Displaying items by tag: Richard Fleischer

Today’s new disc reviews here at The Bits include...

Tim’s look at Richard Fleischer’s Conan the Destroyer (1984) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video, as well as Rospo Pallenberg’s Cutting Class (1989) in 4K Ultra HD from the MVD Rewind Collection.

And Stephen’s thoughts on George P. Cosmatos’ Leviathan (1989) in 4K Ultra HD from MGM via Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

In announcement news today, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment has officially set Martin Scorsese’s The Departed (2006) for 4K Ultra HD and Digital release on 4/23. The 4K disc will also be available in Steelbook packaging. Extras include the new Guilt and Betrayal: Looking into The Departed featurette, along with the legacy Stranger than Fiction: The True Story of Whitey Bulger, Southie, and The Departed and Crossing Criminal Cultures featurettes, as well as 9 deleted scene with introduction by the director. The press release doesn’t indicate it, but the packaging lists 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Look for HDR10 high dynamic range only. [Read on here...]

Afternoon, Bits readers and welcome to the new week and, of course, Halloween Eve!

We’ve got a little bit of ground to cover here today, but first I wanted to personally thank all those of you who have signed up to support The Digital Bits via Patreon. Since we first launched our Patreon five days ago, we’re up to 77 backers (and 104 members total), and we really appreciate your support. It means a lot, and it will make a real difference here, let me tell you.

Already, I’ve decided on a couple things: I’m making regular (almost daily) blog posts exclusively for our Patreon supporters that are a little different than the kind of thing I post here and on our social media. For example... my first-take thoughts on things I’m hearing from sources (release news, industry developments, and the like), first impressions on new review discs that I’ve had the chance to look at (before I publish the full in-depth reviews here on the site), and other odds and ends—the kinds of things that offer you a essentially a more personal and candid look behind the scenes here at The Bits. I’m also making the occasional public post for all members there, with information that’s relevant to all our readers—the kind of thing I’m going to share here in a minute today (disc replacement news, a PS5 firmware update of relevance to disc fans, the occasional piece of significant breaking news). And we’ll add more Patreon-exclusive features over time as we get used working there, learning what kinds of perks are possible, and what we can do without dramatically increasing our workload.

Anyway, just know that we really, really appreciate those of you who are willing to support our work with your hard-earned money. Thanks to all 77 paying backers (here’s to reaching 100!) and thanks to all of you who are following us there.

Now then... I’m going to be spending the rest of my day working on a review of Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One in 4K UHD for posting here hopefully tomorrow. But first, there’s some important breaking news... [Read on here...]

All right, a quick heads-up for those of you who have purchased Paramount’s new Rosemary’s Baby 4K Ultra HD: An error has been discovered on the 4K disc’s soundtrack. When Dr. Sapirstein’s line “We happen to be in labor here” is spoken in the film, the only word audible in the mix is “here.” Note that this also pertains to the disc included in Paramount’s new Paramount Scares 4K box set.

Having been made aware of this error, Paramount intends to fix it and launch a disc replacement program. So if you have the new disc, visit this online form: https://phe-physical-consumer-support.imoxiemedia.com/

Select issue type “Other,” format “UHD,” put “Rosemary’s Baby 4K Ultra HD” in the title field, and in the brief description box add “Replacement Disc.” You might also want to specify whether you have the stand-alone disc or the Paramount Scares box set version.

You’ll be asked for your shipping info and (possibly) for a proof of purchase (which is often just a picture of the disc and its packaging). The fixed discs will be shipped out in the next couple of months when they’re ready. Thanks to Paramount for responding to this issue and taking steps to make it right.

Now then, in announcement news today, our friends at Arrow Video have indeed announced their January 2024 Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD slate as planned, and it’s pretty exciting.

It includes Brian De Palma’s Carrie (1976) on 4K Ultra HD on 1/22 (in the UK only—Scream Factory has already released the film here in the States on the format), as well as Peter Yates’ Murphy’s War (1971) on Blu-ray on 1/30 (in the US and Canada only), and both John Milius’ Conan the Barbarian (1982) and Richard Fleischer’s Conan the Destroyer (1984) on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD on 1/16 (in the US and Canada only). You’ll be able to buy the two Conan films individually, or in The Conan Chronicles: Limited Edition 3-disc set on Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD. [Read on here...]

It’s been long awaited by film fans, especially after its extensive 4K restoration (from the original negative and 35mm 4-track audio masters) in 2012, which premiered at the TCM Classic Film Festival that year.

(You can read about the audio portion of that effort here at the Disney Digital Studio Services website.)

But Richard Fleischer’s beloved 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) has never appeared on Blu-ray. The film stars Kirk Douglas, James Mason, and Peter Lorre, and is beloved by generations of movie buffs.

The reason for its absence on Blu-ray is that Disney has, for many years, been trying to remake the film.

Bryan Singer was involved at one point, then James Mangold, and David Fincher, along with a host of actors including Brad Pitt and more recently Johnny Depp. [Read on here...]