Displaying items by tag: Bluray Disc

All right, sorry for the lack of a news post yesterday, but the reason for it is that we’re hard at work on reviews for you here at The Bits. Speaking of which, late last night I posted my thoughts on Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant in 4K Ultra HD format from 20th Century Fox. That streets today. Yesterday afternoon, I also completed a review of Arrow’s new Blu-ray edition of John Frankenheimer’s Ronin, which arrives in stores on 8/29.

Meanwhile, Tim has turned in his thoughts on Scream Factory’s fine new Teen Wolf: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray and he’s also taken an exhaustive look at the contents of Sony’s recent Spider-Man: Limited Edition Collection Blu-ray box set. Now, a number of Bits readers have asked me recently what’s in the set, do all the legacy extras carry over, and what new content there may be. Tim has answered all of those questions for you in his review. The highlight of the set if definitely the new Spider-Man 3: Editor’s Cut created by Bob Murawski – we hear it’s a definite improvement upon the theatrical cut. So do give all of the above a look.

Also know that I am currently hard at work on my review of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on 4K Ultra HD format and I hope to have that posted later today. So keep checking back for it. [Read on here…]

All right, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and DC have just officially announced the release of director Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman Blu-ray Combo, Blu-ray 3D Combo, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD formats on 9/19 (SRP $35.99, $44.95, $28.98, and $44.95 respectively).

There will be more than two hours worth of extras on the Blu-rays, including a 5-part A Director’s Vision behind-the-scenes documentary, extended scenes, a blooper reel, Epilogue: Etta’s Mission, and additional “bonus scenes”. Audio on both the Blu-ray and 4K versions will be Dolby Atmos. 4K High Dynamic Range appears to be HDR-10. You’ll find the cover artwork below... [Read on here…]

The Criterion Collection has just announced an impressive new box set for release on 12/5, entitled 100 Years of Olympic Film. It’s the company’s biggest boxed release ever, including 53 films on 32 Blu-ray Discs or 43 DVDs (the SRP is $319.96, whichever version you choose).

From their press release: “Spanning fifty-three movies and forty-one editions of the Olympic Summer and Winter Games, this one-of-a-kind collection assembles, for the first time, a century’s worth of Olympic films – the culmination of a monumental, award-winning archival project encompassing dozens of new restorations by the International Olympic Committee. These documentaries cast a cinematic eye on some of the most iconic moments in the history of modern sports, spotlighting athletes who embody the Olympic motto of “Faster, Higher, Stronger”: Jesse Owens shattering sprinting world records on the track in 1936 Berlin, Jean Claude-Killy dominating the slopes of Grenoble in 1968, Joan Benoit breaking away to win the first-ever women’s marathon on the streets of Los Angeles in 1984. In addition to the work of Bud Greenspan, the man behind an impressive ten Olympic features, this stirring collective chronicle of triumph and defeat includes such landmarks of the documentary form as Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympia and Kon Ichikawa’s Tokyo Olympiad, along with lesser-known but captivating contributions by major directors like Claude Lelouch, Carlos Saura, and Miloš Forman.” [Read on here…]

We’re kicking things off today with a new Blu-ray review. Tim has posted his thoughts on Andrés Torres’ Bag Boy Lover Boy (2014) now available on BD from Severin Films. You’ll find that here. Note that I’m currently at work on a number of 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray reviews, which I expect to post starting tomorrow, so be sure to watch for those.

In announcement news today, Scream Factory has revealed the extras that will be included on their forthcoming Blu-ray release of Dan O’Bannon’s The Resurrected (due on 9/12). Look for a new 2K transfer of the film, a new interview with actress Jane Sibbett (Claire’s Conundrum), a new interview with author S.T. Joshi (The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward), audio commentary (with producers Mark Borde and Kenneth Raich, screenwriter Brent V. Friedman, actor Richard Romanus and make-up effects artist Todd Masters), 4 additional interview featurettes (The Resurrected Man with Chris Sarandon, Abominations & Adaptations with screenwriter Brent Friedman, Grotesque Melodies with composer Richard Band, Lovecraftian Landscapes with production designer Brent Thomas, and Human Experiments with special effects artist Todd Masters), deleted and extended scenes from the workprint, the Japanese trailer and home video trailer, and a photo gallery. You can see the cover artwork at left and pre-order it on Amazon at this link. [Read on here…]

All right, the big news so far today is that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Netflix have just set House of Cards: The Complete Fifth Season for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 10/3.

Sony has also announced the return of a classic holiday TV special to DVD in the form of a new Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas: 40th Anniversary Edition. Extras will include the Behind the Scenes in Frogtown Hollow featurette, deleted and alternate scenes, outtakes, and a lost song (Born in a Trunk).

