-Newsletter est. 4/15/97- -Website est. 12/15/97-	page updated: 12/22/10 My Two Cents (Archived Posts 12/15/10 - 11/10/10) Back to Previous Archives Back to Current Posts 12/15/10 Afternoon, folks! We've got a bunch of new announcements to report today... First, Sony has just set David Fincher's The Social Network for Blu-ray and DVD release on 1/11/11 (SRP $34.95 and $28.96). Extras on the Blu-ray include audio commentary with David Fincher, a second commentary with writer Aaron Sorkin and the cast, the How Did They Ever Make a Movie of Facebook? feature-length documentary, 6 featurettes (Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter and Ren Klyce on Post, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and David Fincher on the Score, In the Hall of the Mountain King: Reznor's First Draft, Swarmatron and Jeff Cronenweth and David Fincher on the Visuals), the Ruby Skye VIP Room: Multi-Angle Scene Breakdown and more. Sony has also set Big Daddy and Mr. Deeds for Blu-ray release on 2/15 (SRP $19.95 each). Meanwhile, Criterion has announced its March 2011 DVD and Blu-ray slate. Included are Robert Epstein's The Times of Harvey Milk (Cat #557) on 3/22, and Mike Leigh's Topsy-Turvy (#558) and Victor Shertzinger's The Mikado (#559) on 3/29. All three titles will be available on both Blu-ray and DVD (SRP $39.95 and $29.95). Criterion has also set Eclipse Series 26: Silent Naruse for DVD only release on 3/22, including Mikio Naruse's Flunky, Work Hard, No Blood Relation, Apart from You, Every-Night Dreams and Street Without End on 3 discs (SRP $44.95). Universal has announced the Blu-ray release of Ray on 2/1. Extras will include a Picture-in-Picture Scene Companion, The Music of Ray playlist option, commentary with director Taylor Hackford, an introduction by Hackford, 9 complete extended musical performances, 14 deleted scenes, 6 featurettes (Stepping into the Part, Ray Remembered, The Women of Ray, Ray: An American Story, A Look Inside Ray and The Filmmakers' Journey), the theatrical trailer and the usual BD-Live and U-Control options. It looks as if more catalog MGM titles are on the way to Blu-ray in early 2011: Look for Ridley Scott's Thelma & Louise: 20th Anniversary Edition on 2/8, followed by Last Tango in Paris on 2/15 (SRP $19.99 each). Also, Warner Home Video has set Nicholas Ray's 1961 King of Kings for Blu-ray release on 3/29 (SRP $19.98). Extras will include The Camera's Window of the World vintage featurette, along with premiere newsreels and the film's trailer. And we have word on the extras you can expect Adult Swim's The Venture Bros.: The Complete Season 4 on Blu-ray (due via Warner on 3/22 - SRP $39.99). Look for deleted scenes and audio commentary on all 16 episodes. Warner and Adult Swim will also release The Venture Bros: Season 4, Volume 2 on DVD that same day (SRP $19.99), including the last 8 episodes of the season in SD plus extras. In other news today, Dealerscope is re-reporting that Panasonic's exclusive deal to offer Blu-ray 3D copies of Avatar to its customers runs through early 2012. (The original source for the info seems to be down, so we've linked to Dealerscope.) Also, a number of you have e-mailed us with questions about (or interest in) those 17 minutes of 2001: A Space Odyssey deleted scenes that we mentioned yesterday - scenes that have reportedly been found by Warner in their vaults. The studio hasn't commented officially yet, but according to the film's Wikipedia entry, the scenes director Stanley Kubrick cut before the film's original theatrical release included footage of a schoolroom painting class on the moon base, additional scenes of life on the base, Dr. Floyd buying a bush baby from a department store via videophone for his daughter, more scenes of daily life on the Discovery, additional space walks, astronaut Bowman retrieving a spare part from an octagonal corridor, a number of cuts from the Poole murder sequence including the entire space walk preparation and shots of HAL turning off radio contact with Poole, a close-up shot of Bowman picking up a slipper during his walk in the alien room and a 10-minute black-and-white opening sequence featuring interviews with actual scientists (including Freeman Dyson) discussing extraterrestrial life. Absolutely fascinating! Let's hope we get to see them on Blu-ray and DVD next year. Here's a look at the BD cover art for Sony's The Social Network, Big Daddy and Mr. Deeds, Anchor Bay's Sharktopus (due 3/15) and MGM's Thelma & Louise: 20th Anniversary Edition and Last Tango in Paris.... Stay tuned... 12/14/10 All right, we've got a few new announcements for you this morning... First, our own Russell Hammond has updated the Release Dates & Artwork section once again with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD and Video Game cover scans and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, a portion of anything you order after clicking to Amazon through our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits and we appreciate it! Now then... Warner Home Video and Adult Swim have finally announced the Blu-ray Disc release of The Venture Bros.: Season Four on 3/22. The 2-disc set will include the uncensored complete season in high-definition along with deleted scenes and more TBA. Sony has set Get Low for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/22 (SLP $38.96 and $28.95). And it's a bird, it's a plane, it's a... Sharktopus?! Yes, yes it IS. Anchor Bay Entertainment has announced the Blu-ray and DVD release of Syfy's Sharktopus on 3/15 (SRP $24.99 and $19.98). Extras will include commentary by producers Roger and Julie Corman. Also coming from Anchor Bay to DVD only on 3/1 is the vampire thriller The Bleeding (SRP $26.98). Extras include cast interviews and featurettes on the film's make-up, effects and stunts, and a trailer. Meanwhile, here's a couple other interesting things... Over on the Space: 1999 fan site Eagle Transporter.com, there's a posted report on an event from September with Douglas Trumbull, in which he confirmed that the behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of 2001: A Space Odyssey is no longer happening. That we already knew. The more interesting thing however, is that Trumbull indicated that some 17 minutes worth of footage was cut from the film before its theatrical release by director Stanley Kubrick, and that Warner has discovered that footage in their film vaults. Hopefully, at least THAT much will find its way onto Warner's new Blu-ray release, due sometime next year. Special thanks to Bits reader Bruce P. for the link. Also, here's a little something unexpected (and thanks to Bits reader David D. for alerting us to this): The French version of Amazon.com has posted what appears to be official (if French and probably preliminary) cover art for eventual Blu-ray releases of Disney's Tangled and TRON Legacy. And they're already taking pre-orders for both discs - TRON Legacy is listed as streeting in France on 6/9/11 and Tangled is apparently due on 4/1/11. Both are Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy Combo editions. We'd be surprised if the pages stay up, but here's what the cover artwork looks like. Again, keep in mind that while this MAY be official, it's almost certainly subject to change. The titles have yet to hit theatres, much less be officially announced for Blu-ray and DVD release, so we'd definitely recommend that you all consider the art and street dates Rumor Mill-worthy for the forseeable future... As you can see, we also included the cover art for Adult Swim's The Venture Bros.: Season Four BD. That's all for now! Stay tuned... 12/13/10 Morning, folks. Thought we'd check in with an early post to start the new week. And we've given the site logo the annual Christmas treatment too. Special thanks to Bits reader William K. for reminding me to put it up! All right, Barrie's got a new High-Definition Matters column for you this morning, featuring reviews of 11 new and recent Blu-ray titles. Included are Warner's Jonah Hex, Disney's Toy Story 3, E1 Entertainment's Arn: The Knight Templar, Splice (U.S. release from New Line), The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (U.S. release from Summit), and Love Ranch (U.S. release from National Entertainment Media), Sony's The Pillars of the Earth, Alliance Canada's Elf: Ultimate Collector's Edition (U.S. release from New Line) and Life Is Beautiful (unavailable in the U.S.), Paramount's True Grit and 20th Century Fox's The Last of the Mohicans. Enjoy! In release news this morning, we finally have details on the extras that will be included on Severin Film's forthcoming Blu-ray and 2-disc DVD release of Alejandro Jodorowsky's Santa Sangre due on 1/25/11 (SRP $34.98 and $29.98). Both versions will include the film with audio commentary by Jodorowsky and journalist Alan Jones, deleted scenes with Jodorowsky commentary, English and Japanese trailers for the film, the 90-minute Forget Everything You Have Seen: The World of Santa Sangre documentary (featuring all-new interviews with the cast and crew), 2 additional documentaries (For One Night Only: Alejandro Jodorowsky and Goyo Cárdenas Spree Killer), 3 featurettes (On Stage Q&A with Jodorowsky, Jodorowsky 2003 Interview and Composer Simon Boswell Interviews Jodorowsky), the Blink Jodorowsky short by Simon Boswell, Boswell's Close Your Eyes music video and the Echeck short film by Adan Jodorowsky with optional commentary. Audio will be available in English, Italian and Spanish, with Closed Captions for the Hearing Impaired. Also, Sony will release Red Hill on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/25/11 (SLP $30.95 and $24.96). And Image Entertainment has set the comedy The Dogfather for DVD only release on 1/18/11 (SRP $27.97). And in other news this morning, looks like there might be movement toward seeing more Miramax catalog titles on Blu-ray after all. Now that Miramax is in the hands of Filmyard Holdings, the company's new CEO, Mike Lang, tells A.P. he's going to concentrate on finding partners to release more of the studio's catalog titles (including Pulp Fiction) on Blu-ray, DVD and digital/online. Distribution deals have yet to be signed, but still it's potentially good news. More here. Stay tuned... 