But for those who find that Amazon isn’t the right shopping option for you, we’ve created another way to help support The Bits: our new Patreon. We’ve been posting bonus content there, including industry commentary and the first word on upcoming titles—in many ways, it’s become the new Rumor Mill section of the site. We also share film reviews, observations on various topics, and we have plans to add video content, and regular member chats with Bits staffers—content that complements what we do here on the website. You can join us on Patreon for as low as $6 a month (or you can contribute more if you feel The Bits is worth it to you). So if our work here at The Digital Bits in support of physical media has enhanced your enjoyment of it over the years, please consider joining us there and supporting us in that way. And if you have friends who feel the same, invite them to join us as well. It will ensure that we can keep the website free and open to all, you’ll get additional content, and you can interact with us directly. It’s really the only way we’re going to be able to keep The Bits going as we continue to fight for the survival of Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD. So thank you.

Now then, we have a couple of new announcements for you...

Universal has just set Steven Spielberg’s The Sugarland Express (1974) for release on 4K Ultra HD on 11/12. The title will include Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby TrueHD audio, along with From Vault to Screen: The Art of Restoring Universal’s Cinematic Legacy. Spielberg himself supervised and approved the new restoration, which debuted back in June at Cannes and the Tribeca Festival. You can see the cover artwork above left and also below.

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has just revealed their anticipated 4K Ultra HD release of Clint Eastwood’s The Eiger Sanction (1975) which is due to street on 11/4, along with 4Ks of Play Misty for Me (1971) and Two Miles for Sister Sara (1970). The company has also just announced a new Blu-ray reissue of Billy Wilder’s One, Two, Three (1961). And though they haven’t announced it on social media yet, they’ve also just revealed that William Friedkin’s Bug (2006) is finally coming to 4K Ultra HD on 11/26. Also coming on 11/26 is David Twohy’s Below (2002) in 4K UHD, as well as M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit (2015) in 4K UHD. And on 11/19, look for William Friedkin’s The Hunted (2003) in 4K UHD. Peter Collinson’s Fright (1971) also has a 4K street date on 11/5. And a nice surprise is that Michael Anderson’s The Martian Chronicles (1980) is coming to Blu-ray on 11/12, featuring three new audio commentaries!

StudioCanal has set Guy Hamilton’s An Inspector Calls (1954) for 4K Ultra HD in the UK on October 7th. Likewise, John Huston’s The African Queen (1951) on 4K on October 21st and Carol Reed’s The Third Man (1949) in 4K UHD on November 3th. We suspect a US release of The African Queen will follow soon from Paramount as well, either later this year or early next.

Shout! Studios is releasing Werner Herzog’s Aguirre, The Wrath of God (1972) on 4K Ultra HD on 11/5.

Eureka Entertainment has set Patrick Tam’s wuxia adventure classic The Sword (1980) for Blu-ray release on 11/19.

For you anime fans, FUNimation is going to be releasing Attack on Titan: Seasons 1, 2, and 3 on Blu-ray on 12/17.

Kit Parker Films is releasing Charley Chase at Hal Roach: The Late Silents (1927) on Blu-ray on 11/12.

Broadway Home Entertainment is gearing up to release Saturday Night Live veterans Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, and Rhys Thomas’ Documentary Now! The Complete Series on Blu-ray on 11/12.

And on the audio front, Rhino Records has just announced a new 3 CD & Blu-ray box set of The Talking Heads’ debut album 77 for release on 11/8, which includes a new Dolby Atmos mix. Vinyl LP versions will also be available.

Also coming from Warner Records is a new Blu-ray audio release of The Flaming Lips’ Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots album, which also features a new Dolby Atmos mix.

Finally today, our friend Arnold Lebovit is holding a pair of new Flights of Fantasy film screenings here in SoCal. On Saturday, 10/5 (at 2 PM and again at 8 PM), you can watch George Pal’s The Time Machine (1960) paired with more Puppetoon shorts at the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills. Then on Sunday, 10/6 (at 4 PM), you can watch Byron Haskin’s The War of the Worlds (1953) with still more Puppetoon shorts at The Frida Cinema in Santa Ana. And here’s the kicker: If you use the code “BITS” when purchasing tickets for the Fine Arts Theatre screenings, you’ll get a discount on tickets. These screenings should be a lot of fun, so click on the images below (or on the links in this paragraph) for more details.

All right, we’ll leave you with a look at the cover artwork for a few titles newly available on Amazon...

Stay tuned!

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