Displaying items by tag: Support The Bits

All right, we’ve some big announcement news for you today, as well as a couple of updates on titles we’ve mentioned recently, and a pair of new disc reviews. Let’s start with the latter first...

I’ve just posted my thoughts on Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in 4K Ultra HD from Marvel and Disney. The disc streets on 11/30. The good news is that it looks and sounds great, though some of you may be disappointed that it doesn’t include the 1.90 IMAX aspect ratio for select scenes that’s now available via streaming on Disney+. Anyway, you can read my thoughts here.

Also, I’ve taken a look at a classic: Ingmar Bergman’s stunning B&W masterpiece The Seventh Seal (1957) as lovingly restored on 4K Ultra HD from the British Film Institute. It’s an import disc that’s worth your time, though keep in mind that the Blu-ray included in the packaging is Region B only (The 4K disc will work on all UHD players worldwide).

Now then... the big news today is that Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have officially set Denis Villeneuve’s Dune for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 1/11/22, as expected. The Digital release arrives on 12/3. Both the Blu-ray and 4K discs will include Dolby Atmos audio, and retail sources are suggesting that the 4K disc will include HDR10 and Dolby Vision high dynamic range. [Read on here...]

All right, it’s been a busy week here at The Digital Bits...

Just in the last 24 hours, we’ve posted three new disc reviews, including Tim’s thoughts on René Laloux’s classic animated film Fantastic Planet on Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection, as well as my two cents on Ridley Scott’s Prometheus in 4K Ultra HD from 20th Century Fox and also Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ Kong: Skull Island in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. All of them are worth a look, so we hope you enjoy the reviews.

Now then, we have some new announcement news to run down for you today...

First up today, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has officially set Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind for release on 4K Ultra HD (in both regular and Limited Edition versions) and Blu-ray formats on 9/19, featuring a new 4K restoration of all three versions of the film (included on BOTH the Blu-ray and 4K editions). Both editions will also include a pair of new featurettes: Three Kinds of Close Encounters, featuring Spielberg with directors J.J. Abrams and Denis Villeneuve, and Steven’s Home Movies & Outtakes. Also included will be legacy features, among them The Making of Close Encounters of the Third Kind documentary, the Steven Spielberg: 30 Years of Close Encounters featurette, deleted scenes, the 1977 featurette Watch the Skies, Storyboard to Scene Comparisons, an extensive photo gallery, “A View From Above”, and theatrical trailers. [Read on here…]

All right, we’ve got a couple things for you today…

First, we have three new disc reviews, including Tim’s look at Re-Animator on Blu-ray from Arrow Video, our joint take on Warner’s The LEGO Batman Movie on 4K Ultra HD, and my own look at Disney and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on 4K Ultra HD. All three are worth a look. Re-Animator proves to be the definitive release of that film on Blu-ray and Guardians is a stunning reference-quality 4K release from Disney, even without Dolby Vision. Do give them a look.

More Blu-ray and 4K reviews are on the way, so be sure to stay watch for them. [Read on here…]

All right, sorry for the lack of a news post yesterday, but the reason for it is that we’re hard at work on reviews for you here at The Bits. Speaking of which, late last night I posted my thoughts on Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant in 4K Ultra HD format from 20th Century Fox. That streets today. Yesterday afternoon, I also completed a review of Arrow’s new Blu-ray edition of John Frankenheimer’s Ronin, which arrives in stores on 8/29.

Meanwhile, Tim has turned in his thoughts on Scream Factory’s fine new Teen Wolf: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray and he’s also taken an exhaustive look at the contents of Sony’s recent Spider-Man: Limited Edition Collection Blu-ray box set. Now, a number of Bits readers have asked me recently what’s in the set, do all the legacy extras carry over, and what new content there may be. Tim has answered all of those questions for you in his review. The highlight of the set if definitely the new Spider-Man 3: Editor’s Cut created by Bob Murawski – we hear it’s a definite improvement upon the theatrical cut. So do give all of the above a look.

Also know that I am currently hard at work on my review of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on 4K Ultra HD format and I hope to have that posted later today. So keep checking back for it. [Read on here…]

All right, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and DC have just officially announced the release of director Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman Blu-ray Combo, Blu-ray 3D Combo, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD formats on 9/19 (SRP $35.99, $44.95, $28.98, and $44.95 respectively).

There will be more than two hours worth of extras on the Blu-rays, including a 5-part A Director’s Vision behind-the-scenes documentary, extended scenes, a blooper reel, Epilogue: Etta’s Mission, and additional “bonus scenes”. Audio on both the Blu-ray and 4K versions will be Dolby Atmos. 4K High Dynamic Range appears to be HDR-10. You’ll find the cover artwork below... [Read on here…]

The Criterion Collection has just announced an impressive new box set for release on 12/5, entitled 100 Years of Olympic Film. It’s the company’s biggest boxed release ever, including 53 films on 32 Blu-ray Discs or 43 DVDs (the SRP is $319.96, whichever version you choose).