12/10/10 Afternoon, folks! Hope the day finds you well, and that you're looking forward to the weekend. I had the good fortune to spend the day yesterday up at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena attending a media event called NASA 101. Among those on hand were physicist Michio Kaku (co-founder of string theory), NASA shuttle astronauts Mike Massimino, Leland Melvin and Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Bill Nye (Science Guy and Planetary Society exec director) and lots of NASA scientists including Chris McKay and Gentry Lee to name but two. The idea is that NASA is trying to reach out to Hollywood and the media in general, to try and ensure that the space agency (and its efforts in spaceflight and scientific research) are portrayed accurately in film, TV and news stories. So the day featured a number of panels on different space-related topics. I also had the chance to see NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover (aka "Curiosity") under construction. It's due to launch for Mars next Thanksgiving, and arrive on the Red Planet in 2012. All in all, it was a pretty great way to spend a day for a spaceflight enthusiast like myself. Trust me, if you ever get an e-mail asking if you'd like to hang out up at JPL for an afternoon, the correct answer is: HELL YES! It's one of the coolest places on the planet, filled with brilliant people doing extremely cool things. I took a few shots with my camera phone, but NASA actually had a photographer on hand for the event and so I hope to have some really cool pictures to show you guys next week. If you'd like to see a couple shots in the meantime, I've posted a few on my Facebook page here. Speaking of spaceflight, my hats off to the folks up at Space X in Hawthorne, CA, who just had another successful flight of their Falcon 9 rocket, this time carrying a Dragon capsule - a prototype version of the spacecraft that will eventually carry as many as 7 astronauts to the International Space Station. And if you didn't already love these can-do Space X guys, movie fans have to appreciate this: This week's flight carried a "secret" payload as their own tribute to Monty Python: A wheel of cheese! NICE. All right... in announcement news today HBO (via Warner) will release Treme: The Complete First Season on Blu-ray and DVD on 3/23/11 (SRP $79.98 and $59.99). Extras will include commentary and behind-the-scenes featurettes. Also, the BBC (via Warner) will release Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/15/11 (SRP $19.89 and $14.98). Extras will include 2 featurettes (Doctor Who Confidential and Doctor Who at the Proms). And that's all for now. See you on Monday with a new High-Def Matters column from Barrie and more. Stay tuned...! 12/9/10 All right, I believe I promised you guys an early update today, and an early update is what I have for you. It's a quick one, but here's a couple more new disc reviews... ... from our very own Dr. Adam Jahnke! Our good Doctor has turned in a new Bottom Shelf column featuring his thoughts on a pair of great new titles on disc: Exit Through the Gift Shop, a new faux documentary on the British street artist Bansky, available on DVD from Oscilloscope Laboratories, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's excellent Micmacs, now on Blu-ray Disc from Sony. Both are WELL worth your time and attention, so do check them out. Stay tuned! 12/8/10 Evening folks! All right, I promised you a couple of new Blu-ray reviews today, and here they are: My thoughts on A&E and New Video's Space: 1999 - Season 1 in high-definition, along with Walking Shadows' The Nature of Existence - a thoughtful documentary on the meaning of life from our old friend Roger Nygard. Do check them out. Also today, I've updated my review of Kino's The Complete Metropolis Blu-ray to include some comments on how to view the film with an optional score from The Alloy Orchestra, which is now available via MP3 CD on their website (for $20). I'll tell you, if you're a Metropolis fan (or just a fan of The Alloy Orchestra's fine work) it's well worth doing. The big release news today is that Disney has finally OFFICIALLY set the Bambi: Diamond Edition for Blu-ray Disc release on 3/1 (SRP $39.99). The 2-disc BD/DVD Combo release will include the Inside Walt's Story Meetings - Enhanced Edition interactive experience, 2 never-before-seen deleted scenes, the Twitterpated deleted song, galleries of HD production artwork for the film, the Disney's Big Book of Knowledge: Bambi Edition interactive gaming experience, Disney's Second Screen option (that allows you to watch the film on iPad or computer with interactive elements), and a variety of classic DVD bonus features including The Making of Bambi: A Prince Is Born documentary, the Tricks of the Trade excerpt from the 1957 Disneyland TV show, the Inside the Disney Archives featurette, the 1937 animated short The Old Mill and DisneyPedia: Bambi's Forest Friends. Remember that confusion about the street date from last week? Here's why it happened: While the Blu-ray/DVD Combo pack streets on 3/1, the standard 2-disc DVD-only version doesn't hit stores until 4/19 (SRP $29.99). The studio is obviously trying to favor the BD release and encourage its consumer base to adopt the HD format. We've posted the cover art for the BD release before, but here it is again just for kicks... As you can see, we've also included the cover art DreamWorks' A.I. Artificial Intelligence (due 2/15/11) and Sony's Nowhere Boy (1/25/11) on Blu-ray. One other bit of release news today: Universal has set Wes Craven's My Soul to Take for Blu-ray and DVD release on 2/9/11. All right, that's it for now. I'll have more reviews for you tomorrow - MUCH earlier this time! Stay tuned... 12/7/10 Evening, folks. We've got a couple of interesting things for you today... First, Russell has updated the Release Dates & Artwork section as usual with the weekly update of new Blu-ray, DVD and Video Game cover scans and Amazon.com pre-order links. There are lots of great holiday shopping deals going on at Amazon this month, so do check them out. And remember: Anything you order from Amazon after clicking to them through our links helps support our work here at The Bits and we really do appreciate it. Now then... in announcement news today, Universal has set the dramedy It's Kind of a Funny Story for Blu-ray and DVD release on 2/8/11. Extras will include 2 featurettes (A Look Inside It's Kind of a Funny Story and It's Kind of a Funny Story Premiere in New York City). Also newly announced for catalog Blu-ray release by Universal is Out of Sight on 3/1. Meanwhile, Paramount has added Case 39 to its January release slate. The title is due on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/4/11, the same day as Dinner for Schmucks arrives on both formats from the studio. We'd gotten a couple of reports from retailers that the street date for Disney's Bambi: Diamond Edition Blu-ray was being pushed back into April, but we've just confirmed with the studio this evening that the street date IS still 3/1 as previously expected. And I know some of you were dying for this news: Paramount and MTV are releasing Jersey Shore Uncensored: Season Two on DVD on 12/28 (SRP $26.99). So, you know... adjust your "grenade" avoidance strategy accordingly. In other news today, there are a couple items of Hollywood industry news that relate to potential upcoming Blu-ray and DVD releases (or the lack thereof)... First, Disney has made final its sale of Miramax Films - including its catalog of over 700 films - to holding company Filmyard Holdings. The sale price was $663 million. The question now is, does Filmyard Holdings in turn sell Miramax to another party - The Weinstein Company, for example - or do they attempt to secure some kind of 3rd party distribution arrangement that will allow the release of Miramax catalog titles on Blu-ray and DVD. In the meantime, titles from the studio are likely to remain in limbo on either format for the immediate future. Deadline Hollywood has more details. Also, there MAY be good news for you James Bond fans: Word is that MGM and Spyglass (which has taken over the studio) may be gearing up to release the yet-to-be-titled Bond 23 in theatres in November 2012. Actor Daniel Craig is expected to reprise the role of 007. Not only is this good news for those eagerly awaiting the next new Bond film, if true it means that the remaining classic Bond films will likely be released on Blu-ray leading up to (or coinciding with) the release of the film as well. We'll post any new details as they emerge. Finally, it looks like a trio 24 fans managed to break a world record up in Hollywood by lasting a whopping 86 hours, 6 minutes and 41 seconds into the 24 Fan Fest Marathon. By our calculations, that would have put them about halfway through Season Four. For their troubles, Fox gave each of the three fans a check for $10,000. The other 97 fans who participated each won a copy of 24: The Complete Series on DVD. Not bad! More here at Home Media. Wonder how annoyed the winners would be at you right now if you walked up to them and mimicked the show's "countdown clock" sound... durt, deet, durt, deet... All right, here's a look at the cover art for Universal's It's Kind of a Funny Story and Out of Sight, as well as Paramount's Case 39, all on Blu-ray... Back tomorrow with a bunch of reviews. Stay tuned... 