Next: Animation on Blu-ray

MORE GIFT IDEAS:

* GIFT & BOXED SETS

You can always tell that the holiday shopping season is approaching when the handsome boxed sets start showing up in stores. This new 13-disc collection of all ten episodes of HBO series Band of Brothers and all ten episodes of its follow up series, The Pacific is a real beaut. From the matte finish of the carboard box (watch out for greasy finger-prints on this one), reflective silver print treatment and hidden, magnetic lid lock, you know you’re in for a treat before you even remove the thick, weighty book from it’s housing. Lifting a ribbon attached to the bottom interior of the box raises the hardcover tome from it’s housing, revealing book-packaging of the sort used for the Rome boxed set, but at twice the width. Most of the glossy pages hold two Blu-ray discs full of episodes, with the exception of the pages that bridge the two series, which houses but a single disc containing the sole new feature in the set – He Has Seen The War, an hour-long documentary featuring the surviving members of both Easy Company and the 1st Marine Division whose exploits are dramatized in the series’. It’s an excellent doc but not worth re-purchasing both Band of Brothers and The Pacific on Blu-ray for, if you already own both boxed sets. The rest of the discs and all their features are identical to those previously available.

Highly recommended for those who don’t already own the series and for those ultimate fans who are completists.

AMAZON: $105.49

Season Three is the most disappointing Clone Wars season yet but it’s still some of the most entertaining, thrilling sci-fi TV out there. The series hits a handful of lows in this collection of 22-episodes, including a three-parter that lingers in a sort of “Force realm” where Anakin is taught allegorical lessons and far too many Jedi-free episodes, that instead feature Jar Jar and the droids. But the season is balanced out with some of the best episodes of the series thus far. The three part “Nightsisters” arc which pits Force-powerful witches and Darth Maul’s brother against the forces of the Jedi and the Sith is as awesome as the Clone Wars has ever been! The transfers are gorgeous, as usual, and audio is finally presented in a lossless format. The standard collection of featurettes and “Jedi Temple” bonuses are present but gone is the fancy digi-book packaging. Season 3 is packed in a run-of-the-mill snapper case, housed in a slipcase. Despite the relative drawbacks of this season set, I still highly recommend it.

AMAZON: $34.99

AMAZON: $22.49

This is a fantastic package. It’s just really unfortunate that this isn’t what the studio released back in March, instead of the two-disc, feature-lite set that most fans picked up. I think they’re going to have a lot of irate customers on their hands – folks who wish they would’ve held off grabbing the first set in favour of waiting for this, more feature-rich release. If you didn’t buy the previous set, this is your huckleberry. If you did and you dig extras, better start looking for a painless way to trade up.

READ MORE: The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season – 3-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $24.99

One of the funniest and finest television comedies in years made its Blu-ray debut this past summer 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: $17.99

As usual, Dexter’s family life is in peril (no, I’m not going to tell you what’s tearing them apart this time) and he spends the season trying to sort out his place within it. Seeking solace, he returns to his criminal-eviscerating ways but, in the midst of disposing of one particular serial killer, inadvertently rescues the fiend’s next victim. Lumen, as played by Julia Stiles is damaged from her ordeal but far from helpless. She and Dexter develop a deep connection and open up to one another. But now that she knows the real Dexter, will their shared secrets put them at greater risk or will they become the ultimate dark passenger teamup?

As per Showtime, CBS and Paramount‘s norms, the 3-Disc Dexter: The Fifth Season Blu-ray set is technically marvelous! There aren’t any bonus goodies on the Blu-ray discs themselves but the package claims you’ll be able to access cast and crew interviews as well as episodes of other programs over the BD-Live portal once it goes live.