From their press release: “Spanning fifty-three movies and forty-one editions of the Olympic Summer and Winter Games, this one-of-a-kind collection assembles, for the first time, a century’s worth of Olympic films – the culmination of a monumental, award-winning archival project encompassing dozens of new restorations by the International Olympic Committee. These documentaries cast a cinematic eye on some of the most iconic moments in the history of modern sports, spotlighting athletes who embody the Olympic motto of “Faster, Higher, Stronger”: Jesse Owens shattering sprinting world records on the track in 1936 Berlin, Jean Claude-Killy dominating the slopes of Grenoble in 1968, Joan Benoit breaking away to win the first-ever women’s marathon on the streets of Los Angeles in 1984. In addition to the work of Bud Greenspan, the man behind an impressive ten Olympic features, this stirring collective chronicle of triumph and defeat includes such landmarks of the documentary form as Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympia and Kon Ichikawa’s Tokyo Olympiad, along with lesser-known but captivating contributions by major directors like Claude Lelouch, Carlos Saura, and Miloš Forman.” [Read on here…]

We’re kicking things off today with a new Blu-ray review. Tim has posted his thoughts on Andrés Torres’ Bag Boy Lover Boy (2014) now available on BD from Severin Films. You’ll find that here. Note that I’m currently at work on a number of 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray reviews, which I expect to post starting tomorrow, so be sure to watch for those.

In announcement news today, Scream Factory has revealed the extras that will be included on their forthcoming Blu-ray release of Dan O’Bannon’s The Resurrected (due on 9/12). Look for a new 2K transfer of the film, a new interview with actress Jane Sibbett (Claire’s Conundrum), a new interview with author S.T. Joshi (The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward), audio commentary (with producers Mark Borde and Kenneth Raich, screenwriter Brent V. Friedman, actor Richard Romanus and make-up effects artist Todd Masters), 4 additional interview featurettes (The Resurrected Man with Chris Sarandon, Abominations & Adaptations with screenwriter Brent Friedman, Grotesque Melodies with composer Richard Band, Lovecraftian Landscapes with production designer Brent Thomas, and Human Experiments with special effects artist Todd Masters), deleted and extended scenes from the workprint, the Japanese trailer and home video trailer, and a photo gallery. You can see the cover artwork at left and pre-order it on Amazon at this link. [Read on here…]

All right, the big news so far today is that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Netflix have just set House of Cards: The Complete Fifth Season for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 10/3.

Sony has also announced the return of a classic holiday TV special to DVD in the form of a new Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas: 40th Anniversary Edition. Extras will include the Behind the Scenes in Frogtown Hollow featurette, deleted and alternate scenes, outtakes, and a lost song (Born in a Trunk).

In addition to Vice Versa and Night of the Living Dead, which we’ve mentioned in the last few days, Mill Creek is also releasing Mary Reilly on Blu-ray on 10/17 and a Suspect: 30th Anniversary Edition on 9/12. You can see the cover artwork below. [Read on here…]

We’ve got a good release news update for you today here at The Bits. But first, a couple of items of note...

This is kind of important for us: It’s getting harder and harder to keep The Bits running, what with server, bandwidth, staff, and other operating costs that seem to be increasing all the time, even as advertising revenue is in decline. It’s a problem many websites are facing these days. But we’re lucky in that we’re an Amazon affiliate. So we’ve just posted the weekly update of our Release Dates & Artwork section here at The Bits, featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. We’d like to humbly ask all our readers: Please use our links when ordering from Amazon. All you have to do is click through any one of our Amazon links here at the site, then we get affiliate credit for literally anything you order from Amazon in that same shopping session. It make a huge difference for us in allowing us to keep The Bits going. This support is critical; it’s the difference between continuing The Bits or not. So we thank you very much for supporting us in this way. [Read on here…]

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Okay, we have a bit of major news for you today and it’s damn depressing...

Al Jean, who is the producer of The Simpsons, has just tweeted that Fox has no plans to release more seasons of The Simpsons on DVD (no word yet on Blu-ray, but it’s possible this includes all physical disc formats). [Late Update: Yes, that means Blu-ray too.] Jean apparently holds out hope of a possible Complete Series set on DVD one day, when the show is done, but frankly I’m not sure we here at The Bits do. [Late Update: We don’t.] What with their MIA Blu-ray plans for The Abyss and True Lies, not to mention The X-Files: The Complete Series, Buffy: The Complete Series, and 24: The Complete Series, just to name a few, it’s getting harder and harder not to look at Fox as THE studio that’s leading the charge to kill physical media completely.  [Read on here…]