12/6/10 All right, we've got more announcement news for you today to kick off the new week... DreamWorks (via Paramount) has set Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence for Blu-ray release on 2/15. Extras will include 9 featurettes (Creating A.I., Acting A.I., Designing A.I., Lighting A.I., A.I./FX, The Robots of A.I., Special Visual Effects and Animation: ILM, The Sound and Music of A.I. and Steven Spielberg: Our Responsibility to Artificial Intelligence), 2 trailers (upgraded to HD) and the A.I. Archives gallery. DreamWorks is also releasing Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy more widely on Blu-ray on 3/15. The title has been available recently as a Best Buy-exclusive. Meanwhile, CBS (via Paramount) will release The Guardian: The Final Season and The Guardian: The Complete Series Pack on 2/8. Sony has set Game of Death for Blu-ray and DVD release on 2/15. Lionsgate has made their February Blu-ray and DVD slate official: On 2/1, look for Patti Stanger: Married in a Year, Virus X, Saturday Night Live: The Best of John Belushi, Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Farley, Clifford the Big Red Dog: Best Buddies, the Highlander 2-Film Set: The 25th Anniversary Collection (Blu-ray only) and Bad Boys (1983 - Blu-ray only). On 2/8, look for the Care Bears: To the Rescue movie and Barney: Shapes & Colors All Around. 2/15 will see the Chaplin: 15th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray), National Lampoon's Dirty Movie, Jump into Spring and Ghost House Underground: Stag Night (Blu-ray and DVD). And on 2/22, you'll get Weeds: Season Six (Blu-ray and DVD), Nurse Jackie: Season Two (Blu-ray and DVD), Ghost House Underground: Psych:9 (Blu-ray and DVD), Sword of War and the Memento: 10th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray only). Lionsgate has also just announced a couple 3/1 titles: SAW: The Final Chapter (Blu-ray and DVD), Michael Jordan to the Max (Blu-ray) and My Girlfriend's Back (DVD only). A&E will be releasing the Lifetime movie Prayers for Bobby on DVD on 12/14. A&E and Major League Baseball Productions are also releasing Baseball's Greatest Games: 1960 World Series Game 7 on 2-disc DVD on 12/14 as well (SRP $29.95). Disney has announced a few more details about their planned February and March release slates. On 2/1, look for the Alice in Wonderland: 60th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray and DVD) and Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 (Blu-ray and DVD). Following on 2/8 will be Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Minnie's Masquerade and You Again (Blu-ray and DVD). And on 2/22, you'll get Baby Einstein: Baby Lullaby Discovery Kit, Baby Einstein: Neptune's Oceans Discovery Kit and Baby Einstein: World of Rhythm Discovery Kit. Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy is being re-issued on Blu-ray on 3/1 (this is the same set as before - just a re-promote). Disney's Bambi: Diamond Edition is also confirmed for Blu-ray and DVD release on 3/1. Following on 3/8 are Tales from Earthsea, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Blu-ray and DVD) and Hannah Montana: Season 4. And on 4/19. [Editor's Note: We've confirmed with the studio that the street date for Bambi on Blu-ray IS 3/1 as previously expected. There's no change.] As was announced last night during the season finale broadcast on AMC, AMC and Anchor Bay's The Walking Dead: Season One is now available for pre-order on Blu-ray and DVD on Amazon.com (SRP $49.99 and $39.98). Street date is 3/8. Finally, Warner Home Videos has just announced that they've inked a deal with Agamemnon Films to license films from the estate of the late Charlton Heston. Six films are expected in the first wave, including the 4-film documentary Charlton Heston presents The Bible which will make its DVD debut on 3/29 (with each film released on DVD individually). Also due that day as part of the arrangement are Mother Lode and Antony and Cleopatra. Here's cover art for Lionsgate's Chaplin and Memento, along with AMC's The Walking Dead all on Blu-ray... Stay tuned... 12/3/10 All right, we've got a couple quick things for you this afternoon, and then we're going to go back to working on more reviews, which we expect to post several of next week. First, we have official word that Disney's Secretariat will street on Blu-ray/DVD Combo and DVD on 1/15/11 (SRP $39.99 and $29.99). The DVD version will include 3 deleted scenes, the Heart of a Champion featurette and AJ Michalka's It's Who You Are music video. The Blu-ray will include all that, and add 4 additional deleted scenes, audio commentary by director Randall Wallace, a multi-angle simulation and 2 additional featurettes (Choreographing the Races and A Director's Inspiration: A Conversation with the Real Penny Chernery). Also, A&E Home Entertainment will be releasing The San Francisco Giants: 2010 World Series Collector's Edition on DVD on 12/14 (SRP $19.97). The 8-disc set will include every game of the 2010 World Series in full, along with NLDS games 4 and 6 in full. You'll also get video of the Giants parade and City Hall celebration, various highlights, interviews and additional featurettes covering other events during the team's championship season. On the TV front, Paramount is releasing The Andy Griffith Show: 50th Anniversary - The Best of Mayberry DVD set on 12/21 (SRP $24.99). The 3-disc set will include 17 selected episodes from the series, original opening titles and ending credits with sponsor spots, the Return to Mayberry TV movie and more. And we've got word that Adult Swim will be releasing the Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! Chrimbus Special on DVD right after its broadcast debut on Sunday night. You'll be able to buy it for just $15, only through the official Adult Swim Shop either online or by phone. Finally, those of you who may be interested in catching up on AMC's The Walking Dead will be pleased to know that the networking is running a marathon of the entire first season this Sunday afternoon, culminating in the premiere of the season finale. So check your local listings and get your DVRs running if you curious. It's a pretty darned good show. Thanks to Bits reader Scott A. for the heads-up! We'll leave you with a look at the cover art for Disney's Secretariat, Fox's Conviction (due 2/1) and Image's The Twilight Zone: Season 3 (2/15) all on Blu-ray... Have a great weekend, and see you on Monday! (LATE UPDATE - 12/2/10 - 5 PM PST) Okay... we've got one last post for you today with a little more news and some reviews. First, the reviews: Barrie and I have written up our thoughts on a pair of new Blu-ray box set from the good folks over at HBO. Barrie's looked at The Pacific mini-series in some depth, and I've examined one of my favorite older HBO shows newly-released in high-def: Deadwood: The Complete Series. Both are well worth your time, though The Pacific definitely includes more in the way of BD-specific bonus content. Now for that news... Synapse Films has set Coffin Joe's Embodiment of Evil for Blu-ray+DVD Combo release on 2/9/11 (SRP $29.95). Extras will include the Making of Embodiment of Evil featurette, footage from the infamous Fantasia Film Festival premiere and the film's original theatrical trailer. Back tomorrow. Stay tuned! (EARLY UPDATE - 12/2/10 - 1:15 PM PST) Quick update this afternoon... Image Entertainment has just announced The Twilight Zone: Season Three for Blu-ray release on 2/15/11. The 5-disc set will contain all 37 episodes (SRP $99.98). Most of the extras from the previous DVD set will carry over. Newly created for Blu-ray are 19 new audio commentaries, an interview with actor Edson Stroll, the original laugh track for Cavender Is Coming, a vintage audio interview with director of photography George T. Clemens, 19 new radio dramas (featuring Don Johnson, Blair Underwood, Ernie Hudson, Morgan Brittany, Adam West, Ed Begley, Jr., Jason Alexander, Shelley Berman, Michael York, Bruno Kirby and more) and isolated scores for all 37 episodes. Image has also set Gun for Blu-ray and DVD release on 1/4/11 (SRP $29.97 and $27.97 respectively). The film stars 50 Cent and Val Kilmer. Universal and 3D Entertainment Distribution have announced the U.K. Blu-ray+Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack release of a trio of aquatic IMAX documentaries by explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Wonderland 3D, Sharks 3D and Dolphins & Whales: Tribes of the Ocean 3D. Thee will street on 12/13 (SRP £24.99 each). No word yet if they'll be all-region or not. Here in the States, Universal has set Coach: The Fourth Year for DVD only release on 3/15/11. Gigantic Pictures has set Year of the Fish for DVD release on 2/8 (SRP $24.98). This is a modern-day adaptation of Cinderella told using rotoscoped digital painting on top of live action footage. Sounds of interesting. Also, note that Sony has moved the street date for Justified: The Complete First Season to 1/18/11. And Warner Home Video has set Life Unexpected: The Complete Series for DVD release on 4/5/11. And Fox has just updated the guest list for their 24 Fan Fest Marathon kick-off party tonight up at Hollywood and Highland Complex in L.A. (starts at 7PM) - among those attending will be Gregory Itzin (Pres. Charles Logan), Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O'Brian), Carlos Bernard (Tony Almeida), Louis Lombardi (Edgar Stiles), Carlo Rota (Morris O'Brien), Nazneen Contractor (Kayla Hassan), Necar Zadegan (Dalia Hassan), Nestor Serrano (Navi Araz) and Lauren Storm (Jenna), along with 24 celebrity fans including Lo Bosworth, Lou Diamond Philipps, Natalie Getz, Roger Cross, Ken Davitian, Jareb Dauplaise. Stay tuned... 12/1/10 We've got some more cool announcement news for you today... The big news is that Anchor Bay and AMC are partnering on the Blu-ray and DVD release of AMC's The Walking Dead, which has its first season finale next Sunday night. There's no word yet on street dates or extras, but I think it's reasonable to expect the series on disc sometime in the Spring. The show has already been renewed for a second season. Sony has announced a pair of good catalog Blu-ray releases for 2/8/11, including Legends of the Fall and A River Runs Through It. The studio has also set Tamara Drewe for release on both Blu-ray and DVD on 2/8. Other titles newly announced for both Blu-ray and DVD by the studio include Nowhere Boy on 1/25, Welcome to the Rileys and the previously-mentioned The Tillman Story on 2/1, and You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger on 2/15. Also today, Lionsgate has set a Memento: 10th Anniversary Edition for Blu-ray release on 2/22/11, along with the Blu-ray Combo pack release of The Last Unicorn and the DVD only release of Sword of War. Memento will include a new featurette with director Christopher Nolan discussing the legacy of the film, the director's script, audio commentary with Nolan, the original short story, the Anatomy of a Scene featurette and more. 