Displaying items by tag: Todd Doogan

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 are truly heartbroken this evening to learn that our dear friend Bob Burns has died.

Bob and his wife Kathy, who passed in 2021, were two of the kindest and most generous human beings I’ve ever had the honor of knowing in my time in Hollywood.

Together, they safeguarded a deep well of knowledge about the history of genre cinema, and so many of its most sacred artifacts, as the keepers of Hollywood’s attic.

I’ll never forget those joyous occasions when The Digital Bits crew had the opportunity to visit Bob’s Basement.

Kathy always greeted your arrival with a plate of freshly-baked cookies—after you’d shared enormous bear hugs with each of them first, of course.

You truly felt like Indiana Jones while roaming the aisles of their treasure trove of iconic props and costumes. [Read on here...]

All right, we’ve got a ton of new disc reviews that we’ve shared here at The Bits over the past week, including…

My reviews of the fixed Superman: The Movie, Superman II, and Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut 4K Ultra HD discs from Warner Bros.

My review (with Todd Doogan) of Akira Kurosawa’s Stray Dog (1949) on Blu-ray from the BFI, as well as my review (with Tim) of the new Back to the Future: 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Gift Set in 4K from Universal.

Stephen’s thoughts on Arūnas Žebriūnas’s The Devil’s Bride (1974) on Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile, Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi’s Shin Godzilla: Deluxe Collector’s Edition (2016) from GKids, and Abel Ferrara’s Ms. 45 (1981) on 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video.

Tim’s reviews of Hanna-Barbera’s Wacky Races: The Complete Series on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection, StudioCanal’s Dead of Night: 80th Anniversary Collector’s Edition in 4K Ultra HD, the first titles—One-Armed Swordsman (1967) and Return of the One-Armed Swordsman (1969)—from Arrow’s Shawscope: Volume Three Blu-ray box set.

Dennis’ look at Mark L. Lester’s The Ex (1996) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics and John Cromwell’s The Racket (1951) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stuart’s take on Stuart Heisler’s I Died a Thousand Times (1955) and the Bette Davis Collection (which includes The Letter, Dark Victory, Jezebel, and The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection as well as José Giovanni’s Last Known Address (1970) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

We’ve also got lots more new disc reviews coming today and all this week, so be sure to check back for them!

Now then… in announcement news today, the good people at Radiance Films have revealed that they’re releasing Richard Rush’s The Stunt Man (1980) in 4K Ultra HD on 2/23/26. The film will feature Dolby Vision HDR, and the package will include a bevy of new and legacy special features, including the acclaimed documentary The Sinister Saga of Making The Stuntman (2001). You can see the cover work above left. [Read on here...]

We’re starting the new week here at The Bits with a host of new disc reviews for the team, including...

My thoughts (with longtime Bits contributor Todd Doogan) on Antony Hoffman’s Red Planet (1990) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video.

Tim’s take on Terence Fisher’s The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) in 4K Ultra HD from the Warner Archive Collection, as well as Warner Archive’s Hollywood Legends of Horror: 6-Film Collection on Blu-ray, Jag Mundhra’s Hack-O-Lantern (1988) in 4K from Massacre Video, and Tom Savini’s Night of the Living Dead (1990) in 4K Steelbook from Sony.

Dennis’ thoughts on Dan Curtis’ Dead of Night (1977) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Stuart’s take on Richard Thorpe’s The Prisoner of Zenda (1952) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

And Stephen’s reviews of John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness (1994) in 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video, and the new Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone (2007) and Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance (2009) anime films on Blu-ray from GKids via Shout! Studios.

More reviews are definitely on the way all this week, so be sure to keep checking back.

Now then, we’ve got a bunch of release news to report today... [Read on here...]

Morning, everyone!

Before we get started today, we’ve got a few more new disc reviews to share with you…

I’ve turned in my thoughts on Lewis Gilbert’s You Only Live Twice (1976) in 4K from the MGM’s new Connery Bond 4K set, as well as Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo & Sanjuro (1961-62) in 4K from the BFI (a review co-written with Todd Doogan), and also Matt Schrader’s Score: A Film Music Documentary (2016) on Blu-ray from Gravitas Ventures.

Tim has reviewed Bob Clark’s Murder by Decree (1979) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Dennis has checked in with a look at John Sturges’s Mystery Street (1950) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection, as well as Bruce Robinson’s Withnail and I (1987) on Blu-ray from Criterion.

And finally, Stephen has offered his take on Shaka King’s Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) in 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros., as well as Andrei Tarkovsky’s final film The Sacrifice (1986) in 4K from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And we’ve got lots more great new reviews planned for posting all next week here at The Bits, so be sure to check back then. [Read on here...]

We have more announcement news for you today, and more new disc reviews as well…

First, Tim has turned in his thoughts on Jim Isaac’s Jason X (2001) in 4K Ultra HD from New Line via Arrow Video, as well as the Warner Archive Collection’s excellent new Looney Tunes: Collector’s Vault – Volume 1 on Blu-ray!

I’ve posted a new review (with longtime Bits contributor Todd Doogan) of Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood (1957) in 4K Ultra HD from the BFI.

And Stephen has delivered his thoughts on Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s Abigail (2024) in 4K Ultra HD once again, but this time as released by Turbine Media in Germany.

