What a tough week! On first glance, it didn’t seem to me that there was a whole lot hitting the shops but then, when I began to assemble the TOP 5 list, I quickly discovered otherwise. There’s some great stuff here, including a couple of films that my girlfriend has claimed are the best movies she’s seen all year and a whole lot of amazing catalogue releases including the first ever North American Hammer Films release in HD!

1. THE A-TEAM

I had no choice but to rank The A-Team tv-to-cinema adaptation as the number one Blu-ray release this week, as my girlfriend claims it’s the best film of the year. Honestly, we saw it in the theatre several months ago and I thought it was fun and far more coherent than I expected it to be. The performances are strong (Liam Neeson doing his best grizzled George Peppard with Bradley Cooper and Sharlto Copley following up their spotlight gigs in The Hangover and District 9 respectively) if not a bit tongue in cheek and the action is way over-the-top fun. It’s ok! But my girlfriend couldn’t stop raving about it. And my nephew couldn’t stop raving about it. So, there must be something there. Of any of the new Blu-ray discs out this week, The A-team is most likely the best bet to entertain a wide audience.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• The Devil’s in the Details: Inside the Action with Joe Carnahan
• Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel
• Plan of Attack
• Character Chronicles
• Visual Effects Commentary with Visual Effects Supervisor James E. Price
• BD-Live

AMAZON: $22.99

2. TRUE GRIT

Hot on the heels of the Coen brothers’ remake comes Paramount‘s high-def debut of the Henry Hathaway original True Grit. What an amazing film! Not only does it feature John Wayne in one of his final performances (and what a performance it is!) but the film can also boast great early turns by Dennis Hopper and Robert Duvall! The Blu-ray contains all the same features as the previously issued DVD (excellent commentary track and handful of featurettes) but is technically a step-up. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound track is dialogue and center heavy but opens wide for the rich, robust Elmer Bernstein soundtrack while the 1.85:1 presentation seems to be the most film-accurate on home video to date, exhibiting greater detail, more accurate colour and just a hint of film grain. My guess is that the studio used an slightly older HD master and could bump the detail up a hair with a fresh one but I doubt we’ll be seeing another release of this duster anytime soon so fans need to rush out and grab this one up while they can!

AMAZON: $17.99

3. THE BLACK PIRATE

I can’t even believe that in 2010 we’ve seen such amazing silent era films as Metropolis, The General and Battleship Potemkin released on Blu-ray! I feel a bit spoiled, to be honest. And today sees the addition of another silent great to the roster – Douglas Fairbanks‘ fun, two-strip technicolor The Black Pirate is out on Blu-ray, thanks to the great folks at Kino. The disc is a revelation, looking so much better than you’d expect and offering the choice of the original 1926 Mortimer Wilson orchestral score in Linear PCM 2.0 or a DD 2.0 Lee Erwin organ score. Kino has really knocked it out of the park here! And the the disc just gets better, as it includes a wealth of quality special features including a very informative commentary track from film historian Rudy Behlmer, a b&w “Talkie” version of the film and heaps of outtakes and stills. Highly recommended!

AMAZON: $25.99

4. THE TOWN

Ben Affleck sure is making a lot of effort not to suck lately. He must’ve gotten tired of churning out duds like Daredevil and Gigli and instead, now seems to be putting forth a serious effort to deliver some decent films onto the cinemascape! The Town is his second dramatic crime-thriller following the 2007 Gone Baby Gone. The Blu-ray disc features two cuts of the film – the 125-minute theatrical cut and 153-minute extended version – both crammed onto one disc without seamless branching (there are little to no noticeable quality issues despite the low-bandwidth video encodes.) They offer significant differences and are both worth watching, along with Affleck’s commentary track, which dissects the additions. The hearty DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 brings the love and may bust-up your glassware with all it’s punchy gusto. Muscular audio design and dynamic range will leave you breathless.

AMAZON: $24.99

5. THE OTHER GUYS

My review copy of The Other Guys arrived last week. As the credits were rolling my girlfriend announced that this was the best film she had seen all year. I reminded her that she had previously claimed that The A-team was the film of the year. She offered up a “hrmpht” and asked to see the gag reel.

This is a real return to form for the team that brought you Anchorman. Will Ferrel and all his cohorts (too many brilliant comedians to name here) are in top form, improving their way through a mostly incoherent buddy-cops-versus-evil-businessmen plot. The laughs don’t stop when the film is over as the special features, of which there are a multitude, act as an extension of the films gags, offering up hours of deleted scenes and cut-loose improv comedy. After watching all the ad-libbing on the set I’ve got to wonder if the shooting script wasn’t maybe just a loose outline.