AMAZON: $40.99

If your loved one is a proper nerd, their fascination with fantasy doesn’t end with guys in capes and warp-drive powered starships. They probably love themselves some good old sword and sorcery too! With that in mind, why not hook them up with the first season of the classic, British Robin of Sherwood series, now on Blu-ray and looking better than ever? This ‘modern’, young take on the story of the bandits of Sherwood forest is far more gripping and real than any version before or since, despite the odd episode that relies too deeply on paganism and magic. The 4-disc set carries over all the special features of the DVDs and is worth every penny.

AMAZON: $59.99

Another year, another couple of boxed set collections of The Simpsons and Futurama. I just gave a thorough once over of the feature-packed Simpsons set in last week’s New Release post so I’ll direct you there if you want to read again about how much I enjoyed this boxed set, despite the fact that the feature content is up-converted from SD. I anxiously await the new Futurama 2-disc Blu-ray set, due for release on December 20th. If it’s anywhere near as good looking and hilarious as last year’s Blu-ray release it’ll be an absolute must-own. Bring it on!

AMAZON: $38.99 and $27.99

Season Three of Fringe continues to follow the exploits of FBI agent Olivia Dunham, crackpot-scientist Walter Bishop and the team as they fight the good fight against the weird stuff that’s taking over their world as a result of a breach into an parallel dimension. The season is compelling as it shifts back and forth between alternate versions of the characters – good Olivia trapped in another universe one episode, bad Olivia in ours the next. The show never ceases to be fun and if you or your loved one already have the first two boxed sets you won’t want to miss this one!

The big news about this boxed set is that Warner has finally seen fit to grace its TV-on-Blu releases with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks instead of the lossy mixes of the past. Fringe: The Complete Third Season is one the first titles to benefit and I expect great things. As usual, the discs are packed with extras including a few commentary tracks, featurettes, a gag reel, trailers and more.

AMAZON: $45.99

HBO‘s New Orleans drama Treme is a tough show to get into, you know, starting off slow and heating up over the course of the first half of this first season. But it’s a commitment that rewards the viewer in the end, leading into a fiery second season, which will be collected on Blu-ray before you can say “Chicken Gumbo”. This Blu-ray disc set looks and sounds great, as I’m sure you’d expect from HBO. As there’s a great focus on the music of the city in this series, you’ll be happy to know that the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is absolutely pitch-perfect – a demo-quality soundtrack with great dynamic range during the musical interludes and convincing atmosphere throughout. Special features are abundant, with episode commentaries, music commentaries, “making-of” featurettes, and an interactive “Look at the Music and Culture of New Orleans“.

AMAZON: $45.99

And now a few words from our reviewer, Chris Tucker:

Anyone who was a fan of Starz‘s Spartacus: Blood and Sand will be happy to hear about the Blu-ray release of it’s mini prequel Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. You’re not left out on anything by missing Blood and Sand. In fact you can do no better than to start here and get the story behind the story. If you watched the show on cable and enjoyed the way the digital-shot footage looked, wait’ll you see it on Blu, presented clearer and at a much higher bitrate. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track is even more powerful, spreading itself judiciously around the sound field, offering plenty of dynamic range for thunderous blows in the arena and the fullness of the score, all the while keeping dialogue clean and clear up the middle. Special features are plentiful and are, for the most part, found on the second disc of the 2-disc set. Getting to the commentary tracks can prove to be a challenge and involves clicking through too many menus but are ultimately well worth the effort. The main featurette runs almost 15-minutes long and is a fairly standard studio EPK piece. The rest of the features are quite short, all running around 5-minutes in length, give or take a minute, but offer plenty of fun looks behind the scenes, interviews and bloopers.

AMAZON: $24.99

Oh my God, True Blood is addictive. The Complete Third Season proves to be 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

Vampire Diaries feels as if it suffers from the same problems I perceive in a lot of series’ sophomore outings – random musical-chairs relationship shifting, out-of-character action to drive desperate plot contrivances and general, all around silliness. That said, it’s still a fun way to kill a few hours, if you’re into vampires, werewolves and teen-makeouts.

