Displaying items by tag: Steven Spielberg
Arrow reveals The Last Starfighter, Fear and Loathing & Blackhat 4K for May, plus Imprint’s May slate, new Warner Archive Blu-ray titles & more!
We’re rounding out the week here at The Bits with more new disc reviews, some new announcements, and a long-overdue column as well.
Starting with those reviews, Stephen and Tim have taken a look at Penelope Spheeris’ Wayne’s World: 30th Anniversary Edition that came out recently on 4K Ultra HD from Paramount Home Entertainment.
Stephen has also reviewed Dominick Barascia, Jr’s Evil Laugh (1986) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.
And Dennis has turned in his thoughts on Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans (2022) on Blu-ray from Universal. A 4K UHD review of that title is forthcoming as well.
Also here at the site today, our old friend (and erstwhile Inglorious Trekspert) Mark A. Altman has checked in with a new MOD DEF column looking back at his personal picks for The Best Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD Titles of 2022. I think you’ll find it a good read, so do give it a look. [Read on here...]
- Tim Salmons
- My Two Cents
- The Digital Bits
- Bill Hunt
- 4K Ultra HD
- Bluray
- 4K Ultra HD Release List
- Stephen Bjork
- Dennis Seuling
- Mark A Altman
- MOS DEF
- Arrow Video
- The Last Starfighter 4K
- Blackhat 4K
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 4K
- Imprint Films
- The Warner Archive
- Wayne's World 4K review
- Evil Laugh BD review
- The Fabelmans BD review
- The Best BDs and 4Ks of 2022
- The Beta Test BD
- Hand of Death BD
- The Long Voyage Home
- The Catman of Paris
- The Great Gatsby
- The Spiral Road (1962)
- Bus Riley’s Back in Town (1965)
- Up Tight (1968)
- Duel 4K
- Steven Spielberg
- Confessions of a Nazi Spy
- Flamingo Road
- Neptune's Daughter
Cinderella (1950) is coming to 4K Ultra HD from Disney this year, plus the Oscar nominations are in & more!
All right, it’s been a busy couple of days here at The Bits, and we’re starting as always with more new disc reviews for you to enjoy...
First up, Stephen has taken a look a pair of titles, including Matthew Bright’s Freeway (1996) in 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome, along with Dan Wolman’s Maid in Sweden (1971) on Blu-ray from Code Red.
Also, Dennis has reviewed Richard Pearce’s No Mercy (1986) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
And Tim has offered his thoughts on Douglas Grossman’s Hell High (1989) on Blu-ray from Arrow Video, along with the first film from Arrow’s fantastic Shawscope: Volume One Blu-ray box set. He’s working his way through the set title by title, and today he covers Jeong Chang-Hwa’s King Boxer (1972, aka Five Fingers of Death).
As always, more reviews are on the way all week, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them. [Read on here...]
- B’Twixt Now and Sunrise
- Oscar nominations
- The 95th Academy Awards nominations
- Cauldron Films
- Convoy Busters BD
- MVD Rewind Collection
- LA Wars BD
- Warner Archive Collection
- I'll Cry Tomorrow BD
- Camille BD
- Lee Pfeiffer
- The Boys from Brazil BD
- Reese’s Pieces Flying Bicycles and a Boy’s Life: Remembering ET on Its 40th Anniversary
- Steven Spielberg
- ET the Extra Terrestrial 40th anniversary
- King Boxer BD review
- Five Fingers or Death BD review
- Shawscope: Volume One BD review
- No Mercy BD review
- Arrow Video
- Hell High BD review
- Code Red
- Maid in Sweden BD review
- Freeway 4K review
- Disney Movie Club
- Cinderella (1950) 4K
- Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
- Tim Salmons
- Stephen Bjork
- Bluray
- 4K Ultra HD
- Bill Hunt
- The Digital Bits
- My Two Cents
- Paramount
- Dennis Seuling
- Vinegar Syndrome
- Kino Lorber Studio Classics
- Warner Bros Discovery Home Entertainment
- Michael Coate
- History Legacy & Showmanship
The Fabelmans is official for 2/14, plus new Warner 4K catalog titles & street dates, and a Titanic 4K update
We’re rounding out the week here at The Bits with a few more new disc reviews, and some release news as well, including word of new 4K catalog titles, and updates on a title or two that we’ve talked about here previously in recent weeks. But first those reviews...
