Displaying items by tag: Michael Coate
Criterion’s June slate, Indiana Jones in 4K update, THX 1138 at 50, more release/industry news & In Defense of Home Entertainment
Okay, we’ve got some serious ground to cover in today’s My Two Cents update, so let’s get right to it...
First, we’ve just posted Michael Coate’s brand new History, Legacy & Showmanship column here at The Bits, featuring a terrific new retrospective of George Lucas’ THX 1138 in honor of the film’s 50th anniversary (which was last week on 3/11 – the piece was delayed due to a technical issue). The column takes an in-depth look back at the original theatrical release and also features a great roundtable discussion with film historian Chris Barsanti, documentary filmmaker Gary Leva, and original Director of Fan Relations at Lucasfilm Craig Miller. I think you’ll really enjoy it. So you’ll find that here.
Next up, as some of you may have noticed over the weekend, we posted word on Saturday (see here) that video distributors had begun listing a 4-film Indiana Jones Collection for release on 4K Ultra HD on 6/8. This is still not to be considered official until Paramount and Lucasfilm make their actual announcement, however be aware that I’ve now confirmed it with multiple film industry sources in addition to retail and distribution sources. And it’s really not all that surprising given that 6/12 is marks the 40th anniversary of the original film’s theatrical release. We expect the set to include all four existing films in 4K with HDR10 high dynamic range and the previous DTS-HD Master Audio lossless sound mixes (but that’s still subject to change). [Editor’s Note: We’ve just confirmed that the set WILL include Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. Details to follow shortly.] The 5-disc set will also include a disc of bonus features that are TBA. Of course, we’ll post more information on this as it comes in.
The other big news today is that our friends at The Criterion Collection have just unveiled their June slate of titles. [Read on here...]
- Lucasfilm
- Steven Spielberg
- Harrison Ford
- George Lucas
- Raiders of the List Ark 40th anniversary
- Paramount Home Entertainment
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 4K
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 4K
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 4K
- Raiders of the Lost Ark 4K
- Indiana Jones: The Complete Collection 4K
- 4K Ultra HD
- Bluray
- My Two Cents
- The Digital Bits
- Bill Hunt
- Michael Coate
- History Legacy & Showmanship
- THX 1138 50th Anniversary
- Gary Leva
- Chris Barsanti
- Craig Miller
- Criterion June Slate
- The Human Condition BD
- Streetwise BD
- Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell BD
- Pariah BD
- The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs BD
- Pickup on South Street BD
- Lara Croft: Tomb Raider 2Movie Collection 4K
- Mission: Impossible remastered BD
- Lara Croft: Tomb Raider remastered BD
- Shout! Factory
- Explorers BD
- Vanquish
- David Lynch's Dune 4K
- Basic Instinct 4K
- Studio Canal
- Mandabi
- In Defense of Home Entertainment
- Hercules and the Captive Women BD
- The Film Detective
- Warner Archive Final 4 for 44 sale
- Media Play News
- TK Arnold
- Paramount layoffs
Love, 25th Century Style: Remembering “THX 1138” on its 50th Anniversary
“What’s fun about seeing THX 1138 now, after 50 years, is to see how George Lucas took the rather dark themes and dynamic visual storytelling of his first film and found a way to infuse them into the Saturday matinee style films of the Star Wars series. THX is not his best film, but it’s fascinating to see the seeds of his future work within it.” – Gary Leva, director of Fog City Mavericks
The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the golden anniversary of the release of THX 1138, George Lucas’s feature-length adaptation of his award-winning 1967 USC student film Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB.
Released two years before American Graffiti and six years before Star Wars, Lucas’s first motion picture starred Robert Duvall (Apocalypse Now, Tender Mercies) and Donald Pleasence (You Only Live Twice, Halloween) and was about a dystopian future where love and individuality are forbidden.
THX 1138 was executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now) as part of a deal in which Warner Bros. would finance and distribute American Zoetrope productions. [Read on here...]
- The Digital Bits
- Michael Coate
- History Legacy & Showmanship
- George Lucas
- Star Wars
- THX 1138
- Francis Ford Coppola
- Robert Duvall
- Donald Pleasence
- student film
- Warner Bros
- Albert Kihn
- David Myers
- Walter Murch
- dystopia
- Don Pedro Colley
- Maggie McOmie
- Ian Wolfe
- science fiction
- Chris Barsanti
- Gary Leva
- Craig Miller
- roundtable discussion
- The SciFi Movie Guide: The Universe of Film from Alien to Zardoz
- Artifact from the Future: The Making of THX 1138
- Fog City Mavericks
- Star Wars Memories
Shout! & Scream’s June Blu-ray slate, plus Songbird, MVD’s Spring Rewind Collection titles, and a Zack Snyder’s Justice League BD & 4K update
We’ve got some new release news to report today...
