It’s another one of those weeks where I haven’t had a chance to screen many of the most intriguing Blu-ray discs on offer. As a result, the Top 5 list ends up being comprised of titles in order of my excitement for them, balanced with what I’ve read in early reviews. Here we go!

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. DAS BOOT: THE DIRECTOR’S CUT

“It is 1942 and the German submarine fleet is heavily engaged in the so called “Battle of the Atlantic” to harass and destroy English shipping. With better escorts of the Destroyer Class, however, German U-Boats have begun to take heavy losses. “Das Boot” is the story of one such U-Boat crew, with the film examining how these submariners maintained their professionalism as soldiers, attempted to accomplish impossible missions, while all the time attempting to understand and obey the ideology of the government under which they served.“

All right, not only is this Wolfgang Petersen‘s best film ever, Das Boot is also one of the best films ever made. It presents an unflinchingly tense look at the lives of the captain and crew of U-96, as they alternately battle the allied forces across the Atlantic and battle boredom and frayed nerves awaiting action in their claustrophobic, underwater tin can. You’d think nearly four hours of waiting and sweating and not ever seeing the sun would be tedious but it’s to Petersen’s credit that the film just rockets by. We sympathize with the plight of the men, all the while biting our nails waiting for the next encounter, the next malfunction or simply for submarine life to get the better of their spirits. It’s astounding work that holds up thirty years on.

Sony has got another winner on its hands, presenting the 1981 film, in its Blu-ray debut, in both the original theatrical cut and the much longer, more involved Director’s Cut, each on its own disc. There’s no hint here of the longer, uncut version, released to German television with a lengthy 293-minute runtime in 1988 and on DVD in 2004 but you know, that’s all right with me. The film becomes ungainly with that much extra footage anyway. In every other way, though, this 2-disc set is complete. While the transfers won’t wow most viewers new to the film, this is clearly the best it’s ever looked on home video. The Director’s Cut maxes out its dual-layer platter, leaving room for little else on the disc. I noticed some artifacting (clearly, the film doesn’t compress easily to fit the 50-gig limit) but it’s slight and won’t offend. Both versions appear similar, otherwise, with inconsistent grain and black levels, less detail than you’d hope but stable, if appropriately dull colour throughout. The longer cut features a nice DTS-HD Master 5.1 track, while the Theatrical Cut sports a lossless 2.0 track (advertised as 5.1).

Special features are fantastic across the board, highlighted by the feature length commentary on the Director’s Cut (hosted by disc producer Ortwin Freyermuth and featuring Petersen and actor Jürgen Prochnow) and the 45-minute HD doc, “Wolfgang Petersen-Back To The Boat“. I also really enjoyed “The Perfect Boat” featurette, which looks at the creation of the Director’s Cut of the film, finding a cut of the film that could exist between the truncated Theatrical version and the Uncut version that aired on TV.

Highly Recommended!!

Special Features:

• Wolfgang Petersen-Back To The Boat
• Going Deeper:
  • Maria’s Take
  • The Perfect Boat

  Captain’s Tour

  • Rooms Overview
  • Entry Conning Tower
  • Torpedo Room & Crew Quarters
  • Captain’s & Officers’ Rooms
  • The Control Room
  • Petty Officers’ Room & Galley
  • Diesel & Electric Motor Rooms
• Historical Material
  • Behind the Scenes (1981)
  • Battle of the Atlantic (1983)
• Director’s Commentary – Wolfgang Petersen

AMAZON: $19.49

2. THE SACRIFICE

“In The Sacrifice, Alexander’s (Erland Josephson) birthday party is interrupted by news that World War III has begun and mankind is hours away from annihilation. To avoid war, Alexander promises to God that he’ll sacrifice all he has — even his son. This new remastered edition of Tarkovsky‘s final film features a new, much improved transfer of the film in anamorphic widescreen and the first time on Blu-ray! Special features include the feature length documentary ‘Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky’, a behind the scenes look at one of the most influential directors of our time, photo gallery, trailers and more! (NOTE: This two disc set features the movie on Blu-ray and the second disc with the special features is a DVD) “

Tarkovsky’s final film, The Sacrifice is out today on Blu from Kino and it’s killing me that I haven’t been able to take a look at it yet! This is one of the most exciting releases of the month, sporting a transfer that is apparently the best the film has seen on home video. DVD Beaver has noted, however, that there is edge enhancement present, possibly a holdover of the print used (doesn’t quite make sense to me, unless the print was digitally processed at some point.) Nevertheless, the word on the disc is generally positive. I’ll have more to say about this one when I get my hands on it.

AMAZON: $31.49

3. 13 ASSASSINS

“Cult director Takashi Miike (“Ichi the Killer”, “Audition”) delivers a bravado period action film set at the end of Japan’s feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a wartorn future.“

New Takashi Miike with tons of bloody samurai action. ‘Nuff said. If you’re a fan of the man’s work or a fan of the genre you’re going to be so pleased with this film and, from what I’ve read around the ‘nets, pretty pleased with the Blu-ray disc from Magnolia Pictures. Word on the street speaks of a pretty film-like transfer and a booming Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 that’ll knock your eardrums silly during the climactic battle sequence. Extras include almost 20-minutes of deleted scenes, an interview with Miike and trailers.

AMAZON: $17.99

4. OF GODS AND MEN

“Eight French Christian monks live in harmony with their Muslim brothers in a monastery perched in the mountains of North Africa in the 1990s. When a crew of foreign workers is massacred by an Islamic fundamentalist group, fear sweeps though the region. The army offers them protection, but the monks refuse. Should they leave? Despite the growing menace in their midst, they slowly realize that they have no choice but to stay… come what may. This film is loosely based on the life of the Cistercian monks of Tibhirine in Algeria, from 1993 until their kidnapping in 1996.“

I have to admit that I’m not exactly aching to watch Of Gods and Men, despite the accolades it received throughout the past year. I’m sure it’s amazing but it seems like it’ll be a slow moving drama about a bunch of monks. At least the photography, from what I’ve seen so far, is quite stunning. The disc is receiving rave reviews, with Martin Liebman over at Blu-ray.com giving it a 5/5, calling it “one of the finest around“. Pretty strong words! The French-language DTS-HD MA 5.1 receives similar praise, with the lack of special features on the disc referred to as its only “weak spot”.

AMAZON: $26.99

5. HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN

“A train pulls into the station – it’s the end of the line. A Hobo jumps from a freight car, hoping for a fresh start in a new city. Instead, he finds himself trapped in an urban hell. This is a world where criminals rule the streets and Drake, the city’s crime boss, reigns supreme alongside his sadistic murderous sons, Slick & Ivan. Amidst the chaos, the Hobo comes across a pawn shop window displaying a second hand lawn mower. He dreams of making the city a beautiful place and starting a new life for himself. But as the brutality continues to rage around him, he notices a shotgun hanging above the lawn mower… Quickly, he realizes the only way to make a difference in this town is with that gun in his hand and two shells in its chamber.“

Oh man, I can’t wait to watch Rutger Hauer do his thing with a shotgun!

That didn’t come out right.

I’ve been waiting a long time to see this film. Since the fake trailer appeared as a part of Rodriguez and Tarantino’s Grindhouse interstitials (Well, to be fair, it was screened here in Canada along with the other trailers, as the winner of the SXSW trailer competition. I guess you folks south of the border didn’t get to see it on the big screen.) And now, having missed my chance to see the film on the big screen, I’m excited to catch this Canadian production on Blu. The Blu-ray of the digitally lensed film has been getting positive reviews for its technical merits and is also stacked with extras. A full listing of the bonus goodies can be found in our previous post, here: Hobo with a Shotgun coming to Blu-ray in July

AMAZON: $17.99

CANADIAN EXCLUSIVE: ESSENTIAL KILLING

“A Taliban member who lives in Afghanistan is taken captive by the Americans after killing three American soldiers. He is transferred to Europe for interrogation but manages to escape from his captors and becomes an escaped convict on a continent he does not know.“

Sometimes I feel really lucky to be in Canada. Today is one of those days. Today we’re graced with a Blu-ray release of Essential Killing, the exceptional 2010 film by Jerzy Skolimowski, the filmmaker most well known for writing Roman Polanski’s Knife on the Water. Here, he crafts something of an existential chase film, a survival thriller, if you will, with the remarkable Vincent Gallo on the run, at the centre of the proceedings. Nearly wordless, the film launches Gallo into the wild, alone and wouded, hunted by foreign forces anxious to reclaim their Taliban prisoner.

It goes without saying that Gallo is fantastic here, bleeding and killing to survive. It’s probably his best performance since his own Buffalo 66. But what’s also remarkable is the restraint Skolimowski exhibits in his writing. Nothing is wasted in this film. There isn’t a single false note. Dialogue is spare but right on the money, while action is key. The often abstract score by Pawel Mykietyn (with consultant Janice Ginsberg) compliments the gorgeous, stark photography of Adam Sikora. With it’s off-kilter tone and wordless tale, Essential Killing isn’t for everyone but will reward those who give it a chance.

The Blu-ray disc from eOne isn’t a stunner but that’s more than likely due to the low-budget source material. Blacks are uneven, often looking dark grey and, while detail is acceptable, it will never blow you away. Colours are muted by choice but are stable and accurate. Fairing better is the strong 5.1 English/Polish DTS-HD Master Audio track. Dialogue is clean and clear, there’s plenty of ambient sound and while the explosions in the early part of the film don’t quite compare to big budget Hollywood, they’ll give your china a good rattle. Sadly, there are no special features on the Blu-ray disc.

AMAZON: $18.89 CDN

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:

Related posts

• [VIDEO] Das Boot: The Director’s Cut Blu-ray trailer (0)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of November 23 (1)
• [VIDEO] Buster Keaton: The Short Films Collection (1920-1923) Blu-ray trailer (0)
• [UPDATED] Hobo with a Shotgun coming to Blu-ray in July (1)
• Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Blu-ray Disc Review (0)

It’s another crazy week of Blu-ray releases, with one of the most significant boxed sets of the year hitting at the same time as three new Criterion discs, a couple of quality horror films and a bunch of anime. There are a lot of good deals to be had on these titles this week, so if you strike while the iron’s hot, you just might be able to save a few bucks on these discs!

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. LORD OF THE RINGS: THE MOTION PICTURE TRILOGY (EXTENDED EDITION)

“The Quest Is Over: All three extended versions in dazzling 1080p and DTS HD-MA 5.1 Audio. Deluxe set includes over 26 Hours of spellbinding behind-the- moviemaking material, including the Rare Costa Botes documentaries, on 15 discs.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition: With the help of a courageous fellowship of friends and allies, Frodo embarks on a perilous mission to destroy the legendary One Ring.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Extended Edition: In the middle chapter of this historic movie trilogy, the Fellowship is broken but its quest to destroy the One Ring continues.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Extended Edition: The final battle for Middle-earth begins. Frodo and Sam, led by Gollum, continue their dangerous mission toward the fires of Mount Doom in order to destroy the One Ring.

“

Here it is, the big day… come yet again! It was a few months past a year ago that we were all snapping up the Lord of the Rings Blu-ray boxed set that included the theatrical cuts of the trilogy. You might recall that there was a lot of dissatisfaction with that release, specifically in regards to the very soft transfer of The Fellowship of the Ring. Much was made about the fact that the production team went back and supervised new transfers for the extended versions of the three films and that those updated, more detailed presentations would be the ones that would appear on the Blu-ray discs. Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when review copies of the massive, 15-disc boxed set began showing up in the hands of the press and wouldn’t you know it, but controversy regarding the transfer of Fellowship erupted once again.

This time around, there’s no debating the quality of the high-def presentation. All who watched the discs were in agreement – they’re simply stunning. Fantastic work. The concern was that the updated colour grading on Fellowship had been mistakenly pushed too far at some point in the mastering of the disc. That director Peter Jackson and cinematographer Andrew Lesnie hadn’t intended the disc to look as it does. Well, Bill Hunt at the Digital Bits got the definitive answer, straight from the horses mouth, yesterday:

“Warner Bros Home Entertainment Group confirms that The Lord of the Rings The Motion Picture Trilogy Extended Edition Blu-ray accurately represents the intended look of each of the three features.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring™ was remastered from the original digital production files in order to reproduce the full color imagery of the feature.

”

Also of note, Harry Knowles of Ain’t it Cool News independently confirms through direct communication with the filmmakers that indeed, Fellowship looks exactly as intended in this new Blu-ray set. So go ahead, disregard the controversy and grab yourself a copy of, what will no-doubt be one of the most comprehensive Blu-ray sets to be released this year. 15-discs, remastered extended editions of all 3 films, all the special features from the Extended Edition DVDs, the 3 Costa Botes documentaries and digital copies of the films all in one big box. And if you buy now through Amazon.com, you get it all for for 42% off the suggested retail price. Sold.

READ MORE: The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy Extended Edition Blu-ray disc set officially announced

AMAZON: $69.99

2. 3 FROM CRITERION: BLACK MOON, ZAZIE DANS LE METRO and PEOPLE ON SUNDAY

Three new releases from Criterion take the number two slot this week. Cheating? Yeah, a little bit, but there’s a good reason for it – outside of the new Lord of the Rings boxed set, these are the discs I’m most excited about this week but I haven’t seen a single one of them yet (damn you Canada Post and your mail strike, keeping me from receiving screeners!!!) , so in my mind, they’re all equal!

I can tell you, however, that Black Moon and Zazie dans le metro, both Louis Malle films, have been receiving rave reviews from critics, with transfers that best any previous presentation of the films on home video. Black Moon is apparently stunning. Robert Siodmak‘s silent People on Sunday is surprisingly presented in 1080i – a step-down from Criterion’s usual full-progressive transfers. I’m sure there’s good reason for this and I look forward to looking into it when I get my hands on the disc.

AMAZON: $29.99 each

3. BARNEY’S VERSION

“Based on Mordecai Richler‘s prize-winning comic novel, BARNEY’S VERSION is the warm, wise, and witty story of Barney Panofsky, (Paul Giamatti), a seemingly ordinary man who lives an extraordinary life. Barney’s candid confessional spans four decades and two continents, and includes three wives (Rosamund Pike, Minnie Driver, and Rachelle Lefevre), one outrageous father (Dustin Hoffman), and a charmingly dissolute best friend (Scott Speedman). BARNEY’S VERSION takes us through the many highs — and a few too many lows — of a long and colorful life with an unlikely hero at its center —the unforgettable Barney Panofsky.“

After all the hoopla here in Montreal surrounding the filming and release of Barney’s Version, an adaptation of late local hero Mordecai Richler’s 1997 novel of the same name, I can’t but feel a little let down by the film. It’s mostly fine work and, without question, a stand-out Canadian film but on the international stage, it falls flat. To be fair, it’s a complex story, well juggled by screenwriter Michael Konyves, of a complex, well rendered character, played by Giamatti. But between his often reprehensible actions and Giamatti’s often overheated performance, it’s tough to feel like spending time with Barney Panofsky. In fact, many of the performances feel artificial or forced (as is often the case in Canadian films, I find), with Hoffman’s portrayal of ex-cop dad, ‘Izzy’ Panofsky the standout exception and the real life of the film.

It can’t have been easy translating a famous novel, written in the first person and cut into episodes, one for each of the main character’s three wives, into a cohesive whole and I give director Richard J. Lewis props for assembling a film that works well enough and feels organic from beginning to end. I just didn’t engage with it as much as most critics seem to have.

The Blu-ray disc presentation of Barney’s Version looks fantastic. Detail is plentiful and colour is spot on and the whole thing maintains a very film-like appearance throughout. The film is dialogue heavy, of course, and the 5.1 DTS-HD track keeps it crisp and clean. Musical cues are given plenty of headroom to breathe and ambient sound, while limited, is effective.

There’s a surprising amount of bonus goodies on the disc starting with a pretty decent writer and director commentary track, that brings producer Robert Lantos along for the ride. There’s also a lot of deleted scenes on the Blu-ray, over half an hours worth, that seem to be exclusive to the eOne disc release from Canada (I don’t see them listed on Sony‘s US version.) Add to that an hour-long conversation between Giamatti and Annette Insdorf (truncated to 35-minutes on the US disc), red carpet interviews and a few minutes with the late author discussing and reading from the book and you’ve got one hell of a nice Blu-ray package!

AMAZON: $ 22.93 CDN

ALSO AVAILABLE: US EDITION

AMAZON: $28.99

4. SUCKER PUNCH

“Born from the creative vision of filmmaker Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300), this epic action fantasy launches from the vivid imagination of a young girl whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality. Locked away against her will, Babydoll (Emily Browning) has not lost her will to survive. Determined to fight for her freedom, she urges four fellow captives – outspoken Rocket (Jena Malone), street-smart Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), fiercely loyal Amber (Jamie Chung) and reluctant Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish) – to band together and try to escape their terrible fate at the hands of their captors Blue (Oscar Isaac), Madam Gorki (Carla Gugino) and the High Roller (Jon Hamm). “

There’s a lot of hate going around for Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch. And rightly so, I guess. It’s certainly got a lot of problems. And they’re core problems, at that. The mishandling of story and theme is almost unforgivable, not to mention the fact that he mistakenly presents fetishisized female characters when his intent was clearly to show young, empowered women. That said, Snyder really knows how to fashion a scene and bleed every ounce of production design from every frame of film. This is a great looking, incredibly imaginative film. And the scenes where the girls are lost in his various fantasy lands are stunning and, if taken out of the context of the rape and subjugation of the girls that the action sequences are meant to represent, a whole lot of fun. Honestly, some of the best sci-fi/fantasy, robot riding, sword swinging, gun-toting, steam-powered-Nazi-zombie killing action scenes I’ve ever seen. I’m anxious to see what Snyder cooks up for his Superman film (coming up in December 2012) when he’s directing someone else’s (hopefully) much more coherent script. Sucker Punch is an ambitious project, to be sure, but in the end, one that simply proves that Snyder should stick to doing what he does best – adapting comics and genre films.

