Displaying items by tag: Steven Spielberg

Afternoon, Bits readers! We’re back after the long 4th of July holiday here in the States with more reviews and announcements. As always, we’ll start with reviews...

Stuart has reviewed a pair of new Blu-ray titles, including Gregory La Cava’s Lady in a Jam (1942) and also Mervyn LeRoy’s Moment to Moment (1966) from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Stephen has checked in with his take on William Cameron Menzies’ Invaders from Mars (1953) on 4K Ultra HD from Ignite Films.

And Dennis has offered his look at Vincente Minelli’s The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (1963) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Now then, in announcement news today, the big news is that our friends at Shout! and Scream Factory have just unveiled their September Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release slate, and—as always—there are some gems to report. [Read on here...]

We start today with four new disc reviews, with more on the way...

Tim has reviewed Kevin Smith’s Mallrats (1995) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video.

Stephen has turned in his thoughts on Terry Gilliam’s The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) in 4K Ultra HD from Criterion, as well as Jim McBride’s The Big Easy (1986) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stuart has taken a look at Susan Seidelman’s Making Mr. Right (1987) on Blu-ray, also from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Meanwhile today, we have a bunch of announcement news to report, starting with this: Rhino/Parlophone are releasing D.A. Pennebaker’s Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1979) in a new 2CD + Blu-ray package in the UK on 8/11 in honor of the film’s 50th anniversary! The package will include the remastered soundtrack album, as well as the acclaimed concert film itself newly restored in 4K from the original negatives. Note that while this is a UK release, the Blu-ray is coded for all regions and will include both 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and the original stereo in PCM format. Both the film and soundtrack have also been restored to completion for the first time, and now include The Jean Genie/Love Me Do medley and Round and Round featuring Jeff Beck.

You can read more here, and you can see the packaging at left and also below. [Read on here...]

We’re rounding out the week here at The Bits with more new disc reviews, some new announcements, and a long-overdue column as well.

Starting with those reviews, Stephen and Tim have taken a look at Penelope Spheeris’ Wayne’s World: 30th Anniversary Edition that came out recently on 4K Ultra HD from Paramount Home Entertainment.

Stephen has also reviewed Dominick Barascia, Jr’s Evil Laugh (1986) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

And Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans (2022) on Blu-ray from Universal. A 4K UHD review of that title is forthcoming as well.

Also here at the site today, our old friend (and erstwhile Inglorious Trekspert) Mark A. Altman has checked in with a new MOD DEF column looking back at his personal picks for The Best Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD Titles of 2022. I think you’ll find it a good read, so do give it a look. [Read on here...]

All right, it’s been a busy couple of days here at The Bits, and we’re starting as always with more new disc reviews for you to enjoy...

First up, Stephen has taken a look a pair of titles, including Matthew Bright’s Freeway (1996) in 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome, along with Dan Wolman’s Maid in Sweden (1971) on Blu-ray from Code Red.

Also, Dennis has reviewed Richard Pearce’s No Mercy (1986) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Tim has offered his thoughts on Douglas Grossman’s Hell High (1989) on Blu-ray from Arrow Video, along with the first film from Arrow’s fantastic Shawscope: Volume One Blu-ray box set. He’s working his way through the set title by title, and today he covers Jeong Chang-Hwa’s King Boxer (1972, aka Five Fingers of Death).

As always, more reviews are on the way all week, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them. [Read on here...]

We’re rounding out the week here at The Bits with a few more new disc reviews, and some release news as well, including word of new 4K catalog titles, and updates on a title or two that we’ve talked about here previously in recent weeks. But first those reviews...

I’ve posted my thoughts on Wim Wenders’ stunning Wings of Desire (1987) which is now available in 4K Ultra HD from Curzon Film in the UK. The 4K remaster, which was done by the Wim Wenders Foundation, is absolutely stunning. Fans of the film may not realize this, but by the time the film was completed and being shown in theaters back in ‘87, the version we all experienced then was fully six generations away from original camera negative. But now, every inch of this film—save for the little bit of historical and newsreel footage that appears within it—is first-generation right off the negative. And it makes a huge difference, even over the previous Criterion Blu-ray. So if you’re a fan, this 4K release is definitely worth a look.

I’ve also reviewed Jack Ryan: Season Two on 4K Ultra HD, which was released last month on the format by Paramount (along with Season One which we’ve reviewed here). Season Three of the series recently dropped on Amazon Prime and we have word that it’s coming to both Blu-ray and 4K as well later this year.

Also today, Stephen has turned in his thoughts on Adam Rifkin’s The Invisible Maniac on 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome.

And we have more reviews on the way as well. I’m personally working on Shout! Factory’s recent WarGames and HBO’s House of the Dragon: Season One, both in 4K Ultra HD. I hope to post those reviews over the weekend or early next week. And the rest of the review team is working on new titles as well, so be sure to watch for them. [Read on here...]

“E.T. is the perfect balance between epic and intimate. It is an incredible example of how cinema can transport us into a world of limitless possibilities through imagination, and it showcases filmmaking at the highest level in its use of technology, skill, and craft.” — Brian Herzlinger, director of My Date with Drew

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 40th anniversary of the release of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Steven Spielberg’s classic family film about the friendship between a boy and an alien visitor who is afraid, totally alone, and three million light years from home.

