Displaying items by tag: John Ford

All right, we’ve got a TON of new disc reviews here at the site: Our crack review team has been spinning discs and grinding away on a ton of new reviews. I’ll post a full list of the most recent here tomorrow, but we’ve got some major announcement news to cover here first this afternoon. So in the meantime, be sure to check our review page (click here) for the latest and watch for more new reviews each day.

All right, folks…

The big news today is that our friends at Lionsgate Limited have just announced the 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray release of John Carney’s Sing Street (2016) on 8/11! And get this: A VHS version is also going to be available that same day! The 10th Anniversary release will include the Lionsgate Limited “extra mini-documentary” called The Risk of Rock & Roll: Going Back to Sing Street, and legacy material that includes Making Sing Street, a video discussion with John Carney and Adam Levine, cast audition footage, the theatrical trailer, TV spots, B-roll footage, and the Drive It Like You Stole It music video. The 4K will also feature Dolby Vision HDR with a new Dolby Atmos mix. You can see the cover artwork at left. And it’s now available for pre-order on Lionsgate Limited at this link. This is one of those films that just makes me happy—I love it right down to the ground. So I’m very glad to see Lionsgate bringing it to 4K disc. Another Holy Grail title: check!

And I should take a moment to note here: If you’re a subscriber to The Bits’ Patreon page, you’ve known that this title was coming for a while now! So if you’re not already a subscriber, you can do so for as little as $6 a month and you get even better deals for signing up for a whole year. With all the problems we’ve had with AI companies scraping our website to train their AI models, and with the decline in Amazon affiliate sales, our Patreon has become a lifeline in terms of keeping The Digital Bits’ mission to advocate for physical media alive going forward. So whether you’re new to The Bits or you’ve been a reader since the beginning way back in 1997, if you love what we do, please consider subscribing (click here). And know that we appreciate your support very much and work hard every day to make your subscription with every affordable penny! [Read on here...]

Good afternoon, disc fans!

After yesterday’s big release news of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair in 4K from Lionsgate, it’s time to start catching up on news that dropped while we were grappling with our AI bot-scraping issue.

To start with today, we’ve got a number of new disc reviews to share with you, and—on that very note—we also have a nice surprise announcement as well…

Our old friend Todd Doogan is returning to The Digital Bits as a review contributor!

Longtime Bits readers will know that Doogan was a founding member of The Bits team, not only reviewing DVD and Blu-ray discs here for many years, but also writing his own Doogan’s Views and Gripe Soda columns here at the site.

Since we have so many great disc releases that need covering, Doogan has offered to revive Doogan’s Views as a new “quick” review format—these will feature the Doogan’s Views banner at the top of the review. And while the reviews won’t be as detailed as our regular review work, they’ll include enough information to highlight discs worth your attention and help you make buying decisions. These are the kinds of titles that would otherwise fall through the cracks, but that deserve some love from fans—indie and boutique deep cuts, genre oddballs, and more.

Todd’s first new Doogan’s Views reviews this afternoon include Chris Stuckmann’s Shelby Oaks (2025) on Blu-ray from Decal Releasing and Johannes Roberts’ Primate (2025) on Blu-ray from Paramount via Alliance.

We’re all thrilled here to have Todd on The Bits team again, and I’m personally very happy to have my friend calling videodisc balls and strikes once more as only he can.

So welcome back, Todd, and watch for more Doogan’s Views reviews in the days and weeks ahead!

Meanwhile today, we have a bunch of new disc reviews from the rest of The Bits review team too, including... [Read on here...]

We start today with two new disc reviews for you to enjoy, including…

Stephen’s look at Richard Rush’s The Stunt Man (1980) in a great limited edition 4K Ultra HD release from Radiance Films.

And Tim’s thoughts on Arrow Video’s excellent 4K Ultra HD release of New Line’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy (1990-93).

More reviews are on the way, so be sure to keep checking back for them!

Also today, we’ve just uploaded our own Russell Hammond’s latest update of the Release Dates & Cover Artwork section here at The Bits, featuring new Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links.

As always, whenever you order literally anything from Amazon after clicking to them through one of our affiliate links (like this one), you’re helping to support our work here at The Bits and we really do appreciate it.

Now then… our friends at the Warner Archive Collection have just revealed their terrific April slate of Blu-ray catalog titles, and it includes a great new 4K title as well! [Read on here...]

All right, this is just a quick release news update before the weekend. But we’ve got some good stuff for you…

To start, we have great news on a title I first revealed to all of you on New Year’s Eve: The Wachowski’s Speed Racer (2008)! And the update is that pre-orders are starting to appear online (on Amazon UK and Zavvi so far, but I expect the US pre-orders on Amazon and Gruv to appear soon as well) for the 4K Ultra HD and 4K Steelbook release!

The street date is TBA, but my sources say it’s likely Q2, so I would guess you can look for it to arrive sometime in April or May.

We don’t have A/V specs yet, but I’m hoping for a 100GB disc, and both Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio.

Each edition will be a 2-disc set, including the film on 4K disc and Blu-ray—probably the previous international BD SKU, as the BD disc includes the same featurettes released internationally, which include 4 featurettes: Spritle in the Big Leagues (15 mins), Speed Racer: Supercharged! (16 mins), Speed Racer: Car-Fu Cinema (27 mins), and Speed Racer: Ramping Up! (10 mins, which was not included on the US Blu-ray).

The 4K disc will also include a featurette: Wonderful World of Racing: The Amazing Racer Family (31 mins), which was previously a Target exclusive feature in the US.

And apparently the Steelbook will include a slipcase, a 32-page book (The World of Speed Racer), a pair of mini theatrical posters, plus a Mach 5 art and 6 character cards. We’ll share the final cover artwork, as well as official specs and the street date, as soon as it comes in. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a mix of great new and catalog release news to share with you all today here at The Bits, right after we mention a trio of new disc reviews we’ve just shared. Today we have…

Dennis’ thoughts on Amanda and Michael Drexton’s Sour Party (2023) on Blu-ray from Anchor Bay Entertainment, as well as Clarence Brown’s Intruder in the Dust (1949) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stuart’s thoughts on John Ford’s 7 Women (1966) on Blu-ray, also from the Warner Archive Collection.

Now then… let’s get right into the good stuff: Our friends at Paramount are finally going to be releasing Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report (2002) in 4K Ultra HD and 4K Steelbook format on 12/9 (SRP $30.00 and 36.99)! Look for the 4K disc to include Dolby Vision HDR and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, plus all of the legacy special features on a Blu-ray bonus disc. You can see the cover artwork at left and also below the break. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve reached the Friday of another long summer week—San Diego Comic-Con week as it happens (more on that in a minute, and trust me—some of you guys are going to love what I’m going to tell you)—and The Bits website seems to be holding steady after all our recent upgrades.

With that in mind, we’ve got more new disc reviews for you to enjoy today, including…

Stephen’s reviews of Christopher McQuarrie’s The Way of the Gun (2000) in 4K Ultra HD from Lionsgate Limited and Bernardo Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris (1972) in 4K Ultra HD from Distribpix and Vinegar Syndrome.

And Tim’s reviews of Franco Prosperi’s Wild Beasts (1984) in 4K and Roy Ward Baker’s Asylum (1972) in 4K Ultra HD from Severin Films.

Speaking of Severin Films, the company is currently running their Summer Sale event on their website featuring lots of great deals, new Blu-ray and 4K announcements and more. To that end, we’ve got reviews coming here of Can Evrenol’s Baskin (2015) Ben Wheatley’s Kill List (2011), and Ruggero Deodato’s The House on the Edge of the Park (1980) in 4K, as well as Lamberto Bava’s Monster Shark (1984) and Tonio Ricci’s Night of the Sharks (1988) on Blu-ray. So be sure to watch for those next week!

