• Paramount announces a new 10th Anniversary box set of Christopher Nolan’s INTERSTELLAR (2014) in 4K!
    Paramount announces a new 10th Anniversary box set of Christopher Nolan’s INTERSTELLAR (2014) in 4K!
  • Miloš Forman’s AMADEUS (1984) is finally coming to 4K Ultra HD in 2025 from Warner Bros!
    Miloš Forman’s AMADEUS (1984) is finally coming to 4K Ultra HD in 2025 from Warner Bros!
  • CBS & Paramount finally set I LOVE LUCY: THE COMPLETE SERIES (1951-1957) for Blu-ray release on 11/5!
    CBS & Paramount finally set I LOVE LUCY: THE COMPLETE SERIES (1951-1957) for Blu-ray release on 11/5!
  • Warner sets Lee Isaac Chung’s TWISTERS & Tim Burton’s BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE for Blu-ray & 4K!
    Warner sets Lee Isaac Chung’s TWISTERS & Tim Burton’s BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE for Blu-ray & 4K!
  • Warner Archive Collection & Shout! Studios announce a TON of December catalog Blu-ray & 4K UHD titles!
    Warner Archive Collection & Shout! Studios announce a TON of December catalog Blu-ray & 4K UHD titles!
  • 20th Century Studios sets Fede Álvarez’s ALIEN: ROMULUS (2024) for 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray release on 12/3!
    20th Century Studios sets Fede Álvarez’s ALIEN: ROMULUS (2024) for 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray release on 12/3!
  • Marvel & Disney set Shawn Levy’s DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE (2024) for Blu-ray & 4K UHD on 10/22!
    Marvel & Disney set Shawn Levy’s DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE (2024) for Blu-ray & 4K UHD on 10/22!
  • EXCLUSIVE: WBDHE will release Robert Harmon’s restored THE HITCHER on 4K & Blu-ray in the US on 10/22!
    EXCLUSIVE: WBDHE will release Robert Harmon’s restored THE HITCHER on 4K & Blu-ray in the US on 10/22!
  • EXCLUSIVE: Refuse Films announces the Blu-ray debut of Trey Parker’s CANNIBAL! THE MUSICAL!
    EXCLUSIVE: Refuse Films announces the Blu-ray debut of Trey Parker’s CANNIBAL! THE MUSICAL!
  • NBC’s THE WEST WING is official for 25th anniversary Blu-ray release on 10/1 from Warner Bros. Discovery
    NBC’s THE WEST WING is official for 25th anniversary Blu-ray release on 10/1 from Warner Bros. Discovery
  • Universal sets Steven Spielberg’s restored THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS (1974) for release in 4K UHD on 11/12!
    Universal sets Steven Spielberg’s restored THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS (1974) for release in 4K UHD on 11/12!
  • If You Value Our Work at The Digital Bits, Please Consider Supporting Us via Patreon!
    If You Value Our Work at The Digital Bits, Please Consider Supporting Us via Patreon!
  • Tim reviews Marcus Nispel’s FRIDAY THE 13TH (2009) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video
    Tim reviews Marcus Nispel’s FRIDAY THE 13TH (2009) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video
  • BY GRABTHAR’S HAMMER: Paramount sets Dean Parisot’s GALAXY QUEST (1999) for 4K Ultra HD!
    BY GRABTHAR’S HAMMER: Paramount sets Dean Parisot’s GALAXY QUEST (1999) for 4K Ultra HD!
  • Criterion’s December delivers NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, 8½ & PARIS, TEXAS to 4K Ultra HD!
    Criterion’s December delivers NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, 8½ & PARIS, TEXAS to 4K Ultra HD!
  • Sony unveils an amazing FRANK CAPRA AT COLUMBIA box set that includes 20 films, 9 of them in 4K Ultra HD!
    Sony unveils an amazing FRANK CAPRA AT COLUMBIA box set that includes 20 films, 9 of them in 4K Ultra HD!
  • Paramount sets Michael Curtiz’s WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954) for 4K Ultra HD on 11/5!
    Paramount sets Michael Curtiz’s WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954) for 4K Ultra HD on 11/5!
  • Franklin J. Schaffner’s PLANET OF THE APES (1968) is now available in 4K Digital from Disney & 20th Century!
    Franklin J. Schaffner’s PLANET OF THE APES (1968) is now available in 4K Digital from Disney & 20th Century!
  • Disney sets M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense & Signs for 4K Ultra HD release on 10/22!
    Disney sets M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense & Signs for 4K Ultra HD release on 10/22!
  • OTOY’s fantastic 2001: CREATING KUBRICK’S SPACE ODYSSEY documentary is here at last!
    OTOY’s fantastic 2001: CREATING KUBRICK’S SPACE ODYSSEY documentary is here at last!
My Two Cents
Thursday, 10 October 2024 19:01

