Next up: The Best New Blu-ray Discs of the Year!

MORE GIFT IDEAS:

* GIFT & BOXED SETS
* TV ON BLU
* ANIMATION
* THE BEST OF THE YEAR

• The Criterion Collection: Black Orpheus Blu-ray Disc Review
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of September 14 – BREATHLESS (À BOUT DE SOUFFLE)
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AMAZON: Click for price list

The Complete Metropolis is unquestionably one of the finest and most important Blu-ray releases of the year. This restoration, incorporating 25-minutes of newly discovered footage back into the film for the first time in decades, is absolutely stunning in high-def and is necessary viewing for every film fan. This disc receives our highest possible recommendation.

READ MORE: The Complete Metropolis Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $29.49

David Lean‘s Lawrence of Arabia might not be available on Blu yet but Sony has given us the next best thing in their brilliant new high-def transfer of The Bridge on the River Kwai. The boxed set contains a bunch of unnecessary collectibles, but the disc is to die for!

READ MORE: The Bridge on the River Kwai Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $19.99

And speaking of Lean, his very fine and highly under-rated Doctor Zhivago was released on Blu-ray earlier this year in a nice, new digi-book edition from Warner. If the photography and the music don’t get you, Omar Sharif surely will. Purely briliant!

READ MORE: Doctor Zhivago: 45th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $28.99

Who doesn’t just absolutely love the original King Kong?! The Merian C. Cooper film has inspired a couple of remakes, tons of knock-offs and countless filmmakers over the years. And it’s never looked or sounded better on home video than on this gorgeous new Blu-ray edition from Warner. Highly recommended!

READ MORE: Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of September 28 – KING KONG

AMAZON: $25.99

And while we’re on the subject of brilliant films made with stop-motion animation, don’t miss out on the incredible Blu-ray edition of Ray Harryhausen‘s Jason and the Argonauts! I still can’t get over what a great job Sony did restoring and transferring this to Blu. You have to see it to believe it!

READ MORE: Jason and the Argonauts Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $20.99

As I stated in my review of the A Star is Born Blu-ray, I really hate musicals. But I’m always willing to make an exception for a well made film presented in a pretty great Blu-ray edition. This is classic Judy Garland and James Mason in a classic George Cukor film. Don’t miss this WHV digi-book edition of the Blu-ray!

READ MORE: A Star is Born Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $24.99

There aren’t a whole lot of special features on this new Blu-ray edition of the 1935 version of Mutiny on the Bounty but the film itself has never looked or sounded better on home video. This isn’t a flawless restoration here but it’s a great package, including a hardcover digibook, that most collectors and fans will be satisfied with.

AMAZON: $22.99

This gorgeous restoration has been a long time in coming! We film fans have been waiting to get our grubby mitts on a cleaned up, digital copy of The African Queen for ages. It’s one of those few titles that didn’t appear on DVD at all until just this year, when it also saw release on Blu-ray. John Huston‘s classic starring Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn has never looked or sounded better and is a must for all film fans.

READ MORE: Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of March 23 – THE AFRICAN QUEEN

AMAZON: $24.99

Speaking of Bogey and Huston, Warner recently hit us with amazing Blu-ray editions of a couple of their finest collaborations – The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The Maltese Falcon! Both look fantastic, considering their ages, with the transfer for Treasure often quite breathtaking. The discs both contain a myriad of special features, which you can read about here.

AMAZON: $18.49, $17.49

Kino has been absolutely killing it this year with silent film releases on Blu-ray! Aside from their killer high-def version of Metropolis, I think my favourite title has to have been Douglas Fairbanks‘ The Black Pirate. I never thought a two-strip Technicolor film of this age could look this good in high-def! Amazing!

AMAZON: $22.99

ALSO AVAILABLE FROM KINO:

Nuts to the Coen brothers! This here original version of True Grit is the real deal. This classic John Wayne film co-starring the likes of a very young Dennis Hopper and Robert Duvall, is pretty stunning here in its new Blu-ray incarnation. The special features are all carried over from the previously issued DVD but hold up well.