You might argue the merits of the film itself but the Sucker Punch Blu-ray is beyond reproach. This thing is very nearly perfect. It looks amazing in high-def, with blacks so inky you’ll get lost in them, blazing colours and tons and tons of detail. And just when you think things can’t get any better, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track will sneak up and “sucker punch” you in the gut! This is reference quality audio here, with wall-shattering lows and screaming highs, dead-clear dialogue and more surround activity than your speakers have seen in ages.

I have only three words to say to you regarding the special features on the Sucker Punch Blu-ray – Maximum Movie Mode! That’s right, Snyder is back for another walk-on commentary and, much like his Watchmen walk-through, this one is almost worth the price of the disc itself. There’s a ridiculous wealth of information here, with pop-up interviews, still galleries, storyboards and more. The MMM is only on the Extended cut of the film. The disc package also includes a Blu-ray with the Theatrical Cut of the film, which features a collection of animated shorts (motion comics detailing the background of each of the films fantasy sequences) and a 3-minute look at the creation of the soundtrack of the film. The Blu-ray combo pack is rounded out with a DVD and Digital Copy of the film and BD-Live functionality.

AMAZON: $22.99

5. WAKE WOOD

“Still grieving the death of their only child Alice at the jaws of a crazed dog, vet Patrick and pharmacist Louise relocate to the remote town of Wake Wood where a local pagan ritual gives them three more precious days with her… but what will they do when it’s time for their new daughter to go back.“

Again with my expectations.

Wake Wood is one of the first productions of the new Hammer films and, as such, I entered into my viewing of it expecting a certain type of experience. I have to admit, I was immediately thrown by the low-budget look of the film – shot on video, with a lot of shaky looking, muddy-dark night footage. One thing is too be certain, this isn’t the Hammer of old. Once I acclimated to the look of the picture, I found the tone of the film to hew closely to the studio I’ve known and loved for years.

Wake Wood isn’t a particularly inventive or scary film. But it hits a lot of the right notes. It comes across like a latter day, smaller scale Wicker Man, with Timothy Spall filling in for Christopher Lee as the father-figure of the titular, closed-off, pagan-magic-filled community. Spall does his best but never rises to the levels of overpowering creepiness that Lee is capable of. The suspense is, for the most part, nicely handled throughout but the filmmakers tend toward accenting spookier moments with unnecessary music and effect cues that keep the film from feeling as polished and modern as it could. All in all though, a good early effort from the reborn Hammer studios. I look forward to their next fright night.

The Wake Wood Blu-ray disc, available today in Canada from eOne and next week in the US from Dark Sky Films, can only ever look as good as its source material. And in this case, the source isn’t very pretty. The HD cam-shot film looks digital from beginning to end, often appearing flat, dark or washed out. The filmmakers make the most of it though, using it to effect in quite a few scenes. But the Blu-ray, while the best presentation possible, simply can’t hold a candle to bigger budget offerings. The DTS-HD Master Audio track is quite effective in adding suspense through ambient noise, while keeping dialogue clean and clear up the middle. I did, however, find the balance a bit off at times, which doesn’t seem to be the case with the Dolby Digital 2.0 track.

Extras include 14-minutes of deleted scenes and the theatrical trailer.

AMAZON: $24.21 CDN

6. NESTING

“Agoraphobic mystery novelist Lauren Cochran decides to leave the city in an attempt to cure her recent writer’s block. She rents an old Victorian house in the quiet countryside, unaware of its shocking history. As those around her suffer increasingly violent deaths, Lauren begins to unravel the truth: the house was once an infamous brothel now haunted by the victims of a bloody massacre. Will her terrifying phobia allow her to escape from “The Nesting“? Long unavailable on home video, “The Nesting” has been newly transferred in High Definition from the original camera negative and is presented here in a never-before-seen Director’s Cut.”

All right, I admit it. More cheating. I’ve added a number six this week just to let you know that there’s a new Blue Underground release. I haven’t seen it yet (nor had I even heard of the film before seeing the listing for this Blu-ray disc!) but just the fact that BU is releasing it is enough to sit up and take notice. I should be getting my hands on a copy this week, at which time I’ll let you know what I think of it. I’m not usually a fan of the ‘blind buy’ but I make exception for a few boutique labels – Criterion, Severin and Blue Underground among them.

AMAZON: $15.99

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:

Related posts

• [VIDEO] Lord of the Rings Blu-ray Trailer (0)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of April 6 (3)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy Limited Extended Edition detailed, available for pre-order (0)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy Extended Edition Blu-ray image controversy (1)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy Extended Edition Blu-ray disc set officially announced (1)

If you’ve got a few dollars to spare, you better be eying up our number one pick of the week. It’s hands-down the best thing going on Blu-ray. That is, until the next round of Criterion releases hits the shelves next week.

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. KISS ME DEADLY

“In this atomic adaptation of Mickey Spillane’s novel, directed by Robert Aldrich (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, The Dirty Dozen), the good manners of the 1950s are blown to smithereens. Ralph Meeker (Paths of Glory, The Dirty Dozen) stars as snarling private dick Mike Hammer, whose decision one dark, lonely night to pick up a hitchhiking woman sends him down some terrifying byways. Brazen and bleak, Kiss Me Deadly is a film noir masterpiece as well as an essential piece of cold war paranoia, and it features as nervy an ending as has ever been seen in American cinema. “

Mikey Spillane’s Mike Hammer is just about the best damn noir-ish detective ever written or filmed. And Robert Aldrich’s Kiss Me Deadly is probably the best damn version of the character put to film (and, trust me, there’ve been quite a few, over the years!) This is one hell of a hard-assed film, with a tough, man-sized performance of the famous private dick by Meeker, a pixie-ish Gaby Rodgers as femme-fatal Gabrielle and Albert Dekker as creepy Dr. Soberin. Ernest Laszlo‘s photography here is moody and classic and worth watching the film for all on its own.

Speaking of the photography, it looks stunning here on this wonderful new Blu-ray disc from Criterion. This is Kiss Me Deadly as you’ve never seen it before – full of detail in crisp black and white, without a hint of untoward digital tampering. Simply gorgeous. The uncompressed mono soundtrack is clear but dated, with a hint of hiss still lingering in the background. Bonus features are plentiful and all around excellent, with the brief Alex Cox interview (the film director discusses the book, its adaptation to film, the alternate ending and more) and the feature-length commentary my favourites.

Special Features:

• New high-definition restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Audio commentary by film noir specialists Alain Silver and James Ursini
• New video tribute from director Alex Cox (Repo Man, Walker)
• Excerpts from The Long Haul of A. I. Bezzerides, a 2005 documentary on the Kiss Me Deadly screenwriter
• Excerpts from Mike Hammer’s Mickey Spillane, a 1998 documentary on the author whose book inspired the film
• A look at the film’s locations
• Altered ending
• Theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic J. Hoberman and a 1955 reprint by director Robert Aldrich

AMAZON: $27.99

2. CEDAR RAPIDS

“To call insurance agent Tim Lippe (Ed Helms), “naive” is a gross understatement. He’s never left his small hometown. He’s never stayed at a hotel. And he’s never experienced anything like Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Sent to represent his company at the annual insurance convention, Tim is soon distracted by three convention veterans (John C. Reilly, Anne Heche and Isiah Whitlock Jr.) who will show him the ropes and push his boundaries. For a guy who plays everything by the book, this convention will be anything but conventional.“

Ahhh. It’s so nice to see a comedy that doesn’t revel in irony or being hip and cool. While not as laugh out loud funny as it could have been, Cedar Rapids is about as sincere and honest as the genre has been in years, with good performances from all involved. John C. Reilly turns in a particularly hilarious performance as hard-par­tying insurance man Dean Ziegler, the comic highlight of the film. There aren’t any surprises in the story – you’ll see every turn coming a mile away – but spending time with these characters is a pleasure.

Fox delivers a handsome, rich Blu-ray presentation for Cedar Rapids that looks detailed and film-like, despite the fact that it was shot digitally. Skin tones are natural, colours vibrant and blacks are deep – at times even a bit too deep, swallowing detail here and there. But it’s nothing to be concerned about. This is a good looking disc. The DTS- HD Master Audio 5.1 track is solid but front heavy, as you’d expect from a dialogue-driven comedy like this. You won’t learn much about the production in the bonus features of the disc but there are plenty of additional yuks to be had, including six deleted senes, a gag reel, a collection of short ‘making-of’ featurettes and more.

AMAZON: $19.99

3. PRIEST OF LOVE

“The later years of the life of author D.H. Lawrence are dramatized in this critically acclaimed biography. Following the controversial reception of his novel The Rainbow, David Herbert Lawrence (Two-time Academy Award Nominee, Ian McKellen, X-Men series, Lord of the Rings series) and his wife Frieda (Academy Award Nominee, Janet Suzman, A Dry White Season, Nuns on the Run) leave England for the U.S., where they hope that Lawrence’s bold themes will be received in a more tolerant climate. Such is not the case, and the Lawrence’s travel first to Mexico, and then to Italy while David attempts to complete and then publish his best known (and most controversial) work, Lady Chatterley’s Lover. However, as the furor over the book taxes David’s well being, tuberculosis saps his physical health. Also starring Academy Award Nominee (and screen legend) Ava Gardner (Mogambo, The Barefoot Contessa, Pandora and the Flying Dutchman) in one of her last big screen roles and Academy Award Winner John Gielgud (Arthur, Elizabeth). “

Well, Kino‘s description of the film really says it all. It’s a delight to see Sir Ian in one of his first roles and, while the film isn’t full of drama or conflict (it’s a little flat, to be honest), he plays the role with enough vigor and vitality that it’s worth a couple hours of your time. I haven’t seen the new Blu-ray transfer yet but given Kino’s generally excellent work and the fact that the film hasn’t been available on these shores since the days of VHS, watching it in HD should prove a treat! Bonus features include ‘The Way We Got It Together‘, a 25-minute ‘making-of’ piece, over a half hour of interviews with McKellen and director Christopher Miles, deleted scenes, outtakes, a stills gallery and trailers.

AMAZON: $24.49

4. THE ROMANTIC ENGLISHWOMAN

“From Academy Award Winning screenwriter Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love, Brazil, Empire of the Sun), The Romantic Englishwoman credibly explores the notion that a writer can manipulate the people in his life as deftly as he can manipulate the characters in his imagination. The title character Elizabeth, (Two-time Academy Award Winner, Glenda Jackson, Hopscotch, Sunday Bloody Sunday) is the wife of Lewis (Two-time Academy Award Winner, Michael Caine, The Dark Knight, Hannah and Her Sisters), a novelist. At this point in his life, Lewis thinks in nothing but literary terms: Elizabeth is vacationing in Europe alone, ergo she must be having an affair. Half out of frustration, she confirms her husband’s suspicions by romancing German drug dealer Thomas (Helmut Berger, The Godfather III, Iron). Things get even dicier when Lewis invites Thomas into his home, requesting his technical advice on a screenplay he is working on. Also starring Academy Award Nominee Kate Nelligan (The Prince of Tides, Premonition) and Michael Lonsdale (Of Gods and Men, Ronin). First time ever on Blu-ray! “

A second release from Kino this week, I place The Romantic Englishwoman in the number four spot on the basis of the fact that it’s coming from a boutique studio I trust (c’mon Kino, don’t let me down!) and that it’s a film written by Tom Stoppard, whose work I generally adore. I’m slightly wary of it on the grounds that director Joseph Losey tends toward the ambiguous (some might say pretentious) – a storytelling style that can run afoul of audiences if not handled well. The Blu-ray doesn’t contain a whole lot of bells and whistles, but does feature a stills gallery and some trailers.

AMAZON: $24.49

5. LOUIE: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON

“From the uproariously unrestrained mind of comedian Louis C.K. comes the year’s most outrageously original comedy! As a newly-divorced, well-meaning father raising two young daughters, Louie struggles to cope with his strenuous mid-life shake-up, and his stand-up comedy provides a gleefully warped reflection of his hectic, everyday reality. There are disastrous first dates, indecent proposals, high school bullies, booze-addled play dates – and more. Featuring stellar guest stars such as Matthew Broderick and Ricky Gervais, “Louie” is unfiltered, off-kilter, and hilarious.“

One of the funniest and finest television comedies in years makes its Blu-ray debut this week in a 2-disc set that contains all thirteen episodes of the first season. Louie might be a little crass for the most conservative viewers but it’s so original and such a clear breakout hit for comedian and star Louis C.K. that it’s worth a look by even the most timid of sitcom fans. The Blu-ray disc features a nice high-def presentation, culled from digital footage shot on the Red One camera, that only falters during the pilot episode. The 5.1 DTS-HD soundtrack is solid enough for this sort of program – clean and clear but not terribly immersive. There are 11 commentary tracks to check out in the set, over half and hour of deleted content and a 4-minute interview with the star.

AMAZON: $29.99

6. UNKNOWN

“The star of Taken and The A-Team jumps back into action with brute force! Liam Neeson plays Dr. Martin Harris, who awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that his wife (January Jones) suddenly doesn’t recognize him and another man (Aidan Quinn) has assumed his identity. Ignored by disbelieving authorities and hunted by mysterious assassins, he finds himself alone, tired and on the run. Aided by an unlikely ally (Diane Kruger), Harris plunges into a deadly mystery forcing him to question his sanity, his identity and just how far he’s willing to go to uncover the truth. “

All right. Here goes. I really enjoyed Unknown. It’s a pretty straight-ahead thriller, I’ll give you that (it does manage a decent little twist at the end, though.) And yes, January Jones’ performance is, once again, akin to that of a wet cardboard box or mildly-talented ashtray. And yes, there are action sequences that feel rote and predictable, as if the production team was aware that the film needed to be ‘spruced up’ at the one-hour mark, so as not to lose those members of the audience less-interested in the plot. But it’s tense and, for the most part, quite smart. And it’s a delight to see Liam Neeson coming in to his own as a mature action hero. He does it well. This is a stylish, exciting caper worth a rental at the very least.

Unknown looks fantastic on Blu-ray! While maybe a bit dark to be your next demo disc, every detail seems to be well articulated and resolved. A light sheen of grain keeps the image film-like throughout, despite its veneer of slick. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is very atmospheric, giving the surrounds plenty of attention from beginning to end, while the sub-thumping only comes into play later in the film, as the action heats up. Extras are, sadly, quite slim, including only a couple of fluffy, short featurettes.

AMAZON: $22.99

7. THE ISLAND

“Blockbuster action director Michael Bay delivers a striking look at a strange world of the future in this sci-fi action drama. Midway through the 21st century, Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor) lives in a confined indoor community after ongoing abuse of the Earth has rendered most of the planet uninhabitable. One of the only places in the outside world still capable of sustaining life is an idyllic island where citizens are chosen to live through a lottery. Or at least that’s what Lincoln and his fellow citizens are taught to believe; the truth is that Lincoln, like everyone he knows, is actually a clone who is kept under wraps to provide needed organs when the person who supplied his or her DNA falls ill. When he becomes aware that his existence is a fraud, Lincoln escapes to the outside world with a fellow clone, Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson), though the powers that be are determined to see that no one gets away alive. The Island also stars Steve Buscemi, Djimon Hounsou, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Sean Bean.“

What’s the deal? Why the hell am I enjoying so many fliks that are supposed to be crappy this week? I had heard nothing but negative reviews of Michael Bay’s The Island but damn, if I didn’t get a kick out it! First of all, I’ve just got to say that this thing has got some of the best looking, no doubt Apple-approved production design I’ve ever seen in film. What a great looking movie. Hands down, if I had to pick a film to live in, I would live in The Island. The photography by Mauro Fiore just enhances that feeling, with a vibrant and rich pallette busted out for exteriors to contrast the stark whites and gunmetal greys of the interiors. Gorgeous. You can tell that I’m more enamoured with the look of the film than the story by Star Trek writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (along with Caspian Tredwell-Owen). It’s got a great setup but a predictable twist and is filled through the latter part of the second act with unnecessary Bay-action. But really, I expect nothing less from his films .

Paramount has afforded a very nice, detailed transfer for the films North American Blu-ray debut. Colours pop off of the screen, blacks are deep and there’s a nice sheen of grain throughout. Scarlett Johansson often looks soft in shots but I have to think her complexion was scrubbed on purpose, as no other actor in the frame is at a loss for pores. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track sounds like a Michael Bay film through and through. It’s active as all get out, and will give your sub the workout it’s been pleading for. Killer audio track! Special features include a somewhat middling director’s commentary track, with patches of silence but plenty of production detail and behind the scenes info, a couple of featurettes and 8-minutes of ‘pre-viz’ – computer animated storyboards.

