Displaying items by tag: HBO

HBO has just officially announced the 4K Ultra HD release of their Chernobyl miniseries on 12/1. The 5-episode series was finished natively in 4K and will include the Blu-ray and Digital copies as well (SRP $44.98). High Dynamic Range will presumably be HDR10.

Extras will include 5 featurettes (Meet the Key Players, Inside the Episode, Behind the Curtain: Director Johan Renck, Script to Screen: The Divers, and Pivotal Moment: The Trial).

Best Buy will also have an exclusive Steelbook version of the set. You can see the wide-release cover artwork pictured at left and also below.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has finally announced V for Vendetta for release on 4K Ultra HD on 11/3.

This should be no surprise to Bits readers, as we’ve been talking about this disc for weeks now. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got some GREAT release news to report for you today. But first, we a couple more new Blu-ray reviews...

Dennis has taken a good long look at Criterion’s lovely new edition of Byron Haskin’s 1953 classic The War of the Worlds on Blu-ray. He talks about the film, the extras (as compared to the recent Imprint Blu-ray) and more. And it looks like Criterion did indeed correct the 4K remaster’s color grade issue (so the opening shot of Mars is now properly red, as it should be). You can find that here.

Also today, Tim has reviewed Jean-Marie Pallardy’s outlandish actioner White Fire (1984), newly released on Blu-ray by Arrow Video. Enjoy!

Now then, on to that big release news...

It’s official: HBO and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment have set Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection for release on 4K Ultra HD on 11/3 (SRP $254.99, though expect the usual retailer discounts to be applied soon). There will also be a Best Buy-exclusive Steelbook box set that same day (SRP $285.43, though again expect the usual discount to be applied to that). [Read on here...]

Before we get to the headline of today’s post, we have another new Blu-ray review...

Dennis has taken a look at Michael Curtiz’s The Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) on disc from our friends at The Warner Archive Collection. Enjoy!

Now then, a while back here at The Bits I reviewed with great surprise HBO’s Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season on 4K Ultra HD (you can find that here) and I was really taken aback by how good the upsampled image quality was. It was a genuine revelation.

But then, while HBO did release the final season of Game of Thrones on the format (day and date with the Blu-ray and DVD), that was it. No sign of further seasons in 4K whatsoever. Until now. [Read on here...]

We’ve got some good stuff for you here at the site today! So let’s get right into it.

First of all, we’ve posted a trio of new 4K Ultra HD reviews...

Late last night, I posted my in-depth thoughts on John Landis’ The Blues Brothers, new in 4K Ultra HD from Universal. I love this film and the good news is that it’s never looked and sounded better. Check it out here.

Also today, Tim has posted reviews of Blue Underground’s new 4K Ultra HD editions of William Lustig’s Maniac (1980) and Lucio Fulci’s Zombie (1979). These too have never looked better, but do be aware that the cover artwork pictured here on The Bits is NOT the final artwork.

We have to censor the cover art on some of these horror titles or Google flags them as offensive, which crushes our advertising. And we need advertising to survive, so there it is. Anyway, enjoy the titles! Blue Underground does great work. [Read on here...]

All right, we’re working on FOUR more 4K Ultra HD reviews for the next couple of days, at least of the first of which we hope to have posted later this afternoon.

In the meantime, we’ve just launched our second giveaway on The Digital Bits’ Facebook page, offering readers the chance to win one of Paramount’s three new Tom Cruise 4K Ultra HD titles – Top Gun, Days of Thunder, or War of the Worlds. All you have to do to enter is follow The Bits’ Facebook page and reply to this post (linked here) with your answer to the question you’ll find. Entries will be accepted until 11 AM Pacific tomorrow (Thursday, May 21). The contest is open to US residents only (due to COVID shipping restrictions—sorry!). THREE winners will be selected at random from the list of those who enter and will be announced tomorrow afternoon. Good luck!

Meanwhile today, we have a bit more announcement news... [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got more disc reviews for you today...