AMAZON: $17.99

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

MORE GIFT IDEAS:

* GIFT & BOXED SETS
* TV ON BLU
* ANIMATION
* THE BEST OF THE YEAR

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THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957, Blu-ray released November 2, 2010 – MSRP $34.95)

When a David Lean film is released on Blu-ray it deserves a lot of attention. In fact, unless you hear otherwise, you should probably just rush out and grab it up as soon as possible, unless you hear otherwise. Well, if you don’t already own the recently released The Bridge on the River Kwai Blu-ray disc set, the high-def debut of one of Lean’s finest films, you owe it to yourself to do so immediately.

Lean’s 1957 adaptation of Pierre Boulle‘s novel is a cinematic triumph by any measure. It won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for future Obi-wan Kenobi, Alec Guinness and remains the high watermark for war films to this day. Guinness is especially good as the very proper Colonel Nicholson, who leads his troops to build a bridge for their Japanese captors while waging a war of wills with the commanding officer of the P.O.W. camp.

The Bridge on the River Kwai Blu-ray disc is a triumph on a technical level as well as on an artistic one. Sony’s Senior Vice President of Asset Management, Film Restoration, and Digital Mastering, Grover Crisp and his team of mastering commandos should be commended for their valiant efforts with this brilliant 4K restoration. Never has Kwai looked so vibrant, crisp and film-like, with grain structure and shadow detail wonderfully rendered. This is nothing short of a revelation!

Audio is presented in a well rendered DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless sound track. It’s unfortunate that the original mono track has not been provided as an option but considering the quality of the video and the fact that adding anything else would cut into its bandwidth, it’s hard to complain.

The Blu-ray disc and additional DVD version of the film come packaged in a really nice 32 page hardcover book with stories and photos from the production. Most of the special features from the 2000 DVD set, including the excellent 53-minute Documentary, “The Making of The Bridge on the River Kwai” are included here but sadly, only in 4:3 standard-def. The new features, including Picture-in-Graphics information track and vintage audio and video, are all welcome additions to the package but none are essential or more a boon to the set than the new transfer of the film itself. See our complete rundown of the Blu-ray features and technical details of the 2-disc set, here.

The Bridge on the River Kwai Blu-ray is a necessary purchase for fans of the film and fans of film in general. Super-extra-highly recommended!!

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ARGH!! It’s another one of those killer, five-million-amazing-new Blu-ray-disc release weeks! Having so many great new titles out all at the same time makes it damn near impossible to choose a best and a second best release of the week. Unlike last week, where I felt the Alien Anthology was clearly the must-own newly released title, I wouldn’t blame you if you grabbed up any one of the discs listed below. They’re all equally amazing! But for the sake of the Top 5, here they are in somewhat arbitrary order…

1. THE SOUND OF MUSIC (45TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION)

There are a few classic releases out on Blu-ray this week but none sport a superior transfer or feature set to The Sound of Music: 45th Anniversary Edition. This is probably your best bet. Unless you hate musicals. In which case, I would usher you on to our number two pick this week.

For more information, read our rundown of the Blu-ray disc set here: The Sound of Music: 45th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray officially announced and detailed

Special Features:

Limited Edition Collector’s Set

• 2-Disc Blu-ray with all extras as detailed below
• Standard Definition DVD
• 45th Anniversary Soundtrack
• 100-Page “My Favorite Things” scrapbook
• Snapshots from Salzburg
• Reproduction of the original 1965 Souvenir program
• Exclusive “My Favorite Things” Music Box with letter of authenticity

Blu-ray Details: Blu-ray Disc 1:

• Feature Film Remastered in 1080p Hi-Def with 7.1 DTS-HD Sound
• Your Favorite Things: An Interactive Celebration — All-New Immersive Viewing Experience with Behind-the-Scenes Images, On-Screen Lyrics, Trivia Track and Location Quiz
• Music Machine Sing-Along
• Audio Commentaries with Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer and Director Robert Wise
• BD-LIVE**: Live Lookup™ Powered by IMDb®

Blu-ray Disc 2:

• Musical Stages: Creating The Sound of Music — All-New Interactive “Backlot Tour” with In-Depth Featurettes on the Songs, the Stage Show & Movie, the Film and Sound Restoration and the Real-Life von Trapp Family
• A City of Song — Virtual Map of Filming Locations in Salzburg, Austria
• Vintage Rodgers & Hammerstein and The Sound of Music Programs
• Screen Tests, Rare Treasures, Interviews, Photo Galleries & More!