I’ve posted my thoughts on Wim Wenders’ stunning Wings of Desire (1987) which is now available in 4K Ultra HD from Curzon Film in the UK. The 4K remaster, which was done by the Wim Wenders Foundation, is absolutely stunning. Fans of the film may not realize this, but by the time the film was completed and being shown in theaters back in ‘87, the version we all experienced then was fully six generations away from original camera negative. But now, every inch of this film—save for the little bit of historical and newsreel footage that appears within it—is first-generation right off the negative. And it makes a huge difference, even over the previous Criterion Blu-ray. So if you’re a fan, this 4K release is definitely worth a look.
I’ve also reviewed Jack Ryan: Season Two on 4K Ultra HD, which was released last month on the format by Paramount (along with Season One which we’ve reviewed here). Season Three of the series recently dropped on Amazon Prime and we have word that it’s coming to both Blu-ray and 4K as well later this year.
Also today, Stephen has turned in his thoughts on Adam Rifkin’s The Invisible Maniac on 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome.
And we have more reviews on the way as well. I’m personally working on Shout! Factory’s recent WarGames and HBO’s House of the Dragon: Season One, both in 4K Ultra HD. I hope to post those reviews over the weekend or early next week. And the rest of the review team is working on new titles as well, so be sure to watch for them. [Read on here...]
- Curzon Film
- 12 Angry Men (1957) 4K
- Kino Lorber Studio Classics
- The Fabelmans
- Universal
- Paramount
- My Two Cents
- The Digital Bits
- Bill Hunt
- 4K Ultra HD
- Bluray
- Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
- Wings of Desire 4K review
- Stephen Bjork
- Jack Ryan: Season Two 4K review
- The Invisible Maniac 4K review
- Wargames 4K
- House of the Dragon: The Complete First Season 4K
- Steven Spielberg
- Mill Creek Entertainment
- Turbine Media Group in Germany
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4K
- From Beyond 4K
- Vinegar Syndrome
- Stuart Gordon
- Tobe Hooper
- Warner Bros Home Entertainment
- The Departed 4K
- Martin Scorsese
- Harold Ramis
- National Lampoon's Vacation 4K
- Cool Hand Luke 4K
- The Maltese Falcon 4K
- Rebel Without a Cause 4K
- Titanic 4K
- James Cameron
- Sidekicks 4K
Reese’s Pieces, Flying Bicycles, and a Boy’s Life: Remembering “E.T.” on its 40th Anniversary
“E.T. is the perfect balance between epic and intimate. It is an incredible example of how cinema can transport us into a world of limitless possibilities through imagination, and it showcases filmmaking at the highest level in its use of technology, skill, and craft.” — Brian Herzlinger, director of My Date with Drew
The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 40th anniversary of the release of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Steven Spielberg’s classic family film about the friendship between a boy and an alien visitor who is afraid, totally alone, and three million light years from home.
E.T. was the winner of four Academy Awards (visual effects, sound, sound editing, and John Williams’ original score) and starred Dee Wallace (The Howling), Henry Thomas (Cloak & Dagger), Robert MacNaughton (I Am the Cheese), Drew Barrymore (Firestarter), and Peter Coyote (Timerider). [Read on here...]
- The Digital Bits
- Michael Coate
- History Legacy & Showmanship
- Bill Hunt
- Steven Spielberg
- John Williams
- ET The ExtraTerrestrial
- Dee Wallace
- 40th anniversary
- Henry Thomas
- Robert MacNaughton
- Drew Barrymore
- Peter Coyote
- 4K Ultra HD
- Mark A Altman
- William Kallay
- Steven Awalt
- Brian Herzlinger
- Caseen Gaines
- James Kendrick
- Mike Matessino
- Ray Morton
- Joseph McBride
- Saul Pincus
- M David Mullen
- Bill Mead
- Steve Lee
- Joe Fordham
- John Scoleri
- Alison Martino
- John Cork
- Scott Mendelson
- April Wright
- John Sittig
- Ross Melnick
- Gary Gerani
- Scott Rogers
A Titanic 4K update, plus The Fabelmans, Station Eleven, Aim for the Ace!, The Young Ones, Castle of the Living Dead, King Kong (1976), Face/Off & more!
Welcome back from the holiday, Bits readers! We hope and trust that each of you were able to enjoy a great celebration with your family and friends.
Sarah and I have my mother staying here over the holidays, so we’ve been cooking up a storm, enjoying some great food, and watching lots of movies. I also just finished watching the season finale of HBO’s His Dark Materials—more on that in a moment—and I’ve started in on the new season of Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime. I still need to check out Avatar: The Way of Water at my local IMAX theater, but I’ll get to that soon enough.
