The Blu-ray Blog » Ernest Lehman

Blu-ray Holiday Gift Guide 2010: Gift Sets

Brenden — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 14:52:46 +0000

Winter is upon us, the snow is falling and the holiday shopping season is well under way. Now, more than ever, we’re faced with such a vast selection of amazing Blu-ray discs packaged in special collector’s multi-disc sets that it can be tough to know just what to add to your wish list or what to buy for that special Blu-ray loving someone. Hopefully this list will provide you a nice place to start.

Tomorrow: TV on Blu-ray!

MORE GIFT IDEAS:

* TV ON BLU
* ANIMATION
* CLASSICS
* THE BEST OF THE YEAR

If you follow The Blu-ray Blog at all, you’ll know of my deep, sincere love for pretty much everything that comes out of the Criterion Collection. It’s easy to be a fanboy when damn near every disc they release features a picture-perfect presentation and is packed to the gills with extras. But this seven film box set aptly named America Lost and Found: The BBS Story is really something special. The studio has gone above and beyond here, releasing their biggest and best Blu-ray boxed set to date. All the films from the famous (Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Last Picture Show, The King of Marvin Gardens) to the less well know (Head, Drive He Said, A Safe Place) are handled with equal skill – each looking and sounding better than ever before and loaded with special features. Each film is housed in its own beautifully designed slipcase, complemented by the box packaging and the incredible 112-page illustrated book of essays on the films.

I can’t recommend this boxed set highly enough. It might very well be the release of the year.

AMAZON: $87.99

The Alien Anthology Blu-ray set is such a beautiful thing. Nevermind that it includes all four of the original films, two of which (the two that really matter) look mind-blowingly good, but the set also includes more special features than you’ll probably ever be able watch and listen to unless you’re as obsessive-compulsive about the films you love as I am. After spending time with this 6-disc set (one for each film and two for extras) I almost feel like each individual component is worth the price of the box on its own. I’m particularly knocked out by the extremely candid and thorough documentaries included in the set. The Alien 3 piece is such a revelation it might just knock you on your ass. All six discs are housed in a hardcover book (the discs are slipped within very firm pages with nested trays) which slips into a shiny, creepy Alien box package.

Highest possible recommendation!!

AMAZON: $69.99

I’ve got two admissions to make here. The first is that I’ve never cared for The Sound of Music. The second is that this new Blu-ray edition of the film blew my mind and made me a fan. It’s true! Swear to God. The Sound of Music is, hands down, the best looking restoration of the year. Want to impress your friends with your home video setup? Got a couple of jerks in your circle of pals who insist that there’s no point in buying older films on Blu? Pop in The Sound of Music and make their eyes jump out of their heads. The edition you see pictured above is the full-on gift set, complete with soundtrack, books and goo-gahs. The film is also available in a simple 3-disc combo-pack (Amazon: $18.99.)

AMAZON: $59.99

One Flew over the Cukoo’s Nest was previously released in a nice, hardcover digibook edition Blu-ray. Warner’s newest release of the film features a very similar presentation but extends the “making of” documentary. Sadly, the audio is still only presented in the compressed version found on the previous disc. Still, this is an amazing film in a beautiful box that contains playing cards, posters, character cards, pre-production correspondence and movie trivia.

AMAZON: $34.49

Oh. Em. Gee. Do you remember how I went off about the Harry Potter Ultimate Edition Box sets last year? Well, get ready for another barrage of praise, this time tempered with a hint of disappointment.

Both The Prisoner of Azkaban and The Goblet of Fire get the full-on, Ultimate Edition Blu-ray treatment this year, joining the wonderful Philosopher Stone and Chamber of Secrets sets of 2009. Both films carry over their nearly-perfect high-def presentations and extras from previously issued discs while adding a host of brand new special features and collectibles all housed in magnetically latched box packaging. ‘The World of Harry Potter‘ 8-part documentary continues with parts three and four in these sets and is, once again nearly worth the price of purchase alone. The accompanying hardcover books are a nice compliment to each part of the doc. Missing from the Ultimate sets this time around are alternate cuts of the films (both directors have gone on record stating that the theatrical cuts are the only ones they care to present) and the picture-in-picture tracks.

AMAZON: $33.99 each

This toy box of Toy Story is a really great gift for those who haven’t picked up any of the individual Blu-ray releases from the series. It’s essentially just a bundling of the combo-pack discs from each film with nothing new added aside from the handsome box. So, if you’ve already got the 3-disc Toy Story and Toy Story 2 and the 4-disc Toy Story 3, there’s not much to see here. But if you’ve been holding out for whatever reason, or if you know someone who has, now is the time to dive in to the toy box!

