Yargh! I actually had this post ready to go this week, when MGM dropped six new titles in my lap (see below), pushing my ability to get it out to you back by several days. But it’s well worth it. Their latest batch of catalogue titles are all must-buys, all essential cinema on Blu at a very affordable price.

As always, clicking the Blu-ray package art will zip you over to Amazon where every purchase you make through our links helps the site stay on its feet. We appreciate every single click and thank you again for continuing to read The Blu-ray Blog.

Blu-ray disc of the week: GODZILLA

“Ishiro Honda’s Godzilla is the roaring granddaddy of all monster movies. It’s also a remarkably humane and melancholy drama made in Japan at a time when the country was still reeling from nuclear attack and H-bomb testing. Its rampaging radioactive beast, the poignant embodiment of an entire population’s fears, became a beloved international icon of destruction, spawning more than twenty sequels and spinoffs. This first thrilling, tactile spectacle continues to be a cult phenomenon; here, we present the original, 1954 Japanese version, along with Godzilla: King of the Monsters!, the 1956 American reworking starring Raymond Burr (Rear Window). “

Criterion fans have been waiting an age to see this day come to pass. The hint of Gojira joining “The Collection” has been lingering like a stolen promise for more than a decade now. But here we are finally, arriving at the day of days, when the original giant lizard film is finally awarded the home video treatment it has long deserved. That’s right, Godzilla is on Blu-ray! I mean, Godzilla has actually been on Blu before but sporting a pretty sucky transfer. So really, we can consider this new Criterion release the only release moving forward. Sadly, demand was apparently quite great for screening copies of the film and yours truly didn’t make the cut. But from reading reviews of the disc from those fortunate enough to get it early, the transfers of both the original Japanese version of the film and the US cut starring Raymond Burr are astounding. I can’t wait to check this one out firsthand!

Special Features:

• New high-definition digital restoration with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Audio commentary by David Kalat (A Critical History and Filmography of Toho’s Godzilla Series)
• New high-definition digital restoration of Godzilla, King of the Monsters, Terry Morse’s 1956 reworking of the original, starring Raymond Burr
• Audio commentary for Godzilla, King of the Monsters by Kalat
• New interviews with actor Akira Takarada (Hideto Ogata), Godzilla performer Haruo Nakajima, and effects technicians Yoshio Irie and Eizo Kaimai
• Interview with legendary Godzilla score composer Akira Ifukube
• Featurette detailing Godzilla’s photographic effects
• New interview with Japanese-film critic Tadao Sato
• The Unluckiest Dragon, an illustrated audio essay featuring historian Greg Pflugfelder describing the tragic fate of the fishing vessel Daigo fukuryu maru, a real-life event that inspired Godzilla
• Theatrical trailers
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic J. Hoberman

AMAZON: $27.99

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

“The Moment of Truth, from director Francesco Rosi (Salvatore Giuliano) is a visceral plunge into the life of a famous torero—played by real-life bullfighting legend Miguel Mateo, known as Miguelin. Charting his rise and fall with a single-minded focus on the bloody business at hand, the film is at once gritty and operatic, placing the viewer right in the thick of the ring’s action, as close to death as possible. Like all of the great Italian truth seeker’s films, this is a not just an electrifying drama but also a profound and moving inquiry into a violent world—and perhaps the greatest bullfighting movie ever made. “

We didn’t receive a copy of Criterion’s Godzilla Blu-ray but the studio was able to get The Blu-ray Blog an early screener of The Moment of Truth, also available in stores today. This isn’t a film for the queasy of stomach. It’s bullfighting. Footage of real, honest to goodness bulls being taunted and gored. And it’s tough to watch. I’ll admit, I turned away at times, unable to bear witnessing the torture of an animal onscreen. But the film has value and shouldn’t be ignored just because it features footage that’s uncomfortable to watch. Rosi fashions a narrative here, beginning with real-life footage and spinning it into a familiar, comfortable story of a talented, driven athlete whose star is on the rise. It’s easy to connect with and moves along at a good clip, despite occasionally pulling away to reveal a more documentarian look at the Spanish way of life. As magnetic as Mateo is in and out of the ring however, the real star of the film is the photography. Images here are gritty yet fluid and almost always breathtaking.

And speaking of those images, the footage in The Moment of Truth looks spectacular on Blu-ray. As per Criterion’s standard, you won’t find any untoward digital manipulation here (some sharpening is present, handled with great restraint) but those who dislike film grain will want to run for the hills. This is one handsome transfer, thick with rich, film-like grain. Colours pop and blacks are deep. Great work, as usual, from Criterion. The lossless Italian language track is bold and quite clear, with a hint of ever-present hiss in the background. The final music cue distorts in a strange way right before the film ends but I assume that’s due to damage in the source.

