Displaying items by tag: VistaVision

We’ve got one new disc review for you to enjoy here at The Bits today...

Tim has updated Barrie Maxwell’s 2011 Criterion Blu-ray review of Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le cercle rouge (1970) to reflect the company’s more recent 4K Ultra HD release. As long time Bits readers will know, Barrie was our dear friend and a classic cinema expert who wrote reviews and a Classic Coming Attractions column here at the site for many years. Barrie sadly passed away back in 2012. We can’t think of a better way to honor his memory than to ensure that his writing continues to find new audiences. So enjoy the review!

The big release news today is that our friends at the Warner Archive Collection have just announced their May catalog release slate, which includes not only great Blu-ray titles but also WAC’s next 4K Ultra HD release! That 4K title is none other than Charles Walters’ classic High Society (1956), starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Louis Armstrong!

The film has been remastered from new 13.5K scans of the original VistaVision negative. The 4K disc will include Dolby Vision HDR on a 100GB disc, with disc authoring and compression by Fidelity in Motion. The remastered film will also be included in the package on Blu-ray, a BD-50. [Read on here...]

We’ve got a couple of good things to share with you today, starting with new discs reviews. Among them are…

My look at John Ford’s legendary Western classic The Searchers (1956) in 4K Ultra HD from the Warner Archive, an absolutely stunning title that I think deserves to be considered the 4K Disc of the Year.

Stephen’s review of Sydney Pollack’s Tootsie (1982) in 4K Ultra HD from Sony via their excellent Columbia Classics: Volume 5 box set, as well as David Chung’s Royal Warriors (1986) on Blu-ray from 88 Films.

And Dennis’ review of Buster Keaton’s Seven Chances (1925) and Sherlock Jr. (1924) on Blu-ray from Kino Classics.

All three are well worth a look, and we’re going to have more new disc reviews here on Wednesday.

Also today, our own Michael Coate has just shared a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column today featuring film historian and author Nat Segaloff as they celebrate the 50th anniversary of John Guillermin’s The Towering Inferno (1974). It’s a short read, but still well worth your time. [Read on here...]

All right, we have just a few final items of business to cover on this short Christmas week...

First, I’ve just posted my in-depth review of Paramount’s stunning new 70th anniversary edition of Michael Curtiz’s White Christmas (1954) in 4K Ultra HD.

The very first VistaVision film ever has been fully restored from the original camera negative and it’s simply gorgeous. It’s a holiday classic that stars Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen, and it’s well worth a look on 4K disc for cinephiles.

Also, in a bit of release news today, our friends over at Kino Lorber Studio Classics have revealed that Penelope Spheeris’ Black Sheep (1996), starring Chris Farley and David Spade, is set for release on 4K Ultra HD on 3/25. [Read on here...]

“VistaVision makes you feel like you’re actually on the beautiful Riviera!“

The Digital Bits is pleased to present this retrospective commemorating the 60th anniversary of the release of To Catch a Thief, Alfred Hitchcock’s classic romantic thriller set on the French Riviera and starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.

The Bits celebrates the occasion with this article that highlights the film’s VistaVision presentations and features an interview segment with a group of historians who discuss the attributes of the film and examine its place in the Hitchcock oeuvre.  [Read on here…]