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All right, as you’ve probably seen here on The Digital Bits, I’ve now shared my thoughts on the 4K Digital remasters of James Cameron’s The Abyss, True Lies, and Aliens. These reviews have been shared after looking at each of the remasters as they currently appear on Vudu, Movies Anywhere, and Apple TV/iTunes, allowing for streaming quality variations in each. So if you’re interested in those, you’ll find my take on each via the title links provided in this paragraph.

Rest assured, I will also be reviewing the forthcoming 4K Ultra HD disc versions of those films, and the forthcoming Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water collector’s editions when they arrive. And the rest of The Bits team is working on a whole slate of disc reviews for next week and beyond… allowing of course for the usual holiday season distractions of family and the like.

Based on some of the interesting… I’ll generously call them conversations (but they’re more like angry bitch-fests)… on social media over the past couple weeks about some of these 4K titles, I’m also written a essay entitled A Word About Screenshots, Reviewing, and Trusting Opinions on the Internet that you can find over on The Digital Bits’ new Patreon page.

Not only is subscribing to our Patreon page a great way to support our work here at The Digital Bits—if you believe in it and find that it brings your enjoyment of physical media some value—it’s also becoming a great place to respectfully share your thoughts and ideas about these topics with like-minded people without risking getting attacked or worrying about having snark and scorn heaped upon you… and there’s definitely some value in that too. So please consider check it out, and know that we appreciate each and every one of you, our readers, regardless. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a big week ahead of us here at The Digital Bits. As all of you know, the new James Cameron catalog 4K titles—The Abyss, True Lies, and Aliens—all drop via 4K Digital tomorrow. And we’ve got some big announcement news to share with all of you today as well. But first, we’ve got a new disc review for you...

Stephen has just turned in his thoughts on Kathryn Bigelow’s Point Break (1991) in 4K Ultra HD from Shout! Factory. Enjoy!

Now then... there’s big news today, more big news, and yet another piece of big news. So let’s start with that first one...

Paramount Home Entertainment has just officially set Herbert Ross’ original Footloose (1984) for release on 4K Ultra HD on 2/13/24. We’re awaiting confirmation of the A/V specs on this one, but the title will come in both Amaray and Steelbook packaging, and will have a Blu-ray and Digital copy code. All of the legacy extras from the Blu-ray will carry over. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

Evening, folks!

Next week is going to be another big one here at The Digital Bits, as all three of the new James Cameron catalog titles—Aliens, The Abyss, And True Lies—drop in 4K Digital on Tuesday. And it’s very possible that they could start appearing on Digital services sooner, especially if you already own HD Digital copies (iTunes/AppleTV sometimes upgrades the files to 4K a little early). So I’ll be back on Tuesday to review them from an A/V standpoint, in anticipation of the disc releases arriving in March. And I’ll have more restoration details from Lightstorm as well, so be sure to check back next week.

In the meantime, we have a little big more announcement news today...

Imprint has just unveiled their February 2024 Blu-ray slate. They include Ingmar Bergman’s Face to Face (1976), Peter Yates’ The Dresser (1983), Bob Rafelson’s Mountains of the Moon (1990), Diane Kurys’ A Man in Love (1987), Gabriele Salvatores’ I’m Not Scared (2003), and Majid Majidi’s Children of Heaven (1997). Face to Face, Mountains of the Moon, and I’m Not Scared are all arriving on Blu-ray for the first time. All of these titles are limited to 1500 copies. Street date is 2/28/24 and you can pre-order them here on the Imprint webstore.

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has set Pat Rocco’s Drifter (1974) for Blu-ray release on 2/20/24 as the next title (#6) in its new Kino Cult label.

It looks very much like Paramount Home Entertainment will be releasing John Landis’ Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) and a new Beverly Hills Cop 3-Movie Collection in 4K Ultra HD on 2/20 as well. [Read on here...]

We’ve got more new disc reviews from The Bits’ team for you this evening...

They start with Stephen’s look at Richard Lester’s Juggernaut (1974) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Dennis has offered his thoughts on Tod Browning’s The Devil Doll (1936) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection, along with Jagoda Szelc’s Tower. A Bright Day. and Monument (2018) on Blu-ray from Yellow Veil Pictures via Vinegar Syndrome.

And Stuart has checked in with a look at Dušan Vukotić’s Visitors from the Arkana Galaxy (1981) on Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile via Vinegar Syndrome, as well as Imprint’s excellent Directed by Sidney J. Furie Blu-ray box set, which includes The Lawyer, Little Fauss and Big Halsy (both 1970), Hit! (1973), Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York (1975), and The Boys in Company C (1978).

As always, more reviews are forthcoming, so be sure to stay tuned for them.

Speaking of reviews... I had the chance this week to talk directly with Lightstorm about the remastering work done for James Cameron’s Titanic on 4K Ultra HD, a disc which should now be in all your of hands. If that’s the case, you’ll know for yourselves that the film looks and sounds fantastic. When I reviewed the title here at The Bits last week, I promised that I would soon be updating that review with details on exactly how the film was remastered for UHD release. And indeed, I’ll be doing exactly that here at the site tomorrow afternoon. But if you subscribe to The Digital Bits’ new Patreon, you can read those details right now. And hey—it’s a great way to help us in our work here at the website if you believe, as we do, in supporting cause of physical media. [Read on here...]