E.T. was the winner of four Academy Awards (visual effects, sound, sound editing, and John Williams’ original score) and starred Dee Wallace (The Howling), Henry Thomas (Cloak & Dagger), Robert MacNaughton (I Am the Cheese), Drew Barrymore (Firestarter), and Peter Coyote (Timerider). [Read on here...]

Welcome back from the holiday, Bits readers! We hope and trust that each of you were able to enjoy a great celebration with your family and friends.

Sarah and I have my mother staying here over the holidays, so we’ve been cooking up a storm, enjoying some great food, and watching lots of movies. I also just finished watching the season finale of HBO’s His Dark Materials—more on that in a moment—and I’ve started in on the new season of Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime. I still need to check out Avatar: The Way of Water at my local IMAX theater, but I’ll get to that soon enough.

We’ve got a new contribution from each member of the Bits reviewing team for you today, including...

Dennis’ look at Robert Mandel’s School Ties (1992) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films and Via Vision.

Stephen’s take on James Whale’s By Candlelight (1933) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

My thoughts on the new single-film 4K Ultra HD SKU of Wilson Yip’s Ip Man (2008) from Well Go USA.

And last, but certainly not least, Tim’s in-depth take on Peter Jackson’s The Frighteners: Ultimate Edition (1996) on 4K Ultra HD from our friends at Turbine Media in Germany! This is a pretty spectacular box set release, and Tim will tell you all about it in his review, so you definitely don’t want to miss it. [Read on here...]

We start with two more new disc reviews today (and there might be one more from me later this evening, but it should certainly be up by tomorrow morning)...

Tim has reviewed Crane Wilbur’s The Bat (1959), which is available in a fine new Blu-ray edition from our friends at The Film Detective.

And Dennis has offered his thoughts on Lynne Littman’s Testament (1983), a post-apocalyptic drama from PBS’ American Playhouse and Paramount Pictures that includes William Devane, Jane Alexander, Kevin Costner, Rebecca De Mornay, and Lukas Haas. That’s new on Blu-ray from the good folks at Imprint Films.

Now then, the big announcement news today is that Disney has just officially set Don Hall and Qui Nguyen’s animated Strange World for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 2/14. Look for the Digital and Disney+ streaming release to happen on 12/23. Audio will be Dolby Atmos on the 4K and DTS-HD MA on Blu-ray, as always. Extras will include 4 featurettes (Anatomy of a Scene: Creating A Strange World, Strange Science, Creature Feature, and The Hidden Secrets of Strange World), outtakes, and 4 deleted scenes (The Ballad of Jaeger Clade, Lightning Lynx, Funerals and Promises, and Ethan and Searcher). You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

All right, sorry for the lack of an update over the last couple of days. We’ve been very busy here at the site, working on reviews, preparing for some big upcoming reviews, and finishing a few more site upgrades. But the major reason is that there’s a ton of breaking and evolving release news to cover, and getting to the bottom of it all—collating all the details, checking in with sources, confirming key pieces of release information—takes a huge amount of time. But I’m always up for a challenge.

Before we get to that, however, let’s share those disc reviews we’ve been working on over the past few days...

First up, I’ve posted my thoughts on John Milius’ Red Dawn (1984) from Shout! Factory and also Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World: Dominion (2022) from Universal, both in 4K Ultra HD.

Tim has delivered a look at Joel Schumacher’s Flatliners (1990) in 4K UHD from Arrow Video, as well as John Carpenter’s Escape from New York (1981) in 4K from Scream Factory.

Dennis has reviewed a number of regular Blu-ray titles in the last few days, including Lon Chaney: Before the Thousand Faces – Volume 2 from Undercrank Productions, Josh and Benny Safdie’s Daddy Longlegs (2009) from Criterion, and Jack Gold’s The Tenth Man (1988) and Ken Hughes’s The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960) from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And finally, Stephen has delivered in-depth looks at Paul W.S. Anderson’s Event Horizon (1997)—a Steelbook release that’s getting hard to find here in the States—and Jeff Fowler’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) both in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount, along with Michael Findlay’s Shriek of the Mutilated (1974) on Blu-ray from American Films via Vinegar Syndrome.

As always more disc reviews are on the way in the coming days. [Read on here...]

We’ve got news, news, and only news here at The Bits today, and we’re starting with the big announcement: Criterion has just unveiled their November Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release slate...

It kicks off with Věra Chytilová’s 1966 Czech New Wave classic Daisies (Spine #1157 – Blu-ray only) and a 4K update of Wong Kar Wai’s evocative 2000 gem In the Mood for Love (Spine #147 – 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD) on 11/1. Following on 11/8 is Jane Campion’s cold but captivating The Power of the Dog (Spine #1158 – 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD). On 11/15, look for Andrew Lau Tak-wah and Alan Mak’s The Infernal Affairs Trilogy (Spine #1159 – Blu-ray only – includes Infernal Affairs, Infernal Affairs II, and Infernal Affairs III). Finally, Spike Lee’s Malcolm X round out the month’s slate on 11/22 (Spine #1160 – 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray).

Note that Malcolm X and The Power of the Dog will include Dolby Vision HDR (In the Mood for Love appears to be HDR10 only), while The Power of the Dog will also feature Dolby Atmos audio.

You can see the cover artwork for all of these titles at left and also below. We’ve also updated our Criterion Spines Project and 4K Ultra HD Release List pages here at the site accordingly. And more detail about the special features included on these titles is available here at the Criterion website. [Read on here...]