Displaying items by tag: Disney

We’re rounding out the week with three more new disc reviews for you to enjoy here today, including...

My joint review (with longtime Bits contributor Todd Doogan) of Ron Howard’s Willow (1988) in 4K Ultra HD Steelbook from Lucasfilm.

Tim’s review of Monk: Season Five on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Dennis’ take on Glenn Andreiev’s Night (1996) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

Now then, the big news this afternoon is that our friends at The Criterion Collection have just announced SEVEN new Blu-ray and 4K titles for release in March of next year, including Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Wages of Fear (1953) (Spine #36 – 4K + Blu-ray, Blu-ray & DVD) on 3/4, Michael Mann’s Thief (1981) (Spine #691 – 4K + Blu-ray) on 3/11, Kazuki Omori’s Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) (Spine #1254 – 4K + Blu-ray & Blu-ray) and Charles Chaplin’s A Woman of Paris (1923) (Spine #1253 – Blu-ray & DVD) on 3/18, and Alan Rudolph’s Choose Me (1984) (Spine #1256 – 4K + Blu-ray and Blu-ray) and Arthur Penn’s Night Moves (1975) (Spine #1255 – 4K + Blu-ray and Blu-ray) on 3/25! [Read on here...]

We’ve got more interesting release news to report today, along with more new disc reviews. Among the latter are...

My take on Frank Capra’s Lost Horizon (1937) in 4K Ultra HD from Sony’s excellent new Frank Capra at Columbia Collection box set, which is loaded with great films (20 in all, including 9 of them in 4K). If you’re a fan of Capra’s work, it’s definitely a must-have release.

Also today, Sam has taken a look at Robert M. Young’s Triumph of the Spirit (1989)—which features Willem Dafoe, Robert Loggia, and Edward James Olmos—on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Dennis has offered his thoughts on Mario Garcia’s The Throwback (2023) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber proper.

All three films are worth a look, and we have a few more reviews coming tomorrow, including a look at the new 4K Ultra HD release of Ron Howard’s Willow from Lucasfilm.

Now then, in terms of catalog announcement news, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has once again won the day by announcing that they’re releasing David Fincher’s The Social Network (2010) on 4K Ultra HD in Steelbook packaging on 2/18. This is in addition to Panic Room, which was announced yesterday. Note that this film was available previously from the studio in 4K, specifically in the Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection: Volume 2 box set back in 2021. [Read on here...]

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...]

We’re starting the new week here at The Bits, as always, with more new disc reviews...

Stephen has turned in his thoughts on Albert Magnoli’s celebration of all things Prince, Purple Rain (1984), in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. Discover Home Entertainment. The film celebrates its 40th anniversary this summer, and the city of Minneapolis has been partying all weekend in honor of it (more on that here).

Also, I’ve shared my thoughts on Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount Home Entertainment. I’m not sure the title actually needed a 4K upgrade, but what the heck—blame Canada. You can read all the details here.

And Dennis has shared his perspective on The Wachowskis’ Bound (1996), which is new on Blu-ray (and 4K UHD) from our friends at The Criterion Collection.

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

Now then... we’ve got a pretty significant piece of industry news to share with you today. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has completed an “umbrella” distribution deal with Studio Distribution Services (SDS) that covers not only their own Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD product, but also titles from Lionsgate and Disney (along with 20th Century Studios, Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures, and the other Disney-owned labels), which Sony produces for those studios. We first broke the news of this for our Patreon subscribers over the weekend.

The reason this deal is important is that it guarantees Sony, Disney, 20th Century Studios, and Lionsgate a direct and stable distribution channel for their physical media product into Walmart stores. And as we’ve reported previously, Walmart is the biggest disc retailer in North America with a whopping 45% share of the disc sales market (as of earlier this year—that number may have grown a bit with the recent exit of Best Buy, which had approximately 4% of the business). [Read on here...]

Today’s post starts with three new disc reviews, including...

Stuart’s take on the Film Focus: George Peppard box set from Imprint, which includes John Guillermin’s P.J. (1968), George Schaefer’s Pendulum (1969), Sam Wanamaker’s The Executioner (1970), and Richard T. Heffron’s Newman’s Law (1974).

Dennis’ look at Val Guest’s Assignment K (1968), also new on Blu-ray from Imprint.

And finally, Stephen’s thoughts on Vincente Minnelli and Busby Berkeley’s Cabin in the Sky (1943) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Note that we have lots more new disc reviews on the way, so be sure to watch for them. Also here at The Bits today, we’ve posted a significant update of our 4K Ultra HD Release List with lots of new 4K UHD titles and Amazon links.