We’ll start with Shout! and Scream Factory, who have begun to announce their June Blu-ray and DVD release slate. Look for it to include Embattled on 6/1, The Unhealer (2020) and Sesame Street: Cool Counting Collection (DVD only) on 6/8, Sphinx (1981), Kindred (2020), and The Awakening (1980) on 6/15, The Wind Rises (Steelbook), The Secret World of Arrietty (Steelbook), Hunter Hunter, Human Nature: Shout Select (2001), and When Calls the Heart: What The Heart Wants & Before My Very Eyes (DVD only) on 6/22, and Stardust, Just a Gigolo (1978), and Battle Beyond the Stars (Steelbook) on 6/29. You’ll also be able to get a NECA figure of Battle Beyond the Stars’ Saint-Exmin on 6/29 by ordering directly from the Shout website.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment will release Adam Mason’s Songbird on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital on 3/16. Extras will include audio commentary with Mason and co-writer Simon Boyes, deleted scenes with commentary, The Story of Songbird, the Kingdom promo video, and The Making of Kingdom. [Read on here...]
- Bill Hunt
- The Digital Bits
- My Two Cents
- Bluray
- 4K Ultra HD
- Shout! Factory
- Scream Factory
- Songbird
- MVD Rewind Collection
- Zack Snyder’s Justice League 4K
- The Unhealer
- Sphinx
- Kindred
- The Awakening
- Human Nature
- Battle Beyond the Stars
- David Bowie
- Stardust
- Just a Gigolo
- Action USA
- Drive
- Mortuary
- The House on Sorority Row
- The Go Go Boys: The Inside Story of Cannon Films
- Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist
- Here Are the Young Men
- My Little Sister
- Warner Bros Home Entertainment
- Ten Minutes to Midnight
- History Legacy & Showmanship
- Michael Coate
- George Lucas
- THX 1138 50th Anniversary
Flintstones replacement BDs are shipping, plus a new 4K review, release news & Michael Apted RIP
Evening, folks. We’ve got a quick news update for you here today at the site.
But first, a new disc review: Tim has just posted his thoughts on William Lustig’s Vigilante (1982) on 4K Ultra HD from the good folks at Blue Underground. And it sounds like it’s a pretty terrific release if you like the film, which stars Robert Forster and Fred Williamson. Do check it out.
Also a reminder today: We posted a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column from our own Michael Coate on Friday—a piece that was delayed from the very end of 2020 due to all of the site maintenance we’ve been doing over the past several weeks. This one is a look back at the early 70mm cut of The Empire Strikes Back, featuring a new roundtable discussion with historian and soundtrack producer Mike Matessino along with director Saul Pincus. We think you’ll really enjoy it, so do give that a look here if you missed it.
Now then... there’s not a lot of release news to report today, but we do have a few things worth mentioning. [Read on here...]
- My Fair Lady 4K
- Super 8 4K
- Saul Pincus
- Mike Matessino
- Empire @ 40: Remembering the Early 70MM Cut
- The Empire Strikes Back
- History Legacy & Showmanship
- Michael Coate
- The Criterion Collection
- Santa Sangre 4K
- 4K Ultra HD
- Bluray
- My Two Cents
- The Digital Bits
- Bill Hunt
- The Ten Commandments 4K
- Tim Salmons
- Vigilante 4K review
- Blue Underground
- Michael Apted RIP
- His Dark Materials: Season Two BD
- Kino Lorber Studio Classics
- The Good The Bad and The Ugly 4K
- The Flintstones: The Complete Series BD replacement program
- News of the World 4K
- GATTACA 4K
- World of Wong Karwai BD
- Monster Hunter 4K
Criterion’s April slate, plus new 4K catalog coming from Paramount & Severin, and new catalog Blu-ray titles too
Hey everyone! Well... another week is officially in the can and, as promised, I’ve got an update for you on some release news and whatnot.
First up, I wanted to alert you to a 4K Ultra HD deal: Amazon currently has Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite available in 4K for just $11.00 for a limited time only. So click here to order a copy if you’re interested.
Also today, we’ve got a great new History, Legacy & Showmanship column from our own Michael Coate—one that was delayed from the very end of 2020 due to all of the site maintenance we’ve been doing over the past several weeks. This one is a terrific look back at the early 70mm cut of The Empire Strikes Back, featuring a new roundtable discussion with historian and soundtrack producer Mike Matessino along with director Saul Pincus. We think you’ll really enjoy it, so do give that a look here.