Sadly, there isn’t much on this disc in the way of special features. The only bonus goodie you get is a 14-minute interview with director Rosi, recorded in 2004. It’s a candid and very informative chat that you’ll want to check out if you’ve watched the film but I can only imagine how much more might’ve been discussed during a feature length commentary track. Ah well. Missed opportunities. The Blu-ray disc is packaged along with an illustrated booklet which features an essay by critic Peter Matthews.

AMAZON: $21.99

50/50

“Inspired by a true story, “50/50” is an original story about friendship, love, survival and finding humor in unlikely places. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen star as best friends whose lives are changed by a cancer diagnosis in this new comedy directed by Jonathan Levine from a script by Will Reiser.“

I’m not going to mince words here, I initially avoided watching 50/50 because I thought it looked like crap. I didn’t care for the poster art or the trailers and I wasn’t sold on the notion of a comedy about cancer. Also, I felt like I could use a break from both Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the stars of the film. Boy, was I wrong about this film. 50/50 is not only funny and moving but all-around one of the best films I’ve seen this year. Rogen and Gordon-Levitt come off more genuine and genuinely funny here than in their recent work. Perhaps because they’re riffing on a script by their pal Will Reiser that the writer based on his own real-life struggle with cancer. Reiser is a wise man and never allows things to get too heavy handed and ultimately clarifies that the tale is more about friendship than it is about the disease. I don’t want to paint the picture of this film as light and cheery. It does deal with the issues facing Gordon-Levitt’s character and all that his myriad struggles entail, but it’s all very human and without a touch of melodrama. What a refreshing change!

The Blu-ray presentation of 50/50 is also a breath of fresh air. Detailed, balanced and completely film-like in every way, the film is a joy to watch in 1080p. Likewise, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is all-around fantastic. Fans of the film will want to listen to the group commentary track, even if they usually avoid such things. This one is a fun, often funny gathering of pals Rogen, Reiser, producers Ben Karlin and Evan Goldberg, and director Jonathan Levine. The disc also contains an 8-minute ‘making of’ featurette, five deleted scenes with optional commentary, an additional 10-minutes of behind-the-scenes discussion of specific scenes and a couple minutes of Rogen and Gordon-Levitt destroying a painting.

Recommended!

AMAZON: $17.99

THE WHISTLEBLOWER

“Academy Award Winners Rachel Weisz and Vanessa Redgrave head a powerful cast that includes Oscar Nominee David Strathairn in writer-director Larysa Kondracki‘s harrowing dramatic thriller. When Nebraska cop Kathryn Bolkovac (Weisz) accepts a U.N. peacekeeper position in post-war Bosnia, she discovers a deadly sex trafficking ring. Risking her own life to save the lives of others, she uncovers an international conspiracy that is determined to stop her, no matter the cost. With masterful acting and a heart-racing plot, “The Whistleblower” is an acclaimed film inspired by actual events.“

Okay, I love Rachel Weisz. Let’s just get that out of the way first. I’ll watch just about anything she’s in. And even when she’s starring in a film I find less-than-stellar, I usually enjoy watching her all the same (sigh… Is that creepy?) But it honestly took me a little while to acclimate to her performance style in The Whistleblower. She plays a Nebraska cop and plays her, well, very American. That’s okay, of course, but when she’s putting on the accent and playing tough it’s a lot more challenging to buy her in the role. Through a good part of the first act of the film, she’s just not very convincing. But as the very-tense plot heats up, and Bolkovac is pitted up against sex traffickers, any awkwardness in Weisz’ performance fades away, and the compelling real-life narrative overtakes any and all potential weaknesses. By the end of the film, I was literally at the edge of my seat. It’s tough to sit idly by in the audience, when watching such heinous atrocities unfold onscreen, knowing that they’re based on things that really happened. The Whistleblower is intense and infuriating and definitely worth watching.

You’ll be impressed with the look of The Whistleblower on Blu-ray. Often dark (some detail is lost in the blackest of shadows), sometimes soft, but always film-like with plenty of grain and detail on display, this is a great looking disc with a modern transfer. LIkewise, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is right on the money. It’s not going to ‘wow’ you with Hollywood-style sonic gymnastics and bombast but it’s dynamic, clean and clear.