DVD Disc:

• Feature Film In Standard Definition
  • Newly Remastered Picture and Sound
  • Optional Sing-Along Track
• Music Machine Sing-Along
• The Sound of Music Tour – A Living Story

Amazon: $19.99

ALSO AVAILABLE: The Sound of Music (Limited Edition Collector’s Set) – $59.99

2. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI

David Lean on Blu-ray. ‘Nuff said, right? Well, The Bridge on the River Kwai is most certainly my personal top pick of the week but while it looks and sounds way better on Blu than ever before on a home video format, the disc itself is simply just not as technically impressive as The Sound of Music and doesn’t include anywhere near the exhaustive amount of special features as that title. Bridge is a must-own for any film fan but won’t blow you away, if you’re looking for the colour and pizazz of newer, slicker discs.

READ MORE: The Bridge on the River Kwai Blu-ray officially announced and detailed

Amazon: $20.99

3. TOY STORY 3

Toy Story 3 is, without question, one of the best films of the year. I finally got a chance to see it thanks to the Blu-ray screener that showed up last week and I have to say, the movie really delivers on every level. One of the finest to come out of Pixar. And, it goes without saying, that the digital-to-digital transfer is absolutely pixel-perfect, affording the Blu-ray disc one of the most stunning images of any disc released this year. The 4-disc combo pack includes a seemingly endless supply of special features as well as a DVD and digital copy of the film.

READ MORE: Toy Story 3 and Ultimate Toy Box 3-movie collection coming to Blu-ray

Amazon: $24.99

4. THE PACIFIC

I haven’t watched HBO‘s The Pacific yet (still waiting on my review copy!) but I’m setting this robust disc-set in the number-four position this week on the basis of the quality of it’s sibling show, Band of Brothers. If The Pacific is anywhere near as brilliant as Brothers, it’ll end up being one of my favourite TV shows of the year. And if the Blu-ray set is anywhere near as perfect as Brothers’, The Pacific could be a contender for TV-on-Blu set of the year!

READ MORE: HBO The Pacific Blu-ray set announced and detailed

Amazon: $56.99

5. CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG

Ian Fleming wrote more than James Bond novels back in the day. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a Ken Hughes/Roald Dahl adaptation of Fleming’s children book about an eccentric professor and the fantastic car he invents. No screener for this one yet either but I’m hoping for the best for the transfer. The special features on the disc are, sadly, quite focused on the younger-set but thankfully offer up a few nuggets for cinefiles, like the “Remembering Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with Dick Van Dyke” and “A Fantasmagorical Motorcar” featurettes.

Amazon: $19.49

6. THE GOONIES (25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION)

Another week with six films in the Top 5?! I just couldn’t let the list go without mentioning that The Goonies is out on Blu-ray today. I’m excited to see it for the first time in years in this new Blu-ray edition from Warner. If you’re not interested in picking up this huge boxed-set edition of the film, filled to the brim with goo-gahs and goodies, I’m certain that there will be a film-only release cropping up at some point in the next year. As much as I want to see the film again, I’ll be holding out for the version without the crap.

READ MORE: The Goonies: 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray coming in November

Amazon: $34.99

TV ON BLU-RAY: V: The Complete First Season

Despite my better sense, I really enjoy this revisionist modern version of V. I doesn’t have the impact of the original mini-series’ (naturally, as both the original and sequel series were finite stories with a definitive ending) but it certainly has its charms. The cast is strong and the sci-fi concepts are as fun as ever. I wish the show had a bigger budget or was given more production time though, as I find myself being taken out of the program every time the characters appear to be floating in their greenscreen environments. And they float a lot. The second season of V kicks off in January with a very special, very evil guest star from the original series! Can’t wait!

