Displaying items by tag: The Digital Bits

This is just a quick update to let you all know that we’re working on new 4K reviews here at The Digital Bits today.

And we’re going to be posting the first of them this weekend, including Ad Astra from 20th Century Fox and Game of Thrones: The Complete Eighth Season from HBO.

So stay tuned for those.

Also, we’ve got some great stuff planned for you all next week, including a new film retrospective from our own Michael Coate in his History, Legacy & Showmanship column.

In honor of The Rise of Skywalker, we’ll also have our next Star Wars feature on Tuesday, which is The Empire Strikes Back – A Visual Guide to Changes, Fixes, and Tweaks in the Disney+ 4K Version. Our recent guide to A New Hope was hugely popular, so we’re pressing on with the sequels too! Drew has pulled together a ton of great comparison images for you. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a bit of interesting 4K Ultra HD news for you today...

First, on the all digital front, Lionsgate has just set Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker as Digital only 4K release on 2/4.

It’ll feature Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio.

Of course, we know that most of you are physical disc consumers, so we’ve got a street date update for you guys today as well—covering forthcoming Blu-ray and 4K new releases.

The following information comes from studio and retail sources, but none of these titles have actually been announced yet.

So just be aware that the dates listed below could change a little bit still, as often happens before the studio makes their street dates official. [Read on here...]

All right, sorry there wasn’t a post yesterday—rest assured there was a good reason for it, which I’ll explain in a moment. But first, we have a new Blu-ray review for you to enjoy...

Dennis has posted his thoughts on Michael Engler’s Downton Abbey: The Motion Picture, which is now available on Blu-ray from Focus Films and Universal. If you liked the series (as we did), you’ll definitely like the movie too. It delivers everything you’ve enjoyed from the show with a bigger, grander, and more much cinematic aspect that fits the material and the period well. Not every big screen experience needs a superhero, and we look forward to more sequels should they be forthcoming. So enjoy the review!

Now then, we have few pieces of announcement news today...

As most of you will know by now, the Golden Globe nominees were announced yesterday and you can see the full list here via The New York Times. Netflix dominated in the film categories and there were a number of surprises. The Best Picture nominees include 1917, The Irishman, Joker, Marriage Story, and The Two Popes. The Best Musical or Comedy category includes Dolemite Is My Name, Jojo Rabbit, Knives Out, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, and Rocketman. Again, you’ll find the rest here. [Read on here...]

All right, we’re rounding out the week with a couple things here at The Bits.

First up, Tim has posed two new Blu-ray reviews featuring John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China, now available on Blu-ray from Scream Factory. Tim covers both the regular version and the limited edition Steelbook as well, so do give them a look. Whichever version you pick, it’s a great Collector’s Edition.

Also, we posted a new History, Legacy, and Showmanship column from our own Michael Coate late yesterday, featuring a look back at John Hughes’ National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation with film historian Thomas A. Christie.

It’s a great piece, with much for fans of the film to enjoy, so you’ll find that here. [Read on here...]

“Christmas Vacation is a perfect blend of festive nostalgia and domestic anarchy.” — Thomas A. Christie, author of A Righteously Awesome Eighties Christmas

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 30th anniversary of the release of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, the third entry in the popular Vacation series starring Chevy Chase (Saturday Night Live, Caddyshack, Fletch) as Clark Griswold.

Also starring Beverly D’Angelo (American History X) as Ellen Griswold, Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers) as Audrey Griswold, Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory) as Rusty Griswold, and Randy Quaid (The Last Detail) as Cousin Eddie, Christmas Vacation opened in theaters across North America 30 years ago this December.

For the occasion The Bits features a Q&A with pop culture historian and Christmas-movie authority Thomas A. Christie, who discuss the film’s virtues and enduring appeal. [Read more here...]

Once again today, we have some big news for you and a major new special feature piece here at The Bits.

But first, our own Tim Salmons has another new Blu-ray review for you, this one of Terence Fisher’s The Devil Rides Out (1968) from Scream Factory. Enjoy!

Now then, the new special feature piece we have is nothing less than a complete visual guide to all the changes, fixes, and tweaks to be found in the new Disney+ 4K version of Star Wars: A New Hope! Our old friend Drew Stewart—who is a longtime Digital Bits reader—is also the webmaster of Star Wars Revisited and also the curator of the Star Wars Visual Comparisons blog.

Drew has been hard at work in recent weeks, diligently cataloging all of the changes in this new version of the film. He’s created a set of comparison images—nearly 40 in all—and he’s kindly allowed us to compile them here in a 7-page gallery on The Bits for you to see. So click here for that. We’re pretty certain you’ll enjoy it. (And special thanks again to Drew for his efforts!) [Read on here...]

Our old friend Drew Stewart—who is a longtime Digital Bits reader—is the webmaster for Star Wars Revisited and also curates the Star Wars Visual Comparisons blog.

He’s been working diligently to create a kind of visual guide to all the changes found in the new Disney+ 4K version of Star Wars: A New Hope.

Drew’s created a set of comparison images showing all of these updates and alterations—nearly 40 of them in all—and he’s kindly allowed us to compile them here in a 7-page gallery on The Digital Bits for all of you to see.

We definitely think that Star Wars fans will find this gallery both interesting and useful, not just to compare the new Disney+ 4K version to past Blu-ray and DVD releases, but also as a baseline in the event that further changes appear in the future. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a lot of ground to cover today and I had to spend the morning at the DMV, so let’s get right to it...

First up, we have a new review from Tim for you today: Alexandre Aja’s Crawl, now available on Blu-ray from Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment.

We’ve also just posted the weekly update of our Release Dates & Artwork section, featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. Anytime you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking to them through our links (like this one), you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really do appreciate it. Thank you!

Now then, the big news today is that Paramount has just announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of Ang Lee’s Gemini Man on 1/14, with the Digital release expected on 12/23. And here’s the surprise: The 4K Ultra HD will present the film in 60fps, as was the case with Sony’s 4K release of Lee’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a bunch of title announcements for you today, including many new catalog titles coming to Blu-ray and DVD.

First, don’t forget that there are lots of great Cyber Monday deals to be had on Amazon (via this link) and elsewhere, so if you’re looking for great deals, they’re out there.

On that note, don’t forget that our new Digital Bits T-Shirts are available on sale over at our store on TeePublic (you’ll find that here) starting at just $13. Thanks for supporting us by buying our products!

Now then... Kino Lorber Studio Classics has just set Allan Arkush’s Heartbeeps (1981), Jeremy Kagan’s The Sting II (1983), Rudy DeLuca’s Transylvania 6-5000 (1985), and Ivan Reitman’s Legal Eagles (1986) for Blu-ray and DVD release on 2/11. [Read on here...]

Afternoon, everyone! We hope you’re having a terrific holiday week or at least very a nice Friday for those of you outside the States.

First up, we’ve posted FOUR new Blu-ray reviews for you to enjoy: Tim has reviewed Shout! Factory’s new Mystery Science Theater 3000: Season 12 – The Gauntlet and Blue Underground’s Two Evil Eyes: Limited Edition. And Dennis has offered his thoughts on Universal’s Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and the new Criterion release of Irving Rapper’s Now, Voyager (1942). Enjoy!

We’ve got a couple of announcements today: First, there are obviously TONS of Black Friday deals happening over the next few days, including on Amazon.com. So we ask that if you plan to do any shopping on Amazon, we’d appreciate it if you clicked through one of our affiliate links first (like this one). Shopping through our links helps us to support our work here at The Bits going and we really appreciate it very much. [Read on here...]