Sadly, there’s only a single special feature on the Blu-ray disc – a 5-and-a-half-minute long featurette called ‘Kathy Bolkovac: The Real Whistleblower‘. It’s certainly worth a look, if you enjoyed the film, as it gives a rare look at the real people who inspired the work.

AMAZON: $17.99

WINGS

“The first film ever to win an Academy Award for Best Picture is finally available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc, “Wings” starring Clara Bow, Charles Rogers, Richard Arlen and Gary Cooper. “Wings” is the story of two men who have gone to war and the girl they both leave behind. Director William A. Wellman makes one of his most humanistic statements as he explores the devastating results of war.“

Film fans and fans of home video restorations will want to sit up and take note of Paramount‘s work on Wings – this is stunning stuff. Touted as the first Best Picture Oscar winner (in fact, it won the award for “Outstanding Picture, Production” while Murnau‘s Sunrise won the award for “Unique and Artistic Production” – both could equally be considered “Best Picture” by today’s standards), most folks alive today have never seen a decent looking print of William A. Wellman’s landmark film. It’s really what makes this Blu-ray release all the more special. It seems the studio has gone to great lengths to gather the finest surviving elements of the silent classic, give them the best possible scan and assemble and massage them into a reasonably clean and very watchable modern restoration. The results are simply stunning and need to be seen to be believed. In fact, though we’re only in the first month of 2012, this very well might be a contender for Blu-ray release of the year! The care given this film’s journey to Blu and the fact that it’s the first in a line of Anniverary releases for the studio gives me great hope for the follow-up titles like Chinatown and To Catch a Thief. It’s going to be a good year.

As you’d suspect from my praise of the work done to restore Wings and bring it to Blu-ray, the film sports a spectacular transfer that bests any visual reproduction in living memory. This is a completely film-like presentation that’s cleaner and more detailed than it has any right to be. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is even more surprising in what it brings to the package. The track features a radiant “re-recorded score composed by J.S. Zamecnik (orchestrated and arranged by Dominik Hauser; featured pianist — Frederick Hodges) with sound effects by Ben Burtt“!! As brilliant and effective as the score is, it’s Burtt’s sound effects that are the true surprise and delight of the track. Purists offended by the sonic revisionism of sound effects in a silent film might want to stick with the Gaylord Carter organ track, rendered not quite as fully as its lossless counterpart here, in Dolby Digital 2.0.

There’s nearly an hour’s worth of bonus content on the Blu-ray in the form of three featurettes. ‘Wings: Grandeur in the Sky‘ runs over 25-minutes and acts as a brief but fairly comprehensive look at the making of the film and its place in cinema history. ‘Restoring the Power and Beauty of Wings‘ provides the behind-the-scenes information that restoration and preservation enthusiasts clamor for on discs like these while ‘Dogfight!‘ looks at aerial combat and the evolution of fighting aircraft.

Highly recommended!

AMAZON: $19.99

REAL STEEL

“A gritty, white-knuckle, action ride set in the near-future where the sport of boxing has gone high-tech, “Real Steel” stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kentonm, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.“

And now a word from our reviewer in the field, Chris Tucker:

I’m not a boxing fan, I’m a robot fan, so booting up DreamWorks Sudio‘s Real Steel I had at least a fighting chance of being entertained. The odds would have been upped if I were a fan of cheese. The film stars Hugh Jackman as a down-and-out ex-boxer, now as a has-been controller of giant fighting robots. Jackman gains custody of his heretofore unknown son, some cute kid, that he initially just takes advantage of until he grows to love him while battling at his side in dusty cow-pens, abandoned zoos and futuristic sporting arenas. Evangeline Lily also makes an appearance to smile tenderly upon father and son. If you have ever watched another movie you can write the rest of the script by yourself.

There, I got my shots out of the way so now I can tell you how great the disc looks. Its beautifully shot with some really nicely lit scenes and sweet color throughout. The 1080p transfer is very crisps and the special effects are pretty outstanding. The whole reason for this film, the special effect robots, look and move quite well (though they leave much to be desired in terms of character design and fight orchestration). Technically, the fight scenes are so well done that you don’t spend any time scrutinizing them, which is a shame since you’re permitted the time to see what Jackman is doing and saying. The story might take a few punches but the transfer can stand up to any fight.

The film features a DTS-HD MA 7.1 lossless soundtrack and there was no need to ride the remote for this one. I’ve got no complaints on the sound for either music or dialogue here.