Amazon: $33.99

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:

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We’re fast approaching November 2nd and Sony‘s release of David Lean‘s masterpiece, Bridge on the River Kwai on Blu-ray. The new promo trailer from the studio, embedded above for your viewing pleasure, is just serving to get me even more excited to see one of the finest films ever made in gorgeous 1080p. Given Sony’s recent track record, I’m expecting great things from this new, high-def transfer of the classic film. By all accounts, this should be one of the most significant releases of the year! Can’t wait!

READ MORE: The Bridge on the River Kwai Blu-ray officially announced and detailed

• The Bridge on the River Kwai coming to Blu-ray (2)
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Sony has just made my morning by officially announcing this incredible looking Blu-ray release for David Lean‘s The Bridge on the River Kwai! Details for the title look to be identical to those we previously reported but now we also know how great the packaging looks and when the disc is set to hit the streets.

What still isn’t confirmed, as far as I’m concerned, is the full list of special features. The three items Sony has listed as extras on the Blu-ray are referred to as “All New“, leading me to believe that the DVD included in this new 2-disc package will be the disc of bonus content from the previously available SD Limited Edition set from 2000. I have no idea if this is the case yet but I’ll include the list of extras from that disc down below. The post will updated when I receive confirmation one way or the other.

New Special Features:

• 32 page book with stories and photos from the production
• Replications of the original lobby cards
• Bonus DVD version of the movie
• William Holden and Alec Guinness on The Steve Allen Show
• Newly Discovered archival audio of William Holden Narrating The Bridge on the River Kwai Premiere
• Crossing the Bridge: Picture-in-Graphics track and more

Original DVD Special Features:

• “The Making of The Bridge on the River Kwai” 53-minute Documentary
• “Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant” Six-minute Original Featurette
• “USC Short Film Introduced By William Holden” 15-minute Movie
• “An Appreciation By John Milius” Eight-minute Featurette
• Isolated Score
• Photo Montage
• Theatrical Trailers
• Talent Files

Via: Blu-ray.com

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Oh wow. If you follow The Blu-ray Blog to any extent you’re no doubt aware of my affection for the work of master-director David Lean (read my review of his wonderful Doctor Zhivago on Blu-ray.) Sadly, most of his films have yet to make the journey to the world of HD. That’s why I’m so excited to discover that a new Blu-ray edition of The Bridge on the River Kwai, one of Lean’s finest, has turned up for pre-order on Amazon. The title has yet to be officially announced by Sony so we don’t have a release date or any confirmed details for the disc. We’ll update this page when we learn more. Until then, check out this preliminary list of special features from the Amazon listing:

Special Features:

• 35 page book with stories and photos from the production
• Replications of the original lobby cards
• Bonus DVD version of the movie
• William Holden and Alec Guinness on The Steve Allen Show
• Newly Discovered archival audio of William Holden Narrating The Bridge on the River Kwai Premiere
• Crossing the Bridge: Picture-in-Graphics track and more

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I’ll admit that Zhivago has never been my favourite of Lean’s films. I mean, what movie can honestly hold its own against the cinematic perfection that is Lawrence of Arabia or Great Expectations? Warner Home Video‘s new Blu-ray disc has, however, given me new appreciation for the film and, I dare say, allows it to stand among the best of Lean’s work, in my eyes.

This is an astonishing, subtle adaptation of Boris Pasternak’s nobel award winning novel of the same name – a very human story of a man, a poet caught up in the Russian revolution, whose love is torn between his adoring family and a passionate affair with his mistress. I make it sound so simple but there’s really nothing simple about this story. It’s as emotionally complex as a genuine human feeling. The audience may wince as Zhivago gives in to his passions with another woman, but they never hate him for it. He’s so real, up there on the screen, portrayed to utter perfection by Omar Sharif, that we can’t help but empathize with his plight. We feel for him. We feel his conflict as he struggles to make his way through bloody battlefields and harsh seasons, fighting to keep his family and hope alive all the while holding onto the glimmer of inspiration that might reignite his spirit and bare the artistic fruit that will transcend his time and condition. And that’s ultimately what this film is all about – the nature of the human condition and its ability to persevere. And in the hands of anyone less than Lean, Zhivago, as a film, might not have.

