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Top 5 New on Blu

Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of July 20

We’re back! You might have noticed a lack of posts in the last few days. Well, we’ve been out west in Winnipeg attending the wedding of our good friends Angie and Tyson (see the incredible photos here: http://kampblog.com) and have just returned back to Montreal. It was a fantastic trip with some really fantastic people. But now we’re back and there’s a shit-ton of Blu-ray news and reviews to catch up on. And since this Top 5 New Release column is now officially a day late, I’ll just blast through most of the commentary and give you a quick overview of all the goodies now on store shelves…


1. THE RED SHOES


This is it. This is the disc I’ve been waiting all year to get my hands on. And after you watch that trailer above and check out the features of Criterion‘s new The Red Shoes Blu-ray disc, if you don’t dash out right away and grab up a copy for yourself…well, there’s nothing more I can do for you. You’re beyond film-fan hope…

Okay, in all seriousness, this release is a landmark one for Criterion, for Blu-ray fanatics and for film fans everywhere. The print used to create this transfer, the restoration work that went into making every perfect detail and colour ring out is absolutely beyond reproach. This is what the format is all about – presenting film as film, as best and true as it can look and sound in a home theatre environment. The Red Shoes is the best thing going this week, potentially this year on Blu.

Special Features:

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
  • Audio commentary by film historian Ian Christie, featuring interviews with stars Marius Goring and Moira Shearer, cinematographer Jack Cardiff, composer Brian Easdale, and filmmaker Martin Scorsese
  • Introductory restoration demonstration with Scorsese
  • Profile of “The Red Shoes” (2000), a twenty-five-minute documentary
  • Video interview with Thelma Schoonmaker Powell, Michael Powell’s widow
  • Gallery from Scorsese’s collection of The Red Shoes memorabilia
  • The “Red Shoes” Sketches, an animated film made from Hein Heckroth’s painted storyboards
  • Readings by actor Jeremy Irons of excerpts from Powell and Pressburger’s novelization of The Red Shoes and the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale
  • Theatrical trailer
  • PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by Christie

Amazon: $29.49


2. BLACK NARCISSUS

Not satisfied with bringing one truly stunning Powell & Pressburger masterpiece to Blu-ray this week, Criterion has seen fit to unleash the auteur duo’s Black Narcissus on an unsuspecting Blu-ray crowd – another truly gorgeous, colour-rich transfer that will make you fall in love with Blu all over again. This is an amazing time to be film fanatic!

Amazon: $35.99


3. MOTHER

My good pal, Matt Forsythe claims that this is the best film of the year. The best film he’s seen in ages. And though I haven’t had a chance to check it out myself, I hold his opinion in such high regard that I’m willing to take a chance on Bong Joon-ho‘s (The Host) Mother – a noir-ish South Korean thriller where a downtrodden mother is tasked to exonerate her mentally challenged son of a murder he didn’t commit.

Amazon: $26.49


4. THE RUNAWAYS

Chris has got a Runaways review coming up for us shortly here in The Blu-ray Blog. It’s director Floria Sigismondi‘s stylish take on the early career of rocker Joan Jett and her pre-solo career band with band-mate Cherie Curry. The disc features a commentary track with Jett and lead actors Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning.

Amazon: $19.99


5. THE LOSERS

I’m not sure why The Losers didn’t do better box office. It’s the kind of fun popcorn-y film that audiences generally eat up. Based on the popular DC Comics book featuring some amazing art by illustrator Jock, the film adaptation plays as an entertaining alternative to this summers A-Team, with which it shares a great deal of concept and plot. A great cast and lots of action make this a sure bet for summer movie fun.

Amazon: $19.99


ANIME OF THE WEEK:
RIN – DAUGHTERS OF MNEMOSYNE: THE COMPLETE SERIES

The twisted Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne: The Complete Series Blu-ray boxed set is another collection of extremely imaginative anime from FUNimation, this time with an adult angle. Rin follows the story of an immortal detective who is perpetually and literally dying to solve mysteries. There’s a lot of blood, gore, nudity, torture, alcohol…generally, a lot of nasty stuff you want to keep from the eyes of the innocents. To be honest, it’s not my thing. Rin feels like it’s pandering to that demographic of the comic-store crowd who enjoy a healthy dose of sadistic misogyny in their animated fantasies. It’s got some nice ideas and some great visuals but ultimately leaves me cold.

The Blu-ray is another decent upconvert from FUNimation, appearing quite detailed, with solid colours and deep blacks. It’s not native HD so you’ll notice some aliasing and stair-stepping in the line-work but keep in mind, this is most likely the finest presentation that Rin will ever see on home video.

With two impressive lossless audio tracks (Japanese and English) and a handful of decent extras, Rin puts in a solid showing on Blu, even if the content isn’t for everyone.

Amazon: $34.99


ALSO AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY THIS WEEK
Clicking an image will take you to Amazon.com where you can learn more about and purchase the Blu-ray disc:

Cop Out (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) (2010)Galaxy Of Terror (Roger Corman's Cult Classics) [Blu-ray] (1981)Forbidden World (Roger Corman's Cult Classics) [Blu-ray] (1982)Being Human: Season 1 [Blu-ray]



Tin Man [Blu-ray]Cats & Dogs [Blu-ray]Evil Aliens (Unrated & Theatrical Edition) [Blu-ray] (2005)Legends of the Dark Kings: Fist of the North Star [Blu-ray] (2010)



Last Chance to See [Blu-ray]Just Another Day [Blu-ray] (2010)Kurokami: The Animation Volume 2 [Blu-ray] (2010)



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