Displaying items by tag: John McTiernan

“The Hunt for Red October had a big problem in that the Cold War kind of… ended while they were in post-production. So The Hunt for Red October should have been dated before it even opened — which means that the fact that it not only succeeded at the time, but has endured over the thirty years since, says a lot.” — Eric Lichtenfeld, author of Action Speaks Louder

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 30th anniversary of the release of The Hunt for Red October, the Cold War action thriller based upon Tom Clancy’s best-selling novel and which ultimately launched the Jack Ryan franchise.

The Hunt for Red October was directed by John McTiernan (Predator, Die Hard) and starred Sean Connery (James Bond, The Untouchables) and Alec Baldwin (Beetlejuice, Glengarry Glen Ross). [Read on here...]

This just in: Retail and industry sources are now telling us that 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is going to be releasing John McTiernan’s original Predator (1987) on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray later this year, likely in August, to support the September theatrical release of the new Shane Black sequel film The Predator. We’ve updated our 4K Ultra HD Release List accordingly.

We don’t have any additional information on this yet (this is NOT an officially announced title yet), but fans will know that this film has been plagued by terrible transfers on disc over the years. The original 2008 Blu-ray release was decent, though the 2010 Ultimate Hunter Edition Blu-ray (which included all the legacy special features) was a flat-out disaster of epic proportions, with so much of the film’s fine detail and grain texture removed through the excessive use of DNR (digital noise reduction) that it was unwatchable.

Fox certainly already knows this, but it’s worth saying regardless: The studio could score massive points with fans of the film if the 4K remastered package included a new and properly-remastered Blu-ray edition of the film as well… one with all those good special features too in one package. Fingers crossed.

Stay tuned…

- Bill Hunt

(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)

“It’s an amazing accomplishment for a director’s first studio film.” – Action movie authority Eric Lichtenfeld

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 30th anniversary of the release of Predator, John McTiernan’s sci-fi/action/horror film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers and Kevin Peter Hall and featuring Saturn Award-winning music, Golden Reel Award-winning sound effects and Academy Award-nominated visual effects. [Read on here...]