Displaying items by tag: Universal

We start today with a new disc review: Stephen’s look at Tommy Wirkola’s Violent Night (2022) on Blu-ray from Universal Pictures.

We’re all working on more new disc reviews here at The Bits, including myself and including 4K titles. But of course, there’s been quite a lot of release news to cover recently, which tends to derail my own review efforts a bit.

Still, the good news is: I’m excited to say that we’re adding a terrific new staff reviewer here at The Digital Bits, and I’ll have a lot more to say about that in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, we have a bit of new release news to report on today, starting with this: Lionsgate has officially set Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital on 3/14. [Read on here...]

We’re closing out the week with some new Blu-ray and 4K title announcements and a few updates on 4K titles we’ve mentioned here at The Bits previously.

In terms of official announcements, Disney and Searchlight Pictures have set Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/21, with the 4K Digital release expected on 2/7. Extras will include the Creating the Empire of Light featurette. You can see the cover artwork at left.

Lionsgate has set Brett Donowho’s western The Old Way, starring Nicholas Cage, for Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital release on 2/21.

And Film Movement will release Mario Martone’s The King of Laughter on DVD and Digital on 2/14.

Also, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has set their new animated Duck Dodgers: The Complete Series for release on Blu-ray on 3/28. [Read on here...]

Today being a federal holiday here in the States, there’s not a ton of announcement news to report on this afternoon, but we do have a few interesting odds and ends.

First though, a couple more new disc reviews...

Dennis has posted his thoughts on John M. Stahl’s Imitation of Life (1934), which is new on Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.

And Stephen has taken a look at Louis Malle’s Pretty Baby (1978) on Blu-ray from Paramount via Imprint Films.

Now then... in announcement news today, Neon has confirmed that four of their recent titles—Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness (2022), Brett Morgen’s terrific David Bowie documentary Moonage Daydream (2022), Laura Poitras’ All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022), and Céline Sciamma’s Petite Maman (2021)—are all going to be coming from the Criterion Collection, presumably to Blu-ray and/or 4K Ultra HD. [Read on here...]

We’re rounding out the week here at The Bits with a few more new disc reviews, and some release news as well, including word of new 4K catalog titles, and updates on a title or two that we’ve talked about here previously in recent weeks. But first those reviews...

I’ve posted my thoughts on Wim Wenders’ stunning Wings of Desire (1987) which is now available in 4K Ultra HD from Curzon Film in the UK. The 4K remaster, which was done by the Wim Wenders Foundation, is absolutely stunning. Fans of the film may not realize this, but by the time the film was completed and being shown in theaters back in ‘87, the version we all experienced then was fully six generations away from original camera negative. But now, every inch of this film—save for the little bit of historical and newsreel footage that appears within it—is first-generation right off the negative. And it makes a huge difference, even over the previous Criterion Blu-ray. So if you’re a fan, this 4K release is definitely worth a look.

I’ve also reviewed Jack Ryan: Season Two on 4K Ultra HD, which was released last month on the format by Paramount (along with Season One which we’ve reviewed here). Season Three of the series recently dropped on Amazon Prime and we have word that it’s coming to both Blu-ray and 4K as well later this year.

Also today, Stephen has turned in his thoughts on Adam Rifkin’s The Invisible Maniac on 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome.

And we have more reviews on the way as well. I’m personally working on Shout! Factory’s recent WarGames and HBO’s House of the Dragon: Season One, both in 4K Ultra HD. I hope to post those reviews over the weekend or early next week. And the rest of the review team is working on new titles as well, so be sure to watch for them. [Read on here...]

The big news today is that Walt Disney Animation Studios has just officially announced the first title in Disney’s planned 100th anniversary celebration this year. Mickey & Minnie: 10 Classic Shorts – Volume 1 will arrive on Blu-ray/DVD Combo on 2/7. Unfortunately, we don’t have the complete list of shorts yet (it wasn’t included in the press release—we have requested the details) but we do know this much:

“Included is the iconic Steamboat Willie, the first cartoon with synchronized sound, in which the character of Mickey Mouse was first introduced as a deckhand on a riverboat commanded by the tyrannical Captain Pete. Also included are Brave Little Tailor, featuring Mickey as a medieval tailor given a daunting task. In Mickey’s Delayed Date, the tardy mouse relies on his faithful pup Pluto to get him to a dance with Minnie. Hawaiian Holiday finds Mickey and his pals vacationing on a beautiful island. Then along with friends, Mickey and Minnie glide through a romantic date on a frozen river in On Ice. And catch five more delightful stories in this legacy collection.”

[Editor’s Update: Here are the other 5 shorts included in this release: Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip, Figaro and Frankie, Bath Day, Thru the Mirror, and The Little Whirlwind.]

You can see the cover artwork above-left. [Read on here...]

