My Two Cents
I hope all of you are having a good and relaxing Saturday afternoon, or are at least enjoying the weekend in your own unique manner.
We’ve got just two quick news items to report for you this afternoon, a quick site update, and another new disc review to share with you. As always, the review comes first...
There are precious few films that—no matter how often you see them—you finish watching and just immediately think, “Well, that’s a masterpiece.” Casablanca is one of them. The film never gets old. It’s one of the all-time classics. There’s a real argument to be made that it’s the single best film produced in the Golden Age of the Hollywood studio system.
Longtime Bits readers will probably remember that our dear friend and Classic Coming Attractions columnist Barrie Maxwell—who passed away in 2012—wrote a terrific review of this film here at The Bits when it first appeared on HD disc in 2007. Barrie’s enthusiasm for the film shines through in every word, so I’ve taken his thoughts on the film and updated them to include my own commentary on the A/V quality and extras on Warner’s new 4K release.
Whether you’ve seen this film a hundred times or never before, it’s an experience that’s not to be missed, and the new 4K disc is certainly the best way to do so. So I hope you enjoy both the review (linked here) and the disc when you get your hands on it this coming week. [Read on here...]
Yes, it’s true!
This is information I first heard from industry insiders about six months ago, but was asked to keep quiet about to allow the work to be completed. But retailers are just now starting to catch wind of it, so I can unofficially confirm it here:
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is planning to release Superman II, Superman III, and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace in 4K Ultra HD in early 2023!
Superman II will include both the original theatrical version and the Richard Donner Cut.
Our sources suggest that—like Superman: The Movie in 4K—all three of these will feature Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Street date is still TBA on these officially, however we’ve been hearing Q2 2023, and Amazon UK has just leaked a 3 April street date for Superman III on their website (click here for that).
Do keep in mind that none of this should be considered 100% kosher and official until the studio makes their actual announcements in the weeks and months ahead. But Superman fans should be very happy around April of next year. [Read on here...]
All right, Halloween is here at long last, so we’ve got the remainder of our new Halloween Bag-o-Tricks disc reviews for you all to enjoy today! Since we last posted here on Friday, we’ve added:
Stephen’s thoughts on Le Binh Giang’s KFC (2016) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome, the Italian-import version of Joe Dante’s The Hole (2009) on Blu-ray from Medusa, Dario Argento’s Dracula 3D on Blu-ray 3D from IFC Midnight, and Simon Nuchtern’s Silent Madness (1984) on Blu-ray 3D from Vinegar Syndrome.
Tim’s take on Francis Ford Coppola’s Dementia 13: Director’s Cut (1963) on Blu-ray from the Vestron Video Collector’s Series, Amando de Ossorio’s Tombs of the Blind Dead (1972) on Blu-ray from Synapse Films, Chris LaMartina’s WNUF Halloween Special (2013) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome, the Universal Horror Collection: Volume 6 on Blu-ray from Scream Factory, The Halloween 4K Collection: 1995-2002 in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory, and Dan O’Bannon’s The Return of the Living Dead (1985) in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory.
Dennis’ look at Sean Donohue’s Blood, Guts and Sunshine: The History of Horror Made in Florida Blu-ray box set from Vinegar Syndrome and Tim Kincaid’s Mutant Hunt (1987) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.
My own review of Jordan Peele’s Nope (2002) in 4K Ultra HD from Universal. [Read on here...]
The final week of October has arrived at last and so we’re celebrating the occasion here at The Digital Bits by kicking off our Halloween Bag-o-Tricks!
Each day all week and through the weekend, leading up to Halloween itself next Monday, we’ll be posting new suspense, horror, thriller, and chiller title reviews—great Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD titles that are perfect for sharing the mood of the season!
The whole Bits review team is pitching in with a mix of titles that includes more recent films, genuinely offbeat selections, and all-time classics as well.
As we progress through the week, we’ll list the available titles here on this page (below the break), and we’ll add new review links every day. So be sure to keep checking back. You can always click on our Halloween Bag-o-Tricks banner on the home page to access all the new entries. [Read on here...]
Today’s news update is a quick one here at The Bits today, but also a very good one for fans of a certain WB catalog film. More on that in a moment. First, we’ve got a bunch of new Halloween Bag-o-Tricks reviews for you to enjoy...
Tim has reviewed Tom Holland’s Fright Night (1985) in 4K Ultra HD from Sony, as well as the Universal Horror Collection: Volume 5 on Blu-ray from Scream Factory, Rouben Mamoulian’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection, the Suspiria: 45th Anniversary Soundtrack – Prog Rock Version on CD from Rustblade Records, and the Gothic Fantastico: Four Italian Tales of Terror box set on Blu-ray from Arrow Video.
And Stephen has chimed in with his thoughts on Shin’ichiro Ueda’s One Cut of the Dead: Hollywood Edition (2017) on Blu-ray from Third Window Films and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s Ready or Not (2019) on Blu-ray from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
We’ll have more Bag-o-Tricks reviews tomorrow, Sunday, and of course Halloween Monday, so be sure to check back for them. [Read on here...]