Displaying items by tag: Kino Lorber Studio Classics

All right, we’ve got a bunch more great new 4K Ultra HD catalog news to report today, and more new disc reviews as well...

As expected, I posted my review of producer Glen A. Larson’s original Battlestar Galactica (1978) in 4K Ultra HD from Universal late last night, and it’s a pretty detailed look at the film and its history.

Also today, Tim has gone in-depth on Martin Scorsese’s Hugo (2011), which is now available in a terrific new 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray 3D package from the good people of Arrow Video.

Dennis has checked in today as well with a look at Robert Wise’s Helen of Troy (1956) on Blu-ray from the always excellent Warner Archive Collection.

And Stuart rounds things out this afternoon with his thoughts on Marcel Ophul’s fascinating documentary on the Nazi occupation of France during World War II, The Sorrow and the Pity (1969) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

Back to Arrow briefly: The company has just revealed on their social media feed that—in response to customer requests—they’re going to be including Michael Mann’s excellent Blackhat: Director’s Cut on Blu-ray in their forthcoming 4K UHD and Blu-ray packages! Thus the street date is going to be pushed back from 10/31 to 11/28. But the Director’s Cut—which has never been released on home video—is significantly different that the other two cuts of the film already being included on the release, so this is a terrific and welcome addition. Tip of the hat to Arrow for going the extra mile on this one. [Read on here...]

Greetings, Bits-ers! Sorry I missed posting my usual news column yesterday here at the site, but it turned out to be an incredibly busy day of working on reviews and communicating with our industry sources to chase down details and confirm some interesting forthcoming titles. As such, we’ve got a bit of ground to cover today and all of it should prove interesting. First though, let’s start with our latest new disc reviews, as always...

Longtime Bits contributor Adam Jahnke has returned for an in-depth review of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), new on 4K Ultra HD from Disney. The UHD image is spectacular, and we’ve confirmed that the studio went back to the original camera negative for a new 4K scan, remaster, and HDR grade, all of which were approved by director Henry Selick. Most but not all of the legacy special features carry over on the accompanying Blu-ray as well, which also offers better encoding and a higher data rate that the previous BD edition. This title seems to be one more sign that Disney is starting to turn things around with their physical media. So do give it a look.

Also today, Stephen has taken a good look at Wes Craven’s Swamp Thing (1982), which is new on 4K Ultra HD from our friends at the MVD Rewind Collection.

And Dennis has posted a review of Wesley Ruggles’ classic film epic Cimarron (1931) on Blu-ray from the good people at the Warner Archive Collection.

All of these are worth your time, and more new disc reviews are already in the works. In fact, I’m going to be posting my take on Universal’s new Battlestar Galactica (1978) 4K Ultra HD—which streets today—sometime later this evening or early tomorrow. So be sure to watch for that. [Read on here...]

We’re closing out the week with a bunch of new disc reviews and a ton of significant new title announcements as well from the likes of Arrow, Imprint, Sony, Shout! Factory, and more. But first, here are those reviews...

First, Stephen has delivered his in-depth takes on James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3 (2023) on 4K Ultra HD from Marvel and Disney, Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) on 4K UHD from Paramount, Russell Mulcahy’s Razorback (1984) on 4K UHD from Umbrella Entertainment, Lucio Fulci’s City of the Living Dead (1980) on 4K UHD from Cauldon Films, and Dario Argento’s Tenebrae (1982) on 4K UHD from Synapse Films.

Stuart has chimed in with his thoughts on Henry Koster’s My Man Godfrey (1957) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Fred Zinnemann and John Sturges’ The Old Man and the Sea (1958) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Dennis has taken a look at Laura Tarruso’s About My Father (2023) on Blu-ray from Lionsgate, along with Cauleen Smith’s Drylongso (1998) on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection.

Rest assured, we have even more new disc reviews coming next week, including Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams, and several other titles.

Now then... in announcement news over the last couple of days, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has officially set Frank Oz’s The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) for release on 4K Ultra HD on 10/24. Look for the film to be mastered in 4K from the original camera negative with Dolby Vision HDR and a new Dolby Atmos sound mix, both approved by Oz (the original English 5.1 and mono audio are also included). The 4K disc will also include a new audio commentary with Oz. This will be accompanied by a Blu-ray disc featuring the remastered film with 5.1 audio and 3 legacy special features (including an Interview with Jim Henson, Muppetisms: Miss Piggy & Kermit the Frog, and Muppetisms: Pepe and Fozzie Bear). You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

We’ve a bunch of news to cover throughout the rest of this week, and we’ll start today with some significant announcement news in just a moment. But first, we have new disc reviews for you...

