My Two Cents
Thursday, 29 August 2024 14:53

Planet of the Apes (1968) in 4K Digital, plus Convoy, A Bridge Too Far, Adv of Priscilla, MaXXXine, Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Little Rascals silents & SO much more!

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We start as always today with several new disc reviews, including…

Sam Cohen’s take on Poul Bang and Sidney W. Pink’s Reptilicus (1961) in 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome.

Stuart’s look at Something Weird Video and Kino Classic’s double-feature Blu-ray of The Pace that Kills (1928) and its “talkie” remake The Cocaine Fiends (1935).

Dennis’ reviews of Clarence Brown’s Idiot’s Delight (1939) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection and Chad Ferrin’s Night Caller (2021) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

Stephen’s thoughts on Guy Ritchie’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video.

And last but definitely not least, Tim’s review of Arrow Video’s new UK-only release of Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs (1991) in 4K Ultra HD, which corrects the color space issues that plagued the Kino Lorber Studio Classics 4K disc from 2021.

More reviews are forthcoming tomorrow, so be sure to watch for them!

Now then, the big news today is that Franklin J. Schaffner’s Planet of the Apes (1968) has just been upgraded to 4K on all your favorite Digital services, including Apple TV, Fandango at Home, Movies Anywhere, Kaleidescape and more! It actually has Dolby Vision HDR on Apple TV (and it may elsewhere as well). Naturally, we’ve asked about the possibility of a physical 4K release of this film. I suspect there are no current plans, but I also suspect that if the title does well on Digital, that could change. [Read on here...]

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In any case, I would also remind everyone that M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense (1999) and Signs (2002) have just been announced for physical 4K release on 10/22, and in fact they are also available in 4K Digital right now. The former is a Hollywood Pictures title, while the latter is a Touchstone film. The simple fact that more 20th Century Studios, Touchstone, and Hollywood Pictures catalog titles are suddenly being made available in 4K in any form should be seen as a very good sign for future physical media release from those catalogs via Disney under their new distribution relationship with Sony. That is a massive improvement over the last several years.

Oh, but we’re not done yet!

Our friends at Via Vision’s Imprint Films label down under have just revealed three of their four new November 4K Ultra HD catalog titles, which now officially include Sam Peckinpah’s Convoy (1978) and Richard Attenborough’s A Bridge Too Far (1977)—both United Artists titles—as well as Stephan Elliot’s The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), which was a PolyGram title originally! And they still have one more title left to announce tomorrow, a title they describe as “an 80s juggernaut.” All of them will street on or about 11/27 (pre-orders start tomorrow on their website). Here’s a look at the cover artwork for these first three…

Imprint's November 2024 4K Catalog slate

All will feature Dolby Vision HDR and they’re going to be loaded with new and legacy extras. A Bridge too Far is a real surprise and a welcome one indeed!

In other news today, Lionsgate has set Ti West’s MaXXXine (2024) for release on Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD, and Digital release on 10/8, along with a Walmart-exclusive Blu-ray SKU that same day. Extras will include 3 featurettes, a Q&A with the director, and a pair of trailers. Audio will be Dolby Atmos and the 4K disc will include Dolby Vision HDR.

Decal Releasing has officially set Oz Perkins’ Longlegs (2024) for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 9/24.

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has announced a few more new catalog Blu-rays for October, including Matthew Chapman’s Hussy (1980) and Martin Ritt’s Cross Creek (1983) on 10/15, followed by George Seaton’s The Proud and Profane (1956) and Otto Preminger’s The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955) on 10/22.

Meanwhile, Kino Classics has announced the 4K Ultra HD release of Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 4K (1920) on 10/22.

Blue Underground has just made a new restoration of Lindsay Shonteff’s The Million Eyes of Sumuru: Extended Version (1967) official for release on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on 9/24.

Well Go USA will release Soi Cheang’s neo-noir martial arts actioner Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (2024) on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 11/19. Also coming from the company in 4K on 11/5 is Ty Robert’s You Gotta Believe (2024).

Janus Films have announced that their latest Janus Contemporaries Blu-ray title will feature Neo Sora’s musical documentary Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus (2023). Look for it to street on 11/19.

ClassicFlix is releasing The Little Rascals: The Restored Silents – Volume One on Blu-ray on 11/19, featuring 8 classic shorts from 1922.

And finally today, Apple TV has just made Ridley Scott’s Napoleon: The Director’s Cut (2023) available for viewing in 4K Digital. After witnessing what happened with Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven: Director’s Cut (2005)—which is a straight-up masterpiece—we are willing to give it a look. But we remain skeptical.

Before we go today, we’re also working to bring our 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits up to date with all of the recent 4K title announcements from the last couple of weeks—there were so many that we actually got behind! But watch for that to happen later this afternoon.

And since they’re proving so popular, where going to share those new Warner Bros. 4K catalog pre-orders again here. Don’t forget, anytime you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking to them through one of our links, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really do appreciate it!

North by Northwest (4K Ultra HD) North by Northwest (4K Ultra HD Steelbook) Blazing Saddles (4K Ultra HD)

The Terminator (4K Ultra HD) The Terminator (4K Ultra HD Steelbook) Blazing Saddles (4K Ultra HD Steelbook)

That’s all for now! Stay tuned…

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

 

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