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Blu-ray disc of the week: THE LION KING

“The wait is over. For the first time ever, experience the majesty of Disney’s epic animated masterpiece as it roars off the screen and into your living room on Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D. With a spectacular digital picture, spine-tingling high definition sound and immersive bonus features—you will feel the love for this critically acclaimed and universally beloved classic like never before.

Embark on an extraordinary coming-of-age adventure as Simba, a lion cub who cannot wait to be king, searches for his destiny in the great “Circle of Life.” You will be thrilled by the breathtaking animation, unforgettable Academy Award®–winning music (1994: Best Original Score; Best Song, “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”) and timeless story. The king of all animated films reigns on Disney Blu-ray 3D—magic in a new dimension.“

You know, I don’t think I’ve ever really given The Lion King it’s due. This is such a well crafted film, from the script to the music to every single visual, static and in motion, up there on the screen. It’s a true work of art that, for me, has been sullied with hype and the incessant overplaying of every Elton John ditty in the piece. Honestly, if I never hear ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight’ again in my life, I’ll be alright.

You can imagine the effort involved to block the effect those songs have on me, as I watch the film again, attempting to appreciate it anew, fresh and sullied. And I think I managed it. I focused on the tight script and the pitch-perfect characters, performed with such razor precision by the likes of James Earl Jones, Rowan Atkinson and Jeremy Irons that the voice-work elevates the material to a new place of awesome. I focused on the ground-breaking animation, combining CGI with traditional cel-painted frames in ways never-before attempted. I focused on the score by the always-wonderful Hans Zimmer who, at his best here, makes me forget that his awe-inspiring cues will often lead into trite pop songs that more-or-less strip the film of its potential to feel timeless and iconic. I guess I don’t need to tell you where my issues lie with The Lion King.

But the songs are an integral part of the film. And they, like everything else here, are well done, for what they are. I just don’t like them. That’s a personal-taste-thing. They take me out of the action, as singing characters often do in film and theatre. But, I understand, that’s the nature of the beast here. And this beast is unquestionably King for a reason, still the highest grossing animated film to date. It’s a classic that every animation and film fan should have in their Blu-ray library.

You’ll also want to add The Lion King Blu-ray to your collection to show off your Audio/Visual gear as it’s one of the most technically incredible releases of the year. Disney offer up another transfer of one of its classic animated films that borders on perfection. Detail is out of this world, blacks are deep and colours are vivid and pounce right off the screen! Amazing. Equally as powerful is the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track that rumbles deep and stampedes around your surround system with the best of them. This is your new demo disc!

There are a nice collection of newly created special features on the disc including a couple of docs – Pride of the Lion King and The Lion King: A Memoir- Don Hahn – that are definitely worth your time. Both are presented in HD and look fantastic, aside from the SD archival material used within. All the new animated and still content is also presented in HD but is only worth watching for those who need to dig deep. I don’t think the casual viewer will want to sit through failed gags in storyboard form. Once again, Disney really kills it with their Second Screen feature for iPad and PC, which allows you to view additional content on your device while watching the film on your big screen. Most of the extras from the previously available DVD sets are still available here, but only through the BD-Live portal, which, to me, is a pain in the ass. I would’ve much rather had them on a second disc, instead of the included DVD copy of the film that’s in the package.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• 4 Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scenes
• Deleted Song
• The Morning Report: Extended scene
• Never-Before-Seen Bloopers
• Disney Second Screen*
• Pride of The Lion King
• The Lion King: A Memoir- Don Hahn
• Disney Sing Along Mode
• Interactive Gallery
• Audio Commentary
• Disney’s Virtual Vault: Classic DVD Features Powered by BD-Live*

AMAZON: $21.99
or in a 3D combo pack: $29.99

Also available: THE LION KING TRILOGY

AMAZON: $74.99

Canadian versions: PULP FICTION and JACKIE BROWN

I was very fortunate to be able to review the Canadian editions of the Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown Blu-ray releases from Alliance. Aside from slight differences in packaging and branding on the discs, these releases are identical to their US counterparts.

It’s been years since I’ve had to opportunity to sit down with either film but I’m happy to report that, for the most part, they hold up! Jackie Brown in particular has aged well, perhaps because it’s the product of a Quentin Tarantino who was a more mature filmmaker or perhaps it’s simply because the film has been spared the fate of the icon of ’90s cinema that is Pulp Fiction.

Fiction‘s mix-and-match structure and hipster-style never fail to impress, even after all these years and after so many poor imitations. It’s such a well assembled film with an endless number of iconic shots, songs and performances. But I have to admit I find a lot of the dialogue to be masturbatory – if I never have to hear another Tarantino character repeatedly asking a question (“What does Marsellus Wallace look like?”) only so they might deliver a lame punchline it’ll be too soon. Jackie Brown doesn’t feel like it’s there to show off at all. It’s a far more settled and self-contained narrative with characters who live and breathe with their own sense of purpose and desire, which tends not to serve their puppet-master’s ego. That said, I truly love both films and am pleased to report that each is extremely well handled in their Blu-ray debuts.

The Pulp Fiction Blu-ray disc sports a sticker with Tarantino’s signature and is meant to communicate his stamp of approval. I’m not sure why Jackie Brown didn’t receive the same treatment because both discs appear to have similar transfers (and, I’m led to understand that the filmmaker personally approved the latter film’s transfer to Blu as well.) They both look really great with a few notable oddities. Colour and contrast appear to have been boosted in both cases, causing some black crush and white blow-outs but allowing a considerable bump in temperature and tone. Both discs also receive demo-class DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtracks, with Fiction‘s perhaps a touch more dynamic and playful through the sound-space.

