My Two Cents
Thursday, 29 December 2016 18:08

Celebrating Diamonds Are Forever, Samsung bows their next 4K player, Debbie Reynolds RIP & more

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We kick things off today here at The Bits with a brand new History, Legacy & Showmanship column from our own Michael Coate. This time, Michael takes a look back at the Bond film Diamonds Are Forever in honor of the film’s 45th anniversary this year (it was originally released in the U.S. on 12/17/1971). His column features another great roundtable discussion with leading Bond experts and film historians, including Jon Burlingame, John Cork, Bill Desowitz, Lee Pfeiffer, and Bruce Scivally. We certainly hope you enjoy it!

Also today, our own Tim Salmons has turned in another new Blu-ray review, this time featuring a look at Arrow Video’s new Creepshow 2: Special Edition. The disc is now available in stores and it’s well worth your time if you’re a fan of the film.  [Read on here…]

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In announcement news today, Lionsgate has set Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release on 2/21. Extras will include The Soul of War: Making Hacksaw Ridge documentary, deleted scenes, a Veteran’s Day greeting and the film’s trailer.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is releasing From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series – Season Three on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/7.

Sony has also set a Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner: 50th Anniversary Edition for Blu-ray release on 2/7.

The studio has set Ron Howard’s Inferno for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release on 1/24.

Paramount will release Jack Reacher: Never Go Back on all three formats on 1/31.

And Arrow Video has set House: Two Stories for Blu-ray release on 3/21, with the Dead or Alive Trilogy sue on 3/14.

On the hardware front, Samsung has just announced their second generation 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player for release in early 2017, the Samsung UBD-M9500. SRP and street date are still TBA, but the new player will have the ability to automatically adjusts its A/V playback quality to match your display and audio system’s optimal capabilities. It will also feature a Private Cinema Mode that allows you use Bluetooth headphones for late night UHD Blu-ray viewing, and the unit will allow for Bluetooth movie playback on your mobile devices too. Here’s what it looks like...

 Samsung UBD-M9500 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player

Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t take a moment to acknowledge the passing of Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds, just a day after the death of her daughter, Carrie Fisher. It’s hard to find the words to express how sad this is. Reynolds appeared in so many classic films over the years including Singin’ in the Rain (1952), How the West Was Won (1963), and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) and so many others. As it happens, HBO has been putting the finishing touches on a documentary on Debbie and Carrie’s relationship over the years called Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. It’s expected to air on the network in 2017. You can read more on Reynolds’ passing here at Variety.

We’ll leave you today with a look at the cover artwork for a few of the Blu-ray and 4K titles mentioned above (click on the covers to pre-order them on Amazon.com)...

Inferno (4K Ultra HD Blu-ray)   Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (4K Ultra HD Blu-ray)   Hacksaw Ridge (4K Ultra HD Blu-ray)

Dead or Alive Trilogy (Blu-ray Disc)   House: Two Stories (Blu-ray Disc)   Guess Who's Coming to Dinner: 50th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray Disc)

Stay tuned...

- Bill Hunt (@BillHuntBits)

 

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