AMAZON: $15.99

8. THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU

“Academy Award® nominee Matt Damon (The Bourne trilogy) stars in this action thriller about a man who glimpses the future Fate has planned for him – and chooses to fight for his own destiny. Battling the powerful Adjustment Bureau across under and through the streets of New York he risks his destined greatness to be with the only woman he’s ever loved (Emily Blunt: The Young Victoria The Devil Wears Prada). Based on a story by the legendary Philip K. Dick (Total Recall Minority Report and Blade Runner) The Adjustment Bureau is “entertaining and thought-provoking”. — Katey Rich CINEMABLEND.COM “

Another film I haven’t had a chance to view this week but this one looks right up my street. I love all the actors involved, I love the stories of Philip K. Dick and I love a good love story. That’s a lot of love, right there. Word on the street is that it’s not the best Dick adaptation out there (hello, Blade Runner?!) but is good enough to kill a Sunday afternoon. The Blu-ray is getting positive early reviews, apparently sporting an all-around impressive A/V presentation. Extras include a commentary track, deleted and extended scenes and a bunch of featurettes.

AMAZON: $22.99

9. THE EAGLE

“In 2nd-Century Britain celebrated Roman soldier Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum) embarks on a dangerous quest to restore the tarnished reputation of his father and find the golden emblem that disappeared with him and thousands of troops twenty years earlier. But the highlands of Caledonia are a savage wilderness and Marcus must rely on his embittered slave Esca (Jamie Bell) to navigate the perilous region. Their journey pushes them beyond the boundaries of loyalty and betrayal friendship and hatred deceit and heroism. Donald Sutherland co-stars in this gripping gritty action-packed adventure from acclaimed director Kevin Macdonald.“

Director Kevin Macdonald has made some good films (Last King of Scotland anyone?) but I dread having to sit through The Eagle. And, if I’m to be honest, it has nothing to do with him or his ability as a filmmaker. It’s Channing Tatum. I don’t think I can watch that guy on screen anymore. He has dead eyes. Really. They don’t move. Or express. Or ACT! Couple my already existing issues with his corpse-face with the fact that he’s supposed to be portraying a ROMAN SOLDIER here and, in my opinion, you’ve got a recipe for disaster. If someone can remove him with CGI I’ll be happy to watch The Eagle on Blu-ray.

Sorry Kevin Macdonald. I really do like your work.

AMAZON: $22.99

10. GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX

A trio of animated films comprised of edited story arcs from the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series. I’m not a fan myself (I love the look of the films the series is based on but the overwrought ponderous, existential robot bullshit just kills the vibe for me) but those who follow the series might be disappointed that these episodes are only available on Blu-ray in this chopped up, revisionist format. That said, the studio claims that all three “films” will contain digitally enhanced and reworked scenes, which could look cool, if handled well. And who knows, if these sell well, perhaps the entire series will see a Blu-ray release?

AMAZON: $25.99 each

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:

Related posts

• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of November 23 (1)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of December 7 (1)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of October 26 (2)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of October 19 (4)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of November 16 (3)

It’s another big week of Blu-ray releases but there’s very little from the mainstream that sticks out. A couple of Criterion releases and some solid catalogue titles make it a busy week for collectors and fans but those looking for sparkling new Hollywood fare worth their hard earned dollars have little of true value to choose from.

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. BATTLE: LOS ANGELES

“For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sighting around the world – Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings will become a terrifying reality when Earth is attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the world’s great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It’s up to a marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they’ve ever encountered before.“

Imagine the kind of alien invasion story you saw in Independence Day shot in the style of Blackhawk Down and you’ll get a solid sense of what you’re in for in Battle: Los Angeles. This is far from the finest film ever made. In fact, what it lacks in plot it tries to make up for in character and action, failing miserably in the former yet winning the viewer over with healthy helping of the latter. As much as there’s an attempt to aquatint you with the soldiers (read: cannon fodder) early in the film, it’s the well staged, immersive fight sequences that keep the film alive. Battle: Los Angeles took a critical bludgeoning during its theatrical run but deserves a second look on home video, as what it does best it does better than most. It deserves the number one spot on the list this week for being one the most genuinely exciting action films released so far this year and for being the biggest, most commercial release of the week.

As you’d expect from Sony, the Blu-ray is reference quality work all around. The transfer appears without flaw, exhibiting incredible amounts of detail, vivid colours and deep blacks. The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is dynamic and fully immersive, able to rattle your china with explosive lows while convincingly placing the viewer in the middle of a battlefield, bullets zipping by your head through the very active surround channels.

Extras are plentiful and well thought out with the Command Control picture-in-picture track being the most compelling feature available. Filled with storyboard-to-film comparisons and interview snippets, the track also allows you to bounce out and watch over 20-minutes of ‘Focus Points’ which can also be viewed separately. Be aware that there are two flavours of this release out there – one with a bonus DVD copy of the film (as pictured above) and one that includes a demo of Sony’s Resistance 3 videogame for the PS3. Both are valuable but unnecessary additions to an already excellent Blu-ray package.

Special Features:

• Exclusive playable game demo of the first-person shooter PS3 game Resistance®3
• Command Control – Command and control your viewing experience by watching Picture-in-Picture, Storyboard Comparisons and Battle Points within the context of the movie.
• Featurettes:
  • Behind The Battle
  • Aliens in LA
  • Preparing for Battle
  • Creating L.A. in LA
• movieIQ

AMAZON: $17.99

2. THE MAKIOKA SISTERS

“This lyrical adaptation of the beloved Japanese novel by Junichiro Tanizaki was a late-career triumph for world-class director Kon Ichikawa (The Burmese Harp, Fires on the Plain). Revolving around the changing of the seasons, The Makioka Sisters (Sasame-yuki) follows the lives of four sisters who have taken on their family’s kimono manufacturing business, over the course of a number of years leading up to the Pacific War. The two oldest have been married for some time, but according to tradition, the rebellious youngest sister cannot wed until the third, conservative and terribly shy, finds a husband. This graceful study of a family at a turning point in history is a poignant evocation of changing times and fading customs, shot in rich, vivid colors. “

In terms of my love for the films on this weeks list, The Makioka Sisters should own the number 1 spot. This is, without question, the finest film hitting Blu this week. But it’s staid, poetic style (not to mention the lengthy runtime and subtitles) will keep a lot of folks from experiencing it. It’s pretty far from a mainstream release. But if you’re a film lover, as I am, and you don’t mind longer, foreign releases, this new Criterion disc is where you should spend your $20 today.

For more detail on the disc, read my full review here: The Criterion Collection: The Makioka Sisters Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $19.99

3. THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE (Canadian Exclusive)

“What do women really think of men? What do they talk about when men aren’t around? What about men, what do they talk about? Fantasies, temptation, desire, indiscretions, infidelity, confessions, acrobatics and everything else that makes sex the only subject worth talking about. Every taboo is hilariously exposed in this unforgettable classic about modern relationships.“

Is Denys Arcand‘s The Decline of the American Empire the best Canadian film ever made? Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to claim that, although countless others have since its release in 1986. But it’s certainly significant, winning 9 Genie awards (Canadian Oscars) and an Oscar nod and spawning a sequel in 2003 (The Barbarian Invasions) that would ultimately walk away with the golden statue. Arcand assembles here a chatty yet riveting, frank collection of discussions and debates on the nature of men, women and sex that frame a drama between a group of eight friends, crisscrossing relationships that span several years.

The Decline of the American Empire makes its Blu-ray debut in stellar style on a Canadian exclusive Blu-ray disc release from eOne films (Seville). This is undoubtedly the finest this film has ever looked on home video. In fact, it looks so fresh and clean that it’s quite often hard to believe this is a twenty-five year old film. But that cleanliness is sometimes troubling, as grain comes and goes from shot to shot, exhibiting an all around inconsistent look to the transfer. It’s possible that a heavy hand was employed on the digital scrubbing here, or that the original elements exist in varying states. nevertheless, the overall image is quite pleasing to watch and most scenes are fairly film-like.

I would advise avoiding the Dolby Digital 2.0 English dub of the film for the more well-rounded French DTS-HD 5.1 track. Though most of the sound comes at you through the center channel in this conversational drama, the original soundtrack is more dynamic and, it goes without saying, true to the film. Extras are, sadly, presented in French only but consist of a half-hour look back at the making of the film at its 15th Anniversary mark and a shorter retrospective on its 25th.

Recommended!

AMAZON: $20.99 CDN

4. THE CINCINNATI KID

“Steve McQueen brings his cool fire to the role of the Cincinnati Kid, a small-timer eager to take his chances in high-stakes poker. He gets his chance. Regal, ruthless Lancey Howard (Edward G. Robinson), the elite gambler called the Man, accepts the Kid’s challenge. Norman Jewison (“In the Heat of the Night”, “Moonstruck”) directs this taut exploration of back-room gaming, building suspense with each turn of a card. And Ann-Margret, Karl Malden, Rip Torn, National Board of Review Best Supporting Actress Award winner Joan Blondell and many more comprise a full house of talent. Grab a chair and ante up.“

I just can’t get enough of Steve McQueen. And though he’s not busting heads or driving fast cars here in The Cincinnati Kid, he’s all kinds of card playing cool. This is Jewison as a young filmmaker and the work reflects that – more classical and tentative in production than his later cocksure efforts. But it really comes alive with its stellar cast. I’m telling you, I could watch any number of these performers sit quietly in a room on their own for hours and be entertained. Rip Torn and Edward G. Robinson simply light up the screen every time the camera turns to them. And don’t get me started on how sexy Ann Margaret and Tuesday Weld are here. What a powerhouse cast.

Warner has done a bang-up job on this Blu-ray disc. The transfer is perfectly film-like, with a nice sheen of grain, tons of detail and vivid colours that pop right off the screen. There doesn’t seem to be a hint of unnecessary digital tampering here. The DTS-HD Master Audio track is mono only but serves the dialogue-heavy film quite well. Extras are ported over from the previous DVD edition of the film and consist of an energetic and enjoyable commentary from Jewison, scene specific commentary from the hosts of Celebrity Poker Showdown (guess what they chat about?), a 6-minute vintage featurette and a trailer.

Recommended!

AMAZON: $13.99

5. INSIGNIFICANCE

“Four unnamed people who look and sound a lot like Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio, and Joseph McCarthy converge in one New York City hotel room for this compelling, visually inventive adaptation of Terry Johnson’s play, from director Nicolas Roeg (Walkabout, The Man Who Fell to Earth). With a combination of whimsy and dread, Roeg creates a fun-house-mirror picture of cold war America that questions the nature of celebrity and plays on a society’s simmering nuclear fears. Insignificance is a delirious, intelligent drama, featuring magnetic performances by Michael Emil (Tracks, Always) as “the professor,” Theresa Russell (Bad Timing, Black Widow) as “the actress,” Gary Busey (The Buddy Holly Story, Lethal Weapon) as “the ballplayer,” and Tony Curtis (Sweet Smell of Success, Spartacus) as “the senator.” “

Oh boy. This is a tough one for me. I’m such a fan of director Nicolas Roeg. I just want to love everything he does but if I’m going to be honest, Insignificance just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe it’s my natural aversion to all things ‘theatrical’ (the film is an adaptation of Terry Johnson‘s stage play) or the wantonly existential nature of the dialogue in the film but I find sitting through it a hard slog. Or perhaps it’s that I just never believe that Theresa Russell is Marilyn Monroe or that Gary Busey ball player Joe DiMaggio, the famous movie-star’s one-time husband. Or that either of them would wax intellectual about the nature of space time in a hotel room with Einstein (well embodied by Michael Emil.) Tony Curtis is the highlight here, as far as I’m concerned, chewing scenery in the role of Senator Joe McCarthy. Though Roeg goes to great lengths to move the story from the stage to celluloid it never manages to transcend the proscenium arch of the theatre, remaining an unnecessarily ponderous treatise on the fleeting nature of celebrity, science and life.

Thankfully, Criterion knocks the Blu-ray presentation out of the park. The transfer is rich and film-like, with vivid colours and a ton of detail. Audio is presented in lossless mono and is clean and clear, while limited to the nature of the source. It would be nice to hear Stanley Myers and Hans Zimmer‘s music on a larger, more dynamic stage but nevermind. This is a faithful soundtrack. Supplements are present in the form of several interviews (around 45-minutes worth), the theatrical trailer and a nice 24-page illustrated booklet.

AMAZON: $27.99

6. HARRY POTTER: ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITIONS

I love these Harry Potter boxed sets! I really do. They feature the films, a ton of bonus material, a gorgeous hardcover book and a bunch of goo-gaas in packaging that looks like a series of hardbound library books. I only received review copies of the DVD editions of these latest two editions in the series, so I can’t comment on the discs themselves but the content seems to replicate previous home video editions with the addition of the hour-long chapter of the World of Harry Potter documentary series. It should be noted that the 43-minute The Hidden Secrets of Harry Potter doc is no longer included in the Order of the Phoenix set, so completists will want to hold onto the previous Blu-ray disc.

AMAZON: $33.99, $29.99

7. 36TH PRECINCT

“In this action-packed cop thriller a gang of armed robbers have committed seven deadly robberies within a year. When two lieutenants are told that whoever stops the gang will become the next Chief of Police, the competition between them becomes increasingly ruthless, blurring the lines of morality, until there is no difference between the police and the criminals they chase.“

Described as a French version of Michael Mann‘s Heat, 36th Precinct finally makes its way to Blu-ray here in North America. Palisades Tartan released the 2004 film on Blu in the UK early last year and it’s been available in France for about two and a half years now. I haven’t seen the disc myself but we can assume the transfer will match the excellent image on the Gaumont transfer from France (also used for the UK disc) and the punchy DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 French language soundtrack. Extras are plentiful and include a ‘making-of’ doc, an interview with the director, featurettes on weapons and wardrobe and trailers.

AMAZON: $13.99

8. POINT BREAK

“Young FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) goes undercover at the suggestion of his partner (Gary Busey) to learn if a group of wild surfers is actually a gang of bank robbers. He soon comes under the dangerous spell of the surfers’ charismatic leader, Bodhi (Patrick Swayze), a mystical mastermind who’ll do absolutely anything for a thrill – and expects his followers to do the same.“

Point Break makes the move from Fox to Warner in a new release of the classic surfers-who-rob-banks thriller, starring Keanu and Swayze in a couple of their now iconic roles. It’s pretty hard to take this film seriously, filled as it is with laughably over-the-top or simply bad performances. Swayze rules both the beach and the film here, as the presence that not only holds the plot together but the performance that keeps the film from feeling bargain basement cheap. He’s electric every time he’s on screen and nearly worth the price of admission all on his own.

The new BD from Warner appears identical to that of the previously issued disc from Fox, suffering only from the quality of the source material. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack also seems identical, with clean and clear dialogue and a limited dynamic range. Extras have been ported over and include additional scenes, 4 featurettes and the theatrical trailer. A couple of additional trailers and a photo gallery have been excised for this edition and are not missed.

AMAZON: $13.99

9. HEAVY METAL

“Based on the fantastical illustrated magazine Heavy Metal, producer Ivan Reitman enlists the help of some of Hollywood’s animation masters to create the otherworldly tale of a glowing green orb from outer space that spreads destruction throughout the galaxy. Only when encountered by its one true enemy, to whom it is inexplicably drawn, will goodness prevail throughout the universe. Richly and lavishly drawn, the vignettes of the orb’s dark victories include the character voices of John Candy, Harold Ramis and a pounding soundtrack by Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Cheap Trick, Devo, Donald Fagen, Don Felder, Grand Funk Railroad, Sammy Hagar, Journey, Nazareth, Stevie Nicks, Riggs, and Trust. Highly imaginative and full of surprising special effects, Heavy Metal set the standard for alternative contemporary animation. An intoxicating experience not be missed! “

This classic animated film has been available on Blu-ray as Best Buy exclusive since February but is available in wide release today. Fans of the film will no doubt be happy to have Sony’s faithful transfer to high-def but should be prepared for the ugly details revealed by the bump up to 1080p. A pretty decent DTS-HD MA 5.1 sound track presents the ’80s music in all its due grandeur. Extras are limited but pretty cool, including an entire early cut of the film with optional Carl Macek (the late father of Robotech!) commentary.

AMAZON: $14.99

10. RED RIDING HOOD

“In a medieval village a beautiful young girl falls for an orphaned woodcutter, much to her family’s displeasure. When her sister is killed by the werewolf that prowls the dark forest surrounding their village, the people call on a famed werewolf hunter to help them kill the wolf. As the death toll rises with each moon, the girl begins to suspect that the werewolf could be someone she loves. Panic grips the town as she discovers that she has a unique connection to the beast–one that inexorably draws them together, making her both suspect…and bait. “

Well, I had to fill the list out with something, right? I’m still waiting for my review copy of Red Riding Hood but, as much as I’m told of its suckitude, the stills and trailers I’ve seen for this thing look stunning. I’m really looking forward to seeing it in full 1080p on my 110″ projector screen. Extras include an Alternate Cut of the film, a picture-in-picture commentary track, deleted scenes, a gag reel and more.