There are heaps of extra features:

-Second Screen with director Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum, Date Night).
-making of the robots (really interesting how they mix real robots with CGI but this segment at under 5 minutes was way too short)
-Deleted and Extended scenes (not much here)
-Sugar Ray Leonard: Cornerman’s champ ( not interested in watching this part, sorry)
-fake 10 minute ESPN-type biography on Jackman’s character
-making of metal valley (15 minutes behind the scenes of a pretty mundane 30 seconds of screen time)

Ultimately the film dies because, just like robots, it has no heart. In place of its soul is just regurgitated Hollywood cheese.

Thanks, Chris!

AMAZON: $27.99

MGM CLASSICS ON BLU-RAY

Just as I was getting ready to publish this post earlier in the week, this package of six outstanding films arrived – three Hitchcock classics, two from Woody Allen and a Billy Wilder! It’s like manna from film-buff heaven. You might look at these and think “Holy crap, that’s great! If only these were Criterion releases…” and I guess you’d be right on some level. The package design leaves something to be desired on most of the six releases (what were they thinking with the Hitchcock designs?!) and the Annie Hall and Manhattan could use some love in the Special Features-department. I’m not certain what Criterion could add to the Allen films (he’s notorious for resiting the addition of extras to disc releases of his films) but I will say that the studio probably couldn’t offer up transfers of these films that are any better than what MGM and Fox have made available here. These discs look fantastic!!

If you were to compare the six discs, you’ll clearly find some more visually impressive than others – The Apartment, Manhattan and Rebecca are absolutely breathtaking, while Annie Hall, Spellbound and Notorious sport softer, less immediately awe-inspiring presentations. All six, however, appear to have avoided any untoward digital manipulation and seem to be be completely faithful, film-like representations of their celluloid origins. I’m taken aback by how all-around great this batch of releases looks. All the films feature mono DTS-HD Master Audio tracks with the exception of The Apartment, which has been remixed and expanded into a subtle and inoffensive 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. Note that the audio track on the Annie Hall disc appears to be slightly out of sync (I’m not the only one experiencing this). The studio has been contacted and I’m certain that a fix will be imminent. I’ll let you know if/when I hear anything more on the subject.

UPDATE: Pausing and un-pausing the Annie Hall disc appears to remedy the audio sync issues. Whew!

Aside from the Allen films, which only feature their respective theatrical trailers, these releases are fairly robust with extras, all of which are carried over from the most recent DVD releases from MGM. The Hitchcock films in particular sport a great deal of bonus goodies. Those who own the Criterion DVD versions of those films will want to hold onto them for the exclusive extras that don’t show up here. The only crossover material of note are the radio plays, isolated scores and some interviews. The bulk of the Criterion material -including their commentary tracks by film scholars Marian Keane (Spellbound and Notorious) and Leonard J. Leff (Rebecca) and historian Rudy Behlmer (Notorious) – remains exclusive to those now out-of-print DVDs.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

REBECCA

• Commentary by Richard Schickel
• Isolated Music and Effects Track
• The Making of Rebecca
• The Gothic World of Daphne DuMaurier
• Screen Tests
• Radio Plays
• Hitchcock Audio Interviews
• Theatrical Trailer

NOTORIOUS

• Commentary with Film Professor Rick Jewell
• Isolated Music and Effects Track
• The Ultimate Romance: The Making of Notorious
• The American Film Institute Award: The Key to Hitchcock
• 1948 Radio Play starring Joseph Cotton and Ingrid Bergman
• Hitchcock Audio Interviews
• Restoration Comparison
• Theatrical Trailer

SPELLBOUND

• Commentary with Film Historians Thomas Schatz and Charles Ramirez Berg
• Running With Scissors: Hitchcock, Surrealism and Salvador Dali
• Guilt By Association: Psychoanalyzing Spellbound
• A Cinderella Story: Rhonda Fleming
• 1948 Radio Version of Spellbound Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
• Hitchcock Audio Interview
• Original Theatrical Trailer

THE APARTMENT

• Commentary with Film Historian Bruce Block
• Inside The Apartment
• Magic Time – The Art of Jack Lemmon
• Theatrical Trailer

AMAZON: $16.99 each

JEAN ROLLIN VAMPIRE FILMS FROM REDEMPTION

I’ve never seen any of these five Jean Rollin vampire films, released this week by Kino via their newly acquired ‘Redemption’ label, but I’m dying to get my hands on them to see what the fuss us all about. They look like a ton of euro-trash fun.