Most, if not all, special features have been carried over from previous DVD editions of the films, with little new added to the mix here. Both discs feature a “critic’s roundtable” of sorts, where Elvis Mitchell, Scott Foundas, Stephanie Zacharek, Tim Lucas and Andy Klein chat about the films, their merits, failings and lasting impact on cinema. The Pulp Fiction clocks in at about 20-minutes while the Jackie Brown conversation is nearly three-quarters-of-an-hour long. “Not the Usual Mindless Boring Getting to Know You Chit Chat” is the only other new feature – a 43-minute retrospective on Pulp Fiction, featuring interviews with cast and crew all presented in HD! Fantastic.

Pulp Fiction Special Features:

• Retrospective Cast Interviews (New)
• Critics Corner: Then and Now (New)
• Pulp Fiction: The Facts featurette
• Deleted Scenes
• Behind the Scenes Montages
• Production Design featurette
• Siskel and Ebert “At the Movies” – The Tarantino Generation
• Independent Spirit Awards
• Cannes Film Festival – Palm d’Or Acceptance Speech
• Charlie Rose Show – Interview with Quentin Tarantino
• Theatrical Trailers and TV Spots
• Stills Gallery

Jackie Brown Special Features:

• Critic’s Corner: Then and Now – (New)
• Jackie Brown: How It Went Down featurette
• “A Look Back at Jackie Brown” – Interview with Quentin Tarantino
• Chicks With Guns Video
• Siskel & Ebert “At the Movies”- Jackie Brown review
• Jackie Brown on MTV
• Theatrical Trailer and TV Spots
• Stills Gallery

AMAZON: CDN$ 15.00 and CDN$ 24.99

US versions also available: PULP FICTION and JACKIE BROWN

READ MORE: Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown heading to Blu-ray

AMAZON: $15.99 and $10.49

SUBMARINE

“Young Oliver Tate’s coming of age is coming even sooner than expected. Prone to daydreaming, listening to French crooners and indulging other self-absorbed fantasies, Oliver (Craig Roberts) suddenly finds himself submerged in real-life, dual challenges — plotting to lose his virginity with a quirky new girlfriend (Yasmin Paige), while also struggling to reconcile his parent’s (Golden Globe® winner Sally Hawkins and Noah Taylor) marriage, even though his mom seems smitten with the self-help guru next door (Paddy Considine). This charmingly original comedy from executive producer Ben Stiller and writer/director Richard Ayoade, has been pronounced by Vogue magazine ”a charming mix of quirk and cool.” “

I’m so angry that Richard Ayoade’s Submarine isn’t receiving a Blu-ray release here in Canada. This is one of the coolest films of 2011 and Alliance is only delivering it to home video on DVD. Blech. I guess I’ll be importing the Anchor Bay Blu-ray from down south. DVD Beaver calls the transfer “surprisingly adept” while DVD Verdict claims the disc sports a “very close approximation to the theater presentation”, which is all I need to know before adding it to my Amazon cart.

AMAZON: $25.99

AMER

“An eroticized homage to 1970s Italian giallo horror films… Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s pastiche tour-de-force plays out a delirious, enigmatic, almost wordless death-dance of fear and desire. Its three movements, each in a different style, correspond to the childhood, adolescence, and adulthood of its female protagonist. Drawing its stylized, hyperbolic gestures from the playbooks of Bava, Leone, Argento and De Palma and taking them into a realm of near-abstraction. Amer has genre in the blood. Its bold widescreen composition, super-focused sound and emphatic music (lifted from original giallo soundtracks), and razor-sharp cuts make for an outrageous and intoxicating cinematic head-trip. Featuring music from composers Stelvio Cipriani, Bruno Nicolai and the legendary Ennio Morricone.“

Amer is another film I’ve been following online through reviews/articles/interviews/etc. but have yet to actually see. But, in truth, this is probably the Blu-ray release I’m most excited about this week. But only because of the pent up anticipation for a viewing of this modern Giallo horror. Blu-ray.com gives the disc high marks, with a source-accurate transfer of this “ravishingly beautiful film”. Extras include five short films by the filmmakers and some trailers.

AMAZON: $31.49

SCREAM 4

“In Scream 4, Sidney Prescott, now the author of a self-help book, returns home to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour. There she reconnects with Sheriff Dewey and Gale, who are now married, as well as her cousin Jill (played by Emma Roberts) and her Aunt Kate (Mary McDonnell). Unfortunately Sidney’s appearance also brings about the return of Ghost Face, putting Sidney, Gale, and Dewey, along with Jill, her friends, and the whole town of Woodsboro in danger. “

I can’t speak to the actual Scream 4 Blu-ray disc from Anchor Bay but I reviewed the Canadian release from Alliance that’s part of The Complete Scream Collection and it’s fantastic. It replicates the US disc in every way (aside from Alliance branding and trailers) and is well worth a look. For more on the disc and the film, see my review of the Complete Collection, linked to below:

READ MORE: The Complete Scream Collection Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $22.99

Available exclusively in Canada: THE COMPLETE SCREAM COLLECTION

AMAZON.CA: CDN$ 49.99

HARAKIRI and SALO

Both of Criterion‘s Blu-ray new releases are re-issues, which is to say that neither is the most exciting title hitting shops this week but are both worth a look anyway. I mean, come on, they’re Criterion discs, right?! For those mature viewers with the ability to handle disturbing imagery, the studio takes another stab at releasing Piere Paolo Pasolini‘s Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom on home video. This is a stronger presentation than the BFI Blu-ray disc and, packed with bonus goodies, is worth the upgrade for fans. Harakiri is also a worthy upgrade, presenting a far more solid and balanced transfer than the previously released DVD, that’s every bit as good, if not better than the Eureka Entertainment BD from the UK. A strong supplemental package makes this release a winner! Both discs are, of course, highly recommended.

READ MORE: Criterion October Blu-ray titles

AMAZON: $27.99 and $34.99

THE WALKING DEAD: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON – 3-DISC SPECIAL EDITION

“After waking from a coma in an abandoned hospital, police officer Rick Grimes finds the world he knew gone – ravaged by a zombie epidemic of apocalyptic proportions. Nearby, on the outskirts of Atlanta, a small encampment struggles to survive as ‘the dead’ stalk them at every turn. Can Rick and the others hold onto their humanity as they fight to live in this terrifying new world? And, amidst dire conditions and personal rivalries, will they ultimately survive one another? AMC‘s The Walking Dead is an epic, survival adventure series from the director of The Shawshank Redemption and the producer of The Terminator and Aliens. “

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: $34.99

Now available in Canada: ONG BAK: THE THAI WARRIOR

“Thai stuntman Tony Jaa makes his starring debut in this martial arts action film directed by Prachya Pinkaew. Ja plays Ting, who was discovered as an infant in a village in rural Thailand and raised by monks who taught him the Thai martial art of muay thai. Ting is sent to Bangkok when the head of the town’s statue of the Buddha, to which they pray to bring the annual rains to their drought-stricken region, is stolen. The country boy is plunged into the big city’s seething criminal underworld, and forced to use his fighting skills to dispatch a parade of thugs in an underground fight club on his way to finding the criminal mastermind who stole the Buddha head so he can return it before drought and starvation bring his hometown to ruin.“

Tony Jaa is God here. I’m not sure he’s ever been better than in the original 2003 Ong Bak. This is Jaa just getting started in his career, before he got lost in his head and wandered off the set of Ong Bak 2 to become a monk (well, that’s the legend anyway.) Here, he’s just Ting, a young man from a small farming village on a journey to recover a stolen artifact, who just happens to find more trouble than he bargained for. There’s no pretense. No grand spiritual journey or commentary about life. Just an honest-to-goodness quest with some honest-to-goodness muay thai fighting that’ll blow your mind.

Jaa is unreal. He’s so fast that many of his moves here are shown in slow motion and from several angles, played out over and over again so you can see that this is the man accomplishing these feats himself, without special effects or wires. He’s an acrobat, a gymnast and an unbelievable martial arts talent who could damn-near become the next Bruce Lee if he’d just get his head out of his ass and embrace his place in cinema. Watch Ong Bak and marvel at the man and his moves and pray he returns to form, creating something of this ilk sooner rather than later.

Alliance is releasing Ong Bak on Blu-ray in Canada today, in an exact duplicate of the disc from Fox, released in the US last year. As was reported at the time, this is something of a baffling transfer. There’s a note about it, right there in the extras for all to see, stating that this Blu-ray presentation is the result of a new scan from an “original 35 mm internegative of the film” with additional “color correction, image stabilization and digital cleaning”. But, man, you’d never know it. The film looks soft, often muddy, with colours bopping around like jazz from scene to scene. Admittedly, this is a marked improvement over the DVD transfer but, I guess as a fan, I was just praying for better. This was a super-low budget film and it’s very possible that this is best it can look but don’t go into watching this disc expecting anything revelatory. The Thai 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track doesn’t fare much better, sounding thin and unremarkable most of the time.

There are a good many bonus features provided on the disc but, sadly, they’re all quite brief and all in standard-def. You should check them out, though, as any footage of Jaa working his craft is worth a few moments of your time. The B-roll footage is the best thing going here, proving the only look at the behind-the-scenes work that went into making the picture.

Special features include:

• Tony Jaa and stuntman performance at French screening
• The 8 Movements of Muay Thai
• French rap music video with Tony Jaa
• Making of the music video
• B-Roll (behind the scenes):
  • Taxi stunts
  • Legs-ablaze fight sequence
  • Arena fight sequence

AMAZON: CDN$ 18.19

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, the ticket and Blu-ray buying audience, always appreciate seeing that the studios understand how we feel about their films. With that in mind, it’s nice to see this new video from Lionsgate, which accurately sums up our feelings about the obscenely long wait for Quentin Tarantino‘s Pulp Fiction to finally make its Blu-ray debut (in stores October 4th.) Check it out!

PULP FICTION
(October 4, 2011 – MSRP $19.99)
Video: 2.39:1 1080p
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Special Features:

• Retrospective Cast Interviews (New)
• Critics Corner: Then and Now (New)
• Pulp Fiction: The Facts featurette
• Deleted Scenes
• Behind the Scenes Montages
• Production Design featurette
• Siskel and Ebert “At the Movies” – The Tarantino Generation
• Independent Spirit Awards
• Cannes Film Festival – Palm d’Or Acceptance Speech
• Charlie Rose Show – Interview with Quentin Tarantino
• Theatrical Trailers and TV Spots
• Stills Gallery

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It’s happening. It’s really happening. The two Quentin Tarantino films you never thought you’d see on a domestically released Blu-ray (well, not anytime soon that is) will finally be arriving in stores this coming October. Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction will make their high-def debuts sporting newly remastered transfers complete with lossless audio (format yet to be revealed) and most, if not all, of the previously available special features. Sounds pretty great!

PULP FICTION
(October 4, 2011 – MSRP $19.99)
Video: 2.39:1 1080p
Audio: TBA

Special Features:

• Retrospective Cast Interviews (New)
• Critics Corner: Then and Now (New)
• Pulp Fiction: The Facts featurette
• Deleted Scenes
• Behind the Scenes Montages
• Production Design featurette
• Siskel and Ebert “At the Movies” – The Tarantino Generation
• Independent Spirit Awards
• Cannes Film Festival – Palm d’Or Acceptance Speech
• Charlie Rose Show – Interview with Quentin Tarantino
• Theatrical Trailers and TV Spots
• Stills Gallery

JACKIE BROWN
(October 4, 2011 – MSRP $19.99)
Video: 1.85:1 1080p
Audio: TBA

Special Features:

• Critic’s Corner: Then and Now – (New)
• Jackie Brown: How It Went Down featurette
• “A Look Back at Jackie Brown” – Interview with Quentin Tarantino
• Chicks With Guns Video
• Siskel & Ebert “At the Movies”- Jackie Brown review
• Jackie Brown on MTV
• Theatrical Trailer and TV Spots
• Stills Gallery

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• [VIDEO] Jackie Brown Blu-ray trailer (0)
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• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of October 5 (0)

I feel like there are an unusually strong batch of titles being released today. It’s one of those weeks where there are actually enough decent, new Blu-ray titles hitting store shelves that I could have stretched this list to a Top 10. And I might have been tempted to if I’d actually had a chance to see more of the discs with my own eyes.

I am excited that Universal is releasing Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on Blu today (along with A Beautiful Mind) but given their track record with recent catalogue titles, I really have to wait and see if their hi-def transfer warrants an upgrade. There’s also Secretariat, if horse fliks are your thing, the third (and apparently weakest) film in Steig Larson‘s “The Girl Who…” series, Quiet Days in Clichy from Blue Underground for your vintage T&A fix and a wishy-washy pre-Beatles Lennon biopic. Any of the aforementioned discs might prove worthy of a rent or even a purchase. But enough with the “maybe” and the “might”, let’s talk about the five new Blu-ray discs that are absolutely worthy of your time and money.

1. BROADCAST NEWS

James L. Brooks hasn’t directed a ton of films throughout his many, many years in the business but damn, if he doesn’t deliver when he puts his mind to it! I mean, the man has got credits aplenty under his belt, writing and producing a crap-load of the best-ever television programs of the last four decades (Mary Tyler Moore, Taxi, The Simpsons) but only sitting in the director’s chair six times in his career. When he chooses to do so, Brooks makes it count. And Broadcast News is truly one of his best.

Brooks’ “caustic look inside the Washington news media” is out today on Blu-ray from Criterion and it looks absolutely stunning. Sporting a new, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by director James L. Brooks and editor Richard Marks (what, D.O.P. Michael Ballhaus wasn’t available?) the disc easily trounces any previous version of the film on home video. I think I actually spent the first ten-or-so minutes just sitting in awe of the transfer, actually unable to be absorbed by the film itself until I got over what a fantastic job Criterion have done with the presentation on the Blu-ray. The DTS-HD Master Audio is also solid, clean and clear but less inspired, as it holds true to the original front heavy mix.

The disc is stacked with a veritable cornucopia of wonderful supplemental material, for those who want to learn more about the production.

Highly recommended!

Special Features:

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director James L. Brooks and editor Richard Marks with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• New audio commentary featuring Brooks and Marks
• New documentary on Brooks’s career in television and film, featuring actors Marilu Henner (Taxi) and Julie Kavner (Rhoda, The Simpsons) and several other of Brooks’s collaborators
• Deleted scenes and an alternate ending, with commentary by Brooks
• New video interview with veteran CBS news producer Susan Zirinsky, one of the models for actress Holly Hunter’s character and an associate producer on the film
• Featurette containing on-set footage and interviews with Brooks, Hunter, and actor Albert Brooks
• Original theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Carrie Rickey

AMAZON: $26.99

2. THE COLOR PURPLE

I wasn’t expecting to love The Color Purple as much as I did. In so many ways, it’s a completely vintage Spielberg flik, with stylistic and storytelling flourishes that mark it as such. The way that the camera moves, the choice of shots, the playfulness of the characters all scream Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – an admittedly strange comparison to make, given the disparate subject matter of the two films. The Color Purple is the first step into a bigger, more adult world for Spielberg. It’s the first real evidence of him growing up. And watching this film for the first time really made me miss the filmmaker he used to be.

Warner has knocked the Blu-ray out of the park. It looks and sounds magnificent. It’s packaged in a nice hardcover digibook and carries over the exceptional Laurent Bouzereau written/produced/directed featurettes (sadly, still in standard def) from the previously available DVD edition of the film, along with its additional features.

AMAZON: $23.99

3. SANTA SANGRE

I’ve probably been looking forward to this one the most. I’ve been following closely Severin Films‘ build-up to their release of Alejandro Jodorowsky‘s twisted, apparently brilliant Santa Sangre on Blu-ray. It’s a film rarely seen since its 1989 release – surrealist horror film by the acclaimed director of El Topo and The Holy Mountain. From all appearances (and early reviews) their Blu-ray treatment of the film is nothing short of astonishing, sporting a fantastic transfer and over 5-hours of brand-new special features, including the feature-length documentary “Forget Everything You Have Ever Seen: The World Of Santa Sangre“. I’ll have a full review of this bad boy for you once I get my filthy hands on a copy.

AMAZON: $26.99

4. RED

“Frank (Bruce Willis) is a former black-ops CIA agent living a quiet life alone… until the day a hit squad shows up to kill him. With his identity compromised, Frank reassembles his old team Joe (Morgan Freeman), Marvin (John Malkovich) and Victoria (Helen Mirren) and sets out to prove that they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. Stand back and watch the bullets fly in this explosive action-comedy that critics call a rip-roaring good time. “

The movie-only Blu-ray is way cheaper (only $12.99 at Amazon.com right now) if you can do without all the special features on the Special Edition.

AMAZON: $23.99

5. ENTER THE VOID

“Controversial and brilliant director Gasper Noe follows his worldwide sensation Irreversible with another triumph. Enter The Void is Noe’s most assured and haunting film yet, a head trip a la Stanley Kubrick‘s 2001: A Space Odyssey and at the same time a piercing modern drama. Newcomer Nathaniel Brown and Paz de la Huerta (HBO s Boardwalk Empire) star as a brother and sister trapped in the hellish nighttime world of Tokyo where he deals drugs and she works as a stripper. “

This is a love-it or hate-it kind of movie but well worth a viewing, if you can get into films that aren’t completely straight-ahead narrative experiences. The P.O.V camerawork can get a little obnoxious but stick with it and you might find the film rewarding.

