I’m still kicking myself for missing Super 8 when it was playing in theatres this past summer. It’s this year’s Scott Pilgrim for me – the film I kept making failed efforts to see. Hopefully it’s not going to take me a year to see J.J. Abrams‘ ode to Spielberg and sci-fi films of the ’70s and ’80s, as it did for me to finally see Pilgrim. Thankfully, Paramount is bringing the film to Blu-ray on November 22 to help me out. Thanks, guys! Looking forward to it!
SUPER 8![Super 8 [Blu-ray] (2011)](/wp_content/uploads/2011/09/513QOBMuXDL._SL500_AA300_.jpg "Super 8 [Blu-ray] (2011)")
(November 22, 2011 – MSRP $44.99)
Video: 2.39:1 1080p
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Special Features:
- Blu-ray:
- Commentary by writer/director J.J. Abrams, producer Bryan Burk and cinematographer Larry Fong
- Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes
- The Dream Behind Super 8
- The Search for New Faces
- Meet Joel Courtney
- Rediscovering Steel Town
- The Visitor Lives
- Scoring Super 8
- Do You Believe in Magic?
- The 8mm Revolution
- Deconstructing the Train Crash
- Deleted Scenes
DVD:
- Feature Film
- Digital Copy
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]]>Oh man, I have such fond memories of watching Farscape on TV years ago. When I saw the first promo spots for it back in ’99, I thought it looked like a joke. Space Muppet cable sci-fi series. Yeah, it seemed pretty lame. I wouldn’t be caught dead watching it. And then I visited my parents one afternoon and caught them well into an episode which they refused to switch off, despite my loudest protest. So, I sat through it with them. And I was hooked. I’ve been a fan since then.
I’m ecstatic that A&E is bringing The Jim Henson Company‘s Farscape to Blu-ray in November but skeptical of the presentation of the episodes. The press release, which you can read in full over at TVShowsonDVD.com, states that “this definitive collection – optimized for HD from the European PAL masters – the highest quality available source elements – delivers the most optimal viewing experience for the series” but neglects to specify the resolution of their HD presentation. Could these discs possibly be 720p or 1080i? A&E has released some pretty solid transfers of old TV shows in the past and I have no reason to doubt they’ll do the best job possible here. I’m just concerned that the source elements, most of which likely involve special effects that were created at a much lower resolution for standard definition broadcasts, will need to be up-scaled to HD. I don’t want to see another Highlander: The Series fiasco but I’m afraid that might just come to pass, once these discs get into the hands of the fans. Fingers crossed that doesn’t happen. I’ll keep you updated with any info I dig up regarding the tech specs of the discs.
FARSCAPE: THE COMPLETE SERIES![Farscape: The Complete Series [Blu-ray]](/wp_content/uploads/2011/09/Farscape_Complete_BLU_3D_f_244x300.jpg "Farscape: The Complete Series [Blu-ray]")
(November 15, 2011 – MSRP $199.95)
Video: TBA
Audio: TBA
Special Features:
- 20 Blu-ray discs featuring 88 complete and unedited episodes from the four-season run (1999-2003), remastered from the highest quality source material available
- Collectible packaging featuring all-new series artwork
- 29 Episode Commentaries, including “Premiere” with Rockne S. O’Bannon, Brian Henson and Ben Browder; “Jeremiah Crichton” with Claudia Black, Producer/Writer David Kemper, Browder and O’Bannon; “Bone to Be Wild” with Anthony Simcoe; “Relativity” with Lani Tupu (Crais/Voice of Pilot) and Director Peter Andrikidis; and, “Bad Timing” which features Browder, Black and Kemper discussing the series’ final episode.
- A BRAND-NEW documentary – Memories of Moya: An Epic Journey Explored featuring revealing new interviews with the cast and creators.
- Multiple featurettes and documentaries including “In the Beginning: A Look Back with Brian Henson”; “Making of a Space Opera” and “Inside Farscape: Save Farscape,” on which fans, cast and crew discuss the fate of their beloved series.
- Multiple video profiles featuring archival clips and cast/crew discussing their characters and roles on Farscape.
- Over 90 minutes of deleted scenes.
- Slideshows and archival photo galleries, including character concepts and promo photos.
- Production design galleries featuring screenshots, rough drafts and concept slide shows.