AMAZON: $18.99-$22.49

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

• Criterion January Blu-ray titles: Godzilla, Belle de Jour, Moment of Truth, Traffic (0)
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Continuing on with Blu-ray news that’s totally blowing my mind, the Japanese arm of Bandai Visual has revealed that they’re planning to unleash a massive Blu-ray boxed set of the original Macross series in honour of its 30th Anniversary (the first episode aired back in October of 1982.) This show, in the guise of the first third of the Robotech saga, as we saw it here in North America back in the ’80s, was instrumental in shaping my love for anime, the giant robot genre and for serial storytelling in general. I don’t think it’s too far fetched to say that some aspect of the story, the design or the legacy of the series is present in my life on an everyday basis (aside from the fact that I’m perpetually gazing at the three large character models I have sitting above my television.) The news that all 36 of the series’ original episodes will be available on Blu-ray this May is throwing me into something of a fit. As I’m sure the obsessive amongst you will understand, I need to own these discs. The problem, however, is twofold – the boxed set is prohibitively expensive and there’s no hint of English on it, either by way of dub or subtitle. What’s a fanboy to do?

Two Macross Blu-ray boxed sets will ship in Japan on May 25th – the regular set priced around $500 USD and the deluxe ‘COMPLETE’ boxed set that includes an additional disc of extras and a bunch of extra printed material, priced at around $600 USD. I’ve detailed the ‘COMPLETE’ set below (via: animenewsnetwork)

SUPER DIMENSION FORTRESS MACROSS: 30TH ANNIVERSARY COMPLETE EDITION BLU-RAY BOX
(May 25, 2012 – MSRP ¥47,250)
Video: 4:3 1080p
Audio: Japanese Linear PCM Monaural (no subtitles)

Special Features:

• All 36 episodes
• a booklet (with staff interviews, pre-production designs from when the creators were working on early series concepts called “Genocidas” and “Megaload/Megaroad”)
• a box illustrated by character designer Haruhiko Mikimoto
• inner jacket covers illustrated by mechanical artist Hidetaka Tenjin
• a music video collection (edited from pachinko and pachi-slo machine footage)
• the 30th anniversary special that ran on the Family Gekijō channel
• promotional videos from the Macross PlayStation 2 game
• the “Macross Special” version of the first two episodes that aired in the original premiere
• the original broadcast version of episode 11
• the credit-less opening and ending animation sequences
• the opening and ending sequences from “Macross Special”
• the super-deformed version of the opening sequence
• commercials of the time
• additional materials
• Replicas of the 1983 tome Macross Perfect Memory, the scenario script for the first episode, storyboards (for the opening sequence, episode 1, and episode 27), and a collection of illustrations (from DVDs, LDs, plastic models packages, and elsewhere)

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Ha! Amazing! Criterion hinted back in August that they might be inducting the original 1954 Gojira into the collection in the near future but honestly, I didn’t think we’d see it released on Blu-ray this soon. In addition to the Japanese edition of the film, the January release of Godzilla will also include the 1956 American “reworking” of the film that starred Raymond Burr and was re-titled Godzilla, King of the Monsters. This is gold for fans of the man-in-suit franchise like myself, to find both beloved versions of the film in one package! Amazing. There isn’t much hope in seeing it come to pass but I’d give my left arm if Criterion were to continue releasing other five-star titles in the series, like the pitch-perfect Mothra vs. Godzilla, sci-fi pulpy Invasion of Astro Monster and the trippy, psychedelic Godzilla vs. Hedorah. I’d love to see it but I won’t hold my breath.

Rounding out the month’s releases, Criterion brings us Belle de Jour, the last great Luis Buñuel film to find it’s place in the collection, as well as a feature-light (and lower priced) Blu-ray edition of Francesco Rosi‘s The Moment of Truth and an HD upgrade of Soderbergh‘s Traffic.

Pretty light month, with only four new titles. But if you look at the ship dates of the discs, it’s clear that Criterion is taking the first couple weeks of January off. Can’t say I blame them…

GODZILLA
(January 24, 2012 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 1.37:1 1080p
Audio: uncom­pressed monaural

Special Features:

• New high-definition digital restoration with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Audio commentary by David Kalat (A Critical History and Filmography of Toho’s Godzilla Series)
• New high-definition digital restoration of Godzilla, King of the Monsters, Terry Morse’s 1956 reworking of the original, starring Raymond Burr
• Audio commentary for Godzilla, King of the Monsters by Kalat
• New interviews with actor Akira Takarada (Hideto Ogata), Godzilla performer Haruo Nakajima, and effects technicians Yoshio Irie and Eizo Kaimai
• Interview with legendary Godzilla score composer Akira Ifukube
• Featurette detailing Godzilla’s photographic effects
• New interview with Japanese-film critic Tadao Sato
• The Unluckiest Dragon, an illustrated audio essay featuring historian Greg Pflugfelder describing the tragic fate of the fishing vessel Daigo fukuryu maru, a real-life event that inspired Godzilla
• Theatrical trailers
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic J. Hoberman

