Displaying items by tag: Vinegar Syndrome

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’ve got a few more reviews for you today, and a few more great bits of announcement news to round out the week here…

First, Stuart has turned in his thoughts on Howard Zieff’s House Calls (1978) and Gilles Grangier’s Maigret Sees Red (1963) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And Dennis has offered his take on John Binder’s UFOria (1985), also on Blu-ray from KLSC.

Now then, here’s something fun: Our friends at Vinegar Syndrome have revealed they’ve licensed Joe Dante’s Explorers (1985) from Paramount and they’ve about to release a new 4K Ultra HD edition! Limited to 8,000 units, it will ship following their next Halfway to Black Friday sale that runs from May 22nd to 25th! And in addition to legacy extras, you’ll get a 40-page book and a new 77-minute documentary on the making of the film by Elijah Drenner! [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...]

Greetings, Bits readers—I hope this finds you all well!

You may have noticed that there have been very few updates here on the site this week, and also that we’ve had a lot of downtime in which the site wasn’t working or was slow to load.

There’s a reason for that, which is that we’ve been the target of relentless scaping by AI companies trying to train their LLMs. We’ve taken steps to prevent it in the past, but they don’t seem to care that when they scrape us, it causes significant disruptions for both us and you as readers. So it looks like we’re going to have to take further steps to prevent this going forward.

In the meantime, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover today, as I haven’t been able to post a news update since Monday due to these disruptions.

We’ll start with disc reviews! We’ve had a bunch for you this week, including…

My looks at Jeannot Szwarc’s Somewhere in Time (1980) in 4K from Kino Lorber Studio Classics, David Lynch’s The Straight Story (1999) in 4K from StudioCanal (a joint review with former Bits staffer Dan Kelly), Michael Crichton’s Westworld (1973) in 4K from Arrow Video, and Ted Lasso: The Richmond Way (2020-23) in 4K from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

Tim’s review of Lam Nai-Choi’s The Cat (1991) on Blu-ray from 88 Films.

Dennis’ take on Claude Leloch’s A Man and a Woman (1966) on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection.

Stuart’s thoughts on Jerzy Skolimowski’s The Lightship (1985) on Blu-ray from Imprint Films and Jeffrey Dell and Roy Boulting’s Man in a Cocked Hat (1959) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And finally, Stephen’s look at Dario Argento’s The Phantom of the Opera (1998) and Emmett Alston’s Demonwarp (1988) in 4K from Vinegar Syndrome, and Ti West’s The Innkeepers (2011) on Blu-ray from Umbrella and in 4K Ultra HD from Second Sight. Whew!

Now, let’s get to the news that’s broken since our announcement of James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash on Blu-ray and 4K on Monday… [Read on here...]

All right, as you can see by that headline, we’ve got some big release news for you today! But first, a few more new disc reviews…

Stephen has reviewed William Friedkin’s Jade (1995) in 4K Ultra HD from Imprint Films.

Tim has offered his thoughts on Rod Amateau’s The Garbage Pail Kids Movie (1987) in 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome.

And Dennis has shared his perspective on a Jack Benny Comedy Classics double feature of Raoul Walsh’s Artists and Models (1937) and Mark Sandrich’s Man About Town (1939) on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

I’ve also got a couple of additional reviews coming tomorrow, so be sure to watch for those.

Now then… you know how lots of people a few weeks ago were saying that if Netflix won the bidding war for Warner Bros. that might mean the end of physical media?

Yeah, maybe not so much.

Not only has Netflix recently let Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein and the animated K-Pop Demon Hunters be licensed to Criterion for Blu-ray and 4K release, today we have even bigger news.

Arrow Video just announced on social media that they’re bringing the most popular Netflix Original series of all time—the Duffer Brothers’ Stranger Things: The Complete Series—to Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD in July (street date 7/28)! [Read on here...]

This has been a very busy week here at The Bits, tracking upcoming titles, talking with industry sources, and the like, thus the lack of posts.

But we’ve definitely got both new disc reviews for you today as well as some release news worth sharing. Let’s start with the latter first.

Today we’ve got…

Tim’s reviews of Chor Yuen’s The Sentimental Swordsman (1977) on Blu-ray from Arrow’s Shawscope: Volume Three box set, Severin Films’ Saga Erotica: The Emmanuelle Collection in 4K Ultra HD, and Michael Curtiz’s Captain Blood (1935) in 4K Ultra HD from Criterion.

Stephen’s reviews of Jean-Jacques Annaud’s Quest for Fire (1981) on Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment, Dario Argento’s Sleepless (2001) in 4K UHD from Vinegar Syndrome, Michael Cacoyannis’ Iphigenia (1977) on Blu-ray from Radiance Films, Corey Yuen’s She Shoots Straight (1990) on Blu-ray from 88 Films, and John Woo’s Once a Thief (1991) in 4K from Shout’s HK Cinema Classics line.

