My Two Cents
All right, we’re working on a bunch things here at the website today, including more reviews, follow-up on upcoming titles from our industry sources, and a big My Two Cents editorial/commentary piece on the current state of the home video industry that I’ll be posting here after the July 4th holiday.
In the meantime though, we do have a few more new disc reviews for you today, including...
Dennis’ thoughts on Harvey Hart’s Bus Riley’s Back in Town (1965) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films and Via Vision.
Stuart’s take on Don Siegel’s Steve McQueen/WWII drama Hell Is for Heroes (1962) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
And Stephen’s look at Steve Jodrell’s Shame (1988) on Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment via Vinegar Syndrome. [Read on here...]
Three more new disc reviews are up on The Bits today, including...
Tim has posted his thoughts on Jeff Burr’s From a Whisper to a Scream (1987) on region-free Blu-ray from the good folks at Turbine Media in Germany.
Dennis has offered his take on Rouben Mamoulian’s Queen Christina (1933) on Blu-ray from our friends at the Warner Archive Collection.
And Stuart has given John Brahm’s Rio (1939) a spin on Blu-ray from Universal via Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
There isn’t a great deal of official news to report today, but we do have breaking news from Disney, which has leaked via Amazon and the Disney Movie Club: The studio will release Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) on 4K Ultra HD on 8/22! [Read on here...]
Today’s new disc reviews here on The Bits include...
Tim’s review of Phil Tucker’s Robot Monster (1953) on Blu-ray 3D from Bayview Entertainment.
Stuart’s in-depth take on the Essential Film Noir: Collection 4 Blu-ray box set from Imprint Films and Via Vision Entertainment, which features The Enforcer (1951), Beware, My Lovely (1952), Jennifer (1953), Rope of Sand (1949), and Appointment with Danger (1950).
And Dennis’ look at Elliott Nugent’s The Great Gatsby (1949) on Blu-ray also from Imprint and Via Vision.
In announcement news today, Lionsgate has set Jalmari Helander’s Sisu for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 7/11, with the Digital release available today. The 4K will be available in a wide-release Amaray SKU and also a Best Buy-exclusive Steelbook. Extras will include a pair of featurettes (Indestructible: Making Sisu and Pushing the Boundaries of Reality: The Visual Effects of Sisu). Audio on both the 4K and Blu-ray will be included in 5.1 Dolby TrueHD format. High dynamic range is likely HDR10 only on the 4K SKUs. [Read on here...]
We’re starting the week here at The Bits with more new disc reviews, including...
Stephen’s take on Charles Laughton’s The Night of the Hunter (1955) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
Dennis’ look at Fritz Lang’s Clash by Night (1952) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.
And Stuart’s thoughts on Dennis Hopper’s Backtrack (aka Catchfire) (1990) on Blu-ray also from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
Be sure to watch for more new reviews from The Bits’ team all this week.
In announcement news today, we have a couple of big items to report. First, Paramount will release Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow (1999) on 4K Ultra HD in both Amaray and Steelbook packaging on 9/5. This is a title we’ve had in our 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits as “coming in 2023” for a few months now. Expect them to include both Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]
We have a few major title announcements to report today...
First up, the big one: Disney and Marvel have officially set James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 8/1, with the Digital release expected on 7/7. You can expect Dolby Atmos audio and HDR10 high dynamic range on the 4K SKU. The Blu-ray Disc will include 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. But here’s the most interesting thing: For the first time, a Disney/Marvel title has included a variable aspect ratio that switches from 2.35 to 1.85! [Editor’s Note: Per studio reps, this replicates not the IMAX presentation but rather the wide-release presentation of the film as seen in some regular, non-IMAX theaters. Just FYI.]
Extras on all SKUs will include 2 featurettes (The Imperfect, Perfect Family and Creating Rocket Raccoon), a gag reel, 8 deleted scenes (A Bit Much, A Lending Hand, Drax’s Analogies and Metaphors, The Perfect Society, The Search for 89P13, Annoyed Peter, A Burning Escape, and Knowhere After the Battle), and audio commentary with James Gunn. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]