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are releasing Mark Romanek's excellent sci-fi film Never Let Me Go on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/1/11. Extras will include a 30-minute documentary (The Secrets of Never Let Me Go) and more. SRP will be $39.99 for Blu-ray and $29.98 for DVD. 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight will release Conviction on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/1/11 as well (SRP also $39.99 and $29.98). Extras will include an interview with the real Betty Ann Walters, on whom the film is based. Meanwhile, we've learned that Paramount's True Grit Blu-ray will include commentary with Western film historian Jeb Rosebrook, editor of True West magazine Bob Boze Bell and historian J. Stuart Rosebrook, featurettes on the writing, locations and working with Wayne, and the theatrical trailer. Paramount has also set The Romantics for DVD only release on 2/8/11. Virgil Films & Entertainment has set the National Geographic documentary Restrepo: One Platoon, One Valley, One Year for Blu-ray and DVD release on 12/7. The film was directed by writer Sebastian Junger and photographer Tim Hetherington, and follows the soldiers of 2nd Platoon, Battle Company, 173rd Airborne through a year stationed at Outpost Restrepo deep in the mountains of Afghanistan. Extras include extended and deleted scenes, and extended interviews with the soldiers. HBO will release Big Love: The Complete Fourth Season on DVD only on 1/4/11 (SRP $59.99), right before the premiere of Season Five on the pay cable network. And the BBC (via Warner Home Video) is releasing Top Gear 14 and 15 on both Blu-ray and DVD on 2/15/11. In other news, starting today anyone who purchases one of Panasonic's 2010 VIERA 3DTVs will get an exclusive movie-only copy of James Cameron's Avatar on Blu-ray 3D. As we've reported previously, this disc will NOT be available widely at retail. (A more elaborate Blu-ray 3D version is a couple years away.) Those who have already purchased one of the TVs are also eligible for a copy. Details are available here and here (via Home Media). All right, we'll leave you with a look at the cover art for Fox's Never Let Me Go, Virgil Film's Restrepo and Lionsgate's Highlander: 2-Film Set (due 2/1) all on Blu-ray... Stay tuned... (LATE UPDATE - 11/30/10 - 1 PM PST) Okay, more news and whatnot today... First though, our own Russell Hammond has just posted his weekly update of the Release Dates & Artwork section, featuring all the latest Blu-ray, DVD and Video Game cover art and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, a portion of anything you order from the retailer after clicking through to them from our links helps support our work here at the site and we really appreciate it. The big release news today is that Warner Home Video has just announced that three of their bigger classic catalog titles will be released on Blu-ray Disc and (re-issued on) DVD in 2012 as new Ultimate Collector's Editions. These will include a Singing' in the Rain: 60th Anniversary Edition, a Camelot: 45th Anniversary Edition and a What Ever Happened to Baby Jane: 50th Anniversary Edition - good news for classic film fans indeed! This means, however, that all three titles will go on moratorium starting on 12/31. So if really you want them now on DVD and you can't wait until 2012, you have a month or so. Also today, Shout! Factory has announced the DVD release of a few cool 1970s films on 2/1/11, including Lucky Lady (1975), 11 Harrowhouse (1974) and the double feature title Death Hunt/Butch & Sundance: The Early Years (1981/1979). The single-film titles will SRP for $19.93 and the double feature will sell for $14.93. Shanachie Entertainment has announced that it's releasing Car 54, Where Are You?: The Complete First Season on DVD on 2/22 (SRP $39.98). The 4-disc set will contain all 30 episodes mastered from the only known set of 35mm fine grain prints known to exist. The set will also contain a cool extra: A newly-shot roundtable conversation between Bronx-raised comedian Robert Klein and two of the regular cast members - Charlotte Rae and Hank Garrett. This is the first time the series has ever been released on DVD, and you can expect the rest of the series to follow. Magnolia Home Entertainment will release Down Terrace and Freakonomics on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/18/11, followed by Client 9 on both formats on 1/25/11. Also, CreateSpace DVD on Demand is now releasing (via Amazon.com), classic individual episodes of the TV series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The first wave includes 100 episodes of Mister Rogers' and some 56 original Carson shows. SRP seems to be $29.95 each for 2-episode sets of Mister Rogers', with individual Carson episodes selling for $12.99 each. Learn more on CreateSpace here. And in other news, you may recall that last week we mentioned that Fox was hosting a special 24 Fan Fest Marathon screening of the entire 24 TV series up in L.A. at the Hollywood and Highland complex. It kicks off on 12/2 and runs as long as it takes to screen the entire series, or until all the fans drop from exhaustion! The last one standing... or viewing, as it were... will win a cash prize. Anyway, Fox has added a couple cool things to this event. First, they're planning a big kickoff party from 7 to 11 PM on 12/2 in the courtyard of the Hollywood and Highland complex. We're told that "special guests will be in attendance" (which could mean production cast or crew - so far Gregory Itzin and Necar Zadegan are confirmed). Then, during the actual screening, there's going to be a special "Fan Fest" area outside the screening room where those not participating can watch the contestants, see props from the show and collect free swag. It sounds pretty cool, so if you're a fan and you can be there, don't miss it. More information is here on the official event page on Facebook. One other brief note: A lot of you have asked why Disney hasn't released the original TRON on Blu-ray as part of the build-up to the 12/16 debut of the sequel, TRON: Legacy, in theatres. I don't have special knowledge on this (though I'll certainly ask the studio), but having seen the original film recently in high-def on HDNet, my guess would be that the studio feared it might scare off mainstream audiences. The original TRON, fond of it though we are, doesn't really have a lot of mainstream appeal these days. And clearly, just judging by its current marketing campaign alone, Disney is doing everything it can to make TRON: Legacy a more mainstream 3D movie event - something that both honors the original TRON but also reaches audiences WELL beyond those of the original film. Given that, if I had to bet, I'd lay money that you'll see both TRON and TRON: Legacy arrive on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D and DVD on the same street date next year, probably individually and in a box set as well. Rest assured that when we learn anything official, we'll let you know. By the way, are there any Firefly fans in the house? Amazon.com has the complete series available on Blu-ray for just $25 - 72% off - from now until 12/4. We're loving these great box set deals! Thanks to Bits reader John C. for the heads-up. Stay tuned... (EARLY UPDATE - 11/30/10 - 12:01 AM PST) Morning, folks. We'll be back with our usual news post later today, but Amazon's running a Gold Box Deal of the Day right now that we REALLY wanted to alert you to: Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series on Blu-ray for just $119.99 - that's 60% (a whopping $179.99) off the regular $299 SRP!! "Holy frack!" you say? TOO DAMN RIGHT! You can also get the DVD version of the set for just $80 - also 60% off the regular price. If you've been wanting to check the show out in high-def, but have been just waiting for the right price: Here it is! And if you need further convincing, read my in-depth review here. (Note that my review is of the set in its original BD packaging - the new packaging pictured below is MUCH better and the set also now includes the Battlestar Galactica: The Plan movie too.) Trust me - if you check this show out, you'll be glad you did. 'Nuff said. Back later this morning. Stay tuned... (LATE UPDATE - 11/29/10 - 2:30 PM PST) Okay, we have a couple more things for you today... First, Lionsgate has announced the Blu-ray/DVD Combo release of Buried on 1/18 (SRP $29.95). The studio has also announced the Blu-ray release of the Chaplin: 15th Anniversary Edition on 2/15. Also due on that day are the DVD only releases of National Lampoon's Dirty Movie, The Storm Warriors and Ghost House Underground: Stag Night, followed by Ghost House Underground: Psych-9 on DVD on 2/22. Nurse Jackie: Season Two and Weeds: Season Six are also due on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/22 (SRP $39.99 for BD and $39.98 for DVD, respectively). Note that the Chaplin Blu-ray (SRP $19.99) will include 3 behind-the-scenes featurettes and a theatrical trailer. Meanwhile, Sony will release The Tillman Story on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/1/11 (SRP $30.95 and $24.96). As many of you know, this is the story of the life and death of NFL-star turned Army Ranger Pat Tillman. On the animated front, Warner Home Video has set DCU All-Star Superman for release on 2/22/11 in single-disc DVD (SRP $19.98), 2-disc DVD Special Edition (SRP $24.98) and Blu-ray + DVD Combo (SRP $24.98) editions. Also, we've learned that MGM's forthcoming Dances with Wolves Blu-ray (due 1/11, SRP $29.99) will be a 2-disc set that includes the extended cut of the film in HD with 2 commentary tracks (one with director Kevin Costner and producer Jim Wilson, and another with the DP and editor) and 2 new BD-Java interactive features: a Military Rank and Social Hierarchy Guide and a Real History of Movie Make Believe option. The second disc will add the new A Day in the Life on the Frontier featurette, the original The Creation of an Epic retrospective documentary, a vintage production featurette, a music video, the Dances Photo Montage with introduction by Ben Glass, a poster gallery and TV spots. You'll also be able to buy just the theatrical cut of the film on DVD that same day (SRP $19.98). 