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Top 5 New on Blu

Top New Blu-ray releases for the Week of July 19

Well, here you go. This past week’s new Blu-ray release post, almost a full week late and a little short on quality reviews. The tardiness is due to a trip out of town, followed by my family coming for a visit and then many a day and night spent at the Fantasia Festival here in Montreal. The lack of serious disc reviews is due to the fact that I didn’t receive screeners for most of the Blu-ray releases of this past week. I know, cry me a river, right? But there it is.

As always, clicking the Blu-ray package art will zip you over to Amazon where every purchase you make through our links helps the site stay on its feet. We appreciate every single click and thank you again for continuing to read The Blu-ray Blog.


1. THE MUSIC ROOM

The Music Room (1958) - The Criterion Collection


    With The Music Room (Jalsaghar), Satyajit Ray brilliantly evokes the crumbling opulence of the world of a fallen aristocrat (the beloved actor Chhabi Biswas) desperately clinging to a fading way of life. His greatest joy is the music room in which he has hosted lavish concerts over the years—now a shadow of its former vivid self. An incandescent depiction of the clash between tradition and modernity, and a showcase for some of India’s most popular musicians of the day, The Music Room is a defining work by the great Bengali filmmaker.

Before getting my hands on the new Criterion Blu-ray disc of The Music Room, I had never seen the film. But it’s quickly weaseled its way onto a short list of my favourite movies of all time. I picked up director Satyajit Ray’s Apu Trilogy on DVD years ago (found them all in the used bin of my local Blockbuster – yeah, I know how lucky I was then), quickly falling in love with his style – impeccably well rounded characters shot with a quiet, ruminating camera. But The Music Room is so much more. As wonderful as the three Apu films are, The Music Room just seems more intimate and at the same time, more universal than his previous films (to be fair, he’d only completed two films in the Trilogy when he made The Music Room but the third, The World of Apu, maintains the feel of the previous entries in the series.) The camera work is sensitive but, and I have to say that I’m sure this was not the intent but I find it exhilarating nonetheless, in moments of harsh lighting, it reminds me of old Universal films from the ’30s. To be specific, there are shots that remind me strongly of The Bride of Frankenstein – one of the best films ever made, if you ask me.

I understand, however, that a lot of the visual elements that bring those older films to mind is due to the fact that The Music Room was shot black and white and hasn’t been kept in the best shape through the years. With that in mind, the restoration presented here by Criterion is an absolute marvel. Thank God for film preservationists. The work done here is nothing short of a miracle and if you have any doubt, just check out the DVD and Blu-ray screenshot comparison on DVDBeaver. In addition to the restoration performed on the film being miraculous, the transfer to Blu is absolutely stunning – textured and rich, with deep blacks, prominent grain and tons of detail. One of the most impressive discs I’ve seen this year. Audio sounds dated but clean, clear and effective.

The special features on the disc are plentiful and truly a treat to watch. The 1984 Shyam Benegal doc about the director runs over two hours and paints a clear and full picture of Ray’s life and career. It’s almost worth the price of the disc on its own. I also found the Andrew Robinson and Mira Nair interviews to be informative and quite moving. It’s quite clear that they both feel deeply about the man and his work.

Highest possible recommendation!!

Special Features:

  • New digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • Satyajit Ray (1984), a feature documentary by Shyam Benegal that chronicles Ray’s career and includes interviews with the filmmaker, family photographs, and extensive clips from his films
  • New interview with filmmaker Mira Nair
  • New interview in which Ray biographer Andrew Robinson discusses the making of The Music Room and the film’s cultural significance
  • Excerpt from a 1981 French roundtable discussion with Ray, film critic Michel Ciment, and filmmaker Claude Sautet
  • New and improved English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Philip Kemp as well as reprints of a 1963 essay by Ray and a 1986 interview with the director about the film’s music

AMAZON: $28.99


2. AMELIE

Amélie [Blu-ray]

    The City of Lights sparkles in this “delightful and original” (Boston Globe) quirky comedy that garnered 5 Academy Award® nominations. At a tiny Parisian café, the adorable yet painfully shy Amelie accidentally discovers a gift for helping others. Soon Amelie is spending her days as a Cupid, guardian angel and all-around do-gooder. But when she bumps into a handsome stranger, will she find the courage to become the star of her very own love story? Audrey Tatou (The Da Vinci Code) shines in this “lighthearted fantasy” (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times) that stole the hearts of audiences and critics worldwide.

Oh God, I effing love this film. Amelie is probably my second favourite film of all time. And writer/director Jean-Pierre Jeunet‘s clear best work to date. And though I haven’t seen this new Miramax/Lionsgate Blu-ray edition of the film (I have the Alliance disc from Canada) I feel comfortable recommending it. It features all the goodies from the previous DVD editions of the film (and the Canadian Blu) and, from what I can ascertain from early reviews and forum posts, the best transfer the film has seen yet.

