Displaying items by tag: The Digital Bits

The big news today is that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has just set Spider-Man: Far From Home for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 10/1, with the Digital release due on 9/17. The 4K disc will include Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio.

Special features on the Blu-ray and 4K will include the all-new short Peter’s To-Do List, 11 featurettes (Teachers’ Travel Tips, Stepping Up, Suit Up, Far, FAR, Far From Home, It Takes Two, Fury & Hill, The Ginter-Riva Effect, Thank You, Mrs. Parker, The Brother’s Trust, The Jump Off, and Now You See Me), plus Stealthy Easter Eggs, Select Scene Pre-Vis, a Gag Reel & Outtakes, and Alternate & Extended Scenes.

You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]

We certainly hope you’re all enjoying the long Labor Day weekend here in the States. And Happy Monday for the rest of you!

Given the holiday, we’re taking a much needed break today. But we do have a couple of new Blu-ray reviews for you to enjoy...

Tim has just turned in his in-depth thoughts on the long-awaited Scooby-Doo: Where Are You? Complete Series Blu-ray set from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. The package streets tomorrow, and it sounds like it’s pretty good. You can read that review here.

Also, Tim has posted his thoughts on Gary Sherman’s Vice Squad (1982) from Scream Factory, as well as the Akio Jissôji: The Buddhist Trilogy box set from Arrow Academy, both on Blu-ray.

And Dennis rounds things out with his thoughts on A Dog’s Journey on Blu-ray from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

So enjoy those and we’ll be back tomorrow with our regular news update and more. Stay tuned!

-Bill Hunt

(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)

So I spent a couple hours up in Hollywood yesterday afternoon to cover something pretty interesting…

At a press event at the Screen Actors Guild, members of the UHD Alliance, three major consumer electronics manufacturers, and leading Hollywood filmmakers officially announced a new partnership effort to implement Filmmaker Mode as an extension of the 4K Ultra HD spec.

The idea is to ensure that when you watch a movie at home in 4K on your new Ultra HD display, whether from a disc, stream, or cable/satellite broadcast, it will look exactly as it should. UHD Alliance research suggests that as many as 80% of people who buy 4K TVs never change the settings out of the box. This means irritating features like motion smoothing and unnecessary processing are being applied to the image by default – processing that actually takes the picture away from the filmmakers’ intent.

What the Filmmaker Mode will do is to allow the user – either with one push of a button on the remote, or with a very easy and obvious menu setting – to set the TV’s display parameters to most accurately display the 4K content. This would be a baseline setting for the image – any added adjustments signaled by HDR10, HDR10+, or Dolby Vision metadata would happen on top of that setting. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a bunch of new disc reviews for you to enjoy today, including...

My in-depth thoughts on Lionsgate’s new Apocalypse Now Final Cut: 40th Anniversary Edition on 4K Ultra HD, which could end up being the best 4K of the year. It’s definitely one of the most comprehensive catalog special editions in recent years, and is not to be missed.

Also today, we have new Blu-ray reviews from Tim and Dennis, including...

The President’s Lady (Twilight Time), Missing Link (20th Century Fox), Poms (Universal), and Drive-In Delirium: Dead by Dawn and Drive-In Delirium: With a Vengeance (Umbrella Entertainment).

All are worth a look so do check them out and enjoy. [Read on here...]

All right, it’s official.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has just announced that they’ll release The Wizard of Oz on 4K Ultra HD on 10/29, in honor of the film’s 80th anniversary.

The original Technicolor camera negative has been scanned in 8K and graded for high dynamic range in both HDR10 and Dolby Vision (the disc will include both).

Per the studio’s press release, “The process was supervised by MPI colorist Janet Wilson, who has overseen ever remaster of The Wizard of Oz for the past 20 years.” SRP for the release is $41.99. The package will include both the 4K and a Blu-ray.

You can see the cover artwork at left and below. [Read on here...]

We’ve got just a quick update for you here at The Bits today, but it’s a good one...