- Behind-the-Scenes interviews with Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe, Virginia Hey, Gigi Edgley, Paul Goddard (Stark), Wayne Pygram (Scorpius) and more.
- Original TV promos and trailers
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]]>Hold the phone! What’s this?! Is it possible that Criterion will be gracing us with a cleaned up, tricked out Blu-ray edition of the original 1954 Gojira (more popularly known on these North American shores as Godzilla: King of the Monsters) sometime in the near future? I think it just might happen if the photo below is any indication. Criterion posted it today on their Facebook page – a clear indication that they’ve got the reels in house and are ready to do something with them. So they’re either going to have one hell of a private Gojira screening or they’re preparing to clean that bad boy up for eventual high-def release. I’m betting on the latter.
Some of you might recall that Gojira was released on Blu back in 2009 by Classic Media. While an honest attempt at bringing the lizard to high-def, the transfer was in rough shape, overall quite soft, presented in a strange aspect ratio (1.47:1) and sadly, not worth the upgrade from DVD. Gojira is due for some serious TLC and Criterion are just the folks to offer that print a proper restoration. If they do, they’ll have my dollar.
Fake (but awesome) Criterion cover - Click to enlarge
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]]>When asked what Sam Peckinpah film is their favourite, I have a feeling that most folks lean toward The Wild Bunch. An awesome flik, to be sure. But I’ve always been more of a Straw Dogs kind of guy. There’s just something about the intensity of nerdy, pacifist Dustin Hoffman manning up and kicking the living crap out of the dicks who’ve made his life hell (my description of the plot goes pretty lite on the gory details.) Fox/MGM will be releasing the film on Blu-ray this September 6th in its longer “Unrated” cut that has been “carefully restored and is presented with all-new 5.1 audio.” With only a handful of extras included on the disc, I won’t be giving up my special-feature-packed 2-disc Criterion DVD set any time soon but I’ll be damn pleased to see this amazing film in 1080p on Blu for the very first time.
STRAW DOGS![Straw Dogs [Blu-ray] (1971)](/wp_content/uploads/2011/08/11.jpg "Straw Dogs [Blu-ray] (1971)")
(September 6, 2011 – MSRP $24.99)
Video: 1.85:1 1080p
Audio: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Special Features:
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- Three Original Television Spots
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]]>Will you look at that? We (and Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits) were right – the Jurassic Park Trilogy is indeed headed for store shelves this October. Universal has now officially announced the boxed set, along with a special Limited Edition Gift Set which includes a “custom T-rex dinosaur statue”. The discs will feature all the extras from the previous DVDs, so feel free to ditch them and make the upgrade to Blu. In addition, there will be digital copies of all three films and a couple of hours of bonus stuff newly created for this high-def release.
![Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy [Blu-ray]](/wp_content/uploads/2011/06/1.jpg "Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy [Blu-ray]")
JURASSIC PARK ULTIMATE TRILOGY
(October 25, 2011 – MSRP $79.98, Limited Edition Gift Set $119.98)
Video: 1.85:1 1080p
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- “Return to Jurassic Park” – this six-part documentary features all-new interviews with the many of the cast members from all three films, the filmmakers and Steven Spielberg.
- Dawn of a New Era
- Making Pre-history
- The Next Step in Evolution
- Finding The Lost World
- Something Survived
- The Third Adventure
- The Making of Jurassic Park
- The Making of The Lost World: Jurassic Park
- The Making of Jurassic Park III
- Steven Spielberg Directs Jurassic Park
- Early Pre-Production Meetings
- The World of Jurassic Park
- The Magic of Industrial Light & Magic
- Location Scouting
- Phil Tippett Animatics: Raptors In The Kitchen
- The Jurassic Park Phenomenon: A Discussion with Author Michael Crichton
- Industrial Light & Magic and Jurassic Park: Before and After The Visual Effects
- Industrial Light & Magic and The Lost World: Jurassic Park Before & After
- The Industrial Light & Magic Press Reel
- A Visit to Industrial Light & Magic
- Hurricane in Kauai Featurette
- Dinosaur Turntables
- The Dinosaurs of Jurassic Park III
- Montana: Finding New Dinosaurs
- Animatics: T-Rex Attack
- The Special Effects of Jurassic Park III
- The Sounds of Jurassic Park III
- The Art of Jurassic Park III
- Tour of Stan Winston Studio
- Feature Commentary with Special Effects Team
- Production Archives: Storyboards, Models, Photographs, Design Sketches and Conceptual Drawings
- Deleted Scenes
- Theatrical Trailers
- And MORE!