AMAZON: $22.99

6. VAMPIRE CIRCUS

Yeah, I know. It’s another six-disc Top 5 list this week. But I just can’t let the post publish without talking about Vampire Circus! I haven’t seen the Blu-ray disc yet so I can’t speak to the quality of Synapse Films‘ work yet but I’m just so damned happy that somebody is manning up and releasing a Hammer film in high-def! This bad boy really looks fantastic on the surface, packed with special features including an all new documentary on the making of the film. I’m sincerely hoping for the best with this disc and praying, if it’s up to snuff, that you’ll all go out and buy a copy. Maybe then the studios will see that there’s an audience for these films in HD. Here’s hoping that the classic Dracula and Frankenstein films make their way onto Blu by this time next year!

AMAZON: $20.49

NEW THIS WEEK ON 3D BLU-RAY:

AMAZON: $31.99 , $29.99

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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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.

READ MORE: Criterion Collection America Lost and Found: The BBS Story Blu-ray set contains Easy Rider, Last Picture Show, Five Easy Pieces

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!!

READ MORE: Alien Anthology Blu-ray Boxed Set Officially Announced and Detailed

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.)

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

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.

READ MORE: New Harry Potter: Ultimate Edition Blu-ray sets announced for Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire

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!

READ MORE: Back To The Future Trilogy Blu-ray Boxed Set Officially Announced

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.

READ MORE: Robocop Trilogy Blu-ray Disc Review

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.

READ MORE: Goonies: Ultimate Collector’s Edition Blu-ray coming in November

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…

READ MORE: Apocalypse Now, Hearts of Darkness doc coming to Blu-ray

AMAZON: $37.99

MORE GIFT IDEAS:

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

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I’m still gutted that Mark Romanek walked away from directing the Wolfman re-make. With his vision, with his visual flair, it could have been so brilliant. But when a film like Never Let Me Go is able to exist as a result of his departure, all is happily forgiven. Romanek’s extraordinary adaptation of the best-selling Kazuo Ishiguro novel of the same name comes to Blu-ray on February 1st, along with Tony Goldwyn‘s Conviction - both worthy contenders in the upcoming award season.

NEVER LET ME GO
(February 1, 2011 – MSRP $39.99)
Video: 1080p
Audio: 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• “The Secrets of Never Let Me Go,” an exclusive 30-minute behind the scenes look at the making of the film featuring the cast and crew as they chronicle the journey from book to the big screen.

CONVICTION
(February 1, 2011 – MSRP $39.99)
Video: 1080p
Audio: 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Behind-the-scenes interview with the real Betty Ann Waters.

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I’m not a Costner fan by any stretch of the imagination but I’ll gladly admit that the man kicks ass in a western. It’s like he’s an actor born to star in a certain type of film. And Dances with Wolves is exactly that kind of film. The Costner-directed western epic arrives on 2-disc 20th Anniversary Blu-ray on January 11th.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Disc 1:

• 7.1 DTS HD Master Audio Track
• Extended cut of film includes over 50 minutes of extra footage
• Commentary by Kevin Costner and Producer Jim Wilson
• Commentary by Director of Photography Dean Semler and Editor Neil Travis
• New Interactive Special Features:
  • Military Rank and Social Hierarchy Guide (interactive)
  • Real History or Movie Make Believe (interactive)

Disc 2:

• A Day In The Life On The Frontier Featurette (*new*)
• The Creation of an Epic Retrospective Documentary
• Original Making-Of Featurette
• Original Music Video
• Dances Photo Montage with Introduction by Ben Glass
• Poster Gallery
• TV Spots

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Did you pick up a copy of the Alien Anthology on Blu-ray yet? If you answered no or if you plan on buying the boxed set this holiday season for someone you love, you need to sit up, pay attention and order yourself some Blu-rays this week while this exceptional discount applies!

The Alien Anthology is on sale this week for a mere $70.49 at Amazon.com. That’s 50% off the regular price!! It’s also come to light that a promotional discount of $20 still applies at the checkout if you purchase BOTH The Alien Anthology and The Last of the Mohicans together! That’s a cost of $70.49 for Alien + $14.99 for Mohicans with a $20 discount applied at checkout, which will give you a total of $65.48 – LESS than the Alien deal alone!