BELLE DE JOUR
(January 17, 2012 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 1.66:1 1080p
Audio: uncom­pressed monaural

Special Features:

• New high-definition digital restoration with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Audio commentary featuring Michael Wood, author of the BFI Film Classics book Belle de jour
• New video piece featuring writer and sexual-politics activist Susie Bright and film scholar Linda Williams
• New interview with screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière
• Excerpt from the French television program Cinéma, featuring interviews with Carrière and actress Catherine Deneuve
• Original and American release trailers
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Melissa Anderson and a 1970s interview with director Luis Buñuel

MOMENT OF TRUTH
(January 24, 2012 – MSRP $29.95)
Video: 2.35:1 1080p
Audio: uncom­pressed monaural

Special Features:

• >New high-definition digital restoration with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Interview with director Francesco Rosi from 2004
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Peter Matthews

TRAFFIC
(January 17, 2012 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 1.85:1 1080p
Audio: 5.1 and 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio

Special Features:

• Restored digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Steven Soderbergh and supervising sound editor and rerecording mixer Larry Blake with 5.1 and 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks
• Three audio commentaries, featuring Soderbergh and writer Stephen Gaghan; producers Laura Bickford, Edward Zwick, and Marshall Herskovitz and consultants Tim Golden and Craig Chretien; and composer Cliff Martinez
• Twenty-five deleted scenes, with optional commentary by Soderbergh and Gaghan
• Three sets of demonstrations: one on film processing and the look of the Mexico sequences; one on film editing, with commentary by editor Stephen Mirrione; and one on dialogue editing
• Additional unused footage of various scenes, from multiple angles
• Theatrical trailers and television spots
• Gallery of trading cards depicting the U.S. Customs canine squad used to detect narcotics and illegal substances
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Manohla Dargis

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]]> http://www.theblurayblog.com/2011/10/criterion-january-blu-ray-titles-godzilla-belle-de-jour-moment-of-truth-traffic/feed/ 0 http://www.theblurayblog.com/2011/08/criterion-teases-original-1954-godzilla-on-blu-ray/ http://www.theblurayblog.com/2011/08/criterion-teases-original-1954-godzilla-on-blu-ray/#comments Tue, 23 Aug 2011 02:25:51 +0000 Brenden http://www.theblurayblog.com/?p=17252

Hold the phone! What’s this?! Is it possible that Criterion will be gracing us with a cleaned up, tricked out Blu-ray edition of the original 1954 Gojira (more popularly known on these North American shores as Godzilla: King of the Monsters) sometime in the near future? I think it just might happen if the photo below is any indication. Criterion posted it today on their Facebook page – a clear indication that they’ve got the reels in house and are ready to do something with them. So they’re either going to have one hell of a private Gojira screening or they’re preparing to clean that bad boy up for eventual high-def release. I’m betting on the latter.

Some of you might recall that Gojira was released on Blu back in 2009 by Classic Media. While an honest attempt at bringing the lizard to high-def, the transfer was in rough shape, overall quite soft, presented in a strange aspect ratio (1.47:1) and sadly, not worth the upgrade from DVD. Gojira is due for some serious TLC and Criterion are just the folks to offer that print a proper restoration. If they do, they’ll have my dollar.

Fake (but awesome) Criterion cover - Click to enlarge

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]]> http://www.theblurayblog.com/2011/08/criterion-teases-original-1954-godzilla-on-blu-ray/feed/ 1 http://www.theblurayblog.com/2011/03/video-the-girl-who-leapt-through-time-blu-ray-trailer/ http://www.theblurayblog.com/2011/03/video-the-girl-who-leapt-through-time-blu-ray-trailer/#comments Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:39:17 +0000 Brenden http://www.theblurayblog.com/?p=14797

As I understand it, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is one of the greatest animated films ever made. If I had a nickel for every time my anime loving pals (I’m looking at you, Tamu!) have made attempts to lure me/pressure me/force me to watch it, well, I’d probably have a few nickels. You have to understand though, it’s not that I’m actively trying to avoid the film. It’s that every opportunity to see it has been via shaky looking download or aged, frighteningly standard-def DVD (yeah, sue me, I’m an HD snob). And if the film is really that good, I’m content to wait to experience it on the big screen at a festival or on Blu-ray. Well, on April 26th, Bandai will release The Girl Who Leapt Through Time on Blu-ray and I’ll no longer have any excuse to avoid it. Bring it on, Bandai! Bring it on!

THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME
(April 26, 2011 – MSRP $39.98)
Video: 1.85:1 1080p
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1

Special Features:

• Main Feature with Storyboards
• Audio Commentary with Mamoru Hosoda (Director), Riisa Naka (Makoto), Takuya Ishida (Chiaki) and Mitsutaka Itakura (Kousuke)
• Audio Commentary with Mamoru Hosoda (Director), Toshihiko Ito (Assistant Director) and Hiroyuki Aoyama (Animation Director)
• Direction File (A Talk with the Director, Mamoru Hosoda)
• Premiere Event In Tokyo
• Behind the Scenes at Premiere Event
• Hanako Oku “Garnet” Music Video
• Theatrical Trailer
• Promo Clip

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]]> http://www.theblurayblog.com/2011/03/video-the-girl-who-leapt-through-time-blu-ray-trailer/feed/ 1 http://www.theblurayblog.com/2010/09/new-studio-ghibli-on-blu-ray-laputa-castle-in-the-sky-my-neighbors-the-yamadas/ http://www.theblurayblog.com/2010/09/new-studio-ghibli-on-blu-ray-laputa-castle-in-the-sky-my-neighbors-the-yamadas/#comments Mon, 13 Sep 2010 13:54:31 +0000 Brenden http://www.theblurayblog.com/?p=11850

This is extraordinary news! According to pre-order listings on Amazon.jp, Studio Ghibli‘s next two Blu-ray releases will be Hayao Miyazaki‘s 1986 Laputa, Castle in the Sky and his partner, Isao Takahata‘s 1999 comedy, My Neighbors the Yamadas.

You might recall that Yamadas was long rumoured to be the first Ghibli Blu-ray disc release, following Ponyo. However, the less-popular title was temporarily shelved in favour of bringing the studio’s first film to Blu-ray - Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, released to great success in Japan on July 14th (read our follow up story here.) While none of these titles have yet to be announced for domestic release here in North America, we can expect to hear something soon, seeing as how plans are afoot for UK and Aussie releases before the end of the year.

Both Laputa and Yamadas will be in Japanese shops on December 22nd.

LAPUTA, CASTLE IN THE SKY
(December 22, 2010 – MSRP ￥ 7,140)
Video: 1.85:1 1080p
Audio: Japanese 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio (French, German, Korean, Cantonese, Mandarin DD 2.0 audio)
Subs: Japanese, English, French, Korean, Chinese (simplified and traditional) and Finnish

Special Features:

• North American edition of the movie with DD 5.1 English audio and Japanese subs
• Picture in Picture content (Storyboards)
• “Screenplay” (Afureko daihon)
• Isolated opening and ending (without credits text)
• Trailers and TV Spots

MY NEIGHBORS THE YAMADAS
(December 22, 2010 – MSRP ￥ 7,140)
Video: 1.85:1 1080p
Audio: Japanese 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (English, German in 5.1 DD and Korean, Mandarin in 2.0 DD)
Subs: Japanese, English, French, Korean, Chinese and German

Special Features:

• Nippon TV “Making Of” special (45min)
• Storyboards
• “Screenplay” (Afureko daihon)
• Trailers
• TV Spot

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I think writer/director/animator Hayao Miyazaki is an absolute genius and, after years and years of having to import his films through dubious channels we’re very lucky to finally have them available to us on home video. But I think it goes without saying that, while I’m pleased to have them in my home on DVD, I’d much rather have nice, new HD transfers on Blu-ray. Especially after seeing what Studio Ghibli‘s films can look like in high-def thanks to the brilliant Ponyo disc (read my full, gushing review here!)

All three of these Studio Ghibli films were previously released on DVD by Disney between 2003 – 2006. I compared the old discs with the new and discovered that all films are derived from the same transfers. Nothing new in that department. The feature discs themselves in each 2-disc set aren’t identical however, as there have been slight changes in trailers and menus. The greatest change you’ll find in these three new DVD sets is in the bonus feature department.

The second disc in each set features the bonus content and let me tell you, it’s a relative wealth of extras! Where the previous sets simply offered a storyboard-version of the film, these re-releases give you that and so much more. Utilizing the same design as the Ponyo disc, each bonus disc menu ushers you into “The World of Ghibli” which contains both the useless (but potentially fun for the under-5 set) interactive The World of Ghibli – Enter the Lands nonsense as well as The World of Ghibli – Behind the Studio – a series of short, candid interviews with Miyazaki, his composer Joe Hisaishi and producer Toshio Suzuki. The Hisaishi piece is, sadly, identical on each disc but aside from that, each little featurette is quite wonderful and almost worth the price of the upgrade for die-hard fans like myself.

