This week’s got something for everyone – a bat-shit crazy asian-western, straight-up Shakespeare, comedy/drama set in the 70s, one of the best seasons of any TV show you’ll see this year, all topped off by another stellar release from The Criterion Collection! Who could blame you for not knowing where to start this week?
Get ready to experience one of the most colourful, gorgeous transfers you’re bound to see all year on Blu-ray! Black Orpheus is truly a feast for the senses, updating the classic Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice for the 20th Century, setting the story during the carnival in Rio de Janeiro, and steeping it in the amazing bossa nova sounds of Antonio Carlos Jobim! There’s a reason that Marcel Camus’ film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and the Academy Award for best foreign film. Don’t miss it in this incredible Blu-ray edition from Criterion!
Special Features:
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Archival interviews with director Marcel Camus and actress Marpessa Dawn
- New video interviews with Brazilian cinema scholar Robert Stam, jazz historian Gary Giddins, and Brazilian author Ruy Castro
- Looking for “Black Orpheus,” a French documentary about Black Orpheus’s cultural and musical roots and its resonance in Brazil today
- Theatrical trailer
- Optional English-dubbed soundtrack
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Michael Atkinson
![Dexter: The Fourth Season [Blu-ray]](/wp_content/uploads/2010/08/51upMQVUsuL._SL500_AA300__150x150.jpg "Dexter: The Fourth Season [Blu-ray]")
I can’t even begin to tell you how much this fourth season of Dexter is like crack! Once you stop, you just can’t start. I was really averse to checking this show out for quite a long time. I just really didn’t dig the premise – cop moonlights as serial-killer/vigilante. I know it sounds like so much junk on the surface but the characters are rich and fully realized and the plotting is absolutely fearless. I can’t accentuate that word enough when describing this show and particularly this season – FEARLESS! The Blu-ray is balls-to-the-wall awesome in its technical presentation but lacks much in the way of special features. But who cares when the show itself kicks so much ass! Start watching now if you’re not hooked already.
![Cemetery Junction [Blu-ray]](/wp_content/uploads/2010/08/51qwdfd3_L._SL500_AA300__150x150.jpg "Cemetery Junction [Blu-ray]")
I fully understand that this won’t be a very popular sentiment, but Cemetery Junction is one hell of a great little film. One of the most enjoyable I’ve watched all year, in fact! It’s a light, comedy-infused drama from the brilliant minds of The Office creative team of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (who both wrote and directed the film!), both of whom turn up on screen in smaller yet brilliant roles. Aside from being a brilliant film about growing up in 1970s England, the Blu-ray is so packed full of amazing bonus features, you’ll feel like you’re getting two entire, extremely entertaining packages for one price!
Cemetery Junction comes to Blu-ray today with my highest recommendation!
4. THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD
![The Good, the Bad, the Weird [Blu-ray]](/wp_content/uploads/2010/08/51OuBaRTaLL._SL500_AA300__150x150.jpg "The Good, the Bad, the Weird [Blu-ray]")
Wow. We just finished watching Ji-Woon Kim‘s absolutely insane The Good, The Bad, The Weird and it’s totally done my head in. What did I just see there up on screen?! A western? An Indiana Jones-style adventure film? Or some bat-shit nuts asian pop-culture mash-up? Any way you slice it, the film is boat loads of fun and you won’t regret giving a couple hours of your time over to it. It looks stellar on Blu-ray, with tons of great extras. My only gripe comes in the form of a complaint about the lack of proper English subtitles on the E1 release I screened. It’s French or “English for the hearing impaired” or nothing on that disc. And lemme tell you, you’ll get a bit tired of reading about how the wind is blowing or that there is a train whistle in the distance pretty quickly. Sigh…
5. HAMLET
I’ve still never had an opportunity to see Kenneth Branagh‘s epic, and mostly unabridged take on the Danish Prince play. I’m excited to finally check it out, and get my hands on Warner‘s new deluxe Blu-ray edition of Hamlet, complete with nice, hardcover digi-book packaging. I’m hearing mixed reviews about the transfer at the moment but without seeing it firsthand I can’t speak to the concerns about the image one way or the other. But rest assured, I’ll pop it in and let you know how it comes across the moment my screener arrives!