Warner‘s Blu-ray transfers look great, as you might expect. And, again, it’s one of the first Blu-ray season sets to receive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio tracks from the studio. Kudos to them for finally seeing the light. Extras include one commentary (on the episode “Masquerade“), deleted scenes, Pages of the Wolf (3 behind the scenes werewolf featurettes totaling around 20-minutes or so), “The Perfect Love Triangle: Vampires, Werewolves, Witches“, “Her Own Worst Enemy: Elena, Katherine and Nina! “, “Second Bite” gag reel and BD-Live.

AMAZON: $42.99

Season One was all about set up. Getting Ray (Thomas Jane) comfortable in his new role as gigolo and Tanya (Jane Adams) comfortable in her new role as pimp. It’s safe to say that one worked out a little better than the other as Ray has …ahem… risen to the occasion while his business partner can barely …ahem… keep her end up. Season Two sees all relationships becoming as strained as possible to the extent that I often wanted to reach right into the TV set and strangle some of the characters (read: Tanya.) The fact that this show is getting me wound up at all is evidence that the creators are doing something right here. I don’t want to give any plot details away but there are big changes afoot by the time the season wraps up, with most characters exploring a new status quo. I don’t pretend to feel as if Season Three will bring any resolution but I can’t wait to see where the series goes from here.

As always, HBO delivers a solid Blu-ray release in Hung: The Complete Second Season. It’s far from the most attractive looking show on the air but the Blu-ray does it justice in just about every way, appearing source-accurate from beginning to end. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks are more muscular than the image on the image on the disc, delivering concert-quality music reproduction, clean, clear dialogue and plenty of ambient sound. Extras on the disc include a “Hung: Inside the Series” featurette, deleted scenes and five audio commentaries with the creators, producers and writers of the show.

AMAZON: $28.99

I can’t believe it took me so long to get into this show! Eastbound and Down is one of the funniest things on TV these days. It’s a show about an egotistical ass of a down-and-out former baseball superstar who insists he’s still a superstar while crashing at his brothers house and substitute teaching at the local elementary school. Amazing. Uncomfortable. And never not funny. This is great stuff. Danny McBride is a comedic genius.

Both Season One and Two boxed sets are new this year and look as good as the source material allows. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is a whopper and offers a more bang for your buck than you’d expect. Both sets feature commentary tracks, deleted scenes and featurettes.

AMAZON: $26.99 each

TV SHOWS 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:

Related posts

• Blu-ray Holiday Gift Guide 2010: TV on Blu (5)
• [VIDEO] HBO Holiday Blu-ray ads: True Blood, Entourage (0)
• True Blood: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Disc Review (2)
• True Blood: Season 3 coming to Blu-ray (0)
• True Blood: Season 2 Blu-ray Pre-Order Already Available at Amazon (1)

Did you see HBO‘s magnificent Band of Brothers series? Did you pick it up on Blu-ray? So, so good. Sadly, I haven’t yet checked out the sequel series, The Pacific, that’s been airing this year but I’m willing to bet it’s going to blow me away when it hits Blu this coming November. Details below:

THE PACIFIC
(November 2, 2010 – MSRP $99.98)
Video: 1.78:1 1080
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio

Special Features:

• The Pacific Enhanced Viewing: with Enhanced Viewing, a 10-part, 10-hour, picture-in-picture experience makes it possible to learn more about the Marines and gain a deeper historical understanding of the battles while watching the miniseries. Exclusive content includes interviews with historians and veterans, archival footage, maps and more.
• The Pacific Field Guide: allows viewers to navigate through the major events featured in The Pacific in this standalone, interactive Field Guide. Search within to view exclusive content including animated maps, extensive interviews with historians and veterans, historical footage, photographs and more.
• Historical Backgrounds: the five-minute prologues that set the stage for each episode and additional historical footage narrated by Tom Hanks.
• Making The Pacific: go behind the scenes and take an inside look at the making of this miniseries.
• Profiles of The Pacific: delve into the lives of the real Marines featured in The Pacific. Get a personal perspective on their families, their war experience and their lives after the war in these intimate portraits.
• Anatomy of the Pacific War: explore the historical influences and cultural perceptions that led to the merciless brutality in the Pacific theater of World War II.

