Displaying items by tag: Cliff Stephenson

“American Graffiti is one of those films where a filmmaker brings his youth to the screen with such a sense of sweetness and genuine nostalgia, that his or her personal recollections somehow become universal for the audience.” – Gary Leva, director of Fog City Mavericks: The Filmmakers of San Francisco

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this longform retrospective commemorating the golden anniversary of the release of American Graffiti, George Lucas’s popular film that nostalgically asked, “Where were you in ‘62?”

American Graffiti starred Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind), Ronny Howard (The Andy Griffith Show, Happy Days), Paul Le Mat (Aloha, Bobby and Rose, Melvin and Howard), Charles Martin Smith (Never Cry Wolf, The Untouchables), Candy Clark (The Man Who Fell to Earth, Blue Thunder), Mackenzie Phillips (One Day at a Time), Cindy Williams (The Conversation, Laverne & Shirley) and Wolfman Jack (popular radio DJ), plus a small, early-career performance by Harrison Ford (Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark). The film was nominated for five Academy Awards (Picture, Director, Supporting Actress—Candy Clark, Screenplay, and Film Editing). In 1995 the Library of Congress selected American Graffiti for preservation in the National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” Its most recent home media release, on 4K UHD, was in November of this year (but received less than high marks for A/V quality in most reviews).[Read on here...]

“As soon as Indy stepped out of the shadows in that first scene and revealed himself to us with that badass confidence and intensity, I feel like in that moment, Harrison Ford truly became a movie star of the highest order.” – Charles de Lauzirika, producer/director of Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this multi-page retrospective article commemorating the 40th anniversary of the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Lucas & Spielberg action classic that introduced moviegoers to the globe-trotting adventures of Indiana Jones and spawned a franchise of sequels, prequels, games, and theme park attractions.

Raiders, featuring Harrison Ford as everyone’s favorite cinematic archaeologist, was the most successful movie of its year of release and for a period of time the third highest-grossing motion picture of all time. The Oscar-winning movie also starred Karen Allen as heroine Marion Ravenwood, Paul Freeman as archvillain Belloq, Ronald Lacey as villain Toht, John Rhys-Davies as sidekick Sallah, and Denholm Elliott as colleague Marcus Brody.

In 1999 the Library of Congress selected Raiders of the Lost Ark for preservation in the National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant,” and earlier this year, Raiders and the other movies in the series were released for the first time on 4K UHD (reviewed here). [Read on here...]

Today’s big news is that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has finally officially set Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 1984 for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 3/30. The Digital release is expected on 3/16, with PVOD rental set for this week on 2/12.

The 4K Ultra HD release will include Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HDR10+ high dynamic range, with Dolby Atmos audio. Extras will include 8 featurettes (The Making of Wonder Woman 1984: Expanding the Wonder, Gal & Kristen: Friends Forever, Small But Mighty, Scene Study: The Open Road, Scene Study: The Mall, Gal & Krissy Having Fun, and Meet the Amazons), the Black Gold Infomercial, a Gag Reel, and a Wonder Woman 1984 Retro Remix feature.

You can see the 4K cover artwork above left and also below the break, along with the regular Blu-ray artwork. Both versions are now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. [Read on here...]

All right, it’s a super slow news day today, but I wanted to take a moment to point out some interesting forthcoming titles that are newly-announced by indie distributors or that might have been overlooked.

But first, we have a pair of great new reviews from our own Dennis Seuling for you to check out, including his thoughts on Todd Haynes’ Dark Waters from Universal and Josef von Baky’s fantasy comedy Munchhausen (1943) from Kino Classics. Do give them a look.

Now then, those titles I mentioned... Kit Parker Films is releasing Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations on Blu-ray on 6/16. The 4-disc set includes 2 feature films (Sons of the Desert and Way Out West) and 17 classic shorts newly scanned from original 35mm nitrate film in 2K and 4K. Among the shorts is the legendary silent film The Battle of the Century, appearing for the first time on home video and nearly complete for the first time in 90 years. The set also includes rare special features, alternate soundtracks, vintage pictures, commentaries and more. You can see the cover artwork at left and below. [Read on here...]

We’re kicking off the new week with a pair of new disc reviews here at The Bits...

