Displaying items by tag: My Two Cents

Cheers, Bits readers!

We’ve got one last My Two Cents update for you this week with some great new disc reviews, as well as some great new Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release news. Let’s hit those reviews first…

I’ve just updated our dear late friend Barrie Maxwell’s review of William Wyler’s Ben-Hur (1959) to cover Warner’s stunning new 4K Ultra HD restoration of the film, which streets next week. It’s truly one of the great classic film presentations we’ve seen on this format to date, and certainly not to be missed.

Dennis and Tim have checked in with thoughts on a pair of Agatha Christie film adaptations in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, including John Guillerman’s Death on the Nile (1978) and Guy Hamilton’s The Mirror Crack’d (1980).

Dennis has also reviewed Michael Winner’s The Mechanic (1972) and Antonia Bird’s Priest (1994) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics and Imprint, respectively.

Tim has posted his own reviews of Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer’s Dead of Night (1945) anthology on Blu-ray from KLSC as well as Chor Yuen’s The Jade Tiger (1977) from Arrow’s Shawscope: Volume 3 Blu-ray box.

Stephen has reviewed Emma Seligman’s Bottoms (2023) on Blu-ray from KLSC.

And Stuart has taken a look at Hideo Gosha’s Gate of Flesh (1988) on Blu-ray from Toei via 88 Films.

We have lots more great 4K reviews cooking for next week as well, believe me.

Also here at The Bits today, we’ve posted an update of our Release Dates & Artwork section featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork with Amazon pre-order links. As always, whenever you order anything after clicking to Amazon though one of our links (like this one) you’re helping to support our work here at the site and we appreciate it!

Now then, first things first: Our retail and industry sources have informed us that Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment’s much anticipated 4K Ultra HD release of the Wachowski’s Speed Racer (2008) should street on or about 5/19. So adjust your plans accordingly. Go Speed Go!

Of course, the big news today is that our friends at the Criterion Collection have just unveiled their May slate of Blu-ray and 4K titles. And any slate that includes more Kurosawa in 4K UHD is a good one. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a bunch of new disc reviews to share with you today here at The Bits, including…

My tag-team review (with Tim Salmons) of John Boorman’s Arthurian epic Excalibur (1981) in a long-awaited 4K Ultra HD release from Arrow Video.

Stephen’s thoughts on Jonathan Demme’s Married to the Mob (1988), Rachel Talalay’s Tank Girl (1995), and Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue (1997) each in 4K Ultra HD, from Cinématographe via Vinegar Syndrome, Vinegar Syndrome, and GKIDS via Shout! Studios, respectively.

Dennis’ look at Blake Edwards’ The Pink Panther (1963) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And finally it’s back to Tim again for his thoughts on Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker’s Top Secret! (1984) in 4K UHD from Paramount.

More reviews are coming this week, so definitely be sure to check back for them.

Now then… we’ve got a bunch of great announcement news to cover here today as well!

We’ll start with official word that Lionsgate is distributing Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair widely on Digital next week, on 2/17. In fact, you can find it available for pre-order on Apple TV right now. We’re told the Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD physical release is coming later this year from Lionsgate.

A24 has just announced that Josh Safdie’s Best Picture-nominated film Marty Supreme (2025) is coming soon to Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a few more great new Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release announcements for you here today to close out the week…

First up, we’ve confirmed that Lionsgate will be dropping both Ric Roman Waugh’s Greenland (2020) and Greenland 2: Migration (2026) in 4K Ultra HD on 3/31. The Greenland 4K release is a US first, and of course the sequel will also be released on Blu-ray.

Imprint Films has announced three new Limited Edition Blu-ray box sets for release in April, including Essential Film Noir: Collection 6—with Naked Alibi (1954), Ring of Fear (1954), Hell’s Island (1955), and Flame of the Islands (1956)—Tales of Adventure Collection 10—featuring The Magic Carpet (1951), Sudan (1945), Salome (1953), The Sword of Ali Baba (1965), and the bonus film 1001 Arabian Nights (1959)—and Tales of the Wild West Collection 2—with 5 Card Stud (1968), Will Penny (1968), Something Big (1971), The Revengers (1972), and Posse (1975). The street date for all three is 4/29, and they’re limited to 1500 copies each.

