My Two Cents
We start with two more new disc reviews today (and there might be one more from me later this evening, but it should certainly be up by tomorrow morning)...
Tim has reviewed Crane Wilbur’s The Bat (1959), which is available in a fine new Blu-ray edition from our friends at The Film Detective.
And Dennis has offered his thoughts on Lynne Littman’s Testament (1983), a post-apocalyptic drama from PBS’ American Playhouse and Paramount Pictures that includes William Devane, Jane Alexander, Kevin Costner, Rebecca De Mornay, and Lukas Haas. That’s new on Blu-ray from the good folks at Imprint Films.
Now then, the big announcement news today is that Disney has just officially set Don Hall and Qui Nguyen’s animated Strange World for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 2/14. Look for the Digital and Disney+ streaming release to happen on 12/23. Audio will be Dolby Atmos on the 4K and DTS-HD MA on Blu-ray, as always. Extras will include 4 featurettes (Anatomy of a Scene: Creating A Strange World, Strange Science, Creature Feature, and The Hidden Secrets of Strange World), outtakes, and 4 deleted scenes (The Ballad of Jaeger Clade, Lightning Lynx, Funerals and Promises, and Ethan and Searcher). You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]
Today’s My Two Cents update begins as always with more new disc reviews...
Tim and I have taken a look at Kino Lorber Studio Classics’ new 4K Ultra HD upgrade of the classic Joseph Sargent heist thriller The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), which stars Robert Shaw and Walter Matthau. Among other things, it’s a great New York City movie and if you’ve ever wondered where director Quentin Tarantino got the idea for his character names in Reservoir Dogs, look no further.
Also today, we’ve gone in-depth on Via Vision’s new Dirty Dancing: Limited Edition Steelbook 4K Ultra HD release, which takes Lionsgate’s already fine remastering work on the title and adds a few more extras via their own exclusive bonus Blu-ray Disc.
And Tim has also reviewed Bob Clark’s Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things: 50th Anniversary Edition in 4K Ultra HD from VCI Entertainment, which includes a new 4K scan and remaster but only Standard Dynamic Range, as well as Nico Mastorakis’s Nightmare at Noon (1988) on Blu-ray from our friends at Arrow Video.
More reviews are on the way tomorrow and beyond, so be sure to watch for them. [Read on here...]
All right, obviously we broken some significant news over the weekend, namely that director James Cameron has confirmed to a French reporter (during the PR push for Avatar: The Way of Water) that The Abyss is finally coming to 4K Ultra HD by March of next year. (See our reporting on this yesterday here at The Bits. The director also mentioned The Abyss in an interview with Space.com last year). So rest assured we’ll post more details as soon as we have them.
In the meantime, we have some more great 4K catalog news to share with you today, as well as new disc reviews. So let’s start with the latter first, as always...
On Friday evening, I posted my in-depth review of Phil Tippett’s stunning stop-motion magnum opus Mad God on limited edition Steelbook Blu-ray from the folks at Shudder. The film is just astonishing. It’s really something—definitely not for all tastes, but boy is it something to see.
I also posted my review of the John Krasinski TV actioner Jack Ryan: Season One in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount. Both that and Season Two are being released in UHD in anticipation of the debut of Season Three on Amazon Prime on 12/21. And the picture quality is stunning.
Tim has also reviewed another Amazon Original on Blu-ray from Paramount, specifically Reacher: Season One which also has tremendous image quality. It’s also available in 4K and soon as we have our hands on that (and Jack Ryan: Season Two in 4K), we’ll post the reviews here.
In addition, Tim has reviewed a pair of new Scream Factory 4K Ultra HD titles, including Brian De Palma’s Carrie (1976) and Bob Clark’s Black Christmas (1974).
And I’m not kidding when I say that we have a lot more Blu-ray and 4K UHD reviews coming over the next week or two, so be sure to check back for them. [Read on here...]
All right, I’m very pleased to break in with a rare weekend My Two Cents post here on The Bits this evening to report some very good news: Director James Cameron has now confirmed the impending 4K Ultra HD release of The Abyss!
The news comes from French journalist Arthur Cios of Konbini, who had the chance to interview the director briefly this weekend about the upcoming theatrical release of Avatar: The Way of Water.
After the formal interview was completed, Cios asked Cameron about The Abyss, who confirmed that he “had a new master and it would be out by March 2023 max.”
You can read Cios’ own comments directly here on Twitter. (And special thanks to Bits reader Stéphane L. for the heads up!) [Read on here...]
All right, we’ve got a bunch of ground to cover today, and the subject for today’s My Two Cents post is what we’re hearing from our industry and retail sources about forthcoming 4K Ultra HD catalog titles expected in the new year. But first, we have a pair of new reviews for you this afternoon...
Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Daniel Man’s 1952 drama Come Back, Little Sheba, which is now available on region-free Blu-ray from the Aussie label Imprint Films. The film stars Burt Lancaster and Shirley Booth.
And Stephen has delivered his in-depth take on AGFA and Something Weird Video’s nine-film, three-disc The Films of Doris Wishman: The Moonlight Years Blu-ray box set, distributed by Vinegar Syndrome.
As always, more new disc reviews are on the way over the coming days, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them.
Now then, we’ve been circling back with our many industry and retail sources here at The Bits, and we’ve got an update on some interesting titles that are coming to 4K Ultra HD in the months ahead. [Read on here...]