Items filtered by date: July 2017

In announcement news today, Lionsgate has set Taken: Season One for Blu-ray and DVD release on 9/26 (SRP $42.99 and $39.98). Extras will include the Taken: On Set featurette.

In case you missed the announcement when we posted it several weeks ago, The Warner Archive has just released The Man With Two Brains (1983) on Blu-ray, along with The Originals: The Complete Fourth Season. New to DVD is Mom: The Complete Fourth Season. And back in print on DVD are Miracle in the Rain (1956), Skyjacked (1972), A Warm December (1973) and MGM: When the Lion Roars (1992).

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has announced another pair of catalog re-issues, this time with a holiday theme. Look for a Home Alone 2: Lost in New York – 25th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray and DVD on 10/3. Following on Blu-ray and DVD on 10/10 is a Miracle on 34th Street: 70th Anniversary Edition. No new content is expected.

Fox has also set Sleepy Hollow: The Complete Fourth Season for DVD only release on 9/26. [Read on here…]

In a sea of horror movies being released in today’s home video market, the major labels all seem to have the biggest and most popular titles covered, both vintage and new. That’s all well and good, but there’s also room for independents that deserve more attention than they’re actually getting.

So today, we’re going to take a brief look at a few lesser known horror and sci-fi films available through two companies in particular: Uncork’d Entertainment and Wild Eye Releasing. [Read on here...]

Afternoon, folks! Welcome to a brand new week. We’ve got a couple big reviews for you today to kick things off right, plus some news...

First of all, Tim has just posted his thoughts on Kino’s new The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: 50th Anniversary Special Edition. There’s good news and bad news about it, and a complicated story to tell, but we’ve got you covered with an in-depth look and screenshots to boot. Not only that, but if you missed it when I posted it on Friday afternoon, I’ve got an in-depth review of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s new Blade Runner 4K Ultra HD release for you. Let me tell you, this film has never looked and sounded better, so if you’re a fan, you’re really in for a treat. Again, you’ll find all the details in our review, so do give it a look. More new disc reviews are on the way, so be sure to stay tuned. [Read on here…]

We’re kicking things off today with two more Blu-ray reviews: Tim’s taken a look at Dusty Nelson’s Effects (1978) and Tom Hanson’s The Zodiac Killer (1971) on disc from Synapse Films and AGFA. Sounds like both are worth a look, so enjoy the reviews. And be aware, that I’ve working on a new Blu-ray review and several more new 4K Ultra HD reviews myself, so watch for those over the next few days.

In announcement news today... FUNimation has finally set Speed Racer: The Ultimate Collection for release on Blu-ray/DVD Combo box set on 11/7. This whopping 10 Blu-ray/16 DVD box set will come in “Speed-Head” packaging and will include Speed Racer: The Complete Series (1967) on both Blu-ray and DVD, the original Japanese version of Mach GoGoGo (1967) on both Blu-ray and DVD, and also the newer Mach GoGoGo “Restart” (1997) series on DVD only. Extras will include a new interview with voice actor Connie Orr (aka Trixie) and a collectible keychain. You can see the packaging above-left and below. [Read on here…]

All right, I’m going to do a quick rundown for you of the major release news over the past few days. I’ve been traveling – over 1800 miles in the last three days – to see the total solar eclipse, which was the experience of a lifetime. Trust me when I say that the difference between seeing a partial eclipse and a total one is literally night and day. It’s well worth experiencing yourself. There’s another one here in the States in just seven years, and more around the rest of the world – one every 18 months somewhere on Earth. If you get the chance to see it yourself, just go. You won’t regret it.

Here at The Bits in the past few days, we’ve posted a trio of new Blu-ray reviews, including Tim’s thoughts on Multiple Maniacs and One-Eyed Jacks from Criterion and, just today, Starz’s Ash vs Evil Dead: Season Two. Do give them a look. I should also note that Amazon is finally allowing orders on Disney and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD, so if you don’t have it yet, now’s the chance. [Read on here…]

All right, it’s been a busy week here at The Digital Bits...

Just in the last 24 hours, we’ve posted three new disc reviews, including Tim’s thoughts on René Laloux’s classic animated film Fantastic Planet on Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection, as well as my two cents on Ridley Scott’s Prometheus in 4K Ultra HD from 20th Century Fox and also Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ Kong: Skull Island in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. All of them are worth a look, so we hope you enjoy the reviews.