Stephen has posted his thoughts on the new DC Universe animated movie Justice League: Warworld on 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros.

Stuart has weighed in with his thoughts on Fritz Lang’s Human Desire (1954) and William Nigh’s Mr. Wong Collection—which includes Mr. Wong, Detective (1938), The Mystery of Mr. Wong, Mr. Wong in Chinatown (both 1939), The Fatal Hour, and Doomed to Die (both 1940)—both on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Dennis has checked in with his take on Bernard Girard’s Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1966) also on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Now then, a lot of you have asked when Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which was announced yesterday by Disney and Lucasfilm for Digital release on 8/29, is coming to physical media. Our sources say the street date for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K UHD is likely to be set in late October or early November, and should be announced in the next 4-6 weeks. We’ll certainly post updates as they come in.

The big announcement news today is that the Criterion Collection has officially revealed their November slate of Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD titles. [Read on here...]

Today’s new disc reviews here at The Bits include the following...

Stephen’s in-depth look at Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo (1959), which is now available in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment.

And Stuart’s thoughts on Lesley Selander’s The Catman of Paris (1946) and John Ford’s The Long Voyage Home (1940), both available on Blu-ray from Via Vision’s Imprint Films label, as well as the documentary double feature Filmmakers for the Prosecution (2021) and Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today (1948) on DVD from Kino Lorber.

Now then, we have some great 4K Ultra HD news today... Lionsgate has just set Stephen King’s The Mist for release on the format on 10/3, in both wide-release (SRP $34.99) and Best Buy-exclusive Steelbook ($37.99) versions! Each is a 4-disc set. Both the original and alternate black and white versions will be included in 4K, along with audio commentary by director Frank Darabont and producer Denise Huth. The package will also include Blu-ray versions that add deleted scenes, A Conversation with Stephen King and Frank Darabont, and other legacy extras. You can see the cover art at left and also below. Note that the 4Ks will include both HDR10 and Dolby Vision high dynamic range, as well as Dolby Atmos audio (with Dolby TrueHD found on the Blu-ray). [Read on here...]

We’re starting this week out with another pair of new disc reviews, including...

Stephen’s take on Eugène Lourié’s Gorgo (1961) on 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome, along with his thoughts on Shinji Higuchi’s Shin Ultraman (2022) on Blu-ray from Cleopatra Entertainment.

In announcement news today, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has officially set Gene Stupnitsky’s No Hard Feelings for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 8/29, with the Digital release coming next week on 8/15. Extras will include Outtakes & Bloopers, A Motley Crew: Meet the Characters, and A Little Wrong: Making No Hard Feelings. The films stars Jennifer Lawrence.

Paramount has announced that the Paramount+ original series Rabbit Hole: Season One, featuring Kiefer Sutherland, will arrive on DVD only on 10/17.

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment is releasing Blue Collar TV: The Complete Series, Step by Step: The Complete Series, and Pinky and The Brain: The Complete Series, all on DVD only on 9/26. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a quick rundown of release news for you to close out the week today, and some new reviews as well. I suspect some of you are interested in a follow-up to the State of 4K and Physical Media editorial we posted on Wednesday. Rest assured, there will be a follow-up, and I hope to get that posted here sometime next week. So stay tuned.

In the meantime, we have several new disc reviews for you to enjoy this afternoon...

Tim has posted his thoughts on John Hughes’ Weird Science (1985) in 4K Ultra HD from our friends at Arrow Video.

Stephen has shared his take on Chad Stahelski’s John Wick: Chapter 4 in 4K UHD from Lionsgate, Brian De Palma’s Blow Out (1981) in 4K UHD from Criterion, and also John Henry Johnson’s Curse of the Blue Lights (1990) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

Dennis has delivered a look at Charles Walters’ Dangerous When Wet (1953) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stuart has weighed in with a look at René Clément’s Joy House (1964) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Now then, the big news today is that Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has set Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City for Blu-ray and DVD release on 8/15, with the Digital release due next week on 8/11. Extras will include the 4-part The Making of Asteroid City documentary (which includes Desert Town, Doomsday Carnival, Montana and Ranch Hands, and The Players), as well as 2 additional Digital-exclusive features (The Alien and The Roadrunner). You can see the cover artwork at left and also below the break. [Read on here...]