AMAZON: $22.99

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:

Related posts

• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of April 12 (0)
• The Criterion Collection: The Makioka Sisters Blu-ray Disc Review (0)
• The Criterion Collection: Insignificance Blu-ray Disc Review (0)
• Sony announces Battle: Los Angeles Blu-ray disc (0)
• Criterion June Blu-ray titles: Black Moon, Zazie dans le métro, People on Sunday, The Makioka Sisters, Kiss Me Deadly, Insignificance (0)

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. SUPERMAN: THE MOTION PICTURE ANTHOLOGY

“Soar to New Hi-Def Heights with the Complete Movie Collection in Breathtaking Blu-ray Clarity and Sound! Deluxe 8-disc set with over 20 hours of bonus features!

Includes:
Superman The Movie
Superman The Movie: Expanded Edition
Superman II
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
Superman III
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Superman Returns

“

This is damn near the Superman boxed set I’ve been waiting for! Ever since Superman Returns was released on home video I’ve been waiting for something special. As much as I wanted to pick that film up to view in the comfort of my own home, I held off, knowing I would one day have it in an HD format. But it was damn tempting to purchase that 14-disc Ultimate Collectors Edition DVD tin. That was everything I was looking for – all the films, supplements AND the Fleischer brothers’ cartoons – right there in one convenient package. Tough as it was, though, I held off, waiting for the eventual release of the same content in HD. Well, that day has finally come. And the Blu-ray boxed set is so close to being everything I was hoping for.

All the content is there. All five films – two versions each of Superman and Superman II. All the deleted scenes. The commentary tracks. The documentaries. Everything – and I mean everything – has been carried over from the DVDs. There’s even some new stuff to be found here – some new documentary features and the original, never-before-seen opening of Superman Returns. And, for the most part, everything looks great in HD, with even the previously available original film receiving a brand spanking new transfer that provides it a slight visual uptick from the old disc.

My only real gripe with this whole, beautiful boxed set is that Warner didn’t take this opportunity to upgrade the classic Fleischer cartoons to HD. A criminal oversight, if you ask me. Look, I get it. It’s all about disc space and price point, right? In order to fit all 17 shorts onto one of these discs in anything other than super-compressed standard def the primary feature would take a bitrate hit. Which is actually unacceptable. And to include them on an additional ninth disc would alter the packaging and add cost to the already pricey set. Most likely pushing it beyond a price point the studio deems acceptable. What they might not realize, however, is that those cartoons are far more coveted by fans and collectors than any and all of the docs, featurettes and special features in the set. I would easily have sacrificed the content of the eighth disc in the box – the disc of bonus material – to have the cartoons presented in 1080p (a cruel tease of which can be seen in the HD docs provided on said disc).

Nevertheless, despite my singular issue with the Blu-ray set (and the questionable quality of the third and fourth Christopher Reeve films included within – not the Blu-ray discs, mind you, which are quite handsome, but the nigh-unwatchable films themselves), this is a killer offering from Warner. And most definitely highly recommended. Now we only need sit and wait a time longer for the studio to release those Fleischer cartoons on their own individual special edition Blu-ray. You’ll excuse me, though, if I don’t hold my breath.

FULL 8-DISC SET DETAILS: 8-Disc The Superman Motion Picture Anthology Blu-ray box set for June

AMAZON: $89.99

2. TRUE GRIT

“True Grit is a powerful story of vengeance and valor set in an unforgiving and unpredictable frontier where justice is simple and mercy is rare. Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), is determined to avenge her father’s blood by capturing Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), the man who shot and killed him for two pieces of gold. Just fourteen, she enlists the help of Rooster Cogburn (Academy Award® Winner Jeff Bridges), a one-eyed, trigger-happy U.S. Marshall with an affinity for drinking and hardened Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Academy Award® Winner Matt Damon) to track the fleeing Chaney. Despite their differences, their ruthless determination leads them on a perilous adventure that can only have one outcome: retribution. “

I don’t think I have to tell you, at this point, that the Coen brothers‘ remake/adaptation of True Grit is one of the finest films of the last year. I’m sure you’ve heard the buzz. Or have seen the award shows. But if you weren’t fortunate enough to catch the film during its theatrical run, allow me to recommend this Blu-ray disc as a blind-buy. Yeah, it’s that great.

Following the original John Wayne film and the Charles Portis book nearly note-for-note, the Coen’s do a remarkable job making the film their own. Character arcs remain the same but it’s the nuance, the pacing and style that have undergone a modern, quirky overhaul. For the better, I might add. I love the old film but this one just feels so fresh and vibrant. And it doesn’t hurt that the performances are spectacular across the board. Bridges ably stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Wayne’s Oscar winning performance, mumbling and fumbling through the manhunt alongside the remarkable, young Steinfeld. Damon eclipses Glen Campbell‘s clean-cut Texas Ranger here, but to be fair, the script gives him a lot more to play with.

Roger Deacons‘ stunning photography (and my God, it is stunning here) is perfectly reproduced on the Blu-ray. This is a demo-quality disc. It’s gorgeous. Colour, detail and contrast and spot on and there’s a nice sheen of film grain to keep it all feeling real. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 is also beyond reproach, representing the full dynamic range of the soundtrack and Carter Burwell‘s very fine score while providing ample environmental ambiance. Again, this is your new demo disc. Awesome!

If I’m to take issue with the disc at all, I’d take aim at the somewhat paltry helping of special features it offers up. I mean, the featurettes on the disc are just fine and dandy, don’t get me wrong. They cover most aspects of production but are hobbled by the same element missing from all Coen brothers’ home video releases – the Coen brothers themselves. It’s tough to really get the full picture of how the production was put together without the cooperation of the driving creatives forces behind it and without them, the extras suffer. As I said, the featurettes are good unto themselves, but just not quite comprehensive enough.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Mattie’s True Grit
• From Bustles to Buckskin—Dressing for the 1880s
• Colts, Winchesters & Remingtons: The Guns of a Post-Civil War Western (BD-exclusive)
• Re-Creating Fort Smith
• The Cast
• Charles Portis—The Greatest Writer You’ve Never Heard Of… (BD-exclusive)
• The Cinematography of True Grit (BD-exclusive)
• Theatrical Trailer (BD-exclusive)

AMAZON: $17.99

3. ANOTHER YEAR

“From seven-time Oscar(R) nominee Mike Leigh comes this critically acclaimed slice of life starring Academy Award(R) winner Jim Broadbent (Best Supporting Actor, “Iris”, 2001), Lesley Manville and Ruth Sheen. A happy couple for over thirty years, Tom (Broadbent) and Gerri (Sheen) act as a steady anchor to their unmarried circle of family and friends. But as the seasons change and another year passes, Tom and Gerri’s support is put to the test in this masterful look at life, love and the meaning of friendship.“

Argh. This is a tough one for me. Even though I’ve yet to see Another Year I’m awarding it the number three spot this week on the basis of it creative personnel behind the film and the studio releasing the disc. Mike Leigh makes great movies. Often, he makes perfect movies. Did you see Topsy Turvy? Perfect. And Naked. Perfect. How about Secrets and Lies or Vera Drake? You get it. In terms of the Blu-ray disc itself, I expect nothing short of the perfection that Sony is generally known for in their transfers. In short, I have little doubt that this will be a great film that looks and sounds fantastic on Blu. Speaking of blind-buys, this is one for me.

AMAZON: $26.99

4. THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES

“As The Outlaw Josey Wales, five-time Academy Award winner* Clint Eastwood is ideally cast as a hard-hitting, fast-drawing loner, recalling his “Man with No Name” from his European Westerns. But unlike that other mythic outlaw, Josey Wales has a name – and a heart. After avenging his family’s brutal murder, Wales is on the lam, pursued by a pack of killers. He travels alone, but a ragtag group of outcasts (including Sondra Locke and Chief Dan George) is drawn to him – and Wales can’t leave his motley surrogate family unprotected. Eastwood’s skills behind and in front of the camera connected with audiences for its humor and tenderness as well as its hair-trigger action. “

Some folks consider Unforgiven Eastwood’s crowning achievement as a director. Others love The Outlaw Josey Wales. And I think I can count myself among them. Where his later effort meanders and is often guilty of wanton artfulness, Wales gets right to business and stays sharp and honest, as befits the former “Man with No Name”. As fine a job as he delivers in the director’s chair here, Eastwood’s performance is what really sells the picture. He’s never better than when he’s got a gun in his hand a serious grudge to take care of. If you dig stories about cowboys out for revenge, you can’t do much better than this film.

Warner has done a bang up job with this Blu-ray. It looks spectacular, drenched in rich, vivid colour that really does Bruce Surtees‘ photography proud. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track sounds somewhat dated but quite strong, all things considered. A healthy helping of extras are provided, including a new commentary track from Eastwood biographer Richard Schickel, a half-hour ‘making-of’ doc, a brand new half-hour look at Eastwood’s history with the Western genre, the vintage 8-minute ‘Eastwood in Action‘ featurette and the theatrical trailer. The Blu-ray is packaged in a great little 32-page, hardcover digibook.

AMAZON: $24.99

5. THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING

“Based on a Rudyard Kipling story and packed with spectacle, humor, excitement and bold twists of fate, John Huston’s film of The Man Who Would Be King earns its crown as “an epic like no other. One of the screen’s great adventure yarns” (Danny Peary, Guide for the Film Fanatic). Sean Connery and Michael Caine – chins out, shoulders squared and with a sly wink – star as British sergeants Danny Dravot and Peachy Carnehan. The Empire was built by men like these two. Now they’re out to build their own empire, venturing into remote Kafiristan to become rich as kings. “

I love this film. I mean, Connery and Caine starring in an adaptation of a Rudyard Kipling book, directed by John Huston with a score by Maurice Jarre – need I say more? I have the only other version of the film available on disc and it’s a pretty disgusting affair. An old flipper DVD from 1997 that looks soft and messy. I’m so happy to finally be able to ditch it in favour of this HD upgrade. Sadly, Warner has once again given the film the short end of the stick, relegating the lush, lengthy film to a single-layer Blu-ray disc that feels like it’s about to buckle under the epic’s weight. Don’t get me wrong, King has never looked better on home video. And there are moments of true awesome-osity in the image. But just as often, the presentation turns soft, complexions appear waxy and things look a little less like actual film than you’d hope. Nevertheless, this is pleasant transfer from a source that’s most likely far from perfect. The DTS-HD Master Audio track is presented in the original mono and is clear enough though overall quite thin, with evidence of hiss lurking underneath.

Extras are slim and amount to a single 12-minute vintage featurette and the theatrical trailer. Just as Warner’s Josey Wales release, the Blu-ray is packaged in a nice 32-page, hardcover digibook.

AMAZON: $25.99

6. THE STUNT MAN

“It defied all odds to become the most unexpected and acclaimed cult hit of the ’80s, and it remains one of the most slyly subversive and thrillingly original action/comedy/drama motion pictures of all time. The legendary Peter O’Toole – in his iconic Oscar(R) nominated performance – stars as director Eli Cross, a deliciously megalomaniacal madman commanding a film-set circus where a paranoid young veteran (Steve Railsback) finds himself maybe replacing a dead stunt man, possibly falling for the beautiful leading lady (Barbara Hershey), and discovering that love, death and the mayhem of moviemaking can definitely be the wildest illusions of all. “The Stunt Man” now features a stunning HD transfer supervised by Oscar(R) nominated producer/director Richard Rush, plus new interviews and commentaries with Rush, Peter O’Toole, Steve Railsback and Alex Rocco, all in the ultimate edition of the classic that the Los Angeles Times calls “as innovative today as ‘Citizen Kane’ was in its time”.“

This cult classic is one of the most exciting releases of the week. I haven’t seen the new Blu-ray yet but I’m certain that Severin have provided it a killer, crystal-clear transfer, as they’re known for delivering. Bonus features are plentiful here, including all extras from the old Anchor Bay DVD and tons of newly created goodies. Check it out!

Special Features:

• Audio Commentary with writer/director Richard Rush and stars Peter O’Toole, Steve Railsback, Barbara Hershey, Alex Rocco, Sharon Farrell, & Chuck Bail
• The Maverick Career Of Richard Rush – Exclusive new featurette
• Peter O’Toole Recounts The Stunt Man – Exclusive new featurette
• Devil’s Squadron – Exclusive new featurette with Steve Railsback and Alex Rocco
• Barbara Hershey On Nina Franklin – Exclusive new featurette
• The Sinister Saga Of The Making Of The Stunt Man – Feature length documentary by Richard Rush
• The Stunt Man At The New Beverly – Blu-ray exclusive
• Theatrical trailers
• Deleted scenes

READ MORE: Severin bringing The Stunt Man to Blu-ray in June

AMAZON: $19.99

7. ROBIN OF SHERWOOD: SET 1

“The centuries-old legend of Robin Hood was never more vividly brought to life than in this acclaimed British series. Combining real history with elements of magic and mysticism, and set against a backdrop of gritty medieval realism, Robin Of Sherwood has captivated fans of all ages. Heading up the superb ensemble cast are Michael Praed (“Dynasty”) as Robin of Loxley, Ray Winstone (“Sexy Beast”) as seething-mad Scarlet, and Nickolas Grace (“Brideshead Revisited”) as the greedy, conniving Sheriff of Nottingham. Shot entirely on location in English castles and countryside, the authentic atmosphere is enhances by an award-winning soundtrack of haunting melodies by the Irish band Clannad. Includes all 13 episodes in Series 1 & 2.“

Blargh! This is my guilty pleasure of the week. I loooooooooved this show as a kid. Used to watch it every weekend on PBS (yeah, we see your US PBS stations up here in Canada…AND WE LOVE THEM!) I still maintain that this presentation of the Robin Hood legend is the definitive one. Nothing can touch it. Despite the excess of weirdo pagan mysticism and the eventual switch-up of the leading actor in the series. But I’m getting ahead of myself here.

This first Blu-ray set, encompassing Series One and Two of the show, features all the episodes with original star Michael Praed in the title role. And he rocks! The entire cast is young and fresh and bring more energy and authenticity to the roles than ever before or since (why does Hollywood insist on casting Americans in these roles when Brits are clearly the better choice?!)

The 4-disc set (3 Blu-ray discs and 1 DVD of extras) ports over all the goodies from the previously available boxed set and includes a few new extras and a pretty awesome 40-page book. The only issues here are in the high-def presentations themselves. As noted on the packaging itself, the transfers are culled from the best possible sources but are subject to their limitations. And indeed, they’re inconsistent. At their best, they’re a mild (but kind of exciting) improvement from the DVDs, with more detail, deeper blacks and far more vivid colours. At worst, you’ll feel like you’re watching your DVDs again. But I’m happy to report that most episodes look better than not. Sadly, audio is only Dolby Digital. Sigh.

This is still a great set of a classic TV show. If you already own the DVDs, buy with caution. If you don’t, rush out and grab this Blu-ray set. It’s the best Robin Hood you’ll ever see!

CLICK HERE FOR FULL DISC DETAILS AND TRAILER

AMAZON: $59.99

8. GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD KNIGHTS

“SIX LEGENDARY GREEN LANTERNS. SIX INTERLOCKING STORIES.
ONE GROUNDBREAKING FILM. DISCOVER THE ORIGIN OF THE CORPS.

With stories by acclaimed writers including Geoff Johns, Alan Burnett and Dave Gibbons, this DC Universe Animated Original Movie explores the rich mythology of the Green Lantern universe through six interlocking chapters. While awaiting a battle with Krona, an ancient enemy of the Guardians of the Universe, Earth’s Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Kilowog, Sinestro and other members of the Green Lantern Corps recount their greatest adventures to new recruit Arisia – everything from tales of the first Lantern to the ominous events that led to the Corps’ Blackest Night! The power-packed voice cast includes Nathan Fillion, Elisabeth Moss, Jason Isaacs, Henry Rollins and Arnold Vosloo.

“

Just in time to promote the upcoming June 17 release of the big-budget, live-action feature film, Warner releases this animated anthology of Green Lantern tales. And, much like all direct to video DC Comics animated films, it’s a fun little ride. If you’re a fan of the comics, you’ll have a great time watching this. If you have a child who loves superheroes, they’ll get a real kick out of it. Most adults with only a casual interest in the upcoming film, however, will probably find the stories overly involved in a universe they care little about but will enjoy the fairly well animated action sequences.

The Blu-ray disc suffers from the usual core of issues in the DC animated discs – colour banding and slight artifacting. Outside of those niggling distractions, the Blu-ray looks great, with eye popping colours and deep blacks. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is front heavy but full of life and dynamically sound. Bonus features are plentiful but seem more focused on the recent Green Lantern comics and writer (and now Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics) Geoff Johns. I find it strange that the animators and writers of the film itself aren’t as involved in the extras but there you go. At the end of the day, DC cares more about selling you comics than telling you about how the film was put together.

The highlight of the entire disc, for me, is the preview of the next direct to video film – Batman: Year One. Holy crap, this thing looks amazing. Skip the Johns love-fest featurettes and watch the Batman preview over and over again!!

AMAZON: $16.99

9. MGM CATALOGUE TITLES

This seems to be a regular occurrence every month now – MGM digs deep into their vault and unleashes a torrent of catalogue titles, all on the same day, all sporting honest, no-nonsense transfers that are reasonably film-like and fairly pleasant to watch. I haven’t laid eyes on any of the above but you can bet your bottom dollar that I’ll be picking up Vera Cruz and New York, New York as soon as I can!

