Displaying items by tag: Oliver Stone

All right, we have a few great new disc reviews up for your reading enjoyment today, including…

Stephen’s thoughts on John Carpenter’s Dark Star (1974) in 4K Ultra HD from Fabulous Films.

Dennis’ thoughts on Peter Brook’s The Beggar’s Opera (1953) and Anatole Litvak’s Out of the Fog (1941) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection, as well as Universal’s new Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Legacy Collection box set on DVD.

Stuart’s review of Daniel Taradash’s Storm Center (1956) on Blu-ray from Indicator.

And finally, Tim has begun reviewing the films in Criterion’s new The Wes Anderson Archive 4K Ultra HD box set, starting with Bottle Rocket (1996)!

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

All right, in terms of release news, call this tentative at the moment but at least it’s filmmaker confirmed: Director Oliver Stone has announced on his Facebook page that a new 4K remaster of Platoon (1986) is on the way (possibly from Shout! Factory). You can see his post here. Thanks to the many Bits readers who sent that info. [Read on here...]

We have three new reviews for you to enjoy today…

Stephen’s look at Michael Mann’s Thief (1981) in 4K UHD from Arrow Video in the UK.

And Stuart’s thoughts on Valerio Zurlini’s Girl with a Suitcase (1961) on Blu-ray from Radiance Films, as well as Yasuzô Masumura’s Play It Cool (1970) on Blu-ray from Arrow Video.

More reviews are forthcoming in the days ahead, so be sure to keep checking back for them.

All right, in announcements today, the big news is something we broke on Saturday: Disney has officially set Steven Lisberger’s TRON (1980) and Joseph Kosinski’s TRON: Legacy (2010) for 4K Ultra HD Steelbook release on 9/16. Both gave been carefully remastered under the filmmakers’ supervision by The Walt Disney Film Restoration team to include Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. Our sources are telling us that some of the early “de-aging” VFX in the latter film have been redone to modern standards. [Read on here...]

All right, my hand has recovered enough that I’m at least functional today, so let’s get right into today’s update. First though, a few more new disc reviews…

Stephen has reviewed Albert Brooks’ Real Life (1979) in 4K Ultra HD from Criterion.

Dennis has shared his thoughts on John Farrow’s His Kind of Woman (1951) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stuart has offered his take on Frank Borzage’s Three Comrades (1938), also on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Watch for more reviews all this week.

Note that we’ve also updated our Release Dates & Artwork section with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon 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 do appreciate it!

Now then, the big announcement news today is that Universal has just officially set Gareth Edwards’ Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025) for release on Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD, and 4K Steelbook on 9/9, with the Digital version available as of today. The 4K will be a 100GB disc featuring Dolby Vision and HDR10 with Dolby Atmos audio. [Read on here...]

The new week is here, and so we’ve got three new disc reviews to share with you today accordingly...

Stuart’s look at Ken Loach’s Family Life (1971) on Blu-ray from Indicator.

Dennis’ thoughts on Predrag Antonijević’s Savior (1998) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.

And Tim’s take on another title from Arrow’s Shawscope: Volume Two Blu-ray box set, this time Lau Kar-leung’s Mad Monkey Kung Fu (1979)!

In announcement news today, Shout! Factory has begun to reveal its August slate of titles, which is set to include the Shaw Brothers Classics: Volume Seven Blu-ray box set on 8/5, which features the films The Imperial Tomb Raiders (1973), Legend of the Bat (1978), The Shadow Boxed (1975), The Spiritual Boxer (1975), Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre (1978), Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre 2 (1978), Seven Shaolin Hand Lock (1978), Swordsman and Enchantress (1978), The Proud Twins (1979), A Deadly Secret (1980), and Heroes Shed no Tears (1980). [Read on here...]

We’ve got four new disc reviews for you to enjoy today, including…

Dennis’ look at Frank Wisbar’s Lighthouse (1947) on Blu-ray from Film Masters.

Stuart’s take on James Goldstone’s Swashbuckler (1976) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.

And last but not least, Stephen’s in-depth thoughts on Clint Eastwood’s The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) in both 4K Ultra HD and 4K Steelbook from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment.

More reviews are forthcoming, so be sure to stay tuned for them.

Also here at The Bits today, we’ve just updated our Release Dates & Artwork section with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover art and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, anytime 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 site and we really appreciated it! [Read on here...]

Heads up, Bits! We’ve got some very great and long-awaited catalog 4K release news for you this morning.

But first, we also have a few more new disc reviews to share with you...

I’ve just posted my thoughts on Ahsoka: The Complete First Season in 4K Ultra HD Steelbook format from Lucasfilm, which (like all of the latest wave of Disney+ titles, now includes Dolby Vision HDR). And yesterday, I reviewed Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar (2014) in a new 10th Anniversary Limited Edition 4K box set release from Paramount.

Sam has shared his take on Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July (1989) in a new Shout Select Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD release from Shout! Factory.

Dennis has reviewed James Ivory’s Roseland (1977) on Blu-ray from the Cohen Film Collection via Kino Lorber.

And yesterday, Tim posted his look at Arrow’s When Titans Ruled the Earth box set, which includes Louis Letterier’s Clash of the Titans (2010) and Jonathan Liebesman’s Wrath of the Titans (2012) in 4K UHD, as well as Kino Lorber Studio Classics’ Monk: Season Four on Blu-ray.

Watching for more reviews each day the rest of the week. And you Marvel fans should know that yes, we are working on a Loki: Season Two 4K review as well. So be sure to stay tuned for that. [Read on here...]

Boy, we’ve got a bunch of new catalog title announcements for you today, along with a TON of new Blu-ray and 4K cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. But first, we have a few more new disc reviews...

