My Two Cents
We know there are a lot of classic TV fans who read The Digital Bits, so this next bit of breaking news should be very welcome indeed!
CBS and Paramount have just announced the DVD release of Bonanza: The Official Complete Series on 5/23 (SRP $244.99)! The massive set includes all 14 seasons—431 episodes—on 112 discs, and the series has been completely remastered from the original 35 mm camera negatives.
Also coming to DVD that same day are Bonanza: The Complete Second Season (now in a single volume this time and also remastered—the previous release came in two volumes and was mastered from older, analog source material), as well as Bonanza: The Complete Twelfth Season, Bonanza: The Complete Thirteenth Season, and Bonanza: The Complete Fourteenth Season (SRP $50.99 each).
These will be welcome SKUs for those of you who have been purchasing these episodes on DVD all along.
Note that The Official Complete Series will come with an exclusive bonus disc containing nearly two and a half hours of rare special features. You’ll find all the details and cover art below the break. [Read on here...]
We’re rounding out the week here at The Bits with a little bit more announcement news today, but first a couple more reviews...
Tim offered his thoughts on Travis Knight’s Kubo and the Two Strings in 4K Ultra HD from Laika via Shout! Factory—both the regular Amaray version as well as the Steelbook packaging.
Pressing on to this afternoon’s release news, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has just revealed that they’re bringing Charles Laughton’s classic noir thriller The Night of the Hunter (1955) to 4K Ultra HD on 5/30, complete with a new scan and Dolby Vision HDR grade.
Also newly revealed as coming to Blu-ray from KLSC are Dave Thomas’ The Experts (1989) on 5/9 and Robert Aldrich’s Hustle (1975) on 5/16.
In addition, they’re working on “coming soon” Blu-ray releases of René Clément’s The Day and the Hour (1963)—this one mastered from a new 4K restoration by Gaumont—as well as Stephen Norrington’s Death Machine (1994). [Read on here...]
We’ve got another new disc review for you today, actually two of them in a way: Our own Tim Salmons has taken a look at Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi’s The BoxTrolls in 4K Ultra HD from Laika via Shout! Factory—both the regular Amaray version as well as the Steelbook packaging.
In announcement news today, our friend George Feltenstein has just revealed (via Tim Millard’s excellent The Extras podcast) the Warner Archive Collection’s planned April slate of Blu-ray titles, which will officially include Safe in Hell (1931) mastered from a 4K scan and restoration of a rare and newly-discovered 35 mm print, along with One Way Passage (1932), The Strawberry Blonde (1941), and Storm Warning (1951) each mastered from new 4K scans of the original camera negatives, and A Lion in the Streets (1953) mastered from a new 4K restoration of the original three-strip Technicolor camera negatives. All of these titles are due to street toward the end of the month (dates TBA).
The Warner Archive has apparently been working with The Film Foundation on these titles. Also revealed to be coming at some point this year to Blu-ray is The Roaring Twenties (1939). Again, street date is TBA. [Read on here...]
All right, we’ve some great announcement news today. We also have a MAJOR and exclusive 4K Ultra HD catalog scoop to share with you this afternoon here at The Digital Bits, and we’ve got the video to prove it! But first, a couple more new disc reviews...
Stuart has posted his thoughts on the BBC’s Maigret: Season 2 on Blu-ray from our friends at Network and Kino Classics.
And Dennis has offered his take on André Téchiné’s Wild Reeds (1994) on Blu-ray from the good people at Altered Innocence and Vinegar Syndrome.
So give those a look, and don’t forget that more reviews are on the way all week—be sure to check back from them. Now then, today’s great announcement news is that The Criterion Collection has just officially unveiled their June Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release slate. [Read on here...]
We start things off today with a new review from Stephen Bjork, who checks out Jack Bomay and Sal Watts’ Solomon King (1974) on Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile via Vinegar Syndrome.
And not to be outdone, Stuart has offered his thoughts on Marco Tullio Giordana’s One Hundred Steps (2000) on Blu-ray from Raro Video.
Now then, the big release news today is that HBO and Warner Bros have officially announced the physical Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release of The Last of Us: The Complete First Season on 7/18 (SRP $44.98, $39.99, and $49.99 respectively), with the Digital version expected to drop on 4/11!
The package will include all 9 episodes, along with three hours worth of extras. Among them are 4 Getting to Know Me featurettes, 2 The Last Debrief with Troy Baker featurettes, 2 Is This a The Last of Us Line? featurettes, 9 Inside the Episode featurettes, and a pair of featurettes that are exclusive to the disc SKUs including The Last of Us: Stranger Than Fiction and Controllers Down: Adapting The Last of Us.
You can see the final 4K UHD cover artwork above left and the Blu-ray art below the break. [Read on here...]