My Two Cents
We’re rounding things up this week with more new disc reviews, a little bit more new announcement news, and some potentially very significant Disney news. The reviews first...
Stuart has weighed in today on three recent Blu-ray titles, starting with Kino Lorber Studio Classics’ François Truffaut Collection, which includes The Wild Child (1970), Small Change (1976), The Man Who Loved Women (1977), and The Green Room (1978). He’s also checked out a pair of Dwayne Buckle documentaries, including The First VCR and Cassettes Go Hi-Fi from the folks at Vinegar Syndrome. And he’s reviewed the classic BBC series Maigret: Season 1 from Network and Kino Classics.
Also today, Stephen has taken a look at Buzz Kulik’s Sergeant Ryker (1963) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Jeff Wamester’s animated DC Universe Movie Legion of Super-Heroes in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
And Dennis has checked in with a review of Jack Fessenden’s Foxhole (2021) on Blu-ray from Yellow Veil Pictures. [Read on here...]
We’ve got a bunch more great announcement news for you this afternoon, along with new disc reviews as always. So let’s start with the latter first...
Stuart has posted his take on Paolo Heusch and Brunello Rondi’s A Violent Life (1962) on Blu-ray from Raro Video.
Stephen has offered his thoughts on Stuart Gordon’s From Beyond (1986) in 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome.
And Tim has gone way down the rabbit hole with Turbine Media’s fantastic new Knight Rider: The Complete Series – 40th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray box set, a whopping 23-disc release that includes all four seasons of the original Knight Rider with (for the first time ever on home video) all of the original music re-instated. You also get Knight Rider 2000, Knight Rider 2010, and Team Knight Rider: The Complete Series, as well as a bonus disc with legacy extras and new material. This is truly the ultimate collection for fans of the film, and the best part is that it’s an ALL-REGION release. But it’s only available directly from Turbine’s online shop, so act fast if you want it. And don’t miss Tim’s review!
Now then, the big announcement news today is something I’ve personally been lobbying the studio for behind the scenes for well over a decade. And I am absolutely thrilled to see that it’s finally happened: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has officially set Max Fleischer’s Superman 1941-1943 for Blu-ray and Digital HD release on 5/16! [Read on here...]
We have some major release news to report today, but first we’ve got more new disc reviews...
Stephen has delivered his thoughts on Walter Hill’s Streets of Fire (1984) in 4K Ultra HD from Shout! Factory. As fans will no doubt already know, this one is a real cult cinema gem, and it sounds like the 4K release is pretty fantastic, including terrific video and audio quality, as well as a great new feature-length documentary on the making of the film by Daniel Griffith’s Ballyhoo Motion Pictures. Don’t miss it.
Stuart has taken a look at Anthony Mann’s El Cid (1961) which is now available in a new Japanese-import Blu-ray release from Happinet.
And finally, Dennis has offered his take on Julien Duvivier’s Flesh and Fantasy (1943) on Blu-ray from Universal Pictures via Vinegar Syndrome.
As always, more reviews are forthcoming, so be sure to keep on the lookout for them.
Now then, the big release news today is big indeed: Disney and 20th Century Studios have just officially announced the 4K Digital release of James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water on 3/28. This will include Dolby Atmos audio and over three hours worth of bonus features (more on that in a minute). Studio sources have also reached out to us to confirm that the physical Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release is forthcoming and will be announced at a later date. It simply appears that the studio intends to squeeze every possible dime out of this film at every level of distribution. [Read on here...]
We’re tracking a bunch of things today here at The Bits, so let me just give you a quick rundown.
First of all, Shudder and RLJE Films have set Rebekah McKendry’s Glorious for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 3/14.
For you UK readers, Eureka is releasing a new Masters of Cinema Blu-ray edition on May 22nd... Andrzej Żuławski: Three Films. Żuławski was a Polish filmmaker with a reputation as maverick. The three titles will include his debut film, The Third Part of the Night (1971), The Devil (1972), which was banned for 16 years in Poland, and the unfinished science fiction On the Silver Globe (1988), which the Polish government actually ordered destroyed, but the negatives survived and the film finally premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1988. Having all three of these preserved and released on Blu-ray is a minor miracle, so this should be a fantastic box set.
Meanwhile, 88 Films has revealed three more Italian deep catalog 4K Ultra HD titles for release in the months ahead, including Antonio Margheriti’s The Ark of the Sun God (1984) on 3/10, followed by Andrea Bianchi’s Burial Ground (1981) on 5/29, and Marino Girolami’s Zombie Holocaust (1980) on 6/26. [Read on here...]
All right, we’ve been waiting for Warner Bros. Home Entertainment to make their official announcement of this release, and now they finally have. Here’s the studio’s press release...
CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF WARNER BROS. WITH ONE OF FILM’S MOST ICONIC CHARACTERS – SUPERMAN
SUPERMAN 1978–1987 5-FILM COLLECTION FEATURING
SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE, SUPERMAN II, SUPERMAN II: THE RICHARD DONNER CUT, SUPERMAN III, AND SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME AS A REMASTERED COLLECTION IN 4K RESOLUTION WITH HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR)
PURCHASE THE COLLECTION ON 4K ULTRA HD COMBO PACK AND DIGITALLY ON APRIL 18
Burbank, Calif., March 1, 2023 – As part of the year-long centennial celebration for the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros. Studio, five films featuring the iconic DC Super Hero Superman – Superman: The Movie, Superman II, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, Superman III, and Superman IV – will be available for purchase in a five-film collection on 4K Ultra HD Disc and Digital on April 18. [Read on here...]