Also here at the site today, we’ve posted another update of our Release Dates & Artwork section here at The Bits, featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. Don’t forget: The Bits is an Amazon affiliate, so anytime you order literally anything from them after clicking to them through one of our links (like this one), you’re helping to support our work here and we appreciate it! [Read on here...]

Afternoon, friends! We have three new disc reviews for you today, including...

Stephen’s look at Ramón Menéndez’s Stand and Deliver (1988) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

An update of our old friend Todd Doogan’s 2010 Blu-ray review of Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo (1961) and Sanjuro (1962) by Tim Salmons, to cover the Criterion Collection’s new 4K Ultra HD release.

And finally today, Dennis’ look at Anand Tucker’s The Critic (2023) on good old fashioned DVD from Greenwich Entertainment and Kino Lorber.

In terms of announcement news this afternoon, the big news is that HBO has made its planned 4K Ultra HD Steelbook Limited Edition re-release of The Last of Us: The Complete First Season official for 3/18, in anticipation of the debut of Season Two on Max in April.

Also, the A24 shop is releasing an exclusive Blu-ray version of Greg Kwedar’s Sing Sing (2023) with an expected street date TBA for March. You can pre-order it here. The disc will include audio commentary with the director, producer, editor, and cinematographer, 2 featurettes (Trust the Process and Sing Sing Correctional Facility Premiere), deleted scenes, and a gallery of behind-the-scenes photography by Greg Kwedar, Dominic León, Daniel Order, and Pat Scola. [Read on here...]

We’re rounding out the week with three more new disc reviews for you to enjoy here today, including...

My joint review (with longtime Bits contributor Todd Doogan) of Ron Howard’s Willow (1988) in 4K Ultra HD Steelbook from Lucasfilm.

Tim’s review of Monk: Season Five on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Dennis’ take on Glenn Andreiev’s Night (1996) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

Now then, the big news this afternoon is that our friends at The Criterion Collection have just announced SEVEN new Blu-ray and 4K titles for release in March of next year, including Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Wages of Fear (1953) (Spine #36 – 4K + Blu-ray, Blu-ray & DVD) on 3/4, Michael Mann’s Thief (1981) (Spine #691 – 4K + Blu-ray) on 3/11, Kazuki Omori’s Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) (Spine #1254 – 4K + Blu-ray & Blu-ray) and Charles Chaplin’s A Woman of Paris (1923) (Spine #1253 – Blu-ray & DVD) on 3/18, and Alan Rudolph’s Choose Me (1984) (Spine #1256 – 4K + Blu-ray and Blu-ray) and Arthur Penn’s Night Moves (1975) (Spine #1255 – 4K + Blu-ray and Blu-ray) on 3/25! [Read on here...]

On this final day of 2022, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the past year and, really, on the past twenty-five years here at The Digital Bits website.

First though, our own Michael Coate has just delivered one final History, Legacy, and Showmanship retrospective for the year, a look back at Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in celebration of the film’s 40th anniversary. The piece features another epic and multi-page roundtable interview with film experts and historians. Note that the piece will also be updated early in the new year with additional images and information, but the interview as it is is thorough and well worth your time, so be sure to check it out.

Now then… it’s an extraordinary thing to look back at twenty-five years of this website, a site I first started back in 1997 to cover the advent of DVD and to introduce the appreciation of cinema to a wider audience. As a film student at the Universal of Wisconsin in Madison, I had the honor of studying the subject under two of the finest film historians and theorists working today, David Boardwell and Kristin Thompson, not to mention the pleasure of discovering not just the Hollywood classics but the wider world of international cinema. And it’s been my goal—both then and now—to share that love and joy of discovery with everyone who might be interested. [Read on here...]

All right, Halloween is here at long last, so we’ve got the remainder of our new Halloween Bag-o-Tricks disc reviews for you all to enjoy today! Since we last posted here on Friday, we’ve added:

Stephen’s thoughts on Le Binh Giang’s KFC (2016) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome, the Italian-import version of Joe Dante’s The Hole (2009) on Blu-ray from Medusa, Dario Argento’s Dracula 3D on Blu-ray 3D from IFC Midnight, and Simon Nuchtern’s Silent Madness (1984) on Blu-ray 3D from Vinegar Syndrome.

Tim’s take on Francis Ford Coppola’s Dementia 13: Director’s Cut (1963) on Blu-ray from the Vestron Video Collector’s Series, Amando de Ossorio’s Tombs of the Blind Dead (1972) on Blu-ray from Synapse Films, Chris LaMartina’s WNUF Halloween Special (2013) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome, the Universal Horror Collection: Volume 6 on Blu-ray from Scream Factory, The Halloween 4K Collection: 1995-2002 in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory, and Dan O’Bannon’s The Return of the Living Dead (1985) in 4K Ultra HD from Scream Factory.

Dennis’ look at Sean Donohue’s Blood, Guts and Sunshine: The History of Horror Made in Florida Blu-ray box set from Vinegar Syndrome and Tim Kincaid’s Mutant Hunt (1987) on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.

My own review of Jordan Peele’s Nope (2002) in 4K Ultra HD from Universal. [Read on here...]