Displaying items by tag: Warner Bros Discovery Home Entertainment

Today’s new disc reviews here at The Bits include...

Stuart’s look at Edward Dmytryk’s The Carpetbaggers (1964) on Blu-ray from Paramount via Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Dennis’ take on William Dieterle’s All That Money Can Buy (1941) on Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.

And Stephen’s thoughts on Saul Bass’s Phase IV (1974) on 4K Ultra HD from Paramount via Vinegar Syndrome.

Also, today on our Patreon page we’ve invited our supporters to offers their two cents on catalog films they would most like to see released on 4K Ultra HD. We’re going to compile those lists and pass them on to the relevant studios, so do consider joining is there and offering your take!

In announcement news today, Paramount has officially set Bob Marley: One Love for Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD, and 4K Steelbook release on 5/28. Extras will include multiple featurettes (Join Kingsley B, Becoming Bob Marley, The Story, The Cast, On Location: Jamaica and England, and The Band), plus extended and deleted scenes. You can see the cover art at left and also below. [Read on here...]

We’re closing out the week here at The Bits with a bunch of release news and more new disc reviews as well. The reviews include...

Tim’s take on Rocky Morton & Annabel Jankel’s Super Mario Bros. (1993) in 4K Ultra HD from Umbrella Entertainment—the deluxe Trust the Fungus edition.

Stuart’s look at Hal Ashby’s Coming Home (1978) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as his review of Kino Lorber’s Homicide Hills: The Complete Series on DVD.

And Dennis’ reviews of Frank Lloyd’s Blood on the Sun (1945) and Alfred L. Werker and Anthony Mann’s He Walked by Night (1948), both on Blu-ray also from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Also, just to let you know, we’ve been sharing some additional content for our supporters over on Patreon, including essays on Godzilla Minus One’s visual effects Oscar win and the difficulty in creating or evaluating home video transfers for film, along with an exclusive tease about a trio of forthcoming 4K Ultra HD catalog titles that are in the works for later this year, my in-depth film review of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two, and a little behind-the-scenes on a visit with some friends of The Bits who just so happen to have been involved with the Star Trek franchise for over 38 years.

Supporting The Bits on Patreon is a really great way to help us keep the site going, and doing so makes it possible for us to continue our work in support of physical media and disc fans everywhere. So please consider joining us there! [Read on here...]

All right, it’s been a busy couple of days here at The Bits in the wake of our reviews of the James Cameron 4K titles—The Abyss, Aliens, and True Lies.

Many of you have reported having trouble getting your pre-orders fulfilled, or have seen shipping dates delayed, whether from Amazon, Walmart, Disney Movie Club, Target, or what have you. This is apparently due to distribution issues resulting from—we strongly suspect—demand for these titles outstripping Disney’s expectations. In any case, more product is being replicated and shipped to distributors and retailers, so these issues should clear up over the next week or two.

Hopefully, this will send a strong message to Disney that people still want to buy catalog 4K titles—a good sign for the future.

Meanwhile, we have one new disc review here at The Bits today: Stephen has taken an in-depth look at Howard Hawks’ His Girl Friday (1940) in 4K Ultra HD from Sony’s new Columbia Classics 4K Collection: Volume 4 box set. More reviews from this set will follow soon.

In announcement news today, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has now officially set Steven Soderberg’s Ocean’s Trilogy for 4K UHD release on 4/30. [Read on here...]

Today’s new disc reviews here at The Bits include...

Tim’s look at Richard Fleischer’s Conan the Destroyer (1984) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video, as well as Rospo Pallenberg’s Cutting Class (1989) in 4K Ultra HD from the MVD Rewind Collection.

And Stephen’s thoughts on George P. Cosmatos’ Leviathan (1989) in 4K Ultra HD from MGM via Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

In announcement news today, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has officially set Martin Scorsese’s The Departed (2006) for 4K Ultra HD and Digital release on 4/23. The 4K disc will also be available in Steelbook packaging. Extras include the new Guilt and Betrayal: Looking into The Departed featurette, along with the legacy Stranger than Fiction: The True Story of Whitey Bulger, Southie, and The Departed and Crossing Criminal Cultures featurettes, as well as 9 deleted scene with introduction by the director. The press release doesn’t indicate it, but the packaging lists 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Look for HDR10 high dynamic range only. [Read on here...]