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:
![Casshern Sins: Part 1 [Blu-ray]](/wp_content/uploads/2010/08/51FRS7saz9L._SL500_AA300__150x150.jpg "Casshern Sins: Part 1 [Blu-ray]")
![Casshern Sins: Part 2 [Blu-ray]](/wp_content/uploads/2010/08/519oqCMGyL._SL500_AA300__150x150.jpg "Casshern Sins: Part 2 [Blu-ray]")
![Nanny McPhee [Blu-ray]](/wp_content/uploads/2010/08/61_Cx_RWkxL._SL500_AA300__150x150.jpg "Nanny McPhee [Blu-ray]")
![The City of Your Final Destination [Blu-ray]](/wp_content/uploads/2010/08/51p9Lu7qtLL._SL500_AA300__150x150.jpg "The City of Your Final Destination [Blu-ray]")
![DOA: Dead or Alive [Blu-ray]](/wp_content/uploads/2010/08/61wzztCF9L._SL500_AA300__150x150.jpg "DOA: Dead or Alive [Blu-ray]")
![Skellig: The Owl Man [Blu-ray]](/wp_content/uploads/2010/08/61uwbqyXEOL._SL500_AA300__150x150.jpg "Skellig: The Owl Man [Blu-ray]")
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I’ll admit that Zhivago has never been my favourite of Lean’s films. I mean, what movie can honestly hold its own against the cinematic perfection that is Lawrence of Arabia or Great Expectations? Warner Home Video‘s new Blu-ray disc has, however, given me new appreciation for the film and, I dare say, allows it to stand among the best of Lean’s work, in my eyes.
This is an astonishing, subtle adaptation of Boris Pasternak’s nobel award winning novel of the same name – a very human story of a man, a poet caught up in the Russian revolution, whose love is torn between his adoring family and a passionate affair with his mistress. I make it sound so simple but there’s really nothing simple about this story. It’s as emotionally complex as a genuine human feeling. The audience may wince as Zhivago gives in to his passions with another woman, but they never hate him for it. He’s so real, up there on the screen, portrayed to utter perfection by Omar Sharif, that we can’t help but empathize with his plight. We feel for him. We feel his conflict as he struggles to make his way through bloody battlefields and harsh seasons, fighting to keep his family and hope alive all the while holding onto the glimmer of inspiration that might reignite his spirit and bare the artistic fruit that will transcend his time and condition. And that’s ultimately what this film is all about – the nature of the human condition and its ability to persevere. And in the hands of anyone less than Lean, Zhivago, as a film, might not have.
It’s not every director who has the power to realize a novel like Pasternak’s, able to illustrate subtle human drama against grand vistas – epic filmmaking at its finest! And Zhivago has it all – beautiful cinematography by Freddie Young (with some scenes shot by Nicolas Roeg,) stunning, grand production design by John Box and a very famous, moving score by Maurice Jarre. This is not only one of the best, most important films of the sixties, but of all time. Any self-respecting film buff or Blu-ray fan owes it to themselves to add this disc to their collection.
And what an incredible disc it is! Warner appears to have pulled out all the stops to restore and remaster Doctor Zhivago for Blu-ray. The results are quite breathtaking. The film has likely not looked this good since its premiere in 1965 (which was a cut of the film sadly not represented here or perhaps in existence anywhere, as the studio forced ongoing changes to Zhivago during its initial run.) Let me be clear, however – despite the restoration, this does not look anywhere near as clean and clear as modern film. So, those looking for the next Star Trek will be disappointed. Film buffs will weep and marvel and this discs clarity. The colour accuracy and the detail are remarkable! I did note a few anomalies in the image though. There were a couple of instances – one at around the 1:40 mark and the other in the last scene – where snow and water appeared to exhibit a strange circular banding. It won’t distract the casual viewer but it keeps the disc from being perfect in my mind.
There are enough extras in this Doctor Zhivago: 45th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Disc set to please even the most demanding fan, beginning with the beautiful 48-page hardcover digibook packaging. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…I’m a sucker for these things. The Blu-ray disc housing the feature also includes an engaging commentary track with Sharif, the director’s widow, Sandra Lean and the late Rod Steiger, who portrayed the villain in the piece, Komarovsky. Disc one of the set also features a 40-minute doc, split in two called “Doctor Zhivago: A Celebration“, which gives us the chance to learn what other Hollywood creatives like Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan writer/director Nicholas Meyer think of the film and how it influenced their work. Disc two is reserved for additional special features including the highlight of the set, the hour-long “Doctor Zhivago: The Making of a Russian Epic“, a 1995 retrospective doc hosted by Sharif. The rest of the disc is crammed full of vintage featurettes, screen tests, interviews and more. Also included is a nice little CD soundtrack sampler of Maurice Jarre’s wonderful score, featuring the popular track “Lara’s Theme“.
Most highly recommended!
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]]>This might not be the biggest, most overwhelming release week of the year but there are a couple Blu-ray discs here that any serious collection simply can’t be without. And everything else this week somehow seems lesser as a result. That’s not to say the other films aren’t worth watching but when you’ve got two behemoths of cinema vying for your attention as these discs are, it’s tough to validate giving their competitors even the slightest regard. But then again, there’s Snake Plissken on Blu-ray. What’s a nerd to do?
Saving Private Ryan was sitting in my number two slot in this list for the longest time. And that’s where I would rate it in terms of necessary purchases this week. In terms of the importance of the films as cinema classics. But, I changed my mind at the last minute to better reflect the real world demand for the titles. This is the one most people want. And with good reason. This is a killer Blu-ray disc with a nearly perfect transfer. It could be the new go-to demo disc!
Read more about the Blu-ray disc here: Paramount brings Saving Private Ryan to Blu-ray
Ahhh. David Lean. This is my personal top pick for the week – the disc I’m most desperate to get my dirty little mitts on. Everything Lean touched just screams cinema and “big screen”. The perfect content to bring to Blu! If I’m going to be brutally honest here, I would, of course, rather have Lawrence of Arabia or Bridge on the River Kwai in high-def but watching Doctor Zhivago, in all its restored, 1080p splendour is like the ultimate warm up for those, arguably Lean’s finest and most epic films.
3. TETRO
You know it’s an imperfect Top 5 list when a new Coppola flik pulls in at number 3! But bear with me and with Tetro. It’s an imperfect film from a filmmaker who seems to be slowly but ever so surely crawling out of his two decade long rut. Tetro is no Godfather or The Conversation but it is a thoughtful effort full of ideas. And hey, who doesn’t love Vincent Gallo?!
4. HAMLET
This one is for all you Doctor Who and Star Trek fans out there. Oh yeah, and anyone who just can’t get enough of the old bard. This is Hamlet re-imagined as a modern psychological thriller, starring David Tennant as the tortured Danish prince and Captain Jean-Luc Picard as his treacherous uncle. The language might be old school but everything else about this production is contemporary and quite riveting! A stellar take on an old favourite with a stellar cast!
5. DIRTY DANCING: LIMITED KEEPSAKE EDITION
Word on the street is that this bulked up Dirty Dancing Blu-ray package contains an all new transfer of the film, which easily bests the garbage that Lionsgate foisted on its audience in the earlier 2007 edition of the film. I can’t speak from first-hand experience about the quality of the Blu-ray presentation (still can’t get Lionsgate to acknowledge my existence and send out some screeners!) but I can say that it comes with a 52-page book and a featurette tribute to my boy, Jerry Orbach. Nobody puts Lenny Briscoe in a corner!
ANIME OF THE WEEK: Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE: Collected Memories Box Set
Tsubasa might not be exactly to my tastes but then again, I’m a couple of decades out from the age of its target audience. This is the stuff that my nephew would totally eat up! And this amazing, comprehensive collection from FUNimation really delivers for fans. You get every single episode of the show as well as the “film”, The Princess in the Birdcage (also available this week on the Clamp Double Feature: Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE and xxxHOLiC Blu-ray disc) along with a bunch of decent extras. Be warned, however, that you won’t want to pick this up if you already own the season 1 set as you get both season 1 and 2 in this box. If that’s you then just gran the stand-alone season 2 set. Fans with a keen eye will be happy to learn that transfer quality improves slightly into the second season.
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:
