Next up: Classics on Blu-ray

MORE GIFT IDEAS:

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

Animation just doesn’t get any better than the work of Hayao Miyazaki. His latest film, Ponyo is also his first on Blu-ray. This is not only a perfect gift for kids and animation fans but also for film fans of all ages.

Highest possible recommendation!!

READ MORE: Ponyo Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $21.99

I reviewed the Fantastic Mr. Fox Blu-ray way back in March and, let me tell you, I’m still surprised at how much I enjoyed it! I’m a fan of Wes Anderson but didn’t think I’d care for this stop-motion animation take on the classic Roald Dahl tale. What a pleasant surprise! It’s a great film with a stellar presentation on Blu-ray disc.

READ MORE: Fantastic Mr. Fox Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $17.49

Highly recommended!!

READ MORE: Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $16.49

I’m still hoping to get my hands on a copy of The Secret of Kells Blu-ray disc (hint hint!) but understand that it’s stellar in just about every possible way. The film itself is one of the best animated films to be released in years and worth your every attention. If the Blu-ray lives up to its reputation of having a killer transfer and great audio, this one could end up with a special place on my Blu-ray “shelf-of-honour“.

READ MORE: Oscar nominated animated film The Secret of Kells coming to Blu-ray

AMAZON: $18.49

Disney is really killing it with the Blu-ray releases of their classic catalogue titles. And Beauty and the Beast is one of the most significant, as it truly ushered in the modern renaissance of the studio’s 2D animated offerings. The film looks unbelievably great on Blu-ray and features tons of amazing special features. Again, another pick that’ll please animation AND film fans alike.

READ MORE: Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $19.49

I’m really steamed that I missed out How to Train Your Dragon. By all accounts, this is one of the best animated films to come out in the past number of years and the finest work of Dreamworks animations studios since the original Shrek. I just might have to grab a copy of the Blu-ray disc for my niece and nephew for Christmas, just so that I can finally get to see it myself!

AMAZON: $18.99

Warner Home Video and DC Comics continued their onslaught of animated superhero adaptations throughout the year, releasing four new Blu-ray discs in 2010, culminating with the DC Showcase collection of exceptional short films this past month. My favourite disc of the lot (though I enjoyed them all) is the Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths disc, which features a fun dimension-hopping story, great character designs and a slate of decent special features. But they’re all highly recommended for fans of the comics.

READ MORE:

• Batman: Under the Red Hood Blu-ray Disc Review
• Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths Blu-ray Disc Review
• Superman/Batman: Apocalypse Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $18.99, $20.99, $10.99, $9.99

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs doesn’t look like a whole hell of a lot but it’s one of my girlfriend’s favourite films of the entire year (and I thought it was pretty all right too!) Released way back of the beginning of January the title is now available in a Blu-ray 3D edition as well as the standard, old Blu-ray combo pack.

READ MORE: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $14.99

As I said before, Disney is on a roll with its Blu-ray releases of catalogue animation titles. Fantasia and its sister film, Fantasia 2000 both look and sound stellar in high-def. It’s unfortunate that most of the old DVD special features have been relegated to an online BD-Live archive, providing the sole option of streaming the content to your screen, as opposed to putting it on a local disc. Don’t let this single shortcoming keep you from adding this exceptional presentation of a classic film to your collection. Recommended!

READ MORE: Fantasia / Fantasia 2000 Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $27.99

FUNimation has been releasing some great anime series on Blu-ray this year. Not all of them were created in HD, so the studio has been tirelessly improving their up-conversion process (taking the standard definition material and turning it into HD goodness!) to provide the best looking presentation possible. And you know, they’re doing a bang up job. The titles above are among my favourite released this year, with Eden of the East being one of the best looking, best written, most compelling animated series I’ve seen in an age. It especially comes highly recommended!

READ MORE:

• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of May 18 – DRAGONBALL Z KAI: PART ONE
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of May 25 – FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD PART 1
• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of October 19 – Eden of the East: The Complete Series

AMAZON: $37.99, $19.99, $69.98, $19.99

I’m not a big fan of the Family Guy but I kinda get how their Star Wars spoof episodes are so popular. Anyway, all three shows will be available for the first time in this brand new Blu-ray boxed set on December 21st.

