Displaying items by tag: The Digital Bits

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We’ve got some good stuff for you today here at The Bits, including a new column and fine release news too...

First up, our own Michael Coate has just posted a brand new History, Legacy & Showmanship column here at the site, entitled Mighty Wings: Remembering “Top Gun” on its 30th Anniversary. Michael details the film’s original 70mm North American theatrical release and discusses its lasting impact and Tony Scott’s legacy with documentarian Charles de Lauzirika, producer of the excellent Danger Zone: The Making of Top Gun documentary from the 2004 Special Edition DVD (it’s also on the recent Blu-ray edition). Don’t miss it.  [Read on here…]

“Up there with the best of the best.”

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective article commemorating the 30th anniversary of the release of Top Gun, the popular military action-drama starring Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, and Anthony Edwards.

Top Gun, directed by Tony Scott (The Hunger, Crimson Tide) and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer (Flashdance, Beverly Hills Cop), opened 30 years ago this week.

To mark the occasion, The Bits features a compilation of box-office data that places the movie’s performance in context, passages from vintage film reviews, a list of the 70-millimeter “showcase” presentations, and, finally, an interview segment with documentarian and Tony Scott associate, Charles de Lauzirika.  [Read on here...]

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All right, it’s a bit of a slow day news-wise, but we do have a little bit of announcement news for you...

First up, Cinelicious Pics has announced that they’re releasing Eiichi Yamamoto’s Japanese animated classic Belladonna of Sadness (1973) on Blu-ray on 7/12 (SRP $39.99). It features a new 4K restoration of the film, a new video interview with the director, vintage interviews with the art director and composer, several trailers, and a 16-page booklet. The film has never been released in the States before – think of it in the vein of Fantastic Planet, Heavy Metal, or Wizards. Note that this is an underground film, however, and is definitely not for children. There’s explicit sexuality and brutal violence, but also extraordinary animation for its time. You can read Glenn Kenny’s review of the current revival screening here at The New York Times (it opens today in L.A. through Cinefamily).  [Read on here…]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to follow us on Twitter @thedigitalbits @BillHuntBits and on Facebook here and here. And you can help support The Bits by pre-ordering Blu-rays and other items from Amazon through this link.]

Afternoon, folks. We’ve got a bit of new announcement news to report today...

First though, we’ve confirmed with Fox that The Martian: Extended Edition on Blu-ray and 4K will include both the theatrical version of the film as well as the new Extended Edition. Just FYI. We’ve asked for confirmation as to whether there are any 3D plans going forward and will let you know when we hear back.

Also here at the site today, our own Russell Hammond has posted the weekly update of the Release Dates & Artwork section with all the latest Blu-ray and DVD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, a portion of anything you order from Amazon after clicking through our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits and we really do appreciate it.  [Read on here…]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to follow us on Twitter @thedigitalbits @BillHuntBits and on Facebook here and here. And you can help support The Bits by pre-ordering Blu-rays and other items from Amazon through this link.]

We’ve got more new announcement news for you this morning...

First up today, we’ve confirmed with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment that The Martian: Extended Edition will be available in 2 SKUs on 6/7 – a 2-disc Blu-ray version and a 3-disc 4K Ultra HD version (which will include a 4K disc plus the 2-disc Blu-ray set). We’ve asked the studio some additional questions about the content of those discs (including whether or not the discs will include both the theatrical cut and Extended Edition versions of the film or just the latter, and whether or not the disc will include the previous BD extras as well as the new features). We’ll let you know as soon as we hear back. Note that there are currently no plans for a Blu-ray 3D release. Meanwhile, we do have the final cover artwork for the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version, which you can see to the left and below (with the Amazon.com pre-order link). [Read on here…]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to follow us on Twitter @thedigitalbits @BillHuntBits and on Facebook here and here. And you can help support The Bits by pre-ordering Blu-rays and other items from Amazon through this link.]

We’ve got a pair of new disc reviews for you this afternoon, including my own look at Shout!’s Journey to Space, which is the studio’s first 4K Ultra HD disc, as well as Jim’s take on Sony Pictures Classics’ Son of Saul on regular Blu-ray.  [Read on here…]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to follow us on Twitter @thedigitalbits @BillHuntBits and on Facebook here and here. And you can help support The Bits by pre-ordering Blu-rays and other items from Amazon through this link.]

All right, first things first today… I want to thank all those of you who have wished me well on Facebook, Twitter, and via e-mail over the weekend. You’ll be happy to know that my face survived its encounter with a falling picture frame (see Friday’s post here) and that, other than some bruising, soreness and swelling, my eye is a-okay. Every damn one of those 14 stitches is itching like crazy though. What can you do?

Anyway, we’re kicking things off today here at The Bits with a new Blu-ray review from our own Jim Hemphill, this time featuring his thoughts on Michael Winner’s Chato’s Land (1972). The classic western stars Charles Bronson and Jack Palance and is now available on Blu-ray from Twilight Time. Do give it a look.  [Read on here…]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to follow us on Twitter @thedigitalbits @BillHuntBits and on Facebook here and here. And you can help support The Bits by pre-ordering Blu-rays and other items from Amazon through this link.]

Hey Guys – my apologies, but there’s not going to be a Bits post today. It’s a whole strange deal going on here this afternoon, but the upshot is that I got hit in the head this morning with a really heavy picture frame that fell off the wall. The impact was hard enough that I ended up having to go to the emergency room to deal with a bad gash on my forehead that took 14 stitches to close. So… now I’m sitting here back at home nursing a wicked headache and doctor’s orders to lay off the extreme sports (and pretty much everything else today). Anyway, that’s been my whole day. I certainly hope yours is going better. I’ll be back on Monday with more news and reviews, but I just wanted to jump in quickly here to say thanks for your patience.

Have a great weekend. Peace out!

- Bill Hunt (@BillHuntBits)

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to follow us on Twitter @thedigitalbits @BillHuntBits and on Facebook here and here. And you can help support The Bits by pre-ordering Blu-rays and other items from Amazon through this link.]

All right... yesterday’s editorial column on the new 4K Ultra HD format was a lot of work as you can imagine, but I’ve been very gratified at the positive reaction to it. If you missed it, you can find it here. I’m going to have more 4K coverage and reviews soon, but I’m just trying to balance it all out with the regular Blu-ray news and whatnot.

On that score, we have a pair of new Blu-ray reviews for you to check out today, including Tim Salmons’ thoughts on The Zero Boys from Arrow Video, as well as Jim Hemphill’s take on In the French Style from Twilight Time. Both titles are now available and are well worth a look.

Also today, in case you missed it when we posted it earlier this week, our own Mario Boucher has delivered a great new Inside Cinema column on the subject of “Duelity” in modern cinema. I think you’ll find it well worth a read, so do check it out here.  [Read on here…]

[Editor’s Note: Be sure to follow us on Twitter @thedigitalbits @BillHuntBits and on Facebook here and here. And you can help support The Bits by pre-ordering Blu-rays and other items from Amazon through this link.]

This has been an interesting couple of months for me, to say the least. As you may be aware, I’ve just spent the last eight weeks completely immersing myself in all the various ins, outs, and nuances of the new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format. I’ve watched disc and after disc, and have reviewed nine of them so far (you can find them here, with more on the way). I’ve put the format’s first player, the Samsung UDB-K8500 (which I’ll review more fully soon, but about which I’ve got some key things to say below) through its paces. I’ve spoken with many of the leading studios, engineers, and content producers (who are really starting to work with the format) about the format. And I’ve come to a number of what I believe are well-informed conclusions about it, based on my nearly two decades of experience doing what I do. [Read on here…]