AMAZON: $13.99


3. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Beauty and the Beast: The Criterion Collection [Blu-ray] (1946)

    Jean Cocteau’s sublime adaptation of Mme. Leprince de Beaumont’s fairy-tale masterpiece—in which the pure love of a beautiful girl melts the heart of a feral but gentle beast—is a landmark of motion picture fantasy, with unforgettably romantic performances by Jean Marais and Josette Day. The spectacular visions of enchantment, desire, and death in Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête) have become timeless icons of cinematic wonder.

Here’s another one of my great cinematic loves, newly available on Blu. I discovered Cocteau’s incredibly gorgeous, imaginative Beauty and the Beast via my old Criterion Collection Laserdisc edition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, wherein director Francis Ford Coppola sites, via his exceptional commentary track and featurettes, as well as in text supplements, this work as one of the most influential on the tone and imagery of his 1992 film. So, of course, I had to seek it out. And, of course, I immediately fell in love with it. What a beautiful, masterful imagining of the classic tale.

Those who already own the Criterion DVD won’t see too much of an uptick in detail but contrast is more dynamic and the whole thing is just overall more film-like. All the supplements have been ported over and are quite substantial. If you don’t own the DVD this is a blind buy.

AMAZON: $29.99


4. BOYZ ‘N THE HOOD

Boyz 'N the Hood [Blu-ray] (1991)

    Boyz N The Hood” is the critically acclaimed story of three friends growing up in a South Central Los Angeles neighborhood, and of street life where friendship, pain, danger and love combine to form reality. “The Hood” is a place where drive-by shootings and unemployment are rampant. but it is also a place where harmony coexists with adversity, especially for three young men growing up there: Doughboy (Ice Cube), an unambitious drug dealer; his brother Ricky (Morris Chestnut), a college-bound teenage father; and Ricky’s best friend Tre (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), who aspires to a brighter future beyond “The Hood.” In a world where a trip to the store can end in death, the friends have diverse reactions to their bleak surroundings. Tre’s resolve is strengthened by a strong father (Larry Fishburne) who keeps him on the right track. But the lessons Tre learns are put to the ultimate test when tragedy strikes close to home, and violence seems like the only recourse.

Boyz N The Hood is a ’90s classic and the film that made director John Singleton’s career. It was also one of the final films to star good ol’ Cowboy Curtis, “Larry” Fishburne, soon to be replaced by his doppleganger, Morpheus, better know as “Laurence” Fishburne. The film also made stars of the likes of Angela Bassett, Morris Chestnut and Cuba Gooding Jr. among others, as well as proving that rapper Ice Cube has some acting chops. Yeah, Boyz N The Hood is kind of a big deal. And now you can get it on Blu. Sony didn’t send me a screener so I can’t tell you how it looks in high-def but knowing them, I’m sure it’s worth the upgrade from DVD.

AMAZON: $13.99


5. POTICHE

Potiche [Blu-ray]

    Set in 1977 in a provincial French Town, Potiche is a witty and charming comedy starring Catherine Deneuve as Suzanne Pojol, a housebound ‘trophy housewife’ (or potiche) who steps in to manage the umbrella factory run by her tyranical husband after the workers go on strike. To everyone’s surprise, Suzanne proves herself to be a competent and assertive woman of action. Gerard Depardieu plays a union leader and Suzanne’s ex-beau who still holds a flame for her. With Potiche, acclaimed writer-director Francois Ozon (Swimming Pool, 8 Women) has created a satrical and hilarious take on the sexes and classes.

Deneuve and Depardieu directed by Ozon. That should be enough for you to run out and grab up a copy of this bad boy right there. Having only seen as much as the trailers for the film, I think it looks like a pretty entertaining retro-romp. The Music Box Films Blu-ray release has received fairly average marks over at Blu-ray.com but, it should be noted, represents the processed vintage look of the film accurately. Extras are lite, including a lengthy “making-of” doc, costume tests and a couple of trailers.

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:

Limitless (Unrated Extended Cut) [Blu-ray + Digital Copy] (2011)Doctor Who: Series Six, Part One [Blu-ray] (2010)Take Me Home Tonight [Blu-ray] (2011)Gungrave: The Complete Series (Classic) [Blu-ray]



The Reef [Blu-ray] (2010)Tekken (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) (2010)Chocolat [Blu-ray]Nowhere to Run [Blu-ray] (1993)



Bridget Jones's Diary [Blu-ray]The Boy in the Striped Pajamas [Blu-ray]Torchwood: The Complete Original UK Series [Blu-ray]House of the Rising Sun [Blu-ray] (2011)



Belly of the Beast [Blu-ray] (2003)Peep World [Blu-ray] (2010)Desert Flower [Blu-ray] (2011)



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