Heads up Digital Bits readers: A bunch of new Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD titles have now become available for pre-order on Amazon.com, which has also been having sales on select titles this week for Prime members as well.

What’s more, it looks like the listed sale prices on some of the Disney and 20th Century Studios 4K titles are finally starting to creep down a little bit.

Knowing that many of you like and appreciate these pre-order links when we shared them (because boy—do we ever hear from you about them), here’s the latest batch...

(Don’t forget: The Bits is an Amazon Affiliate, so anytime you order literally anything from them after using our links, you’re helping to support our work at the site and we appreciate it.)

COLUMBIA CLASSICS 4K UHD COLLECTION V3 (60% OFF!)
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0B9C847Z2/tag=thedigitalbits-20

COLUMBIA CLASSICS 4K UHD COLLECTION V5
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0D9CJZCT7/tag=thedigitalbits-20

THE HITCHER (WARNER 4K)
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0DJ3J6DQK/tag=thedigitalbits-20

THE HITCHER (WARNER BD)
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0DJ3GLJG5/tag=thedigitalbits-20

ALIEN: ROMULUS (4K+BD)
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0D8LG1W31/tag=thedigitalbits-20

ALIEN: ROMULUS (4K+BD STEELBOOK)
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0D8LH17QL/tag=thedigitalbits-20

ALIEN: ROMULUS (BD)
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0D8LC2DJ6/tag=thedigitalbits-20.

Continued below the break... [Read on here...]

Wednesday, 09 October 2024 15:47

We’ve got several more new disc reviews for you here at The Bits today, including...

Tim’s look at Bryan Bertino’s The Strangers (2008) in 4K Ultra HD and Kevin Tenney’s Night of the Demons (1998) in 4K Ultra HD, both from Shout! Studios and Scream Factory.

Stephen’s look at Peter Hyams’ Capricorn One (1978) on Blu-ray from Via Vision’s Imprint Films and also their new Two Films by Wayne Wang box set which includes Smoke (1995) and Blue in the Face (1995) on Blu-ray.

Dennis’ thoughts on Basil Dearden’s Woman of Straw (1964) on Blu-ray also from Imprint.

And finally Stuart’s review of Elijah Drenner’s That Guy Dick Miller (2014) on Blu-ray from Dekanalog and Vinegar Syndrome.

More reviews are on the way, so be sure keep your eyes peeled from them.

Also here at The Bits today, we’ve posted our weekly update of our Release Dates & Cover Art section with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K UHD cover art and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, whenever you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking to them through one of our links, you’re helping to support our work here at the site and we really appreciate it. [Read on here...]

Tuesday, 08 October 2024 00:00

This is a quick post to let you all know that our Release Dates & Cover Artwork section here at The Digital Bits has just been updated with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. Don’t forget that you can select to see just the Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD, or even Criterion titles seperately if you like, to help you find exactly the ones you’re looking for. Just click on RELEASE DATES &  ART on the menu bar above to visit the page, and use the search options in the red bar (at the top) to sort by format and date. Once you find a title you like, just click on the cover art and you’ll be taken right to the Amazon.com pre-order page. Thank you for shopping through our links and don’t forget that anytime you order from Amazon through our links, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really appreciate it! And thanks to our own Russell Hammond for the update work!

- Bill Hunt

Monday, 07 October 2024 13:37

All right, we’ve got some good 4K catalog news for you guys today, plus some more new disc reviews. But first, please allow me a brief diversion...