AMAZON: Various

10. WARNER 2-MOVIE COLLECTIONS

There’s some pretty decent stuff here, in Warner’s latest batch of double-movie Blu-ray packs. I’ve only inspected the Scooby Doo 1 & 2 set and the Wyatt Earp and Jesse James pack but can confirm that they contain two-discs each – the exact Blu-ray discs previously released by Warner. So really, these are all known commodities – mostly decent to exceptional discs – now available at a 2-for-1 bargain price. How can you go wrong?

AMAZON: Various

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:

Related posts

• [VIDEO] Robin of Sherwood Blu-ray Trailer (2)
• 8-Disc The Superman Motion Picture Anthology Blu-ray box set for June (1)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of May 18 (3)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of February 23 (0)
• Coen Brothers’ True Grit coming to Blu-ray (0)

This is Kubrick day. There’s no doubt about it. As much as I love a lot of these other releases hitting shops today, it’s all about the Kubrick. Check out the unboxing video above, made by the fine folks over at DVDTown to see for yourself what all the fuss is about. That’s a damn beautiful set!

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. STANLEY KUBRICK FILMS

“9 Groundbreaking Movies. 10 Discs. One Visionary Moviemaker.
SPARTACUS (1960) The genre-defining epic tale of a bold gladiator (Kirk Douglas) who leads a triumphant Roman slave revolt.
LOLITA (1962) Academic Humbert Humbert (James Mason) is obsessed with a blithe teen (Sue Lyon) in a dark comedy from Vladimir Nabokov’s novel.
DR. STRANGELOVE (1964) “Accidental” nuclear apocalypse, anyone? Peter Sellers heads the cast of one of the most blazingly hilarious movies of all time.
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) “The most awesome, beautiful and mentally stimulating science-fiction film of all time” (Danny Peary, Guide for the Film Fanatic).
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE: 40th Anniversary Edition (2-Discs) (1971) Future world neo-punk Malcolm McDowell becomes the guinea pig for a government cure of his tendency toward “the old ultraviolence.”
BARRY LYNDON (1975) The visually spellbinding tale of an 18th-century Irish rogue’s (Ryan O’Neal) climb to wealth and privilege.
THE SHINING (1980) In a macabre masterpiece adapted from Stephen King’s novel, Jack Nicholson falls prey to forces haunting a snowbound mountain resort.
FULL METAL JACKET (1987) Marine recruits endure basic training under a leather-lunged D.I., then plunge into the hell of Vietnam.
EYES WIDE SHUT (1999) A wife’s admission of unfulfilled longing plunges a Manhattan doctor into a bizarre erotic odyssey. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman star. “

Oy. Where do I start? This is one monster boxed set. One of the most significant Blu-ray collections that will be released all year. And for the most part, it’s a killer. A must-own. If you don’t have a bunch of the included discs in your collection already.

This 9-film, 10-disc collection of the works of director Stanley Kubrick includes his entire oeuvre, short of the pre-1960 works (Fear and Desire, still unavailable on home video, Killer’s Kiss and The Killing coming to Criterion Blu-ray on August and Paths of Glory which you can grab on an awesome Criterion Blu right now.) The films themselves are beyond reproach, say what you will about Eyes Wide Shut. Every title in the collection is a classic. Sadly, not every classic is treated equally in the boxed set.

As you’re no doubt aware by this point, most of the discs in the set have been appropriated from previously released editions, with Spartacus and Dr. Strangelove making appearances here in this Warner Home Video set thanks to their home studios, Universal and Sony, respectively. Sony’s disc is balls-out awesome, with a great transfer and tons of extras. Universal’s disc sucks, with a crappy looking picture and an anemic selection of bonus stuff (I’m still crossing my fingers that Criterion will win back the license to release the definitive Blu-ray edition of Spartacus, a high-def upgrade of their amazing DVD from 2001.) The rest of the films, the 7 titles under Warner’s control, never suffer as much on Blu as the waxy-looking Spartacus does, with most transfers appearing quite spectacular (I’m looking at you, you handsome, reference-quality 2001: A Space Odyssey Blu-ray!) Eyes Wide Shut is afflicted with a relatively noisy, inconsistent presentation and A Clockwork Orange, despite being available in a new 40th Anniversary Edition is still far from perfect (it’s the same VC-1 transfer from the previously available 2007 Blu-ray) but most everything here is roses. The old transfers for The Shining and Full Metal Jacket are all-around quite nice and the brand spanking new editions of Barry Lyndon and Lolita are gorgeous. Actually, I’d go so far as to say that they’re nearly perfect. While devoid of bonus features, these are the Blu-ray editions of the films that you’ve been hoping for.

If you already own a bunch of these discs separately, you’ll probably want to avoid picking up the Collection set, as it only offers you a couple of films new to Blu that you can now purchase in individual releases (Amazon exclusives, at the moment.) The tenth disc in the set features the docs Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (142 minutes but still in SD) and O Lucky Malcolm! (an 86 minute, HD feature about Malcolm McDowell) and is also available in the new A Clockwork Orange: 40th Anniversary set.

The book-like packaging of the entire Collection is handsome, however, and much nicer to have on your shelf than separately packaged discs. Have I mentioned how much I love this type of packaging? It’s the same sort of gorgeous hardcover, thick digi-book that Warner used for their fantastic Deadwood Blu-ray set. It’s so nice, it’s almost worth ditching your old discs for the upgrade.

Either way, if you’re a Kubrick fan or a film fan in general, you’ll want to pick up these films on Blu, whether all together in the set, or simply the stunning new editions of Lolita and Barry Lyndon on their own. You can’t go wrong.

AMAZON: $104.99

NEWLY AVAILABLE:

BARRY LYNDON

“How does an Irish lad without prospects become part of 18th-century English nobility? For Barry Lyndon (Ryan O’Neal) the answer is: any way he can! His climb to wealth and privilege is the enthralling focus of this sumptuous Stanley Kubrick version of William Makepeace Thackeray’s novel. For this ravishing, slyly satiric winner of 4 Academy Awards, Kubrick found inspiration in the works of the era’s painters. Costumes and sets were crafted in the era’s designs and pioneering lenses were developed to shoot interiors and exteriors in natural light. The result is a cutting-edge movie bringing a historical period to vivid screen life like no other film before or since. “

Like I said above, this is the Blu-ray edition of Barry Lyndon you’ve been waiting for. It’s stellar all around. The transfer is soft, as you’d expect from this candle-lit picture, but all-around stunning and accurate to the source. The mono audio source has been expanded to an impressive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, though remains quite front-heavy in execution. Sadly, the only special feature is the theatrical trailer.

AMAZON: $13.99

LOLITA

“Newly arrived in Ramsdale, New Hampshire, European émigré Humbert Humbert is smitten. He plans to marry Charlotte Haze. That way he’ll always be close to his dear one – Charlotte’s precocious daughter! Filmmaker Stanley Kubrick explores the theme of sexual obsession (a subject he would revisit 37 years later in Eyes Wide Shut) with this darkly comic and deeply moving version of Vladimir Nabokov’s novel. James Mason plays devious, deluded Humbert: wedded to needy Charlotte (Shelley Winters); rivaled by the ubiquitous Clare Quilty (chameleonlike Peter Sellers); and enraptured to his gelatinous core by the blithe teen (Sue Lyon) with that “lovely, lyrical, lilting name” – Lolita. “

Again, if you’ve been praying to the home-video Gods for a faithful, impressive release of Lolita on Blu, your wish has been granted. The image is everything you’ve been hoping for – a film-like presentation completely accurate to the source material. The DTS-HD Master Audio track doesn’t expand beyond the original audio this time and sounds great, for what it is. There are no extras of which to speak on this disc, beyond the standard-def trailer.

AMAZON: $14.99

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE: 40th Anniversary Edition

“Stomping, whomping, stealing, singing, tap-dancing, violating. Hooligan Alex (Malcolm McDowell) has a good time – at the tragic expense of others. His journey from amoral punk to brainwashed proper citizen and back again forms the dynamic arc of Stanley Kubrick’s future-shock vision of Anthony Burgess’ novel. Controversial when first released, A Clockwork Orange won New York Film Critics Best Picture and Director Awards and earned four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Its power still entices, shocks and holds us in its grasp. “

The individual release of the 40th Anniversary A Clockwork Orange Blu-ray is an upgrade from the 2007 edition in that it includes a couple of new HD bonus features, a second disc with excellent docs on Kubrick and lead actor Malcolm McDowell and a handsome digibook package. The only other difference from the old disc is that a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track takes the place of the earlier uncompressed LPCM mix. To my ear, however, they sound identical.

Special Features:

• Commentary by Malcolm McDowell and historian Nick Redman
• Malcolm McDowell Looks Back: Malcolm McDowell reflects on his experience working with legendary director Stanley Kubrick on one of the seminal films of the 1970s (new)
• Turning like Clockwork: the film’s ultra-violence and its cultural impact (new)
• Still Tickin’: The Return of Clockwork Orange
• Great Bolshy Yarblockos!: Making A Clockwork Orange
• Theatrical Trailer
• Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures: Kubrick’s career comes into sharp focus in this compelling documentary narrated by Tom Cruise. Fascinating footage glimpses Kubrick in his early years, at work on film sets and at home, augmented by candid commentary from collaborators, colleagues and family (new to Blu-ray)
• O Lucky Malcolm!: Documentary about the life and career of actor Malcolm McDowell produced and directed by Jan Harlan

AMAZON: $25.99

2. ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST

“Sergio Leone‘s monumental picture, here in its original form, ranks among his most admirable achievements. In the dying days of the Old West, a struggle to control water in a dusty desert town embroils three hard-bitten gunmen in a epic clash of greed, honor and revenge. Henry Fonda stars in his most sinister role as Frank, a hired killer who ruthlessly slays an entire family. Jason Robards plays Cheyenne, an infamous bandit framed for slaughter. And Charles Bronson is The Man, a mysterious loner determined to exact vengeance for a grudge he refuses to divulge. An influence on countless directors, Leone’s masterpiece is considered among the greatest Western’s ever made.“

On any other week, Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West would’ve been a shoe-in for the number one slot. This is a classic film, most would agree that it’s the director’s best, presented now in a gorgeous new Blu-ray edition from Paramount. Detail is astounding here, in a picture that offers greater depth than you’d expect from a film of its age. Colours are vivid and sun-ravaged and blacks imposing and deep. Slight print damage survives the digital restoration and some unobtrusive wobble is present but nothing that will distract from this otherwise excellent presentation. This is what a studio can do with a classic film when they really put their minds to it.

Paramount have included the original mono soundtrack for purists but you’ll want to check out the more dynamic, yet still tasteful, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. Subtle ambient effects inform the sonic environment without compromising the original sound design of the film. Excellent work.

Special features have been carried over from the previously available DVD edition of the film and are, for the most part, well worth a look. The most impressive feature of the disc, however, is the fact that the studio has included two different cuts of the film for your viewing pleasure – the original theatrical 165-minute version as well as the 166-minute restoration.

Highly recommended!!

Special Features:

• Feature Film: Restored Version
• Feature Film: Theatrical Version
• Commentary with contributions by directors John Carpenter, John Milius and Alex Cox, film historians Sir Christopher Frayling and Dr. Sheldon Hall, cast and crew
• An Opera of Violence
• The Wages of Sin
• Something to do with Death
• Railroad: Revolutionizing the West
• Locations Then & Now
• Production Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer

AMAZON: $15.99

3. TRUE BLOOD: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON

“The Maenadian reign of terror may be over, but Sookie Stackhouse and the townspeople of Bon Temps face a new calamity that makes the bacchanalian evils of Maryanne Forrester seem tame by comparison. In Season 3, Sookie desperately tries to locate her fiancé, ending up in a netherworld of human and undead interlopers, among them the powerful Vampire King of Mississippi, Russell Edgington. “

Oh my God, True Blood is addictive. I only just received the Complete Third Season boxed set the other day and have been blasting through its 12-episodes ever since. While I haven’t finished it yet, as of this writing, I have to say that I think it’s the most compelling season yet. But not always for the best reasons. Watching True Blood feels a lot like how I would imagine reading a dirty, yet well crafted romance novel would make one feel. I know I’ve been sucked into pulpy, low-class fare full of naked skin, spilled blood and creatures of the night but damn, I just can’t stop watching. And I don’t feel guilty about it, either. Much like the previous two seasons, the writing is strong and unpredictable, production design is pulpy, sweaty and dark and performances are solid across the board.

HBO and Warner deliver another fang-tastic Blu-ray transfer (sorry) with True Blood: The Complete Third Season. If you’ve seen the first two seasons on Blu, you know what I’m talking about. Blacks are deep and striking, colours are vivid and detail abounds. I did note some compression issues in the blacks but unless you’re watching an improperly calibrated LCD from off-centre, you’ll never notice. The sound track is beyond reproach, with every neck bite and howl to the moon perfectly reproduced in ambient, dynamic DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1.

This third season features the best collection of extras for the series to date, with every episode awarded its own picture-in-picture ‘Enhanced Viewing Experience‘ and short ‘Post Mortem‘ follow-up. There are 6 commentary tracks, an 11-minute “Anatomy of a Scene” breakdown, an interactive guide to the characters, previews, recaps and a music video.

AMAZON: $34.99

4. BIUTIFUL

“Academy Award® nominee Javier Bardem is Uxbal, a man on the wrong side of the law who struggles to provide for his children on the dangerous streets of Barcelona. As fate encircles him, Uxbal learns to accept the realities of life, whether bright, bad — or biutiful — in this unforgettable Academy Award®-nominated film from director Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel). “

Finding this pre-summer weather a tad too cheery for your liking? Why not take it down a notch with the dour, depressing, yet quite outstanding Oscar nominated Biutiful? At over 2 1/2-hours long, this blow to your emotional core can be pretty tough to take but if you’re the type of film-goer who enjoys a challenge, and genuinely moving work from gifted filmmakers and performers, then this one might just win you over. The Blu-ray looks impressive, with beautiful photography captured in two different aspect ratios – 2.40:1 and 1.85:1, both exhibited on the Blu-ray. Deep blacks and lush colours are the highlights here. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track is also impressive. There are over 20-minutes of the director’s video and audio “notes”, a 4-minute long look at the various talents of the crew and 8-minutes worth of interviews.

AMAZON: $22.99

5. AMERICAN GRAFFITI

“From director George Lucas (“Star Wars”) and producer Francis Ford Coppola (“The Godfather”), “American Graffiti” is a classic coming-of-age story set against the 1960s backdrop of hot rods, drive-ins and rock n’ roll. Starring Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips and Suzanne Somers in their breakout roles, this nostalgic look back follows a group of teenagers as they cruise the streets on their last summer night before college. Nominated for five Academy Awards(R), including Best Picture and Best Director, “American Graffiti” features the howling sounds of Wolfman Jack and an unforgettable soundtrack with songs by Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, The Beach Boys and Bill Haley & His Comets.“

Ok, don’t kill me, but I still haven’t seen George Lucas’ American Graffiti. I know, I know. What business do I have including it in the Top 10 list then? Well, I thought it’s a significant enough release of an important film that it should live somewhere around the middle. Now, I was dying to get my hands on this bad boy until I read early reviews of the disc which claim it suffers from an awful lot of edge enhancement. Why Universal can’t do right by their catalogue releases is a mystery to me. Special features are carried over from the DVD. A George Lucas U-Control Video Commentary and The Music of American Graffiti are new picture-in-picture features, created especially for the Blu-ray.

AMAZON: $19.99

6. RIO LOBO

“A classic action-filled John Wayne western is set into motion with a spectacular robbery of a Union pay train by Confederate guerrillas. The train’s colonel (Wayne) jails the enemy leaders but the three men later become friends when the war ends. Together they seek the Union traitors responsible for a string of Confederate train robberies, a mission that culminates in a rousing shoot-em up finale. “Rio Lobo” was the fifth collaboration over a 22-year period between John Wayne and the legendary director Howard Hawks.“

I’m certain that Paramount is unleashing a host of westerns on Blu-ray in anticipation of their big True Grit remake release coming up next week. Rio Lobo doesn’t receive the same kind of love that Once Upon a Time in the West gets from the studio, nor does it particularly deserve to. By that I mean it’s just not as much of a classic. It’s another John Wayne/Howard Hawks film that milks the tried and true cowboy formula perfected in movies like Rio Bravo and El Dorado. But does so with considerably less vigor. That’s not to say that Rio Lobo isn’t a good film. It’s just not as extraordinary and fun as previous Wayne/Hawks dusters.

The Blu-ray disc looks fine but far from exemplary. There’s no untoward use of digital tools here, unlike previous catalogue westerns from the studio, so the results are far more film-like. However, this isn’t the most detailed Blu-ray disc you’ll ever see, looking overall like it was minted from an older high-def transfer. There’s nothing wrong with it, per se, it’s just not going to knock your socks off. Soundtracks are offered in both DTS-HD Master Audio stereo and 24-bit 5.1 surround and sound more impressive than they deserve to. There are no bonus features of any kind on the disc.