Afternoon, Bits readers! It’s been a few days since we’ve done a major news update here on the site, and the reason is that we’ve been very focused on completing new disc reviews for you guys. This is the time of year when all of the big fourth quarter titles start arriving for review, and we’re right in the thick of it now. So today we’re pleased to offer you...

My reviews of James Mangold’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), along with The Mandalorian: The Complete First Season (2019) and The Mandalorian: The Complete Second Season (2020), all in 4K Ultra HD from Lucasfilm via Disney, as well as my review of James Cameron’s Titanic: 25th Anniversary Limited Edition in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount.

We also have Stephen’s reviews of WandaVision: The Complete Series (2021) in 4K Ultra HD from Marvel via Disney, as well as Tommy Wirkola’s Violent Night (2022) in 4K UHD via Universal, and Michael Crichton’s The Great Train Robbery (1978) on Blu-ray from MGM via Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stuart has weighed in on Henry Decoin’s Strangers in the House (1942) on Blu-ray from Gaumont via Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Rest assured, we have many more new disc reviews on the way as well, so be sure to watch for them. [Read on here...]

Afternoon folks! I just wanted to chime in here quickly this afternoon with a couple of quick updates.

I’m currently working on my 4K Ultra HD reviews of James Cameron’s Titanic and James Mangold’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, so I’ll be busy for the rest of the day on those.

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

Tim has reviewed Roger Vadim’s Barbarella (1968) in 4K Ultra HD from the good people of Arrow Video.

Stephen has offered his thoughts on Stelvio Massi’s giallo Five Women for the Killer (1974) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

And Dennis has turned in his take on Larry Yang’s Ride On (2023), a Jackie Chan actioner on Blu-ray from Well Go USA Entertainment. [Read on here...]

This is going to be a big week in terms of new disc reviews! Just today we’ve got...

My take on Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (2023) in 4K Ultra HD from Universal, which in my opinion is the A/V demo disc of the year, not to mention a terrific special edition release. Unfortunately, it’s selling out everywhere, but we strongly suspect that Universal is already replicating more copies (and we’ve asked for official confirmation of that, which we’ll share here as soon as we hear back).

Tim’s reviews of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (2023) in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros and Jeannot Szwarc’s Santa Claus: The Movie (1985) in 4K UHD from StudioCanal in the UK.

Stuart’s look at the Audie Murphy Collection III box set from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, which includes Hell Bent for Leather (1960), Posse from Hell (1961), and Showdown (1963) on Blu-ray.

And Dennis’ thoughts on Brad Watson’s The Siege (2023) on Blu-ray from Well Go USA Entertainment, as well as Harry Beaumont’s Dance, Fools, Dance (1931) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

I’m also hard at work on my 4K review of James Cameron’s Titanic (1997) from Paramount and we have several more Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD reviews cooking at the moment. I would expect James Mangold’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny to show up at any time for review in 4K as well. So be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them. [Read on here...]

Afternoon, everyone! On this balmy day before Thanksgiving, we’ve got a trio of new disc reviews for you all to enjoy…

Dennis has offered his thoughts on Harry Beaumont’s Dance, Fools, Dance (1931) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection, as well as Brad Watson’s The Siege (2023) on Blu-ray from Well Go USA Entertainment.

And Tim has turned in his take on the box-office bonanza that is Greta Gerwig’s fascinating and unexpected Barbie (2023) in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, which more than lives up to its clever marketing pitch: “If you love Barbie, this movie is for you!” and “If you hate Barbie, this movie is for you!” In my humble opinion, any film that starts with a bang-on spoof of Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is worthy of serious consideration.

So we hope you enjoy those, and be aware that we’ll have one more review for you in time for the holiday tomorrow. As I’m sitting here in The Bits’ palatial West Coast headquarters drinking my morning coffee, I’m waiting patiently for the arrival of our review copy of Oppenheimer 4K, which should be here any time. [Read on here...]

Evening, folks! Sorry about the lack of an update yesterday, but I was A) busy working on several new disc reviews, and B) roped into doing the Thanksgiving grocery shopping here. And you know how that goes: It’s a zoo out there!

But as a result of our work, we’ve got no less than five new disc reviews for you to enjoy today...

First, Tim has taken a look at Brett Ratner’s The Silence of the Lambs prequel Red Dragon (2002), which is new on 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Dennis has offered his take on William Kaufman and Johnny Strong’s Warhorse One (2023) on Blu-ray from Well Go USA Entertainment.

Stephen has delivered a look at Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City (2023) on Blu-ray from Universal, as well as Béla Ternovszky’s animated Cat City (1986) on Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile and Vinegar Syndrome.

And I’ve posted my thoughts on Andrew Davis’ The Fugitive (1993) which just arrived today in a terrific new 4K Ultra HD release from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, mastered from a new 8K scan of the original camera negative no less!

I’m also working on a review of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (2023) in 4K for posting very soon. The title streets today, but I’m still waiting on my review copy from Universal, which should be here in the next couple days. (FedEx is a little slow, what with the holiday week and all.) My review of the film itself is already complete, and as soon as the disc arrives I’ll dive right in and get the review posted ASAP. So be sure to watch for it. [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...]