My Two Cents
Greetings Bits readers!
So you may have noticed some funkiness going on over the last week or so here at The Digital Bits website.
Back on March 27 (see our post here), I told you that we were fighting the scourge of AI companies relentlessly sending bots to crawl our site to scrape for content to train their LLMs. It got so bad that we essentially have had to move the site and use Cloudflare to block them.
That was frustrating enough, but the process of moving hasn’t been smooth. And we’ve had several other disruptions over the last week, including (currently) to our email. So if you’re trying to reach us and your messages are getting bounced back or not delivered properly, rest assure we’re aware of it and are working to get it sorted.
Thanks for your patience!
All part of the frustrations of trying to run a website in the 21st century… especially in a world of AI, which is probably only going to make things on the Internet worse. [Read on here...]
All right, we’ve got a bit of ground to cover today, and it’s going to feel a little bit like whiplash. But first, as always, we have some new disc reviews to share with you…
Tim has taken a look at Michael Felsher’s Hearts of Darkness: The Making of The Final Friday (2025) on Blu-ray from Synapse Films.
Stephen has offered his thoughts on Simon Wincer’s The Phantom (1996) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
And Dennis has shared his take on Arthur Penn’s Target (1985) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.
Definitely be sure to watch for more new disc reviews over the next few days.
Now then… the positive news we have for you today is that our friends at the Criterion Collection have just announced their July Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release slate, which includes some gems as always and some nice surprises too. [Read on here...]
We have a quick update for you today, but it includes some good stuff!
First though, more new disc reviews…
Tim has taken a look at Craig R. Baxley’s Stone Cold (1991) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.
And Stephen has offered his take on Simon Wincer’s The Phantom (1996) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Leni Riefenstahl’s The Blue Light (1932) on Blu-ray from Kino Classics.
Be sure to watch for more review tomorrow and all this week!
And if you’re interested in what’s coming to 4K Ultra HD in terms of catalog titles later this year, you’re definitely going to want to subscribe to our Digital Bits Patreon page, because we’ve been sharing some good stuff there! And Patreon support has become critical to helping us keep The Digital Bits going, so please do consider it (and thank you to everyone who is already a subscriber)!
Now then, our friends at the Warner Archive Collection have just revealed their May Blu-ray slate, and it includes some real gems. [Read on here...]
We’ve got more new disc reviews for you all to enjoy today, including…
Stephen’s take on Ema Tammi’s Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (2025) in 4K Ultra HD from Universal and also Bill Plympton’s Hair High (2004) on Blu-ray from our friends at Deaf Crocodile Films.
Tim’s review of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) in 4K from Criterion.
Dennis’ look at Terry Jones’ Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979) on Blu-ray from Criterion, as well as Martin Ritt’s Cross Creek (1983) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.
And finally, Stuart’s thoughts on Raoul Walsh’s Silver River (1948) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.
More reviews are forthcoming all this week, so be sure to keep checking back for them!
Now then… in announcement news today, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has revealed that Howard Hawks’ El Dorado (1966) is “coming soon” to 4K Ultra HD. That’s a Paramount Western featuring John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and James Caan, featuring a screenplay co-written by Leigh Brackett (The Empire Strikes Back) and music by Nelson Riddle (the 1966 Batman). [Read on here...]
All right, we have a few more new disc reviews to share with you this morning, including…
Tim’s thoughts on Guy Magar’s Lookin’ Italian (1994) on Blu-ray from Severin Films.
Dennis’ take on William Richert’s A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics and Shane Meadows’ TwentyFourSeven (1997) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films.
Stephen’s look at Richard Attenborough’s A Bridge Too Far (1977) in Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, as well as Ivan Passer’s Cutter’s Way (1981) in 4K Ultra HD from Radiance Films.
And Stuart’s review of the Warner Archive’s Fred Astaire Collection on Blu-ray, which includes Easter Parade (1948), The Band Wagon (1953), Silk Stockings (1957), and Finian’s Rainbow (1968). Stuart has also reviewed Peter Yates’ Summer Holiday (1963) on Blu-ray from Indicator’s Cliff in Color! box set.
Now then, the big news we want to share with you today is that pre-orders have finally begin for Disney’s Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release of James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash (2026), all of which are set to street on 5/19. [Read on here...]