Displaying items by tag: Denis Villeneuve
Dune: Part Two pre-orders, Amélie, Killer Klowns & Valiant Ones in 4K, plus the Academy will debut the new 4K restoration of Amadeus in May
We have several new disc reviews to begin the week here at The Bits, starting with...
Stuart’s take on Raoul Walsh’s Gentleman Jim (1942) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.
Dennis thoughts on Michael Epstein’s LennonNYC (2010) on Blu-ray from Via Vision Entertainment and Peter Yates’ Murphy’s War (1971) on Blu-ray from Arrow Video.
Stephen’s look at Bill Plympton’s The Tune (1992) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.
And finally, Tim’s review of Ardman Animations’ Shaun the Sheep: The Complete Series on Blu-ray from Shout! Studios.
We also have a bunch of new announcement news for you today, but first this: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has listed Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two for Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD, and 4K Steelbook pre-order on Amazon. The street date is TBA, but is likely due in May or June. There will also be a 2-Film Collection in both 4K UHD and Blu-ray.
Now, a lot of you have asked what aspect ratio Dune: Part Two will be in on disc. As many of you know, Dune: Part One was shot mostly in 2.39:1 but about an hour was in full 1.90:1. Yet Warner’s Blu-ray and 4K release were both in 2.39 only. Meanwhile, most of Dune: Part Two was shot in 1.90:1, with about forty minutes in the full 1.43:1 IMAX ratio. So people are wondering if the Blu-ray and 4K will preserve that variable IMAX ratio, and if Part One will ever be re-released on both formats with the variable ratio as well. I’ve asked Warner for clarification on this and will share it here when they reply. Meanwhile, you can find the studio’s temp cover art (with Amazon links) below the break. [Read on here...]
- Arrow Video
- Warner Bros Discovery Home Entertainment
- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- Warner Archive Collection
- Stuart Galbraith IV
- Dennis Seuling
- Back the Bits
- Support The Digital Bits via Patreon
- Bluray
- My Two Cents
- The Digital Bits
- Bill Hunt
- 4K Ultra HD
- Kino Lorber Studio Classics
- Stephen Bjork
- Vinegar Syndrome
- Dune: Part Two 4K
- Denis Villeneuve
- Amélie 2K restoration
- Killer Klowns from Outer Space 4K
- Shout! Factory
- Scream Factory
- Chiodo Brothers
- The Valiant Ones 4K
- Amadeus 4K restoration
- Academy Museum
- Gentleman Jim BD review
- LennonNYC BD review
- Murphy's War BD review
- The Tune BD review
- Bill Plympton
- Jean Pierre Jeunet
- The Addams Family 1 & 2 4K
- Dracula 2000
- Orphan
- The Island of Dr Moreau
- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 40th anniversary
- The Inglorious Treksperts
- Terry Matalas
- Steve Asbell
- Kevin Feige
- Madame Web 4K
- Conan the Barbarian 4K
- Conan the Destroyer 4K
- Barbarella 4K
- Eureka
- Masters of Cinema
- Blue Underground
- Deathdream 4K
- Dr Terror's House of Horrors 4K
- Submarine Command
- Thunder in the East
- Fright 4K
Dune: Part Two is a wonder, plus Glory (1989) & the Ocean’s Trilogy in 4K, new Kino Lorber Studio Classics, Arrow, Umbrella & Radiance titles & more
We’ve got some more new announcement for you today, including a few interesting ones. And we have new disc reviews today as well. But first, I saw Dune: Part Two last night. So let me just share some very quick and non-spoiler comments. Here’s my initial reaction posted on social media afterwards...
“You see a film like DUNE: PART TWO and you think: That’s either the last great film of a dying Hollywood, or proof that there’s still a bit of life left in this industry. Either way, it’s a wonder. And absolutely perfect. Don’t look now, but Denis Villeneuve has just casually knocked out three of the greatest science fiction films of all time. See it on the BIGGEST POSSIBLE SCREEN.”
I guess “three of the greatest” depends on whether you calculate Dune as a single film or not. But Arrival, Blade Runner: 2049, and the combined Dune adaptation are all superb. I would rank them right up there with Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and Alien, and the Wachowskis’ The Matrix. Maybe I’d add Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind in there as well. All extraordinary pieces of hard science fiction cinema.