Tim has taken a look at the new animated double-feature of Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan’s The Addams Family (2019) and The Addams Family 2 (2021) in 4K Ultra HD from Shout! Studios.

And Dennis has offered his thoughts on Frank Borzage’s The Shining Hour (1938) and King Vidor’s Northwest Passage (1940) both on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Now then, let’s dive right into those announcements...

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has just revealed that Sidney Hayers’ Circus of Horrors (1960) is coming to 4K Ultra HD on 10/29, but with an SDR only grade (probably due to limitations with the original camera negative).

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment and HBO have set Veep: The Complete Series for release on Blu-ray on 10/22, in a new 13-disc set. This follows closely in the wake of Warner’s newly-announced release of The West Wing: The Complete Series in a new 28-disc Blu-ray set on 10/1. Both are obviously timed to the upcoming Presidential Election here in the States. They’re now available on Amazon.com and you can see the cover artwork below the break (click on each to visit the pre-order pages). [Read on here...]

Boy, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover here at The Bits over the next few days! It’s been very busy here around the office these past several days. For one thing, my wife and I have had family staying with us for the weekend. I’ve also finally replaced my defunct Epson 5040UB home theater projector here at The Bits with a brand new JVC DLA-RS1100/NP5, and have spent time installing and calibrating it. (I’ll definitely have more to say about that later this week, though I’ll just note for now that I’m very pleased with the choice.)

But I would like to take this opportunity to thank my good friends John Schuermann (of The Screening Room AV, the fantastic home theater design and equipment retailer well known for their annual Projector Shootouts) and Kris Deering (the outstanding ISF calibrator, formerly of Sound and Vision magazine as well as his own Deep Dive AV) for their help and advice in selecting the RS1100 and getting it up and running. (Your counsel is very much appreciated, my friends!) If you’re ever in the market for home theater hardware or calibration, there’s no better place to start.

Needless to say, while I’ve been occupied with all that, our dedicated team here at The Bits has posted a number of great new disc reviews. So let’s quickly run them all down...

First of all, Stuart has offered his thoughts on Anthony Mann’s A Dandy in Sapic (1968) and Abraham Polonsky’s Force of Evil (1948) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Suzanna Raes’ documentary Close to Vermeer (2023) on DVD from Kino Lorber.

Dennis has shared his thoughts on Peter Hall’s Three Into Two Won’t Go (1969) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Luis Valdez’s La Bamba (1987) on Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.

Stephen has delivered his reviews of Jean Renoir’s legendary classic The Rules of the Game (1939) in 4K Ultra HD from Criterion, along with Jiří Barta’s The Pied Piper (1986) on Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile (via Vinegar Syndrome), and Ulli Lommel’s The Boogey Man (1980) in 4K UHD from Vinegar Syndrome.

And finally, our hard-working reviews editor Tim Salmons has posted his own take on David Lynch’s Lost Highway (1997) in 4K Ultra HD, also from Criterion.

As always, more new disc reviews are forthcoming all week, so be sure to check back for them.

All right… now let’s move on to the latest release news. And there’s quite a lot of it today. In fact, it’s fair to say that it’s going to be a very expensive Q4 for fans of Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD! [Read on here...]

We’ve got a couple quick updates for you over the long Labor Day weekend here at The Bits...

The big one is that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has just set David Anspaugh’s Rudy (1993) for release on 4K Ultra HD on 11/11, complete with both the 114-minute Theatrical Cut and a new 127-minute Director’s Cut in 4K, with Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. Both are fully restored from original camera negative and the process was approved by the director. The 4K disc also includes English 5.1 DTS-HD MA for both versions, plus 2.0 audio for the Theatrical Cut. You also get a new commentary with Anspaugh and screenwriter Angelo Pizzo on the Director’s Cut, 5 additional deleted scenes, and the film’s trailer.

The package will also include the previous Blu-ray that offers 5.1 audio and 3 legacy featurettes (Rudy: The Real Story, Production, and First Down with Sean Astin). It comes in Steelbook packaging. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below the break.

Also today, Mondo Macabro and CAV have set Stephen Sayadian’s Dr. Caligari (1989) for release on 4K Ultra HD on 11/14, featuring both full frame and 1.85 theatrical versions, an isolated music and effects track, audio commentary with the director, and several interview featurettes. Audio will be 2.0 DTS-HD MA. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a bunch more great new 4K Ultra HD catalog news to report today, and more new disc reviews as well...

As expected, I posted my review of producer Glen A. Larson’s original Battlestar Galactica (1978) in 4K Ultra HD from Universal late last night, and it’s a pretty detailed look at the film and its history.

Also today, Tim has gone in-depth on Martin Scorsese’s Hugo (2011), which is now available in a terrific new 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray 3D package from the good people of Arrow Video.

Dennis has checked in today as well with a look at Robert Wise’s Helen of Troy (1956) on Blu-ray from the always excellent Warner Archive Collection.

And Stuart rounds things out this afternoon with his thoughts on Marcel Ophul’s fascinating documentary on the Nazi occupation of France during World War II, The Sorrow and the Pity (1969) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

Back to Arrow briefly: The company has just revealed on their social media feed that—in response to customer requests—they’re going to be including Michael Mann’s excellent Blackhat: Director’s Cut on Blu-ray in their forthcoming 4K UHD and Blu-ray packages! Thus the street date is going to be pushed back from 10/31 to 11/28. But the Director’s Cut—which has never been released on home video—is significantly different that the other two cuts of the film already being included on the release, so this is a terrific and welcome addition. Tip of the hat to Arrow for going the extra mile on this one. [Read on here...]