AMAZON: $27.99

Far from Disney’s absolute best animated film but a decent return to form as the studio’s first hand-drawn effort in years, The Princess and the Frog is a great choice for any young girl who loves a musical rags-to-princess story.

READ MORE: The Princess and the Frog Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $28.99

And while we’re on the subject of Disney and the films that little girl’s might like, it’s hard to beat the revisionist (it’s hard to believe this is the same character from J.M. Barrie‘s Peter Pan!) direct-to-video Tinkerbell series. These things have been consistently entertaining and this years’ entry, The Great Fairy Rescue is no exception.

READ MORE: Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $18.49

ANIMATION 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
* CLASSICS
* THE BEST OF THE YEAR

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The last couple of weeks have been absolutely overwhelming with scads of killer Blu-ray releases that have been making my head spin (and my eyes exhausted from all the hours of viewing time I’ve been cramming in, outside of the hours of monitor viewing I cram in as part of my daily office grind.) This week is a bit more manageable for we Blu-aholics but, thanks to a couple of A-list films and a few surprises, it’s absolutely just as enjoyable.

1. ANTICHRIST

I know that the films of Danish auteur Lars Von Trier aren’t for everyone but I kind of worship the ground the man walks on. It’s pretty tough to effect me on any level with film these days but Von Trier seems capable of touching some kind of nerve in me with every one of his works. I wouldn’t call any of his films perfect, by any means. But they’re all masterworks of the medium hewn by one of the finest craftsmen working in the business today. His latest opus, Antichrist might be the most raw and effecting of anything he’s released to date. And it is, without question, the most incredible Blu-ray released today. But if your stomach is easily turned or if you have no taste for a little “art” in your “film” then you’ll most likely want to skip Antichrist.

Special Features:

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer, approved by director Lars von Trier and supervised by director of photography Anthony Dod Mantle with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• Audio commentary by von Trier and professor Murray Smith
• Video interviews with von Trier and actors Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg
• A collection of video pieces delving into the production of Antichrist, including interviews with von Trier and key members of his filmmaking team as well as behind-the-scenes footage
• Chaos Reigns at the Cannes Film Festival 2009, a documentary on the film’s world premiere, plus press interviews with Dafoe and Gainsbourg
• Three theatrical trailers
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Ian Christie

Amazon: $29.49

ALSO AVAILABLE:

If the premium Criterion Collection edition of the film profiled above is a little beyond your budget, eOne films is also releasing a more affordable version of Antichrist on Blu-ray today. No word on how the transfers of the two discs compare but the special features look relatively similar.

The Visual Style of Antichrist from eOne Films on Vimeo.

Special Features:

• Feature Commentary with Director Lars von Trier and Journalist Murray Smith
• The Antichrist Test (English subtitled)
• Antichrist – Chaos Reigns at the Cannes Film Festival 2009
• Confessions About Anxiety
• Eden – Production Design
• The Sound and Music of Antichrist (English subtitled)
• The Three Beggars – The Animals of Antichrist
• The Make-Up Effects and Props of Antichrist
• The Evil of Woman
• The Visual Style of Antichrist (English subtitled)
• Interviews

Amazon.ca: $19.99 CDN

2. SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD

It’s almost half-way through November and I still haven’t seen Scott Pilgrim yet. Sigh…I’m starting to believe it’s never going to happen. Honestly, I have pals who’ve seen it three, four times already and I’m still waiting for the chance to have my Pilgrim-cherry popped. I won’t have any time to run out and grab this disc any time this week, so I’ll be waiting to hear what you think of it. Do you think it’s been worth the wait? Does the disc live up to the film itself?

READ MORE: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Blu-ray officially announced

Amazon: $24.99

3. SHERLOCK

I love Sherlock Holmes mysteries in any form. I guess it was only a matter of time before some genius had the idea of taking those famous tales by Arthur Conan Doyle and giving them a modern spin. But as wonderful as the script-work of Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat happens to be, the real breakout star for North American audiences is going to be the electrifying Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role. Martin Freeman, our future Bilbo Baggins is also wonderful as faithful partner Watson.

