Displaying items by tag: The Digital Bits

All right, we have a few things to report today...

But first, we’ve been working this week to balance the amount of advertising that appears when you read our various columns and reviews here at The Bits. We’ve removed the ad unit that went across the top of the site, and we’ve adjusted the left and right side advertising so that it doesn’t appear on small screen sizes. This should make it all less obtrusive. As I’ve said recently, we’re trying to find the right balance that allows us to keep the site going without becoming annoying, so hopefully we’re getting close. Advertising is a necessary evil, so to speak, especially given what’s been happening over the last year during the global pandemic.

As if to illustrate this urgency, we’re very sorry to have to report today that Cinefex, the great film and TV visual effects magazine, has just revealed that their latest issue (#172) will be their last due to the economic toll of the pandemic. [Read on here...]

All right, we hope you all had a great weekend. We’re starting the week off with several new Blu-ray reviews...

Tim has checked out Adrian Hoven’s Castle of the Creeping Flesh (1968) from Severin Films.

And Dennis has turned in a trio of reviews as well, including Frank Perry’s Doc (1971), Sidney Lanfield’s My Favorite Blonde (1942), and Richard Fleischer’s The Don is Dead (1973), all newly released or coming soon on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

In actual announcement news today, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has just made Tim Burton’s Big Fish official for release on 4K Ultra HD on 5/4, as expected. [Read on here...]

We have just a couple things for you today here at The Bits to round out the week...

First, The Muppet Show is now officially available for streamed viewing on Disney+. I’ve already watched the John Cleese and Mark Hamill episodes and they’re a hoot. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed this show. And it looks pretty good for SD upsampled to HD and digital remastered. If you’re familiar with Sony’s recent Fraggle Rock Blu-ray remaster, it’s right in the same ballpark. [Editor’s Note: It appears that it’s NOT the entire series, but over 100 of the series’ 120 total episodes. And there are several episodes that still have edits. This is presumably due to remaining unresolved music rights and related issues. Still, this is a lot more of the series than we’ve ever gotten before. And there is reason to hope that the unresolved portions will come online as the issues are cleared eventually. You can find more details here at EW and here in this post on Reddit.]

Also today, the first episode of the second season of For All Mankind is now available on Apple TV. And that is terrific too. So enjoy both of those.

In other news today, we have word that Disney and Pixar’s Soul is expected to street on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD at the end of March (street date 3/23). We would expect an announcement or retail pre-orders to begin fairly soon. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a few interesting things to tell you about today here at The Bits...

First though, an update: We’re continuing to work on more Blu-ray and 4K reviews here. But poor Tim, our reviews editor, has been out of commission these last few days—he lives down in Texas in ground zero of all the not having power, water, or heat due to this big winter freeze. The good news is, he’s back online today, a few burst water pipes worse for wear. So he’ll be checking in again with reviews and on social media over the next few days.

Meanwhile, we have some release news to report this afternoon, beginning with this: Shout! Factory is releasing Ping Zhang’s animated feature film The Legend of Hei on Blu-ray and DVD on 5/11. A Digital release is expected on 4/20.

Corinth Films is releasing Little England on DVD and Digital on 3/16.

Capelight Films will release Fukushima 50 on Digital and VOD on 3/5. [Read on here...]

All right, we have two things for you today…

The first, is that I’ve just posted my in-depth review of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing (1989), newly released on 4K Ultra HD by Universal Studios Home Entertainment. It’s a great disc, with a beautifully-remastered transfer and a great new DTS:X sound mix as well. Do check it out here.

The other thing is a recommendation for a great TV series that’s streaming right now on Apple TV+: Ron Moore’s For All Mankind.

Trust me when I say that if you’re a fan of science fiction, or human spaceflight, or alternate history, or just great character drama, this is absolutely a series that you should be watching. So let me tell you why you should be, and I promise there will be no spoilers. [Read on here...]

There’s not a lot of release news to report today, given the President’s Day holiday here in the States, so we’re spending our time working on those new disc reviews.

But we do have a couple quick items to report for you...