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]]>Ex-police officer Olivier Marchal‘s hard-hitting cop drama 36 Quai des Orfèvres was released in 2004 to great acclaim and multiple award nominations. The film, which stars Gérard Depardieu and legendary French actor Daniel Auteuil, has been kicking around on Euro and UK Blu-ray discs for some time now but we here in North America have had to do without…until now! Palisades Tartan have announced that a new Region A Blu-ray edition of the film, now titled 36th Precinct, will hit shops this June 14th. If you’re a fan of Michael Mann‘s Heat you’ll want to check this one out.
From the press release:
- “A Parisian gang has been targeting armored cars for their bounty and brutally killing their drivers, while always managing to stay one step ahead of the law. Around this time, the senior officer of the 36th Precinct announces his plans to retire and issues a challenge: Whichever officer can apprehend these criminals before their next attack, will be promoted to his esteemed and coveted position. Leo Vrinks (Daniel Auteuil) and Denis Klein (Gerard Depardieu), two former friends who are now bitter rivals, cannot believe their luck, but as the competition heats up between the two, so does the violence, bloodshed and inevitable heartbreaking betrayals. “
36TH PRECINCT![36th Precinct [Blu-ray] (2004)](/wp_content/uploads/2011/05/8168_front_238x300.jpg "36th Precinct [Blu-ray] (2004)")
(June 14, 2011 – MSRP $24.98)
Video: 2.35:1 1080p
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Special Features:
- Making-Of Featurette
- Interview with the Director
- Weapons Selection Featurette
- Wardrobe Selection Featurette
- Theatrical trailer & teaser trailer
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]]>Was Battle: Los Angeles any good? It totally blew in and out of cinemas before I was even aware it had been released. It looks like some crazy kind of action-movie fun. I might have actually checked it out, you know?! I like Aaron Eckhart a lot and Bridget Moynahanis pretty easy on the eyes. And from what I can tell, the film is chock full of soldier-versus-alien action so, really, how bad can it possibly be? Guess I’ll find out when the film hits Blu-ray on June 14th.
- “For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world — Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, and 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 (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. BATTLE: LOS ANGELES was written by Chris Bertolini (The General’s Daughter) and produced by Neal H. Moritz and Ori Marmur (The Green Hornet, The Bounty Hunter). Executive producers are Jeffrey Chernov (upcoming Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Star Trek) and David Greenblatt. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures and has a run time of approximately 116 minutes. It has been rated 14-A.“
BATTLE: LOS ANGELES
(June 14, 2011 – MSRP $38.96 Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)
Video: 2.39:1 1080p MPEG-4 AVC
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
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
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It looks like 20th Century Fox wants to get you your Star Wars Blu-ray discs a week earlier than Amazon had predicted. Back in January, shortly after the announcement of the discs, Amazon posted a pre-order which was quickly updated to include a September 27th release date. Well, Fox and Lucasfilm have now officially set that date more than a week earlier, putting the discs on store shelves on Friday, September 16th.
The studios should be commended for such a forward thinking move, releasing the discs right before the weekend when fans will actually have time to sit and dig into the hours of extra content on the discs, not to mention the the high-def debut of the films themselves. Had the discs been released on a Tuesday, as originally planned, I have a feeling there might’ve been a nasty mid-work-week case of Star Wars-flu going around! Or Wookie-fever. Or Jar-Jar-itis. Or something. You get the gag, right? … People skipping work…y’know…to watch Blu-rays? … Right? (insert Krusty the Clown grumble here.)
READ MORE: 9-Disc Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray box coming in September
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]]>PICK OF THE WEEK FOR APRIL 21 – THE WAGES OF FEAR
Criterion hits another home run with this weeks release of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Wages of Fear, a gripping existential thriller about four ex-patriot workers in South America paid to drive two trucks loaded with nitroglycerine 300 miles over primitive roads, toward an oil fire. In adapting Georges Arnaud‘s novel, Clouzot chose to focus on and illustrate its visceral centre, crafting some of the most taught and exciting scenes in cinematic history. The Wages of Fear would become the template for directors like Peckinpah and Friedkin, who went on to remake Fear in the 1977 Roy Scheider action vehicle, Sorcerer. The disc looks and sounds like a million bucks. Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 in 1080p using the AVC codec, The Wages of Fear appears as film-like and vibrant as a 50 year film should in the home theatre environment. This release lacks a commentary track but makes up for it in the presentation of the 2004 French television documentary “Henri-Georges Clouzot: The Enlightened Tyrant“. A handful of interview featurettes round out the package.
