Items filtered by date: August 2015

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All right, sorry for the lack of an update yesterday. As it happens, I was up at bustling Ares Studios, where pre-production on the Axanar feature film is well underway. As some of you may know, I’m the co-writer of the film’s screenplay, so we were having script and production meetings, and then producer Alec Peters, director Robert Meyer Burnett and I recorded a podcast in which we discussed the script and the writing process, and then talked about what makes a great Star Trek film. That should be up in the next day or two, so I’ll be sure to post a link when you can all listen.

Anyway, the big news today is that Criterion has just announced their December slate of Blu-ray and DVD titles, which is set to include Michael Ritchie’s Downhill Racer (Spine #494 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 12/1, Ted Wilde’s Speedy (Spine #788 – Blu-ray, DVD and Hulu) and Takashi Murakami’s Jellyfish Eyes (Spine #787 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 12/8, and finally Howard Brookner’s Burroughs: The Movie (Spine #789 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 12/15. You can see the cover artwork below.  [Read on here…]

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We’re starting out here at The Bits today with a new Blu-ray review from Jim Hemphill, featuring Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s The Honey Pot (1967) from Kino Lorber.

Also today, our own Michael Coate has posted a new installment of his History, Legacy & Showmanship column here on The Bits in which he celebrates the 50th anniversary of TV’s Lost in Space and also today’s release of Lost in Space: The Complete Series on Blu-ray by 20th Century Fox. His piece includes a great interview with the set’s producer, Kevin Burns. We plan to post a review of the Blu-ray set as soon as Fox sends review materials, so be sure to watch for it. In the meantime, enjoy Michael’s column.  [Read on here…]

“Jonathan Harris as Dr. Smith is one of the most original and memorable characters in the history of television—ranking right up there with Barney Fife, Herman Munster, Gilligan and the Fonz.” — Kevin Burns

The Digital Bits commemorates the golden anniversary of the premiere of Lost in Space, the science-fiction/adventure series that originally ran on CBS from 1965 to 1968. The classic series debuted 50 years ago this week, and for the occasion The Bits features a Q&A with one of the show’s biggest fans, Kevin Burns, who offers his recollection of watching the series in its original run as a kid and discusses overseeing the show’s high-definition remastering and Blu-ray release, which arrives in stores this week from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.  [Read more here...]

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We’ve got a bunch of great reviews for you today...

First up, Jim Hemphill has checked in with a look at George Armitage’s 1978 film Vigilante Force now on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. Also today, Tim Salmons has a look for you at Adam Brooks & Matthew Kennedy’s new spoof of the Italian gaillo genre, The Editor, available from Scream Factory.  [Read on here…]

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All right, we’ve got kind of a slow news day today, but we do have one thing for you…

Sony has just announced a partnership with Dolby Labs for the use of its Dolby Vision High Dynamic Range (HDR) mastering process in forthcoming Sony 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray releases (read the press release here at Business Wire). No titles have been announced yet, but based on the studio’s recent 4K remastering work you can reasonably expect such titles as The Fifth Element, Léon: The Professional, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, American Hustle, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Fury, Lawrence of Arabia, and more… eventually.  [Read on here…]

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More new announcements and updates for this afternoon...

Paramount has made South Park: The Complete Eighteenth Season official for 2-disc Blu-ray and DVD release on 10/6 (SRP $42.99 and $29.99). Extras are set to include deleted scenes, #SocialCommentary on all episodes and the usual “mini” commentaries on all the episodes by Trey Parker and Matt Stone.  [Read on here…]

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We’ve got a quick one for you today...

First up, we have a trio of new disc reviews. Tim Salmons has checked out Shout! Factory’s new Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume 1 DVD reissue a look. Jim Hemphill has done the same for Kino Lorber’s recent Blu-ray release of The Reivers (1969), starring Steve McQueen. Finally, I’ve given Disney’s new Star Wars: Rebels – Complete Season One a spin on Blu-ray and found it to be surprisingly fun and engaging, not just for kids of classic trilogy fans of all ages. Do give them a look.  [Read on here…]

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All right, we have some new release news for you today...

Here’s a surprise: The Monkees: The Complete TV Series is coming to Blu-ray on 1/29/2016, including all 58 episodes and the film Head. Mastered from the original negatives, and featuring extras that include audio commentary from all four of the Monkees, plus outtakes, original Kellogg’s TV spots and more. The 7-disc, region free set will be available in Fan only and regular packaging and will be limited to 10,000 units. It’s available for pre-order only on their official website here.  [Read on here…]

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It’s a slow news day today, given the Labor Day holiday here in the States. All the studios are closed and there’s no announcements being made today. Still, we do have a couple items for you...

A number of you have asked about Warner’s The Hobbit Trilogy 3D: Extended Edition in Blu-ray 3D. Amazon.com hasn’t started taking pre-orders on the set yet, but strangely you can already pre-order the German version here on Amazon.de. Supposedly Amazon has the exclusive on the 3D version, but we don’t know when they’re going to start promoting it.  [Read on here…]

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We’ll be back with more later today, but we wanted to quickly chime in here today with additional word on Ultra HD Blu-ray out of IFA in Berlin. We understand now that Samsung’s newly announced 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player is targeted for release in the 1st Quarter of 2016 (we’re hearing late January or February). We’re also hearing that the player’s price is “going to pleasantly surprise people.”  [Read on here…]