My Two Cents
Afternoon, everyone! We’ve got some great breaking news to report here at The Bits today, but first we’ve got more new disc reviews to share with you as always...
Dennis has taken a look at Stephen Frears’ The Grifters (1990) on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection, as well as Bob Rafelson’s Mountains on the Moon (1990) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
Stuart has offered his thoughts on Terence Young’s Bloodline (1979) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome, as well as Jean Aurel’s Les Femmes (1969) on Blu-ray from Kino Classics and StudioCanal.
Tim has reviewed Russ Meyer’s Supervixens (1975) in 4K Ultra HD from Severin Films.
And Stephen has given the complete In the Line of Duty I-IV Blu-ray box set a look from 88 Films.
I’ve also gotten my hands on Lionsgate’s new Quentin Tarantino Lionsgate Limited 4K Steelbooks, and I’ll have a review of each of them very soon, starting with Jackie Brown (1997) later today. To give you a tease, the new 4K presentations are terrific, particularly Jackie Brown which is a full 4K scan of original camera negative. But more on those soon.
Now then, as I noted a moment ago, we’ve got great breaking news to report today, starting with the fact that Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has just made Miloš Forman’s Amadeus official for release in 4K Ultra HD on 2/25. [Read on here...]
We’ve got a bunch of new disc reviews for you all to enjoy here at The Bits today, but first I wanted to let you know that Amazon.com is currently running a pretty great deal for 4K titles: You can buy 3 4K titles for just $33, which is a great way to fill holes in your collection. The selection of titles is pretty good too (lots of titles from Warner, Universal, and more), so click here to take advantage if you wish.
All right, today’s new disc reviews here at The Bits start with Stephen’s two cents on David Fincher’s Se7en (1996) on 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Richard Attenborough’s A Bridge Too Far (1977) in 4K UHD from Imprint, and Woo-Ping Yuen’s In the Line of Duty IV (1989) on Blu-ray from 88 Films.
Stuart’s look at Marco Bellocchio’s Slap the Monster on Page One (1972) and Seijun Suzuki’s Tattooed Life (1965) on Blu-ray from Radiance Films, John Farrow’s California (1947) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, and Fernando Méndez’s El Vampiro: Two Bloodsucking Tales from Mexico Blu-ray box set from Powerhouse Films, which includes The Vampire (1957) and The Vampire’s Coffin (1958).
Dennis’ thoughts on Matthew Ryan Hoge’s The United States of Leland (2003) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.
And finally, Tim’s take on Randall Lobb and Robert McCallum’s Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2017) documentary on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome, as well as Irving Klaw’s Teaserama (1955), Varietease (1954), and Buxom Beautease (1956) on Blu-ray from Kino Cult.
As always, lots more reviews are on the way in the coming days, so be sure to keep checking back.
Now then, in announcement news today, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has revealed that they’re releasing Shane Black’s The Nice Guys (2016) and Shaka King’s Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) on 4K UHD on 2/18. [Read on here...]
Good evening, friends! We’ve got three new disc reviews for you today, including...
Dennis’ look at Michael Gordon’s For Love or Money (1963) on Blu-ray.
Stuart’s review of Otto Preminger’s The Court-Martial Billy Mitchell (1955) on Blu-ray.
And Tim’s thoughts on Joseph Sargent’s The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) on Blu-ray.
All of them are newly released by our friends at Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
Speaking of Kino Lorber Studio Classics, the company has just announced that Miguel Sapochnik’s Repo Men (2010) and Tomas Alfredson’s The Snowman (2017) are both coming soon in 4K Ultra HD. And they’ve also set Patrice Leconte’s Half a Chance (1998) will arrive on Blu-ray on 3/18. [Read on here...]
We have a lot of ground to cover today to close out the first partial week of 2025, starting with more new disc reviews...
First up, Tim has taken a look at Russ Meyer’s Vixen! (1968) in 4K Ultra HD from the good folks at Severn Films, and he’s also reviewed Marco Brambilla’s Demolition Man (1993) in 4K from Arrow Video.
Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Alan Crosland’s The Beloved Rogue (1927) on Blu-ray from Kino Classics.
Stuart has checked in with his take on Ted Hooker, Jack Cardiff, and Freddie Francis’ Cruel Britannia (1971-1974) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome, as well as Kinji Fukasaku’s The Threat (1966) on Blu-ray from Arrow Video, and Jules Dassin’s Topkapi (1964) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
And finally, Stephen has offered his reviews of Corey Yuwn’s Yes, Madam! (aka In the Line of Duty II) (1985) and Arthur Wong and Brandy Yuen’s In the Line of Duty III (1988) each on Blu-ray from 88 Films, as well as Michael Schaack’s animated but rarely-seen classic Felidae (1994) in 4K Ultra HD from Deaf Crocodile Films.
As always, more reviews are on the way next week, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them.
Now then, we have a bunch of release news and official title announcements to share with you today, so let’s dive right in...
First, Universal Studios Home Entertainment has officially set Jon M. Chu’s Wicked: Part One (2024) for Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD, and 4K Steelbook release on 2/4. The 4K disc will feature Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio, and all the SKUs will include over an hour of bonus features, including deleted and extended scenes, audio commentary with the director, a second audio commentary with stars Cynthia Ervio and Ariana Grande, the Making Wicked documentary, and a sing-along viewing option for the film. You can see the final cover artwork at left and also below the break. [Read on here...]
On this the final day of 2024, it’s only natural for us to take a look back and reflect on the many amazing Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD releases we’ve been blessed with over the past year. And it’s certainly been a tremendous year, especially for the 4K format.
So with that in mind, we’ve asked our team members here at The Digital Bits to weigh in with their favorite picks and honorable mentions.
The mandate to our team was simple: Pick your ten favorite discs of the year, and fell free to include some additional honorable mentions if you wish. Present them in any order you like, and say as much or as little about them as you like.
Any title—Blu-ray, DVD, or 4K Ultra HD—released in the calendar year 2024 qualified for consideration, and we extended that just a tad to include any title we received for review in 2024 period (so you’ll note that a couple of the titles mentioned technically street in January). Given how many discs are shipping late (or are getting delayed due to high demand), we felt this was a reasonable allowance.
So without further ado, here (below the break) are our picks for The Best Discs of 2024! [Read on here...]