20th Century Fox will release Like Dandelion Dust on DVD only on 1/25/11. The "inspirational" line film stars Mira Sorvino, Barry Pepper and Cole Hauser. IFC Films will deliver Disengagement and A Complete History of My Sexual Failures on DVD on 12/14, followed by Soul Kitchen, Map the Sound of Tokyo, Let It Rain, Angel and Horde on 12/21. And FUNimation Entertainment will debut Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance on Blu-ray and DVD on 3/29/11. Sadly, we also have more deaths to report this afternoon. First, actress Ingrid Pitt has passed away today at the age of 73. Pitt was the star of such 70s horror films as The Wicker Man, The House That Dripped Blood and Daughters of Darkness, but her personal history is even more interesting. She apparently also survived a Nazi concentration camp during WWII. And this one came as a real shock today: Director Irvin Kershner has died as well at the age of 87. Kershner's films include RoboCop 2, Never Say Never Again, The Eyes of Laura Mars and The Return of a Man Called Horse. But it's obviously - and quite rightly - for his helming of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back that he will be most remembered. In my capacity as editor of The Bits, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet Kersh on a couple of occasions, and a nicer gentleman you could never find. He is without doubt the man who elevated the Star Wars saga to its greatest heights of dramatic quality - something very much illustrated in the chapters of J.W. Rinzler's new book on the making of the film. (The book is HIGHLY recommended by the way. I've spent hours happily paging through it.) Empire is the yardstick that modern franchise filmmakers have long measured their sequels against. Star Wars creator George Lucas has posted a brief remembrance of Kershner on the official site today, and Vanity Fair has an interesting (and recent) retrospective interview with him here as well. Finally today, it's obviously taking us some time to catch up from being away over the holiday, so if any of you have e-mailed us in the last week or so, please be patient when awaiting a response. Much appreciated. Stay tuned... (EARLY UPDATE - 11/29/10 - 12:01 AM PST) Morning, folks. Welcome back! We certainly hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Sarah and I journeyed to Seattle to visit with family, see a little snow and eat far too much good food. While there, as it happens, I actually got to play a little with Microsoft's new Kinect motion-control system for the Xbox 360. Let me tell you, it's WAY cooler than I would have expected. Once the really great games start coming out, I suspect sales of the thing are going to explode. The big release news to report this morning is that 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is delivering more classic films on Blu-ray early next year. Look for an All About Eve: 60th Anniversary Edition and An Affair to Remember on 2/1/11 (SRP $34.99 each). Each will feature Blu-ray book packaging and all the extras from the previous DVDs. Also coming from Fox to Blu-ray on 2/1/11 is Boys Don't Cry in standard BD packaging (SRP $24.99). Here's the cover art for all three... Meanwhile, for those of you who enjoyed Disney's Secretariat in theatres, look for the studio to announce the film's DVD and Blu-ray+DVD Combo pack release sometime next week. The street date is likely to be sometime in early February (a few retailers are indicating 2/1/11, but consider that Rumor Mill-worthy until the studio makes it official). And in other release news today, our friends over at La-La Land Records have revealed (here at the Film Score Monthly site) their last four 2010 soundtrack releases, including a Jade: Limited Edition (music by James Horner - just $14.98 on sale and limited to 3000 units), a Batman Returns: Limited Edition (2 CDs, music by Danny Elfman - SRP $29.98 and limited to 3500 units), a Home Alone: Limited Edition (music by John Williams - SRP $19.98 and limited to 3500 units) and a Star Trek V: The Final Frontier - Limited Edition (music by Jerry Goldsmith - SRP $29.98 and limited to 5000 units). All will contain unreleased music and liner notes booklets. The Star Trek V score in particular contains a whopping 45 minutes of never-before-heard score! Pretty damn awesome if you're a soundtrack fan. The CDs will go on sale TOMORROW (11/30) and will ship immediately. So head on over to the La-La Land Records website tomorrow for more details and to get your orders in! In more general news from around the Net this morning, Home Media is reporting that Black Friday electronics sales were strong this past weekend. Word is sales were up a good 9% from last year. Finally, there's a bit of sad news today as well: Actor Leslie Nielsen has died. Fans will no doubt recall him from his comedic roles in the Airplane! and Naked Gun films, as well as the infamous Police Squad! TV series, but it's for his appearance in Forbidden Planet that I'll always best remember him. His list of credits on IMDB is absolutely loaded with classics both new and old. Nielsen was 84. Back with more later today. Stay tuned... 11/23/10 Welcome to our last post before the Thanksgiving holiday! First up today, our very own Barrie Maxwell has turned in a new Classic Coming Attractions column for you, featuring reviews of of 14 classics on DVD, including Warner Archive's Oil for the Lamps of China, High Wall, Crack-Up, Stranded, the Torchy Blane Collection and Between Two Worlds, Timeless Media Group's Roy Rogers: King of the Cowboys, Branded: Season One and Branded: Season Two, VCI's Four in a Jeep, Hell Is Sold Out and Apache Rifles, Paramount's Monte Walsh from Paramount and TCM/Universal's Douglas Sirk: Filmmaker Collection. But Barrie's doesn't stop there - he also reviews another 5 great classic films on Blu-ray, including Paramount's White Christmas and Warner's Mutiny on the Bounty, The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Ocean's 11. Enjoy! Also here at The Bits today, Dr. Jahnke has a quick new Bottom Shelf column for you as well. This time around, the good Doctor has noticed that many of the films he's been wanting on DVD recently - found on his JET's Most Wanted List - have recently become available for streaming viewing on Netflix. So he's put together a quick list of them all so you can check them out if you so wish. Hey man, how better to spend this Thursday evening - after fillin' yer belly with turkey - than by cueing up some Most Wanted flix? Meanwhile today, our very own Russell Hammond has once again updated the Release Dates & Artwork section with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD and Video Game cover scans, and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, a portion of ANYTHING you order from Amazon after clicking through to them from our links helps support our work here at The Bits and we really do appreciate it. Don't forget, Amazon is running a series of awesome Black Friday deals all week long (including Fox's Alien Anthology Blu-ray set for just $69 - 50% off!), so be sure to check them all out and take advantage if you find something you like. The prices can't be beat! And we've kicked off one more Giveaway here at The Bits today, offering each of you the chance to take home copies of Image Entertainment's Space Precinct: The Complete Series on DVD! Entries will be accepted until Noon (Pacific) on Sunday, December 5th. Click on the link for instructions on how to enter and good luck! In other news today, those of you who have Lionsgate's new Apocalypse Now: Full Disclosure Blu-ray (the 3-disc set ONLY, not the 2-disc version) - and a BD-Live connected player - are in for a little treat this week. The studio has just added a new feature to Disc Three of the set! It's a rarely-seen vintage teaser trailer for the film, recently discovered in the American Zoetrope archives. When you put Disc Three in your player, you'll see it check for new features via BD-Live. It will ask you to confirm whether you wish to download the new menu content - select yes and hit ENTER on your remote. The download will happen quickly and the disc's main menu will play as usual. Then, when you go into the Marketing Archive selection, you'll have the ability to download and play the new trailer. Pretty cool! That's the kind of BD-Live feature we can really get behind. There's footage in the trailer not found in the final film, so do check it out if you're able. And in news from around the Net, Netflix has announced that it's launching a streaming-only movie service in the U.S. on January 1st. More details are available here at Home Media. And in another sign that 3DTV (while it may not be a fast-grower) is here to stay, Oprah just included a Sony Bravia 3DTV (and a Sony Blu-ray 3D player) as one the products in the annual "Favorite Things" episode of her talk show. More here... minus the audience women jumping up and down screaming, of course. Finally, you may have noticed that we've swapped out the old Anamorphic Guide logo and link (at the top of this page) for a new one that takes you to our new 3D Guide. We thought that, given