Displaying items by tag: Indicator

Well, yesterday was kind of a big day in terms of industry news, but as it happens, there have been quite a lot of interesting 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray announcements in the last 24 hours too!

But before we get to those, we have a few more new disc reviews for you...

I’ve just taken a look at John Sturges’ Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Ron Maxwell’s cult classic Little Darlings (1980) in 4K UHD from Vinegar Syndrome’s new Cinématographe Films label.

Stephen has turned in his thoughts on Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels (2023) in 4K Ultra HD from Marvel and Disney, along with Yoshimitsu Banno’s Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) on 4K UHD (sans English subs) from Toho Studios in Japan.

Dennis has given Ted Kotcheff’s Split Image (1982) a look on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, along with Vincente Minnelli’s Madame Bovary (1949) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stuart has reviewed Andrew V. McLaglen’s The Devil’s Brigade (1968) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics and Steve Zaillian’s Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.

Many more reviews are forthcoming, including Footloose, Conan the Destroyer, and Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One in 4K, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them.

Now then... in terns of title announcements, Paramount’s just dropped a couple of big ones starting with confirmation of a title we’ve mentioned here at The Bits recently: Alex Proyas’ The Crow (1994) officially streets on 4K Ultra HD and 4K Steelbook on 5/7. The 4K disc will include Dolby Vision and HDR10 high dynamic range. [Read on here...]

We have two more new disc reviews for you here at The Bits today, including…

Stephen’s thoughts on Walter Hill’s Southern Comfort (1981) in 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome, as well as his take on another of Toho’s recent Godzilla 4K UHD releases, in this case Ishirō Honda’s Destroy All Monsters (1968). Once again, this is a region-free Japanese import release, but with no English subtitles.

The big announcement news today is that our friends at the Criterion Collection have officially unveiled their May release slate, which is set to include an upgrade of A Story of Floating Weeds/Floating Weeds: Two Films by Yasujiro Ozu (1934/1959) (Spine #232 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 5/7, followed by an upgrade of Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom (1960) (Spine #58 – 4K UHD + Blu-ray and Blu-ray) on 5/14, Three Revolutionary Films by Ousmane Sembène (Spine #1217 – Blu-ray and DVD)—which includes Emitaï (1971), Xala (1975), and Ceddo (1977)—on 5/21, and Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall (2023) (Spine #1218 – Blu-ray and DVD) and Karyn Kusama’s Girlfight (2000) (Spine #1219 – Blu-ray) on 5/28.

You can see the cover art for Peeping Tom at left, and all of them below the break. We’ve updated our Criterion Spines Project listing here at The Bits accordingly. [Read on here...]

We’ve got four more new disc reviews for you today, including...

Stuart’s take on Douglas Sirk’s Has Anybody Seen My Gal (1952) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Dennis’ look at Harry Beaumont’s Faithless (1932) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection, as well as Giuseppe Fiorello’s Fireworks (2023) on DVD from Cinephobia Releasing.

And Stephen’s review of Ishirō Honda’s Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) in 4K Ultra HD from Toho Studios in Japan (note that this release has no English subtitles).

Also this afternoon, we’ve asked our supporters on The Bits’ new Patreon page to share their Ten Favorite TV Series, and we’ve updated our 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits with new titles as well.

In announcement news today, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has just officially set Fred Zinnemann’s High Noon (1942) for release on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD on 4/16. The film will include a collection of legacy special features (from previous Blu-ray and DVD releases) along with a pair of new audio commentary track by film historians, one by Alan K. Rode and another by Julie Kirgo. You can see the cover artwork above left and also below. Look for Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K disc. [Read on here...]

More new disc reviews and more release news—that’s the order of business for today here at The Bits!

We start with Tim’s look at S.S. Wilson’s Tremors 2: Aftershocks (1996) in 4K Ultra HD from our good friends over at Arrow Video. Looks like they’ve done a nice job on this title, so do check it out.

Speaking of which, we’ve gotten a look at Arrow’s new Conan the Barbarian (1982) and Conan the Destroyer (1984) 4K Ultra HDs, and—by Crom—they’re fantastic! Watch for our in-depth reviews over the next few days here at the site.

Also today, we have another Toho Japanese kaiju 4K review from Stephen, who takes a look at Ishirō Honda’s Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) on Ultra HD. Keep in mind, these titles do not include English subtitles, but there’s a workaround for that with certain models of UHD player. Stephen explains it all in the review.

In announcement news this morning, Neon has finally officially set the Blu-ray and DVD release of Michael Mann’s Ferrari (2023) for 3/12, with the 4K Digital release expected to drop tomorrow. Extras will include 5 behind-the-scenes featurettes, among them Michael Mann: Building the World, Building Perfection, The Mille Miglia, Adam Driver on Enzo Ferrari, and Penélope Cruz on Laura Ferrari. The Blu-ray will include Dolby Atmos audio. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

All right, if you thought yesterday’s post was busy with news, we’ve got another banger for you here today! But first, the day’s disc reviews...

Stuart has offered his thoughts on Henri Verneuil’s I... for Icarus (1979) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Dennis has reviewed Neil Burger’s The Marsh King’s Daughter (2023) on Blu-ray from Lionsgate.

And just one more thing... Tim has delivered his take on Kino Lorber Studio Classics’ new Columbo: The 1970s – Seasons 1-7 Blu-ray box set as well. Enjoy!

Now then, a quick note: All of the Criterion Collection April titles we shared the cover artwork for in yesterday’s post now have Amazon pre-order links, though the actual pre-orders have yet to begin. But that should happen very soon. We’ve added the links to our 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits as well.

We’re starting today with exciting news for music, concert film, and Talking Heads fans: A24 is going to begin pre-orders for their forthcoming 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Collector’s Edition release of Jonathan Demme’s Stop Making Sense (1984) on 1/27. The official street date and other details are still TBA. And per Variety, the film will return to IMAX theaters around the country that same day for month-long residence screenings. You can read more here.

Following up on yesterday’s news column, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment and DC have just officially announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of James Wan’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on 3/12. The Digital release will be available on 1/23. Extras on all versions will include 7 featurettes (Finding the Lost Kingdom, Aquaman: Worlds Above and Below, It’s a Manta World, Necrus, the Lost Black City, Escape from the Deserter World, Brawling at Kingfish’s Lair, and Oh TOPO!). To this, the Digital version will add the exclusive Aquaman Through Fire and Water motion comic. And the Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD will also add the exclusive Atlantean Blood Is Thicker Than Water featurette. Note that the 4K Ultra HD will also feature Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got quite a bit of ground to cover today here at The Digital Bits. But as always, we’re starting first with some more new disc reviews. And they’re good ones...

Stephen has taken a look at a pair of 4K Ultra HD releases, including Walter Hill’s The Warriors (1979) in 4K from Arrow Video—an absolutely fantastic release—as well as Ishirō Honda’s original Godzilla (1954) in 4K from Toho, a Japanese import disc that has no English subtitles. But read on, because Stephen’s thoughts on it are well worth your time.

Now then, the first big piece of news we have today is that our friends at The Criterion Collection have just announced their April Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K UHD slate, which is set to include an update of Mathieu Kassovitz’s La haine (1995) (Spine #381 – 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray) on 4/2, an update or Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) (Spine #29 – 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray) on 4/9, Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky’s Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) (Spine #1215 – 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD) on 4/16, Mikhail Kalatozov’s I Am Cuba (1964) (Spine #1214 – 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray, Blu-ray) on 4/23, and Nancy Savoca’s Dogfight (1991) (Spine #1216 – Blu-ray) on 4/30. Of the 4K titles, La Haine will include Dolby Vision HDR. [Read on here...]

All right, as you’ve probably seen here on The Digital Bits, I’ve now shared my thoughts on the 4K Digital remasters of James Cameron’s The Abyss, True Lies, and Aliens. These reviews have been shared after looking at each of the remasters as they currently appear on Vudu, Movies Anywhere, and Apple TV/iTunes, allowing for streaming quality variations in each. So if you’re interested in those, you’ll find my take on each via the title links provided in this paragraph.

