Displaying items by tag: 2001: A Space Odyssey 4K

We have two more new disc reviews for you to enjoy today...

Tim has taken a good look at Stanley Tong’s Super Cop (1992, aka Police Story 3) in 4K Ultra HD, which is finally available from 88 Films. As many of you will already know, the film stars Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh.

And Stephen has turned in his thoughts on The Spierig Brothers’ Undead (2003) on Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment and Vinegar Syndrome.

We’ve also got a bunch of new title announcements...

First, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has now officially set Elia Kazan’s East of Eden (1955) and Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo (1959) for release on 4K Ultra HD and 4K Digital on 7/18, as expected. Per the studio’s press release, both titles have been restored in partnership with Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation. Each will feature HDR10 high dynamic range and DTS-HD Master Audio. East of Eden will include the previous audio commentary by film historian Richard Schickel. Rio Bravo will include the previous commentary with filmmaker John Carpenter and Schickel. You can see the cover art at left and also below. Note that both titles are now available for pre-order on Amazon (SRP $33.99 each) by clicking on the cover art below. [Read on here...]

[Editor’s Note: This interview was originally posted on The Digital Bits on 5/4/01. It refers to the original and much-maligned Kubrick DVD collection release and also the better and properly remastered 2001 DVDs. It hints at future HD releases, but this was five years prior to the debut of Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD was still well over the horizon. Read it as an artifact of the period. But our admiration of Vitali has only been enhanced by the recent and terrific documentary about his life, Filmworker, not to mention his fine work on the new 4K release of 2001: A Space Odyssey, so we thought it would be fun to share this vintage interview we did with him. It’s clear just how protective he was then – and remains now – of Stanley Kubrick’s body of work. We salute him for it. All Kubrick fans owe him a great debt.]

One thing you can say for sure about Leon Vitali, is that he knew Stanley Kubrick. Vitali first came into contact with Kubrick when he was cast to play the role of Lord Bullingdon in Barry Lyndon. The two quickly struck up a friendship, and Vitali soon found himself working side-by-side with the director as his assistant and a permanent part of Kubrick’s staff. Over an association of more than 25 years, Vitali personally worked on nearly every facet of Kubrick’s films, from scripting to casting, production, laboratory supervision and advertising. He even worked on the translations of Kubrick’s films into other languages for international markets. [Read on here...]

We start with more new Blu-rays here at the site today, including Dennis’ look at Brian De Palma’s Sisters (1973) now on Blu-ray from Criterion, Tim’s look at the new Army of Darkness Steelbook edition from Scream/Shout! Factory, and David’s review of The Principal from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Enjoy!

Also today, we have an update on the availability of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s 2001: A Space Odyssey in 4K Ultra HD. The title had been delayed from 10/30 to 11/20. Now we’re hearing from readers that retailers are telling them to expect the title on 12/18.

The delay appears to be due to a lack of replication capacity. That’s not uncommon going into the holiday season, but it appears to be worse this year. So adjust your plans accordingly.

In announcement news today, Shout! Factory has set the Legally Blonde Collection: Shout Select Blu-ray set for release on 2/26/19. [Read on here...]

All right, today’s post is another quickie for the reasons anticipated – namely I’m about to start working on my review of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s Batman: The Complete Animated Series on Blu-ray. With luck, I hope to have it up by the end of the day today or early tomorrow morning.

In the meantime, I posted my in-depth review of Warner Bros.’ 2001: A Space Odyssey on 4K Ultra HD yesterday here at The Bits. The upshot is this is fully remastered and properly color-graded, unlike the recent Nolan theatrical IMAX presentations, and the Blu-ray is fully remastered too. The disc also includes Dolby Vision HDR and it has a new 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix that represents the original 6-track 70 mm theatrical audio too. It’s really a fantastic release, so be sure to check that out. Note that the end of the review features significant technical details on the remastering process (from a brief prepared by the studio) shared with permission. Many of you will find it interesting.

In the meantime, we have a few additional Blu-ray reviews for you today from Tim and our old friend Dr. Adam Jahnke, including Scream Factory’s Creepshow, The Howling (Steelbook), and Halloween II and III (Steelbooks). Enjoy! [Read on here...]

