Displaying items by tag: Shout! Studios

We’re starting the new week as always with more new disc reviews…

First, our own Tim Salmons has turned in his thoughts on Imprint Films’ new double feature of The Uninvited (1944) and The Unseen (1945) on region-free Blu-ray, a pair of film noir titles both directed by Lewis Allen.

And Stephen has weighed in with a look at a hefty title of his own: Full Moon Features’ new The Primevals: Ultimate Collector’s Edition Blu-ray box set, featuring the restored 2023 David Allen film, which was originally greenlit in 1978 but wasn’t filmed until 1994. Sadly, Allen passed away in 1999 before the film was completed. But thanks to an Indiegogo campaign, it’s finally completed as much as is possible and available on disc. And what a nice package it is too.

More reviews are on the way of course, but today we’ve got a TON of Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release news to catch up all up on. It starts with Arrow’s Friday morning announcement of their October slate, which includes John Boorman’s Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) on Blu-ray (in the UK only) on 10/7, William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist III (1990) on 4K (in the UK only) on 10/7, the Hellraiser: Quartet of Torment box set—which includes Clive Barker’s Hellraiser (1987), Tony Randel’s Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), Anthony Hickox’s Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992), and Kevin Yagher’s Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)—on Blu-ray and 4K (in the US and Canada only, it was already released in the UK) on 10/22, Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘r Treat (2007) on 4K (in the UK, US, and Canada) on 10/28, and the J-Horror Rising: Limited Edition Blu-ray box set—which includes Shunichi Nagasaki’s Shikoku (1999), Toshiyuki Mizutani’s Isola: Multiple Personality Girl (2000), Masato Harada’s Inugami (2001), Ten Shimoyama’s St. John’s Wort (2001), Kōji Shiraishi’s Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman (2007), Takashi Komatsu’s Persona (2000), and Koji Shiraishi’s Noroi: The Curse (2005)—on Blu-ray (in the UK, US, and Canada) also on 10/28. [Read on here...]

Afternoon, Bits readers! We’ve got something very special to share with you today here at the site, but first we also have some more new disc reviews...

Our very own Tim Salmons has delivered his thoughts on Roy William Neill’s Black Moon (1934) on Blu-ray from Columbia Pictures and Via Vision’s Imprint Films label. Tim has also taken a look at Jay Levey’s UHF (1989) in 4K Ultra HD from Shout! Studios in honor of the film’s 35th anniversary!

And Stuart has offered his take on another classic film, Arthur Ripley’s The Chase (1946) on Blu-ray from the good people at Kino Lorber Studio Classics. Enjoy!

Now then, some of you may remember that way back in 2010, visual effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull proposed an elaborate documentary on the making of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Unfortunately, he was never able to get Warner Bros. to fund the project, which was known as Beyond the Infinite, and the man sadly passed away in 2022 (you can read our salute to him here).

You may also remember that back in 2016, I published an in-depth look at the various behind-the-scenes books on the making of the film, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: The Ultimate Trip in Print, here at The Bits website.

Well... back in September I was honored to be contacted by my friends Michael and Denise Okuda (of Star Trek fame) to participate in a new documentary they were producing on 2001 with the team at OTOY. So I spent a lovely evening up in Burbank with Mike, Denise, and my old friend Roger Lay, Jr. (who created many of the excellent documentaries on Paramount’s Star Trek Blu-rays in recent years) shooting an interview about the film and its place in cinema history. Today, I am very pleased to say that the result of their work is finally available for all of you to see for yourselves! [Read on here...]

Morning everyone, and welcome to the first week of July!

I’ve been very busy over the weekend working on new disc reviews, frankly probably a little too hard—I should probably have taken more of a break to recharge. Nevertheless, I’ve completed a trio of new reviews for you all to enjoy, so today we present...

My take on Luc Besson’s La Femme Nikita (1990) new on 4K Ultra HD Steelbook from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment—a great 4K remaster of one of my favorite films.

My look at Ron Frank’s funny and poignant documentary Remembering Gene Wilder (2023) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber—which covers the actor’s life and career in detail, and features interviews with Mel Brooks and other friends.

And finally, my review of a surprise title that just arrived on Sunday morning: Jan de Bont’s Twister (1996) in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment—a terrific remaster that leaves this film looking and sounding better than it ever has before.

I’m also working to finish another review today, which is Alex Garland’s Civil War. I expect to have that up here by tomorrow. And of course, the rest of the Bits team is working on new reviews as well, so be sure to check back for those over the coming days.

Now then, in announcement news this afternoon, Universal has officially set David Leitch’s The Fall Guy (2024) for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 7/23. The package will include both the Theatrical Cut and an Extended Cut of the film with 20 minutes of additional footage. Extras will feature audio commentary on both of those with director Leitch and producer Kelly McCormick, a gag reel, alternate takes, the 5-part Stunts on Stunts: Breaking Down the Action documentary, and 6 featurettes (Making a Meta Masterpiece, How to Break a World Record, Nightclub Mayhem, The Art of Doubling, Making Metalstorm, and Falling for The Fall Guy with Rob Reese). You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

We’re rounding out the week here at The Bits with a pair of additional disc reviews, including...

Stephen’s thoughts on Yuzuru Tachikawa’s anime Blue Giant (2023) on Blu-ray from GKids via Shout! Studios.

And Dennis’ take on Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn’s Another Body (2023) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

Also today, we’ve updated our 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits with all the latest announced 4K titles as well as those we’ve learned are coming from our industry sources.

Over on our Patreon page, many of you have asked us for an Annual Membership option in order to get the best value while backing us and supporting The Bits there. So we’re very pleased to finally make it available today. Signing up as a Patreon supporter of The Bits via the Annual Membership option (at whatever support level you choose) gives you a 10% discount.