Related posts

• Blu-ray Holiday Gift Guide 2010: TV on Blu (5)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of November 2 (1)
• Top 8 Blu-ray Discs to get Dad for Father's Day (1)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of May 4 (0)
• [VIDEO] Wish List – Where the Wild Things Are Documentary – Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak Blu-ray (1)

Just in case he reads this: No dad, they don’t have The Full Monty or The Commitments on Blu-ray yet. Maybe you’ll get them next year.

THE TOP 8 BLU-RAY DISCS TO GET DAD FOR FATHER’S DAY

8. DIE HARD COLLECTION

Once upon a time, Bruce Willis had hair and could take out an office tower full of terrorists while barefoot and bloodied. Those were the days. Relive Willis at his best here, in this box-set featuring all four Die Hard films. As you can imagine, if you recall all the films, you’ll also have the opportunity to relive Willis at his worst. Nevermind. Who doesn’t love a Die Hard film?

The Box set features a couple of lackluster transfers, a couple of great ones and bonus material that deserves an upgrade. On a positive note, you can usually get this thing for a steal! And c’mon, really…who doesn’t love a Die Hard film?

7. GOODFELLAS

My dad has watched Goodfellas on TV about a hundred times. Rarely from beginning to end as his preference seems to be watching films from the middle onward, but he’s seen it a lot. At least he’s seen the end of it a lot. Needless to say, whenever it’s on the old boob-tube, dad flicks it on. It’s a favourite.

And this Blu-ray disc version of Goodfellas could easily become a favourite as well, what with the spiffy 1080p upgrade and a couple of the better commentary tracks on home video. Not only do you get a nice sit-down with director Martin Scorsese, his cast and crew but you also get a second track featuring the man whose life the film is based upon, Henry Hill and FBI agent Edward McDonald, the man who put him in witness protection. Fascinating!

6. STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES – SEASON 1

Fascinating, indeed! I am simply blown away by this box set (full review coming soon) and anxious to show it to my dad. While not a Trekkie or Trekker, he always had a great appreciation for a good sci-fi show. And Trek ranked among the best in my house, growing up.

Paramount Home Video has gone above and beyond the call of duty in bringing these episodes of the original 60s TV show to Blu-ray. Star Trek has never looked this brilliant, vivid and saturated in lush colour. Packed to the brim with featurettes, commentary tracks and behind-the-scenes footage, you simply can’t go wrong picking up this box-set.

5. ENTER THE DRAGON

Bruce Lee at his best. I had forgotten how fantastic the man was until watching this film again recently on Blu-ray. This is a quintessential 70s action flik and no doubt a favourite of a lot of fathers.

The Blu-ray edition of Enter The Dragon ports over most of the generous portion of bonus features that Warner had assembled for their four releases of the film on DVD. These extras are amazing! Some might say, better than the film itself. If your dad has ever had any interest in the life of the martial arts master, he’ll be pleasantly surprised by the wealth of information packed within the many documentaries and featurettes on the Blu-ray. Oh, and to tempt you further, Enter the Dragon looks great for a 35 year old film. And you can usually pick it up pretty cheap! (Currently, $11.49 at Amazon)

4. THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

I had to fit a western on here. And what better film than one of Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood‘s finest spaghetti westerns, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Mind you, this wasn’t an easy choice. John Ford‘s incredible The Searchers starring John Wayne was a definite contender, with it’s incredible restoration job and low, low price of $7.99 at Amazon. But ultimately I had to go with the film that I would pick up for my own dad. And Clint will always win over the Duke in my dad’s eyes.

