Items filtered by date: June 2014

As promised, we’re kicking things off today with Bud Elder’s new View from the Cheap Seats column, in which he details the history of John Wayne’s The Alamo and the sad state of affairs regarding MGM’s apparent lack of interest in preserving the film properly. It’s well worth reading and includes some new technical details on the condition of the film from Robert Harris. Don’t miss it.

Also today, Todd Doogan checks in with this week’s Doogan’s Queue, running down the latest Blu-ray and DVD titles in stores today. [Read on here…]

Anybody know a good screenwriter? Here’s true scenario that would offer a perfect studio pitch.

And it’s a thriller, in a way, with a determined adventurer racing against time to seek justice for a hero from a past generation – one who sacrificed finances, reputation and goodwill to slay a dragon that was, in the long run, perhaps beyond even his reach.

This story is about John Wayne. This story is about Robert Harris. This story is about America and the importance of its cultural maintenance. And, ok, it’s also about personal obsession. Duke Wayne did what he said. No backing out. No cutting corners. No half assed. [Read on here...]

July is here and that means only one thing – San Diego Comic-Con is in the air. So many executives and filmmaking superstars, comic book artists & writers, bloggers, journalists and all the important personal friends they can get on the VIP lists for tickets flood the streets of that great SoCal city fighting to be the first that sees a trailer, buys an expensive book, toy and/or commissions a head sketch of their favorite superhero for 800 bucks. Ah, sweet, sweet commerce. And you know, there may even be a few legitimate fans if they were fast enough to get the 300 tickets available for them. Everyone else can just cosplay and stand around the Gaslamp Quarter waiting for trolleys to pass while girls in hot shorts hand out postcards to music venues with a mild sci-fi theme. You might think I hold this event in distain – I don’t. I’m just calling in what it is. And I wouldn’t miss it for the world. And with that, let’s look at this week’s releases to disc media, shall we? [Read on here…]

Afternoon, folks. Hope you all had a great holiday weekend.

Today’s update is going to be a quick one, as we’re working on a big new View from the Cheap Seats column from our own Bud Elder that we expect to have up tomorrow afternoon. So be sure to watch for it. [Read on here…]

The big news today is that Universal has set the Universal Classic Monsters: The Complete 30-Film Collection for DVD only release on 9/2 (SRP $199.98), The 21-disc set includes the previous Legacy Collection DVD sets of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Wolf Man, The Invisible Man, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and Phantom of the Opera, along with all the extras. You also get the sequel/related films The Bride of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, The Ghost of Frankenstein, House of Frankenstein, Werewolf of London, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, She-Wolf of London, Dracula’s Daughter, Son of Dracula, House of Dracula, The Invisible Man Returns, The Invisible Woman, Invisible Agent, The Invisible Man’s Revenge, The Mummy’s Hand, The Mummy’s Tomb, The Mummy’s Ghost, The Mummy’s Curse, Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Abbot and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, Abbot and Costello Meet the Mummy, Revenge of the Creature, and The Creature Walks Among Us. Finally, the set includes a 48-page book. [Read on here…]

Here’s something fun: Warner’s released the first official teaser for the 1966 Batman TV series! The long-awaited Blu-ray, DVD and digital release is officially coming in November. Warner is holding a panel at Comic-Con in San Diego later this month (on 7/24 from 6-7 PM in Hall HD) with Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar to fill in all the details. Here’s the trailer!

Stay tuned...

- Bill Hunt

Quick update on yesterday’s news: A number of readers have asked why Schindler’s List and Munich weren’t included in Universal’s newly announced The Steven Spielberg Director’s Collection Blu-ray box set. So we contacted the studio and got this statement:

“The Steven Spielberg Collection showcases the Director’s journey at Universal making some of the biggest blockbusters in film history that have thrilled, entertained and delighted audiences around the world. Due to the historical significance and deeply serious nature of the films, Schindler’s List and Munich were not included so as to not understate their unique impact.” [Read on here...]

[Editor’s Note: After the recent passing of Eli Wallach, I was surprised to learn that Bits contributor Joe Marchese was an acquaintance of the actor, having worked with him on the stage.

Joe wanted to write a personal remembrance of Wallach for The Bits and we’re very happy to share that with all of you here now.]

[Read on here…]

Okay… we’ve got a few pretty cool things to report today that should kick off July in high style!

First, here at the site today we have a couple of new columns. Todd Doogan has posted his weekly Doogan’s Queue column running down this week’s latest Blu-ray and DVD releases. Our very own Dr. Adam Jahnke has also delivered his weekly Burnt Offerings: MOD DVD column, detailing the latest hand-crafted deep catalog titles from Warner Archive and the Sony Pictures Choice Collection.

Speaking of Jahnke, he’s also turned in a review of Warner’s new 300: Rise of an Empire Blu-ray. Sounds as though the film is exactly what you’d expect. The review is a good read, so do give it a look. [Read on here…]

Well, that’s one more birthday week down. How many more do I have, you think? 5, 12, 40? Kind of a suck-ass question really, so never mind. Don’t send your predictions. Because this is a big travel holiday here in the states, it’s pretty dead in terms of disc media. Pretty much nothing really coming out of note. But if you dig through mucus, you might find some pearls. Here are some bright and shinys for you to entertain yourselves with. [Read on here…]