First, Disney has just officially announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of Toy Story 4 on 10/8, with the Digital release expected a week earlier on 10/1.

The 4K disc (and digital release) will include Dolby Atmos audio, while the Blu-ray will feature 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Expect the physical to offer HDR10 high dynamic range, while the digital 4K has Dolby Vision. Extras will include audio commentary with director Josh Cooley and his team, 4 featurettes (Toy Stories, Woody & Buzz, Bo Rebooted, and Let’s Ride with Ally Maki), a collection of mini-docs on the film’s characters called Toy Box, 6 deleted scenes with optional commentary (including Scamming Playtime, Bo Knows Hippos, Desperate Toys, Knock-Offs, Recruit Duke, and She’s the One) and more. [Read on here...]

Okay, we’ve got some big news for you today...

First though, we’ve posted a few new disc reviews in the last couple of days, including my own takes on Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 4K from Warner Bros, Air Force One in 4K from Sony Pictures, and Jonny Quest: The Complete Original Series on regular Blu-ray from Warner. Tim has also posted his thoughts on Shout! Factory’s new The Harder They Come: Collector’s Edition. All are work a look, so do check them out at the links provided.

Now then, let’s get to that news. First, this is not yet officially announced (even though we revealed it on social media a couple days ago), but retail links from various online sources confirm what we’ve been saying for a while now here at The Bits, namely that Warner will release The Wizard of Oz on 4K Ultra HD in October in honor of the film’s 80th anniversary. [Read on here...]

We’ve got some interesting announcement news for you today...

First up, Lionsgate has just announced the 10/8 Blu-ray and DVD release of Ari Aster’s horror film Midsommar, with the Digital version coming on 9/24 from A24. Extras will include the Let the Festivities Begin: Manifesting Midsommar featurette and the “Bear in a Cage” promo.

Speaking of horror, Paramount has set Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 10/15, including all 10 episodes plus extended director’s cut versions of 3 episodes (Steven Sees a Ghost, The Bent-Neck Lady, and Silence Lay Steadily) and audio commentary by director Mike Flanagan on 4 episodes (the three extended episodes plus Two Storms). [Read on here...]

All right, folks... we have some release news for you this afternoon.

But first, I’ve posted a review of Rob Reiner’s classic coming of age film Stand by Me on 4K Ultra HD. It streets on 8/27 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and it’s well worth a look. You can read more here.

The big release news today is that the Criterion Collection has announced their November Blu-ray and DVD slate, which is set to include Greg Mottola’s The Daytrippers (Spine #1001 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 11/12, Jean-Jacques Beineix’s Betty Blue (Spine #1002 – Blu-ray and DVD) and Paweł Pawlikowski’s Cold War (Spine #1005 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 11/19, and Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s All About Eve (Spine #1003 – Blu-ray and DVD) and Irving Rapper’s Now, Voyager (Spine #1004 – Blu-ray and DVD) on 11/26. [Read on here...]

All right, we have more news for you today. But first, a review...

I did indeed post my thoughts on Zhang Yimou’s Shadow in 4K last night from Well Go USA, and darned if it isn’t pretty spectacular. It’s a slow burn study in contrasts and well worth your time. You can check it out here.

Now then, Universal has officially announced the Blu-ray, DVD, and Ultra HD release of Danny Boyle’s Yesterday on 9/24, with the Digital release expected on 9/10. The 4K will include HDR10 and HDR10+ high dynamic range, with Dolby Atmos audio. The Blu-ray will also include Dolby Atmos audio. Extras on both will include audio commentary with director Danny Boyle and writer/producer Richard Curtis, an alternate opening, an alternate ending, 12 deleted scenes, a gag reel, a 3-song Live at Abbey Road Studios session with Himesh Patel (performing Yesterday, I Want to Hold Your Hand, and Let it Be), and 6 featurettes (Ed Sheeran: From Stadium to Screen, Agent of Comedy: Kate McKinnon, A Talented Duo, Playing for Real, Soul Mates, and A Conversation with Richard & Ed). You can see the cover artwork at left and also below. [Read on here...]