We’ve got a new contribution from each member of the Bits reviewing team for you today, including...
Dennis’ look at Robert Mandel’s School Ties (1992) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films and Via Vision.
Stephen’s take on James Whale’s By Candlelight (1933) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
My thoughts on the new single-film 4K Ultra HD SKU of Wilson Yip’s Ip Man (2008) from Well Go USA.
And last, but certainly not least, Tim’s in-depth take on Peter Jackson’s The Frighteners: Ultimate Edition (1996) on 4K Ultra HD from our friends at Turbine Media in Germany! This is a pretty spectacular box set release, and Tim will tell you all about it in his review, so you definitely don’t want to miss it. [Read on here...]
- Stephen Bjork
- Dennis Seuling
- Paramount
- 4K Ultra HD Release List
- Bluray
- 4K Ultra HD
- Bill Hunt
- The Digital Bits
- My Two Cents
- Kino Lorber Studio Classics
- Tim Salmons
- Titanic 4K Ultra HD
- Station Eleven 4K
- The Fabelmans
- Aim for the Ace!
- The Young Ones
- Castle of the Living Dead
- King Kong (1976) 4K
- Face/Off 4K
- James Cameron
- School Ties BD review
- By Candlelight BD review
- Ip Man 4K review
- The Frighteners 4K review
- Turbine Media
- Via Vision
- Imprint Films
- Steven Spielberg
- Devotion
- Rain Man 4K
- Universal
- Crunchyroll
- Discotek Media
- MVD
- Severin Films
- Attack on Titan
- Wim Wenders
- Curzon Film UK
- Faraway So Close! BD
- HBO
- His Dark Materials
- Little Miss Marker
- The Crusades
- Making Mr Right
- Secret Admirer
- Double Crossbones
- Counsellor at Law
- I for Icarus
- The Experts
- Gene Roddenberry
- The Questor Tapes
Strange World, The Fabelmans, Crimes of the Future, The Adventures of Batman & updates on Dragonslayer & Once Upon a Time in the West in 4K
We start with two more new disc reviews today (and there might be one more from me later this evening, but it should certainly be up by tomorrow morning)...
Tim has reviewed Crane Wilbur’s The Bat (1959), which is available in a fine new Blu-ray edition from our friends at The Film Detective.
And Dennis has offered his thoughts on Lynne Littman’s Testament (1983), a post-apocalyptic drama from PBS’ American Playhouse and Paramount Pictures that includes William Devane, Jane Alexander, Kevin Costner, Rebecca De Mornay, and Lukas Haas. That’s new on Blu-ray from the good folks at Imprint Films.
Now then, the big announcement news today is that Disney has just officially set Don Hall and Qui Nguyen’s animated Strange World for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 2/14. Look for the Digital and Disney+ streaming release to happen on 12/23. Audio will be Dolby Atmos on the 4K and DTS-HD MA on Blu-ray, as always. Extras will include 4 featurettes (Anatomy of a Scene: Creating A Strange World, Strange Science, Creature Feature, and The Hidden Secrets of Strange World), outtakes, and 4 deleted scenes (The Ballad of Jaeger Clade, Lightning Lynx, Funerals and Promises, and Ethan and Searcher). You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]
- Once Upon a Time in the West 4K
- Sergio Leone
- Arrow Video
- Warner Bros
- Kino Lorber Studio Classics
- My Two Cents
- The Digital Bits
- Bill Hunt
- 4K Ultra HD
- Bluray
- 4K Ultra HD Release List
- Paramount
- Tim Salmons
- Dennis Seuling
- Disney
- Strange World 4K
- Steven Spielberg
- The Fabelmans 4K
- David Cronenberg
- Crimes of the Future 4K
- The Adventures of Batman BD
- Dragonslayer 4K
- The Film Detective
- The Bat BD review
- Imprint Films
- Testament BD review
- Tar BD
- Legion of Super Heroes 4K
- DC
- The Adventures of Batman: The Complete Collection BD
- Filmmation
- The Dunwich Horror BD
- Heat (1986)
- If I Had a Million
Army of Darkness 4K details official, plus E.T. 40th, Running Man, Rise of Gru, Punisher: War Zone, The Police Story Trilogy & much more
All right, sorry for the lack of an update over the last couple of days. We’ve been very busy here at the site, working on reviews, preparing for some big upcoming reviews, and finishing a few more site upgrades. But the major reason is that there’s a ton of breaking and evolving release news to cover, and getting to the bottom of it all—collating all the details, checking in with sources, confirming key pieces of release information—takes a huge amount of time. But I’m always up for a challenge.