AMAZON: $21.99

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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Here’s another apparent cinematic gem I missed out on from this past summer. The Expendables is something of an 80s party, featuring almost every action hero from that decade kicking ass and taking names. Word on the street is that writer/director/star Sylvester Stallone was hard at work on a director’s cut of the film, to be included on the Blu-ray upon its eventual release but there doesn’t appear to be a hint of it here. I guess we can expect a double dip of this title in the future.

THE EXPENDABLES
(November 23, 2010 – MSRP $39.99)
Video: 2.39:1 1080p
Audio: TBA

Special Features:

• The Expendables: Ultimate Recon Mode: in-movie BonusView where Stallone and the other Expendables provide a multi-layered, all-access look at the making of the film as it runs (BD-exclusive)
• Audio commentary with Sylvester Stallone
• ComicCon 2010 panel (BD-exclusive)
• Inferno: feature-length making-of documentary (BD-exclusive)
• From the Ashes: Post-production documentary
• Deleted scene
• Gag reel
• Marketing archive, including trailers and TV spots
• Metamenu remote and BD Touch enabled
• D-BOX motion control enabled

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1. THE EXORCIST

This is it! This is the big one in a week full of amazing releases. William Friedkin‘s The Exorcist, an adaptation of William Peter Blatty‘s novel of the same name, was one of the most terrifying films of the seventies and remains so today. This new Blu-ray editiion features both the original 1973 cut of the film and the updated 2000 extended director’s cut of the film. I’m happy to report that neither have received the revisionist colour-timing that Friedkin inflicted on the Blu-ray release of his film The French Connection. Both versions of The Exorcist remain as pure as they ever were and, in fact, look better than I’ve ever seen them. The new high-def transfers are wonderful!

Between the great audio/visual presentation here and the bevy of bonus features, grabbing up this disc set is a no-brainer, as they say back in my home town. Don’t wait for the holidays for this one, folks. You want to be showing off your HD set-up with this bad boy in the lead-up to Halloween, when The Exorcist has the greatest power to terrify impress!

For more information, including quotes on the disc from Friedkin and WHV, read our previous post here: The Exorcist coming to Blu-ray in October

Special Features:

Disc 1 – Extended Director’s Cut (2000)

• Commentary by William Friedkin
• NEW BD Exclusive: Raising Hell: Filming the Exorcist — set footage produced and photographed by Owen Roizman, camera and makeup tests, and interviews with director William Friedkin, actress Linda Blair, author/screenwriter/producer William Peter Blatty and Owen Roizman.
• NEW BD Exclusive: The Exorcist Locations: GeorgetownThen and Now — Featuring a tour of the iconic locations where the film was shot.
• NEW BD Exclusive: Faces of Evil: The Different Versions of The Exorcist — with director William Friedkin and author/screenwriter/producer William Peter Blatty discussing the different versions of the film and featuring outtakes from the film.
• Trailers, TV Spots & Radio Spots from the film’s 2000 release
• Trailers
  • The Version You’ve Never Seen
  • Our Deepest Fears
• TV Spots
  • Most Electrifying
  • Scariest Ever
  • Returns
• Radio Spots
  • The Devil Himself
  • Our Deepest Fears

Disc 2 – Theatrical Cut (1973)

• Introduction by William Friedkin
• Commentary by William Friedkin
• Commentary by William Peter Blatty with Special Sound Effects Tests
• The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist [1998 BBC documentary
• Additional Interviews with William Friedkin and William Peter Blatty
  • The Original Cut
  • Stairway to Heaven
  • The Final Reckoning
• Original Ending
• Sketches & Storyboards
• Trailers
  • Nobody Expected It
  • Beyond Comprehension
  • Flash Image
• TV Spots
  • Beyond Comprehension
  • You Too Can See The Exorcist
  • Between Science & Superstition
  • The Movie You’ve Been Waiting For

Amazon: $23.99

2. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE and THE MALTESE FALCON

Believe me, it was a tough call placing both The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The Maltese Falcon in the second slot this week but there's just no competing with the deluxe 2-disc, digibook extravaganza that is The Exorcist. That said, these two classic John Huston fliks starring Humphrey Bogart are both must-haves for all film fans, representing the finest presentation either has ever seen on home video, with Treasure actually looking quite spectacular! Both feature enough special features to please any fan or to educate any budding film student. Check it out!

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Maltese Falcon

• Commentary by Bogart Biographer Eric Lax
• Featurette: The Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Bird
• Breakdowns of 1941: Studio Blooper Reel
• Makeup tests
• Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart
• Warner Night at the Movies 1941 – Short Subjects Gallery:
  • Newsreel
  • Musical Short: The Gay Parisian
  • Two Classic Cartoons:
    • Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt
    • Meet John Doughboy
• Trailers
  • The Maltese Falcon
  • Sergeant York
  • Satan Met a Lady (1936 previous Falcon movie adaptation)
• Audio-Only Bonus: Three radio show adaptations – two featuring the movie's original stars, plus another starring Edward G. Robinson

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

• Commentary by Bogart biographer Eric Lax
• Featurette: Discovering Treasure: The Story of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
• Feature-length documentary profile: John Huston
• Outtakes
• Classic Cartoon: 8 Ball Bunny
• Warner Night at the Movies 1948 – Short Subjects Gallery:
  • Newsreel
  • Joe McDoakes Comedy Short: So You Want to Be a Detective
  • Classic Cartoon: Hot Cross Bunny
• Trailers:
  • The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
  • Key Largo
• Audio-Only Bonus: Radio show adaptation featuring the movie's original stars

Amazon: $17.49 each

3. THE KARATE KID

Okay, honestly, this Karate Kid remake is quite great. That's right. It's not just good. It's great. Nevermind that it's more Kung Fu now than Karate, with the location of the film transplanted from the California, USA of the original 1984 classic film to China 2010. And nevermind that aged Japanese sensei Mr. Miyagi has been replaced by Jackie Chan's far more genuinely skilled, and far more Chinese Mr. Han. This is a faithful representation of the tone and themes of the original with a whole new modern spirit and vastly improved photography and musical score. The Blu-ray disc is damn-near flawless, sporting one of the best transfers we've seen all year. The Karate Kid is a winner on Blu-ray!