Now then, in announcement news today, Severin Films has revealed that it’s working on a new 4K Ultra HD release of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Santa Sangre (1989) that’s due on 4/27. The title will also be released on Blu-ray and DVD. You can see the cover artwork for the 4K at left. Click here to pre-order on Amazon: 4K, Blu-ray, DVD.
But that’s not the only 4K catalog title we now know is coming from our retail sources... [Read on here...]
- Bill Hunt
- The Digital Bits
- My Two Cents
- Bluray
- 4K Ultra HD
- Santa Sangre 4K
- Severin Films
- The Criterion Collection
- Criterion April 2021 slate
- Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment
- Parasite 4K deal
- Michael Coate
- History Legacy & Showmanship
- The Empire Strikes Back
- Empire @ 40: Remembering the Early 70MM Cut
- Mike Matessino
- Saul Pincus
- The Ten Commandments 4K
- Super 8 4K
- The Indiana Jones 4K Collection
- My Fair Lady 4K
- History Is Made at Night
- The Criterion Spines Project
- The 4K Ultra HD Release List
- The Furies
- Memories of Murder
- Bong Joonho
- Masculin féminin
- JeanLuc Godard
- Irma Vep
- Anthony Mann
- Olivier Assayas
- Frank Borzage
- The Warner Archive Collection
- Pump Up the Volume
- Imprint
- Indicator Films
- The Very Excellent Mr Dundee
- Greenland 4K
Happy New Year from all of us at The Digital Bits! (And 2020... don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out.)
All right, this is our final Bits post of 2020. And it’ll be a quick one.
This has certainly been a difficult year for all of us here and no doubt it has been for all of you, our readers, as well. But a new year at least brings the hope that things can and will get better on Planet Earth going forward.
On a personal note, I’m pleased to say that—though it’s been a struggle—The Digital Bits is still here. We’ve made it through some difficult times, we’re still alive and ticking. And we intend to keep cracking on in 2021 and beyond.
I’ve also been working on a second science fiction novel, and hope to see my first actually published sometime in 2021—something I’ve had to put on the back-burner this past year in order to keep the site going. But the writing process has certainly been personally satisfying, and it’s kept me going in dark moments. That, plus having a telescope to look at the stars a few times a month, and of course great family and friends—even though we’ve only been able to see them from afar.
In any case, I know I speak for all of us here at the site when I say that we’re grateful to have each and every one of you as readers of The Digital Bits.
So with that, we’d like to wish you all a very happy and safe New Year! And together we’ll make 2021 a better time for all of us.
See you back here on Monday. Peace out!
(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)
Empire @ 40: Remembering the Early 70MM Cut
“On my thirteenth viewing, which was the first time I saw it at a different theater than the one I’d gone to since opening day, I knew there were noticeable changes when the final scene began with different music.” — film music historian Mike Matessino
The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present a continuation of our 40th anniversary coverage of the release of The Empire Strikes Back, the middle act of George Lucas’s original Star Wars trilogy and one of the most celebrated and beloved sequels of all time. Part One of our Empire 40th coverage appeared back in May.
George Lucas’s penchant for making revisions to his work is about as legendary as his movies. The majority of Lucas’s alterations have occurred years after his films’ original releases. With The Empire Strikes Back, however, the first (of several rounds of) revisions were actually made while the movie was in first release, and it is this lesser-known aspect of the otherwise very-well-known production that is the subject of this column. [Read on here...]
- Billy Dee Williams
- Peter Mayhew
- Alec Guinness
- Frank Oz
- Kenny Baker
- Anthony Daniels
- Carrie Fisher
- Harrison Ford
- Mark Hamill
- John Williams
- 40th anniversary
- The Digital Bits
- Michael Coate
- History Legacy & Showmanship
- The Empire Strikes Back
- Irvin Kershner
- George Lucas
- Star Wars
- Mike Matessino
- Saul Pincus
Our reviews of Lord of the Rings & Hobbit in 4K are up, plus upcoming title news, Cyber Monday sales & more
Afternoon, everyone and happy Cyber Monday. We hope you’ve all had a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday, for those of you here in the States. And for everyone else, we hope you had a great weekend.
We were very busy here at The Bits over the weekend. I’ve completed our in-depth review of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. The disc streets tomorrow, but we’re hearing that supplies are a little short so it might take another few weeks for everyone who ordered to get their copies.
