My Two Cents
It’s a little bit of a slow news day today, but we do have a couple items of interest for you...
First though, I had the chance to see an impressive new IMAX film last night. Directed by Stephen van Vuuren and narrated by LeVar Burton of Star Trek fame, In Saturn’s Rings is a large-format look at NASA’s Cassini mission to Saturn, made using over 7.5 million real high-resolution images of the planet, its moons, and other astronomical objects, carefully assembled and presented using classical multi-plane animation techniques. The film is aptly named; some of these images are truly breathtaking, putting you right in the middle of the Saturn system. If you’re a space enthusiast or simply love a good IMAX documentary, the film is well worth a look.
It’s now playing at a handful of theaters around the country, with many more screenings to come. And I can tell you, it would make a pretty fine Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD release at some point too. You can visit the official website here for all the details and you can see the trailer below. Be sure to view it in native 4K if you can for the full effect. [Read on here...]
First things first today... some of you may have seen my reviews of Mel Gibson’s Braveheart and Ridley Scott’s Gladiator on 4K Ultra HD when I posted them late on Friday night, but if not... there you go. Both are coming out on 5/15 from Paramount in reference quality (or very close to it) and they’re certainly the best way to see these films yet bar none.
Also today, Tim has just posted reviews of Kino Lorber Studio Classics’ outstanding new The Outer Limits: Season One box set, along with Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty: Season 1 and Season 2, all on Blu-ray. Each of these titles are well worth a look.
In 4K Ultra HD catalog news, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has just set The Quick and the Dead for release on the format on 7/17. The 4K disc will feature Dolby Atmos audio and HDR10. It will also include the previous Blu-ray extras and will add 7 never-before-seen deleted scenes for this release. We’ve updated the 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits accordingly. [Read on here...]
All right, this is just a quick post today, but it’s an important one...
First up, I’ve just completed my in-depth review of Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther in 4K Ultra HD from Marvel and Disney. As you probably already know, it’s a great installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and an interesting 4K release for a couple of reasons. Do check it out.
I’m currently working on a review of Universal’s The Incredible Hulk in 4K Ultra HD too (speaking of the MCU). What’s more, I expect to have my hands on Paramount’s Braveheart and Gladiator in 4K Ultra HD sometime today. So those reviews will be posted as soon as possible too. Be sure to check back for them. [Read on here...]
Okay… the first of our big 4K Ultra HD catalog reviews this week is in the works and we hope to have it for you bright and early tomorrow morning. First though, we need to take care of an important bit of site business. Please read on (and bear with us a moment)...
For over twenty years now, from the dawn of DVD to the rise of 4K Ultra HD, The Digital Bits has been a powerful advocate for home media enthusiasts online. From our unique position within the industry, we’ve shared our love and knowledge of film, advised our readers honestly and well through two format wars, helped to make the adoption of the latest home theater technology easier, and served as a bridge between enthusiasts and the Hollywood professionals that produce our favorite content.
But in recent years, our costs to operate The Bits have unfortunately increased, from contributors and equipment, to servers, bandwidth, even cybersecurity, even as advertising revenue has dropped all across the Internet (outside of social media), leading to the disappearance of all too many popular websites. When even an enthusiast-favorite company like Oppo can’t keep going in this climate, you know things are tough. Yet we think it’s incredibly important for us to keep fighting for the continued survival of physical media on behalf of all of you out there who love it. [Read on here...]
All right, the big news today is that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has set Tomb Raider (2018) for release on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on 6/12, with the Digital release expected on 5/29. The 4K disc will feature both Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio, and the film was finished as a 4K Digital Intermediate. Extras will include 4 featurettes (Tomb Raider: Uncovered, Croft Training, Breaking Down the Rapids, and Lara Croft: Evolution of an Icon). We’ve updated the 4K Ultra HD Release List here at The Bits accordingly. You can see the cover artwork to the left and also below. We’ll add the Blu-ray 3D cover artwork as soon as we have it.
By the way, we’ve also updated the 4K Ultra HD Release List with new information from retail and industry sources, which suggest that Avengers: Infinity War will be an August release. Also, Disney MAY be planning to release Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron on 4K with it. Paramount is releasing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on 7/17. Universal is working on Deer Hunter for July. Warner appears to be prepping The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions to follow the original film to 4K late this year. And finally, Sony may be prepping Panic Room for release on BD and 4K this year. As always, we caution you to consider all of this information Rumor Mill-worthy until the studios make official announcements.
One last 4K note: We expect to have our hands on Paramount’s Braveheart and Gladiator, along with Warner’s The Matrix, on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray by the end of the week or early next. Rest assured, we’ll get in-depth reviews up here at The Bits as soon as they come in. [Read on here...]