Today’s editorial is going to be brief, because frankly some of us here at The Digital Bits have grown a bit frustrated at this point. Disheartened by the state of things, as it were. So too—we suspect—have many of you, our dear readers and fans of physical media. But lately, after nearly twenty-six years of passionate advocacy for film, TV, and special edition content on disc, it’s come to our attention that a couple of the major Hollywood studios don’t seem to have quite that same passion for the subject anymore.

One of these—let’s call ‘em Garner Brothers—just announced a long awaited 4K Ultra HD catalog release with almost no special features. Certainly no newly-created special features, because this studio doesn’t seem to do many of those anymore, and almost no special features on the actual discs, which is where disc fans tend to prefer them. Instead, most of this title’s special features are included as Digital extras only.

Nor does this title include the most obvious extra that fans have been wanting for years, which is the uncut 81-minute “Festival Version” of a certain making-of documentary about this film. Why? Honestly, we’re not sure there’s many people left at this studio who even know that it exists or why fans might care about it. (And if there is, that person should definitely be given a bigger role in making these decisions.)

Now, all of this is particularly frustrating, because if you pre-order this same title on 4K UHD in the United Kingdom, you do get those extras on disc. What’s more, you get a couple of different deluxe packaging options with swag in the UK, both of them terrific, whereas here in the States, the packaging’s artwork simply makes fans of this film weep, created—as it seems to have been—by an intern and novice Photoshop user for reasons unknown (rather than using the film’s already existing poster or production art, which… again… is the kind of thing this studio’s best customers would actually prefer.) [Read on here...]

We’re starting the week off here at The Digital Bits this afternoon with a great new disc review, this one featuring Tim and Stephen’s tag-team take on Arrow Video’s fantastic Enter the Video Store: Empire of Screams Blu-ray box set, which includes The Dungeonmaster (1984), Dolls (1986), Cellar Dweller (1987), Arena (1989), and Robot Jox (1990). It’s a boxed release that’s well worth checking out if you can get your hands on a copy—the title is sold out and basically only available on the secondary market. One hopes that the films will be released individually on Blu-ray from Arrow in the future.

In announcement news today, Paramount has revealed a new School of Rock: 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Steelbook for release on 9/26. The disc will include audio commentary with Jack Black and director Richard Linklater and nearly an hour of legacy special features.

Paramount will also release a new Halloween H20: 20 Years Later 4K Ultra HD Steelbook Edition on 9/26, celebrating the film’s 25th anniversary. You can see the packaging below the break.

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has officially set Lewis Teague’s Cujo (1983) for 4K Ultra HD release on 10/24, complete with a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Dolby Vision HDR, and a great new special feature, Cujo Revisited, which is a never-before-seen 2014 roundtable discussion with Dee Wallace, Danny Pintauro, Daniel Hugh Kelly, and the director.

The company has also revealed that Harold Becker’s Sea of Love (1989) is coming to 4K Ultra HD in the months ahead.

And coming to regular Blu-ray from KLSC are Mario Bava’s Black Sabbath (1963) on 10/24 and Jules Dassin’s Topkapi (1964), the street date for which is still TBA. [Read on here...]

We have two new disc reviews of you to enjoy today...

Stephen has taken a look at Dusty Nelson’s Effects (1979) in 4K Ultra HD, a film that originated from the minds of several Pittsburgh-area collaborators of George A. Romero. It’s now available from Image Works via the American Genre Film Archive and our friends at Vinegar Syndrome.

If you’re interested in this film, you might also enjoy reading a 2005 archived interview we did on the original Bits website about the project with our old friend John Harrison (Takes from the Darkside, Frank Herbert’s Dune). You’ll find that here (and pardon the messy HTML).

Also today, Dennis has taken a look at Cheryl Dunye’s The Watermelon Woman (1996) on Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.

We don’t have a lot in the way of new announcement news today, but a number of long-awaited 4K Ultra HD catalog titles are finally available for pre-order on Amazon. [Read on here...]