Displaying items by tag: Bluray Disc

Afternoon, folks!  We’ve got a trio of new Blu-ray Disc reviews for you today...

The good Dr. Jahnke has checked out Warner Archive’s new Gypsy Blu-ray and found it to be pretty darned swell.  Do give it a look.

Also, Tim Salmons has given a pair of great recent Criterion Blu-rays a spin and they’re awfully nice too – David Fincher’s The Game and Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.  Enjoy!

In announcement news today...  [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a quick update for you today, but we do have some release news and whatnot…

First, Russell Hammond has posted the Release Dates and Artwork update with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD and Video Game cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links.  As always a portion of anything you order through our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits and we greatly appreciate it!

Now then… I’ve updated my Star Trek Into Darkness Blu-ray review with a fully complete listing of all the exclusive content available via Target, Best Buy/Cinema Now and iTunes.  So do check it out.  One hopes the studio will eventually revisit the title on BD as a truly complete special edition, perhaps when all the retail exclusive content deals expire.  In the meantime, now you can at least see what’s available.  And at the very least, anyone who buys the BD and redeems the digital copy code through iTunes can get access to the enhanced commentary, so that’s something.  [Read on here…]

All right, first up here at The Bits today, we’ve got more Blu-ray Disc reviews for you.  We’ve updated Adam Jahnke’s reviews of a pair of classic Roger Corman titles from Shout! Factory, including Death Race 2000 and Galaxy of Terror.  Also today, our own Joe Marchese has turned in his thoughts on Twilight Time’s more recent Leave Her to Heaven, a 1945 classic from Fox.

You may also have noticed that we’ve modified the Latest Review sidebar (over on the right hand side of the home page) to include our NINE latest reviews (not just six) and also to show the vintage reviews we’re upgrading into the new database as well as the new release title reviews.  We figured that for some of you, those older reviews from the original Bits website will be new – you’ll not have seen them before.  So we wanted to make sure to highlight them as they go into the new database to make them easier for you to find and read.  We hope you enjoy them!

Also today, the good Dr. Jahnke has a new Burnt Offerings column for you.  Here’s a surprise some of you may not have been aware of: Universal has released the 1984 film The Wild Life on DVD-R as part of their Vault Series!  You’ll find more on that, plus news of new DVD-R/MOD titles from Warner Archive and Paramount, in today’s column.

Now then... I’ve got a bit of an update of you all on Paramount’s Star Trek Into Darkness Blu-ray.  Specifically, I’ve now seen the Target-exclusive bonus features...  [Read on here...]

Afternoon, everyone!  Hope you all had a fine weekend.

Here at The Bits today, we’ve posted a trio of Dr. Jahnke’s Blu-ray reviews from The Original Bits site to the new review database here, including Warner’s AC/DC: Let There Be Rock – Limited Collector’s Edition, Sony’s Tommy and also Shout! Factory’s Rock ‘n’ Roll High School – one of their Roger Corman’s Cult Classics titles.  As you can tell, there’s a bit of a music theme there.  Enjoy.

Speaking of Dr. Jahnke, as many of you know we have a Digital Bits Facebook page where you’re all very welcome to join us.  But there’s a very fine Jahnke’s Electric Theater Facebook page too.  Be sure to drop on by, give it a “like” and chime in with Adam as he gear up for this year’s Hell Plaza Oktoberfest.

In announcement news today... [Read on here...]

All right, we’re wrapping up a week of reviews with still more reviews!

Our own Tim Salmons has turned in a look at Disney’s new The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh on Blu-ray, which is not only a terrific classic animated film but it looks like the disc is pretty good too.  Don’t miss it!

Also today, we’ve upgraded nine more older Blu-ray reviews from The Original Bits into the new database, including Terry Gilliam’s The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, David Lynch’s Blue Velvet: 25th Anniversary Edition and Richard Rush’s The Stunt Man from Dr. Adam Jahnke, Alejandro Jodorowsky’s El Topo and The Holy Mountain from Doogan, Danny Boyle’s Sunshine from the late great Barrie Maxwell and my own reviews of a pair of great space documentaries, The Wonders of the Solar System and The Wonder of It All, as well as Zhang Yimou’s visually stunning and poetic Hero.  Enjoy!

Also here at The Bits today, we’ve now got a complete and official listing of all the extras that will be included on Warner’s newly-announced Blu-ray Disc versions of Pacific Rim (due on 10/15).  Here’s what to look for...  [Read on here...]

Hey, weren’t we just talking about this title today?  Well, now it’s official...

Warner Home Video is releasing Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim on Blu-ray 3D Limited Edition Gift Set, Blu-ray Combo and DVD on October 15th (SRP $44.95, $35.99 and $28.98).  According to the press release, extras on the Blu-ray versions will include audio commentary by Guillermo del Toro, a Prologue by del Toro, 4 Focus Points (The Directors Notebook, Drift Space, The Digital Artistry of Pacific Rim and The Shatterdome), deleted scenes and a blooper reel.  We’re double-checking to see if that’s the complete list of special features or just a “Cliff’s Notes” version, and also if there’s any retail exclusive Bonus Disc nonsense and whatnot.