AMAZON: $64.99

I still haven’t managed to get my hands on the Back to the Future: 25th Anniversary boxed set but by all accounts this is one of the best Blu-ray releases of the year. I understand that the new high-def transfers are gorgeous and the 2-hours of brand new special features are worth watching. I’ve got this one on my list and hope to see it under the tree in a couple of weeks!

AMAZON: $49.99

I’m not personally a big fan of the Shrek films but my four-year old niece certainly is. This Shrek: The Whole Story Boxed Set is like a dream come true for her, packaging together all of the films with over 7-hours of special features.

AMAZON: $39.99

I’m a huge, unabashed fan of Robocop – the film, not the franchise. So, this boxed set is a bit of a bittersweet release. I was hoping for a better transfer of the first film and the special features from the 2-disc DVD set but alas, the set only features bare-bones editions of the films. It’s a great gift for fans of the character or the series as a whole, as this is the first time the sequels are available in high-def and they both look and sound pretty great.

AMAZON: $36.49

Here’s another set on my wish list this year – the Goonies: 25th Anniversary set comes jam-packed with a lot of collectibles I’m not interested (ok, maybe I’d play that Goonies board game once or twice over the holiday season) but I genuinely love this film and remain excited to see it in high-def.

AMAZON: $34.99

Oh boy. If Santa brings me anything this year, I hope it’s a stocking full of Apocalypse! I’ve been longing for this 3-disc deluxe ‘Full Disclosure Edition‘ set ever since we caught wind of it earlier this year and I swear, I’m buying it on boxing day if I don’t unwrap it the day before. It contains both cuts of Apocalypse Now, the Hearts of Darkness documentary and a crap-ton of special features. Drool drool drool…

AMAZON: $37.99

MORE GIFT IDEAS:

* TV ON BLU
* ANIMATION
* CLASSICS
* THE BEST OF THE YEAR

Criterion announces February Blu-ray titles: Senso, Sweet Smell of Success, Fish Tank, Still Walking, Amarcord, The Double Life of Véronique

Brenden — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:54:55 +0000

Another month, another collection of amazing contemporary and classic titles making their way to Blu courtesy of the Criterion Collection. With February bowing six titles, a collection of films both new to the Collection as well as vintage Criterion efforts, I’m going to be hard pressed to decide where to spend my hard-earned Blu-ray dollars.

AMARCORD
(February 8, 2010 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 1.85:1 1080p
Audio: uncompressed monaural soundtrack

Special Features:

All-new, restored high-definition digital transfer
Audio commentary by film scholars Peter Brunette and Frank Burke
American release trailer
Deleted scene
Optional English-dubbed soundtrack
New and improved English subtitle translation
New 45-minute documentary, Fellini’s Homecoming, on the complicated relationship between the celebrated director, his hometown, and his past
Video interview with star Magali Noël
Fellini’s drawings of characters in the film
“Felliniana,” a presentation of ephemera devoted to Amarcord from the collection of Don Young
Audio interviews with Fellini, his friends, and family by Gideon Bachmann
New restoration demonstration
PLUS: A book featuring a new essay by scholar Sam Rohdie, author of Fellini Lexicon, and the full text of Fellini’s 1967 essay, “My Rimini"

THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VÉRONIQUE
(February 1, 2010 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 1.66:1 1080p
Audio: Stereo Polish DTS-HD Master Audio

Special Features:

Restored high-definition digital transfer with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
Audio commentary by Annette Insdorf, author of Double Lives, Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieślowski
Three short documentary films by Kieślowski: Factory (1970), Hospital (1976), and Railway Station (1980)
The Musicians (1958), a short film by Kieślowski’s teacher Kazimierz Karabasz
Kieślowski’s Dialogue (1991), a documentary featuring a candid interview with Kieślowski and rare behind-the-scenes footage from the set of The Double Life of Véronique
1966-1988: Kieślowski, Polish Filmmaker, a 2005 documentary tracing the filmmaker’s work in Poland, from his days as a student through The Double Life of Véronique
A 2005 interview with actress Irène Jacob
New video interviews with cinematographer Slawomir Idziak and composer Zbigniew Preisner
New and improved English subtitle translation
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by Jonathan Romney and a selection from Kieślowski on Kieślowski

FISH TANK
(February 22, 2010 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 1.33:1 1080p
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio

Special Features:

New high-definition digital transfer, approved by director Andrea Arnold, director of photography Robbie Ryan, and editor Nicolas Chaudeurge with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
All three of Arnold’s short films: Milk (1998), Dog (2001), and the Oscar-winning Wasp (2003)
New video interview with actor Kierston Wareing
Interview with actor Michael Fassbender from 2009
Audition footage
Stills gallery by on-set photographer Holly Horner
Original theatrical trailer
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Ian Christie

STILL WALKING
(February 8, 2010 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 1.85:1 1080p
Audio: Japanese 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio

Special Features:

New high-definition digital transfer, approved by director Hirokazu Kore-eda and director of photography Yutaka Yamazaki (with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
New video interviews with Kore-eda and Yamazaki
Making “Still Walking”
Trailer
New and improved English subtitle translation
PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by film critic Dennis Lim and recipes for the food prepared in the film

SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS
(February 22, 2010 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 1.66:1 1080p
Audio: uncompressed monaural soundtrack

Special Features:

New, restored high-definition digital transfer with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
New audio commentary by film scholar James Naremore
Mackendrick: The Man Who Walked Away, a 1986 documentary featuring interviews with director Alexander Mackendrick, actor Burt Lancaster, producer James Hill, and more
James Wong Howe: Cinematographer, a 1973 documentary about the Oscar-winning director of photography, featuring lighting tutorials with Howe
New video interview with film critic and historian Neil Gabler (Winchell: Gossip, Power and the Culture of Celebrity) about legendary columnist Walter Winchell, inspiration for the character J. J. Hunsecker
New video interview with filmmaker James Mangold about Mackendrick, his instructor and mentor
Original theatrical trailer
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Gary Giddins, two short stories by Ernest Lehman featuring the characters from the film, notes about the film by Lehman, and an excerpt from Mackendrick’s book On Film-making

SENSO
(February 22, 2010 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 1.33:1 1080p
Audio: uncompressed monaural soundtrack

Special Features:

New, restored high-definition digital transfer, created in collaboration with the Cineteca di Bologna and Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation, supervised by director of photography Giuseppe Rotunno with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
The Making of “Senso,” a new documentary featuring Rotunno, assistant director Francesco Rosi, costume designer Piero Tosi, and Caterina D’Amico, daughter of screenwriter Suso Cecchi D’Amico and author of Life and Work of Luchino Visconti
Viva VERDI, a new documentary on Visconti, Senso, and opera featuring Italian film scholar Peter Brunette, Italian historian Stefano Albertini, and author Wayne Koestenbaum
The Wanton Countess, the rarely seen English-language version of the film
Visual essay by film scholar Peter Cowie
Man of Three Worlds: Luchino Visconti, a 1966 BBC special exploring Visconti’s parallel masteries of cinema, theater, and opera direction
New and improved English subtitle translation
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by filmmaker and author Mark Rappaport and an excerpt from actor Farley Granger’s autobiography, Include Me Out

Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of November 2

Brenden — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 15:28:10 +0000

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

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

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

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

Special Features:

Limited Edition Collector’s Set

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

Blu-ray Details: Blu-ray Disc 1:

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

Blu-ray Disc 2:

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

DVD Disc:

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

Amazon: $19.99

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

2. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI

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

Amazon: $20.99

3. TOY STORY 3

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

Amazon: $24.99

4. THE PACIFIC

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

Amazon: $56.99

5. CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG

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

Amazon: $19.49

6. THE GOONIES (25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION)

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

Amazon: $34.99

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

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

Amazon: $33.99

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

[VIDEO] Fox Blu-ray Demo features Alien Anthology, Sound of Music, Moulin Rouge and more!

Brenden — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 14:46:03 +0000

If you’re reading The Blu-ray Blog, you most likely don’t need to be sold on the benefits of the technology. And if you follow us at all, you most likely don’t need to be sold any further on Fox‘s amazing slate of recent and upcoming releases on the format. We’ve published a crap-ton of articles on the Alien Anthology, The Sound of Music: 45th Anniversary Edition, Moulin Rouge and The Rocky Horror Picture Show Blu-ray discs. Having just received them a couple of days ago, I can personally speak to the outstanding quality of the Moulin Rouge and Rocky Horror releases on the format. I’m simply blown away by the high-standard of the transfers, extras and packaging of these discs and can easily place them amongst the finest of the year.

As to the video above, well, clearly there’s a little something lost in the translation from the high-bandwidth, high-def Blu-ray presentation to the crunched down, compressed YouTube stream you see here. But hey, you get the point, right? Blu-ray rocks! High five!

Via: Bleeding Cool

The Sound of Music: 45th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray officially announced and detailed

Brenden — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:08:19 +0000

At long last, Fox has officially unveiled the details of their epic The Sound of Music: 45th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray disc sets, due on store shelves this November! You’ll have your choice of a reasonably priced 3-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack or a gargantuan gift set, packed to the living-hills with commemorative stuff like a 100-Page “My Favorite Things” scrapbook and a copy of the films soundtrack.

From the press release:

Meticulously Restored and Re-mastered, The Sound Of Music 45th Anniversary Edition is presented with new 7.1 audio and offers BD-LIVE: Live Lookup Powered by IMDb; Your Favorite Things: An Interactive Celebration featuring a Sing-A-Long, behind-the-scenes images, trivia and a location quiz; A City of Song with a virtual map of filming locations and interactive tour of the movie’s locale of Salzburg, Austria; vintage programs including a hilarious send-up of The Sound of Music from Carol Burnett and Julie Andrews herself; an enchanting interview with the real Maria von Trapp on The Julie Andrews Hour; and, for the very first time in home entertainment format, a spectacular full-length documentary, Rodgers & Hammerstein: The Sound of American Music, hosted by Mary Martin; and much more.