And while we’re talking Patreon, we’re going to be holding a members-only Digital Bits: “Ask Us Anything” Live Chat on Patreon tomorrow (Saturday, June 15th) at 11 AM Pacific (1 PM Central, or 6 PM UTC). I’ll be on hand to participate, along with Tim Salmons and Stephen Bjork. You can ask us about physical media, 4K, Blu-ray, film in general, our work, our interests—pretty much any topic other than politics is fair game. While there may be a few questions (about specific upcoming titles) that we can’t answer, we’ll do our best to tackle all questions as they come in. Our goal is to go live for at least an hour. And if everything goes smoothly, we’ll continue for a second hour (provided there’s enough demand/questions to warrant doing so). We hope to see you there! [Read on here...]

Today’s update is a quick one, but we’re starting with more new disc reviews...

Tim has posted his thoughts on Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak (2015) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video, as well as Hanna-Barbera’s Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats (1988) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Dennis has reviewed Francis Ford Coppola’s The Rain People (1969) on Blu-ray, also from the Warner Archive Collection.

In announcement news today, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has just made Albert Magnoli’s Purple Rain (1984) official for release in physical 4K Ultra HD and 4K Digital on 6/25 (SRP $33.99 for the disc). As expected, the disc will include audio commentary by Magnoli, Robert Cavallo, and Donald E. Thorin, 3 featurettes (First Avenue: The Road to Pop Royalty, Purple Rain Backstage Pass: Behind the Scenes, and Riffs, Ruffles and a Revolution: The Impact and Influence of Purple Rain), the MTV Premiere Party Original Broadcast, a gallery of Prince movie trailers, and 8 music videos for songs from the film. [Read on here...]

We’re closing out the week here at The Bits with a bunch of release news and more new disc reviews as well. The reviews include...

Tim’s take on Rocky Morton & Annabel Jankel’s Super Mario Bros. (1993) in 4K Ultra HD from Umbrella Entertainment—the deluxe Trust the Fungus edition.

Stuart’s look at Hal Ashby’s Coming Home (1978) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as his review of Kino Lorber’s Homicide Hills: The Complete Series on DVD.

And Dennis’ reviews of Frank Lloyd’s Blood on the Sun (1945) and Alfred L. Werker and Anthony Mann’s He Walked by Night (1948), both on Blu-ray also from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Also, just to let you know, we’ve been sharing some additional content for our supporters over on Patreon, including essays on Godzilla Minus One’s visual effects Oscar win and the difficulty in creating or evaluating home video transfers for film, along with an exclusive tease about a trio of forthcoming 4K Ultra HD catalog titles that are in the works for later this year, my in-depth film review of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two, and a little behind-the-scenes on a visit with some friends of The Bits who just so happen to have been involved with the Star Trek franchise for over 38 years.

Supporting The Bits on Patreon is a really great way to help us keep the site going, and doing so makes it possible for us to continue our work in support of physical media and disc fans everywhere. So please consider joining us there! [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...]

There’s some good title announcement news to report today, including a long-awaited music release.

But first, we wanted to let you all know that the 3/12 James Cameron 4K titles—The Abyss (1989), True Lies (1994), and Aliens (1986)—are finally available for pre-order on Amazon. And while they currently show full price, the usual 30% off discount should be applied soon. (Anyone who pre-orders now will get that discount when it is finally applied.)

Also now available for pre-order on Amazon is John Guillermin’s King Kong (1975) in 4K Ultra HD Steelbook from Paramount. This is a title that’s been available for a couple of years in the UK from StudioCanal, but it’s finally coming to the US. The film stars Jessica Lange, Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, and René Auberjonois (of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fame).

Click on the title links above to find their respective pre-order pages (and as always, whenever you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking to them through our links, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we appreciate it).

Now then, the big announcement news today is that A24 is finally taking pre-orders for Jonathan Demme’s remastered Stop Making Sense (1984) in A24 Shop-exclusive Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD Collector’s Editions. Both will include Dolby Atmos audio and the original stereo mix, plus extras (including a 25-minute documentary and 2 bonus tracks—Cities and Big Business/I Zimbra) as well as a 64-page booklet. The 4K will also include Dolby Vision HDR. The title is expected to ship in sometime in May. You can find the pre-order page here. We don’t yet know if there will be a wide-release version eventually, though one is certainly possible. [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...]

This is the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday here in the States, so there’s not a lot of release news happening at the moment. But we do have a few things to report for you today, plus some new disc reviews including...

Stuart’s thoughts on Kino Classics’ Soundies: The Ultimate Collection Blu-ray set, featuring short films of the 1940s, and E.A. Dupont’s Picadilly (1929) Blu-ray from Milestone Films and Kino Lorber.

Dennis’ take on Miloš Forman’s Valmont (1989) and Robert Wise’s Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as W.S. Van Dyke’s Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stephen’s look at Michael Mann’s Blackhat (2015) on 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video, as well as Joel M. Reed’s Bloodsucking Freaks (1976) and Michael Armstrong’s Mark of the Devil (1970) in 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome.

More reviews are forthcoming all this week, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them!

In announcement news today, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has officially set Blitz Bazawule’s The Color Purple (2023) for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 3/12, with the Digital release expected tomorrow on 1/16. Extras will include 4 behind-the-scenes featurettes (including Creating The Color Purple: A Bold New Take on the Beloved Classic, Hell Yes! The Iconic Characters of The Color Purple, In the Flow: Creating The Color Purple’s Biggest Musical Moments, and A Story For Me: The Legacy of The Color Purple). You can see the cover art below. [Read on here...]