Displaying items by tag: Steven Jay Rubin

“As soon as Indy stepped out of the shadows in that first scene and revealed himself to us with that badass confidence and intensity, I feel like in that moment, Harrison Ford truly became a movie star of the highest order.” – Charles de Lauzirika, producer/director of Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this multi-page retrospective article commemorating the 40th anniversary of the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Lucas & Spielberg action classic that introduced moviegoers to the globe-trotting adventures of Indiana Jones and spawned a franchise of sequels, prequels, games, and theme park attractions.

Raiders, featuring Harrison Ford as everyone’s favorite cinematic archaeologist, was the most successful movie of its year of release and for a period of time the third highest-grossing motion picture of all time. The Oscar-winning movie also starred Karen Allen as heroine Marion Ravenwood, Paul Freeman as archvillain Belloq, Ronald Lacey as villain Toht, John Rhys-Davies as sidekick Sallah, and Denholm Elliott as colleague Marcus Brody.

In 1999 the Library of Congress selected Raiders of the Lost Ark for preservation in the National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant,” and earlier this year, Raiders and the other movies in the series were released for the first time on 4K UHD (reviewed here). [Read on here...]

We’ve got a few interesting news items to report today, but first some more reviews...

Tim has posted his thoughts on Scream Factory’s new The Omen Collection Blu-ray box set and it sounds like it’s pretty fantastic. The title is well worth a look and you’ll find the review here.

Also, Dennis has turned in his thoughts on The Art of Self-Defense on Blu-ray from Universal and the remake of The Lion King (2019) from Disney also on Blu-ray.

And I’m working on a review of Warner’s The Wizard of Oz in 4K Ultra HD, which looks absolutely fantastic. The title streets on Tuesday and I hope to have my review posted on Monday. So stay tuned for that. [Read on here...]

“The Twilight Zone was an enormously creative television series anchored by one of the true giants of the medium, Mr. Rod Serling, a master storyteller who was given unprecedented control over his work. In terms of quality, no show touches it in consistent quality.” — Steven Jay Rubin, author of The Twilight Zone Encyclopedia

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 60th anniversary of The Twilight Zone, Rod Serling’s classic anthology series which originally ran on CBS from 1959 to 1964.

The Twilight Zone premiered sixty years ago this month and for the occasion The Bits features a Q&A with a quartet of Rod Serling authorities and classic television historians who reflect on the timeless series (and its offspring) six decades after its debut. [Read on here...]

”Thunderball will always be the ‘big one.’ When Bond was bigger than anything on the planet, except maybe the Beatles.” — Steven Jay Rubin

The Digital Bits is pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the golden anniversary of the release of Thunderball, the fourth cinematic James Bond adventure starring Sean Connery as Agent 007 and, notably, the first produced in widescreen and, when adjusted for inflation, the most successful entry in the series.  [Read on here...]

“Only Sean Connery in 1964 could pull off wearing a baby-blue terrycloth onesie and still make every woman in the audience breathe a little more deeply and every man want to be him.” — John Cork

The Digital Bits is pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the golden anniversary of the release of Goldfinger, the classic James Bond adventure starring Sean Connery as Agent 007 and directed by Guy Hamiton. Featuring an unforgettable villain, unforgettable sidekick, unforgettable gadgets, and a Bond Girl with an unforgettable name, Goldfinger, which premiered in London 50 years ago today, delighted audiences becoming the first Bond film to be a global phenomenon, ensuring more 007 films for decades to come.  [Read more here...]