We’re still waiting on the final package art to come in from Fox. In the meantime, here’s a look at some early UK Blu-ray packaging.

UPDATE: PACKAGE ART!!!

THE SOUND OF MUSIC: 45TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
(November 2, 2010 – Blu-ray/DVD combo pack MSRP $37.99, Limited Collector’s Set $99.99)
Video: 2:20:1 1080p
Audio: English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio

Special Features:

Limited Edition Collector’s Set

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

Blu-ray Details: Blu-ray Disc 1:

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

Blu-ray Disc 2:

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

DVD Disc:

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

[VIDEO] The Sound of Music (45th Anniversary Edition) Blu-ray Trailer

Brenden — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 01:04:56 +0000

Fox has plans to release a 45th Anniversary Edition of their classic film, The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer! They haven’t revealed any details or a firm date yet but they have released this fantastic little teaser trailer which tells us to expect the disc around the holidays this year. Can’t wait!

North By Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Disc Review

Brenden — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:04:50 +0000

NORTH BY NORTHWEST: 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION (1959, Blu-ray released November 3, 2009 – MSRP $34.99)

We’re entering into an unprecedented era of film restoration. As time marches on, we run the risk of losing our cellulose acetate film treasures to vinegar syndrome, fire and neglect. Luckily for us, Warner has stepped in on this count and delivered a revelatory new edition of Alfred Hitchcock‘s North By Northwest. This is, no doubt the finest presentation the film has seen since first being exhibited in theatres fifty years ago!

But before rambling any further about restoration and film transfers allow me a moment to address the film itself. North by Northwest is one of those rare Hitchcock films that has eluded me for years. I don’t mean that I’ve had difficulty grasping its meaning. I’ve just never had the chance to watch it! Crazy. I know. I own countless numbers of Hitchcock DVD boxed sets, catch his films on TV when I can and have even had a rare occasion to enjoy a few on the big screen. But never North by Northwest. That is, until I got my hands on the new Blu-ray 50th Anniversary Edition from Warner Home Video!

North By Northwest is what you’d call a “typical” Hitchcock thriller, crafted on a familiar thematic backbone in his familiar style. The isolated “wrong man”, in this case cocky ad exec Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant in one of his most famous roles), who is confident and popular by nature, now lost and alone. Mistaken for a government agent and drawn into a world of espionage and danger with nowhere safe to turn. The femme fatale (Eva Marie Saint) who may be keeping him from danger or leading him to his death. The heavy (James Mason) and his lethal underling (a very young and lean Martin Landau). All the pieces are in place and set to a fantastic, humourous tale of intrigue featuring some of the most famous and signature scenes in all cinematic history – the bi-plane pursuit in the the cornfield, the stabbing in the U.N. building, the chase across the faces of the Mount Rushmore monument. This is classic, perfectly sculpted intrigue. A romantic thriller and a perfect showcase for the charm, comic timing and charisma of Grant.

The Blu-ray disc features a brand new restoration of North By Northwest from the original VistaVision elements. And holy crap, the results just blew me away! Watching this disc makes me want to hug someone over at Warner. Somebody over there really, really cares! Make no mistake, the film still has the appearance of something made mid-century but the film transfer to video in this case is damn near perfect. This must be what it was like to watch North By Northwest in 1959! Um…except that there wasn’t an awesome Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track to enjoy back then.

The Blu-ray comes packaged in a beautiful, little hardcover digibook. I’ve mentioned a few times how much I’ve come to love these things. If I have to own packaged media, let it be book style! The BD-50 disc is completely crammed with bonus features. To be honest, I’m not quite sure how Warner managed to include the film in such a high-bitrate encode AND squish all of these extras on there along with it. Amazing compression work. Aside from a commentary track by screenwriter Ernest Lehman (recorded five years before his death in 2005) which begins a bit dull but quickly heats up, the disc presents you with four documentary features of varying lengths – a couple of them in HD and exclusive to the Blu-ray! They’re all quite wonderful and include a “making-of” from the 2000 DVD release, a near-90 minute 2004 PBS biography of Cary Grant and a half-hour look at the film by a host of modern filmmakers. My favourite of the bunch, however was the hour-long “The Master’s Touch: Hitchcock’s Signature Style“. My only complaint is that the doc is far from comprehensive, primarily focussing on Hitchcock films in the Warner library. I guess that doesn’t come as much of a surprise in a Warner produced feature. Trailers and a gallery of 43 stills round out the set.

The Blu-ray Blog » Ernest Lehman

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