All right, we’re starting off the new week here at The Bits this afternoon with a whole mess of new Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD reviews...

First up, I’ve spent the weekend going over Paramount’s Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible 2, Mission: Impossible III, and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, all in 4K, with a fine-tooth comb. Those reviews are all up now (just click on the title links), and by the end of the day look for my review of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol in 4K as well. All are worthy upgrades and they street tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Tim has gone in-depth on Arrow Video’s outstanding new The Complete Sartana 5-film Blu-ray box set. So be sure to give that a look as well. [Read on here...]

It’s official. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has just set Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey for release on 4K Ultra HD on 10/30 (SRP $41.99).

The new 4K UHD presentation will feature high dynamic range in both HDR10 and Dolby Vision, with an image newly mastered from the original 65mm camera negative.

The 4K disc will also include both a remixed and restored 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, as well as the original 1968 6-track 70mm theatrical audio mix (also in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio format).

This will be a 3-disc set, with the film in 4K UHD, a movie Blu-ray Disc of the film (also remastered from the new 4K presentation), a special features Blu-ray Disc, and a Digital Copy. The packaging will include a collectible booklet and art cards featuring iconic images from the film. [Read on here...]

“2001 is Kubrick’s crowning achievement. It’s the movie that launched him into ’superstar’ status that placed him alongside the likes of Welles, Bergman, Fellini, Kurosawa, Hitchcock, Ford...” — film historian and author Raymond Benson

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the golden anniversary of the release of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick’s acclaimed science-fiction adventure starring Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood.

Featuring groundbreaking visual effects and memorable usage of classical music (and decades of analysis), 2001 premiered 50 years ago this week, and for the occasion The Bits features a compilation of statistics and box office data that places the movie’s performance in context; passages from vintage film reviews; and a reference/historical listing of the movie’s limited-market 70-millimeter and roadshow engagements. [Read on here...]

So today’s post is a quick one, but it’s a very, very good bit of news, especially for catalog and 4K fans…

Retail sources have begun telling us that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is preparing to release a 4K Ultra HD version of director Stanley Kubrick’s landmark science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey. This is something we’ve actually known was coming for a few months now, having heard it off the record directly from studio sources. Now that we’re finally hearing the first word from retailers we feel comfortable confirming it. [Read on here…]

I decided that I wanted to do something a little different with today’s My Two Cents column on The Digital Bits, so I thought I’d review a few new and/or recent books that may be of interest to cinephiles, especially those of you who are fans of Stanley Kubrick’s legendary 2001: A Space Odyssey.

As many of you would agree, I’m sure, 2001 is a landmark of filmed science fiction. Based loosely on a short story by visionary author Arthur C. Clarke, it depicts an AI-guided and manned journey through space, first to the Moon and then out to Jupiter, in response to the discovery of an alien artifact on the Moon’s surface, apparently having been buried there millions of years ago.

Not only was Kubrick’s film notable for its realistic depiction of the Moon’s surface fully a year before NASA’s Apollo astronauts actually landed there, it’s been lauded ever since for its realistic approach to depicting future spaceflight technology. Indeed, some of those who contributed designs to the project were actually involved in the space program. [Read on here…]

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The big news today here at The Bits is that Criterion has just announced their June Blu-ray and DVD release slate and it’s got some real gems. Look for Michelangelo Antonioni’s Le amiche (1955 – Cat# 817 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 6/7, Jean Renoir’s La Chienne (1931 – Cat# 818 – Blu-ray and DVD) and Alexander Hall’s Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941 – Cat# 819 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 6/14, René Laloux’s animated Fantastic Planet (1973 – Cat# 820 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 6/21, and Olivier Assayas’ Clouds of Sils Maria (2014 – Cat# 822 – Blu-ray and DVD) and Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964 – Cat# 821 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 6/28.  [Read on here…]

“This was the world of Spartacus…when Antoninus traded the luxury of Rome’s most palatial household to battle by the side of Spartacus…and learned that a slave can live, fight, die better than any Roman!”

The Digital Bits presents this retrospective on Spartacus, commemorating the 55th anniversary of its original release and the recent release of the film on Blu-ray.  [Read on here...]

If it can be difficult to remember who won the Academy Award for Best Picture, it’s downright mindbending trying to remember everything else it was up against. In An Honor To Be Nominated, I’ll be taking a look back at some of the movies the Oscar didn’t go to and trying to determine if they were robbed, if the Academy got it right, or if they should ever have been nominated in the first place. [Read on here...]

We’re going to be starting today’s Oktoberfest Giveaway over on The Digital Bits Facebook page at Noon (Pacific), featuring a copy of Anchor Bay’s recent Halloween: 35th Anniversary Edition!  The Giveaway will be easy to enter and we’ll accept entries until 3 PM (Pacific), so be sure to head on over there and participate for your chance to win!

Dr. Jahnke’s Hell Plaza Oktoberfest review for today is a bit of an infamous grindhouse classic – Snuff from our friends at Blue Underground.

Also today, Tim has reviewed Danny Boyle’s Shallow Grave on Blu-ray from Criterion. Enjoy! [Read on here...]

So I had this whole news update post planned for today, along with Bud’s new View from the Cheap Seats column and a new Blu-ray review or two as well, and I was deep in the process of getting it all ready to go live on the site, when something happened that completely distracted me.

I figured I’d share it with you guys this afternoon, because it goes right to my cinema geek credibility.  And I knew that some of you would appreciate it as much as I do.  [Read on here...]