Displaying items by tag: The Criterion Collection

We’ve got a few great new disc reviews for you to enjoy here at the site today as we continue our efforts to get things back to normal here. And a couple of them are significant titles…

First, Stephen has turned in his thoughts on David Fincher’s newly remastered Fight Club (1999) in 4K Ultra HD from 20th Century Studios via Disney and Sony. Stephen has also taken a look at Luis Llosa’s Anaconda (1997) in 4K Ultra HD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Next, Tim has offered his take on Ralph Bakshi’s animated Fire and Ice (1983) in 4K Ultra HD from Blue Underground.

And Dennis has shared his look at Jack Conway’s Honky Tonk (1941) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

More reviews are forthcoming, and again there should be a lot more over the next week or so as we return to something like normal operations here at The Bits after our efforts to stabilize the first from intensive AI bot scraping and higher-than-ever site traffic.

Also, we’ve got a new update of the Release Dates and Artwork section for you all to enjoy as well.

So we really appreciate your patience as we’ve dealt with that over the last 6-8 weeks or so.

In terms of announcement news this week, our friends at the Criterion Collection have revealed their August slate, which includes Todd Haynes’ Safe (1995) (Spine #739 – 4K UHD + Blu-ray) on 8/4, Bertrand Tavernier’s Coup de torchon (1981) (Spine #106 – Blu-ray) on 8/11, and Barbara Koppe’s Harlan County USA (1976) (Spine #334 – 4K UHD + Blu-ray) and American Dream (1990) (Spine #1324 – Blu-ray), and James Gray’s Little Odessa (1994) (Spine #1323 – 4K UHD + Blu-ray) on 8/25. Also coming on 8/25 is Eclipse Series 49: Five Radical Documentaries by Kazuo Hara and Sachiko Kobayashi (1972-2016) on Blu-ray. [Read on here...]

All right, I wanted to check in here today with one more update.

I believe we finally have the site stable, but just quick note: If you see a message that says “Performing Security Verification…” that is 100% normal. We’re using Cloudflare to verify actual human Bits readers from AI bots trying to scrape the site.

The good news is that it’s definitely helping—the site is much more stable now.

And we have a couple things to share with you all here today.

First, we have more new disc reviews, including…

My take on the Wachowskis’ Speed Racer (2008) in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. as well as Ric Roman Waugh’s Greenland (2020) in 4K Ultra HD from Lionsgate.

Tim’s looks at Richard Fleischer’s Red Sonja (1985) in 4K from Arrow Video, as well as John Binder’s UFOria (1983) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, and Kuei Chih-Hung’s Killer Constable (1980) on Blu-ray from Arrow’s Shawscope: Volume 3 box set.

Dennis’ take on Ira Sachs’ The Delta (1996) on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection and Vincente Minnelli’s Tea and Sympathy (1956) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Stuart’s look at The Magnificent Seven Collection on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.

And Stephen’s thoughts on John Woo and Tsui Hark’s A Better Tomorrow Trilogy (1986-1989) in 4K Ultra HD from both Shout! Studios and also Imprint Films!

More reviews are also on the way next week, including our review of David Fincher’s Fight Club (1999) in 4K and more! So be sure to check back then. [Read on here...]

Welcoming to a new week, Bits readers!

So the good news is that the site appears to be stable, our email is working, and all of our functionality appears to be restored. If you’re having any trouble, please let us know.

In the meantime, we have some new reviews for you to enjoy today…

Stephen has taken a look at Guy Hamilton’s Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Frank Henenlotter’s Frankenhooker (1990) in 4K Ultra HD from Synapse Films.

Tim has offered his thoughts on Hanna-Barbera’s The New Fred and Barney Show: The Complete Series (1979) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection. He’s also assisted Dennis with 4K Ultra HD reviews of Terry Jones’ Monty Pythons’ Life of Brian (1979) from the Criterion Collection and Alvin Rakoff’s Death Ship (1980) from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Dennis has turned in a solo review of Mike Figgis’ Mr. Jones (1993) on Blu-ray from Imprint films.

More reviews are on the way all this week, so be sure to watch for them!

Now then, in release and announcement news today, Disney officially announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of Pixar’s CG-animated Hoppers (2026) on 6/2, with the Digital release expected tomorrow on 4/28. The 4K disc will come in Steelbook packaging and interestingly, it will be released on a 100 GB disc with Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. Extras will include 5 featurettes (The Critter Dairies, Hopping In: The Making of Hoppers, Meet King George: Scene Breakdown, Beaverton Revealed, and Damn Good Bloopers) plus 6 deleted scenes. You can see the cover art at left. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a bit of ground to cover today, and it’s going to feel a little bit like whiplash. But first, as always, we have some new disc reviews to share with you…

Tim has taken a look at Michael Felsher’s Hearts of Darkness: The Making of The Final Friday (2025) on Blu-ray from Synapse Films.

Stephen has offered his thoughts on Simon Wincer’s The Phantom (1996) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Dennis has shared his take on Arthur Penn’s Target (1985) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.

Definitely be sure to watch for more new disc reviews over the next few days.

Now then… the positive news we have for you today is that our friends at the Criterion Collection have just announced their July Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release slate, which includes some gems as always and some nice surprises too. [Read on here...]

We’ve got more new disc reviews for you all to enjoy today, including…

Stephen’s take on Ema Tammi’s Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (2025) in 4K Ultra HD from Universal and also Bill Plympton’s Hair High (2004) on Blu-ray from our friends at Deaf Crocodile Films.

Tim’s review of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) in 4K from Criterion.