Honestly, if you liked Dune: Part One—and particularly if you loved Frank Herbert’s original novel, which is rightly regarded as the greatest work of science fiction literature—Villeneuve has just nailed the landing. [Read on here...]
- Stephen Bjork
- Kino Lorber Studio Classics
- 4K Ultra HD
- Bill Hunt
- The Digital Bits
- My Two Cents
- Bluray
- Support The Digital Bits via Patreon
- Back the Bits
- Kino Cult
- Indicator
- Stuart Galbraith IV
- Imprint Films
- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- Universal
- DC
- Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Two
- Denis Villeneuve
- Dune: Part Two
- Loaded Guns BD review
- Damage BD review
- Raro Video
- Tim Salmons
- Mille milliards de dollars BD review
- Resident Evil 6 Movie box set 4K review
- Glory 4K
- Edward Zwick
- Little Buddha 4K
- Deadly Circuit
- Umbrella Entertainment
- Primer
- Upstream Color
- Trash Humpers
- You'll Never Find Me
- Night Falls on Manhattan
- Arrow Video
- True Love
- The Long Good Friday 4K
- Narc 4K
- Crimson Peak 4K
- Guillermo del Toro
- Pandemonium
- Quarxx
- Radiance Films
- Shinobi
- Planet of the Vampires
- Trenque Lauquen
- Pitch Black 4K
- Turbine
- 88 Films
- American Pie 4K
- Vinegar Syndrome
- 5 Card Stud 4K
- Warner Bros
- Steven Soderbergh
- Ocean's Eleven 4K
- Ocean's Twelve 4K
- Ocean's Thirteen 4K
Arrow’s March includes American Werewolf & RoboCop in 4K, plus Imprint’s March slate has Osterman Weekend, and The Digital Bits 3.0 in 2022!
A funny thing happened on the way to yesterday’s My Two Cents post! For some reason, I lost track of a day this week, so I thought yesterday was Friday. Then I wake up and here’s Friday again, much to my surprise. LOL. So anyway, while a bit of yesterday’s post still applies this afternoon, we’ve got some great breaking release news to share with you all today...
First up, the fine Imprint Films (down in Australia) has just announced their March 2022 Blu-ray slate, which is due to street on 3/30/22. It will include Sam Peckinpah’s The Osterman Weekend (1983 – mastered from new 2K scans of the director’s cut negative and the theatrical cut, so it will include both versions), Buzz Kulik’s The Hunter (1980 – starring Steve McQueen), Samuel Fuller’s China Gate (1957), Byron Haskin’s Conquest of Space (1955 – produced by George Pal), John Sturges’ Marooned (1969), Robert Wise’s Audrey Rose (1977), and Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun (1971). Not bad at all!
As usual, all of these Blu-rays should be region free. You’ll find them available here on the Imprint website.
But here’s the whopper today... Arrow Video has just announced its March 2022 slate as well, which includes no less than three new 4K UHD catalog titles! [Read on here...]
- Shout! Factory
- Tim Salmons
- Denis Villeneuve
- James Cameron
- Bluray
- 4K Ultra HD
- Bill Hunt
- The Digital Bits
- My Two Cents
- Arrow Video March 2022 slate
- Imprint Films March 2022 slate
- RoboCop 4K
- An American Werewolf in London 4K
- Mary Shelley's Frankenstein 4K
- Come Drink with Me BD
- To Sleep So As to Dream BD
- Mark of the Beast: The Legacy of the Universal Werewolf
- Daniel Griffith
- Sam Peckinpah
- The Osterman Weekend BD
- China Gate BD
- The Hunter BD
- Conquest of Space BD
- George Pal
- Marooned BD
- Robert Wise
- Audrey Rose BD
- Johnny Got His Gun BD
- Dalton Trumbo
- Samuel Fuller
- Steve McQueen
- John Sturges
- The Digital Bits site upgrade
- Back the Bits via PayPal
- The Digital Bits 25th Anniversary in 2022
- Paul Verhoeven
- Kenneth Branagh
- John Landis
Marvel’s Eternals hits BD & 4K on 2/15, plus Rodriguez talks Book of Boba Fett, a Cameron/Villeneuve chat & Steve Yedlin on 4K remastering
We’re wrapping up the week today with another new disc review, a major piece of announcement news, and some very interesting things to check out around the Interwebs. We’ll start with the review...