First, Paramount is now expected to release both George Cukor’s My Fair Lady (1964) and J.J. Abrams’ Super 8 (2011) on 4K Ultra HD on 5/25. We have cover artwork for My Fair Lady which you can see at left. Meanwhile, both titles have just been added to Amazon.com. They aren’t yet available for pre-order, but we expect that to change shortly. For now, you can find My Fair Lady linked here and Super 8 here. We expect the official announcement to happen in the next couple of days, so be sure to stay tuned. [Read on here...]

All right, we’re rounding out the week today with some great release news and some new disc reviews too. First up, those reviews...

I’ve just turned in my thoughts on John Carpenter’s They Live, as recently released in 4K Ultra HD by Scream Factory. Both the UHD and included Blu-ray are mastered from the 2018 4K scan and restoration, and Scream has tossed in a new Dolby Atmos mix to boot. It’s a fine release, so don’t miss it.

I’ve also reviewed Roland Emmerich’s epic disaster flick 2012 on 4K Ultra HD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and I’ve given a great little indie release a review on Blu-ray too: Dmitriy Kiselev’s Spacewalker (2017) from MPI Home Video, which tells the story of cosmonaut Alexey Leonov and humanity’s first spacewalk in 1965.

Tim’s also posted a review of William Campbell’s Ingagi (1930), recently released on Blu-ray by Kino Classics as part of their Something Weird line-up. Ingagi is definitely something weird.

And just a heads-up: We’re working on reviews of Prince of Darkness in 4K from Scream Factory, along with the new 4K releases of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing from Universal and Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro from Discotek Media, among other titles. So watch for those starting on Monday. [Read on here...]

Today’s big news is that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has finally officially set Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 1984 for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 3/30. The Digital release is expected on 3/16, with PVOD rental set for this week on 2/12.

The 4K Ultra HD release will include Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HDR10+ high dynamic range, with Dolby Atmos audio. Extras will include 8 featurettes (The Making of Wonder Woman 1984: Expanding the Wonder, Gal & Kristen: Friends Forever, Small But Mighty, Scene Study: The Open Road, Scene Study: The Mall, Gal & Krissy Having Fun, and Meet the Amazons), the Black Gold Infomercial, a Gag Reel, and a Wonder Woman 1984 Retro Remix feature.

You can see the 4K cover artwork above left and also below the break, along with the regular Blu-ray artwork. Both versions are now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a couple odds and ends for you today...

First, the big news... Shout! Factory has just reached a multi-year distribution agreement with the Portland-based Laika animation studio. The deal gives Shout! the U.S. packaged media distribution rights to the studio’s first four films: Kubo and the Two Strings (2016), The Boxtrolls (2014), ParaNorman (2012), and Coraline (2009). According to the report on The Hollywood Reporter, new bonus content is already in development for these films. Not only are new Blu-rays obviously in the offing, we can’t help thinking how great these titles would look again on Blu-ray 3D and for the first time on 4K Ultra HD as well.

Also today, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has just announced Supernatural: The Fifteenth and Final Season and Supernatural: The Complete Series for Blu-ray and DVD release on 5/25. The Fifteenth Season set includes 2 new featurettes, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and more (SRP $49.99 for Blu-ray and $44.98 for DVD). The Complete Series set includes all 327 episodes and all the previous bonus content, plus a 68-page book (SRP $359.99 for Blu-ray and $329.99 for DVD). [Read on here...]

We’re starting today with a pair of new Blu-ray Disc reviews here at The Bits, including...

My own look at Ric Roman Waugh’s Greenland on Blu-ray, a great new disaster epic starring Gerard Butler from Universal and STX Films which should really be released on physical 4K Ultra HD.

And Dennis’ look at The Court Jester (1955), new on Paramount Presents Blu-ray from our friends at Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment.

Now then... the big news today is that Shout! Factory and Scream have announced a great slate of catalog Blu-ray titles for release in May, including a King Kong (1976): Collector’s Edition, The Final Stand (2020), The Legend of Hei (with GKids), and All About the Benjamins: Shout Select on 5/11, Wildcats: Shout Select, The Nest, He Knows You’re Alone, and Eyes of a Stranger on 5/18, and The Hand, Explorers: Collector’s Edition – Shout Select, and City Slickers II: The Legend of Curley’s Gold: Shout Select on 5/25. [Read on here...]