Displaying items by tag: The Digital Bits

“[Spielberg] has said he felt invincible at the time, so what you get is a Steven Spielberg channeling his inner ten-year-old and going crazy on a movie backlot.” — Mike Matessino

“The main reason to celebrate 1941,” says Mike Matessino, “is because it has been restored in HD and released on Blu-ray, particularly the extended version that fans have come to love and which Steven Spielberg considers his Director’s Cut.” Matessino produced the two-disc CD soundtrack release of 1941 issued by La-La Land Records in 2011 and will be hosting the American Cinematheque’s March 22nd screening of the film and cast-and-crew Q&A. The screening will mark the theatrical debut of a new DCP of the extended cut of the film.  [Read more here...]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to like TheDigitalBits.com page on Facebook for breaking news, site updates on the go, discussion with our staff and other readers, giveaways and more!]

Today’s news post is a quick one, as I’m still working on more Blu-ray Disc reviews.

However... I do have a pair of new BD reviews for you today, including a look at Warner’s Gravity: Diamond Luxe Edition and also their theatrical edition of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. The new Gravity BD streets on 3/31, while The Hobbit hits stores next Tuesday.  [Read on here…]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to like TheDigitalBits.com page on Facebook for breaking news, site updates on the go, discussion with our staff and other readers, giveaways and more!]

All right, sorry for the lack of a news post yesterday, but I’ve been wrapped up in Blu-ray review work. Some big titles are coming out over the next few weeks and a number of them are well worth diving into.

Speaking of which, though it took all day yesterday to go through everything, I’ve posted my in-depth review of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar on Blu-ray from Paramount. The disc streets on 3/31. For those of you who experienced problems (in theaters) with the sound mix making lots of the dialogue unintelligible amid the sound effects and music, I can report that’s much less of a problem here. The mix is still pushed toward the low end, and there are still one or two lines where you have to listen more closely than normal, but this does seem to be a deliberate artistic choice. Still, I can attest that this is a much better audio experience than the one I had at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. And the extras are pretty terrific. Do check it out.  [Read on here…]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to like TheDigitalBits.com page on Facebook for breaking news, site updates on the go, discussion with our staff and other readers, giveaways and more!]

We have a pair of new Blu-ray Disc reviews for you today. Doogan has checked out a bit of an Japanese live-action oddball from Drafthouse Films called R100 (2013). And Tim has given Scream Factory’s Phantom of the Opera: The Motion Picture (1989) a look too. Both reviews are well worth your time.

Speaking of reviews, Warner’s The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and Paramount’s Interstellar are both now in hand, so watch for my own reviews of them in the next few days.  [Read on here…]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to like TheDigitalBits.com page on Facebook for breaking news, site updates on the go, discussion with our staff and other readers, giveaways and more!]

Here at the site today, our own Michael Coate has posted another great History, Legacy & Showmanship column featuring a look back at Robert Wise’s The Sound of Music, celebrating the 50th anniversay of the film. The piece includes details of its original roadshow release and a new interview with film historians too. Don’t miss it.

All right, we’ve got a bunch of announcement news for you today, so let’s get right to it…

First up, the BIG catalog news is that HBO is releasing The Wire: The Complete Series on Blu-ray Disc on 6/2 (SRP $199.99). Extras on the 20-disc set will include 12 audio commentaries, 3 prequel videos, a gag reel, Q&A with series creator David Simon and the creative team, and multiple behind-the-scenes documentaries and featurettes. As many of you know, the show has been reformatted from 4x3 to 16x9 for its HD release, but this has been done in consultation with Simon himself, who views it as a “valid alternate version of the series” (you can read his in-depth thoughts about this here on his blog).  [Read on here…]

“I knew we had a good picture, but I had no idea that it would become such a staggering hit.” — producer-director Robert Wise

“Considering the degree to which most people pride themselves being cynical, I’m still surprised that a movie this heartfelt was so thoroughly embraced by so many people and continues to be. Perhaps folks aren’t as hard-edged as they pretend to be.” — film historian and author Barry Monush  [Read more here...]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to like TheDigitalBits.com page on Facebook for breaking news, site updates on the go, discussion with our staff and other readers, giveaways and more!]

We’re starting off the day with a pair of new Blu-ray reviews. Tim has given Twilight Time’s The Dogs of War (1980) a look, along with Scream Factory’s Love at First Bite (1979)/Once Bitten (1985) double feature BD. Enjoy!

Quick review side note: I’m also working on reviews of a few new BD titles as time permits, but know that you can expect to see reviews of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and Interstellar as soon as they arrive in the post. [Read on here…]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to like TheDigitalBits.com page on Facebook for breaking news, site updates on the go, discussion with our staff and other readers, giveaways and more!]

In announcement news today, Paramount has set The Gambler for Blu-ray and DVD release on 4/28, with digital due on 4/10. Extras will include deleted and extended scenes, plus 5 featurettes (including Mr. Self Destruct: Inside The Gambler, Dark Before Dawn: The Descent of The Gambler, Changing the Game: Adaptation, In the City: Locations, and Dressing the Players: Costume Design).

Sony has set The Wedding Ringer for Blu-ray and DVD release on 4/28 as well, with digital due on 4/14. Extras on both will include “select scenes” commentary with director Jeremy Garelick and Josh Gad, and the Going to the Chapel of Love featurette. The Blu-ray will add 15 exclusive deleted scenes, 5 outtake reels, Line-o-Rama, and Aloe Blacc’s Can You Do This music video. [Read on here…]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to like TheDigitalBits.com page on Facebook for breaking news, site updates on the go, discussion with our staff and other readers, giveaways and more!]

We’re rounding out the week today with a pair of new Blu-ray reviews and a little more release news. First up, the reviews...

Our own Tim Salmons has checked out a pair of recent titles: Kino Lorber’s Sorceress and Twilight Time’s Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison. Both titles (and the reviews) are worth a look.  [Read on here…]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to like TheDigitalBits.com page on Facebook for breaking news, site updates on the go, discussion with our staff and other readers, giveaways and more!]

All right, as I work to catch up on release news here at the site, we’ve got no less than four Blu-ray Disc reviews for you today.

First up, Tim has taken a look at Disney’s new 101 Dalmatians: Diamond Edition and Scream’s New Year’s Evil on Blu-ray. Both titles are now available.

Also, Doogan has also weighed in this afternoon with his thoughts on Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, which streets on Blu-ray tomorrow in a departure from the usual Tuesday release date. Unfortunately, as Amazon is currently engaged in another of its irritating pissing matches with a Hollywood studio, in this case Lionsgate, the title is not available for pre-order on Amazon. (More on that in a minute.) But you should be able to find it at your local Best Buy, Target or Walmart tomorrow morning.  [Read on here…]