Tim has posted his thoughts on Alfred E. Green’s The Fabulous Dorseys: Special Edition, which is newly available on Blu-ray from our friends at The Film Detective. The film is essentially a biopic about big band leaders Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, staring themselves along with Janet Blair. Do give it a look if you’re interested.
Now then, the big release news today is that Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution and Marvel have just officially announced the 2/15 release of Chloé Zhao’s The Eternals on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD, with the Digital release expected on 1/12. (Note that I haven’t yet seen any indication of an international Blu-ray 3-D release, but one may appear eventually.)
This film was actually finished as a native 4K Digital Intermediate and should feature HDR10 high dynamic range on UHD, with Dolby Atmos audio (the Blu-ray will feature 7.1 DTS-HD MA). Note that the aspect ratio for both disc and digital on this title will be 2.39:1, though it’s likely to appear as IMAX enhanced at 1.90 as a Disney+ streaming exclusive. Extras will include an audio commentary (with Chloé Zhao, Stephane Ceretti, and Mårten Larsson), 4 deleted scenes, a gag reel, and 2 featurettes (Immortalized and Walks of Life). You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]
- My Two Cents
- The Digital Bits
- Bill Hunt
- 4K Ultra HD
- Bluray
- Steve Yedlin
- Looper 4K
- The Eternals 4K
- Robert Rodriguez
- Star Wars
- The Book of Boba Fett
- Disney+
- James Cameron
- Denis Villeneuve
- 4K remastering
- Tim Salmons
- The Fabulous Dorseys BD review
- Shout! Factory
- Scream Factory
- Nightmare: Collector's Edition BD
- The Core: Shout Select BD
- The Sword and the Sorcerer: Collector's Edition 4K
- The Hollywood Reporter
- Variety
- Dune
- Avatar sequels
- Knives Out
- fake 4K
- fake HDR
- Arcane: League of Legends
- Hawkeye
- The Expanse
- William Shatner
- The Wheel of Time
- Lost in Space
- Netflix
- Amazon Prime
Candyman’s officially announced, plus Halloween II 4K and Smallville issues, Beavis and Butthead do Blu-ray, Dune: Part Two is a go, and more
We’ve got more new disc reviews for you this week, with still more on the way...
Tim has reviewed Scream Factory’s new 4K Ultra HD releases of Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981), along with Arrow Video’s Deep Red 4K UHD, and Synapse Films’ recent Demons I & II: Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD release.
Meanwhile, Stephen has checked out Free Guy in 4K UHD from 20th Century Studios and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, along with Bluebeard (1963) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
And Dennis has offered his thoughts on Jack Arnold’s The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) on Blu-ray, as newly-released by the Criterion Collection.
We’ll have more reviews over the next few days, including more of the Halloween sequels in 4K,Scream in 4K, Old, the Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection and more, so be sure to stay tuned for them. [Read on here...]
- Shout! Factory
- HBO Max
- Denis Villeneuve's DUNE
- Kino Lorber Studio Classics
- 4K Ultra HD
- Bill Hunt
- The Digital Bits
- My Two Cents
- Bluray
- Tim Salmons
- Dennis Seuling
- Stephen Bjork
- Halloween 4K review
- Scream Factory
- Halloween II 4K review
- Deep Red 4K review
- Demons & Demons 2 4K review
- Free Guy 4K review
- Bluebeard BD review
- The Incredible Shrinking Man BD review
- 4K Ultra HD Release List
- Smallville: The Complete Series BD
- Release Dates & Artwork update
- Beavis and Butthead Do America BD
- Juice 4K
- Paramount Studios Home Entertainment
- The English Patient
- Planes Trains and Automobiles Steelbook BD
- Candyman 4K
- The Hidden Life of Trees BD
- FUNimation
- Capelight Pictures
- A River Runs Through It 4K
- The Lover 4K
- The Ice Road 4K
- No Time to Die 4K
- DUNE: Part One 4K
- DUNE: Part Two is coming
- DGA
- Christopher Nolan
- Denis Villeneuve
- The Running Man 4K
Denis Villeneuve’s DUNE is magnificent, plus new Blu-ray reviews, Warner Archive’s November slate & more
All right, we’ve got a few new disc reviews to start the day out…
Dennis has taken a look at Jack Smight’s The Screaming Woman (1972) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
And Stephen has reviewed Edward Dmytryk’s The Sniper (1952) on Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment.
More reviews are on the way in the days ahead, so be sure to stay tuned for them.
Now then, Paramount has informed us that their Paramount Presents Blu-ray release of The Sheik has been delayed from 10/19 to 11/2. Adjust your plans accordingly.
Paramount has also set a wide-release of their Indiana Jones 4-Movie Collection 4K Steelbook for 11/2.
GKids (via Shout! Factory) is releasing the Hayao Miyazaki-directed anime series Future Boy Conan: The Complete Series on Blu-ray on 11/16. [Read on here...]
- Denis Villeneuve
- Dune
- Tim Salmons
- Stephen Bjork
- 4K Ultra HD
- Bill Hunt
- The Digital Bits
- My Two Cents
- Bluray
- Warner Archive November 2021 slate
- The Screaming Woman BD review
- The Sniper BD review
- The Fourth Victim BD review
- Dennis Seuling
- Depeche Mode 101 BD
- Dune 2021 review
- Street Fighter BD
- Future Boy Conan: The Complete Series BD
- GKids
- Supergirl BD
An EPIC Raiders retrospective, plus Arrow’s Legend & more reviewed, No Time to Die pre-orders & the new T2 4K is 100% NOT remastered
We’re starting out the new week today here at The Bits with a trio of new disc reviews...
First up, Tim and I have taken a look at Arrow Video’s terrific new Limited Edition Blu-ray of Ridley Scott’s Legend. The 2-disc set is absolutely loaded with vintage and new extras, and it includes the US Theatrical Cut newly-remastered from a 4K scan, as well as the Director’s Cut. Legend is a challenging title for a lot of reasons, but Arrow’s done a really great job with this one. If you’re a fan of the film, this is as good as it’s ever looked, and this is essentially a complete archive of all the previous special features and more.
Also today, Stephen has reviewed Chloe Zhao’s first film, Songs My Brothers Taught Me, newly-released on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. If that name is familiar, it’s because Zhao is the filmmaker who’s just made The Eternals for Marvel Studios. It sounds like this earlier work is pretty terrific.
And finally, Dennis has given Wallace Worsley’s 1923 version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame a look on Blu-ray from Kino Classics. As many of you will already be aware, this version features the great Lon Chaney in the role of Quasimodo. It’s worth a look if you haven’t seen it yet.
While we’re on the subject of Universal Monsters, I’m currently working on a review of the Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection in 4K and should have that up by the end of the week. I’m giving myself the week to work on it, however, because I’m attending a studio screening of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune tomorrow afternoon. And I have a sneaking suspicion that’s going to occupy my mind for the next few days afterwards. I’ll definitely post a few non-spoiler thoughts about that film as well this week, rest assured. [Read on here...]
- StudioCanal
- Lionsgate
- Revenge of the Shogun Women BD3D
- T2 4K Steelbook
- Bluray
- My Two Cents
- The Digital Bits
- Bill Hunt
- 4K Ultra HD
- Stephen Bjork
- Tim Salmons
- Raiders of the Lost Ark 40th Anniversary
- Michael Coate
- History Legacy & Showmanship
- Ridley Scott
- Legend: Limited Edition BD review
- Arrow Video
- No Time to Die 4K preorders
- Terminator 2 4K
- Songs My Brothers Taught Me BD review
- Kino Lorber
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) BD review
- Chloe Zhao
- James Bond
- Dune
- Denis Villeneuve
Bless the Maker and His water: Denis Villeneuve’s DUNE may actually EXCEED my expectations
All right, we’ll have a bit of additional announcement news for the week tomorrow here at The Bits, and I’ll be spending the afternoon working on a review of Akira Kurosawa’s Ran in 4K UHD, which will be posted then as well.