Amazon: $27.99

4. DC SHOWCASE: ANIMATED ORIGINAL SHORTS

If you’ve been reading our reviews of the last number of DC Animated Blu-ray releases, you’ll note that no matter the quality of the main feature, one of the aspects of the discs that stands out as truly spectacular time and again is the DC Showcase short film. This new release from the studio collects the last number of shorts and adds a brand new, exclusive Superman/Shazam team-up to the mix. This is some of the best stuff that Warner animation has created in years, if not ever and definitely worth a look.

Amazon: $19.99

5. OCEAN’S 11

This is the classic. The real-deal. The good stuff. Sinatra and all his boys making trouble and messing things up in Vegas. This new 50th Anniversary Blu-ray edition of Ocean’s 11 from WHV isn’t going to blow your mind if you’re not already a fan but will certainly impress those who’ve been longing for a little Rat-Pack in HD. The image is clean and clear with vibrant, if not slightly unstable colours and more detail than you’ve ever seen in the film before. The DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mix isn’t very modern but will no doubt delight fans of the film. An excellent commentary track from Frank Sinatra Jr. and Angie Dickinson is the highlight of a collection of special features that also packs in a couple of trailers and a bunch of vintage clips.

Amazon: $19.99

6. CIRCUS

Boy, did this show ever take me by surprise (and no, it’s not because it’s number six in our Top 5 list this week!) Circus is a new reality show from PBS following the Big Apple Circus from the inception of one of its yearly productions through to their “350-show tour – an epic, unforgettable journey from town to town and stand to stand, from the big top to “backyard” where the trailers are parked and the heart of the circus beats.” It seems to have just debuted on the network last week but the entire 6-episode series is already available on Blu-ray today. It’s unfortunately shot and transferred in 1080i, which only impacts the image a handful of times (an unfortunate “ghosting” effect.) Otherwise, this is a great looking high-def representation of a beautifully photographed reality show.

Recommended!

Amazon: $31.49

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

Related posts

• [VIDEO] Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Blu-ray Trailer (1)
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Every now and then, Warner Home Video throws open its virtual doors and allows their executives to participate in an online “chat” with consumers. These sessions generally involve a lot of requests for TV shows and films that are either steeped in legal issues, in really desperate need of an expensive remaster/restoration or so niche that there’s barely an audience to warrant distribution. That’s another way of saying that most of the stuff we ask for gets shot down. This past Monday, the Home Theatre Forum hosted another chat with WHV, this time with execs from the TV and Animation divisions. The full transcript is available to read here but we’ve culled the pertinent Blu-ray news from the lengthy document so you don’t have to wade through it yourself.

Sadly, there’s not much Blu-ray news this time around. It looks like the studio is working on bringing the hit sitcom Friends to Blu-ray as well as actively evaluating the DC Animated Universe programs for a high-def re-issue:

“We hope to release Friends on Blu Ray but we cant share any further details at this point but its looking good ”
“We are evaluating the entire DC Comics animated library for Blu-ray”

The studio also stated that they’re looking at the classic Scooby Doo series, Looney Tunes, earlier seasons of Smallville and the Peanuts series for release on Blu. They also seem interested in finding a way to release Babylon 5 in high-def but the standard-def CGI effects might keep this from happening.

“we’ve definitely considered releasing Babylon 5 on Blu Ray, however, there are some technical issues with the CGI that make this release difficult. We’ll continue to investigate further in the event we’re able to address it.”

Sadly, there are currently no plans to bring programs like V (“Remastering costs are high so there are no specific plans at this point.”), the classic Lynda Carter Woman Woman series (“right now our focus is on current shows that have been shot in hi def”), One Tree Hill (“We don’t feel the time is right”), The Big Bang Theory‘s first two seasons (Season 3 is out on Blu on September 7), Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Robot Chicken to Blu-ray.

Personally, I’m really hoping to see the Batman: Animated Series on Blu-ray, as well as additional seasons of Justice League, this time with a correct 16:9 presentation and lossless audio!

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