Displaying items by tag: Tim Salmons

All right, ladies and gentlemen... we’re back! Thanks again for your patience while we took a little bit of time off here at The Digital Bits last week. All of us here at the site have had a lot going on this past month or so, so we definitely needed and appreciated the chance to recharge a bit. But we’re diving right back into the thick of things today, which means catching you up on all the interesting release news of the past several days.

First, though, we have a quick new disc review... Tim has taken a look at Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men (1957) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. This is classic black-and-white courtroom drama starring the great Henry Fonda, along with Lee Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman—it’s a real gem.

Now then, the big breaking news today is that The Criterion Collection has just unveiled their August slate, which is set to include an upgrade of Akira Kurosawa’s legendary Dreams (Spine #842 – 4K Ultra HD) on 8/8, Wayne Wang’s Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart (Spine #1188 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 8/15, Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema (Spine #1189 – includes The Baby Carriage, Raven’s End, Elvira Madigan, and Ådalen 31 – Blu-ray) on 8/22, and Cauleen Smith’s Drylongso (Spine #1190 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 8/29. [Read on here...]

Afternoon, everyone!

I just wanted to pop in here quickly to say that news updates over the next few days will likely be limited. All of us here at the site have a lot of things going on personally, which are understandably absorbing most of our attention. And it’s always important to remember when you work online that real life matters come first.

Speaking personally, my father-in-law is here this week for a visit from the East Coast, so we’re enjoying our time with him. My wife and I have also added new some animal family members to the household here in SoCal, and we’re working to get them settled in. I also have a slate of doctors’ appointments scheduled for this week—just routine check-ups and that sort of thing.

And frankly, after the last few months of title announcements, disc releases, industry turmoil and changes, website upgrades and maintenance, and what have you, all of us need a few days to recharge our batteries. [Read on here...]

Today’s update will be quick, because we’re all neck-deep in new disc reviews, myself included. I’ve just completed an in-depth look at Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie, as newly-released in Warner’s Superman: 5-Film Collection in 4K Ultra HD. This a slightly different disc than the version released back in 2018 (and reviewed here) so be sure to check out the new review for all the relevant details.

FYI, I’m going to be working my way through every film in the set. In fact, I was up until 2 AM last night watching Richard Lester’s Superman II and also Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut in 4K Ultra HD back to back. So watch for the next reviews in the series here at The Bits tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Tim has turned in his thoughts on Nick Castle’s The Last Starfighter (1984) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video, along with Norman Jewison’s original Rollerball (1975) in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory.

Stuart has taken a look at Frank Tuttle’s Lucky Jordan (1942) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stephen—working jointly with Tim—has offered his take on Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) again, this time has released in regular and Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD from Second Sight Films in the UK. [Read on here...]

We’ve got quite a bit of ground to cover here at The Bits today to wind down the week, starting with a pair of new disc reviews...

Tim has offered his thoughts on Russell Mulcahy’s Razorback (1984) on Blu-ray from Scream Factory.

And Dennis has taken a look at Cecile B. DeMille’s The Crusades (1935) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

As always, lots more new disc reviews are on the way next week, so be sure to check back for them.

Now then, we’ve got quite a lot of great new 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray release news to report today, starting with our friends at The Criterion Collection, who have just announced their July slate. [Read on here...]

All right, there hasn’t been a lot of release news to report over the last couple of days, but we do have a bunch of new disc reviews for you to enjoy...

I’ve taken a look at the Criterion Collection’s new 4K Ultra HD release of Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal (1957), which streets next week.

Tim has reviewed the DreamWorks animated spin-off/sequel Puss in Boots: The Last Wish in 4K Ultra HD from Universal.

Dennis has checked in with his thoughts on Elliott Nugent’s Never Say Die (1939) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Stuart has offered his take on Fernando Trueba’s Memories of My Father (2020) on Blu-ray from the Cohen Media Group via Kino Lorber.

And finally, Stephen has reviewed Christopher Berkeley and Sam Liu animated Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham in 4K Ultra HD from DC and Warner Bros., as well as Adrian Lyne’s Flashdance (1983) in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount.

As always, more reviews are forthcoming, so be sure to keep checking back for them. [Read on here...]

We’re kicking things off this week with a pair of new disc reviews...

Tim has posted his thoughts on Neil Jordan’s The Company of Wolves (1984) in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory.

And Stephen has checked in with his take on Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s Best Picture-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) in 4K Ultra HD from A24 via Lionsgate.

In announcement and release news today, we have several interesting items for you...