While we’re on the topic of sales, Criterion has kicked off a Last Chance 50% Off Sale on in-stock titles at Barnes & Noble that ends on Sunday 7/27. So act fast if you’re interested! [Read on here...]

We’ve got a couple of good things to share with you today, starting with new discs reviews. Among them are…

My look at John Ford’s legendary Western classic The Searchers (1956) in 4K Ultra HD from the Warner Archive, an absolutely stunning title that I think deserves to be considered the 4K Disc of the Year.

Stephen’s review of Sydney Pollack’s Tootsie (1982) in 4K Ultra HD from Sony via their excellent Columbia Classics: Volume 5 box set, as well as David Chung’s Royal Warriors (1986) on Blu-ray from 88 Films.

And Dennis’ review of Buster Keaton’s Seven Chances (1925) and Sherlock Jr. (1924) on Blu-ray from Kino Classics.

All three are well worth a look, and we’re going to have more new disc reviews here on Wednesday.

Also today, our own Michael Coate has just shared a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column today featuring film historian and author Nat Segaloff as they celebrate the 50th anniversary of John Guillermin’s The Towering Inferno (1974). It’s a short read, but still well worth your time. [Read on here...]

All right, we’re closing out the short holiday week here at the site with more new disc reviews, including...

My reviews of Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus (2024) in 4K Ultra HD from 20th Century Studios, as well as the BFI’s edition of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (1954) in 4K Ultra HD.

Tim’s reviews of Clint Eastwood’s The Eiger Sanction (1975) in 4K UHD and also Monk: Season Three (2004-2005) on Blu-ray, both from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Dennis’ look at Martin Ritt’s Cross Creek (1983) on Blu-ray from KLSC.

And finally, Stuart’s take on Sidney Lumet’s Garbo Talks (1984) also on Blu-ray from KLSC.

We’ll have more reviews on Friday and over the weekend as well.

In news today, 20th Century Studios has just announced that Jared Hess’ Napoleon Dynamite (2004) is now available Digitally in 4K UHD. There’s no word yet on a physical 4K release, but given the title’s popularity, it’s definitely possible that one could follow in the new year. [Read on here...]

Heads up, Bits readers!

I just wanted to jump in here this afternoon to share a bit of news and a bunch of new disc reviews that we’ve prepared for today.

First, I’m sure that most of you have seen today’s first news update here by now: Lucasfilm and Disney just announced the 4K Ultra HD Steelbook release of Ron Howard’s Willow (1988).

Call it a hunch, but I have a strong suspicion that this release is meant to set up a second 4K Steelbook release coming in 2025, specifically of the more recent Disney+ streaming series Willow (2022). That show was cancelled and pulled from Disney+, allegedly for cost-cutting reasons, and a good way to try to recoup a little of that investment would be to sell it on 4K disc and possibly Blu-ray. So I think that’s a pretty good possibility next year.

Meanwhile, here at the site today, we’ve just posted our weekly update of the Release Dates & Artwork section (you’ll find that here) featuring all of the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover and Amazon.com pre-order links. (Thanks to our own Russell Hammond for his work on that.)

Speaking of which, John Ford’s The Searchers (1956) is finally up for pre-order on Amazon in 4K for the stunning price of just $29.99... [Read on here...]

Heads up Bits readers…

I just wanted to check in here today to let you all know that we’re working on new disc reviews, the first of which should start going live here on the website over the weekend.

There’s not a ton of release news to report today, however I am happy to say that the SRPs for the new Star Wars Disney+ 4K Ultra HD Steelbooks (due on 12/3) have finally come down to rational levels Amazon. So here are the pre-order links:

The Mandalorian: The Complete Third Season (4K)

Ahsoka: The Complete First Season (4K)

Hawkeye: The Complete First Season (4K)

Loki: The Complete Second Season (4K)

Also today, it appears that the Warner Archive Collection’s new 4K and Blu-ray release of John Ford’s The Searchers (1956) have now been listed on Amazon, but the pre-orders are not yet live. But here are those links... [Read on here...]