This is another quick update to let you know that Zavvi has just revealed an exclusive 4K Ultra HD Steelbook edition of Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket.

It’s now available for pre-order here.

Zavvi has a number of these 4K Steelbook exclusives (you can see some currently available titles here) and some of them tend to sell out relatively quickly.

So we recommend that you act quickly if you want this one... [Read on here...]

All right, so... I’ve got some interesting follow up on our Disney and Warner news from the past few days.

First though, we’ve got another review for you and more announcement news...

Tim has just turned in his thoughts on Steve Beck’s Thir13en Ghosts (2001), coming soon to Collector’s Edition Blu-ray from Scream Factory. Check that out here.

In release news, Lionsgate has just officially announced the 4K Ultra HD and Digital 4K release of Mamoru Oshii’s landmark anime Ghost in the Shell (1995) on 9/8, as expected. The 4K presentation will include Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio (in both English and Japanese, along with the original Japanese 2.0 LPCM audio), as well as both new and legacy special edition material. [Read on here...]

Well, the new week is here. And unfortunately, in the wake of our post on Friday about Walt Disney Home Entertainment’s catalog 4K plans (or lack thereof), the news today isn’t good either...

Per Deadline this morning, WarnerMedia has begun a round of layoffs and restructuring meant to help the company survive the pandemic and its resulting economic downturn. Jeffrey R. Schlesinger (President, Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution), Ron Sanders (President, Worldwide Theatrical Distribution & Home Entertainment and EVP, International Business Operations), and Kim Williams (EVP and Chief Financial Officer, Warner Bros. Entertainment) are all “exiting” the company per this arrangement. Ron Sanders has been with the company for almost thirty years, going all the way back to the early days of DVD. So his departure is a big deal. (Our friends at Media Play News have a good profile on Sanders up today here.)

But here’s the rub from the linked Deadline piece... “about 600 employees across multiple divisions are expected to be let go, starting today. Warner Bros Entertainment is believed to be heavily impacted.” [Read on here...]

This is just another quick update to let you know that Zavvi has just revealed an exclusive 4K Ultra HD Steelbook edition of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel.

It’s now available for pre-order here.

Zavvi has a number of these 4K Steelbook exclusives (you can see some currently available titles here) and they tend to sell out fast.

Occasionally, the same day they go on sale.

So we recommend that you act quickly if you want this one... [Read on here...]

All right, we have one last post here at The Bits for this week... and it’s a bit of a bummer. But let me start at the beginning...

Early last week, I started to receive word from retail and industry sources that Disney had made an internal decision to suspend the 4K Ultra HD release of live action catalog titles from both their own vaults and those of their newly acquired 20th Century Fox label.

In essence, my sources said, beyond new release theatrical titles, animated fare from Disney and Pixar, or Star Wars and Marvel-related projects, there were no plans at the studio going forward to release titles on physical 4K Ultra HD—future releases would be 4K Digital only.

The rumor began to leak elsewhere online last weekend, so readers understandably started asking me about it.

But that’s a fairly significant piece of news, so I wanted to take my time in trying to get to the bottom of it before commenting. And that’s exactly what I’ve spent much of this past week doing. [Read on here...]

This is just another quick update to let you know that Zavvi has just revealed an exclusive 4K Ultra HD Steelbook edition of Zack Snyder’s 300.

It’s now available for pre-order here.

Zavvi has a number of these 4K Steelbook exclusives (you can see some currently available titles here) and they tend to sell out fast.

Occasionally, the same day they go on sale.

So we recommend that you act quickly if you want this one... [Read on here...]

All right, 300 and the Resident Evil 4K releases are now official with details, so we’ll get to those in a moment...

First, Tim has turned in his thoughts on Dwight H. Little’s Bloodstone (1988), now on Blu-ray from our friends at Arrow Video.

And Dennis has given a Something Weird/Kino Classics title a look on Blu-ray too, a double feature of Sam Newell’s She Should’a Said No! and W. Merle Connell’s The Devil’s Sleep, each released originally back in 1949.

They’re all a hoot, so do give them a look.

Now then, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has issued its press release, making Zack Snyder’s 300 official for 4K Ultra HD on 10/6. [Read on here...]

This is just a quick update to let you know that Zavvi has just dropped an exclusive 4K Ultra HD Steelbook edition of Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

It’s now available for pre-order here.

Zavvi has a number of these 4K Steelbook exclusives (you can see some currently available titles here) and they tend to sell out very quickly.

As in sometimes the same day they go on sale.

So we recommend that you act quickly if you want this one... [Read on here...]

All right, this is a quick early morning update here at The Bits to let you all know that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is officially releasing Zack Snyder’s 300 on physical 4K Ultra HD on October 6 (SRP $27.99). You can see the cover artwork at left and also below.

Extras will include all of the features from the previous Blu-ray release, including audio commentary by Snyder, deleted scenes, webisodes, multiple behind-the-scenes featurettes and more. It appears that high dynamic range on the 4K disc will be standard HDR10, with Dolby Atmos audio. The package will also include the film on Blu-ray, as well as a digital copy.

But that’s just the first of two big 4K surprises this morning... [Read on here...]

We’ve got another quick update for you today with some good release news.

But first a new Blu-ray review...

Tim has just turned in his thoughts on Sergio Martino’s early giallo film The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971), now available on Blu-ray from Severin Films. Do give it a look.

The big announcement news today is that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has just officially set The Flintstones: The Complete Series for Blu-ray release on 10/13 (SRP $84.99).

It will also be made available on Digital on 10/6 (SRP $74.99). [Read on here...]