Now then, we have some new announcement news to run down for you today...

First up today, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has officially set Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind for release on 4K Ultra HD (in both regular and Limited Edition versions) and Blu-ray formats on 9/19, featuring a new 4K restoration of all three versions of the film (included on BOTH the Blu-ray and 4K editions). Both editions will also include a pair of new featurettes: Three Kinds of Close Encounters, featuring Spielberg with directors J.J. Abrams and Denis Villeneuve, and Steven’s Home Movies & Outtakes. Also included will be legacy features, among them The Making of Close Encounters of the Third Kind documentary, the Steven Spielberg: 30 Years of Close Encounters featurette, deleted scenes, the 1977 featurette Watch the Skies, Storyboard to Scene Comparisons, an extensive photo gallery, “A View From Above”, and theatrical trailers. [Read on here…]

All right, we’ve got a couple things for you today…

First, we have three new disc reviews, including Tim’s look at Re-Animator on Blu-ray from Arrow Video, our joint take on Warner’s The LEGO Batman Movie on 4K Ultra HD, and my own look at Disney and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on 4K Ultra HD. All three are worth a look. Re-Animator proves to be the definitive release of that film on Blu-ray and Guardians is a stunning reference-quality 4K release from Disney, even without Dolby Vision. Do give them a look.

More Blu-ray and 4K reviews are on the way, so be sure to stay watch for them. [Read on here…]

All right, sorry for the lack of a news post yesterday, but the reason for it is that we’re hard at work on reviews for you here at The Bits. Speaking of which, late last night I posted my thoughts on Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant in 4K Ultra HD format from 20th Century Fox. That streets today. Yesterday afternoon, I also completed a review of Arrow’s new Blu-ray edition of John Frankenheimer’s Ronin, which arrives in stores on 8/29.

Meanwhile, Tim has turned in his thoughts on Scream Factory’s fine new Teen Wolf: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray and he’s also taken an exhaustive look at the contents of Sony’s recent Spider-Man: Limited Edition Collection Blu-ray box set. Now, a number of Bits readers have asked me recently what’s in the set, do all the legacy extras carry over, and what new content there may be. Tim has answered all of those questions for you in his review. The highlight of the set if definitely the new Spider-Man 3: Editor’s Cut created by Bob Murawski – we hear it’s a definite improvement upon the theatrical cut. So do give all of the above a look.

Also know that I am currently hard at work on my review of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on 4K Ultra HD format and I hope to have that posted later today. So keep checking back for it. [Read on here…]

All right, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and DC have just officially announced the release of director Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman Blu-ray Combo, Blu-ray 3D Combo, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD formats on 9/19 (SRP $35.99, $44.95, $28.98, and $44.95 respectively).

There will be more than two hours worth of extras on the Blu-rays, including a 5-part A Director’s Vision behind-the-scenes documentary, extended scenes, a blooper reel, Epilogue: Etta’s Mission, and additional “bonus scenes”. Audio on both the Blu-ray and 4K versions will be Dolby Atmos. 4K High Dynamic Range appears to be HDR-10. You’ll find the cover artwork below... [Read on here…]

The Criterion Collection has just announced an impressive new box set for release on 12/5, entitled 100 Years of Olympic Film. It’s the company’s biggest boxed release ever, including 53 films on 32 Blu-ray Discs or 43 DVDs (the SRP is $319.96, whichever version you choose).

From their press release: “Spanning fifty-three movies and forty-one editions of the Olympic Summer and Winter Games, this one-of-a-kind collection assembles, for the first time, a century’s worth of Olympic films – the culmination of a monumental, award-winning archival project encompassing dozens of new restorations by the International Olympic Committee. These documentaries cast a cinematic eye on some of the most iconic moments in the history of modern sports, spotlighting athletes who embody the Olympic motto of “Faster, Higher, Stronger”: Jesse Owens shattering sprinting world records on the track in 1936 Berlin, Jean Claude-Killy dominating the slopes of Grenoble in 1968, Joan Benoit breaking away to win the first-ever women’s marathon on the streets of Los Angeles in 1984. In addition to the work of Bud Greenspan, the man behind an impressive ten Olympic features, this stirring collective chronicle of triumph and defeat includes such landmarks of the documentary form as Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympia and Kon Ichikawa’s Tokyo Olympiad, along with lesser-known but captivating contributions by major directors like Claude Lelouch, Carlos Saura, and Miloš Forman.” [Read on here…]