It’s been kind of a roller coaster week for me here at Digital Bits HQ. Last Tuesday, it became clear that one of our cats, a 17-year-old tortie named Maddie, was ailing and my wife and I needed to take her to the vet. We did immediately, and learned that she was in kidney failure—common for cats of that age. The vet recommended that we do sub-q fluids and feed her a special diet to try to get her to bounce back, which I spent most of last week administering. But by Friday, it became clear that she just wasn’t strong enough to. She’s always lived with a heart murmur, so when we adopted her the vet said she probably wouldn’t live a long time. Yet she almost made it to 18. Maddie definitely lived life on her own terms.

Anyway, we had to let her go on Friday, which was rough. Then on Saturday night, some friends invited us to join them for their 35th anniversary celebration, and that was wonderful. Then I got up at 6 AM to watch the Vikings play the Jets in London, and my team squeaked out a win—I’m a lifelong Vikings fan, having grown up in North Dakota, so their 5-0 record seems surreal. (And I’m just going to enjoy it while it lasts.) Last night, I convinced a friend—who is visiting his brother in Fargo—to drive out of town to see the Northern Lights; something he’s always wanted to experience. Well, experience it he did, and he shared pictures of it with me in real time. And today is my 57th birthday. So, it’s been a lot of good this past week, with a bit of really terrible. But I suppose that’s life.

All right, let’s knock out those disc reviews...

Stuart has offered his thoughts on Bert I. Gordon’s Empire of the Ants (1977) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Tim has taken a look at Roland West’s The Bat (1926) on Blu-ray from Undercrank Productions.

More are on the way, including my look at The Hitcher in 4K and also The West Wing: The Complete Series on Blu-ray, so do watch for those this week. [Read on here...]

Friday, 04 October 2024 13:15

All right, we’ve got three new disc reviews for you to finish out the week, plus some more great new title announcements. The reviews first...

Stephen has taken a look at David Twohy’s The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) in 4K Ultra HD, as released by our friends at Arrow Video.

Tim has reviewed the Warner Archive Collection’s new Hanna-Barbera Double Feature of Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998) and Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island (2019) on Blu-ray.

And Stuart has turned in his thoughts on Francis Ford Coppola’s You’re a Big Boy Now (1996) on Blu-ray, also from the Warner Archive Collection. And how fitting it is that we’re reviewing Coppola’s first feature film, even as what may be his last—Megalopolis (2024)—is now in theaters.

As always, more reviews are on the way, so be sure to watch for them.

Now then... the big news today is all on the classic TV front: First, Paramount Home Entertainment and CBS have officially set I Love Lucy: The Complete Series for release on Blu-ray for the first time ever! Expected on 11/5, the 33-disc set will include all 180 episodes of I Love Lucy (1951-57), plus all episodes of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (1957-60) remastered with long-missing footage restored, plus the newly-colorized episode Lucy and the Loving Cup. In addition, the series’ opening and closing credits have been restored along with many original cast commercials. Three long-lost “flashback” scenes have been remastered. And a portion of the 1959 CBS Fall Preview Special has been included. You’ll also get the original I Love Lucy pilot episode (remastered from original 35mm kinescope), I Love Lucy: The Movie, audio commentaries on select episodes, Lucy on the Radio broadcasts, flubs, slideshows, cast bios, photo galleries, and production notes. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

Wednesday, 02 October 2024 14:19

We start today with two new disc reviews...

Tim has taken a look at Osgood Perkins’ Longlegs (2024) in 4K Ultra HD from Neon and Decal Releasing.

And Stephen has offered his thoughts on Michael Lehmann’s Heathers (1988) as released in 4K UHD in the UK only by the good people of Arrow Video.

Just to let you know, we’ve also updated our 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits and our Release Dates & Artwork section, featuring all kinds of new Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD titles with cover artwork and Amazon pre-order links. Whenever you order titles (or literally anything) from Amazon through our links, you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we appreciate it!

Now then, the big news today is that Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has finally set Lee Isaac Chung’s Twisters (2024) for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 10/22, with the Digital release expected next week on 10/8. The 4K disc will include HDR10 only with Dolby Atmos sound. A 4K Steelbook version will also be available. Extras on all SKUs will include audio commentary with the director, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and 6 featurettes (Tracking the Fronts: The Path of Twisters, Into the Eye of the Storm, Glen Powell: All Access, Front Seat to a Chase, Voice of a Villain, and Tricked-Out Trucks). You can see the cover artwork at left and also below the break. [Read on here...]