Amazon: $22.99

4. THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS

The Last of the Mohicans is probably one of the most long awaited titles to make it to the world of high-def. And this week, it makes its debut on Blu is a fairly strong transfer that should please most fans. It’s a bit on the darker side and has a handful of scenes that border on murky but generally exhibits a great amount of detail and an overall accurate representation of the film. Fans of director Michael Mann won’t want to miss out on his thorough commentary track here. It might not be overly engaging, but if you follow his work or care for the film you’ll be enthralled. There’s also a great 42-minute “Making Of” documentary feature presented in 1080i for those who’d like to delve in a little deeper. The new HD transfer and doc definitely make this Blu-ray disc a worthy upgrade from the DVD!

Amazon: $18.49

5. GRINDHOUSE

FINALLY! How long have we been waiting for this combined Grindhouse release, featuring both Planet Terror and Death Proof? Like, forever?! Well, now you can have that theatrical experience all over again, with shorter cuts of both films and all the fake-trailers you can stomach (including Machete!) There are a lot of special features on this bad boy, but sadly, no lossless audio.

Amazon: $22.99

ANIMATION SPOTLIGHT

DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: DIAMOND EDITION

Don’t miss out on this incredible Diamond Edition of Disney‘s Beauty and the Beast. I swear, it’s absolutely magnificent. I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen from the moment the film began. This is a truly beautiful Blu-ray that shouldn’t be missed by animation or high-def fans.

Read our full review here: Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition Blu-ray Disc Review

Amazon: $24.99

THE SECRET OF KELLS

Incredible. That’s about all I can say about The Secret of Kells. Every frame of this independently created 2D animation film can stand on its own as a stunning frame of art. It was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at this past years Academy Awards for good reason. I haven’t seen the Blu-ray disc but understand it looks and sounds pretty close to perfect. I’ll be picking this one up as soon as I can!

Amazon: $34.99

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Kevin Smith, Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan—an unlikely working trio you say? Yes, well–It does work…in a weird way, anyway; however, this is not where the surprises end in the Warner Brothers release, Cop Out. The on-screen chemistry between Morgan and Willis is undeniable, too!

You can believe they’ve worked together, as actors, as long as their characters have in the film. On-screen and in interviews it is apparent that something clicked between them. Their characters are quite different, and it’s hard to imagine that they could ever actually work together, but then there are the moments where in true buddy cop fashion, one is there to pull the other’s fat out of the fire.

In an admitted homage to buddy-cop movies, Kevin Smith directs action scenes, but may have missed the mark on the careful balancing act between comedy, drama and action that make up the quintessential elements of the genre. The film is lacking a center to tie it all together. Either way, it could not have been an easy film to edit. Allowed to improvise once the scripted portions of a scene were covered, a cast made up mostly of actors that love an opportunity to change things up, went to town. The very funny Kevin Pollack even managed to slip in a quick DeNiro impression. Smith had a lot of footage to work with and had the actors try different lines on the fly; sometimes instructing via radio, carefully hidden out of frame.

Originally titled A Couple of Dicks, the studio wanted to avoid the problems Smith had with Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and suggested he try something else. To the chagrin of some cast members, he decided on Cop Out; however, he does at least have someone say “a couple of dicks” at one point. It happens during a scene that was part of the pick-ups shot a couple of months after principal photography had wrapped.

Cop Out is a buddy-cop movie tribute, but not strictly so. Whereas Hot Fuzz was goofier, Cop Out goes all out. If it’s classically been a part of the buddy-cop genre, it’s in there—the partners are chewed out by their captain; they engage in reckless behavior; they cause mass amounts of property damage; there is a rival pair of cops that are always ready to rub their noses in their mistakes; and let’s not forget the all-important ex-wife and over-the-top bad guys. There is action in this movie. This was challenging for Smith, and luckily he surrounded himself with a crack team that helped him pull it off. The action is at a comparable level to most cop movies out there.

Cop Out suffers from some technical issues, image-wise—the image quality is a little inconsistent. The problems may arise from issues with the source. None of this makes the film unwatchable. It just results in a transfer that isn’t what we’ve come to expect from Blu-ray releases. At times, the 1080p transfer looks fine, textures are apparent and the picture is clear with good contrast and colour. But at other times, the visual noise becomes distracting. The artifacts are perceived mostly in dark interior car or night shots. Black levels are passable, but again, not great–Some details disappear into the background.

Sound-wise, the disc’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround soundtrack features a lot of old-school tracks like Beastie Boys’ No Sleep til’ Brooklyn, among others, that pump out of the channels with bass-y goodness. The dialogue is always nice and clear, but there is minimal use of the rear channels, limiting the ambient sound field. The emphasis is on the dialogue.

The special features on this 2-disc edition (the second disc of which is a digital copy) of Cop Out are all bundled in Warner’s excellent Maximum Movie Mode feature included on the Blu-ray. The Interviews, focus points and “Wisdom from the Sh*t Bandit” piece are viewable separately; however, they are best viewed through what Smith refers to as Maximum Movie Comedy Mode. The regular running time of the film is 1 hour and 47 minutes. In MMCM, it’s 2 hours and 55 minutes! MMCM includes the previously mentioned features plus storyboards, deleted scenes and raw footage all delivered (and interpreted) by Smith, himself. He even interrupts his own commentary! Seann William Scott visits the multiple pictures-in-picture commentary “set” occasionally, seemingly still in-character. This feature is extensive and interesting to watch–A thorough look at the making of the film. It was clear that everyone had fun on the set and that “Hey, try it like this…” was a big part of the process. It is definitely worth a look.