It starts with my thoughts on Rian Johnson’s fantastic ‘Whodunnit?’ Knives Out, which streets on 4K Ultra HD tomorrow from Lionsgate. Not only is it a great film, it’s one of the best special editions for a new-release film I’ve seen since The Last Jedi, with a terrific feature-length documentary by our old friend Cliff Stephenson. Don’t even hesitate—just buy the disc right now here and you won’t regret it.

I’ve also reviewed Kino Lorber Studio Classics’ new Blu-ray edition of Guy Hamilton’s Force 10 from Navarone, the 1978 sequel to J Lee Thompson’s original The Guns of Navarone some 18 years in the making. The film stars Harrison Ford, Robert Shaw, and Carl Weathers. The disc streets on March 17th.

There’s not a lot in the way of release news today, but we’ve got a couple things to report... [Read on here...]

Let’s start with the big news today... Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Studios have just officially set Star Wars Rebels: The Complete Fourth Season for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 7/31. The Disney XD series, which just won a Saturn Award last night for this its final season, wraps up with all 15 episodes in 1080p HD and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.

Extras on the Blu-ray set will include six audio commentaries with executive producer Dave Filoni, 3 featurettes (Ghosts of Legend, Force of Rebellion, and Kevin Kiner: The Rebel Symphony), plus 8 Rebels Recon segments. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below.

Before we continue, a quick note: We’ve just updated the Release Dates & Artwork section once more here at the site with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-orders. As always, any time you order literally anything from Amazon or Amazon.co.uk (click here) through our links it goes to help support our ongoing work on The Bits and we appreciate it. [Read on here...]

The 43rd Annual Saturn Awards were held last night in Burbank, California, and we got the list of winners for you today. More on that in a moment.

First though, Tim has turned in a look at George Bowers’ horror film The Hearse (1980) on Blu-ray, newly released by Vinegar Syndrome.

Also, in a brief bit of announcement news, Universal Studios Home Entertainment has just set unveiled a big slate of catalog 4K Ultra HD titles due for release in September. On 9/5, Minions will arrive on the format, followed on 9/12 by Jordan Peel’s Get Out , single-film 4K editions of The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, M. Night Shyamalan’s Split, The Purge: Three-Movie Collection, Van Helsing, and Dracula Untold. We’ll post additional details and cover artwork as soon as its available. [Read on here…]

“Rocky deserves to be celebrated first because of how it’s always made people feel: capable and empowered. Then there’s the fact that it’s also a cultural landmark. Rocky gave us the fanfare, the song, and the proper use of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s front steps.” — I, of the Tiger author Eric Lichtenfeld

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective article commemorating the 40th anniversary of the release of Rocky, the award-winning and franchise-inspiring boxing classic starring Sylvester Stallone as the titular character.

Directed by John G. Avildsen (The Karate Kid, Lean on Me) and produced by Irwin Winkler & Robert Chartoff (Raging Bull, The Right Stuff), Rocky showcased memorable performances by Carl Weathers as opponent Apollo Creed, Talia Shire as love interest Adrian, Burgess Meredith as trainer Mickey, and Burt Young as friend and Adrian’s brother Paulie. Nominated for ten Academy Awards (and winning three including Best Picture), the film made a star out of Stallone, featured Bill Conti’s rousing music, turned millions of moviegoers on to boxing, and created a newfound purpose for the steps leading to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. [Read on here...]

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Okay, we’re rounding out the week with a little title announcement catch-up. My plan had been to post a new UHD review each day all week, but then of course it became obvious that the Star Wars Blu-ray announcement was about to happen and that threw off the plan, as such things often do. I do have a review of Sony’s 4K UHD Blu-ray of Chappie in the works, which is a true 4K title, and I’ll have that for you Monday. Look for more UHD reviews next week as well.

That said, our own Tim Salmons has just posted a review of one of my favorite films of 2015, Ryan Coogler’s Creed, which is now available on Blu-ray from Warner Home Video. It’s a great film with tons of heart – a Rocky sequel that actually stands on its own beautifully. Stars Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone really shine in it. Do give it a look.  [Read on here…]

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I am very hard at work on my review of The X-Files: The Complete Series on Blu-ray, so today’s update will be brief.

But our own Tim Salmons has turned in his Pick-Ups thoughts on Lionsgate’s outstanding Hannibal: Season Three on Blu-ray, complete with a superb batch of special features produced by our own friend Cliff Stephenson. Don’t miss it!  [Read on here…]