And Dennis’ take on Raoul Walsh’s Manpower (1941) and David Butler’s By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953) both on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Now then… before we get started on news today, I’m going to be joining my friend Tim Millard on his next The Extras podcast to talk about the latest developments in the ongoing Paramount/Skydance, Warner Bros., Netflix saga. Looks like we’re going to be recording the episode this weekend, so be sure to check Tim’s social media for news on the episode drop, and I’ll share the details on my own as well when I have them. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a bunch of new disc reviews to share with you today here at The Bits, including…

My tag-team review (with Tim Salmons) of John Boorman’s Arthurian epic Excalibur (1981) in a long-awaited 4K Ultra HD release from Arrow Video.

Stephen’s thoughts on Jonathan Demme’s Married to the Mob (1988), Rachel Talalay’s Tank Girl (1995), and Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue (1997) each in 4K Ultra HD, from Cinématographe via Vinegar Syndrome, Vinegar Syndrome, and GKIDS via Shout! Studios, respectively.

Dennis’ look at Blake Edwards’ The Pink Panther (1963) in 4K Ultra HD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

And finally it’s back to Tim again for his thoughts on Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker’s Top Secret! (1984) in 4K UHD from Paramount.

More reviews are coming this week, so definitely be sure to check back for them.

Now then… we’ve got a bunch of great announcement news to cover here today as well!

We’ll start with official word that Lionsgate is distributing Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair widely on Digital next week, on 2/17. In fact, you can find it available for pre-order on Apple TV right now. We’re told the Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD physical release is coming later this year from Lionsgate.

A24 has just announced that Josh Safdie’s Best Picture-nominated film Marty Supreme (2025) is coming soon to Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD. [Read on here...]

Welcome, disc fans, to a new week and the start of a new month!

We’ve got some good 4K Ultra HD release news to share with you today.

First up, Universal and Focus Films have set Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet (2025) for Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD release on 3/3.

Our friends at Vinegar Syndrome are now taking orders for Emmett Alston’s Demonwarp (1988), Tonino Ricci’s Bakterion (1982, aka Panic), Uli Edel’s Body of Evidence (1993) (starring Madonna and Willem Dafoe), and Martin Scorsese’s Boxcar Bertha (1972) in 4K.

These are all in stock and now shipping.

Shout! Studios has set a 4K Steelbook edition of Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter (1978) for release on 4/7, followed by similar editions of Kerry Conran’s Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) and John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars (2001) and Prince of Darkness (1987) for 4/21.

The company also has another HK Cinema Classics title— Lau Kar-leung’s Tiger on the Beat I & II (1988-1990)—coming to 4K UHD + Blu-ray on 4/28.

And I’ve confirmed with industry sources that Shout is also working on 4K Ultra HD releases of George Romero’s Day of the Dead (1985) and Joe Dante’s The ‘Burbs (1989). Street dates are TBA for later this year. [Read on here...]

We have several new disc reviews for you to enjoy today, including…

Tim’s look at multiple versions of Kevin Smith’s Dogma (1999) on 4K Ultra HD from Lionsgate Limited, Lionsgate (the wide release SKU), and Umbrella Entertainment.

Dennis’ reviews of Curtis Bernhardt’s Interrupted Melody (1955) and Archie Mayo’s It’s Love I’m After (1937) on Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection.

Stephen’s thoughts on Andres Veiel’s Riefenstahl (2024) documentary on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber and Dario Argento’s The Stendhal Syndrome (1996) in 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome.

And finally, Stuart’s look at Romolo Guerrieri’s Young, Violent, Dangerous (1976) on Blu-ray from Raro Video via Kino Lorber.

More reviews are on the way, so be sure to keep checking back!

Now then… in announcement news today, our friends at Lionsgate Limited have just set Oliver Stone’s The Doors (1991) for 4K Ultra HD Steelbook release on 2/24. They’ve also got Eli Roth’s Cabin Fever (2002) available in 4K Ultra HD and VHS format—no kidding! Those are now available, as is the latest Vestron Video Collector’s Series Blu-ray, which is none other than Derrick Comedy and director Dan Eckman’s Mystery Team (2009). [Read on here...]

All right, folks—we have major breaking news for you today!

Some of you may have read the report this afternoon, by our friends over at Media Play News, to the effect that Amazon MGM Studios has just signed a new exclusive packaged media distribution deal with Alliance Entertainment.

So yes… Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment is no longer distributing Amazon MGM titles through Studio Distribution Services.

The new Alliance deal covers both new releases and catalog titles on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Disc, and it includes TV titles as well as feature films.

So for example, under the terms of this deal, future Bond 4K Ultra HD releases (which are already in the works) will be released and distributed by Alliance.

This certainly opens up the possibility that a great deal of as-yet-unreleased 4K catalog titles could finally happen in the months ahead—think titles like Dances with Wolves, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Stargate, and more.

But what you probably aren’t seeing reported elsewhere, is that it’s also good news for more than just Amazon MGM titles! [Read on here...]