For those of you who want the short version, the set is fantastic. It includes all three films—The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King—in both the Theatrical Cuts and Extended Editions on separate discs (the Extended Editions are split over two UHD discs, as they were on Blu-ray and DVD). There are no special features in the set beyond a Digital Copy code. However, the new 4K remasters are spectacular. Truly, these films have never looked better—not even during their original run in theaters. The 4K-remastered image falls a bit short of reference quality, but trust me when I say that they’re so much better than their previous Blu-ray versions that there’s just no comparison. And the new HDR color grade is breathtaking. Not to mention the sound—each film includes a new Dolby Atmos surround sound mix that absolutely IS reference quality. So I highly recommend that you all check out my review here. [Read on here...]
- Thanksgiving sales
- Warner Bros Home Entertainment
- Bill Hunt
- The Digital Bits
- My Two Cents
- Bluray
- Zavvi BD 4K & Steelbook sale
- Cyber Monday Amazon sales
- The Flintstones 60th Anniversary Retrospective
- Michael Coate
- History Legacy & Showmanship
- Jerry Beck
- The Hobbit Trilogy 4K review
- The Lord of the Rings Trilogy 4K review
- Love and Monsters 4K
- Babylon 5: Complete Collection Bluray
- 4K Ultra HD Release List
- The Croods: A New Age 4K
- Batman: Soul of the Dragon 4K
- Greenland 4K
- David Prose RIP
- Darth Vader
Yabba Dabba Doo!: Remembering “The Flintstones” on its 60th Anniversary
“The Flintstones was the first animated sitcom in television history. They paved that gravel road and it’s been smooth traveling ever since.” — Steve Cox, author of Mining Bedrock: The Voices Behind Television’s First Animated Sitcom, The Flintstones
The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 60th anniversary of the broadcast premiere of The Flintstones, Hanna-Barbera’s animated series set in the Stone Age (but inspired by The Honeymooners and mid-20th Century suburban America) that introduced the world to Fred and Wilma Flintstone, Barney and Betty Rubble, Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, Dino, Mr. Slate, The Great Gazoo, and a host of other memorable supporting characters.
The popular series (recently released on Blu-ray and reviewed here) originally ran in prime time on ABC from 1960 to 1966 and spawned numerous spin-offs, TV specials, movies and tie-in merchandise. It premiered 60 years ago this autumn, and for the occasion The Bits features a Q&A with a trio of pop culture and animation historians who reflects on the series’ appeal six decades after its debut. [Read on here...]
- TV retrospective
- The Digital Bits
- Michael Coate
- History Legacy & Showmanship
- Herbie J Pilato
- Then Again with Herbie J Pilato
- roundtable discussion
- The Flintstones
- 60th Anniversary
- animation
- HannaBarbera
- Fred
- Wilma
- Betty
- Barney
- Bedrock
- ABC TV
- 1960s
- Jerry Beck
- The Flintstones: The Official Guide to the Classic Cartoon
- Steve Cox
- Mining Bedrock: The Voices Behind Television’s First Animated Sitcom, The Flintstones
Better Call Saul: S5, Resident Evil 4K delay, LOTR/Hobbit 4K update, Crown: S3, Steven Universe, Arrow Video Channel & more
We’ve got some interesting news to report today...
First though, our own Michael Coate has posted a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column here at The Bits, featuring a look back at CBS’s The Mary Tyler Moore Show in honor of its 50th anniversary. Michael interviews historians Herbie J. Pilato and Vince Waldron on the popular TV series and its legacy. Enjoy!
Also today, we’ve posted the latest update of our Release Dates & Artwork section with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links.
Before we get to announcements today, we’ve learned from our sources that Warner should be officially announcing the 4K Ultra HD release of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings sometime in the next two weeks, if all goes well with delivery of the 4K masters. [Read on here...]
- 4K Ultra HD
- Bluray
- My Two Cents
- The Digital Bits
- Bill Hunt
- Warner Bros Home Entertainment
- The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy 4K
- The Hobbit: The Motion Picture Trilogy 4K
- Tim Salmons
- Better Call Saul: Season 5 BD
- Resident Evil Collection 4K
- The Crown: Season 3 BD
- Steven Universe: The Complete Collection DVD
- Arrow Video Channel streaming service
- Eddie Van Halen RIP
- History Legacy & Showmanship
- Michael Coate
- The Mary Tyler Moore Show 50th anniversary
- Release Dates & Artwork section
- El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie BD steelbook
- Zavvi
- Daughters of Darkness 4K
- Antebellum
- Mr Topaz BD
- Friday the 13th Collection: Deluxe Edition