We have several new disc reviews to begin the week here at The Bits, starting with...

Stuart’s take on Raoul Walsh’s Gentleman Jim (1942) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Dennis thoughts on Michael Epstein’s LennonNYC (2010) on Blu-ray from Via Vision Entertainment and Peter Yates’ Murphy’s War (1971) on Blu-ray from Arrow Video.

Stephen’s look at Bill Plympton’s The Tune (1992) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

And finally, Tim’s review of Ardman Animations’ Shaun the Sheep: The Complete Series on Blu-ray from Shout! Studios.

We also have a bunch of new announcement news for you today, but first this: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has listed Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two for Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD, and 4K Steelbook pre-order on Amazon. The street date is TBA, but is likely due in May or June. There will also be a 2-Film Collection in both 4K UHD and Blu-ray.

Now, a lot of you have asked what aspect ratio Dune: Part Two will be in on disc. As many of you know, Dune: Part One was shot mostly in 2.39:1 but about an hour was in full 1.90:1. Yet Warner’s Blu-ray and 4K release were both in 2.39 only. Meanwhile, most of Dune: Part Two was shot in 1.90:1, with about forty minutes in the full 1.43:1 IMAX ratio. So people are wondering if the Blu-ray and 4K will preserve that variable IMAX ratio, and if Part One will ever be re-released on both formats with the variable ratio as well. I’ve asked Warner for clarification on this and will share it here when they reply. Meanwhile, you can find the studio’s temp cover art (with Amazon links) below the break. [Read on here...]

Happy Leap Day, Bits readers! February 29th only comes around once every four years, so enjoy it while you can.

I want to take a moment to thank all of you for your patience. We haven’t done a news update here for a couple days, and the reason is that I’ve been doing a lot more digging about that Disney and Sony physical media distribution deal, and I have in fact learned a little bit more information that will put the deal in better context. So after having a few last conversations with sources tonight, I’ll have a bit more to share on that front in tomorrow’s news update here at The Bits.

In the meantime, we’ve posted a bunch more new disc reviews here at the site as follows...

Dennis has posted his thoughts on Raoul Walsh’s The Roaring Twenties (1939) on Blu-ray from our friends at The Criterion Collection, as well as Ralph Murphy’s The Man in Half Moon Street (1945) on Blu-ray from Imprint, Robin Spry’s One Man (1977) and Elly Kenner and Norman Thaddeus Vane’s The Black Room (1982) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome, and Damien LeVeck’s A Creature Was Stirring (2023) on Blu-ray from Well Go USA.

Stewart has taken a look at Norman Jewison’s The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, Nigel Cole’s Saving Grace (2000) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection, and Alan Rudolph’s Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994) on Blu-ray from Imprint.

And finally, Stephen has check in with his take on David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ (1999) on 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome. All are well worth a look (both the films and the discs). [Read on here...]

Today’s post starts with three new disc reviews, including...

Stuart’s take on the Film Focus: George Peppard box set from Imprint, which includes John Guillermin’s P.J. (1968), George Schaefer’s Pendulum (1969), Sam Wanamaker’s The Executioner (1970), and Richard T. Heffron’s Newman’s Law (1974).

Dennis’ look at Val Guest’s Assignment K (1968), also new on Blu-ray from Imprint.

And finally, Stephen’s thoughts on Vincente Minnelli and Busby Berkeley’s Cabin in the Sky (1943) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Note that we have lots more new disc reviews on the way, so be sure to watch for them. Also here at The Bits today, we’ve posted a significant update of our 4K Ultra HD Release List with lots of new 4K UHD titles and Amazon links.

And for our Patreon supporters, we’ve recently shared our thoughts on Ron Moore’s Battlestar Galactica and how well the series holds up some fifteen years after it ended its run on the Sci-Fi Channel, along with some preliminary commentary on changes that are brewing within the home entertainment industry, as well as Stephen’s thoughts on the ethics of film alteration and the challenges in determining how films should look on Blu-ray and especially 4K. Supporting The Bits on Patreon is a great way to help us continue our work in service of physical media, and we surely do appreciate it. [Read on here...]