It’s not every director who has the power to realize a novel like Pasternak’s, able to illustrate subtle human drama against grand vistas – epic filmmaking at its finest! And Zhivago has it all – beautiful cinematography by Freddie Young (with some scenes shot by Nicolas Roeg,) stunning, grand production design by John Box and a very famous, moving score by Maurice Jarre. This is not only one of the best, most important films of the sixties, but of all time. Any self-respecting film buff or Blu-ray fan owes it to themselves to add this disc to their collection.

And what an incredible disc it is! Warner appears to have pulled out all the stops to restore and remaster Doctor Zhivago for Blu-ray. The results are quite breathtaking. The film has likely not looked this good since its premiere in 1965 (which was a cut of the film sadly not represented here or perhaps in existence anywhere, as the studio forced ongoing changes to Zhivago during its initial run.) Let me be clear, however – despite the restoration, this does not look anywhere near as clean and clear as modern film. So, those looking for the next Star Trek will be disappointed. Film buffs will weep and marvel and this discs clarity. The colour accuracy and the detail are remarkable! I did note a few anomalies in the image though. There were a couple of instances – one at around the 1:40 mark and the other in the last scene – where snow and water appeared to exhibit a strange circular banding. It won’t distract the casual viewer but it keeps the disc from being perfect in my mind.

There are enough extras in this Doctor Zhivago: 45th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Disc set to please even the most demanding fan, beginning with the beautiful 48-page hardcover digibook packaging. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…I’m a sucker for these things. The Blu-ray disc housing the feature also includes an engaging commentary track with Sharif, the director’s widow, Sandra Lean and the late Rod Steiger, who portrayed the villain in the piece, Komarovsky. Disc one of the set also features a 40-minute doc, split in two called “Doctor Zhivago: A Celebration“, which gives us the chance to learn what other Hollywood creatives like Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan writer/director Nicholas Meyer think of the film and how it influenced their work. Disc two is reserved for additional special features including the highlight of the set, the hour-long “Doctor Zhivago: The Making of a Russian Epic“, a 1995 retrospective doc hosted by Sharif. The rest of the disc is crammed full of vintage featurettes, screen tests, interviews and more. Also included is a nice little CD soundtrack sampler of Maurice Jarre’s wonderful score, featuring the popular track “Lara’s Theme“.

Most highly recommended!

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When I read the notice from Criterion, posted on their blog yesterday morning, that another chunk of their collection of films is about to go Out Of Print (O.O.P. as we home video enthusiasts refer to it) I damn near shed a tear. Sad as I am to see Nicolas Roeg‘s The Man Who Fell To Earth fall OOP (ironically, mere days after his brilliant film Walkabout was released), at least I had a chance to grab up Criterion’s gorgeous Blu-ray edition of the film. At least Criterion had the opportunity to offer us a Blu-ray edition of the film! The same can’t be said for the rest of the titles on this list, all fantastic films in their own right. Films that we may now never see in a Criterion Blu-ray edition. Buñuel!! Godard!! ARGH!! Say it ain’t so…

From Criterion.com:

Dear Criterion collectors,

The following titles are going out of print effective June 30:

Billy Liar
Bob le flambeur
Diary of A Chambermaid
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Kind Hearts and Coronets
The Man Who Fell to Earth (DVD and Blu-ray editions)
The Milky Way
The Phantom of Liberty
That Obscure Object of Desire
Touchez pas au grisbi
A Woman Is a Woman

We will be selling copies only while supplies last, so order yours soon. As ever, we will try to relicense the films so that they can rejoin the collection sometime in the future.

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