$70.49 + $14.99 – $20 = $65.48.

The Alien Anthology will be on sale all week. No word on how long the additional discount will be in effect.

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What a week! If not for the lack of 3D version of Avatar, I think we could officially claim this as the most massive outing for the new three-dimensional format do date. Even still, with eight films new on 3D Blu, James Cameron‘s Pandoran epic, with its multiple cuts, bevy of extras and near perfect presentation, still reigns supreme.

1. AVATAR EXTENDED COLLECTOR’S EDITION

Nothing beats the heavyweight champ. The biggest film of the year or possibly even of all time. James Cameron’s Avatar makes its triumphant return to Blu-ray this week in a 3-disc set that’s bound to find its way under damn near every Blu-ray fan’s Christmas tree this year.

Not only is this Extended Collector’s Edition packed to the gills with the deleted scenes and extras you’ve been waiting the year to see but it also features three cuts of the award winning film, all demo-disc worthy. With the technical quality of the video and audio presentation off the charts (and surprisingly equal to the stand alone disc available earlier this year) this Blu-ray set has claimed the crown of high-def title to beat! Bring on the challengers!!

Special Features:

Disc One

• Original Theatrical Version
• Special Edition Re-Release
• Collector’s Extended Cut
  • 16 more minutes and exclusive alternate opening)

Family Audio Track (All Objectionable Language Removed)

• Original Theatrical Release
• Special Edition Re-release

Disc Two

• Capturing Avatar: An in-depth feature length documentary with James Cameron, Jon Landau and cast and crew
• Deleted scenes: including over 45 minutes of new never-before-seen deleted scenes
• Production materials (BD-exclusive)

Disc Three (BD-exclusive)

• Open “Pandora’s Box” and go deeper into the filmmaker process
• Interactive Scene Deconstruction: Explore the various stages of production through three different viewing modes
• Production shorts: 17 featurettes covering performance capture, scoring the film, 3D Fusion camera, stunts and much more
• Avatar Archives, including original scriptment, 300 page screenplay and the extensive Pandorapedia
• BD-live Portal with additional bonus materials

Amazon: $24.99

2. THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER

On any other week, Charles Laughton‘s Night of the Hunter would have easily been in the number one slot. This nightmarish Mother Goose tale is sadly the only film the famous actor ever directed and it’s a damn shame. Because it’s a masterwork. Robert Mitchum has never been better or more creepy.

Criterion finally does the film justice, presenting it in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 as opposed to the 1.33 of previous presentations. Couple that with Criterion’s exceptional package of special features and this is clearly one of the finest releases of the year.

Special Features:

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Audio commentary featuring assistant director Terry Sanders, film critic F. X. Feeney, archivist Robert Gitt, and author Preston Neal Jones
• Charles Laughton Directs “The Night of the Hunter,” a two-and-a-half-hour archival treasure trove of outtakes from the film
• New documentary featuring interviews with producer Paul Gregory, Sanders, Jones, and author Jeffrey Couchman
• New video interview with Simon Callow, author of Charles Laughton: A Difficult Actor
• Clip from the The Ed Sullivan Show, in which cast members perform live a scene that was deleted from the film
• Fifteen-minute episode of the BBC show Moving Pictures about the film
• Archival interview with cinematographer Stanley Cortez
• Gallery of sketches by author Davis Grubb
• New video conversation between Gitt and film critic Leonard Maltin about Charles Laughton Directs “The Night of the Hunter”
• Original theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by critics Terrence Rafferty and Michael Sragow

Amazon: $36.49

3. MODERN TIMES

Criterion does the Little Tramp justice as well this week. Charlie Chaplin‘s final outing as his most famous character has never looked better in this restored 2K-resolution digital transfer. Gone are the rounded corners and frayed edges of precious transfers, replaced with a rich, detailed image. There have been some nice editions of this film in the recent past but nothing bests this new one from Criterion. Recommended!