Rest assured, I will also be reviewing the forthcoming 4K Ultra HD disc versions of those films, and the forthcoming Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water collector’s editions when they arrive. And the rest of The Bits team is working on a whole slate of disc reviews for next week and beyond… allowing of course for the usual holiday season distractions of family and the like.

Based on some of the interesting… I’ll generously call them conversations (but they’re more like angry bitch-fests)… on social media over the past couple weeks about some of these 4K titles, I’m also written a essay entitled A Word About Screenshots, Reviewing, and Trusting Opinions on the Internet that you can find over on The Digital Bits’ new Patreon page.

Not only is subscribing to our Patreon page a great way to support our work here at The Digital Bits—if you believe in it and find that it brings your enjoyment of physical media some value—it’s also becoming a great place to respectfully share your thoughts and ideas about these topics with like-minded people without risking getting attacked or worrying about having snark and scorn heaped upon you… and there’s definitely some value in that too. So please consider check it out, and know that we appreciate each and every one of you, our readers, regardless. [Read on here...]

This is going to be a big week in terms of new disc reviews! Just today we’ve got...

My take on Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (2023) in 4K Ultra HD from Universal, which in my opinion is the A/V demo disc of the year, not to mention a terrific special edition release. Unfortunately, it’s selling out everywhere, but we strongly suspect that Universal is already replicating more copies (and we’ve asked for official confirmation of that, which we’ll share here as soon as we hear back).

Tim’s reviews of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (2023) in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros and Jeannot Szwarc’s Santa Claus: The Movie (1985) in 4K UHD from StudioCanal in the UK.

Stuart’s look at the Audie Murphy Collection III box set from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, which includes Hell Bent for Leather (1960), Posse from Hell (1961), and Showdown (1963) on Blu-ray.

And Dennis’ thoughts on Brad Watson’s The Siege (2023) on Blu-ray from Well Go USA Entertainment, as well as Harry Beaumont’s Dance, Fools, Dance (1931) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

I’m also hard at work on my 4K review of James Cameron’s Titanic (1997) from Paramount and we have several more Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD reviews cooking at the moment. I would expect James Mangold’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny to show up at any time for review in 4K as well. So be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them. [Read on here...]

Today’s post is a quick one, but we do have some great release news for you...

First, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment and DC Studios have kicked off pre-orders for their long-awaited 4K Ultra HD release of Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski’s animated Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993). As we’ve been expecting, the street date will be 9/12. Look for HDR10 high dynamic range and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. The only extra will be the existing Kevin Conroy: I Am the Knight featurette. But you can see the final cover artwork at left and also below.

By the way, we’ve also confirmed with WB that their forthcoming Babylon 5: The Complete Series Blu-ray set will include its episodes in the original 1.33 broadcast aspect ratio with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio sound mixes. You can pre-order this title now on Amazon.com by clicking here (or on the cover art below the break).

In terms of official announcements today, our friends over at Powerhouse Films in the UK have just revealed their next pair of Indicator 4K and Blu-ray titles, which are coming on 10/24 in both the US and UK. Look for Jean Rollin’s Lips of Blood (1975) and Fascination (1979). Each will feature new 4K restorations from the original camera negative, with Dolby Vision HDR on the UHD SKUs. Each will also include a plethora of new and archival special features. Note that they’re also region free. [Read on here...]

Afternoon, everyone!

I just wanted to pop in here quickly to say that news updates over the next few days will likely be limited. All of us here at the site have a lot of things going on personally, which are understandably absorbing most of our attention. And it’s always important to remember when you work online that real life matters come first.

Speaking personally, my father-in-law is here this week for a visit from the East Coast, so we’re enjoying our time with him. My wife and I have also added new some animal family members to the household here in SoCal, and we’re working to get them settled in. I also have a slate of doctors’ appointments scheduled for this week—just routine check-ups and that sort of thing.

And frankly, after the last few months of title announcements, disc releases, industry turmoil and changes, website upgrades and maintenance, and what have you, all of us need a few days to recharge our batteries. [Read on here...]