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has set the Abbott and Costello film Hold That Ghost (1941) for release on 4K Ultra HD on 3/28.

Also coming from KLSC in 4K UHD for their Kino Cult label is Paul Harrison’s The House of Seven Corpses (1973). This is in conjunction with Dark Force Entertainment. Look for that on 4/21.

Speaking of which, the other day we mentioned Deaf Crocodile’s 4/21 release of Marcell Jankovics’ Song of the Miraculous Hind (2002) on Blu-ray—it’s actually a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray release, which is even better! [Read on here...]

We have a little bit more 4K and Blu-ray release news for you today…

Lionsgate is going to be re-issuing Ric Roman Waugh’s Greenland (2020) on Blu-ray and—for the first time in the States—releasing the film on 4K Ultra HD as well on 3/31. The film was previously available on Blu-ray, but the 4K was only available from Leonine in Germany.

This is obviously tied to the forthcoming Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K UHD release of the sequel, Greenland 2: Migration (2026) from Lionsgate. The street date for that is TBA, but it would be a reasonable guess to assume that it could also be on 3/31 or shortly thereafter.

In other news today, Arrow Video is teasing another volume of their Enter the Video Store Blu-ray box set on social media today. Very nice.

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has set John Guillermin’s House of Cards (1969) for Blu-ray release on 4/21. They’ve also just revealed Louis Feuillade’s 12-chapter film serial Tin Minh (1918) for Blu-ray release on 4/14.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is preparing to release Greg Harrison’s Groove (2000) in 4K Ultra HD on 3/24 for Sony Classics. [Read on here...]

Welcome, disc fans, to a new week and the start of a new month!

We’ve got some good 4K Ultra HD release news to share with you today.

First up, Universal and Focus Films have set Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet (2025) for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 3/3.

Our friends at Vinegar Syndrome are now taking orders for Emmett Alston’s Demonwarp (1988), Tonino Ricci’s Bakterion (1982, aka Panic), Uli Edel’s Body of Evidence (1993) (starring Madonna and Willem Dafoe), and Martin Scorsese’s Boxcar Bertha (1972) in 4K.

These are all in stock and now shipping.

Shout! Studios has set a 4K Steelbook edition of Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter (1978) for release on 4/7, followed by similar editions of Kerry Conran’s Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) and John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars (2001) and Prince of Darkness (1987) for 4/21.

The company also has another HK Cinema Classics title— Lau Kar-leung’s Tiger on the Beat I & II (1988-1990)—coming to 4K UHD + Blu-ray on 4/28.

And I’ve confirmed with industry sources that Shout is also working on 4K Ultra HD releases of George Romero’s Day of the Dead (1985) and Joe Dante’s The ‘Burbs (1989). Street dates are TBA for later this year. [Read on here...]

We’re closing out the week with more news and several more new disc reviews from the whole Bits team as well.

We’ll start with the latter, which today include…

Tim’s reviews of Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, and Robert Hamer’s Dead of Night (1945) and Guy Hamilton’s Evil Under the Sun (1982) both in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Stuart’s review of Stelvio Massi’s The 44. Specialist (1976) on Blu-ray from Raro Video and Kino Lorber.

My review of Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale: 25th Anniversary Edition (2000) in 4K Steelbook from Lionsgate Limited.

Dennis’ look at Blake Edwards’ newly-remastered The Pink Panther (1963) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And we’ll round things out with Stephen’s thoughts on Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia (2025) in 4K UHD from Universal. Enjoy!

Now then… in news today, the big revelation is that our friends at Arrow Video have announced their complete April Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release slate. [Read on here...]