that DVD's been around for so many years (and 3DTV IS now officially on Oprah's radar), more people would find the 3D Guide useful these days. Don't worry, though - the Anamorphic Guide is still available from many pages of the site for those who wish to see it. All right - that's it for this week. We hope you all have a very happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday with your family and friends. Enjoy lots of great food, go see some movies and we'll see you back here next Monday as usual. Peace out! 11/22/10 Welcome to Thanksgiving week, everyone! We've got a few bits of announcement news for you today... First, Anchor Bay Entertainment has set Matt Reeves' Let Me In, the American remake of the excellent Swedish vampire film Let The Right One In, for Blu-ray and DVD release on 2/1/11 (SRP $39.99 and $29.98). Both versions will include audio commentary with writer/director Matt Reeves, unrated deleted scenes, 3 featurettes (From the Inside: A Look at the Making of Let Me In, The Art of Special Effects and Car Crash Sequence Step-By-Step), a trailer gallery and a poster art and still photo gallery. To this, the Blu-ray will add the exclusive Dissecting Let Me In featurette and a Digital Copy version of the film. Also, Lionsgate has set a Highlander: 25th Anniversary Collection for Blu-ray Disc release on 2/1. Included will be both the original Highlander and Highlander 2, now available separately on Blu-ray. Also due on 2/8 on DVD from Lionsgate are The Last Play at Shea and Care Bares to the Rescue. The studio has also set Legendary Assassin for DVD release on 12/28. Meanwhile, Sony has set Zhang Yimou's A Woman, A Gun and A Noodle Shop for Blu-ray and DVD release on 2/1/11 (SLP $38.96 and $28.95). Extras on both versions will include a whopping 19 behind-the-scenes featurettes (including Styling the Actors, Workaholic Director Zhang Yimou, Casting the Film, Director Zhang Yimou discusses the Look of the Film, Director Zhang Yimou discusses the Script, Actors Who Like to Sing, The Filming Starts, Actors Falling, Actors Joking Around, Behind the Scenes Antics, In the Makeup Trailer, The Actors Discuss their Roles, The Actors Discuss Zhang Yimou, Zhang Yimou Directs the Cast, Actor's Features, First Day of Shooting, Time to Dance!, Actors Trying New Things and Actors in their Roles). The studio has also set The Client List for DVD only release on 2/1. Warner Home Video has set their Dungeons & Dragons Blu-ray Double Feature for release on 1/18 (SRP $19.98), including both Dungeons & Dragons and Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God. Each will included at least some bonus features. Universal and TCM will release the classic Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray films The Gilded Lily (1935), The Bride Comes Home (1935) and Family Honeymoon (1949) on DVD starting on 12/10 as part of their MOD TCM Vault Collection. MTI Home Video has The Last International Playboy due on DVD on 12/14, followed by The Haunting of Amelia on DVD on 12/28. Maya Entertainment has announced Sins of My Father (Pecados de mi Padre) for DVD release on 1/18/11. Paramount has set the direct-to-video Mean Girls 2 for DVD release on 2/1/11. They've also set The Traveler for DVD release on 1/25/11. Finally, Disney has set Studio Ghibli's Tales from EARTHSEA for DVD only release on 3/8, the same day as Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind arrives on Blu-ray from Disney. And in other news today, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is holding a pretty fun screening event early next month in Los Angeles to promote the 12/14 Blu-ray and DVD release of 24: Season 8 as well as 24: The Complete Series on DVD. Starting on 12/2 and running the entire first week of December, Fox is going to be holding an 24 Marathon Fanfest at the Hollywood and Highland Complex, during which time they're going to be screening the ENTIRE series back to back. If you're interested in participating, send an e-mail here: RSVP.Events@Fox.com. You can also visit the official event page. Here's a look at the cover art for both versions of Anchor Bay's Let Me In, as well as Disney's Tales from EARTHSEA DVD... All right... we'll be back very early tomorrow morning with one final post before the Thanksgiving holiday - a new Classic Coming Attractions column from our own Barrie Maxwell. Stay tuned... 11/19/10 Well... we're down to the end of another week and Thanksgiving's just around the corner! Just to let you all know, we'll be back with at least one update here at The Bits on Monday before we sign off for the holiday ourselves. Meanwhile, there's been some good feedback on our new 3D Guide, so I've made a couple little tweaks and corrections to the text. But the general consensus seems to be that it's easy to understand and serves the intended purpose. We'll keep updating it as the technology develops, but please do let us know what you think when you get the chance to read it. In release news today, Disney has set You Again to street on DVD and Blu-ray on 2/8/11. Here's something exciting for you animation fans: Disney is due to release Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind as a Blu-ray+DVD Combo on 3/8/11 (SRP $39.99)! Extras on the Blu-ray will include The World of Ghibli, Creating Nausicaa, Enter the Lands, a Studio Ghibli Trivia Challenge and the original Japanese storyboards, while the included DVD will likely be the same disc as released previously by the studio. Also, Anchor Bay will release Love at First Kill on DVD on 2/15/11 (SRP $26.98). In other news today, we're checking with Warner Home Video to see when that Lethal Weapon Blu-ray box set might get released here in the States. We should have a reply by early next week. Just a couple of follow-ups on the U.K. BD set though: We know people who have the set in-hand and have confirmed that it IS all-region. The films appear to be the same cuts as released on DVD previously. As for extras included on the set, all 4 films include commentary by Richard Donner and DTS-HD MA audio. Lethal Weapon also includes deleted/extended scenes, the Honeymoon Suite music video and a theatrical trailer, Lethal Weapon 2 includes a Stunts and Action featurette, additional scenes and a trailer, Lethal Weapon 3 includes deleted scenes, Sting and Eric Clapton's It's Probably Me music video and 2 trailers, and Lethal Weapon 4 includes the Pure Lethal: New Angles, New Scenes and Explosive Outtakes featurette and a trailer. There's also apparently a 5th bonus disc of additional documentary featurettes (including Psycho Pension: The Genesis of Lethal Weapon, Lethal Weapon and the Hollywood Monster It Created, A Family Affair: Bringing Lethal Weapon to Life, Pulling the Trigger: Expanding the World of Lethal Weapon and Maximum Impact: The Legacy of Lethal Weapon). Also, we've checked in with Universal Studios Home Entertainment and have learned that there's currently no Blu-ray set of Caprica: The Complete Series planned at the moment. It's possible there could be one later in 2011, pending strong sales of Season 1.5 on DVD, but nothing's on the DRADIS screen at the moment. Just so you know. Meanwhile, here's a look at the cover art for Sony's Lebanon (due 1/18/11) and their 3D version of Piranha (due 1/11/11), along with Disney's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, all on Blu-ray... Don't forget, the new Harry Potter film (Part I of the series' finale) is now in theatres, and word is it's the best one yet. Back on Monday! Stay tuned... 11/18/10 Afternoon, folks! We've got something special for you today... We've just kicked off our coverage of Blu-ray 3D here at The Digital Bits, with Jeff Kleist's new The 3rd Dimension column. Among our staff writers, Jeff volunteered to make the 3D leap and start reviewing the discs for us. Obviously, there aren't a lot of Blu-ray 3D titles yet, and there aren't many people watching them either. But we know that many of you are at least curious about the 3D experience, so we though now was a good time to really start talking about it. As part of our new 3D coverage, I've also written up a primer on 3D technology, 3D 2010: A Guide to 3D for Everyone, that should help explain how it works, where the technology is at and what you need to start enjoying 3D at home. It also examines the future of 3D in the home, and weighs the question of whether or not now is a good time for you to buy into 3D. And hopefully, it does all that in a way that's easy for even home theatre novices to understand. Meanwhile, Jeff will review new Blu-ray 3D titles each week and help to guide you through the complexities of the 3D experience. To kick off the new column, his first Blu-ray 3D review is none other than Disney's A Christmas Carol, which just hit stores on Tuesday. So we hope you all enjoy it! Also today, we've kicked off a new Giveaway here at The Bits, offering each of you the chance to win a copy of Time-Life's exclusive The Six Million Dollar Man: The Complete Series DVD box set! Entries will be accepted until Noon (Pacific) on Sunday, December 4th. Click on the link for instructions on how to enter and good luck! Be sure to watch for our review of the box set next week here at The Bits. Now then, in release news today... 