First up, Tim has turned in his thoughts on Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel now on Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection. Tim has also looked at the new Top Secret!: Special Edition Blu-ray from Via Vision Entertainment. It’s a REGION FREE import from Australia.

Meanwhile, Dennis has taken a look at a pair of new titles from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, including Stanley Kramer’s The Runner Stumbles (1979) and Leslie Norman’s The Long and the Short and the Tall (1961). Both are worth a look.

And finally, I’ve finished my review of Tony Scott’s Days of Thunder in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount. Whatever you may think of the film, the new 4K presentation is pretty good and a nice upgrade for fans.

More reviews are in the offing, so be sure to check back tomorrow. [Read on here...]

Afternoon, folks! And welcome to Friday. Is anyone else out there as ready for the weekend as we are?

This has been a busy week of just “three steps forward two steps backward” behind-the-scenes work here at The Bits. We got a lot done, but very little of it is visible to any of you. But that’s how it goes sometimes.

We’re all working on more reviews here at the site today (and we will be through the weekend—including War of the Worlds 4K and Days of Thunder 4K), but we do have some interesting release news to report today.

First up, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and HBO have just set His Dark Materials: The Complete First Season for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 8/4 (SRP $29.98 each). [Read on here...]

All right, a reminder today: HBO’s Watchmen: Limited Series is due for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 6/2. You can see the cover art at left.

This is not new news (the title was first announced back in February), but it’s worth noting that the street date hasn’t changed due to the pandemic.

Extras on the 3-disc Blu-ray will include Hooded Justice: Origins of a Masked Vigilante, Watchmen: Unmasked, 2019 New York Comic Con, Watchmen: Masked and Dangerous, Character Trailers (for Sister Night, Blond Man, and Looking Glass), Becoming Sister Night, Notes from the Watchmen: Dave Gibbons, Rorschach, Watchmen: Alternate History, It’s Raining Squids, Squid Shelter with Tim Blake Nelson, Andrij Parekh on Directing, Sadiqua Bynum Runs, Jumps and Falls for Sister Night, Blond Man: the Colossal King (The Adrian Veidt Story), Watching the Watchmen, Anatomy of a Fight Scene, Glimpses: The Visual Effects of Watchmen, and the season’s trailer.

Unfortunately, there is still no sign of a physical 4K Ultra HD release in the States (though there is apparently one coming to Germany). [Read on here...]

We’re starting things off today with a pair of new Blu-ray reviews...

Dennis Seuling has turned in his thoughts on Robert Eggers’ acclaimed The Lighthouse. Sounds like both the film and the disc are pretty good, so do give it a look.

Also, Tim has offered his thoughts on Sergio Stivaletti’s The Wax Mask (1997) from Severin Films.

We’ve also updated our Release Dates & Artwork section with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon pre-order links, so be sure to use the section if you’re interested in ordering any of those titles. (We certainly appreciate it!)

Now then… we have a little bit of CES news to report, but first we have some good new title announcements for you today... [Read on here...]

Today’s post will be brief, as I’m working to finish a sort of teaser review of Network’s new Monty Python’s Flying Circus: Norwegian Blu-ray Edition box set. Network was kind enough to send me check discs of the first season (the other discs are coming as they’re available), so I’m going to review those ASAP and then update the review when the rest of the set arrives. I can already tell you with confidence, however, that the restoration is remarkable. The series have never looked so good, nor been so complete and uncut. More in the review as soon as I finish it (possibly later today).

Speaking of reviews, I’ve also posted my in-depth thoughts on Warner’s new 8K/16-bit restoration of The Wizard of Oz on 4K Ultra HD. It’s also remarkable and should absolutely be on the want lists of every serious cinephile who’s upgraded their systems to 4K.

I’ll tell you, it’s been really uplifting this week to see three beloved film and TV titles (It’s a Wonderful Life, The Wizard of Oz, and now Monty Python) that have been given such careful and meticulous restoration for home video release. And I’m more impressed every day with just how far the state-of-the-art in restoration and remastering technology has come. [Read on here...]