We have a few good bits of release news for you today...

First up, our friends at Lionsgate have announced four new Walmart-exclusive 4K Ultra HD Steelbook titles for release on 4/1, including Cutthroat Island, Rambo: First Blood, Rambo: Last Blood, and a Red 2-Film Collection (including both Red and Red 2). All the Blu-ray extras should carry over. Note that these are essentially the same discs released previously.

Lionsgate has also set Kristoffer Borgli’s Dream Scenario (2023) for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/27. The film stars Nicolas Cage.

Film Masters is releasing Bert I. Gordon’s Tormented (1960) on Blu-ray and DVD on 4/23, restored in 4K from original 35mm archival elements. SRP will be $24.95 and $19.95 respectively. In terms of special features, look for:

“an unreleased TV pilot of Famous Ghost Stories, made by Bert I. Gordon and hosted by Vincent Price; the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version of Tormented (1992), full feature (1:33.1), with captions; new documentary by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures, Bert I. Gordon in the 1950s & 1960s: Bigger Than Life, featuring C. Courtney Joyner; archival interview with writer-producer-director Bert I. Gordon, Bert I. Gordon: The Amazing Colossal Filmmaker; feature essay by Tom Weaver with a bonus essay by John Wooley, former president of the Susan Gordon fan club and a personal friend of the actress; commentary provided by film historian-writer-filmmaker Gary Don Rhodes; new, visual essay by The Flying Maciste Brothers, The Spirit is Willing: CineMagic and Social Discord in Bert I. Gordon’s “Tormented”; original trailer, scanned in 4K from 35mm archival elements, presented in its raw format; as well as a recut trailer using restored film elements.” [Read on here...]

We’ve got some good title announcement news to start the week off today, along with a round-up of other release news odds and ends...

First up, Paramount and CBS have finally officially set Star Trek: Lower Decks – Season Four for Blu-ray and DVD release on 4/16.

The 2-disc set contains all 10 episodes of the season, along with the following special features:

• Audio Commentary by Jack Quaid, Mike McMahan, and Brad Winters (Ep. 401)
• Audio Commentary by Tawny Newsome, Noël Wells and Gabrielle Ruiz (Ep. 404)
• Audio Commentary by Noël Wells, Eugene Cordero, Chase Masterson and Mike McMahan (Ep. 406)
• Audio Commentary by Dawnn Lewis, Tawny Newsome and Mike McMahan (Ep. 409)
• Audio Commentary by Robert Duncan McNeill and Mike McMahan (Ep. 410)
• Lower Decktionary: Setting Up Season 4 (featurette)
• Old Friends (featurette)

You can see the cover artwork at left and also below the break.

While we’re on the topic of Paramount, look for the studio to release Mark Waters’ original Mean Girls (2004) on 4K Ultra HD on 4/30. You can see that cover artwork below the break as well. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a few interesting items for you today, including some new release news and more. But first, more new disc reviews...

Tim has taken a look at Peter Walker’s House of the Long Shadows (1983) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, a Cannon Films cult title featuring no less than Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and John Carradine. Tim has also reviewed Umbrella Entertainment’s wide-release 4K UHD edition of Andrzej Zulawski’s Possession (1981) in 4K Ultra HD, and he’s updated his review of the Collector’s Edition 4K too.

Dennis has taken a look at Daphné Baiwir’s King on Screen (2022) documentary on the film adaptations of author Stephen King. That comes to Blu-ray by way of Dark Star Pictures and Vinegar Syndrome.

And Stephen has reviewed another Toho kaiju classic in 4K Ultra HD, this time Ishirō Honda’s Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964). Once again, being a Japanese import title it does not include English subtitles, but there’s a work around for that.

Before we get to the announcement news this afternoon, a number of online retailers have begun taking pre-orders on the 3/12 4K Ultra HD release of James Cameron’s The Abyss (1989), True Lies (1994), and Aliens (1986), with the odd exception of Amazon. The links are up on Amazon (click on the title links in the previous sentence, and we’ll including them on the cover artwork below) but for whatever reason they haven’t been made live yet. I don’t know if this is a Disney oversight, or an Amazon oversight, but we’ll keep our eyes on the situation and update you when they go live. [Read on here...]