Displaying items by tag: 20th Century Studios

Our second news update of the day starts with a little bit of breaking news: Paramount has just made David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker’s Top Secret! (1984) and David Fincher’s Zodiac (2007) available in 4K Digital on Apple TV, Vudu, Kaleidescape, and more. Given the amount of effort Fincher puts into his remasters, we believe it’s safe to assume that Zodiac will be coming to physical 4K Ultra HD from Paramount sooner than later as well.

Zodiac, it should be remembered, was shot mostly in 10-bit RAW in 1080p HD (4:4:4) using the Thomson Viper FilmStream camera, along with some footage in 35 mm photochemical film (Super 35 format). But anyone who doubts that it could look great upscaled and remastered in 4K would do well to take a look at HBO’s Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season in 4K UHD (which we’ve reviewed here). The advantages of high data rate and low compression, combined with an HDR grade, could really make a difference. Zodiac in particular was very well lit and photographed. Personally, I’m eager to get a look at it.

Also today, Arrow Video has announced their August slate, which includes a UK-only 4K Ultra HD release of Michael Lehmann’s Heathers (1988) on 8/5, followed by a slew of titles on 8/26. Among them are Robert Rodriguez’s Desperado (1995) in 4K Ultra HD and The Mexico Trilogy box set (both in the UK, US, and Canada), which includes El Mariachi (1992) and Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) in Blu-ray, as well as the Desperado 4K. [Read on here...]

We’ve got no less than eight new reviews for you guys to start the new week out right here at The Bits, staring with Tim’s look at The Good, The Bad, and Huckleberry Hound (1988) from Hanna-Barbera on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Dennis has offered his thoughts on Charles Brabin’s The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) on Blu-ray also from the Warner Archive Collection, as well as Nancy Savoca’s True Love (1989) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Stuart has delivered four reviews, including Ulrich Seidl’s Rimini (2022) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome, Jean-Paul Salomé’s La Syndicaliste (2022) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, John Boorman’s The Emerald Forest (1985) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, and Robert Allan Ackerman’s Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (2001) on DVD from Via Vision Entertainment.

And finally, Stephen has got an in-depth review of Alex Proyas’ The Crow (1994) in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount Home Entertainment, which is a gorgeous restoration that should impress most cinephiles.

All of these films are well worth a look, and more new disc reviews are certainly on the way this week, so be sure to watch for them.

Now then, my apologies for the lack of a news update here since mid last week, but I have unfortunately had COVID. Fortunately, a mild case, but enough to knock me out of commission for a few days. But I’m well on the path to recovery and feeling well enough to catch you all up on the latest news here at The Bits today. So let’s get right to it... [Read on here...]

Today’s update is a quick one, but we’re starting with more new disc reviews...

Tim has posted his thoughts on Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak (2015) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video, as well as Hanna-Barbera’s Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats (1988) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Dennis has reviewed Francis Ford Coppola’s The Rain People (1969) on Blu-ray, also from the Warner Archive Collection.

In announcement news today, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has just made Albert Magnoli’s Purple Rain (1984) official for release in physical 4K Ultra HD and 4K Digital on 6/25 (SRP $33.99 for the disc). As expected, the disc will include audio commentary by Magnoli, Robert Cavallo, and Donald E. Thorin, 3 featurettes (First Avenue: The Road to Pop Royalty, Purple Rain Backstage Pass: Behind the Scenes, and Riffs, Ruffles and a Revolution: The Impact and Influence of Purple Rain), the MTV Premiere Party Original Broadcast, a gallery of Prince movie trailers, and 8 music videos for songs from the film. [Read on here...]

As always, we’re rounding out the week with more new disc reviews here at The Bits, including...

Tim’s take on producer Roy Huggins’s Colt .45: The Complete Series (1957-60) and Hanna-Barbera’s Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose (1987), both on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Dennis’ look at Dorothy Davenport and Melville Shyer’s The Road to Ruin (1934) on Blu-ray from Kino Classics and Something Weird.