AMAZON: $15.99

7. LEGEND

““Legend”, from director Ridley Scott (“Blade Runner”, “Gladiator”), is a visually stunning fantasy-adventure in which pure good and evil battle to the death amidst spectacular surroundings. Set in a timeless mythical forest inhabited by fairies, goblins, unicorns and mortals, this fantastic story stars Tom Cruise as a mystical forest dweller, chosen by fate, to undertake a heroic quest. He must save the beautiful Princess Lily (Mia Sara) and defeat the demonic Lord of Darkness (Tim Curry) or the world will be plunged into a never-ending ice age.“

Another Blu-ray disc I haven’t had the opportunity to screen this week but one I’m just itching to get my hands on. Despite its weaknesses, I’ve always been a big fan of Legend. I think it has a lot to do with a combination of the production design, Tim Curry’s badass portrayal of the villain, the Lord of Darkness and the impressionable age at which I first saw the film. Being from Canada, I grew up with the shorter cut of the film, with the Tangerine Dream synth score and only saw the longer “International Cut” with Jerry Goldsmith‘s music a few years ago on DVD. What a difference! Nevertheless, without the shorter cut and the rethink of the music, I never would have discovered Bryan Ferry (whose track ‘Is Your Love Strong Enough’ plays over the end credits in the US cut) and his band Roxy Music. For that, I’ll always be thankful.

AMAZON: $14.99

8. A MAN CALLED HORSE

“Richard Harris stars in this carefully documented epic that attempted to realistically portray the life of the American Sioux in the early 19th century. When an English lord is captured by a Sioux Indian tribe, he is given to the chief’s aging mother as a servant. Gradually, he embraces the tribe’s way of life and falls in love with the Chief’s sister. But before he can be accepted with honor as an equal member of the tribe, he must endure the Sun Vow – a savage ritual far beyond the realm of anything dreamed of in the civilized world. To recreate authentic Indian costumes for the film’s accuracy, the production designer met with real American Indians only to discover their notion of Indian clothing was based on the costumes designed by Hollywood studios.“

A Man Called Horse is surprisingly stunning on Blu-ray. I mean, the film – based on a story of the same name by Dorothy M. Johnson – is lovingly well-shot to begin with, sporting gorgeous colours and breathtaking vistas. The shock here is that without too much intrusion on Paramount’s part, the transfer to video has avoided being watered down in any way. It looks great! This is most likely not a brand new transfer but it certainly manages to remain eye-catching. The print is so clean here, you’d almost think this was the product of a costly restoration. Much like Rio Lobo, two audio tracks have been provided but you’ll want to try out the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 over the uncompressed stereo. It’s a bit more aggressive and fun to listen to. There are no bonus features on this disc.

AMAZON: $16.99

9. BIG JAKE

‘In this action-filled western, John Wayne stars as Big Jake McCandles, a husband who hasn’t seen his wife (Maureen O’Hara) in over 18 years. But he returns home after his grandson is kidnapped by a vicious outlaw gang. While the law gives chase in rickety automobiles, Jake saddles up with an Indian scout (Bruce Cabot) and a box of money – even though paying a ransom isn’t how Jake plans to exact good old frontier justice. Spiced with humor and first-class gunfights, this is a vivid depiction of the last days of the wild frontier. “Big Jake” was a family affair for John Wayne. His oldest son produced it and two other sons, Patrick and John Ethan, appear in it. The film also marks the second time Richard Boone and John Wayne worked together and the fifth time Wayne worked with Maureen O’Hara.”

Big Jake is a lesser version of The Searchers, produced fifteen years later by a far less celebrated director. Once again, the Duke finds himself on the trail of a kidnapped child but this time, the hunt takes only days instead of years, and the villains are thugs instead of a band of Comanche. On its own, the film is a fun ride and looks pretty decent on Blu but can’t hold a candle to its predecessor.

This appears to be another catalogue title from Paramount that hasn’t received any restoration but also hasn’t suffered the ugly hand of digital tampering. Luckily, the source appears in good health here, resulting in an image that’s colourful and rich, with a nice, overall film-like appearance. Again, Big Jake features a couple of solid audio tracks in the form of a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track and one in lossless stereo. There are no extras on the disc.

AMAZON: $15.99

10. THE CAT O’ NINE TAILS

“When a simple robbery at a research institute leads to a series of brutal murders, a blind puzzle maker (Academy Award(r) winner Karl Malden of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE) and a tenacious reporter (James Franciscus of BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES) begin their own investigation of the crimes. With nine different clues to follow, they uncover a shocking web of twisted genetics and dark sexual secrets that will finally lead them to a shattering climax of violence and suspense.

Originally released in 1971, THE CAT O’NINE TAILS secured the international reputation of director Dario Argento as ‘The Italian Hitchcock.’ This is the definitive version of Argento’s masterful second film, presented completely uncut and uncensored in a brand-new High Definition transfer from its original camera negative!”

It’s another classic Argento on Blu from Blue Underground!! This time around, though, I’m a bit torn about the resulting quality of the new HD transfer. Taken on its own, it appears bright and film-like, with seemingly accurate colours and solid blacks. But the colour timing is vastly different from previous releases and, when viewed back to back, seems a bit blown out. There appears to be a loss of detail from cranked up whites, with colours maybe a bit hotter than they should be across the board. I’m no expert on this film and would love to hear from someone who has had more experience with it theatrically. But from what I can see, this transfer, while solid, appears to misrepresent Argento’s original intent where the photography is concerned.

The audio is DTS-HD Master 2.0 and is clean and clear throughout. BU also includes the original mono track in lossless audio. Special features include ‘Tales of the Cat‘ – 14-minutes worth of interviews with Argento, co-writer Dardano Sacchetti and composer Ennio Morricone, radio interviews, TV and radio spots and a couple of trailers.

AMAZON: $14.99

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:

Related posts

• Stanley Kubrick Limited Edition Collection 10-Disc Blu-ray boxed set, A Clockwork Orange 40th Anniversary Edition announced (0)
• Westerns on Blu-ray from Paramount in May: Once Upon a Time in the West, Rio Lobo, A Man Called Horse, Big Jake (1)
• [UPDATED] Ridley Scott’s Legend coming to Blu-ray, available for pre-order (0)
• Rumoured Blu-ray Releases Pushed Back: Alien Quadrilogy, The Indiana Jones Trilogy, Back to the Future Trilogy, More (2)
• [VIDEO] HBO Holiday Blu-ray ads: True Blood, Entourage (0)

I’m spent. It’s almost the end of the day and I’ve been hacking away at this on and off for ages. So let’s just skip the usual rundown before the list and get into the good stuff.

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 GREAT DICTATOR

“In his controverisal masterpiece The Great Dictator, Charlie Chaplin offers both a cutting caricature of Adolf Hitler and a sly tweaking of his own comic persona. Chaplin, in his first pure talkie, brings his sublime physicality to two roles: the cruel yet clownish “Tomainian” dictator and the kindly Jewish barber who is mistaken for him. Featuring Jack Oakie and Paulette Goddard in stellar supporting turns, The Great Dictator, boldly going after the fascist leader before the U.S.’s official entry into World War II, is an audacious amalgam of politics and slapstick that culminates in Chaplin’s famously impassioned speech.“

Trust Criterion to one-up themselves. Not satisfied with releasing the best-ever home video version of a Chaplin film with last years Modern Times Blu-ray disc, the studio has unleashed a nearly perfect edition of The Great Dictator on Blu today. Not only does it sport a revelatory transfer but it’s stacked with special features that are worth the cost of the disc on their own. Of note is the exceptional 2001 documentary, ‘The Tramp and the Dictator’ by filmmakers Kevin Brownlow and Michael Kloft. It’s a 55-minute look into the lives of Chaplin and Hitler, narrated by Kenneth Branagh and featuring interviews with more writers, directors, family members and historians than I care to list here.

Recommended!

Special Features:

• New high-definition digital restoration with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• New audio commentary by Charlie Chaplin historians Dan Kamin and Hooman Mehran
• The Tramp and the Dictator (2001), a documentary narrated by filmmaker Kenneth Branagh and featuring interviews with author Ray Bradbury, director Sidney Lumet, historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., screenwriter Budd Schulberg, and a host of others
• Two new visual essays, by Chaplin archivist Cecilia Cenciarelli and Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance
• On-set, color production footage shot by Chaplin’s half-brother, Sydney
• Deleted scene from Chaplin’s 1919 film Sunnyside
• Theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Michael Wood and a 1940 article by Chaplin on the film

AMAZON: $26.99

2. SOLARIS

“Ground control has been receiving strange transmissions from the remaining residents of the Solaris space station. When cosmonaut and psychologist Kris Kelvin is sent to investigate, he experiences the strange phenomena that afflict the Solaris crew, sending him on a voyage into the darkest recesses of his own consciousness. In Solaris, the legendary Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky (Ivan’s Childhood, Andrei Rublev) gives us a brilliantly original science-fiction epic that challenges our conceptions about love, truth, and humanity itself. “

Often regarded as Russia’s answer to Stanley Kubrick‘s 2001: A Space Odyssey, Tarkovsky’s Solaris is lyrical and often breathtaking. It’s quite long too. But if you’re willing to sit down to a lengthy Russian art film, the pacing here shouldn’t phase you. The photography by Vadim Yusov has never looked better than on this Blu-ray disc, sporting a transfer that has “corrected” the black and white sections of the film to now have the intended blue tint. The presentation is an all around improvement over the previously issued DVD, looking far more film-like than ever before on home video. The uncompressed mono soundtrack is clean and clear, representing Eduard Artemiev‘s electronic score rather well. Bonus materials have been carried over from the DVD in whole and are excellent from top to bottom.

Special Features:

• High-definition digital restoration (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
• Audio essay by Andrei Tarkovsky scholars Vida Johnson and Graham Petrie, coauthors of The Films of Andrei Tarkovsky: A Visual Fugue
• Nine deleted and alternate scenes
• Video interviews with actress Natalya Bondarchuk, cinematographer Vadim Yusov, art director Mikhail Romadin, and composer Eduard Artemyev
• Excerpt from a documentary about Stanislaw Lem, the author of the film’s source novel
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Phillip Lopate and an appreciation by director Akira Kurosawa

AMAZON: $26.99

3. PLATOON

“Winner of 4 Academy Awards(R) including Best Picture, and based on the first-hand experience of Oscar(R)-winning director Oliver Stone, “Platoon” is powerful, intense and starkly brutal. “Harrowingly realistic and completely convincing” (Leonard Maltin), it is “a dark, unforgettable memorial” (The Washington Post) to every soldier whose innocence was lost in the war-torn jungles of Vietnam. Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) is a young, naive American who, upon his arrival in Vietnam, quickly discovers that he must do battle not only with the Viet Cong, but also with the gnawing fear, physical exhaustion and intense anger growing within him. While his two commanding officers (Oscar(R)-nominated Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe) draw a fine line between the war they wage against the enemy and the one they fight with each other, the conflict, chaos and hatred permeate Taylor, suffocating his realities and numbing his feelings to man’s highest value… life.“

Platoon still holds up, after all of these years. I think it’s one of Oliver Stone’s best films. And one of Charlie Sheen’s too. This new anniversary Blu-ray disc from Fox/MGM provides an improvement over their previously available DVD but you’ll only really notice it in daylight scenes. Darker images (of which there are numerous) are gritty and lack consistent contrast and black levels. But that’s Platoon for you. The transfer is a good one, but the film is only going to sparkle so much, even in HD. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is clean but dialogue clarity is sometimes eclipsed by the sounds of jungle warfare. Supplements are carried over from the DVD and are exhaustive, covering every aspect of the production as well as giving historical perspective on the Vietnam war.

Special Features:

• Audio Commentary with Director Oliver Stone
• Audio Commentary with Military Advisor Dale Dye
• Deleted & Extended Scenes
• Flashback to Platoon
• Documentaries
• Vignettes
• Television Spots
• Theatrical
• Trailer

AMAZON: $15.49

4. PAPILLON

“They called him Papillon, meaning buttlerfly. If only he had wings to go with the name. Unable to fly, Henri Charriere virtually willed himself free. He persisted until he did the impossible: escape Devil’s Island. Based on Charriere’s bestseller and shot in Spain and Jamaica, Franlin J. Schaffner’s film of Papillon united two stars at key career junctures. After a decade of fine work in The Great Escape, The Sand Pebbles and Bullitt, Steve McQueen found in Charriere another ideal tough-guy role. Coming off The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy and Little Big Man, Dustin Hoffman again distinguished himself as Dega, Charriere’s scruffy friend. “

Much like Solaris, Papillon is a slow, deliberate film about imprisoned men (this time held on an island as actual prisoners, not stuck in a spacecraft, inside memories) rendered with gorgeous photography and ambiance to spare. But unlike Tarkovsky’s sensitive epic, director Franklin J. Schaffner’s adaptation of the memoirs of Henri Charrière and the horrors he endured in a French Guiana penal colony is deeply disturbing and trades thoughtful Marxist-inspired discourse about the nature of man for the raw cruelties we can inflict on one another. Steve McQueen is miscast as the Frenchman but gives a riveting performance nonetheless, if you can ignore his American accent. Dustin Hoffman, doing his best Bogey impersonation, is often too much for me but a surprisingly effective foil for his co-star.

The Blu-ray presentation of Papillon appears to accurately represent the source material – it looks soft and dreamy, and full of lush colours, just as director of photography Fred Koenekamp shot it. Detail and colour fidelity are improved from the DVD, providing the Blu-ray a far more film-like image than ever before on home video. The lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack is clean and clear, with adequate use of surrounds and enough dynamic headroom for Jerry Goldsmith‘s score to breath. Sadly, the only bonus feature on the disc, aside from the handsome 32-page digibook, is a vintage featurette, ‘The Magnificent Rebel’.

AMAZON: $24.99

5. GRAND PRIX

“Formula I drivers compete to be the best in this slam-you-into-the-driver’s seat tale of speed, spectacle and intertwined personal lives. John Frankenheimer (who 32 years later would again stomp the pedal to the metal for the car chases of “Ronin”) directs this winner of 3 Academy Awards(R), crafting split-screen images to capture the overlapping drama and orchestrating you-are-there Point-Of-View camerawork to intensify the hard-driving thrills. Nearly 30 top drivers take part in the excitement. Buckle up to race with the best.“

I’m really not into racing fliks. Especially racing fliks that are three hours long. But I’m a sucker for anything directed by John Frankenheimer and therefore, reluctantly gave myself over to his 1966 epic, Grand Prix. Speaking of Steve McQueen, the actor and avid race-car driver was the first choice to play the lead role in the film but, after a falling out with the producer, the studio slotted Maverick himself, James Garner into the role. The film plays a bit schizophrenic to me, with the dramatic scenes and the music echoing Hollywood films of old and the racing scenes shot and cut with a far more modern style. The great designer Saul Bass had a hand in devising the race sequences, slicing them up like comic book panels and crossfading shots, one to the other, forming new and different images on screen. Absolutely brilliant and unquestionable the highlight of the film, for me.

Warner‘s new HD encode of the film is striking and quite often brilliant. The Blu-ray presentation is detailed and colourful but does suffer the occasional artifact and edge halo. The print itself has been handled nicely but hasn’t been completely restored. If you look closely you’ll see damage pop up occasionally in the form of spots and streaks. But you’ll barely notice them. This disc looks great! You’ll never believe that the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix belongs to a film over forty-years old. This is an awesome track with roaring lows and screaming highs. Special features have been carried over in full from the previous DVD and HD-DVD editions of the film and include the half-hour Speed network special, Pushing the Limit: The Making of Grand Prix, along with four other recent and vintage featurettes and a trailer.

AMAZON: $14.99

6. LE MANS

“Forty-five international racing stars join Steve McQueen in the gritty, nerve-shattering re-creation of the toughest car race on earth – “Le Mans“. Returning to France to compete a year after he’s been injured, an American driver (McQueen) finds himself drawn to the widow of a racer who was killed in the same accident. Filmed on location in France, the film’s spellbinding cinematography provides a dazzling look at the world’s most extraordinary cars and the unique personalities of the people drawn to the race car circuit. Steve McQueen, himself a championship racer, did most of his own driving on the harrowing 8.5 mile Le Mans course – often at speeds exceeding 200 miles per hour.“

A few years after he had turned down the lead role in Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix, McQueen finally sorted out his own racing film with director Lee H. Katzin (chiefly known for his TV work) at the helm. I wasn’t expecting Le Mans to play out in as spartan a fashion as it does. There’s not much story here. And watching the short “making of” doc on the disc explained why – the production spent all its time figuring out how to shoot the race, and didn’t give much time to script and story. It shows. It’s hard to stay involved with the film because the characters only show up briefly between race sequences. In fact, the film is more of a documentary of that particular Le Mans race than a traditional narrative-based movie. But I find it tough to consider that a fault of the film. It is what it is – more of an experiment in letting actions (and driving) speak for itself – a concept befitting a film vehicle for tough guy McQueen.

I really enjoyed the look of the Le Mans Blu-ray disc. Colours just pop off the screen and there’s detail aplenty. There doesn’t appear to be any unnecessary digital tampering here, as the image looks very natural and film-like throughout. It’s awesome to see great work like this on a catalogue transfer from Paramount. It give me hope for the eventual releases of Chinatown and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Much like Grand Prix, this lossless DTS-HD MA 7.1 sound track is impressive for a film of this age. Car engines rumble the sub and zoom by surround channels at every turn. This is an energetic track from the starting line to the finish. Special features are lite, consisting only of the film’s trailer and a made-for-tv documentary, Filming at Speed: The Making of the Movie ‘Le Mans’ hosted by the late-star’s son, Chad McQueen.

