Company of Wolves (1984) in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory.

And Stephen has checked in with his take on Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s Best Picture-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) in 4K Ultra HD from A24 via Lionsgate.

In announcement and release news today, we have several interesting items for you...

First, our friends at MVD Entertainment have revealed the first 4K title in their MVD Rewind Collection, and it’s none other than Wes Craven’s Swamp Thing (1982)! Look for it to arrive on 7/25, and it will include both the Unrated International Version as well as the US Theatrical Version (which is rated PG). The title is also coming to Blu-ray that same day. You can see the cover artwork above left and also below.

Both versions are restored from new 16-bit 4K scans of the original camera negative, presented in the correct 1.85 aspect ratio with Dolby Vision HDR and audio in English 2.0 mono in DTS-HD Master Audio format (as well as Spanish mono). [Read on here...]

All right, we have three more new disc reviews for you all to enjoy today, as well as lots more new announcement news including major 4K catalog titles. So let’s get right to it. First those reviews...

Stephen has turned in his thoughts on Atsuko Ishizuka’s animated Goodbye, Don Glees! (2022, aka Gubbai, Don Gurîzu!), which is newly-available on Blu-ray from GKids and Shout! Factory.

And Tim has posted his thoughts on Laika and Shout! Factory’s new 4K Ultra HD editions of Henry Selick’s stop-motion animated Coraline (2009) in 4K Ultra HD—both the wide-release Amaray version and the Steelbook version.

More reviews are forthcoming this week, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them.

Now then, Paramount has just officially announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of JD Dillard’s Devotion on 2/28. Extras will include two featurettes (The Aviation of a Forgotten War and The Legacy of Jesse Brown). You can see the cover artwork above left and also below. [Read on here...]

We begin the day with a pair of new Blu-ray reviews from Stephen... Bill Forsyth’s Breaking In (1989) from Kino Lorber Studio Classics and Harry Watt’s The Overlanders (1946) from Umbrella Entertainment.

Also here at The Bits today, we’ve got another “bonus” History, Legacy & Showmanship column for you that’s leftover from 2021, in which Michael and film historian/author Raymond Benson celebrate the 50th anniversary of Peter Bogdanovich’s The Last Picture Show (1971). Enjoy!

In title announcements today, the big news is that Scream Factory has officially set Happy Death Day and Happy Death Day 2U for release on 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo on 4/26, just as we’ve been expecting for the last week or so.

Expect at least HDR10 high dynamic range and we’ll post the other AV details when we have them. [Read on here...]

Today’s update here at The Bits will be a quick one, as we have one major title announcement to report, plus what appears to be an audio problem on a key forthcoming 4K catalog title that we’re tracking.

First though, we have a few new disc reviews for you...

Tim has posted his thoughts on Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes (1977), as released in 4K Ultra HD by our friends at Arrow Video.

Meanwhile, Stephen has checked in too with his thoughts on Wes Craven’s Scream (1996), newly released in 4K Ultra HD by Dimension Films via Paramount.

And Dennis has weighed in as well with his two cents on Liesl Tommy’s recent Aretha Franklin biopic, Respect, new on Blu-ray from MGM via Universal Pictures. [Read on here...]

Welcome to a new edition of Pick-Ups!

Thanks for joining me for another week of Scream Factory Catch-Up... those folks sure do keep horror fans busy (not that I’m complaining).  [Read on here…]

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All right, we’ve got a bit of ground to cover today. As you may be aware, I’ve been away for a few days. Specifically, my wife and I were attending a family gathering (of my brothers and sister, plus significant others) in Chicago this past weekend. Sarah and I also just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary yesterday. So things have been a little busy here, as you can imagine, but good busy!

Meanwhile, our own Jim Hemphill did post a review of Kino Lorber’s Defiance on Blu-ray on Friday afternoon. Tim Salmons also took some time on Monday to honor the passing of a director and horror film legend we all greatly admire here at The Bits: Wes Craven. The man who gave us The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, and many more died of cancer on Sunday. He was 76 and will be dearly missed. (Read more here at NPR.) So you should check out both of those posts if you haven’t already.  [Read on here…]

Yesterday marked the tragic passing of Wes Craven, who was diagnosed with brain cancer and passed away at the age of 76.

Since this man and his work affected many of us and was tied to me personally and what I do here at The Bits, I felt compelled to share my bit of history with Wes Craven and maybe get across more firmly why he was such an influence on all of us. [Read on here...]

Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep...

A Nightmare on Elm Street was first released in 1984 by New Line Cinema, being written and directed by Wes Craven.  Since its inception, it has spawned seven sequels, a TV series and a remake of the original film.  It has also managed to invoke more fandom and fanaticism than any other horror franchise in history.

As an extremely avid movie geek, I too have been a part of that fandom since I was an eight year old just getting into movies.  I owned all of the films on VHS and bought all of the magazines, posters, comics and soundtracks that I could get my hands on.  Like most people, I also had the obligatory Halloween costume: the hat, sweater and glove combination.  I even went so far as trying to build my own Freddy glove out of soda cans, steak knives and work gloves.  I was later amused to find out that I wasn’t the only one doing these things.  People from all over the world have been constructing Freddy gloves in their basements and garages and selling them over the internet for many years.  There haven’t been too many film franchises that have driven people to this seemingly maniacal and obsessive behavior, and that level of fandom shouldn’t be taken for granted.  [Read on here...]