Cop Out may not be for everyone–It is definitely a Kevin Smith film and he loves to remind you of that fact, especially when watching the Maximum Comedy Mode feature of the disc; however, the film is entertaining. Also, I’m going out on a limb here, but having seen Tracy Morgan in Death at a Funeral recently as well, I can see that he can act. By the accounts of other actors and having seen him in interviews, he may be “on” pretty much around the clock, but there is more to the guy than the zany, I-may-say-anything-next Tracy Morgan/Jordan.

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We’re back! You might have noticed a lack of posts in the last few days. Well, we’ve been out west in Winnipeg attending the wedding of our good friends Angie and Tyson (see the incredible photos here: http://kampblog.com) and have just returned back to Montreal. It was a fantastic trip with some really fantastic people. But now we’re back and there’s a shit-ton of Blu-ray news and reviews to catch up on. And since this Top 5 New Release column is now officially a day late, I’ll just blast through most of the commentary and give you a quick overview of all the goodies now on store shelves…

1. THE RED SHOES

This is it. This is the disc I’ve been waiting all year to get my hands on. And after you watch that trailer above and check out the features of Criterion‘s new The Red Shoes Blu-ray disc, if you don’t dash out right away and grab up a copy for yourself…well, there’s nothing more I can do for you. You’re beyond film-fan hope…

Okay, in all seriousness, this release is a landmark one for Criterion, for Blu-ray fanatics and for film fans everywhere. The print used to create this transfer, the restoration work that went into making every perfect detail and colour ring out is absolutely beyond reproach. This is what the format is all about – presenting film as film, as best and true as it can look and sound in a home theatre environment. The Red Shoes is the best thing going this week, potentially this year on Blu.

Special Features:

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
• Audio commentary by film historian Ian Christie, featuring interviews with stars Marius Goring and Moira Shearer, cinematographer Jack Cardiff, composer Brian Easdale, and filmmaker Martin Scorsese
• Introductory restoration demonstration with Scorsese
• Profile of “The Red Shoes” (2000), a twenty-five-minute documentary
• Video interview with Thelma Schoonmaker Powell, Michael Powell’s widow
• Gallery from Scorsese’s collection of The Red Shoes memorabilia
• The “Red Shoes” Sketches, an animated film made from Hein Heckroth’s painted storyboards
• Readings by actor Jeremy Irons of excerpts from Powell and Pressburger’s novelization of The Red Shoes and the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale
• Theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by Christie

Amazon: $29.49

2. BLACK NARCISSUS

Not satisfied with bringing one truly stunning Powell & Pressburger masterpiece to Blu-ray this week, Criterion has seen fit to unleash the auteur duo’s Black Narcissus on an unsuspecting Blu-ray crowd – another truly gorgeous, colour-rich transfer that will make you fall in love with Blu all over again. This is an amazing time to be film fanatic!

Amazon: $35.99

3. MOTHER

My good pal, Matt Forsythe claims that this is the best film of the year. The best film he’s seen in ages. And though I haven’t had a chance to check it out myself, I hold his opinion in such high regard that I’m willing to take a chance on Bong Joon-ho‘s (The Host) Mother – a noir-ish South Korean thriller where a downtrodden mother is tasked to exonerate her mentally challenged son of a murder he didn’t commit.

Amazon: $26.49

4. THE RUNAWAYS

Chris has got a Runaways review coming up for us shortly here in The Blu-ray Blog. It’s director Floria Sigismondi‘s stylish take on the early career of rocker Joan Jett and her pre-solo career band with band-mate Cherie Curry. The disc features a commentary track with Jett and lead actors Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning.

Amazon: $19.99

5. THE LOSERS

I’m not sure why The Losers didn’t do better box office. It’s the kind of fun popcorn-y film that audiences generally eat up. Based on the popular DC Comics book featuring some amazing art by illustrator Jock, the film adaptation plays as an entertaining alternative to this summers A-Team, with which it shares a great deal of concept and plot. A great cast and lots of action make this a sure bet for summer movie fun.

Amazon: $19.99

ANIME OF THE WEEK:
RIN – DAUGHTERS OF MNEMOSYNE: THE COMPLETE SERIES

The twisted Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne: The Complete Series Blu-ray boxed set is another collection of extremely imaginative anime from FUNimation, this time with an adult angle. Rin follows the story of an immortal detective who is perpetually and literally dying to solve mysteries. There’s a lot of blood, gore, nudity, torture, alcohol…generally, a lot of nasty stuff you want to keep from the eyes of the innocents. To be honest, it’s not my thing. Rin feels like it’s pandering to that demographic of the comic-store crowd who enjoy a healthy dose of sadistic misogyny in their animated fantasies. It’s got some nice ideas and some great visuals but ultimately leaves me cold.

The Blu-ray is another decent upconvert from FUNimation, appearing quite detailed, with solid colours and deep blacks. It’s not native HD so you’ll notice some aliasing and stair-stepping in the line-work but keep in mind, this is most likely the finest presentation that Rin will ever see on home video.

With two impressive lossless audio tracks (Japanese and English) and a handful of decent extras, Rin puts in a solid showing on Blu, even if the content isn’t for everyone.

Amazon: $34.99

ALSO AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY THIS WEEK
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1. A SINGLE MAN

A Single Man is fashion designer Tom Ford‘s first and only effort behind the camera thus far. And it’s one of the finest films of the year. As you’d expect, every moment is utter visual perfection. So much so, in fact, that it’s been derided for being too meticulous in its design. Too perfect. But to me that’s not only an integral part of the film for reason of visual integrity but it plays directly into the narrative. Colin Firth gives a stunning Oscar nominated and BAFTA winning performance as a meticulous single man, lost in his well-ordered life after the death of his partner. I haven’t seen the Blu-ray release of this film yet but I can only imagine it will achieve the levels of technical perfection that Ford would demand.