[Late Update: We’ve heard back from WHV – here’s the final confirmed and detailed list of extras on the Blu-ray versions:  Audio commentary by Guillermo del Toro, The Directors Notebook, 3 documentary featurettes (Drift Space, The Digital Artistry of Pacific Rim and The Shatterdome), 17 Focus Points featurettes and features (A Primer on Kaijus & Jaegers, Intricacy of Robot Design, Honoring The Kaiju Tradition, The Importance of Mass and Scale, Shatterdome Ranger Roll Call, Jaegers Echo Human Grace, Inside the Drift, Goth-Tech, Mega Sized Sets, Baby Kaiju Set Visit, Tokyo Alley Set Visit, Orchestral Sounds from the Anteverse, The Shatterdome (a Production Database), The Wall of Life/Rations, Excuse Me, Theft and “Catch You In The Drift, Dad”), deleted scenes (some 30 minutes worth according to del Toro in recent interviews) and a blooper reel.]

As you can see, the Blu-ray 3D version comes in special “Jaeger” packaging, which I hope looks a little better in person than it does in the pictures below.  Here’s a look at Warner’s final cover art for all three versions, hot off the wires...  [Click here for the artwork]

Afternoon, folks!  We’ve got still more Blu-ray reviews for you today...

First up, our own Dr. Adam Jahnke has checked in with his thoughts on Warner Archive’s new BD release of Sidney Lumet’s Deathtrap from 1982.  Do check it out.

Also, Tim Salmons has given Disney’s The Great Mouse Detective: Mystery in the Mist Edition a look for you on Blu-ray Disc.  Sounds like it’s far and away better than their recent Sword in the Stone BD, so thank goodness for that.

And we’ve added 8 more classic Blu-ray Disc reviews from The Original Bits website into our new review database here, including Universal’s Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series and Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, MPI’s Baraka, Blue Underground’s The Final Countdown, Warner’s King Kong (1933), A&E/New Video’s The World at War, Vivendi’s Monty Python: Almost the Truth – The Lawyer’s Cut and the original Bandai Visual release of Katsuhiro Otomo’s landmark anime Akira.  Enjoy!

Now then, let’s get to today’s release news... [Read on here...]

Today is Blu-ray review day here at The Bits...

First up, we have a couple of brand new reviews for you.  From our own Todd Doogan comes a look at Criterion’s excellent special edition of Brazil, lovingly upgraded for high-definition and so better than ever.  Don’t miss it!

Also, Tim has turned in his thoughts on Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man, which is a darned fine special edition release produced by our old friend Charles de Lauzirika.  And the movie’s not half bad too!

Plus, we’ve also upgraded a whopping ten previous Blu-ray reviews from The Original Bits into our new review database.  This includes Sony’s Ghostbusters, Dr. Strangelove: 45th Anniversary Special Edition and the Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition, Warner’s Barry Lyndon, Heat, Contact and 2010: The Year We Make Contact, Universal’s Dune, DreamWorks’ Galaxy Quest and A&E’s Space: 1999 – Season 1.  Good stuff all.  We have many more classic Blu-ray reviews that we’re gradually upgrading into our review database, so be sure to check them all out and watch for lots more.  [Read on here…]

All right, we’ve got a screaming new server for The Bits now – just a few little DNS issues here and there need to be worked out and we’ll be completely back to normal.  Let us know on The Bits Facebook page if you notice anything amiss.  And thanks again for your patience.

First up here at The Bits today, we’ve got a pair of new Blu-ray Disc reviews for you:  Tim Salmons has checked in with his thoughts on Disney’s disappointing new The Sword and the Stone: 50th Anniversary Edition.  Sadly, it looks like the studio dropped the ball on the remastering.  And our own Todd Doogan has turned in his two cents on Michael Bay’s new Pain & Gain on Blu-ray from Paramount.  As with the case with Star Trek Into Darkness, it appears you get great A/V quality and bupkis for extras – in this case (given the apparent lack of retail exclusive versions) it probably means a double-dip is in the offing.  Anyway, enjoy the reviews.  [Read on here…]

Quick important note:  Because of all the extra traffic this week, we’re going to be upgrading our server this evening to be able to handle these kinds of traffic spikes more easily.  We may be down for a couple hours later tonight but we should be back up by tomorrow morning better than ever.  Certainly by Monday, Scotty tells us that the warp core should be purring like a kitten again.  So thanks for your patience and know that things will be much better soon.

Now then, there’s big release news today…

Our friends at Kino Lorber have announced their November Blu-ray and DVD release slate and there are some real gems, including a Nosferatu: 2-Disc Deluxe Remastered Edition (DVD & Blu-ray) and a Russian Ark: Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray and DVD) on 11/19!  F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu will include two versions of the 1922 classic, the original German Intertitles (with optional English subs) or English Intertitles, Hans Erdmann’s original 1922 score in 5.1 Surround or 2.0 Stereo, the 53-minute The Language of Shadows documentary chronicling Murnau’s early career, clips and highlights from other Murnau films and a photo gallery.  Features on Russian Ark are still TBA.  [Read on here…]