Dennis’ look at Terry Jones’ Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979) on Blu-ray from Criterion, as well as Martin Ritt’s Cross Creek (1983) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.

And finally, Stuart’s thoughts on Raoul Walsh’s Silver River (1948) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

More reviews are forthcoming all this week, so be sure to keep checking back for them!

Now then… in announcement news today, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has revealed that Howard Hawks’ El Dorado (1966) is “coming soon” to 4K Ultra HD. That’s a Paramount Western featuring John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and James Caan, featuring a screenplay co-written by Leigh Brackett (The Empire Strikes Back) and music by Nelson Riddle (the 1966 Batman). [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got some great release news and more new disc reviews for you today to start the new week off right!

Let’s get to those reviews first…

Tim has turned in his thoughts on the Warner Archive Collection’s excellent Tom & Jerry: The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) Blu-ray release, which is well worth your time for classic animation fans!

Dennis has offered his take on Richard Fleischer’s The Narrow Margin (1952) also in Blu-ray also from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stephen has delivered his look at Jean-Jacques Beineix’s Diva (1981) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

As expected, we’ve got a great line up of new Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD reviews coming every day this week, so you’ll definitely want to keep checking back daily for those.

Now then… the big news today is that Variety has just revealed that Netflix has licensed two more titles to the Criterion Collection, including Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (2025) and Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans’s animated hit K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025) from Sony Pictures Animation! This means both films are likely to be released on both Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD later this year. [Read on here...]

We have several new disc reviews for you here at The Bits today, including…

Tim’s look at John Hough’s Twins of Evil (1971) in 4K Ultra HD from Imprint Films and Via Vision, as well as his review of the final film in Criterion’s The Wes Anderson Archive in 4K Ultra HD, specifically The French Dispatch (2021).

Dennis’ review of Michael Stasko’s Vampire Zombies… from Space! (2024) on Blu-ray from MVD and Cleopatra Entertainment).

Stephen’s thoughts on John Carpenter’s Vampires (1998) in 4K Ultra HD from Via Vision Entertainment.

And finally, Stuart’s take on the Columbia Noir #7: Made in Britain Blu-ray box set from Indicator, which includes A Prize of Gold (1955), The Last Man to Hang (1956), Wicked as They Come (1956), Spin a Dark Web (1956), The Long Haul (1957), and Fortune Is a Woman (1957).

More reviews are forthcoming, so be sure to check back for them.

Also, before we get to the news today, we’ve just posted our latest update of our Release Dates & Artwork section featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover art and Amazon pre-order links. As always, whenever you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking through one of our links (like this one), you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really appreciate it! [Read on here...]

We’ve got a few more new disc reviews to share with you today here at The Bits…

Stephen has turned in his in-depth look at Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America (1984) in 4K Ultra HD from Eagle Pictures’ 4Kult label in Italy.

Dennis has offered his thoughts on Raoul Walsh’s Silver River (1948) and Tay Garnett’s The Valley of Decision (1945) both on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Tim has delivered his take on Tim Burton’s Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985) in 4K Ultra HD from the Criterion Collection, as well as Alex Winter and Tom Stern’s Freaked (1993) in 4K UHD from Umbrella Entertainment!

More disc reviews are forthcoming all this week, so be sure to keep checking back.

In announcement news today, it appears that Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment is releasing Barry Levinson’s Sleepers (1996) in 4K Ultra HD and 4K Steelbook in the coming months. The film stars Kevin Bacon, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Bruno Kirby, Jason Patric, Brad Pitt, Brad Renfro, and Minnie Driver.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release James Vanderbilt’s Nuremberg (2025) on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/10. No 4K is currently planned. Sony has also set Hikari’s Rental Family (2025) for Blu-ray and DVD release on 2/17. And don’t forget that they’ve listed Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon (2025) for Blu-ray and DVD on 1/23. [Read on here...]

All right, let’s knock out a few more new and recent disc reviews here at The Bits, shall we? Today, we’ve got for you…

Tim’s thoughts on Isle of Dogs (2018) in 4K from Criterion’s The Wes Anderson Archive box set, as well as Chor Yuen’s Clans of Intrigue (1977) on Blu-ray from Arrow’s Shawscope: Volume Three box set.

Stuart’s review of Gordon Douglas’ The Iron Mistress (1952) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stephen’s take on Andrew Davis’ Under Siege (1992) in 4K Ultra HD from our friends at Arrow Video!

More reviews are forthcoming, so be sure to check back.

Also today, we’ve just updated our Release Dates & Artwork section here at The Bits with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K UHD cover art and Amazon pre-order links.

Now then, the big news today is that the Criterion Collection has just unveiled their April slate of Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD titles, and as always there are some real gems! [Read on here...]

All right, folks—we have major breaking news for you today!

Some of you may have read the report this afternoon, by our friends over at Media Play News, to the effect that Amazon MGM Studios has just signed a new exclusive packaged media distribution deal with Alliance Entertainment.

So yes… Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment is no longer distributing Amazon MGM titles through Studio Distribution Services.

The new Alliance deal covers both new releases and catalog titles on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Disc, and it includes TV titles as well as feature films.

So for example, under the terms of this deal, future Bond 4K Ultra HD releases (which are already in the works) will be released and distributed by Alliance.

This certainly opens up the possibility that a great deal of as-yet-unreleased 4K catalog titles could finally happen in the months ahead—think titles like Dances with Wolves, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Stargate, and more.

But what you probably aren’t seeing reported elsewhere, is that it’s also good news for more than just Amazon MGM titles! [Read on here...]