Read a full rundown of the disc specs, previously covered here.
(NOTE: According to the Montreal Mirror film twitter feed, Criterion has not yet been able to clear the Canadian distribution rights to The Wages of Fear. Let’s cross our fingers and hope they sort it out soon.)
ALSO AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
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- Video – 1.85:1 1080p AVC
- Audio – 5.1 24-bit PCM soundtrack
- Blooper Reel—Hilarious laughs from behind-the-scenes of the film.
- Live From The Wrap Party—Julia Roberts sings with Richard Gere while he plays the piano. Director Garry Marshall backs them both up on the drums in an impromptu performance of Elvis Costello’s rendition of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.”
- Audio Commentary with Director Garry Marshall
- LA: The Pretty Woman Tour—A guided tour with director Garry Marshall and visit the Los Angeles hotspots from the film.
- Production Featurette — Interviews with Richard Gere, Julia Roberts and Garry Marshall on creating the memorable characters that they brought to life during filming.
- “Wild Women Do” — Music video performed by Natalie Cole.
- Original Theatrical Trailer
MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA (February 10th)
- Video – 2.35:1 1080p AVC
- Deeds Not Words—Pull up a chair with Director Spike Lee and World War II veterans at the historic Harlem Veterans’ Club as they share their intimate experiences from the Great War and discuss how their service to their country is remembered and immortalized in the annals of history and in the films of Hollywood.
- The Buffalo Soldier Experience—Trace the history of the Buffalo Soldier with historians, Director Spike Lee and the cast, and hear rare firsthand accounts of the deep personal bond that was forged between the soldiers and the Italian citizens during World War II.
- Deleted Scenes
GIGI (March 31st)
- Video - 2.40:1 1080p, Audio - 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack
- New Commentary with Leslie Caron and Film Historian Jeanine Basinger
- The Million Dollar Nickel [1952 MGM short]
- The Vanishing Duck [1958 MGM cartoon]
- Theatrical Trailer
- Thank Heaven! The Making of Gigi – The story of how 1958′s Best Picture winner (the last of the classic MGM musicals) survived a turbulent production that included censorship battles over its daring sexual content and creative struggles between a studio in turmoil and a demanding, visionary director. Featuring an all-new interview with star Leslie Caron, and a rare interview with Oscar-winning director Minnelli
- Original 1949 Nonmusical version of Gigi starring Daniele Delorme in the title role and directed by Jacqueline Audry (in French Mono with English subtitles)
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (March 31st)
- Video - 1.33:1 1080p VC-1 encode
- Audio - 1.0 Dolby Digital soundtrack
- Concerto of a Commentary hosted by Patricia Ward Kelly and featuring rare, often previously unheard interviews with Gene Kelly, Vincente Minnelli, Arthur Freed, Alan Jay Lerner, Johnny Green, Saul Chaplin, Michael Feinstein, Preston Ames and Irene Sharaff and new observations by Leslie Caron and Nina Foch
- 1938 MGM short: Paris on Parade
- 1951 MGM cartoon: Symphony in Slang
- Theatrical trailer
- 2002 American Masters Documentary: Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
- ‘S Wonderful: The Making of An American in Paris, an all new documentary, produced especially for this release. A dynamic history of the making of the film, which reveals how George and Ira Gershwin’s classic songs, the dazzling art of the French impressionists and the ultimate teamwork of MGM’s legendary “Freed Unit” came together to create a musical masterpiece. Featuring ten new interviews, including co-stars Leslie Caron and Nina Foch
- Outtakes: Georges Guetary performing Love Walked In and Gene Kelly performing I Got a Crush on You (audio only)
- Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron promotional radio interview with Dick Simmons
- Love Walked In Outtake
- Audio Outtakes
- Alternate Main Title
- But Not for Me Guetary
- But Not for Me Levant Piano Solo
- Gershwin Prelude #3
- I’ve Got a Crush on You
- Nice Work if You Can Get It
- ‘S Wonderful
- Radio Interviews
- Johnny Green
- Gene Kelly
- Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron