Okay... afternoon, folks! Let's have a release news update, shall we?

First up, Sony has announced the Blu-ray Disc release of Roland Emmerich's Godzilla on 11/2 (SRP $28.95). Extras will include a visual effects commentary, 2 featurettes (All Time Best of Godzilla Fight Scenes and Behind the Scenes of Godzilla with Charles Caiman), the movieIQ and The Ultimate Godzilla Trivia Game interactive options, and The Wallflowers' Heroes music video.

Sony has also set Sugar for DVD and Blu-ray release on 9/1 (SRP $28.96 and $39.95).

Meanwhile, Universal has announced State of Play for release DVD and Blu-ray on 7/21 (SRP $29.98 and $39.98). DVD extras will include deleted scenes and The Making of State of Play featurette. The Blu-ray version will add the U-Control Picture-in-Picture and Washington, D.C. Locations features, as well as BD-Live options.

Other recent Blu-ray announcements by Universal include 12 Monkeys, Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series, Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 and Fast & Furious (and singles of the previous Fast and Furious BDs) on 7/28, Half-Baked on 8/4, Last House on the Left and The Last Starflighter: 25th Anniversary Edition on 8/18, Duplicity and Fighting on 8/25, Heroes: Season 3 and Bring It On: Fight to the Finish on 9/1 and The Office: Season Five on 9/8.

Warner Home Video has confirmed that The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen will be released on Blu-ray Disc on 9/8 (the title is already available on DVD).

Speaking of Warner, two things: First, the cover for the new 300: The Complete Experience Blu-ray is absolutely spectacular looking. It's embossed with metallic bronze and it's just gorgeous. We'll be reviewing it in the next few days so be sure to watch for it. Also, there's an insert included in the 300 package that confirms what we already knew: the theatrical editions of The Lord of the Rings films will street in a 3-disc box set on 11/3 from New Line (via Warner). Very cool.

Other new DVD and Blu-ray announcements from Warner include NFL: Green Bay Packers Heroes on 9/22, The Wiggles Big Big Show! and Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (on single-disc DVD, Special Edition DVD and Blu-ray) on 9/29, NFL: A Tradition of Defense - The Chicago Bears and Red Dwarf: Back to Earth (BBC - DVD and Blu-ray) on 10/6, Jim Jefferies: I Swear to God and Cartoon Network's Bakugan Volume 5: The Game is Real on 10/13, Bleach: Volume 21 on 10/20 and a new March of the Penguins gift box, Cartoon Network's Secret Saturdays: Volume Two, Death Note Re-light #2: L's Successor, Naruto Shippuden: Volume 2 and Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl Battle Dimension Volumes 5 and 6 on 10/27.

Also today, CBS and Paramount have announced that the already available Star Trek: The Original Series - Season One Blu-ray will soon be upgraded with new extras via BD-Live. Available this week to those who own the title on Blu-ray (and have BD-Live ready players) will be a new video roundtable discussion with special effects producers Mike and Denise Okuda, Dave Rossi and Neil Wray, as well as David Gerrold, "Tribble" inventor and writer of the fan-favorite Trouble with Tribbles episode. You can also expect there to be previews and announcements related to the forthcoming BD release of Star Trek: The Original Series - Season Two (tentatively due on 9/22). Be sure to check it all out!

In other news, some of you may be familiar with FEARnet, which offers on-demand horror films online and via various cable VOD services (its co-owned by Sony and Lionsgate). Recently, FEARnet was dropped from Time Warner Cable, and there's an online effort to get it back on the official Facebook page. So if you're interested, head on over there and type in your John Hancock.

Around here at The Bits today, we're sending out a LAST CALL for orders for our new Comic-Con 2009 T-shirt in EXTENDED SIZES, as they have to be special ordered from the printer. So if you want one in 2XL up through 5XL, click here to get your order in fast.

Finally today, we want to take a moment to note the passing of actor Harve Presnell on Tuesday. Harve appeared in many films and TV series over the years, including the likes of Saving Private Ryan, Annie and Dawson's Creek, but you might know him best for his role as William H. Macy's father-in-law in Fargo. He was 75. "Watcha doing, Dad?" "Watchin' the Gophers..."

We'll leave you today with some new cover art. Here's a look at the Blu-ray covers for Universal's 12 Monkeys, State of Play and The Office: Season Five, Indican's The Wonder of it All (due 9/8 according to Indican, though Amazon says 9/15) and Fox's Lie to Me: Season Five (8/25), as well as Warner's The Hills Run Red on DVD (9/29)...





Stay tuned...

7/1/09

This is just a quick update to let you all know that Barrie's new Classic Coming Attractions column is NOW live at long last! This time around, Barrie updates you all on the latest with the Warner Archive Program, runs down the latest classic DVD and Blu-ray release news, and updates his classic and western database listings too. He also reviews some 18 new classic and western DVD releases, including Flicker Alley's Under Full Sail: Silent Cinema on the High Seas, Universal's Pre-Code Hollywood Collection and Cleopatra: 75th Anniversary Edition, MGM's The King and Four Queens, Doc, Time Limit and Northwest Frontier, Paramount's El Dorado and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Centennial Collection editions, Fox's Man Hunt, E1 Entertainment's The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, Warner's TCM Spotlight Doris Day Collection and The Charles Bronson Collection (Telefon/St.Ives), Sony's Nickelodeon/The Last Picture Show and The Three Stooges Collection: Volume Six - 1949-1951, VCI's British Cinema: Renown Pictures - Literary Classics Collection and Darn Good Westerns: Volume 1 and Criterion's The Friends of Eddie Coyle. Enjoy and thanks for your patience in the wait for this one!

Also today, we want to take a moment to recognize the passing of veteran Hollywood actor Karl Malden today. Malden won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role opposite Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire, and appeared in such other classics as On the Waterfront, Patton, Gypsy, How the West Was Won, Hotel, Birdman of Alcatraz, Pollyanna, Bombers B-52, 1957's Time Limit (reviewed by Barrie in his new column), Fear Strikes Out, Nevada Smith, TV's The Streets of San Francisco and many, many more. He was 97.

We'll have our regular news update early tomorrow morning. Stay tuned...

Bill Hunt, Editor
The Digital Bits
billhunt@thedigitalbits.com