Monday, 30 September 2024 17:31

We’ve got some MAJOR announcement news to share with you all today, we’re starting things off as always with four new disc reviews...

Tim has checked in with his thoughts on Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass’ animated The Last Unicorn (1982) in 4K Ultra HD and 4K Steelbook from Shout! Studios.

And Dennis has weighed in with this take on Norman Z. McLeod’s My Favorite Spy (1951) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Serge Bourguignon’s Two Weeks in September (1967) on Blu-ray from Kino Classics.

Now then, our friends at Shout! Studios and the Warner Archive Collection have announce major slates of Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD catalog titles for release in November and December!

The Warner Archive Collection has revealed 6 new classic Blu-ray titles for release on 11/26, including Jean Negulesco’s Humoresque (1946)—mastered from a 4K scan of original nitrate camera negative—Jack Haley Jr. That’s Entertainment! (1974)—re-constructed from original negatives and preservation elements—The Complete Thin Man Collection (1934-47)—a 6-disc set mastered from 4K scans of the best surviving elements, featuring WS Van Dyke’s pre-Code The Thin Man (1934), After the Thin Man (1936), Another Thin Man (1939), and Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), as well as Richard Thorpe’s Song of the Thin Man (1944), and Edward Buzzell’s The Thin Man Goes Home (1947)—Hanna-Barbera’s animated Wait Till Your Father Gets Home (1972-74) TV series—featuring 48 episodes on 6 discs—Gary David Goldberg’s Must Love Dogs (2005), and finally the Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice: Volume 4 (1937-64)—including 27 classic Looney Tunes fully restored and remastered shorts, including Friz Freleng’s Streamlined Greta Green (1937), Double Chaser (1942), Meatless Flyday (1944), Peck Up Your Troubles (1945), Along Came Daffy (1947), A Bone for a Bone (1951), Muzzle Tough (1954), Stork Naked (1955), Hyde and Go Tweet (1960), Lighter Than Hare (1960), D’ Fightin’ Ones (1961), Devil’s Feud Cake (1963), and Road to Andalay (1964), Tex Avery’s The Sneezing Weasel (1938) and Dangerous Dan McFoo (1939), Tex Avery and Bob Clampett’s The Cagey Canary (1941), Chuck Jones’ Fox Pop (1942), Mouse-Warming (1952), Double or Mutton (1955), and Hopalong Casualty (1960), Robert McKimson’s The Mouse-Merized Cat (1946), Henhouse Henery (1949), Leghorn Swoggled (1951), Muscle Tussle (1953), and Quack Shot (1954), Arthur Davis’ Holiday for Drumsticks (1949), and Norm McCabe’s The Impatient Patient (1942). Whew! [Read on here...]

Friday, 27 September 2024 16:25

We’ve got just a couple more reviews for you today to close out the week...

Tim has reviewed both the Blu-ray and DVD versions of DC Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment’s new Super Friends: The Complete Collection.

Watch for a bunch more new disc reviews next week—the whole team is working on more, including yours truly!

Meanwhile, the big news today is that Arrow Video has just revealed its December Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release slate. Look for John Sturges’ The Great Escape (1963) in 4K and Blu-ray (UK only) and the Critters: A Four Course Feast! Blu-ray box set (UK only)—which includes Stephen Herek’s Critters (1986), Mick Garris’ Critters 2: The Main Course (1988), Kristine Peterson’s Critters 3 (1991), and Rupert Harvey’s Critters 4 (1992)—on 12/2, followed by Abel Ferrara’s The Addiction (1995) in 4K (UK, US, and Canada), Marco Brambilla’s Demolition Man (1993) in 4K and Blu-ray (UK, US, and Canada), Kim Jee-woon’s The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008) in 4K and Blu-ray (UK only), and Cody Kennedy and Tim Rutherford’s The Last Video Store (2023) on Blu-ray (UK and US) all on 12/9. [Read on here...]