And Stuart’s thoughts on Paolo and Vittorio Taviani’s Allonsanfàn (1974), Pietro Germi’s The Facts of Murder (1959), and Damiano Damiani’s Goodbye & Amen (1977), all on Blu-ray from Radiance Films.

I’ve also just received Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two (2024) in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros., so watch for my in-depth review of that here at The Bits tomorrow sometime. [Read on here...]

We have six new disc reviews for all of you to enjoy today, including...

Stuart’s look at Denys Arcand’s Dirty Money (1972) and Paul Vecchiali’s The Strangler (1970) both on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

Dennis’ take on Norman Jewison’s The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics

And Stephen’s look at Robert Benton’s Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Stanley Kramer’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) in 4K from Sony’s Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection: Volume 4 box set, as well as Michael Mann’s Ferrari (2023) in Blu-ray from Neon via Decal Releasing.

All are well worth a look, so we hope you enjoy them. And more are forthcoming.

Before we get to announcement news today, Amazon has finally made Andor: The Complete First Season and Obi-Wan Kenobi: The Complete Series available for pre-order in 4K Ultra HD Steelbook format. (The Blu-ray Steelbook pre-orders should soon be live as well.) We’ve included the links and cover art below. [Read on here...]

All right, welcome to a new week Bits readers!

Today is all about James Cameron here at the website, and to that end I’ve just finished knocking out in-depth reviews of the filmmaker’s The Abyss (1989), Aliens (1986), and True Lies (1994) in long-awaited physical 4K Ultra HD and remastered Blu-ray from 20th Century Studios!

The gist is that all three of these discs are worth picking up for Cameron fans and cinephiles, though one of the three titles is a bit complicated. The Abyss is the best looking of the three, nearly on par with the recent Titanic 4K release. Aliens is not far behind in terms of A/V quality and both titles include a nearly complete archive of all past special features created for the films.

True Lies is... well, it looks a lot better than the previous DVD, LaserDisc, and D-VHS releases. Sometimes, it looks fantastic. But at other times, the remastering is a little bit heavy-handed.

It’s still way better looking than StudioCanal’s Terminator 2 4K release though, so it’s a very solid upgrade over previous physical media releases, and it includes some nice features too.

Anyway, you’ll find all of the details in the linked reviews.

But while we’re on the topic of Cameron—and speaking the Terminator—producer Gale Anne Hurd shared over the weekend that plans to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Cameron’s original The Terminator (1984) are soon to be revealed. And we have good word that a new 4K Ultra HD release will chief among them. In the meantime, you can see her post on X/Twitter here. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got quite a bit of ground to cover today here at The Digital Bits. But as always, we’re starting first with some more new disc reviews. And they’re good ones...

Stephen has taken a look at a pair of 4K Ultra HD releases, including Walter Hill’s The Warriors (1979) in 4K from Arrow Video—an absolutely fantastic release—as well as Ishirō Honda’s original Godzilla (1954) in 4K from Toho, a Japanese import disc that has no English subtitles. But read on, because Stephen’s thoughts on it are well worth your time.

Now then, the first big piece of news we have today is that our friends at The Criterion Collection have just announced their April Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K UHD slate, which is set to include an update of Mathieu Kassovitz’s La haine (1995) (Spine #381 – 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray) on 4/2, an update or Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) (Spine #29 – 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray) on 4/9, Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky’s Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) (Spine #1215 – 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD) on 4/16, Mikhail Kalatozov’s I Am Cuba (1964) (Spine #1214 – 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray, Blu-ray) on 4/23, and Nancy Savoca’s Dogfight (1991) (Spine #1216 – Blu-ray) on 4/30. Of the 4K titles, La Haine will include Dolby Vision HDR. [Read on here...]

Afternoon, folks! I certainly hope that those of you who celebrate it have had a great Christmas holiday, and that the rest of you are enjoying the holiday season.

I’ve got just a quick update here for you today and I’ll post a little more as the week goes on. This time of year there’s typically very little news-wise worth reporting, but there are some odds and ends to cover.

First though, I want to catch you up on the latest disc reviews we’ve posted here at The Bits since our last news post last week. Now available for your reading pleasure here are...

My reviews of James Cameron’s Avatar: Collector’s Edition (2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water – Collector’s Edition (2022) in 4K Ultra HD from Lightstorm and 20th Century Studios.

Tim’s thoughts on Richard Donner’s Scrooged: 35th Anniversary Edition (1988) in 4K from Sony and George Mihalka’s My Bloody Valentine: Collector’s Edition (1981) in 4K from Scream Factory.

Dennis’ takes on David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist: The Believer (2023) in both Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD from Universal, as well as Oren Rudavsky’s The Treatment (2006) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, and Richard Attenborough’s In Love and War (1996) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Stephen’s reviews of Charles Kaufman’s Mother’s Day (1980) in 4K from Troma via Vinegar Syndrome, Emma Tammi’s Five Nights at Freddy’s in 4K from Universal, and Ti West’s Pearl (2022) in 4K from A24 via Turbine Media.

And finally Stuart’s look at Succession: The Complete Series on DVD from HBO, Alain Resnais’ La Guerre est finie (1966) on Blu-ray from The Film Desk and Vinegar Syndrome, and Paul Lynch’s The Hard Part Begins (1973) on Blu-ray from Canadian International Pictures via Vinegar Syndrome. [Read on here...]

We’re rounding out the week here with three more new disc reviews, including...

Dennis’ take on Costa-Gravas’ Mad City (1997) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stuart’s thoughts on Frederic C. Hobbs’s Godmonster of Indian Flats (1973) on Blu-ray from AGFA, Something Weird, and Vinegar Syndrome, and the Villages of the Damned: Three Horrors from Spain Blu-ray release also from Vinegar Syndrome, which includes Pedro Olea’s The Forest of the Beast (1970), Silvio Narizzano’s The Sky Is Falling (1975), and Gonzalo Suárez’s Beatriz (1976).

Meanwhile, the rest of us are already working on a bunch more new Blu-ray and 4K UHD reviews for next week. And I do mean a bunch. So be sure to watch for them.

We also have a couple significant pieces of catalog news for you this afternoon before we go...

The first is that Kino Lorber Studio Classics has just officially set Ivan Reitman’s Kindergarten Cop (1990) for release on 4K Ultra HD on 1/23, featuring two new audio commentaries (by film historians Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson, and a second by film historian Samm Deighan). [Read on here...]

All right, Digital Bits readers...

Having reported on the long and twisted saga of The Abyss and True Lies on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD for over thirteen years now—and having first broken news of this release all the way back in March—it gives me enormous pleasure to be able to share this with all of you: The day has come at last!

Not only are The Abyss and True Lies finally coming to 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray, so too are Aliens, the recently-announced Titanic, and new versions of both Avatar (with all three versions of the film) and Avatar: The Way of Water!

Here’s the full text of Disney and Lightstorm’s official press release today…

SIX ICONIC JAMES CAMERON FILMS INCLUDING FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER ON 4K UHD™ ALIENS, THE ABYSS AND TRUE LIES!

IN ADDITION, SPECIAL COLLECTOR EDITIONS FOR TITANIC, AVATAR AND AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER WITH:

BURBANK, CA. (November 15, 2023) – A piece of cinema history comes home this year when six box-office juggernauts from Oscar®-winning director James Cameron are released. The six titles—The Abyss, True Lies, Aliens, Titanic, Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water—will be made available in 4K Digital and 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray.

Cameron, who has helmed three of the five highest grossing movies of all time, says “There’s a world of emotions in revisiting these films and I hope we’ve captured some of that in the new bonus materials we created for our fans.”

Oscar®-winning producer Jon Landau added, “We really wanted to deliver the best possible experience at home so viewers could immerse themselves both in the films and the journeys we went through to make them.”

The 4K transfer for each release will be presented in superb Dolby Vision HDR and with an immersive Atmos audio mix. Additionally, most of the releases will arrive with several hours of captivating all-new bonus features. From the eight hours of Avatar: The Way of Water bonus including all-new deleted scenes to the five hours of new and legacy Titanic extras, fans will delight in the numerous hours of never-before-seen materials. [Read on here...]