Displaying items by tag: Olive Films

All right, there was no update yesterday because I was up in L.A. checking out Robert Harris’ recent restoration tests of The Alamo with my own two eyes. Despite what MGM has claimed officially, let me assure you, having now seen the tests firsthand – which the studio has apparently not done yet for some strange reason (and how weird is that?) – this film is in serious need of restoration. The good news, however, is that I’ve also seen tests of how good the film could look like if given a restoration. The result would easily be worth theatrical presentation and a solid Blu-ray release. So keep spreading the word and keep the pressure on the studio. Fingers crossed. [Read on here…]

We’re kicking off this Tuesday afternoon with a new weekly Doogan’s Queue column from Todd running down the best of the new Blu-ray and DVD titles available in stores and on Amazon today. Lotta good new Godzilla catalog BDs out there today! Don’t miss it.

Also be sure to check out Adam’s latest Burnt Offerings: MOD-DVD column, which covers all of the new catalog titles made available on small-batch, hand-crafted, and aged-in-oak-casks MOD DVD discs from the Warner Archive and the Sony Pictures Choice Collection. Enjoy!

Also today, a quick note for you Star Wars fans: Amazon has both The Original Trilogy and The Prequel Trilogy available on Blu-ray for just $31.99 each. (The Complete Saga BD set with bonus content is just $89.96, FYI.) May the 6th Be with You, I guess. [Read on here…]

So the big news today is that Warner Home Video has announced their Batman 75th Anniversary celebration plans. As many of you know, the character first appeared in the comic book Detective Comics #27, which hit newsstands on March 30, 1939. That makes this Sunday the character’s official 75th Anniversary. And if the deliberate leak by WHV earlier this year (with assist by Conan O’Brien) wasn’t official enough, the studio has now confirmed that the classic Adam West and Burt Ward Batman ‘66 TV series will arrive on Blu-ray and DVD this year, though they are still yet to announce a street date (we suspect you’ll hear more at Warner’s Batman 75th panel at WonderCon in Anaheim next month, or at San Diego Comic-Con in July). Warner has also set the all-new animated films Son of Batman for release on BD/DVD on 5/6, followed by Assault on Arkham this summer. Warner also has a pair of new animated shorts coming this year from Bruce Timm (Batman: The Animated Series) and Darwyn Cooke (Batman Beyond). You’ll get a new Batman: 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray release of the Tim Burton film. Obviously, there’s the new Gotham TV series coming to FOX later this year. And production begins this year on the new Batman vs. Superman feature film. Lotta Batman for one year. We’d sure love to see the Bruce Timm animated series find its way to Blu-ray this year, but no sign of it yet. Anyway... [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got some more announcement news for you today. Just a smattering of odds and ends...

First up, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release That Awkward Moment on Blu-ray and DVD on 5/13. Extras will include character profiles, a gag reel and a behind-the-scenes featurette.

Olive Films has set The Bamboo Saucer (1966), Cry Danger (1951), Bang! Bang! You’re Dead! (1966), and Young at Heart (1954) for Blu-ray and DVD release on 4/8, followed by Men in War (1957) and Sleep My Love (1948) on 4/15, and The Pawnbroker (1964), Stranger on the Prowl (1952) on 4/22, and Up the Junction (1968) and Betty Boop: The Essential Collection – Volume 3 (1932-38) on 4/29. All will be released on both Blu-ray and DVD.  [Read on here…]

We’ve got a couple more new Blu-ray reviews from our own Tim Salmons this afternoon, and they couldn’t be two more different titles: Disney’s Robin Hood: 40th Anniversary Edition and Raro Video’s Nightmare City. So there’s casting a wide net for you today.

In announcement news, Olive Films have 108 Media have announced a new multi-year distribution partnership, starting in June with the titles Honour and Autumn Blood. Future titles will include Daisy: The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly, Fugly!, and Shame the Devil.  [Read on here…]

Most film columnists start writing their Christmas pieces around August, churning out their memories of It’s a Wonderful Life (which is a story in itself – this generation has no idea that the film was considered an oddity and a flop until Jimmy Stewart mentioned it on The Tonight Show and, as it was in the public domain and available for cheap airings, it has since been considered a “classic”) and other routine movies that just happen to tell a Christmas like story.  Movies like Miracle on 34th Street and Christmas in Connecticut still hold up and there are others I’m sure that do as well, but few movies that are singularly about Christmas float my boat.  I’ve seen them a million times and most are creaky.  Here are my favorite Christmas movies, a list my successful and thoughtful brother calls Christmas Movies for People Who Aren’t Enamored with Christmas Movies.  [Read on here…]

This was all we needed to hear: The DUKE was coming to Oklahoma City.

It was the year of our Lord, 1972 and The National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in Oklahoma City (now called the National Cowboy Museum and Western Heritage Center) hosted every year a grand event called the Western Heritage Awards, where they gave a trophy called “The Wrangler” to outstanding theatrical and television Westerns and the winner this particular year was a film called “The Cowboys,” starring, well, you know who.  [Read on here...]

All right, we’re closing out the first week of Adam’s Hell Plaza Oktoberfest today with a review of Paramount’s Let’s Scare Jessica to Death on MOD/DVD-R from Warner Archive.

Just a quick heads-up:  Starting on Monday, we’re going to be giving away some cool stuff on The Digital Bits and Jahnke’s Electric Theatre Facebook pages, so be sure to give them a like and check in over there on Monday!  [Read on here...]