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has set Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 12/21 (SRP $39.99 and $29.98). Extras on both will include audio commentary by director Oliver Stone, the A Conversation with Oliver Stone and the Cast of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps featurette and a Digital Copy. The Blu-ray will exclusively add the Money, Money, Money: The Rise and Fall of Wall Street featurette, as well as deleted and extended scenes. Are there any Lethal Weapon fans in the house? As you probably know, Warner has only released the first two films in the series on Blu-ray here in the States. However, the studio has just bowed Lethal Weapon: The Completely Lethal Collection on Blu-ray over in the U.K., including ALL FOUR FILMS with newly-remastered HD transfers, 2 hours of unseen footage, new interviews with the cast (including Mel Gibson) and behind-the-scenes footage. (See this trailer over on YouTube.) Best of all, we've learned that it's an all-region release, so if you want to import a copy from Amazon.co.uk, it'll work just fine in your players here in the States. Warner hasn't indicated when or if they'll release the title here, but our guess is that they don't feel it's a "politically correct" time to do so at the moment. Whatever. We say: If you're a fan, import away! Meanwhile, Shout! Factory has a pair of new Roger Corman's Cult Classics Double Feature titles due on DVD on 12/7 - Big Bad Mama/Big Bad Mama II (staring the likes of Angie Dickinson, William Shatner, Tom Skerritt and Sally Kirkland) and Crazy Mama/The Lady in Red (featuring Cloris Leachman, Pamela Sue Martin, Louise Fletcher, Robert Conrad and Christopher Lloyd). Big Bad Mama/Big Bad Mama II (SRP $19.93) includes audio commentary with director Steve Carver and D.P. Bruce Logan, a Leonard Maltin interview of producer Roger Corman, the Mama Knows Best: A Retrospective featurette, trailers and TV spots. Crazy Mama/The Lady in Red (SRP also $19.93) includes audio commentary with director Jonathan Demme and Roger Corman, an interview with Demme and Corman, and the usual trailers and TV spots. Shout! also has set Webster: The Complete First Season for DVD only release on 1/25/11. The 3-disc set (SRP $29.93) will include all 22 first-season episodes along with the Webster Trivia Game. Finally today, don't forget that Severin Films will be releasing Alejandro Jodorowsky's Santa Sangre uncut on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/25/11 (SRP $34.98 and $29.98), featuring deleted scenes, the domestic and international trailers, an audio commentary with Jodorowsky, multiple documentaries, new on-camera interviews with the cast and crew, and coverage of Jodorowsky's recent NYC appearances. Here's a look at the cover art for both versions of Fox's Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, as well as Severin's Santa Sangre Blu-ray... Stay tuned...! 11/17/10 All right... we're pleased today to being you a pair of great new Blu-ray Disc reviews from our own Barrie Maxwell: MGM's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and 20th Century Fox's The Sound of Music: 45th Anniversary Edition! Both look and sound absolutely fantastic. They're available in stores now, so definitely don't miss them if you're a classic film or musical fan. In announcement news today, Universal has set Catfish for Blu-ray and DVD release on 1/4/11. The studio will also release Curious George: A Bike Ride Adventure for DVD only release on 2/8/11. Meanwhile, Synapse Films will release the South African exploitation classic Death of a Snowman on DVD on 11/9 (SRP $19.95). And Anchor Bay has just announced that it will release BOTH the 1978 original and 2010 remake of I Spit on Your Grave, each on both Blu-ray and DVD on 2/8/11. The 1978 original version (SRP $24.99 and $19.99) will include an all-new interview with writer/producer/director Meir Zarchi. The 2010 remake (SRP $34.99 and $29.97) will include a filmmakers commentary track with producer Lisa Hansen and director Steven Monroe, an in-depth behind-the-scenes featurette, the original theatrical teaser and trailer, deleted scenes and more. Also today, for those of you who might be curious, Yahoo Movies has just unveiled the new teaser trailer for next summers' Cowboys & Aliens, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford. The film hits theatres on 7/29/11 from Universal, and we sure hope it lives up to the hype. All right... that's all for now. Don't forget that the Leonid meteor shower peaks tonight, so if you've got a clear night in your neck of the woods, pop outside between Midnight and sunrise and you might see a few nice shooting stars. Back tomorrow with more. Stay tuned! 11/16/10 Afternoon, folks. Working on some reviews today, so we've just got a couple things for you... First, our own Russell Hammond has once again updated the Release Dates & Art section with all the latest Blu-ray, DVD and Video Game cover artwork and Amazon.com pre-order links. As always, a portion of anything you order from the retailer after clicking to them through our website goes to help support our work here at The Bits and we really do appreciate it. Now then... Image Entertainment has set Kathleen Madigan: Gone Madigan for DVD and Blu-ray release on 1/11/11. Lionsgate has set The Heavy for DVD release on 12/21. For you anime fans, Funimation has announced the Blu-ray and DVD release of Chobits: The Complete Box Set on 2/1 (SRP $54.98 and $49.98), followed by FLCL: Season Set on both formats on 2/8 (SRP $44.98 and $39.98), the Summer Wars movie on both formats on 2/15 (SRP $34.98 and $29.98), and the Alien vs. Ninja live action movie on both formats (SRP $29.98 and $24.98), the Goemon live action movie on both formats (SRP $29.98 and $24.98) and Garei Zero: Complete Series on both formats (SRP $64.98 each) on 2/22. Carrying on with the animation theme, Shout! Factory has Marvel Knights Animation: Iron Man - Extremis due on DVD on 11/30. Also, a reminder: Our old friend Roger Nygard's excellent The Nature of Existence documentary is about to arrive on disc on 11/23 from Walking Shadows. You'll be able to buy the film in a number of different versions: a Blu-ray special edition (SRP $29.95), a 2-disc DVD special edition (SRP $29.95 - the special editions contain 80 minutes of deleted scenes, plus audio commentary, 2 featurettes and theatrical trailers), a single-disc DVD (SRP $24.99) and an elaborate 7-disc DVD Companion Series set (SRP $119.95) featuring a whopping 14 hours of additional footage. Each disc in this set is its own 2-hour film covering different topics in more detail, including: Existence & Purpose, Religion & Spirituality, God & Devil, Truth & Faith, Sin & Free Will, Morality & Sexuality and Prayer & Afterlife. You can order single-disc DVDs of the individual films from the 7-disc Companion Series on the film's official website. Meanwhile, here's the cover art for all 3 versions of the film (available at Amazon.com by clicking on the covers)... As you can see, we also included cover art for Sony's Ishtar and Once Upon a Time in Mexico (both due 1/4/11) on Blu-ray. Finally, La-La Land Records, has announced a pair of new soundtrack CD releases that will be available on 11/16, including a Haunted Honeymoon: Limited Edition (1200 units - music by John Morris) and Unstoppable (music by Harry Gregson-Williams). Those of you who order Unstoppable can get a composer-autographed version of the CD at no additional cost while supplies last. More on the La-La Land Records website. Stay tuned... 11/15/10 Okay... some new announcements this afternoon... First, Criterion has just revealed its February slate of Blu-ray and DVD titles, set to include a Blu-ray upgrade of Krzysztof Kieslowski's The Double Life of Véronique (Cat #359) on 2/1, a Blu-ray upgrade of Federico Fellini's Amarcord BD (Cat #4) and new Blu-ray and DVD editions of Hirokazu Kore-eda's Still Walking (Cat #554) on 2/8, new Blu-ray and DVD editions of Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank (Cat #553) on 2/11, and new Blu-ray and DVD editions of both Alexander Mackendrick's Sweet Smell of Success (Cat #555) and Luchino Visconti's Senso (Cat #556) on 2/22. SRP for the Blu-rays is $39.95, while the DVDs are $29.95 for the single-disc titles and $39.95 for 2-disc releases. Here's cover art for all of the Blu-rays... Meanwhile, Sony has set Open Season 3 for release on Blu-ray/DVD Combo pack and DVD on 1/15/11 (SLP $34.95 and $38.95). Both will include a Progression Reel and the Runaway RV game, while the Blu-ray will exclusively add a Rabbit Splat Mode and the Boog's Cannon Blast game. Sony has also announced the Blu-ray and DVD release of Samuel Maoz's Lebanon on 1/18/11 (SLP $38.96 and $28.95 - described as "The Das Boot of tank movies" by Time Out NY), along with the heist film Takers on Blu-ray/DVD Combo and DVD (SLP $34.95 and $38.95). Lebanon will include commentary with the director and the Notes on a War Film: The Making of Lebanon featurette. Both versions of Takers will include commentary with the cast and crew and a music video, while the Blu-ray will add movieIQ+Sync and BD-Live, plus 2 featurettes (Executing the Heist: The Making of Takers and Take Action!). Speaking of Das Boot, anyone out there want to see that one on Blu-ray as much as I do? Not done yet with Sony - the studio will also release Justified: The Complete First Season on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/25 (SRP $49.95 and $39.95). Extras will include cast and crew commentaries (featuring Timothy Olyphant, Natalie Zea, and executive producer Graham Yost), 4 featurettes (What Would Elmore Do?, The Story of Justified, Justified: Meet the Characters and The Marshals), a music video and more. In addition, Sony will release Red Hill on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/25 (SRP $30.95 and $24.96). And Rules of Engagement: The Complete Fourth Season arrives on DVD from Sony on 1/11/11 (SRP $29.95). In other announcement news, Lionsgate will release Patti Stanger: Married in a Year on DVD on 2/1. Shout! Factory has set Huge: The Complete Series for DVD only release on 2/22/11 (SRP $29.93). The 3-disc set will include all 10 episodes plus featurettes, a blooper reel and 2 music videos. And Paramount will release Middle Men on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/15/11. Extras will include outtakes, deleted scenes and a 'slap' montage. Nope, not kidding - a 'slap' montage. In other news today, Home Media has a brief Q&A with MGM Home Entertainment general manager Eric Doctorow about their forthcoming catalog MOD program. Looks like they're going to bow 15 to 20 titles per month, including film and TV material. We expect to learn when and where they'll be available in the next couple weeks. There's also word at Home Media that Walmart is planning some MAJOR Blu-ray-related Black Friday deals, including a $69 wireless LAN BD player and over 100 DVD and Blu-ray movies for between $1.99 and $5. Nice. Stay tuned...! 