Special Features:

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• New audio commentary by Chaplin biographer David Robinson
• Two new visual essays, by Chaplin historians John Bengtson and Jeffrey Vance
• New program on the film’s visual and sound effects, with experts Craig Barron and Ben Burtt
• Interview from 1992 with Modern Times music arranger David Raksin
• Chaplin Today: “Modern Times” (2004), a half-hour program with filmmakers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne
• Two segments removed from the film
• Three theatrical trailers
• All at Sea (1933), a home movie by Alistair Cooke featuring Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, and Cooke, plus a new score by Donald Sosin and a new interview with Cooke’s daughter, Susan Cooke Kittredge
• The Rink (1916), a Chaplin two-reeler highlighting his skill on wheels
• For the First Time (1967), a Cuban documentary short about a projectionist who shows Modern Times to first-time moviegoers
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Saul Austerlitz and a piece by film scholar Lisa Stein that includes excerpts from Chaplin’s writing about his travels in 1931 and 1932

Amazon: $29.49

4. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935)

Speaking of Charles Laughton, his turn as the cruel Captain William Bligh in the 1935 edition of Mutiny on the Bounty with Clark Gable is new on Blu this week. Warner‘s new restoration looks mostly fantastic (there is some damage on the print that has not been restored yet…but nevermind, this looks great!) on Blu-ray. Certainly the best its ever looked on home video. The disc is packaged in a nice hardcover digibook but includes sadly few special features.

Amazon: $25.99

5. SHERLOCK JR./THREE AGES

Kino‘s new Blu-ray with both the short films Sherlock Jr. and Three Ages is a welcome addition to the studios Buster Keaton collection. While the visuals are nowhere near as reference quality as The General or even Steamboat Bill Jr., Sherlock Jr is certainly impressive. Three Ages doesn’t fare quiet as well but is still a treat in high-def. The disc has a host of extra features such as multiple music tracks, a commentary track, documentary and more!

Amazon: $25.99

6. ROBO-GEISHA

Another week, another sixth entry in the Top 5 list. I haven’t seen FUNimation‘s new Robo-Geisha film yet but based on the sheer entertainment value and disc quality of the studio’s recent Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl I thought this release was probably worth a mention. I’ve seen the trailer and I haven’t been the same since. I haven’t been able to get the image of geisha girls shooting ninja stars from their butts out of my head since…

Amazon: $21.99

NEW THIS WEEK ON 3D BLU-RAY:

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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I’ve heard tell that Robert Rodriguez‘ Machete was best left as a trailer. I’m not so sure about that. But I can’t argue that the concept (and superstar killer-man, Danny Trejo) does indeed make for great clip-age. I didn’t get a chance to see the film in theatres but I’m pretty stoked to check it out on this upcoming Blu-ray from Fox. The press release the studio sent me was pretty lite on the details so I’m assuming we’ll learn more about the disc as we draw nearer to its release. Expect to see the usual Rodriguez supplements tacked onto the BD – commentary, 10-Minute film school – as well as a host of featurettes.

Special Features:

• Exclusive deleted scenes that reveal never-before-seen characters, twisting plot lines, and more bloody good action
• Digital Copy
• Pocket BLU
• MORE!

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

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

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

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

Special Features:

Limited Edition Collector’s Set

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

Blu-ray Details: Blu-ray Disc 1:

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

Blu-ray Disc 2:

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

DVD Disc:

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

Amazon: $19.99

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

2. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI

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

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

Amazon: $20.99

3. TOY STORY 3

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

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

Amazon: $24.99

4. THE PACIFIC

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

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

Amazon: $56.99

5. CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG

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

Amazon: $19.49

6. THE GOONIES (25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION)

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

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

Amazon: $34.99

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

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

Amazon: $33.99

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

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Just a bit of fun from our friends at Fox as we approach Halloween!

There are a lot of great films showcased in the trailer above – many of which can be grabbed up at discount prices. Here’s a list of current Amazon deals:

You know it’s a massive week of important Blu-ray releases when there are two new titles from Criterion and neither is in the number one position on our Top 5 list! Shocking! We’ve had some big weeks lately but this might just be the most incredible one of all. Hope you’ve been saving up.

1. THE ALIEN ANTHOLOGY

The brand new Alien Anthology Blu-ray set from Fox is perhaps the finest collection of films and supplemental material ever assembled in a single home video package! Special Edition disc producer Charles de Lauzirika, the genius behind the endlessly impressive ultimate Blade Runner set from a few years back, has really outdone himself here. In addition to brand new, stunning high-def transfers of the first two films, de Lauzirika has reassembled and recreated sound elements for the Alien³: Special Edition audio track, including re-recording dialogue with the original actors from those unfinished scenes that were inserted into the cut, to deliver an experience far more akin to a polished, final release film than has ever been seen before. Oh, and did I mention that each film is afforded two different cuts? And did I mention that there are over 60 hours of extras spread over the 6-discs? And did I mention that this is probably the best boxed set, perhaps even the best Blu-ray title of the entire year?

Yeah, the Alien Anthology Blu-ray set is pretty much the best thing ever. You need to grab it up today. Right now. Get going!!

The special features are too voluminous to list here. For full details, read our breakdown of the set: Alien Anthology Blu-ray Boxed Set Officially Announced and Detailed

Amazon: $89.99

2. BACK TO THE FUTURE: 25TH ANNIVERSARY TRILOGY

If this Back to the Future: 25th Anniversary Trilogy Blu-ray set had been released on any other day of the year, it most likely would have won the crown and taken the top spot on my Top 5 list. But competing against the juggernaut that is the Alien Anthology, Marty McFly and Doc Brown will have to settle for number two. Universal won’t send me a review copy, so I’m relying on the reviews of others here, to recommend this set on anything other than the fame of the films alone. But for all intents and purposes, it looks like this set is a pretty good one, featuring all new high-def transfers for the three films and a crap-load of new special features.

Amazon: $47.99

3. HOUSE

Without the two killer boxed sets of popular films warring it out for the top slots, this would easily have been my number one pick of the week. As I said in the Top 10 New Blu-ray Discs for Halloween 2010 list, it feels like I’ve been awaiting the Criterion Collection edition of House for almost a year now. It’s not a particularly scary film for modern audiences but it is incredibly imaginative and super-fun for a horror film. Criterion has, of course, pulled out all the stops here, delivering a stunning, cleaned up transfer and crisp, clean audio, along with a host of brand new special features that are sure to please any fan.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
• Constructing a House, a new video piece featuring interviews with director Nobuhiko Obayashi, story scenarist and daughter of the director Chigumi Obayashi, and screenwriter Chiho Katsura
• Emotion, a 1966 experimental film by Obayashi
• New video appreciation by director Ti West (House of the Devil)
• Theatrical trailer
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: An essay by Chuck Stephens

Amazon: $34.99

4. PATHS OF GLORY

I don’t think I really need to push Paths of Glory too hard on any film fans out there. This is a brand new Criterion Blu-ray disc of a classic Stanley Kubrick film starring Kirk Douglas. That should be enough hot button keywords right there to tell you that you need to grab this one up as soon as possible! As per Criterion’s usual treatment, the film has never, ever looked this brilliant and vivid and has never been afforded so many insightful special features as on this Blu-ray disc. Paths of Glory is a must for every film fan!

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
• New audio commentary by critic Gary Giddins
• Television interview from 1979 with star Kirk Douglas
• New video interviews with Kubrick’s longtime executive producer Jan Harlan, Paths of Glory producer James B. Harris, and actress Christiane Kubrick
• Excerpt from a French television program about real-life World War I executions similar to the events dramatized in Paths of Glory
• Theatrical trailer
• PLUS: An essay by Kubrick scholar James Naremore

Amazon: $29.49

5. STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS – THE COMPLETE SEASON TWO

I’d really love to say that I’m so over Star Wars, after the years of suffering through the dreadful prequel films but damn, if these animated Clone Wars episodes don’t keep me coming back for more! Why can’t I quit you, Star Wars?! Why?!

This new Complete Season Two boxed set picks up directly from the Season One set we reviewed last year, with fantastic transfers in the never-before-seen, director approved aspect ratio, amazing digi-book packaging full of artwork and a ton of great special features.

READ MORE: Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Complete Season Two Blu-ray set officially announced

Amazon: $41.99

WARNER DIRECTOR COLLECTIONS: Oliver Stone Collection, Martin Scorcese Collection

Warner is releasing two new Director Collections today, featuring three films each from Oliver Stone and Martin Scorsese. At a discount, both are a good value for the money. Each box consists of a single Blu-ray case with three trays inside. The discs are all re-packaged from previous releases. I’ve only gotten my hands on the Scorsese set so far and can confirm that Goodfellas, The Departed and The Aviator all match up to the versions already in stores, with the same transfers and all the special features intact. I’ll update the post when I get a look at the Stone set in the near future.

If you already own any of these films, you’ll probably want to give these sets a pass and pick up the remaining titles on a holiday sale or something. If you don’t have any three in either box and you can find a good deal on a set, grab it up!

Amazon: $42.49, $54.99

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:

Related posts

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• [VIDEO] Back To The Future: 25th Anniversary Trilogy Blu-ray Trailer (0)
• [VIDEO] Back To The Future: 25th Anniversary Trilogy Blu-ray Bonus Features (3)
• [VIDEO] Alien Anthology Blu-ray Trailer (2)