First, our friends at MVD Entertainment have revealed the first 4K title in their MVD Rewind Collection, and it’s none other than Wes Craven’s Swamp Thing (1982)! Look for it to arrive on 7/25, and it will include both the Unrated International Version as well as the US Theatrical Version (which is rated PG). The title is also coming to Blu-ray that same day. You can see the cover artwork above left and also below.

Both versions are restored from new 16-bit 4K scans of the original camera negative, presented in the correct 1.85 aspect ratio with Dolby Vision HDR and audio in English 2.0 mono in DTS-HD Master Audio format (as well as Spanish mono). [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover today. We have several new disc reviews—at least one from each member of the Bits review team—and plenty of announcement news for you as well. First, those reviews...

First, I’ve posted my review of John Huston’s first film, The Maltese Falcon (1941), in a beautiful new 4K Ultra HD restoration from Warner Bros.

Stephen has reviewed Lucio Fulci’s City of the Living Dead (1980) in 4K Ultra HD from Cauldon Films.

Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Jim McBride’s Breathless (1983) in Blu-ray from Fun City Editions via Vinegar Syndrome.

Stuart has offered his thoughts on Joseph McGrath’s The Bliss of Miss Blossom (1968) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Sam Woods’s Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Tim rounds things out with his reviews of William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist III (1990) in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory, as well as Tope Hoper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) in 4K Ultra HD from Turbine Medien in Germany.

More new reviews are on the way as well in the coming days, so be sure to keep checking back for them. [Read on here...]

We begin as always today with several more new disc reviews for you to enjoy here at The Bits...

First of all, I’ve begun to review Paramount’s new Star Trek: The Next Generation feature films in 4K Ultra HD, and so far I’ve completed David Carson’s Star Trek: Generations (1994) and Jonathan Frakes’ Star Trek: First Contact (1996). I should also have Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) finished by the end of the day as well.

Meanwhile, Tim has posted his thoughts on the regular Amaray 4K and Steelbook 4K Ultra HD versions of Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) from Dark Sky Films. He’s also shared his take on John D. Lamond’s Nightmares (1980) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome. And he’s just posted his look at Don Coscarelli’s Bubba Ho-Tep (2003) in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory.

Stuart has delivered a review of Jerry Hopper’s Secret of the Incas (1954) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stephen has offered his review of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive (2011) in 4K Ultra HD, a UK-import title from Second Sight.

More reviews are on the way, including the rest of the Star Trek: TNG films in 4K, as well as All Quiet on the Western Front, Disney’s new Cinderella (1950) 4K, and much more, so be sure to keep checking back. [Read on here...]

We’re rounding out the week here at The Bits with a little bit more announcement news today, but first a couple more reviews...

Tim offered his thoughts on Travis Knight’s Kubo and the Two Strings in 4K Ultra HD from Laika via Shout! Factory—both the regular Amaray version as well as the Steelbook packaging.

Pressing on to this afternoon’s release news, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has just revealed that they’re bringing Charles Laughton’s classic noir thriller The Night of the Hunter (1955) to 4K Ultra HD on 5/30, complete with a new scan and Dolby Vision HDR grade.

Also newly revealed as coming to Blu-ray from KLSC are Dave Thomas’ The Experts (1989) on 5/9 and Robert Aldrich’s Hustle (1975) on 5/16.

In addition, they’re working on “coming soon” Blu-ray releases of René Clément’s The Day and the Hour (1963)—this one mastered from a new 4K restoration by Gaumont—as well as Stephen Norrington’s Death Machine (1994). [Read on here...]

We’ve got another new disc review for you today, actually two of them in a way: Our own Tim Salmons has taken a look at Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi’s The BoxTrolls in 4K Ultra HD from Laika via Shout! Factory—both the regular Amaray version as well as the Steelbook packaging.

In announcement news today, our friend George Feltenstein has just revealed (via Tim Millard’s excellent The Extras podcast) the Warner Archive Collection’s planned April slate of Blu-ray titles, which will officially include Safe in Hell (1931) mastered from a 4K scan and restoration of a rare and newly-discovered 35 mm print, along with One Way Passage (1932), The Strawberry Blonde (1941), and Storm Warning (1951) each mastered from new 4K scans of the original camera negatives, and A Lion in the Streets (1953) mastered from a new 4K restoration of the original three-strip Technicolor camera negatives. All of these titles are due to street toward the end of the month (dates TBA).

The Warner Archive has apparently been working with The Film Foundation on these titles. Also revealed to be coming at some point this year to Blu-ray is The Roaring Twenties (1939). Again, street date is TBA. [Read on here...]