AMAZON: $17.99

7. TIGERLAND

“Just release from the base stockade, recruit Roland Bozz (Colin Farrell) joins a platoon of young soldiers preparing to ship out to Vietnam. Bozz’s independence and outright defiance draws fire from his own men as well as commanding officers. But when the platoon is sent to “Tigerland“, a helish training ground that is the last stop before Vietnam, Bozz’s leadership and loyalty bring his men together – triggering extraordinary consequences.“

After the Batman movie series fiasco it’s been really tough for me to sit down to anything directed by Joel Schumacher. I mean, he almost single handedly destroyed one of the great film franchises of all time with his infusion of camp, flourescent colours and unwanted rubber nipples. It’s tough to admit, then, that Schumacher was able to rebound from his Bat-failure so skillfully only a few years later with a character driven training camp film called Tigerland. Farrell’s tough-yet-nuanced performance and Schumacher’s bleached 16mm shooting style breathe life into the film and give it an unexpected edge.

Those stylistic decisions mean that the HD presentation on the Blu-ray doesn’t feature the kind of slick image that will impress your friends or show off your home theatre gear. 16mm film is, by its nature, lower in resolution and exhibits far more grain than 35mm or digital. And you’ll see it all on this Blu-ray. It’s hard to say for sure but I believe this to be a faithful representation of the source material and a generally pleasing transfer all around. The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is clear and clean. Extras include a director’s commentary track, ‘The Real Tigerland‘ 22-minute doc, ‘Joel Schumacher: Journey to Tigerland‘ (10-minutes) looking back on the making of the film, ‘Ode to Tigerland‘ (11-minutes) with screenwriter Ross Klavan, ‘Colin Farrell Casting Session‘ (6-minutes), vintage ‘making-of’ featurette (4-minutes), the trailer and tv spots.

AMAZON: $20.99

8. I AM NUMBER FOUR

“Three are dead. Who is Number four? From Director D.J. Caruso (Disturbia), producer Michael Bay (Transformers) and the Emmy-winning writers of TV’s Smallville, comes this gripping, action-packed thriller. John Smith (Alex Pettyfer) is an extraordinary teen masking his true identity to elude a deadly enemy sent to destroy him. Living with his guardian (Timothy Olyphant) in the small town he now calls home, John encounters unexpected life-changing events – his first love (Dianna Agron, TV’s Glee), powerful new abilities and a secret connection to the others who share his incredible destiny. Complete with deleted scenes and more, I Am Number Four is an explosive suspense-filled ride that will take you to the edge of your seat and beyond. “

I haven’t seen the film but I include it here as it’s probably the biggest new release of the week. I dunno. I’m just not interested.

AMAZON: $24.99

9. GNOMEO & JULIET

“From a director of Shrek 2 comes your chance to step into the secret world of garden gnomes – Gnomeo & Juliet. Perfect for the whole family, this fresh and funny makeover of one of the world’s most timeless story features music from Sir Elton John, and the voice talents of Emily Blunt, James McAvoy and sir Michael Caine. Caught up in a feud between neighbors, Gnomeo and Juliet must overcome as many obstacles as their namesakes. But with flamboyant pink flamingoes and epic lawnmower races, can this young couple find lasting happiness? Complete with hilarious never-before-seen bonus features, Gnomeo & Juliet is an out-of-the-ordinary animated comedy your entire family will love. We just gnome it! “

Another film I didn’t screen this week but I’ll say this about it, my 5-year old niece is aching to see it. Five will get you ten that I’ll have seen this one at this time next month.

AMAZON: $19.99

Also available: GNOMEO & JULIET 3D COMBO PACK

AMAZON: $24.99

10. GETTYSBURG and GODS AND GENERALS

Ronald F. Maxwell‘s super-long civil war epics make their Blu-ray debuts this week, packaged individually in digibooks or together in one boxed set. Both films feature a ton of extra stuff including commentary tracks and short docs. Gods and Generals, it should be noted, is the 280-minute extended cut of the film. You’re going to need a lot of popcorn handy to get through these ones.

AMAZON: $23.99, $24.99

ONLY IN CANADA:

MAVERICK

“Ante up-for laughter and action aplenty! Mel Gibson is sly gambler Bret Maverick, Jodie Foster is a charming scam artist and James Garner (the original Bret Maverick, from the Emmy-winning TV series) is a laid-back lawman in Maverick, the crowd-pleasing hit that deals you a winning hand. With more twists than a switchback trail and more sleights of hand than a shell game, Maverick is rollicking proof of how the West was fun. A riverboat poker tourney promises a winner-take-all $500,000…and Bret aims to be the winner who does the taking! But first he must cope with the hangman’s noose, a runaway stage, a wily Indian chief, outlaws, ingrates, a bagful of rattlesnakes and more close calls than a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs. So don’t miss the excitement. The jokers-Gibson, Foster and Garner-are wild! “

AMAZON: $ 17.49 CDN

WILD WILD WEST

“Wild, wild laughs, adventure and special-effects wizardry abound when megastar Will Smith reteams with the director of “Men in Black.” Smith is agent James West, leading sidekick Artemus Gordon (Kevin Kline) and a sexy adventuress (Salma Hayek) on a perilous assignment: stop Dr. Arliss Loveless (Kenneth Branagh) and his contraption-driven plot to establish a Disunited States of America. “

AMAZON: $ 17.49 CDN

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:

Related posts

• [VIDEO] Platoon Blu-ray trailer (0)
• Oliver Stone’s Platoon announced for 25th Anniversary Blu-ray release (1)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of November 16 (3)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of April 12 (0)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of June 22 (4)

Another week, another onslaught of Blu-ray releases, another late, late list of recommendations. Sigh. Sorry about getting this out to you so late. The old day job has really cut into my Blu-ray watching/writing time lately but I’m looking down the barrel of a week off and you know what that means…non-stop Blu-ray festival!

I hope.

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. PALE FLOWER

“In this cool, seductive jewel of the Japanese New Wave, a yakuza, fresh out of prison, becomes entangled with a beautiful yet enigmatic gambling addict; what at first seems a redemptive relationship ends up leading him further down the criminal path. Bewitchingly shot and edited and laced with a fever-dream-like score by Toru Takemitsu (Woman in the Dunes, Ran), this breakthrough gangster romance from Masahiro Shinoda (Samurai Spy, Double Suicide) announced an idiosyncratic major filmmaking talent. The pitch-black Pale Flower (Kawaita hana) is an unforgettable excursion into the underworld. “

Don’t go into Pale Flower looking for a run-of-the-mill gangster flik. This is dark, languid Japanese noir, with more focus on a destructive relationship than gangland gunplay. The cast is exceptional, with Ryô Ikebe in the lead as recently paroled, ultra-cool hitman Muraki and toy-like Mariko Kaga as the unblinking, thrill-seeking Saeko. The couple meet over a game of cards and quickly escalate their gambling addiction to more dangerous pleasures. A feeling of doom grips the entire picture, in no small way profoundly effected by Toru Takemitsu dissonant, landmark, found-sound score. But the real highlight here, for me, is the stunning, inky photography by Masao Kosugi, perfectly composed and eking out brilliant shards of pure white in his otherwise shadowy Yokohama.

Pale Flower is simply gorgeous on Blu-ray. Criterion have really done an exceptional job with this new transfer. Kosugi’s work absolutely sings here, in this pitch-perfect, film-like high-def presentation. Detail is impressive, blacks are appropriately deep and there’s a nice sheen of grain present, keeping it ‘reel’ (sorry!) The lossless mono audio is clean and clear throughout.

Extras are a bit on the lite side of things, with only a 22-minute director interview, 34-minutes worth of ‘Selected-scene Commentary’ and a trailer to speak of. But it’s good stuff. The Shinoda interview is informative and fairly candid, touching on the script and studio conflicts of the production and the commentary provides a fair amount of analysis of the film, despite the fact that Peter Grilli‘s chief focus is the score and sound design.

Highly recommended!

Special Features:

• New high-definition digital restoration with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• New video interview with director Masahiro Shinoda
• Selected-scene audio commentary by film scholar Peter Grilli, coproducer of Music for the Movies: Toru Takemitsu
• Original theatrical trailer
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A new essay by film critic Chuck Stephens

AMAZON: $27.99

2. DIABOLIQUE

“Before Psycho, Peeping Tom, and Repulsion, there was Diabolique. This thriller from Henri‑Georges Clouzot (Le corbeau, The Wages of Fear), which shocked audiences in Europe and the U.S., is the story of two women—the fragile wife and the willful mistress of a sadistic school headmaster—who hatch a daring revenge plot. With its unprecedented narrative twists and unforgettably scary images, Diabolique is a heart-grabbing benchmark in horror filmmaking, featuring outstanding performances by Simone Signoret (Casque d’or, Army of Shadows), Vera Clouzot (The Wages of Fear), and Paul Meurisse (Le deuxième souffle, Army of Shadows). “

I haven’t had a chance to screen Criterion’s new Blu-ray release of Diabolique but by all accounts it’s head and shoulders above the previous DVD release of the film. Those suffering with their old spotty looking, bare-bones Criterion disc from 1999 will be happy to upgrade to this new feature-rich, high-def edition. I’ll post further thoughts on the BD when I finally get my hands on a copy. It’s at #2 on my list this week for it’s status as a classic and my faith in Criterion to deliver the best quality release possible.

Special Features:

• New digital restoration with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Selected-scene commentary by French-film scholar Kelley Conway
• New video interview with Serge Bromberg, codirector of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno
• New video interview with horror film expert Kim Newman
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by film critic Terrence Rafferty

AMAZON: $26.99

3. THE HUSTLER

“With his boyish grin and laid-back good looks, Fast Eddie Felson has fleeced his share of pool-hall gamblers. Now the brash pool shark is after the king of the cue stick: Minnesota Fats. But after losing to Fats in a grueling, 36-hour match, Eddie hits the skids. Only the intervention of a ruthless gambler, who stakes his claim to Eddie’s soul, can teach this hustler the cruel art of winning.“

Paul Newman won an Academy Award for playing the roll of Fast Eddie Felson, the troubled young pool-shark in Robert Rossen‘s The Hustler. The thing is, he won it in 1986, when recreating the role for Martin Scorsese‘s sequel film The Color of Money, playing Eddie years later in the role of Obi-Wan mentor to Tom Cruise‘s up-and-coming hustler. But looking back at the original now, on this great looking new Blu-ray from Fox, the Academy was right to nominate the young Newman, as they did (along with most of his co-stars in the film). His cock-sure yet nuanced take on the man, making his pool-hall reputation here by taking on the best-of-the-best, Minnesota Fats (played to perfection by Jackie Gleason), is far from the glamorous, Hollywood image a young actor of the time would care to conjure. This is seedy, unsavory stuff and Newman isn’t afraid to get his hands or his cue dirty.

The new Blu-ray disc comes in a great little digi-book, hardcover package and is filled with tons of facts, bios and images from the film. The transfer is, as you’d expect, an improvement over previously available DVD editions of the film, showing greater detail and improved contrast. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is a revelation, for the most part, allowing Kenyon Hopkins’ score more dynamic headroom than ever before. Special features are plentiful and mimic those of the 2007 DVD release. This is a great package, well worth an upgrade or a blind buy!

AMAZON: $22.99

4. THE COMMANCHEROS

“John Wayne is Capt. Jake Cutter, a Texas Ranger determined to crush a powerful outlaw gang that’s selling guns to the Indians. Cutter is also trying to bring in gambler Paul Regret (Whitman), who’s wanted for murder. Both missions get entangled when Cutter crosses paths with Regret unexpectedly, and the men form an unlikely friendship while Regret decides which side of the law he’s really on. Co-starring Ina Balin, Nehemiah Persoff and Lee Marvin, “The Comancheros” is a rousing western, and the last film of director Michael Curtiz.“

The Comancheros might not have been director Michael Curtiz’ best film but it was his last. It was also his only collaboration with John Wayne. And it’s certainly worth checking out for some rugged good cowboy fun. Fox‘s new Blu-ray disc is a beauty, packaged in a hardcover digi-book of the exact sort that houses The Hustler. The film looks nice on Blu, thick with grain and bursting with colour. It can appear soft at times but considering the work the studio has been putting into these upper-tier catalogue releases, it’s likely a source related issue. Elmer Bernstein‘s score will do nothing if not impress you in this muscular DTS-HD Master 5.1 audio track. The original 4.0 channel track is also included, for those purists among you. Extras are plentiful, carrying over the special features from the previously released DVD.

AMAZON: $22.99

5-7. SOPHIA LOREN AWARD COLLECTION

This trio of Blu-ray discs should really be called the ‘Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni starring in Vittorio De Sica Films Collection‘. Hm. I guess it would be tough to cram that on the top banner of the packaging and make it legible, huh? Nevermind. This collection of films making their Blu-ray debut is a godsend to fans of Italian cinema. All three are available in a bundle from Kino or individually through most retailers. The discs are lite on special features (trails and galleries only) with the exception of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow which contains a DVD of the documentary Vittorio D – a look at the life, career and legacy of director De Sica.

AMAZON: $29.95, $29.99, $29.95

8. BEVERLY HILLS COP

“The heat is on in this fast paced action-comedy starring Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a street smart Detroit cop tracking down his best friend’s killer in Beverly Hills. Axel quickly learns that his wild style doesn’t fit in with the Beverly Hills Police Department, which assigns two officers (Judge Reinhold and John Ashton) to make sure things don’t get out of hand. Dragging the stuffy detectives along for the ride, Axel smashes through a huge culture clash in his hilarious, high-speed pursuit of justice. Featuring cameos by Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot and Damon Wayans, “Beverly Hills Cop” is an exhilarating, sidesplitting adventure.“

Beverly Hills Cop has no right to be as good as it is. The story is as pedestrian as cop fliks come, playing the old ‘fish-out-of-water trope for all it’s worth. It’s predictable and uninspired from top to bottom. But then there’s Eddie Murphy. And damn if he doesn’t light up the screen. And damn if he doesn’t make every scene work. And goddamn if he doesn’t just turn in the performance of a career here. A star-maker, some might call it. Thanks to Murphy (and, to be fair, a truly talented cast of co-stars) Cop still holds up today. Watching it again, I laughed like it was my first viewing. Everything ’80s is new again this film is no exception.

And speaking of new, this new Blu-ray transfer from Paramount make the film look like it hasn’t aged a day! Well, that’s not exactly true – that softer, cheaper ’80s film stock is as recognizable as Murphy’s laugh – but you get my point. The disc looks good. Better than the film has a right to look. Audio, on the other hand, doesn’t fare quite as well, with a relatively thin 5.1 DTS-HD MA track that could use a little life breathed into it. A little bottom end.

Bonus features are carried over from the previously available DVD and are plentiful. They include an excellent commentary track from director Martin Brest, a ‘making of’ doc, a brief look at the casting process as well as the music, an interactive map and the trailer.

AMAZON: $16.99

9. DEEP RED

“An English jazz pianist living in Rome witnesses the brutal hatchet murder of a renowned psychic and is quickly drawn into the savage crime. With the help of a tenacious female reporter, the pair track a twisted trail of deranged clues and relentless violence towards a shocking climax that has ripped screams from the throats of audiences for more than 35 years!

DEEP RED stars David Hemmings (GLADIATOR, BLOW-UP) and Daria Nicolodi (PHENOMENA, SHOCK), and is widely considered by both fans and critics alike to be Dario Argento‘s true masterpiece. Now this classic shocker has been newly transferred in stunning High Definition from its original camera negative, and is presented in both the Uncensored English Version and Full-Length Italian Director’s Cut for the first time ever!

“

Ahhh! Another Argento from Blue Underground!! My copy just showed up today so, needless to say, I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet. But if it compares to BU’s previous Argento discs this one should be a stunner. There is a potential digital space issue, however, as it contains two entire cuts of the film, which could erode image quality if compression isn’t handled carefully. I have every faith in BU, though. So I’m expecting good things. Extras include Interviews with Argento, co-criter Bernardino Zapponi and the music group Goblin , the U.S. Trailer, the Italian Trailer, a Goblin Music Video and a Daemonia Music Video.

AMAZON: $14.99

10. THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS

“The dying master of the powerful Poison Clan assigns his final martial arts student one last, epic quest find his 5 most mysterious and dangerous disciples, each trained in a different fighting style, and bring them together to root out a conspiracy that could divide and destroy the entire clan. “

Okay, I’ll just put this plainly – I have no faith in Weinstein‘s Dragon Dynasty label to do justice to any film at this point. They’ve really butchered quite a few Kung-Fu classics over the past couple of years. But even though it’ll no doubt end up looking trashier than it should, I can’t help but get excited The Five Deadly Venoms coming to Blu. This has been my families favourite martial arts flik for as long as I can remember. And I have to pick it up, no matter the discs deficiencies. I kid you not, my mother would be angry with me if I left this film of the list this week.