We’ve got some announcement news and a couple of reviews to share with you for our first My Two Cents update of 2023...

Starting as always with those reviews, Tim has posted his thoughts on Reacher: Season One in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount.

Meanwhile, Dennis has offered his take on Lou Adler’s Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (1982) on Blu-ray from Paramount via Imprint Films, as well as Nathan H. Juran’s Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman (1958) on Blu-ray from our friends at the Warner Archive Collection.

More reviews are forthcoming, so be sure to stay tuned for them.

And in the event you missed it, some of you longtime readers might enjoy my New Year’s Eve look back at twenty-five years of The Digital Bits. It’s certainly been an adventure and we’re all very glad to have you along with us on the journey!

Now then, Disney appears to be re-issuing many of its Disney Animated, Pixar, and Star Wars slate of 4K Ultra HD titles throughout the coming year, exclusively at Best Buy stores, in new “Disney 100” Steelbook packaging. [Read on here...]

Welcome back from the holiday, Bits readers! We hope and trust that each of you were able to enjoy a great celebration with your family and friends.

Sarah and I have my mother staying here over the holidays, so we’ve been cooking up a storm, enjoying some great food, and watching lots of movies. I also just finished watching the season finale of HBO’s His Dark Materials—more on that in a moment—and I’ve started in on the new season of Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime. I still need to check out Avatar: The Way of Water at my local IMAX theater, but I’ll get to that soon enough.

We’ve got a new contribution from each member of the Bits reviewing team for you today, including...

Dennis’ look at Robert Mandel’s School Ties (1992) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films and Via Vision.

Stephen’s take on James Whale’s By Candlelight (1933) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

My thoughts on the new single-film 4K Ultra HD SKU of Wilson Yip’s Ip Man (2008) from Well Go USA.

And last, but certainly not least, Tim’s in-depth take on Peter Jackson’s The Frighteners: Ultimate Edition (1996) on 4K Ultra HD from our friends at Turbine Media in Germany! This is a pretty spectacular box set release, and Tim will tell you all about it in his review, so you definitely don’t want to miss it. [Read on here...]

Today’s news update here at The Digital Bits is a quick one, with one new disc review and a couple pieces of release news to close out the week. First, that review...

Tim has turned in his in-depth thoughts on The Outer Limits: Season Two (1964-65) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. And don’t forget that he reviewed Season One on Blu-ray just yesterday. Both are great box sets, packed with audio commentaries and rare extras, and are well worth a look.

Now then, the only major piece of announcement news we have today is that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has just set P.J. Hogan’s romantic comedy My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997) for release on 4K Ultra HD on 12/13.

The 4K presentation has been remastered from the original camera negative and will feature Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. All of the legacy Blu-ray features will be included, and—just for this release—the studio had added an alternate ending and nearly 20 minutes of deleted scenes, all never-before-seen. You can see the cover artwork above left. [Read on here...]

We’ve got three new disc reviews for you today, starting with my take on Paramount’s new George Pal Double Feature of Byron Haskin’s The War of the Worlds (1953) on 4K Ultra HD and Rudolph Maté’s When Worlds Collide (1951) on regular Blu-ray Disc. Unfortunately, both discs are... problematical... as you may have heard here and elsewhere. (And I should note that we have Paramount’s official position on War of the Worlds in the review text.) But they may still be worth your consideration so do check it out.

Also today, Tim has posted his thoughts on Jack Bender’s Child’s Play 3 (1991) in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory.

And Stephen has chimed in with his thoughts on Jeff Kanew’s Natural Enemies (1979) on Blu-ray from Fun City Editions via Vinegar Syndrome.

I’ve also just gotten my hands on Imprint Film’s new all-region Blu-ray of Akira Kurosawa’s Dersu Uzala (1975) and it’s pretty terrific. I’ve never seen the film looking better than it does here, and there are some nice extras on board as well, including a cracking new audio commentary by Japanese film expert Stuart Galbraith IV. I’ll have a full review here on The Bits in the next day or two. [Read on here...]

We’ve got two new disc reviews for you on this lovely Tuesday afternoon, both of them by our own Stephen Bjork...

First up, he’s taken a look at Universal’s CG-animated prequel Minions: The Rise of Gru in 4K Ultra HD.

Stephen has also offered his thoughts on Fernando Di Leo’s The Violent Breed (1984) on Blu-ray from Code Red via Kino Lorber.

As mentioned yesterday, more new disc reviews are on the way including a few great new 4K catalog titles, among them The War of the Worlds from Paramount and The Lost Boys from Warner Bros. So watch for those and more in the coming days.

Now then, in announcement news, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has officially set David Leitch’s Bullet Train (2022) for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 10/18, with the Digital release expected on 9/27. [Read on here...]