11/12/10 All right, time to wind down another week of news and reviews here at The Bits. And how better to do that than with more news and reviews? To start with, I've turned in my thoughts on Warner Home Video's new Harry Potter Ultimate Editions on Blu-ray - The Prisoner of Azkaban and The Goblet of Fire. Both are now available in stores, and are just the thing to get you ready to watch Part I of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows - the finale to the whole film series - which arrives in theatres on 11/19. If you have the first two Harry Potter UEs on Blu-ray from Warner, you'll know exactly what to expect. Also today, Dr. Jahnke has checked out the debut Blu-ray release from new indie startup Midnight Legacy in his latest Bottom Shelf: Alien 2: On Earth. Moving on this afternoon, we have an update for you on Warner's Inception DVD and Blu-ray release, due on 12/7. A number of you have asked about the deluxe Briefcase packaging that's available for the BD/DVD Combo in Europe and elsewhere around the world. It hasn't been available for pre-order here in the States... until now. Warner is now selling a limited number of them (less than 2,000) exclusively on their WBShop.com site. SRP is $49.95, so act fast if you want one. By the way, we hear FYE may be offering exclusive Steelbook packaging for the title as well, so keep your eyes peeled. In other news today, we're very sorry to have to report that one of our favorite shows, AMC's Rubicon - has been cancelled after just a single season. Damn shame that. It was a great little piece of work, probably my favorite show of last season. Ah well. At least AMC seems willing to stand behind The Walking Dead, which has already gotten picked up for a second season. Also today, it looks as if Best Buy is going to be selling a $60 Blu-ray player on Black Friday - Toshiba's BDX1100. Just be aware this is not a model with BD-Live. More here at Home Media. Finally this week, it's with great sadness that we have to report the passing of a legend of the film industry. Famed Italian film producer Dino De Laurentiis has died. (More here at Variety and here at the Hollywood Reporter.) Among the titles Laurentiis had a hand in bring to the screen were Fellini's La Strada, Ziffirelli's Romeo and Juliet, David Lynch's Blue Velvet and Dune, John Milius' Conan the Barbarian and Sidney Lumet's Serpico, not to mention Barbarella, Flash Gordon, Battle of the Bulge, War and Peace, Manhunter, Hannibal, U-571 and MANY more. IMDB currently lists a whopping 166 films in his producing credits. Amazing. He was 91, and will be missed. All right, that's it for today. Have a fine weekend, and we'll see you all on Monday. Peace out... 11/11/10 "Let's light this candle!" All right... we've got some good news for catalog BD fans - and spaceflight fans as well. Warner Home Video has confirmed for me that they're planning to release Philip Kaufman's The Right Stuff on Blu-ray in 2011! You should still consider it Rumor Mill-worthy until Warner officially announces it, but since it came right from the studio I'm posting it here in the daily column. Great news! While we're talking Warner, they've announced the new Tom and Jerry: Fur Flying Adventure for DVD release on 2/8/11. The disc will include 14 classic shorts (Guided Mouse-ille, Neapolitan Mouse, O-Solar-Meow, Timid Tabby, Pet Peeve, That's My Mommy, Robin Hoodwinked, Barbecue Brawl, Happy Go Ducky, Hic-cup Pup, Little Quacker, Rock 'N' Rodent, Pup on a Picnic and The Vanishing Duck) for SRP $14.97. Warner's also set Batman: The Brave and the Bold - Season 1, Part 2 due for release on DVD on 3/15/11. You'll get 13 episodes for SRP $19.97. Meanwhile, IFC Films will bow Valhalla Rising on DVD on 11/30, along with Alarm and Life in Flight (SRP $24.98 each). Oscilloscope Laboratories has set acclaimed Graffiti artist Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop for DVD release on 12/14. Extras will include delete scenes, the B-Movie and Life Remote Control (Lawyer's Edit) bonus films and a limited edition insert designed by Banksy. Synapse Films will release the Hammer classic Vampire Circus on Blu-ray Disc on 12/14 (SRP $29.95). Extras will include 2 featurettes (The Bloodiest Show on Earth: Making Vampire Circus and Gallery of Grotesqueries), the Vampire Circus interactive comic book, poster and stills galleries and the original trailer. CAV Distributing is releasing Troma's There's Nothing Out There on DVD on 1/11/11 (SRP $14.95). Extras will include a new introduction with writer/director Rolfe Kanefsky and Troma's Lloyd Kaufman, new interviews, audio commentary with Kanefsky, a behind-the-scenes featurette, cast auditions, deleted shots, pre-production footage and video storyboards, animation test footage and the original trailer. Anyone remember the NBC series Dark Skies? Well, Shout! Factory is releasing Dark Skies: The Declassified Complete Series on DVD on 1/18/11 (SRP $44.99). The 6-disc box set will include all 19 episodes along with the international TV pilot, commentaries by the cast and crew (including series creators Bryce Zabel and Brent V. Friedman, along with stars Eric Close and Megan Ward), the Signal to Noise: Uncovering Dark Skies 3-part documentary, original network promos, the Dark Skies Glossary, the original sales presentation, and EPK, the never-before-seen Season Two proposal and a special commemorative booklet featuring an essay by Zabel. Pretty cool. I liked that show. It's available for pre-order now from Amazon.com, but if you pre-order it from the ShoutFactoryStore.com website by 11 PM PST on 12/2, you'll get the DVD and a special 16"x16" limited edition lithograph (the classic image of an alien looking at you through the U.S. flag) mailed to you by 12/9. Man, I LOVE the idea of including on TV releases the proposal for the future season that never happened. I wish more TV DVD and BD titles would do this - include a featurette (or something of the sort) with the show's writers and creators talking about where the story might have gone had the series been renewed. All too often these days, genre shows just end on cliffhangers and are left unresolved. Personally, I think it's one of the reasons many viewers don't even bother to tune in to such shows these days. They've been burned one too many times by cancel-happy networks. Often, if I'm on the fence about a series, I'll just wait until the DVD or Blu-ray comes out. At least I know I'll get to see a whole complete run of episodes and story. I suspect a lot of other viewers do the same. Anyway... Finally today, Kino has announced some great new titles for release over the next couple of months. In December, look for Mademoiselle Chambon on DVD and Blu-ray on 12/7 (SRP $29.95 and $34.95) and Double Take on DVD on 12/14 (SRP $29.95). Both are new release films. Also on 12/7, look for the 1926 Douglas Fairbanks Technicolor classic The Black Pirate: Deluxe Edition exclusively on Blu-ray (SRP $34.95 - the title has previously been available on DVD). Extras on The Black Pirate will include audio commentary by historian Rudy Behlmer, 19 minutes of outtakes with Behlmer commentary and the original 1926 score, all from the previous DVD. New for the Blu-ray will be a Lee Erwin organ score, 30 minutes of previously unreleased outtakes, a photo gallery and a B&W "talkie" adaptation. In January from Kino, look for Edge of Dreaming on DVD on 1/4/11 (SRP $29.95), followed by A Summer in La Goulette on DVD on 1/11, Army of Crime on DVD and Blu-ray on 1/18 (SRP $29.95 and $34.95) and Dogtooth on DVD on 1/25 (SRP $29.95). Here's a look at the cover art for Shout!'s Dark Skies: The Declassified Complete Series DVD, Oscilloscope's Exit Through the Gift Shop DVD and Kino's The Black Pirate: Deluxe Edition Blu-ray... Back tomorrow with more reviews. Stay tuned... 11/10/10 All right, we've got a little bit more announcement news for you today, plus a bunch of new cover art... First, Lionsgate has set Alpha and Omega for Blu-ray and DVD release on 1/11/11. The Last Exorcism arrives on both formats from the studio on 1/4/11. Also, Universal has set the M. Night Shyamalan-produced thriller Devil for Blu-ray and DVD release on 12/2, followed by Catfish on both formats on 1/4/11. And Warner Home Video has announced The Mission for Blu-ray release on 12/7 (SRP $24.98). All the previous DVD extras should carry over. Note that the title is currently available as an Amazon.com exclusive in the U.S. (it's also been available in Canada since May) - the 12/7 date is a wide U.S. retail release. We also have more details today on what you can expect to find extras-wise on Disney's forthcoming Bambi: Diamond Edition (due on 3/1/11) and Alice in Wonderland: 60th Anniversary Edition (due 2/1/11) Blu-rays. Bambi will include all the previous DVD extras along with an introduction by Diane Disney Miller, the Inside Walt's Story Meetings featurette, 2 never-before-seen deleted scenes, a deleted song, interactive galleries, the Disney's Second Screen viewing option (allows you to view and interact with additional content on your iPad or laptop while you watch the film) and the Disney's Big Book of Knowledge interactive game. Meanwhile, Alice will also include all the previous DVD extras along with a Through the Keyhole: A Companion's Guide to Wonderland viewing mode, a Disney View viewing mode, 2 rare video clips (Pencil Test: Alice Shrinks and Reference Footage: Alice and the Doorknob) and the Painting the Roses Red interactive game. Finally today, here's that new Blu-ray cover art... a look at Disney's Bambi: Diamond Edition, Warner's Excalibur (due 3/8/11) and The Mission, Lionsgate's Alpha and Omega and The Last Exorcism, and Universal's Devil... Stay tuned! 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