This is just a quick update to say that there’s going to be no news post today. But the reason is a good one.

First though, over the weekend I posted my in-depth reviews of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, and The Matrix Trilogy in 4K Ultra HD here at The Bits.

Like The Matrix in UHD before it, these sequels arrive on the format in fine quality with impressively upgraded image quality and reference-quality Dolby Atmos audio mixes.

They’re definitely recommended, though with the qualification that a few features from the previous The Ultimate Matrix Collection Blu-ray set do not carry over. The details are in the review. [Read on here...]

All right, sorry we’ve been a little low-key here at The Bits this week. We’ve been spending our time in one of two ways:

First, we’re recovering from our recent server and Russian bot issues and doing some upgrading and adjusting to make sure everything is working smoothly going forward.

Second, we’re reviewing Blu-ray and 4K titles like mad!

Today, we’ve posted my looks at Universal’s Invisible Man, The: Complete Legacy Collection and Creature from the Black Lagoon: Complete Legacy Collection. Tim has also delivered his thoughts on Maximum Overdrive from Lionsgate’s Vestron Video Collector’s Series. David has offered his thoughts on the Japanese cult classic Battle in Outer Space from Sony. And Dennis has turned in his review of the new City Slickers: Collector’s Edition from Shout! Factory’s Shout Select line-up. Enjoy! [Read on here...]

All right, while it hasn’t yet officially been announced by Disney, we expect that to happen very soon. So the big story today is that Disney will be releasing its animated feature The Lion King on 4K Ultra HD on 12/4. The title is already listed on Best Buy Canada and we expect it to appear elsewhere soon. Meanwhile, here’s a look at the official cover artwork (at left).

Also today, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced the 11/20 Blu-ray release of Robin and Marian (1976), directed by Richard Lester (A Hard Day’s Night, Superman II) and starring Sean Connery (as Robin Hood) and Audrey Hepburn (as Lady Marian).

MPI is releasing Fyodor Bondarchuk’s 2017 Russian science-fiction epic Attraction (aka Prityazhenie) on Blu-ray and DVD on 12/4. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Fyodor is the son of the legendary Russian filmmaker Sergei Bondarchuk (War and Peace). We’ve been wanting to get a look at this film for a while, so we’re thrilled to see it finally coming in the States. [Read on here...]

We’ve got three more Blu-rays for you today, including...

Tim’s look at Stewart Raffill’s Mac and Me: Collector’s Edition (1988) from Shout! Factory.

David Steigman’s take on Albert Pynn’s Blast (1997) from MVD.

And Dennis Seuling’s thoughts on Desmond Davis’ British comedy Smashing Time (1967) from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

I’m also working on several new 4K Ultra HD reviews, which should start appearing later this afternoon, so do check back for those.

In announcement news, we have details on Liongate’s next Vestron Video Collector’s Series Blu-ray title, Maximum Overdrive. [Read on here...]

All right, we’re starting off the new week here at The Bits this afternoon with a whole mess of new Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD reviews...

First up, I’ve spent the weekend going over Paramount’s Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible 2, Mission: Impossible III, and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, all in 4K, with a fine-tooth comb. Those reviews are all up now (just click on the title links), and by the end of the day look for my review of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol in 4K as well. All are worthy upgrades and they street tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Tim has gone in-depth on Arrow Video’s outstanding new The Complete Sartana 5-film Blu-ray box set. So be sure to give that a look as well. [Read on here...]

It’s official. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has just set Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey for release on 4K Ultra HD on 10/30 (SRP $41.99).

The new 4K UHD presentation will feature high dynamic range in both HDR10 and Dolby Vision, with an image newly mastered from the original 65mm camera negative.

The 4K disc will also include both a remixed and restored 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, as well as the original 1968 6-track 70mm theatrical audio mix (also in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio format).

This will be a 3-disc set, with the film in 4K UHD, a movie Blu-ray Disc of the film (also remastered from the new 4K presentation), a special features Blu-ray Disc, and a Digital Copy. The packaging will include a collectible booklet and art cards featuring iconic images from the film. [Read on here...]