AMAZON: $15.99

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:

Related posts

• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of January 11 (3)
• The Criterion Collection: Army of Shadows Blu-ray Disc Review (0)
• May Blu-ray Catalogue titles from Paramount: Top Gun, The Firm, Le Mans, Beverly Hills Cop (0)
• Criterion May Blu-ray titles: Diabolique, The Great Dictator, Solaris, Smiles of a Summer Night, Fat Girl, Something Wild, Pale Flower (0)
• Criterion January Blu-ray titles: Army of Shadows, Robinson Crusoe on Mars, Broadcast News (3)

Argh! I know, another new release post that’s hitting a day late. Sorry about that. Aside from being swamped at my office job, this weeks Top 5 was a killer to put together. There are a ton of discs hitting shelves this week but very few truly worthy of your time and hard-earned cash. I’ve paired the list down to the essentials (cheating at number 3 but hey, if you read this list with any regularity you’re used to that by now) while including package art and links for the rest below.

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 ILLUSIONIST

“From the Director of the Oscar®-nominated classic The Triplets of Belleville, The Illusionist is a story about two paths that cross. While touring concert halls, theaters and pubs, an aging, down-on-his-luck magician encounters a young girl at the start of her life’s journey. Alice is a teenage girl with all her capacity for childish wonder still intact. She plays at being a woman without realizing the day to stop pretending is fast approaching. She doesn’t know yet that she loves The Illusionist like she would a father; he already knows that he loves her as he would a daughter. Their destinies will collide, but nothing – not even magic or the power of illusion– can stop the voyage of discovery. “

In a lot of ways, I feel like Sylvain Chomet‘s The Illusionist was robbed of a golden statue earlier this year. It clearly wasn’t the popular choice amongst it’s more kid-friendly peers but it’s most likely the best animated film of the past year. The Oscar, of course, went to Toy Story 3 (was there ever any question?) but my affections are rewarded to The Illusionist – a sensitive, watercolour love-letter to late-filmmaker Jacques Tati and my favourite city in the world, Edinburgh.

Sony‘s Blu-ray presentation of The Illusionist is flawless – one of the finest ever for a cel-animated film. Don’t expect the crisp CGI perfection of Pixar animation here, though. The image on this Blu-ray is an accurate representation of lush, sometimes soft, sometimes dark, hand-painted animation cels. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless audio track isn’t aggressive by any means but provides sufficient ambient texture to bring the nearly-wordless film to life. Music is given more than enough dynamic headroom to breath in this overall natural and pleasing track.

I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed that the North American home video release of The Illusionist doesn’t include the 77-minute interview with Chomet from the UK DVD. Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather have a bare-bones Blu-ray than a DVD of any variety. But, despite the nice, little collection of bonus features included here, I just feel like we could have/should have had more. A commentary, interview or documentary of significance (all the featurettes on the disc are under 10-minutes, most under 5). Something!

Nevertheless, on the basis of the film itself and the quality of its presentation, the Blu-ray is highly recommended!

Special Features:

• “The Making of The Illusionist” Featurette
• The Animation Process: A rare look at the line tests and progression sequences
• “Chasing the Rabbit” Line Test
• “Window Shopping” Line Test
• “Fish and Chips” Line Test
• “Morning Routine” Line Test and Completed Scene Montage
• Garden Party & Travel Before & After Animation Sequences
• Steam, Splashes, Smoke and The Flying Scotsman Before & After Animation Sequences
• Tatischeff Before & After Animation Sequences

AMAZON: $24.99

2. SOMETHING WILD

“A straitlaced businessman meets a quirky, free-spirited woman at a downtown New York greasy spoon. Her offer of a ride back to his office results in a lunchtime motel rendezvous—just the beginning of a capricious interstate road trip that brings the two face-to-face with their hidden selves. Featuring a killer soundtrack and electric performances from Jeff Daniels (Terms of Endearment, The Squid and the Whale), Melanie Griffith (Body Double, Working Girl), and Ray Liotta (Field of Dreams, Goodfellas), Something Wild, directed by oddball American auteur Jonathan Demme (Stop Making Sense, The Silence of the Lambs), is both a kinky comic thriller and a radiantly off-kilter love story. “

Watching Something Wild, it’s hard to believe that the film emerged from the hand of the same man responsible for bringing Silence of the Lambs to the big screen only five years later. But perhaps that’s due more to the differing tones of the screenplays and less to the choices of the director. In Something Wild, Jonathan Demme crafts something of a genre hybrid. Unlike the razor-sharp, single note, intense style of Lambs, this earlier work drifts into being as a casual, fun road-movie but eventually winds its way into becoming an edgy crime-thriller. Griffith leads Daniels down the garden path, from his hum-drum office-job existence, into a world of chance and impulse. Oh, it starts innocently enough – an unpaid bill here, a little shoplifting there – but the road-trip eventually digs into Griffith’s past, which comes back to haunt she and Daniels in a dangerous way.

Something Wild sports one of the finest high-def transfers that Criterion has released thus far in 2011. And that’s saying something. The film looks remarkably clean, colourful and detailed for a nearly-forgotten eighties relic. I didn’t note any untoward use of digital manipulation on this extremely handsome, film-like presentation. The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 is robust and clean, with a surprising dynamic range.

Supplemental material is a bit on the lite side for a Criterion disc but of the highest standard, as you’d expect. Aside from a trailer for the film and an excellent 16-page illustrated booklet, the only extras are a couple of interviews – a half-hour chat with Demme and 10-minutes with the writer, E. Max Frye.

AMAZON: $26.99

3. MGM Classics: THE MISFITS, SOME LIKE IT HOT, THE HORSE SOLDIERS

Wow. Fox and MGM have unleashed a torrent of films onto Blu this week. While most have been on shelves in some form or another before (some are newly re-issued in Blu-ray Digi-book format, others have been retail exclusives until this week) the three titles above are of note. Not only are all three classic films from the MGM library but they’re also notable for making their high-def debut this week! I haven’t laid eyes on any of them as yet but, if gauged by the quality of recent catalogue releases from the studio, I would guess that all three will sport pleasant, film-like transfers that won’t quite take your breath away. I’m excited to get my hands on them and will report back when I do. I’m not holding my breath for greatness with these but I expect them to be head and shoulders above their DVD counterparts.

UPDATE: I just received all three of the above discs. I haven’t had time to sit through the films in their entirety but here are my initial impressions of the quality of the discs…

AMAZON: $14.99, $14.99, $11.99

4. BLUE VALENTINE

“Blue Valentine is the story of love found and love lost told in past and present moments in time. Flooded with romantic memories of their courtship, Dean and Cindy use one night to try and save their failing marriage. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams star in this honest portrait of a relationship on the rocks. “

Blue Valentine isn’t for everyone. It’s a raw, truthful examination of a couple at the end of their rocky marriage. Director Derek Cianfrance turns in a stylistic, if somewhat depressing film that rocks the verite like there’s no tomorrow, with stunning performances from leads Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling. The Blu-ray presentation is only as fine as the source material, which is all over the map. It’s a faithful transfer of the film but the disc won’t be the one you pop in to showcase your home theatre setup. The dialogue-heavy DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio track is solid and clean. Extras include a director’s commentary track, deleted scenes, a ‘making-of’ doc and a short film.

AMAZON: $18.99

5. I SAW THE DEVIL

“I Saw the Devil is a shockingly violent and stunningly accomplished tale of murder and revenge. The embodiment of pure evil, Kyung-chul is a dangerous psychopath who kills for pleasure. On a freezing, snowy night, his latest victim is the beautiful Juyeon, daughter of a retired police chief and pregnant fiancée of elite special agent Soo-hyun. Obsessed with revenge, Soo-hyun is determined to track down the murderer, even if doing so means becoming a monster himself. And when he finds Kyung-chul, turning him in to the authorities is the last thing on his mind, as the lines between good and evil fall away in this diabolically twisted game of cat and mouse. “

I Saw the Devil isn’t for everyone (yes, another film that isn’t for everyone…) but if you like your revenge films brutal, bloody and from Korea you’re in luck. You’ll recognize Oldboy‘s Choi Min-sik and Lee Byung-hun from G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra but it’s the beautifully stylized imagery of director Kim Ji-woon that you won’t be able to take your eyes off of. The film looks like a million bucks on Blu, sporting a detailed, colourful, film-like image. Audio is delivered via English or Korean language tracks, both in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. (Skip the English dub.) Extras include 25-minutes of deleted scenes, a half-hour long ‘behind the scenes’ featurette and trailers.

AMAZON: $19.99

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:

Related posts

• Sylvain Chomet’s animated The Illusionist coming to Blu-ray in May? (1)
• Sylvain Chomet’s animated The Illusionist (L’illusionniste) officially announced on Blu-ray (0)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of February 22 (1)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of January 11 (3)
• Top 10 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of June 14 (1)

Weird week. There’s really only one major release, as far as I’m concerned with a few nice catalogue discs thrown in the mix to keep things interesting.

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 GREEN HORNET

“Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) is a slacker by day, party animal by night…until he finds a serious career that’s seriously cool: crime-fighting action hero. As the Green Hornet, he teams up with gadget wiz and martial arts master Kato (Jay Chou) to take down L.A.’s underworld. Also starring Cameron Diaz and Christoph Waltz. “

I think it’s safe to say that Michel Gondry‘s The Green Hornet surprised a lot of people. Instead of being the embarrassing dud most expected it to be, the director, most well known for his music videos and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, managed to turn out an entertaining, fun action/comedy. Working from a script by star Seth Rogen (and partner in crime Evan Goldberg), Gondry keeps things light and lively, allowing the relationship between the leads, Rogen and Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou to drive the film. Christoph Waltz is around to chew some scenery as villain Chudnofsky but unlike most cinematic superhero adaptations, this film belongs to the heroes.

As is par for the course for Sony, the Blu-ray disc looks and sounds spectacular, sporting some of the deepest, richest blacks you’ll see in HD. Detail and colour are solid but not quite as impressive. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 sound track provides plenty of atmosphere while remaining clean and clear throughout. Lows are impressive and music is presented a majestic dynamic range. Extras are plentiful, sporting a ton of featurettes and a great, lively commentary track with Gondry, Rogan, Goldberg and producer Neal Moritz.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Filmmakers’ Commentary
• Jay Chou Audition
• Double Barrel
• The Green Hornet Cutting Room (BD-exclusive)
• “Awesoom”-Gag Reel
• “Trust Me” -Director Michel Gondry (BD-exclusive)
• Writing The Green Hornet
• The Black Beauty: Rebirth of Cool
• PS3 Theme (BD-exclusive)
• The Stunt Family Armstrong (BD-exclusive)
• Finding Kato (BD-exclusive)
• The Art of Destruction (BD-exclusive)
• movieIQ (BD-exclusive)

AMAZON: $19.99

ALSO AVAILABLE IN 3D:

AMAZON: $24.99

2. SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT

“After fifteen films that received mostly local acclaim, the 1955 comedy Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommarnattens leende) at last ushered in an international audience for Ingmar Bergman (The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries). In turn-of-the-century Sweden, four men and four women of different classes attempt to navigate the laws of attraction. During a weekend in the country, the women collude to force the men’s hands in matters of the heart, exposing their pretensions and insecurities along the way. Chock-full of flirtatious propositions and sharp witticisms delivered by such Swedish screen legends as Gunnar Björnstrand (The Seventh Seal, Winter Light) and Harriet Andersson (Through a Glass Darkly, Cries and Whispers), Smiles of a Summer Night is one of cinema’s great erotic comedies. “

Well, now, if I’m going to be completely honest here, Smiles of a Summer Night should be my actual choice for the number one slot this week. To me, this is the most exciting release. I love this movie. But I let the disc slip to the number two slot in my new release list for a couple of reasons – it’s a Bergman film (read: not for everyone) and while it’s a great disc all around, it isn’t a substantial upgrade form the previously released DVD edition of the film.

Smiles of a Summer Night isn’t standard Ingmar Bergman fare. There are a handful of his signature melancholy moments peppered throughout the film but this is a comedy. While not laugh-out-loud funny, the film feels like an unadulterated celebration of life and love and summertime in Sweden. It’s a shame Bergman didn’t produce more work of it’s ilk.

Criterion‘s Blu-ray presentation of the film is beautiful, as you’d expect. But it’s not a significant enough improvement from their excellent DVD to warrant re-purchase. Contrast seems tighter, detail slightly improved and film grain more evident in HD, so fans with larger viewing areas will note the improvement most. The lossless mono audio track also exhibits improvement over the compressed DVD edition but you’ll really need to have your listening hat on to notice. Supplements are carried over in whole and are excellent to a one, with the conversation between Bergman and Cowie and Donner being the highlight. I would have loved it if the disc included a commentary track or a documentary feature but hey, I’m not going to complain here. This is a great disc and a no-brainer of a purchase for fans who don’t already own a copy.

Special Features:

• Digital restoration with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Video introduction to the film by director Ingmar Bergman
• Video conversation between Bergman scholar Peter Cowie and writer Jörn Donner, executive producer of Fanny and Alexander
• Original theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by theater and film critic John Simon and a 1961 review by film critic Pauline Kael

AMAZON: $27.99

3. FAT GIRL

“Twelve-year-old Anaïs is fat. Her sister, fifteen-year-old Elena, is a beauty. While the girls are on vacation with their parents, Anaïs tags along while Elena explores the dreary seaside town. Elena meets Fernando, an Italian law student; he seduces her with promises of love, and the ever watchful Anaïs bears witness to the corruption of her sister’s innocence. Fat Girl (À ma soeur!) is not only a portrayal of female adolescent sexuality and the complicated bond between siblings but also a shocking assertion by the always controversial Catherine Breillat (Romance, The Last Mistress) that violent oppression exists at the core of male-female relations. “

Fat Girl is a tough film for me to talk about. It’s such an honest, compelling look at the struggles of young romance and family dynamics that I can’t help but love it. But the ending! My god, that ending!! It just drives me bonkers!! I feel in so many ways that the film is nearly perfect up to that point and then it just goes off the damn rails. I mean, I understand what Breillat was after, using a dramatization of a news event that was sweeping the nation at the time (I’m speaking about it in general terms to not spoil the ending for you) to comment on male/female and familial relations. It’s a worthy concept. My issue with it is that it changes the tone of the film so drastically as to make it feel exploitative. I don’t hate the ending. I just dislike how it colours the rest of the film.

Criterion’s new Blu-ray edition of the film looks phenomenal! This upgrade from their previously issued DVD exhibits far more detail, richer colours and a more dimensional, textured image that makes it absolutely worth trading up to. The DTS-HD Master 5.1 audio track offers greater fidelity and depth than the compressed track on the DVD. Bonus features are carried over in whole including a couple of significant interviews with director Breillat and some great behind the scenes footage.

Special Features:

• High-definition digital restoration with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• Behind-the-scenes footage from the making of Fat Girl
• Two interviews with director Catherine Breillat, one conducted the night after the film’s world premiere at the 2001 Berlin Film Festival, the other a look back at the film’s production and alternate ending
• French and U.S. theatrical trailers
• Plus: A booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Ginette Vincendeau, a 2001 interview with Breillat, and a piece by Breillat on the title

AMAZON: $27.99

4. TWELVE O’CLOCK HIGH

“This gritty World War II action drama starring Gregory Peck, Oscar winner Dean Jagger, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill and Millard Mitchell is seen as one of the most realistic portrayals of the heroics and perils of war. Convinced an air force commander (Gary Merrill) is at the breaking point, Brigadier General Savage (Peck) takes over his struggling bomber group. Kind and understanding, he adopts a crushing discipline to revitalize the demoralized troop. At first resentful and rebellious, the flyers gradually change as Savage guides them to amazing feats. But the stress of command soon takes it’s toll and the weary general reaches his own breaking point.”

This excellent WWII Gregory Peck vehicle isn’t the brightest gem on Blu-ray but is most likely the best we can expect the film to look outside of receiving the full-restoration treatment. Detail is satisfactory but contrast is a bit on the light side. The original mono soundtrack is expanded in a DTS-HD Master 5.1 track that adds a touch of atmosphere but little else. Extras are carried over from the last, feature packed DVD release of the film and include an excellent commentary track from Rudy Behlmer, Jon Burlingame and Nick Redman, a handful of featurettes and more.

AMAZON: $19.99

5. ALL THE RIGHT MOVES

“The only way football star Stefan Djordjevic (Tom Cruise) will avoid a life in the blast furnaces of his bleak Pennsylvania hometown is by winning a college scholarship. Even his coach (Craig T. Nelson) dreams of parlaying a winning team into a college job far away from this graveyard of the American Dream. But it’s not long before the two virtually ruin each other’s chances for escape and their door to the future starts to close. Lea Thompson and Christopher Penn co-star.”

I always enjoyed this early Tom Cruise film and it’s presented here in a very honest transfer without any signs of untoward digital manipulation. All the Right Moves is far from home theatre demo material but after a shaky start, settles into a film-like presentation with bold colours and a nice sheen of grain. The DTS-HD 5.1 sound track is pretty sweet, with a robust representation of the musical tracks in the film and clean, clear dialogue up the middle. Not much in the way of extras here, with only a couple of trailers to speak of.

AMAZON: $15.99

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:

Related posts

• The Criterion Collection: Smiles of a Summer Night Blu-ray Disc Review (0)
• The Criterion Collection: Fat Girl Blu-ray Disc Review (0)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of October 12 (1)
• Criterion May Blu-ray titles: Diabolique, The Great Dictator, Solaris, Smiles of a Summer Night, Fat Girl, Something Wild, Pale Flower (0)
• [UPDATED] Taxi Driver Blu-ray announced, includes Criterion commentary track (1)