Displaying items by tag: John Carpenter

We’re starting the week with more new disc reviews here at The Bits, including...

Stephen’s take on John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars (2001) in 4K UHD from Shout! and Scream Factory.

Stuart’s look at Richard Thorpe’s That Funny Feeling (1965) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Dennis’ thoughts on Jack Haley Jr.’s That’s Entertainment: 50th Anniversary Remastered Edition Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection. And we’ve also fixed his review of Frank Borzage’s The Spanish Main (1945) on Blu-ray—also from Warner Archive—that was displaying oddly here on the site last week.

Now then... the big catalog release news today is that our friend Vincent Pereira has just announced a new remastered Director’s Cut Blu-ray of his excellent A Better Place (1997)! It’s available exclusively from the MVD Shop (click this link), for release on 5/27.

The disc features a new 2K restoration of a 3K scan of the original camera negative and first-generation print elements, and it’s presented in the originally-intended 1.50:1 aspect ratio. Audio will be 5.1 LPCM surround, with optional English subtitles. Extras will include a new introduction by Pereira, the legacy commentary with Pereira and the cast and crew, the 2001 version of the film in SD with stereo audio, vintage introductions by executive producers Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier, the vintage “goof” commentary on the 2001 version, deleted scenes with optional commentary, outtakes and bloopers, and a new 2025 trailer. You can see the cover artwork at left and the trailer is available to view below the break. [Read on here...]

Hey guys… my apologies for the lack of updates over the last couple of days. I’ve had a significant computer issue here that I’ve been dealing with which has basically knocked me offline briefly, but things are finally getting back to normal here today.

In terms of new disc reviews, we’ve got a bunch of great titles for you to read about today…

Tim has posted his take on Michael Anderson’s Orca: The Killer Whale (1977) in 4K UHD and Monk: Season Seven (2008-2009) on Blu-ray both from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as John Carpenter’s Village of the Damned (1995) in 4K UHD from Shout! and Scream Factory.

Dennis has reviewed Sean Mathias’ Bent (1977) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome and Frank Borzage’s The Spanish Main (1945) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Stuart has offered his take on Lina Wertmüller’s The End of the World in Our Usual Bed on a Night Full of Rain (1978), Robert Altman’s A Prairie Home Companion (2006), and Jack Arnold’s Black Eye (1974), all on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stephen has delivered his thoughts on Stephen Norrington’s Blade (1998) in 4K UHD from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment.

In terms of new release news, A24 has just announced a shop-exclusive version of Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist (2024) in both 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray that’s due to street in March. The film has been scanned from the original 35mm negatives with the VistaVision footage scanned at 6K, and it will be presented in the proper 1.66:1 aspect ratio on disc. The audio and HDR formats have yet to be announced, but we assume HDR10 high dynamic range at least. [Read on here...]

Boy, we’ve got a bunch of new catalog title announcements for you today, along with a TON of new Blu-ray and 4K cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. But first, we have a few more new disc reviews...

Tim has taken a look at the new animated double-feature of Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan’s The Addams Family (2019) and The Addams Family 2 (2021) in 4K Ultra HD from Shout! Studios.

And Dennis has offered his thoughts on Frank Borzage’s The Shining Hour (1938) and King Vidor’s Northwest Passage (1940) both on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Now then, let’s dive right into those announcements...

Kino Lorber Studio Classics has just revealed that Sidney Hayers’ Circus of Horrors (1960) is coming to 4K Ultra HD on 10/29, but with an SDR only grade (probably due to limitations with the original camera negative).

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment and HBO have set Veep: The Complete Series for release on Blu-ray on 10/22, in a new 13-disc set. This follows closely in the wake of Warner’s newly-announced release of The West Wing: The Complete Series in a new 28-disc Blu-ray set on 10/1. Both are obviously timed to the upcoming Presidential Election here in the States. They’re now available on Amazon.com and you can see the cover artwork below the break (click on each to visit the pre-order pages). [Read on here...]

Morning everyone, and welcome to the first week of July!

I’ve been very busy over the weekend working on new disc reviews, frankly probably a little too hard—I should probably have taken more of a break to recharge. Nevertheless, I’ve completed a trio of new reviews for you all to enjoy, so today we present...

