My Two Cents
Wednesday, 09 September 2020 18:34

New 4K/BD reviews, They Live 4K, Blade 4K, Chernobyl 4K, new KL Studio Classics titles & a DUNE trailer

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All right, it’s been a busy week here at The Bits so far and we’ve got a lot of ground to cover today.

First of all, sorry for the lack of daily updates. The reason is three-fold. First, we’ve been working on reviews here at the website—more on that in a moment. Second, we had 110° heat here in SoCal this past weekend, with which our AC could not keep up. That meant my home theater was close to 90°, which made reviewing unpleasant, plus there was the danger of power outages. The good news is that we’ve made up for it since the heat broke—again, more on that in a moment. (The bad news is that our skies this afternoon are an unnatural shade of apocalyptic yellow-orange due to the California wildfires, but that’s neither here nor there.) The third reason is more complicated.

We’ve been hearing from many of our readers based in the Netherlands that you’re unable to see The Bits website. The cause of this is that—apparently—a very large portion of the Internet’s DDoS attacks and cyber shenanigans either come from, or are routed through—Netherlands IP addresses. So our server team is working on a solution to block the riff-raff while allowing the rest of you actual readers to see the site. Please be patient while we sort it all out. Unfortunately, this kind of thing seems perfectly in keeping with the whole 2020 milieu. [Read on here...]

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BUT... as I said, we have been able to get the review machine cranked up to 11 around here. So now available for your reading enjoyment are:

Before the day is out, I should have my hands on Lionsgate’s new Ghost in the Shell 4K (1995), so I’ll get that review up by tomorrow. Tim is also working on a review of Arrow’s recent Gamera BD box set, plus I’ll be starting on Universal’s Hitchcock 4K set later this week. And at some point in there, I’ve got a few other Blu-ray titles I’m working on, plus there are likely to be surprises.

We got a lot going on here, is what I’m saying, and we’re working hard to bring you more good content.

Speaking of which, it’s time once more for me to ask that if you believe in and appreciate the work we do here at The Digital Bits, please consider making a one time (click here) or recurring contribution (click here) to the site via PayPal. It makes a difference and we really do appreciate it very much. Thank you in advance for your support. And my thanks to all of you for reading the site—you longtime readers and those of you who have only recently discovered us too. We’re grateful for all of you.

CLICK HERE to BACK THE BITS in our fight to preserve Physical Media

Now then... don’t think we’re done yet this afternoon, because we’re not NEARLY done yet. We’ve got a bunch of news to report today...

First, our friends at Shout! and Scream Factory have announced that they’re releasing John Carpenter’s They Live on 4K Ultra HD on 12/8. Nope, not kidding. They’re going to have a 2-disc 4K/Blu-ray combo that will carry over all of the great extras from their 2012 Collector’s Edition release, plus it will have a new Dolby Atmos audio mix. And there are multiple versions available, including a wide release and various limited editions that include a vinyl LP, a poster, a slipcase, and an 8” exclusive NECA action figure of Frank (approved by actor Keith David). Here what all that will look like...

They Live (4K Ultra HD)

Shout! also reports that if this sells well, they may have more 4K titles coming (which means it’s safe to assume they have the US rights to more of those Carpenter/StudioCanal titles in 4K).

Hold tight, still not done. HBO will be releasing Chernobyl on 4K Ultra HD on 12/1.

Universal has set The Croods for 4K Ultra HD release on 11/17.

Warner Bros. is releasing Blade on 4K Ultra HD likely in early December (based on leaks from European retail sources).

On the regular Blu-ray front, Network will bow a wide-release version of the HD-restored Monty Python’s Flying Circus: The Complete Series on Blu-ray (NTSC/Region A compatible) here in the States on 11/10 (SRP $129.98, but we expect the sale price to kick in soon). This will be sans the special packaging and books that came with their Norwegian Blue Limited Edition set (reviewed here at The Bits), but all of the disc-based content should be there.

And Kino Lorber Studio Classics has revealed a bunch more great catalog Blu-rays (from them and their affiliated labels) that they’re working on for November and beyond, including Seven Sinners (1940), The Shepherd of the Hills (1941), and The Veil (2016) on 11/3, Amazon Women on the Moon (1987), Play Misty for Me (1971), The Eiger Sanction (1975), The Beguiled (1971), and Bustin’ Loose (1981) on 11/10, Ulysses (1954), Dragnet (1954), The Wonders of Aladdin (1961), Grace of My Heart (1996), and So Sweet, So Dead (1972) on 11/17, and The Lost Weekend (1945), Mad Max (1979 – Blu-ray & 4K), King of the Mountain (1981), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979) feature film, and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Series (plus film) on 11/24.

They also have Jetsons: The Movie (1990) and Beach Red (1967) coming soon, with Santo vs. The Evil Brain (1961), Stranger on the Run (1967), The Man from Del Rio (1956), and The Ride Back (1957) set to follow in 2021.

And the company has announced that the extras on their Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979) theatrical feature Blu-ray (due 11/24) will include audio commentary by film historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson, a 9-Minute Special Theatrical Preview, the theatrical trailer, and 2 radio spots. Extras for the TV series Blu-ray set are TBA.

Oh yeah... Warner Bros. and Legendary also finally dropped the first full trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s DUNE this morning. So here’s that (be sure to watch it big, loud, and in full HD)...

All right... NOW we’re done. Except for giving you a look at some cover artwork for a few Blu-ray and 4K titles that are now available for pre-order on Amazon (just click on the covers)...

Total Recall (4K Ultra HD) The Croods (4K Ultra HD) Monty Python: The Complete Series (Blu-ray Disc)

V for Vendetta (4K Ultra HD) Amazon Women on the Moon (Blu-ray Disc) Essential Fellini (Blu-ray Disc)

Whew. Until tomorrow, stay tuned!

(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)

 

 

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