My Two Cents
Afternoon, Bits readers!
As some of you might recall, several weeks ago here at the site we mentioned that Lionsgate was going to be bringing Christopher Cain’s ever-popular western Young Guns (1988) to the 4K Ultra HD format on 12/5.
Well... low and behold, the studio has now officially announced it!
So here are all the confirmed details, including the complete disc A/V specs as well as a list of the special features that you’ll find in the package.
Note that you will also find both the wide release 4K UHD cover artwork, and your first look at the Best Buy-exclusive 4K UHD Steelbook art, below the break.
Timed to celebrate the 35th anniversary of this iconic modern western, Young Guns will be released in a wide 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital edition—as well as a Best Buy-exclusive 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Steelbook—on December 5th by Lionsgate. The Steelbook edition will feature original artwork by graphic designer and illustrator Grzegorz Domaradzki.
This is the first time the film will be available in 4K, with a brand-new 1.85:1 transfer featuring Dolby Vision HDR. Included will be a new Dolby Atmos audio mix, as well the original 2.0 stereo original theatrical mix. Additionally, this is the first time the film will be available on Digital. Note that the Blu-ray in the package also includes the remastered presentation. [Read on here...]
We’ve got another big title announcement for you here at The Bits today, as well as more new disc reviews. So let’s get to the latter first...
Tim has posted his thoughts on Kevin Reynolds’ The Beast (1988) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Brian Tenchard-Smith’s Day of the Panther (1988)/Strike of the Panther (1989) double feature from Umbrella Entertainment (via Vinegar Syndrome).
Dennis has shared his take on Jack Conway’s Saratoga (1937) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.
And Stuart has offered his reviews of Russell Rouse’s The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) and Joseph Losey’s The Boy with Green Hair (1948) on Blu-ray from Warner Archive, along with Kino Lorber Studio Classic’s excellent Anna May Wong Collection, a Blu-ray box set that includes the films Dangerous to Know (1938), Island of Lost Men (1939), and King of Chinatown (1939). Enjoy!
Now then, the big piece of announcement news this afternoon is that Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has just officially set Andrew Davis’ The Fugitive (1993) for 4K Ultra HD and Digital release on 11/21. The 4K disc will include HDR10 high dynamic range, as well as a new Dolby Atmos sound mix. [Read on here...]
The big release news today, of course, is that Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie on 10/17. The Digital version is already available. Now the highest-grossing film in Warner Bros’ 100-year history (per the studio’s own press release), the 4K will include HDR10 high dynamic range, along with English Dolby Atmos audio (the Blu-ray will include Atmos as well). Both discs will also offer six behind-the-scenes featurettes (including Welcome to Barbie Land, Becoming Barbie, Playing Dress-Up, Musical Make-Believe, All-Star Barbie Party, and It’s a Weird World). You can see the cover artwork at left and also below.
Warner Bros. has also officially set The Nun II for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 11/14, with the Digital version set to become available for purchase today (10/3). Extras will include two featurettes (Demons in Paradise and Handcrafter Nightmares). Audio on both the Blu-ray SKUs will be Dolby Atmos.
And in international release news, our friends at Turbine Medien GmbH in Germany have just set Chris McKay’s Renfield for release on 4K Ultra HD Steelbook in December. [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...]
Morning Bits-ers. We’ve got a quick early post today with some news relevant to James Cameron’s The Abyss.
At a special event last night in LA, Cameron screened a 2K DCP (sourced from the new 4K remaster) of The Abyss: Special Edition as part of the annual Beyond Fest film festival. Word from people who attended was that it looked fantastic.
At the end of the screening, Cameron participated in a Q&A with the audience.
Knowing that this would be happening—and that someone would almost certainly ask about the 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray release—I put out a call on social media yesterday for any readers who might be attending to record the relevant portion of the Q&A for all to see.
And I’m pleased to say that Bits reader Chuck Pennington did just that and has posted it on YouTube. (Thank you, Chuck!) You’ll find it below the break… [Read on here...]