My take on Luc Besson’s La Femme Nikita (1990) new on 4K Ultra HD Steelbook from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment—a great 4K remaster of one of my favorite films.

My look at Ron Frank’s funny and poignant documentary Remembering Gene Wilder (2023) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber—which covers the actor’s life and career in detail, and features interviews with Mel Brooks and other friends.

And finally, my review of a surprise title that just arrived on Sunday morning: Jan de Bont’s Twister (1996) in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment—a terrific remaster that leaves this film looking and sounding better than it ever has before.

I’m also working to finish another review today, which is Alex Garland’s Civil War. I expect to have that up here by tomorrow. And of course, the rest of the Bits team is working on new reviews as well, so be sure to check back for those over the coming days.

Now then, in announcement news this afternoon, Universal has officially set David Leitch’s The Fall Guy (2024) for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 7/23. The package will include both the Theatrical Cut and an Extended Cut of the film with 20 minutes of additional footage. Extras will feature audio commentary on both of those with director Leitch and producer Kelly McCormick, a gag reel, alternate takes, the 5-part Stunts on Stunts: Breaking Down the Action documentary, and 6 featurettes (Making a Meta Masterpiece, How to Break a World Record, Nightclub Mayhem, The Art of Doubling, Making Metalstorm, and Falling for The Fall Guy with Rob Reese). You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

We’re starting this week with a trio of great new disc reviews here at The Bits, including...

Stuart’s thoughts on Kenneth Branagh’s A Midwinter’s Tale (1995) on Blu-ray from Castle Rock Entertainment via the always excellent Warner Archive Collection.

And Stephen’s take on Oldřich Lipský’s The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians (1981) on Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile and Vinegar Syndrome, as well as his look at John Carpenter’s Starman (1984) in 4K Ultra HD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment as featured in their excellent Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection: Volume 4 box set!

All of these are fascinating titles and well worth a look.

Before we continue, I mentioned Warner Archive a moment ago: All of us here at The Digital Bits would like to take a moment today to salute our dear friend George Feltenstein and everyone who has contributed to the Warner Archive Collection over the years—the fan-favorite boutique label just celebrated its 15th anniversary on Saturday! Here’s to many more years and all the fantastic Blu-ray and DVD catalog titles to come. Well done, folks!

In announcement news today, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has just set Mark DiSalle’s The Perfect Weapon (1991) and Stephen Norrington’s Death Machine (1994) for Blu-ray release on 5/21. The company has also revealed that Gary Nelson’s Noble House (1988) miniseries is coming soon to Blu-ray, and also that Richard Stanley’s Dust Devil (1992) is coming soon to both Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD. [Read on here...]

We’re rounding out the week here with three more new disc reviews, including...

Dennis’ take on Costa-Gravas’ Mad City (1997) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stuart’s thoughts on Frederic C. Hobbs’s Godmonster of Indian Flats (1973) on Blu-ray from AGFA, Something Weird, and Vinegar Syndrome, and the Villages of the Damned: Three Horrors from Spain Blu-ray release also from Vinegar Syndrome, which includes Pedro Olea’s The Forest of the Beast (1970), Silvio Narizzano’s The Sky Is Falling (1975), and Gonzalo Suárez’s Beatriz (1976).

Meanwhile, the rest of us are already working on a bunch more new Blu-ray and 4K UHD reviews for next week. And I do mean a bunch. So be sure to watch for them.

We also have a couple significant pieces of catalog news for you this afternoon before we go...

The first is that Kino Lorber Studio Classics has just officially set Ivan Reitman’s Kindergarten Cop (1990) for release on 4K Ultra HD on 1/23, featuring two new audio commentaries (by film historians Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson, and a second by film historian Samm Deighan). [Read on here...]

All right, folks. This will be our last post until Wednesday next week, as it’s not only the long Labor Day weekend here in the States but by wife and I are also celebrating our thirty-second wedding anniversary. So we’re going to take a little time to relax here in sweltering-in-a-heatwave Southern California.

But, we’ve got a TON of release news to talk about, as well as a pair of new disc reviews to start things off today...

Stephen has turned in his thoughts on Gaspar Noe’s intriguing and doubly-experimental Lux Aeterna (2019) on Blu-ray from Yellow Veil Pictures via Vinegar Syndrome.