We have several new disc reviews for you here at The Bits today, including…

Tim’s look at John Hough’s Twins of Evil (1971) in 4K Ultra HD from Imprint Films and Via Vision, as well as his review of the final film in Criterion’s The Wes Anderson Archive in 4K Ultra HD, specifically The French Dispatch (2021).

Dennis’ review of Michael Stasko’s Vampire Zombies… from Space! (2024) on Blu-ray from MVD and Cleopatra Entertainment).

Stephen’s thoughts on John Carpenter’s Vampires (1998) in 4K Ultra HD from Via Vision Entertainment.

And finally, Stuart’s take on the Columbia Noir #7: Made in Britain Blu-ray box set from Indicator, which includes A Prize of Gold (1955), The Last Man to Hang (1956), Wicked as They Come (1956), Spin a Dark Web (1956), The Long Haul (1957), and Fortune Is a Woman (1957).

More reviews are forthcoming, so be sure to check back for them.

Also, before we get to the news today, we’ve just posted our latest update of our Release Dates & Artwork section featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover art and Amazon pre-order links. As always, whenever you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking through one of our links (like this one), you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really appreciate it! [Read on here...]

All right… we hope you guys all had a good weekend, inclement weather and other current events aside.

As you might expect, we have a few new disc reviews for you to enjoy today…

First, Stephen has taken a look at Tobe Hooper’s Lifeforce (1985) in 4K Ultra HD from Imprint Films.

Tim has offered his thoughts on Mark A.Z. Dippé’s Spawn (1997) in 4K from Arrow Video.

And Stuart has shared his take on Vincente Minnelli’s The Cobweb (1955) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

More reviews are definitely forthcoming, so be sure to keep checking back all week.

Now then, we’ve got a couple news items that need to be covered today, but we’re going to start with a new Disney announcement…

Walt Disney Home Entertainment has officially set the CG-animated Zootopia 2 (2025) for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 3/3, with the Digital release expected tomorrow on 1/27. [Read on here...]

All right, this is just a quick release news update before the weekend. But we’ve got some good stuff for you…

To start, we have great news on a title I first revealed to all of you on New Year’s Eve: The Wachowski’s Speed Racer (2008)! And the update is that pre-orders are starting to appear online (on Amazon UK and Zavvi so far, but I expect the US pre-orders on Amazon and Gruv to appear soon as well) for the 4K Ultra HD and 4K Steelbook release!

The street date is TBA, but my sources say it’s likely Q2, so I would guess you can look for it to arrive sometime in April or May.

We don’t have A/V specs yet, but I’m hoping for a 100GB disc, and both Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio.

Each edition will be a 2-disc set, including the film on 4K disc and Blu-ray—probably the previous international BD SKU, as the BD disc includes the same featurettes released internationally, which include 4 featurettes: Spritle in the Big Leagues (15 mins), Speed Racer: Supercharged! (16 mins), Speed Racer: Car-Fu Cinema (27 mins), and Speed Racer: Ramping Up! (10 mins, which was not included on the US Blu-ray).

The 4K disc will also include a featurette: Wonderful World of Racing: The Amazing Racer Family (31 mins), which was previously a Target exclusive feature in the US.

And apparently the Steelbook will include a slipcase, a 32-page book (The World of Speed Racer), a pair of mini theatrical posters, plus a Mach 5 art and 6 character cards. We’ll share the final cover artwork, as well as official specs and the street date, as soon as it comes in. [Read on here...]

Good afternoon, Bits readers!

We’ve got some good release news for you today, so let’s get right into it…

The big news today is that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has just set the Netflix original series Cobra Kai: The Complete Series on Blu-ray on 3/3!

Note that Season 6 will also be available separately on DVD that same day.

The 13-disc set will include all six seasons—65 episodes—in HD, with the same extras currently available on DVD.

However, the Blu-rays will include a pair of new audio commentaries with series creators Josh Herald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg on the pilot episode and the finale.

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