Each bonus disc also features a film-related English subtitled sequence from The Scenery In Ghibli : Japan in Miyazaki’s Work / European Journey To Meet Miyazaki’s Work Blu-ray, which is an incredible addition to these US/Canadian DVDs!

All of the bonus features from the old DVDs have been carried forward, save for the inclusion of the credit-less opening and closing animation of Totoro.

Watching the Totoro, Kiki and Castle DVDs on my new Samsung LN40B750 made it quite clear that these films are not yet ready for Blu-ray. A lot of work is going to have to be done to get the films in shape for HD. Especially since we’ve now seen Ponyo on Blu-ray and know how brilliant these films can look in 1080p. If the rumours are to be believed, Miyazaki’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind will be making its way to Blu-ray this summer in Japan. I’ve got my fingers crossed that a North American release will follow quickly on its heels.

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I watched Blood: The Last Vampire on Blu-ray a couple of nights ago and I’m struggling to tell you what the hell it was all about. I’ll tell you this though, it looks fantastic, sounds fantastic and has some of the coolest martial-arts that I’ve seen on screen in a long, long time. And I’ve seen a lot of martial-arts films lately!

Apparently there are vampires in this film. I know this because of the title. But you wouldn’t know it from watching. I mean, some of the characters kind-of look vampiric but everyone who is evil and sporting fangs or wings or what-have-you is referred to as a demon. All right. I’ll take it. This is a world filled with demons. And in among them, trying her damndest to wipe them all out is a half-blood girl (human and demon!) named Saya, played by Gianna Jun (aka popular Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun). She works for a mysterious “council”, wears a school-girl outfit and slices the crap out of anyone who she suspects to be a vamp…um, I mean, a demon. This all sounds so cool on the surface. And we’ve seen the concept play out before in Blade and Buffy, proving it can be done well and that we’ll come back time and again to enjoy it. But it just doesn’t really work in Blood: The Last Vampire. And it’s because the script doesn’t give the set-up a chance. It doesn’t give the characters a chance.

From the first frames of the film we really want to connect with Saya. We want to like her a lot. And Gianna does a great job getting us there with what little she’s given. But the script fights her at every turn. She isn’t given much to do outside of brood and fight. And anything or anyone who has history with her, from her family, to the head demon she hunts, to the “council” is so shrouded in mystery that it bears little-to-no weight upon the story. And while the script uses most of these details to spring an Empire Strikes Back style twist on us at the end, we never truly find out who these council jokers are and why Saya works for them. But ultimately, very little of the story details matter. They are used to take us from battle to battle. And oh, what battles they are!

Cory Yuen (Transporter 2, X-Men) has choreographed some fantastic martial arts battles for Blood: The Last Vampire. And they are staged, lit and photographed magnificently! Sadly, because of the lack of story, they tend get a little repetitive and allow the horrible CGI to distract. For every demon limb or head that gets hacked off, gallons of poorly rendered blood is spilled. And when it looks this crappy, you can’t help but stare at it and wonder what the filmmakers were thinking. And don’t even get me started on the demons in their true form. It’s like a little stop-motion creature just leapt off an old Technicolor frame of a Harryhausen film and into slick, HD-land. Yikes! Really bad CGI. I don’t think I’ve seen effects this poor in years.

What’s not bad at all is the amazing, reference quality transfer of the Blood: The Last Vampire Blu-ray Disc. This thing looks incredible! One of the best Blu-ray discs I’ve had the pleasure to look at. And, if you can believe it, the disc sounds even better than it looks! This is the Blu-ray you want to put in to prove to your neighbours that you’ve got the best sound system on the block. Consider me blown away! Sony has really hit a home run with this Blu-ray.

The bonus features on the disc are fairly slim but offer a glimpse into the making of the film. There is near-20 minute featurette on the making-of the film. You’ll get to see a lot of behind-the-scenes shots but very little discussion about how it was actually made. The 17 minute “Battling Demons: Behind the Stunts” allows a more in-depth look at the action sequences and fantastic martial arts work that went into the film. There is also a Blu-ray exclusive series of storyboard galleries.

Previously on The Blu-ray Blog: Blood: The Last Vampire (2009 – Live Action) Coming to Blu-ray in October

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