And Tim has posted his thoughts on Jeffrey Obrow and Stephen Carpenter’s The Kindred (1987), now available in a new Special Edition Blu-ray release from Synapse Films.

And we’ve got lots more disc reviews coming over the weekend and early next week, so be sure to check back for them.

Meanwhile, our friends at Via Vision Entertainment down under are releasing a Saw: The Ultimate Collection 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray set on 11/9 that’s not only comes in an exclusive “reverse bear trap” replica, but is limited to just 1500 copies. The 13-disc set includes Saw, Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV, Saw V, Saw VI, Saw 3D: The Final Chapter, Jigsaw, Spiral: From the Book of Saw, plus a Bonus Disc packed with extras. You can see the packaging at left. Be sure to visit their website here for all the details and to pre-order. [Read on here...]

All right, yesterday was a little crazy here at The Bits, what with Paramount finally dropping their long-awaited Star Trek 4K announcement. That deluxe Complete Adventure 4K package for the Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Director’s Edition was unexpected and frankly a fantastic surprise. But it’s worth a quick follow up today just to clarify everything...

The Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition: The Complete Adventure Limited Edition is a 3-disc set here in the States that includes the DE in 4K, a newly-authored 4K of the previously-released Theatrical Cut as well as the Special Longer Version (included via seamless branching), and a Blu-ray full of bonus content that I’m told includes basically everything ever created and released for the film on home video. (I’m awaiting confirmation of the exact contents from the studio.) But it does NOT include a Blu-ray of the DE itself, nor are Blu-rays of the Theatrical and SLV versions included. The DE is available separately on Blu-ray, and obviously the Theatrical Cut Blu-ray was included in the original 4-Movie Collection from last year.

To be 100% clear, the Special Longer Version is ONLY going to be available in The Complete Adventure package, and producer David C. Fein has said that it’s a genuine limited edition. Much like Sony’s recent Ghostbusters: Ultimate Collection, it’s very likely to sell out in pre-orders, and it’s NOT going to be re-released. So if you were planning to wait for Black Friday to pick it up at a discount, or you’re expecting some future “ultimate” 4K box that includes the TNG films as well all The Complete Adventure content, you’re likely to be disappointed. The new 4K disc with both the Theatrical Cut and the Special Longer Version on it is exclusive to this set and when they’re gone, they’re gone. Be sure to plan accordingly.

[Editor’s Note: It appears that the UK version of this set MAY be a 5-disc set, which includes the Blu-rays of The Director’s Edition and the Theatrical Cut. And its discs should be all-region.]  [Read on here...]

We’ve got a quick early news update for you here at The Bits this morning featuring a major new disc review and some great breaking title announcement news as well. First the review...

Tim has just weighed in with his thoughts on John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London: Limited Edition in 4K Ultra HD from our friends at Arrow Video.

Sounds like it’s a loaded package, with best-ever image and sound quality for this film, so if you’re a fan you won’t want to miss it.

Now then, we’ve learned that Shout! and Scream Factory are just about to announce their May Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD slate, and it includes a trio of great and much-loved catalog titles in 4K Ultra HD. [Read on here...]

All right, it’s been a busy week here at The Bits so far and we’ve got a lot of ground to cover today.

First of all, sorry for the lack of daily updates. The reason is three-fold. First, we’ve been working on reviews here at the website—more on that in a moment. Second, we had 110° heat here in SoCal this past weekend, with which our AC could not keep up. That meant my home theater was close to 90°, which made reviewing unpleasant, plus there was the danger of power outages. The good news is that we’ve made up for it since the heat broke—again, more on that in a moment. (The bad news is that our skies this afternoon are an unnatural shade of apocalyptic yellow-orange due to the California wildfires, but that’s neither here nor there.) The third reason is more complicated.

We’ve been hearing from many of our readers based in the Netherlands that you’re unable to see The Bits website. The cause of this is that—apparently—a very large portion of the Internet’s DDoS attacks and cyber shenanigans either come from, or are routed through—Netherlands IP addresses. So our server team is working on a solution to block the riff-raff while allowing the rest of you actual readers to see the site. Please be patient while we sort it all out. Unfortunately, this kind of thing seems perfectly in keeping with the whole 2020 milieu. [Read on here...]