While the film itself may not be the ultimate presentation of Leone’s epic shooter in it’s extended cut, with perhaps a bit too much digital processing in the wrong places, the package contains some incredible extras. Not least of which is a brand new commentary track historian and Leone expert, Christopher Frayling that contains more information about the ‘Dollar’ trilogy than you can shake a six-shooter at. All together, a great buy.

3. JAMES BOND FILMS

I couldn’t pick a single Bond film. Guilty as charged. It’s not that I’m necessarily indecisive. It’s just that there’s really a wealth of Bond-awesomeness to chose from on Blu-ray. Something for everyone, for every budget.

If it’s old-school Bond that floats your dad’s boat, you can find a good selection of the Connery and Moore films on Blu in individual releases. Or if you’re feeling wealthier and your father enjoys the entire series, you can pick up the Bond Collections, which feature 3 films each, chosen in a seemingly random fashion from amongst the eras. Last but certainly not least are the newer, Daniel Craig films, both excellent on Blu. The 2-Disc Casino Royale is currently quite affordable on Amazon at $14.99.

2. THE GODFATHER: THE COPPOLA RESTORATION GIFTSET

I don’t know a dad who doesn’t like The Godfather 1 and 2. In fact, I think a devout appreciation of Francis Ford Coppola‘s mob epic is a prerequisite of fatherhood. Also required, a hatred of the much-maligned Godfather Part 3.

If anything can make your dad give Part 3 another go, it’s this gorgeous giftset of the entire Godfather series on Blu. The first two films have undergone a drastic restoration process and have a look that some might find startling. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While not gaining the sparkle of modern films, Godfather 1 and 2 are brighter and more detailed than ever before. Part 3 is well presented and, while the film isn’t the best of the series, it is nice to look at in 1080p. The set is rounded out by a ridiculous wealth of bonus features, including all the extra content from the 2001 DVD edition as well as brand-spanking new HD stuff. Great set!

1. BAND OF BROTHERS

This HBO TV series by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks is epic. It’s complex. It’s real. Based on Stephen Ambrose‘s book of the same name, Band of Brothers chronicles the story of the soldiers of Easy Company from basic training to the end of World War II in ten phenomenal, riveting episodes.

The box-set set of the complete series looks and sounds great on Blu and ports over all the bonus content from the DVD set. In addition, each episode features all new, Blu-ray exclusive Picture-in-Picture interviews/commentary with the surviving members of Easy Company. The veterans share haunting memories of WWII and discuss the accuracy of their on-screen representations. As if this wasn’t enough, each of the ten Band of Brothers episodes offer real time trivia, accessible video content, interactive maps, archive footage, and a glossary of WWII military terms, abbreviations, and slang in the feature called In the Field with the Men of Easy Company: Interactive Guides.

I’m going to be honest with you here: I don’t know if my dad has even seen this show. But I’ll tell you this, if I had to rush out and get him a Blu-ray gift that looked and sounded great, had tons of amazing bonus features and offered an incredible value, Band of Brothers would be at the top of the list.

Related posts

• Blu-ray Picks for the Week of December 15 (0)
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of May 4 (0)
• Blu-ray Holiday Gift Guide 2010: TV on Blu (5)
• [VIDEO] Trailer for Fringe: The Complete First Season Blu-ray (1)
• [VIDEO] Star Wars: The Clone Wars Complete Season One Blu-ray and DVD Trailer (0)

Easy Company on Blu-ray on the Cheap…AGAIN!

You’ve been given one more chance, only the next twenty-four hours to hurry over to Amazon.com and grab the Band of Brothers box set while it’s still 65% off the SRP of $100. This is an amazing series following the true story of Easy Company during WWII from the Battle of the Bulge all the way to the capture of Hitler’s “Eagle’s Nest” in the German Alps. If anything demands to be seen in an incredible high-def presentation, it’s this HBO series. Reviews are off the charts for this set and this deal isn’t going to be beaten anytime soon.

Band of Brothers Blu-ray Box Set – $34.99