And for our Patreon supporters, we’ve recently shared our thoughts on Ron Moore’s Battlestar Galactica and how well the series holds up some fifteen years after it ended its run on the Sci-Fi Channel, along with some preliminary commentary on changes that are brewing within the home entertainment industry, as well as Stephen’s thoughts on the ethics of film alteration and the challenges in determining how films should look on Blu-ray and especially 4K. Supporting The Bits on Patreon is a great way to help us continue our work in service of physical media, and we surely do appreciate it. [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...]

Afternoon, folks! We’re stating the new week here at The Bits with a couple of new disc reviews, including...

Tim’s take on Daniel Attias’ Silver Bullet: Collector’s Edition in 4K Ultra HD, as well as his thoughts on our old friend John Harrison’s Tales from the Darkside: The Movie – Collector’s Edition in 4K Ultra HD, both of them from Scream Factory.

Speaking of Scream, Shout Studios has also begun revealing some of their March catalog titles, which thus far are set to include Jonathan Kaplan’s Over the Edge (1979) on Blu-ray on 3/5, Mick Garris’ The Shining miniseries (1997) on Blu-ray on 3/12, Simon Wincer’s Quigley Down Under (1990) in 4K as a Shout! Select title also on 3/12, and a trio of additional 4K titles on 3/19... Lars Klevberg’s Child’s Play (2019), Kimberly Peirce’s Carrie (2013), and Kathryn Bigelow’s K-19: The Widowmaker (2002).

Meanwhile, the big news today is that Marvel and Disney have officially announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels (2023) for release on 2/13, with the Digital release expected on 1/16. Extras will include audio commentary with DaCosta and VFX supervisor Tara DeMarco, 2 featurettes (Entangled and The Production Diaries), 4 deleted scenes, and a gag reel. There will also be a 4K Steelbook edition that’s exclusive to Walmart. Audio on the 4K (a UHD-66 disc) will be Dolby Atmos, with DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below.

Also, Universal and DreamWorks Animation have listed the CG-animated Trolls Band Together (2023) for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K UHD release on 7/1 on Amazon, though that’s probably a placeholder date. Whatever the final street date ends up being, look for a Trolls 3-Movie Collection on Blu-ray and DVD that same day. [Read on here...]

Afternoon, Bits readers! It’s been a few days since we’ve done a major news update here on the site, and the reason is that we’ve been very focused on completing new disc reviews for you guys. This is the time of year when all of the big fourth quarter titles start arriving for review, and we’re right in the thick of it now. So today we’re pleased to offer you...

My reviews of James Mangold’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), along with The Mandalorian: The Complete First Season (2019) and The Mandalorian: The Complete Second Season (2020), all in 4K Ultra HD from Lucasfilm via Disney, as well as my review of James Cameron’s Titanic: 25th Anniversary Limited Edition in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount.

We also have Stephen’s reviews of WandaVision: The Complete Series (2021) in 4K Ultra HD from Marvel via Disney, as well as Tommy Wirkola’s Violent Night (2022) in 4K UHD via Universal, and Michael Crichton’s The Great Train Robbery (1978) on Blu-ray from MGM via Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Stuart has weighed in on Henry Decoin’s Strangers in the House (1942) on Blu-ray from Gaumont via Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Rest assured, we have many more new disc reviews on the way as well, so be sure to watch for them. [Read on here...]

We’re rounding out the week here with three more new disc reviews, including...

Dennis’ take on Costa-Gravas’ Mad City (1997) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stuart’s thoughts on Frederic C. Hobbs’s Godmonster of Indian Flats (1973) on Blu-ray from AGFA, Something Weird, and Vinegar Syndrome, and the Villages of the Damned: Three Horrors from Spain Blu-ray release also from Vinegar Syndrome, which includes Pedro Olea’s The Forest of the Beast (1970), Silvio Narizzano’s The Sky Is Falling (1975), and Gonzalo Suárez’s Beatriz (1976).

Meanwhile, the rest of us are already working on a bunch more new Blu-ray and 4K UHD reviews for next week. And I do mean a bunch. So be sure to watch for them.

We also have a couple significant pieces of catalog news for you this afternoon before we go...

The first is that Kino Lorber Studio Classics has just officially set Ivan Reitman’s Kindergarten Cop (1990) for release on 4K Ultra HD on 1/23, featuring two new audio commentaries (by film historians Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson, and a second by film historian Samm Deighan). [Read on here...]