In addition to Vice Versa and Night of the Living Dead, which we’ve mentioned in the last few days, Mill Creek is also releasing Mary Reilly on Blu-ray on 10/17 and a Suspect: 30th Anniversary Edition on 9/12. You can see the cover artwork below. [Read on here…]

We’ve got a good release news update for you today here at The Bits. But first, a couple of items of note...

This is kind of important for us: It’s getting harder and harder to keep The Bits running, what with server, bandwidth, staff, and other operating costs that seem to be increasing all the time, even as advertising revenue is in decline. It’s a problem many websites are facing these days. But we’re lucky in that we’re an Amazon affiliate. So we’ve just posted the weekly update of our Release Dates & Artwork section here at The Bits, featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. We’d like to humbly ask all our readers: Please use our links when ordering from Amazon. All you have to do is click through any one of our Amazon links here at the site, then we get affiliate credit for literally anything you order from Amazon in that same shopping session. It make a huge difference for us in allowing us to keep The Bits going. This support is critical; it’s the difference between continuing The Bits or not. So we thank you very much for supporting us in this way. [Read on here…]

All right... let’s have a release news update today, shall we?

First though, I have an update for you on the forthcoming 4K Ultra HD release of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (due on 8/22), directly from Disney. I attended a press event for the title yesterday at Disney Studios in Burbank, and was able to ask some technical questions. First of all, Disney seems fairly bullish on the 4K Ultra HD format. As we’ve already reported, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales will be their second release on the format on 10/5. The studio is currently evaluating future releases in 4K and is likely to release most new release titles day and date on the format going forward, though there may be the occasional exception. Yes, of course I asked about the prospect of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story being released on the format in the months ahead, and no, they haven’t made a decision on this yet. Personally, I think there’s a decent chance we’ll see them in 4K in the next twelve months, but that’s just my own opinion... we’ll have to wait and see as Disney makes future announcements. We do expect Disney to announce more 4K titles in the next month or two. [Read on here…]

Hey, folks. I’m be back soon with a larger news update soon. We’ve been doing some server work here at The Bits while we’re in a bit of a lull, plus we’ve been doing some review work as well.

Speaking of which, you may have seen it when I posted it yesterday, but I’ve done a long awaited hardware review: Epson’s PowerLite Home Cinema 5040UB 3 LCD projector. I’ve been demoing it here at The Bits for a few months now and it’s pretty extraordinary. It’s not full native 4K, but it accepts 4K video signals, enhances the imagery via “pixel shifting” to make 4K look almost 4K, makes 1080p HD look more like 4K, displays HDR10 and the entire DCI-P3 color space, and it even displays 3D better than you’ll see in many theatres. If you’re into front projector, it’s one of the best and most affordable home cinema projectors you can buy right now. Do give it a look.

Also, Tim has posted several new Blu-ray reviews, including his thoughts on Paramount’s The Naked Gun Trilogy, Arrow Films’ Pulse, Severin Films/Intervision’s Feed the Light, Grindhouse Releasing’s Massacre Mafia Style, Lionsgate’s Warlock Collection, and Warner Archive’s Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Enjoy! [Read on here…]

We’re kicking things off today with a brand new View from the Cheap Seats column from our own Bud Elder, who is a genuine walking treasure in his native Oklahoma and everywhere he goes too as far as we’re concerned. This time, he weighs in on Laugh-In, Pink Panther & More Recent Classic Blu-ray/DVD Releases… plus Busey (as in Gary Busey). Bud’s columns are always worth a read, and this one is no different, so do give it a look.

Also today, Tim has turned in two more new Blu-ray reviews, looking at Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Pulse (2001) from Arrow Video and the Warlock Collection from Lionsgate via their fine Vestron Video Collector’s Series. Enjoy!

And Russell Hammond has posted the weekly update of the Release Dates & Artwork section with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, 3D, and 4K Ultra HD cover art and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, whenever you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking through one of our links, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really do appreciate it. It makes a real difference for us. So thank you! [Read on here…]

Since the earliest days of American television, some programs thereon have become phenoms by lancing through public consciousness at the right time and place in popular culture.

You know the list – The Texaco Star Theater, starring Milton Berle, was the first show to become “must see.” The same moniker could also be used for I Love Lucy or The Honeymooners or The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson or even Saturday Night Live.

While these programs and a few shows like them, say All in the Family, breathed rarefied air, none caused a change in the public stratosphere like a comedy sketch show which started airing on NBC Monday nights in 1967, opposite The Lucy Show and Gunsmoke, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In.

Now, to celebrate Laugh-In’s 50th Anniversary, Time Life Home Video has released Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In: The Complete Series – including every episode from all six seasons along with exclusive new bonus features and a free DVD. That’s 140 episodes on 38 DVDs. [Read on here...]