Displaying items by tag: 20th Century Fox

“Patton is the best epic bio pic ever produced.” — Steven Jay Rubin, author of Combat Films: American Realism, 1945-2010

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the golden anniversary of the release of Patton, the Best Picture-winning biopic of General George S. Patton starring George C. Scott (Dr. Strangelove, The Exorcist III) in the title role.

Patton — directed by Franklin J. Schaffner (Planet of the Apes, Papillon) and which also starred Karl Malden (A Streetcar Named Desire, The Streets of San Francisco TV series) as General Omar N. Bradley — opened 50 years ago this month. For the occasion, The Bits features an historical reference listing of the film’s major-market roadshow engagements and a Q&A with film historian Steven Jay Rubin, who reflects on the film five decades after its debut. [Read on here...]

All right, we have some big release news for you today...

But first, we’ve got more new Blu-ray Disc reviews for you to enjoy, including...

Dennis’ look at Rian Johnson’s Brick (2005), newly released on Blu-ray Disc by Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Tim’s take on John Frankenheimer’s Prophecy (1979) from Scream Factory.

And more reviews are coming tomorrow too, so be sure to stay tuned for those.

Now then, the big news today is that the Warner Archive Collection has officially announced the details of their Tex Avery Screwball Classics, Volume 1 Blu-ray! [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got some GREAT Blu-ray release news today to close out the week for you. But first, we have a few more new Blu-ray reviews...

First, Dennis has posted his thoughts on Ernest B. Schoedsack’s Doctor Cyclops (1940) and Fritz Lang’s House by the River (1950), both newly released by Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Tim has taken a look at Paolo Heusch’s Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory (1961) from Severin Films and Lucio Fulci’s The House by the Cemetary (1981) from Blue Underground.

Also, I’m currently working on 4K Ultra HD reviews of Zombieland: Double Tap, Gemini Man, and more which I expect to post soon, so be sure to watch for them. [Read on here...]

All right. So first things first: Apologies for the lack of a post yesterday and on Friday. My wife and I have both been dealing with different types of family crises over the past week, so those have been demanding my attention.

But… in order to get a little bit of a break from the stress of it all, I went to see Ad Astra yesterday in Dolby Cinema.

WOW, do I wish I had my $20 back.

Now, I love the realistic spaceflight/science fiction genre. It’s kind of my whole milieu.

And I was really looking forward to Ad Astra, encouraged by all the rave reviews and the promising trailers.

But having now seen it, I really have to get my thoughts about it out before I have a brain aneurysm. [Read on here...]

“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...]

All right, the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show is finally under way in Las Vegas today, with a number of the major CE manufacturers holding big press conferences to announce their product line-ups for the year. In fact, I’ve just now sat through Samsung’s big press event (more on that in a minute). I’ll check back in with more tomorrow, but for now let’s get to what news we have so far concerning 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray at the show...

In terms of new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player hardware, obviously Oppo Digital has just launched their debut player on the format, the UDP-203 (SRP $549). I’ve been testing this unit for about a week now and it’s just tremendous. For a first-generation player, it’s very solid, very fast, and it plays just about everything – Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, DVD-Audio, CD, and SACD, plus a wide variety of digital video and audio formats via network and USB. It’s compatible with HDR-10 right out of the box, and it’s also hardware compatible with Dolby Vision; a firmware update in the months ahead will add full Dolby Vision compatibility (keep in mind that no Dolby Vision UHD BD software is yet available, though software is forthcoming – again, more in a moment – and you can stream it now via Netflix and Vudu). Oppo is also working on an audiophile-upgraded version of this player, the UDP-205 (SRP around $1K), due for release later this year. [Read on here…]

Welcome to a new edition of Pick-Ups!

Thank you for tuning in. I’m back from a break with some new reviews for you. By the way, did you folks go out and see The Conjuring 2? If you haven’t yet, you’re in for a treat. It’s easily one of the best horror films of the year. And if you’re seeing it at the Alamo Drafthouse, like I did, you’re in for a selection of some nice horror shorts. Definitely go out and see it if you can. [Read on here...]