Displaying items by tag: Oppenheimer

We’ve got more new disc reviews for you today here at The Bits, and then I’m going to share my thoughts on Chrisopher Nolan’s The Odyssey!

But first, reviews. Today we have…

Tim’s look at Enrique López Eguiluz’s Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror (1968) on Blu-ray 3D from Kino Cult (with the help of the 3-D Film Archive), Lam Nai-Choi’s Men from the Gutter (1983) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome, and George Stevens, Jr.’s George Stevens: A Filmmaker’s Journey (1984) in 4K Ultra HD from the Warner Archive Collection.

Todd’s take on Howard Winters’ (aka Cecil Howard) Dead Boyz Can’t Fly (1992) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome, Stephen Fung’s Tai Chi Zero (2012) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films, and Tom Bema’s Colony Mutation (1995) on Blu-ray from Visual Vengeance.

Stephen’s thoughts on Otakar Vávra’s Krakatit (1948) on 4K Ultra HD from Deaf Crocodile and Paul Lynch’s Prom Night (1980) on 4K Ultra HD from Synapse Films.

Dennis’ look at Ronald Neame and Cliff Owen’s A Man Could Get Killed (1966) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stuart’s take on Gerry and Silvia Anderson’s classic “Supermarionation” series Supercar: The Complete Series (1961-62) on Blu-ray from Imprint Television.

More reviews are forthcoming, so be sure to keep checking back!

Before we continue today… a quick update: Disney and Lucasfilm’s 4K Ultra HD of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026) is now available for pre-order on Amazon here, here, and here (in various configurations and SKUs). Street date is 8/25. [Read on here...]

All right, welcome to a new week Bits readers!

Today is all about James Cameron here at the website, and to that end I’ve just finished knocking out in-depth reviews of the filmmaker’s The Abyss (1989), Aliens (1986), and True Lies (1994) in long-awaited physical 4K Ultra HD and remastered Blu-ray from 20th Century Studios!

The gist is that all three of these discs are worth picking up for Cameron fans and cinephiles, though one of the three titles is a bit complicated. The Abyss is the best looking of the three, nearly on par with the recent Titanic 4K release. Aliens is not far behind in terms of A/V quality and both titles include a nearly complete archive of all past special features created for the films.

True Lies is... well, it looks a lot better than the previous DVD, LaserDisc, and D-VHS releases. Sometimes, it looks fantastic. But at other times, the remastering is a little bit heavy-handed.

It’s still way better looking than StudioCanal’s Terminator 2 4K release though, so it’s a very solid upgrade over previous physical media releases, and it includes some nice features too.

Anyway, you’ll find all of the details in the linked reviews.

But while we’re on the topic of Cameron—and speaking the Terminator—producer Gale Anne Hurd shared over the weekend that plans to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Cameron’s original The Terminator (1984) are soon to be revealed. And we have good word that a new 4K Ultra HD release will chief among them. In the meantime, you can see her post on X/Twitter here. [Read on here...]

I have the good fortune of having one of the thirty theaters on Earth that’s showing Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer in 15 perf/70 mm IMAX located within three miles of my house. So I needed all the coffees on Tuesday morning, after seeing the film at an 11 PM showing on Monday night, which is the only decent single ticket I could get my hands on. (My theatre of choice is virtually sold out well into the second week of August.)

I must say, the experience of this film in IMAX 70 was impressive, with the urgency of its editing and immediacy of its cinematography creating a uniquely engrossing narrative momentum. J. Robert Oppenheimer’s life and career, from his college years to his post-war exile, are covered in extensive detail, and while all of this adds context, I’m not sure that much detail was strictly necessary. (In Nolan’s shoes, I might have shortened the film by a good twenty minutes.)

The ensemble cast is fantastic, each of them disappearing into their roles to a degree I didn’t think some of these actors were capable of. There are many familiar faces that I knew would appear in this film, but many more here were unexpected (including Jack Quaid as Richard Feynman of all people, James Urbaniak as Kurt Gödel, and Gary Oldman as Harry S. Truman), yet all of them raised their game. What’s more, this is certainly the finest performance of Cillian Murphy’s career, and one of the most compelling. Hands down, the guy deserves an Oscar for this role. [Read on here...]