Before we get to that, however, let’s share those disc reviews we’ve been working on over the past few days...
First up, I’ve posted my thoughts on John Milius’ Red Dawn (1984) from Shout! Factory and also Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World: Dominion (2022) from Universal, both in 4K Ultra HD.
Tim has delivered a look at Joel Schumacher’s Flatliners (1990) in 4K UHD from Arrow Video, as well as John Carpenter’s Escape from New York (1981) in 4K from Scream Factory.
Dennis has reviewed a number of regular Blu-ray titles in the last few days, including Lon Chaney: Before the Thousand Faces – Volume 2 from Undercrank Productions, Josh and Benny Safdie’s Daddy Longlegs (2009) from Criterion, and Jack Gold’s The Tenth Man (1988) and Ken Hughes’s The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960) from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
And finally, Stephen has delivered in-depth looks at Paul W.S. Anderson’s Event Horizon (1997)—a Steelbook release that’s getting hard to find here in the States—and Jeff Fowler’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) both in 4K Ultra HD from Paramount, along with Michael Findlay’s Shriek of the Mutilated (1974) on Blu-ray from American Films via Vinegar Syndrome.
As always more disc reviews are on the way in the coming days. [Read on here...]
- Paramount Home Entertainment
- ET the Extra Terrestrial 40th Anniversary 4K Steelbook
- Steven Spielberg
- Warner Bros Home Entertainment
- My Two Cents
- The Digital Bits
- Bill Hunt
- 4K Ultra HD
- Bluray
- Top Gun: Maverick 4K
- Red Dawn 4K review
- Jurassic World: Dominion 4K review
- Tim Salmons
- Dennis Seuling
- Stephen Bjork
- Flatliners 4K review
- Escape from New York 4K review
- Lon Chaney: Before the Thousand Faces V2 BD review
- Daddy Longlegs BD review
- The Tenth Man BD review
- The Trials of Oscar Wilde BD review
- Event Horizon 4K review
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 4K review
- Shriek of the Mutilated BD review
- Michael Coate
- History Legacy & Showmanship
- Stanley Kubrick
- A Clockwork Orange 50th anniversary
- Raymond Benson
- John Cork
- Sheldon Hall
- Peter Krämer
- Army of Darkness: Collector’s Edition 4K
- Shout! Factory
- Scream Factory
- Sam Raimi
- The Running Man 4K
- Paramount
- Steelbook
- ET: The Extra Terrestrial 40th Anniversary 4K
- Universal
- Minions: The Rise of Gru 4K
- DC League of Super Pets 4K
- Middle Earth: Ultimate Collector's Edition
- Lionsgate
- Punisher: War Zone 4K
- Blue Underground
- The Final Countdown 4K
- The Police Story Trilogy 4K
- Eureka!
- Jackie Chan
Criterion’s November includes In the Mood for Love, Power of the Dog & Malcolm X, plus Usual Suspects & The Changeling in 4K & Wolfgang Petersen RIP
We’ve got news, news, and only news here at The Bits today, and we’re starting with the big announcement: Criterion has just unveiled their November Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release slate...
It kicks off with Věra Chytilová’s 1966 Czech New Wave classic Daisies (Spine #1157 – Blu-ray only) and a 4K update of Wong Kar Wai’s evocative 2000 gem In the Mood for Love (Spine #147 – 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD) on 11/1. Following on 11/8 is Jane Campion’s cold but captivating The Power of the Dog (Spine #1158 – 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD). On 11/15, look for Andrew Lau Tak-wah and Alan Mak’s The Infernal Affairs Trilogy (Spine #1159 – Blu-ray only – includes Infernal Affairs, Infernal Affairs II, and Infernal Affairs III). Finally, Spike Lee’s Malcolm X round out the month’s slate on 11/22 (Spine #1160 – 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray).
Note that Malcolm X and The Power of the Dog will include Dolby Vision HDR (In the Mood for Love appears to be HDR10 only), while The Power of the Dog will also feature Dolby Atmos audio.
You can see the cover artwork for all of these titles at left and also below. We’ve also updated our Criterion Spines Project and 4K Ultra HD Release List pages here at the site accordingly. And more detail about the special features included on these titles is available here at the Criterion website. [Read on here...]
