Here at the site today, our very own Todd Doogan has posted his weekly installment of Doogan’s Queue, running down the highlights of today’s new-in-store Blu-ray and DVD releases. There are some real gems, including Warner’s Looney Tunes: Platinum Collection – Volume 3, so be sure to check it out.
Also today, the good Dr. Jahnke has posted his latest Burnt Offerings: MOD DVD column to cover the latest from the Warner Archive. But Adam also highlights a new Kickstarter effort that we wholeheartedly endorse: Scarecrow Video’s “The Scarecrow Project.” As some of you may know, Scarecrow has for years now been of the very best independent video retailers here in the States. Think of the old Dave’s Video here in L.A., but in Seattle. It’s not just a store, it’s a vibrant community of film lovers. Of course, as the industry has changed, video stores have fallen on hard times and all too many (like Dave’s) have disappeared. So Scarecrow is now trying to restructure itself has a non-profit film library, and a community resource for filmmakers and cinephiles, featuring the largest single archive of movies on the planet (on VHS, Laserdisc, VCD, DVD and Blu-ray). Do check out Adam’s column for additional details and then consider heading over to Scarecrow’s Kickstarter page to pledge your support.
In announcement news today, Universal is re-releasing many of its best catalog titles in new limited edition “minimalist” packaging on 11/4, but there’s no new content. Among the titles are An American Werewolf in London, The Big Lebowski, The Blues Brothers, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, Psycho, Scarface, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Shaun of the Dead, and others.
And just a quick heads-up: A few readers have asked if the new BD single version of The King & I from Fox is a new master or the same one that was in last year’s Rogers and Hammerstein BD box set and the answer is that it is the same disc. Plan accordingly.
Finally today, we’d be remiss if we didn’t close by acknowledging the death yesterday of comedian and actor Robin Williams. He was just 63. Details are still emerging, but apparently Williams took his own life after a long struggle with depression. This is one of those deaths that was really unexpected and seems to have touched a lot of people very deeply. There just aren’t really the right words to convey how we all feel about this here at The Bits. Fortunately, our friend (and special edition producer) Charles de Lauzirika posted this image from Dead Poets Society on his Facebook page. We’ve decided to repost it here and close with it today, because really it says it all…
Rest in peace, Robin.
- Bill Hunt