Highly recommended!

Amazon: $23.99

2. JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS

All right. Honestly, Jason and the Argonauts should be my number one pick this week. I can’t get over this disc! I’ve been in love with the film since I was a child but the new Blu-ray disc from Sony has just blown me away. The film looks and sounds better than ever here. And the special features are out of this world.

Read my full review here: Jason and the Argonauts Blu-ray Disc Review

Amazon: $20.49

3. STEAMBOAT BILL JR.

How amazing is this? After delivering an incredible Blu-ray disc edition of Buster Keaton‘s The General late last year, Kino has gone back to the vaults for another silent masterpiece, Steamboat Bill Jr. I’ve got the disc here but haven’t had a chance to screen it yet but if it lives up to Kino’s recent high-def work, it’ll be a stunner. The disc is packed with a ton of great special features as well, including an entire second cut of the film, edited together with variant takes and camera angles.

Full review coming this week!

Amazon: $31.49

4. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

I hate to say it, but I’m almost getting sick of hearing about Stieg Larsson‘s popular series of books and their cinematic adaptations in the way I was sick of the hype surrounding Dan Brown and his DaVinci Code nonsense five years ago. That said, I understand that The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a pretty great film and worth your time, whether you’re a fan of the book or not. It’s out today on Blu in the USA from Music Box Films and in Canada from Alliance.

Amazon.com: $19.99
Amazon.ca: $24.99

5. WARNER DOUBLE FEATURES

Yeah! It’s another week filled to the brim with awesome Warner Double Feature Blu-ray releases! Personally, I love these things, if for no other reason than a lot of the time they are delivering catalogue films that we otherwise wouldn’t get a chance to see in high-def. And usually at an amazing price! Yes, it’s a shame that there aren’t any bonus features on Tony Scott‘s very cool The Last Boy Scout or George Miller‘s classic, The Witches of Eastwick, but hey, I’m just happy to have them on Blu at this point. Warner continues to give us more catalogue films on Blu-ray per year than any other studio and I think they should be applauded for that.

UPDATE: I’ve now had a chance to screen the Practical Magic/Witches of Eastwick double feature and it’s a mixed bag. Not as all-around solid as my beloved Dirty Harry double feature sets. While Practical Magic looks like a million bucks, I simply couldn’t stand the film. I had high hopes that it would live up to the storytelling status of its disc-buddy, Witches, but it can’t hold a candle to that film. Magic is more Lilith Fair than Devil worship. Witches of Eastwick, on the other hand, is a cracking good film that, sadly, hasn’t aged well. By that, I mean it’s clearly a product of the 80s in both its design and its film stock. The transfer gets off to a wobbly start (must have been a rough day at the telecine) and doesn’t even out to any satisfactory extent. Luckily, it’s such a great movie with such a wonderful cast that you won’t mind all too much.

Amazon: $18.99 each

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You probably won’t believe this but until a couple of nights ago I had never watched Armageddon. I had successfully managed to avoid Michael Bay‘s most famous ode to machismo and Americana for over a decade. It figures that it would take the new Blu-ray release of the film to finally break me down and force me into a screening. And after all was said and done, the film failed to leave me breathless…but it did render me speechless.

What a turd. Armageddon is not a good movie. I’ve been hearing and reading about the film for over a decade and, of course, had some expectations of it. The cheese, the plasticity, the…Bay-ness of it all. It’s all there in the relative abundance I expected it to be. But what I wasn’t anticipating was the generally engaging setup of the film that gives way to utter, unbelievably dated sci-fi comedy.

I was actually with Armageddon for the first half of the film. It almost had me. It’s got a pretty compelling opening act that trucks along at a good clip, trading character and plot in a fairly even-handed kind of way. But it lost me down the line. I had expected the ‘cheese’ – the trite contrivances abundant in any Bay film – to come solely from the script, from the melodrama in the story. And it does. It’s there. But when the mining team led by Bruce Willis arrives on the asteroid that’s rocketing toward Earth, threatening to obliterate all mankind, the film descends into a kind of science fiction-lite television production from the 60s! There wasn’t a single moment of the latter half of Armageddon where I found myself able to sufficiently suspend my disbelief to be able to accept what I was witnessing on screen. Marveling at the piss-poor stage set the actors were stuck upon, I almost expected to see William Shatner or Billy Mumy waltz around the corner to help save the day. What a letdown!

But don’t let my persnickety criticisms of the film rob you of any entertainment. I can see where most folks would enjoy Armageddon. It plays like a prequel to Bay’s Transformers films with lots of sweeping, well composed shots of military gear coupled with a tremendous amount of explosions. There is a child-like sense of wonder about it all but, unlike Transformers, it all ends up feeling a bit uneven to me, with a contrived yet down-to-earth beginning and very silly and silly-looking second half. But clearly I’m not the target audience. For those who are — those folks who enjoy the more melodramatic, ridiculous, chaotic and loud end of the cinematic spectrum — I imagine this film will most likely hit the mark.

The great news here is that Armageddon looks fantastic on Blu-ray! There’s a lot of detail on display in this new HD transfer, with deep, deep blacks and bold, yet accurate colours. Even if you don’t care for the film itself, I guarantee you’ll love the way it looks in 1080p. The DTS-HD Master Audio track may not rattle your bones to the extent that more modern films do, but it’s a solid effort that blows away the lossy track on the previously available DVD edition.

The special features come up a bit light on the Armageddon Blu-ray disc. This release of the film only includes a couple of trailers and the Aerosmith music video for their song “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”, leaving behind the multitude of extras from the 2-disc Criterion Collection DVD. Fans of the film will definitely want to pick up the Blu-ray for the amazing upgrade in picture and sound. But don’t get rid of your DVDs if you care to listen to commentary or watch deleted scenes, interviews or featurettes.

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