- Kino Lorber Studio Classics
- Top Gun: Maverick 4K
- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- Bluray
- 4K Ultra HD
- Bill Hunt
- The Digital Bits
- My Two Cents
- Warner Bros Home Entertainment
- The Criterion Collection
- The Criterion Collection November 2022 slate
- In the Mood for Love 4K
- The Power of the Dog 4K
- Malcolm X 4K
- The Usual Suspects 4K
- The Changeling 4K
- Wolfgang Peterson RIP
- Das Boot
- Outbreak
- Air Force One
- The Infernal Affairs Trilogy BD
- Daisies BD
- Wong Kar Wai
- Spike Lee
- Jane Campion
- Bryan Singer
- Steven Spielberg
- ET the Extra Terrestrial 40th Anniversary 4K Steelbook
- Paramount Home Entertainment
- Severin Films
- Peter Medak
- The Time Traveler's Wife: The Complete Series DVD
- HBO
- Father of the Bride (2022) Digital
- Vengeance
- BJ Novak
Raiders, Bridge & Lawrence reviewed in Steelbook 4K, plus new Blu-ray reviews & KLSC reveals Escape from Alcatraz in Ultra HD
Morning, folks! We’re checking in early here at The Bits today with some new disc reviews.
Over the weekend, I managed to turn out reviews of three new 4K Ultra HD Steelbook releases, including Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) from Paramount, and David Lean’s Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962) from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
It should be noted that the 4K Steelbook edition of Bridge on the River Kwai now includes Dolby Vision HDR and the original theatrical mono mix, both of which were missing from the 2017 4K release.
And this marks the first time Lawrence of Arabia has been available in 4K outside of Sony’s expensive (and long out-of-print) Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection: Volume 1 box set from 2020, so this will likely be the first time many of you get to experience the film in 4K UHD at home (and let me tell you, that experience is terrific). [Read on here...]
- Imprint Films
- Kino Lorber Studio Classics
- My Two Cents
- The Digital Bits
- Bill Hunt
- 4K Ultra HD
- Bluray
- Tim Salmons
- Stephen Bjork
- Raiders of the Lost Ark 4K Steelbook review
- Bridge on the River Kwai 4K Steelbook review
- Lawrence of Arabia 4K Steelbook review
- Treasure of the Four Crowns 3D review
- Across 110th Street BD review
- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- Paramount Home Entertainment
- David Lean
- Steven Spielberg
- 3D Film Archive
- Escape from Alcatraz 4K
- Don Siegel
Untouchables 4K, a new Raiders UHD Steelbook, Police Around the World on Blu-ray, William Hurt RIP & more
We’ve got more new disc reviews for you to enjoy today, including a couple that we posted over the weekend...
First up, Tim and Dennis have taken a look at Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot (1959) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
I’ve also posted my thoughts on Steven Spielberg’s new West Side Story on 4K Ultra HD from 20th Century Studios.
And Tim has offered his thoughts on Philip Marshak’s Dracula Sucks (1978) in 4K Ultra HD as well, an infamous adult genre title available from Vinegar Syndrome.
Finally, Dennis has posted his take on Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci on regular Blu-ray too.
More new disc reviews are on the way soon, so be sure to check back for them in the coming days, including my in-depth look at Paramount’s The Godfather Trilogy in 4K. I had the chance to watch the films over the weekend, and let me tell you: They’ve simply never looked better. The new 2020 restoration is a night and day improvement upon the already fine 2007 restoration that was released previously on Blu-ray, so you’re definitely not going to want to miss this new set. [Read on here...]
- The Police Around the World BD
- Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment
- Dennis Seuling
- Stephen Bjork
- Bluray
- 4K Ultra HD
- Bill Hunt
- The Digital Bits
- My Two Cents
- 4K Ultra HD Release List
- Tim Salmons
- Some Like It Hot 4K review
- West Side Story 4K review
- Dracula Sucks 4K review
- House of Gucci BD review
- Ridley Scott
- Steven Spielberg
- Billy Wilder
- The Police Around the World Restored & Expanded DVD + CD
- Raiders of the Lost Ark 4K Steelbook
- The Sum of All Fears 4K
- Patriot Games 4K
- The Untouchables 4K
- Brian De Palma
- Media Play News
- Media Play News Home Entertainment Awards
- William Hurt RIP
- Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection: Volume 2