It’s been a hell of a week. I don’t know if you’ve been following Twitter as we suffer through the odyssey that is keeping The Blu-ray Blog online, but I’ve been forced to take the site down and rebuild it TWICE in the last seven days! You know Blu-ray disc has finally hit the big-time when little sites that talk about it, like this one, become targets. I’m really sorry if the non-stop barrage of spam ads has upset your enjoyment of the site. I’m desperately trying to fend these jerks off and promise to keep on top of it, as best as I can. So, that said, seeing as how this post is already a day late and I’m totally wiped out keeping up with all of this nonsense, I’m just going to lay this list out for you without much, if any insightful commentary. Here we go…
1. THE LEOPARD
My god. Look at that. Even the compressed YouTube clip above, culled from Criterion‘s latest release, Visconti‘s 1963 film, The Leopard looks ridiculously brilliant! YouTube isn’t supposed to look that good! Drool…
I’m sure you’re not surprised that I’m recommending that you spend your hard-earned cash on another Criterion title, but this one, according to reports, might very well be a contender for Blu-ray Disc of the Year. I haven’t picked it up yet so I’m not speaking from first hand knowledge here but my money is on this new release of The Leopard being pretty damn spectacular. Check out the special features:
SPECIAL EDITION:
- High-definition digital transfer, supervised by director of photography Giuseppe Rotunno, with restored image and sound and presented in the original Super Technirama aspect ratio of 2.21:1 (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
- The 161-minute American release, with English-language dialogue, including Burt Lancaster’s own voice
- Audio commentary by film scholar Peter Cowie
- A Dying Breed: The Making of The Leopard, an hour-long documentary featuring interviews with Claudia Cardinale, screenwriter Suso Ceccho D’Amico, Rotunno, filmmaker Sydney Pollack, and many others
- Video interview with producer Goffredo Lombardo
- Video interview with professor Millicent Marcus on the history behind The Leopard
- Original theatrical trailers and newsreels
- Stills gallery of rare behind-the-scenes production photos
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film historian Michael Wood
That’s right…another Criterion Collection Blu-ray has been released this week. Everlasting Moments by Swedish director Jan Troell, exhibits a striking visual style modeled after turn of the century photography. Absolutely gorgeous!
If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. And if you can’t handle being disturbed and unsettled by a film, you’d best avoid Michael Haneke‘s latest unflinching gaze into the darkest heart of mankind, The White Ribbon. Great, ghostly black and white visuals add the sinister tale a layer of subtle depth. Highly recommended for those who can handle it.
Yep. Hot Tub Time Machine. How do we go from Haneke to this? Sigh…
Anyway, look, I haven’t even seen this yet. Fox literally just sent me a copy so I’ll most likely be checking it out tonight. But I’ve heard pretty god things about the film – doesn’t even try to take itself seriously, great performances, all around fun – you know the drill. And as it’s new, I expect the transfer to be top notch.
5. PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF
This is another one of those Blu-ray discs that just showed up at my doorstep, courtesy of Fox Home Entertainment. So, no, I haven’t seen it yet either. I include Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief here solely on the basis of my 10-year old nephew’s recommendation. Max absolutely loved the film. I’ve read elsewhere that it’s abominable. As long as it hits its target market, I guess it can’t be all bad, right? Urgh…
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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]]>Not satisfied with merely releasing three classics of the cinema on Blu-ray in June, Criterion have taken it upon themselves to expand the months lineup by two titles, further removing any possibility of my paycheck going to anything but movie purchases. Sigh… Details of the newly announced films below…
CLOSE-UP
(June 22, 2010 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 1.33:1 1080p
Audio: TBA
Special Features:
- * New, restored high-definition digital transfer
* Audio commentary by Mehrnaz Saeed-Vafa and Jonathan Rosenbaum, authors of Abbas Kiarostami
* The Traveler, a notable early feature by director Abbas Kiarostami
* “Close-up” Long Shot, a forty-five-minute documentary on Close-up’s central figure, Hossein Sabzian, five years after Kiarostami’s film
* New video interview with Kiarostami
* A Walk with Kiarostami (2003), a thirty-two-minute documentary portrait of the director by Iranian film professor Jamsheed Akrami
* New and improved English subtitle translation
* PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Godfrey Cheshire
EVERLASTING MOMENTS
(June 29, 2010 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 1.85:1 1080p
Audio: TBA
Special Features:
- * New high-definition digital transfer, approved by director Jan Troell
* Jan Troell’s Magic Mirror, an hour-long documentary about Troell’s life and career
* Short documentary on the making of Everlasting Moments, featuring interviews with Troell, cast,
and crew
* Documentary featuring photographs by the real Maria Larsson, accompanied by narration telling her story
* Theatrical trailer
* PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Armond White