But today, I want to talk about Denis Villeneuve’s DUNE.
I had the opportunity last night to attend one of Warner and Legendary’s IMAX sneak peek events for the film as a member of the press.
A little background first... I would definitely go so far as to call myself an expert on the subject of science fiction cinema. I’ve been reading literary science fiction my entire life (including DUNE many times), I’m known in some circles to be well-versed on the topic human spaceflight, and I’m a life-long student of science in general. I read physics and astronomy research papers like some people read comic books.
So as I noted in my recent review of Voyagers in 4K, I have certain critical expectations of science fiction films and TV series. Is the story and its science setup plausible, or does it require too many contrivances or conveniences? Is the story logically consistent? Is the world-building credible and convincing? And most importantly, is the story entertaining, engaging, or thought-provoking? The vast majority of genre programming fails on one or more of those criteria. In other words, on both the big and small screen, truly great science fiction is rare. [Read on here...]
- Bluray
- My Two Cents
- The Digital Bits
- Bill Hunt
- 4K Ultra HD
- Dune
- Denis Villeneuve
- IMAX Trailer
- Frank Herbert
- David Lynch's DUNE
- John Harrison
- SciFi Channel miniseries
- Legendary
- Warner Bros Entertainment
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Blade Runner
- Blade Runner 2049
- The Matrix
- Lawrence of Arabia
- Alien
- Stanley Kubrick
- Peter Jackson
- Ridley Scott
- The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
- The Wachowskis
Criterion bows a Bruce Lee box, plus The Hills Run Red, Home Media Awards winners, and a peek at Dune
We’ve got a bit of fun news today, some release news and some other...
First up though, we also have a new disc review. Dennis has just turned in a look at director George Marshall’s classic Destry Rides Again (1939) now on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection. It’s a classic western starring James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich that’s well worth your time.
And while we’re speaking of Criterion, that brings us to our first bit of release news, which is that Criterion has just announced a Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits Blu-ray box set (Spine# 1036), which is set to include The Big Boss (1971), Fist of Fury (1972), The Way of the Dragon (1972), Enter the Dragon (1973), and Game of Death (1978). [Read on here...]
- Escape from LA: Collector's Edition BD
- Scream Factory
- Shout! Factory
- Bill Hunt
- The Digital Bits
- My Two Cents
- The Criterion Collection
- Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits BD box set
- The Hills Run Red BD
- Home Media Awards winners
- Denis Villeneuve
- Dune
- Vanity Fair
- Dennis Seuling
- Destry Rides Again BD review
- The Big Boss BD
- Fist of Fury BD
- The Way of the Dragon BD
- Enter the Dragon BD
- Game of Death BD
- Columbia Classics Collection: Volume 1 4K
- Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
- The Mad Fox
- Resistance BD
- We Summon the Darkness BD
- Media Play News
Shout! Selects to include The ‘Burbs & Downfall, plus Universal sets Straight Outta Compton for 4K
We have just a couple of quick release announcements and updates to offer you today, before we let you all head out for the weekend…
Shout! Factory has announced The ‘Burbs: Collector’s Edition for release on Blu-ray on 3/20 as part of their Shout Select line.
Also coming that day as part of their Select line is Oliver Hirschbiegel’s Downfall, an absoutely fantastic film about the last days of Hitler in WWII starring Bruno Ganz (and the source of a surprisingly persistent viral YouTube meme you may be familiar with – one of the early versions even referenced The Bits, as some of you longtime readers may recall). Shout! also has Macon County Line coming on 1/16 to the Select line. Extras on these titles are still TBA. [Read on here…]
- Denis Villeneuve
- Warner Bros Home Entertainment
- Blade Runner: 2049 3D
- Blade Runner: 2049 4K
- The 4K Ultra HD Release List
- My Two Cents
- The Digital Bits
- Bill Hunt
- Blade Runner: 2049
- Shout Select
- The Burbs
- Downfall
- Straight Outta Compton 4K
- Macon County Line
- Basket Case
- Ultimate Puppet Master Collectible Trunk
- Jigsaw 4K
- The Dark Crystal 4K
- Daddy's Home 4K
- Paddington 2 4K
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