There’s a lot to like on Blu-ray this week, aside from the discs I’m highlighting, Scroll down to the bottom to check out the four-film Fernando Di Leo crime collection, a couple of seasons of Poirot, new Transformers releases, Rutger Hauer in The Mill and the Cross and so much more.

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: DRIVE

“Ryan Gosling stars as a Hollywood stunt driver for movies by day and moonlights as a wheelman for criminals by night. Though a loner by nature, “Driver” can’t help falling in love with his beautiful neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan), a young mother dragged into a dangerous underworld by the return of her ex-convict husband. After a heist goes wrong, Driver finds himself driving defense for the girl he loves, tailgated by a syndicate of deadly serious criminals (Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman). Soon he realizes the gangsters are after more than the bag of cash and is forced to shift gears and go on the offense. “

Drive is one of the best films of 2011, hands down. It might be the best movie I had the opportunity to see in theatres last year. And I’m super excited about its release on Blu-ray today. I didn’t receive an early screener to review (apparently Alliance, the distributor here in Canada, aren’t making them available to the press) but, if the early word is on the money, this is a killer disc as well. Yep. No bones about it. I’m going to be hitting up the old Future Shop by my office to grab up one of these bad boys as soon as possible.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Five behind-the-scenes featurettes:
  • Drive Without A Driver: Talking with Director Nicolas Winding Refn
  • I Drive
  • Under The Hood
  • Driver and Irene
  • Cut To The Chase

AMAZON: $19.99

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION – THE NEXT LEVEL

“Set in the 24th century, the exploits of the U.S.S. Enterprise continue as it explores the universe, seeking new life and new worlds.“

Ho. Lee. Crap. I don’t think I’ve been this excited about Star Trek: The Next Generation since way back in the late ’80s. This little sampler Blu-ray, which features three of the most popular episodes of the series (well, four, if you count the 90-minute pilot as two episodes) is simply spectacular and has succeeded in giving me a brutal case of sci-fi-TV blue-balls, the likes of which can only be cured by serving me up with a proper, full and complete Season One boxed set! Seriously, the only drawback of this stellar Blu-ray is the fact that it’s over so quickly and there won’t be any more until much later in the year. And for that reason alone, this is a tough disc to recommend, unless you can grab it up super cheap.

Based purely on its content and its technical handling, though, this is a blind buy. All of the episodes hold up, aside from the obvious weaknesses of the pilot (or any TV pilot, for that matter.) The studio has done a bang-up job scanning the film and transferring it to 1080p digital, as you’d expect after the incredible job they did on the Original series episodes. They’ve recomposited and, in some cases, recreated the standard-def special effects for these discs and they also look amazing. In fact, everything is seamless here, with the exception of a few seconds of muddy SD video (used in place of a strip of film that couldn’t be located, and may be forever lost) that proves the purpose and the quality of these exceptional new transfers. The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 tracks are also quite muscular, considering their age and origins but can’t compete with the clarity and raw power of modern Hollywood soundtracks. There isn’t much to speak of in the way of supplemental material here. Only a few trailers for the Season One set and the iPad app.

AMAZON: $14.99

MALCOLM X

“Filmmaker Spike Lee, actor Denzel Washington and other top talents vividly portray the life and times of Malcolm X. “Here’s a man who rose up from the dregs of society, spent time in jail, reeducated himself and, through spiritual enlightenment, rose to the top,” Lee says. Academy Award winner Washington was an Oscar nominee and the New York, Boston and Chicago Film Critics choice as 1992′s Best Actor.“

Malcolm X finally makes its way to Blu-ray this week, after having been announced for release in years past. I’m happy to say that this announcement was the one that stuck, and the handsome 2-disc digibook package is now available for purchase, just in time to celebrate Black History Month. Lee’s film holds up after twenty years (yes, it’s actually been that long), jam packed with incredible performances (including Washington’s Oscar nominated stunner), gorgeous photography by DOP Ernest Dickerson and Terence Blanchard‘s wonderful score. My problem with this release has nothing to do with the film itself or its packaging but in the fact that Warner have crammed the nearly three-and-a-half hour long film onto a single Blu-ray disc that also includes a bunch of supplements!!

The studio saw fit to split the similarly lengthy Ben-Hur up onto two discs, to allow the encode to breathe a bit and to take advantage of all the benefits the format has to offer. I’m not sure what they were thinking here (well, yes, I think I can guess that it has to do with money) but Malcolm X would’ve been better off split in two. That said, Warner manage to deliver a very attractive and film-like high-def presentation that’s unquestionably the best the film has ever looked on home video. Grain is present, colours pop and contrast seems spot on. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is equally strong but generally front and center heavy.

Bonus features have been carried over from the previously released DVD and include an excellent, information packed commentary from Spike Lee, Ernest Dickerson, Barry Alexander Brown and Ruth Carter. There’s also the half-hour long ‘By Any Means Necessary: The Making of Malcolm X‘ and 20-minutes worth of deleted scenes with Lee intros to check out (didn’t I tell you there was a lot of stuff crammed on this one disc?) The digibook package houses a second disc as well – a DVD containing the 90-minute long Malcolm X documentary from 1972. The 40-page book includes an essay entitled “Spike Lee: Meeting Controversy Head On” along with a timeline.

AMAZON: $29.99

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

“Gregory Peck won an Oscar for his brilliant performance as the Southern lawyer who defends a black man accused of rape in this film version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The way in which it captures a time, a place, and above all, a mood, makes this film a masterpiece. The setting is a dusty Southern town during the Depression. A white woman accuses a black man of rape. Though he is obviously innocent, the outcome of his trial is such a foregone conclusion that no lawyer will step forward to defend him – except Peck, the town’s most distinguished citizen. His compassionate defense costs him many friendships but earns him the respect and admiration of his two motherless children.“

I love To Kill A Mockingbird and can’t wait to get my hands on this new Blu-ray from Universal. I understand that the studio have done a great job with this disc, given the surviving elements. Archivist Robert A. Harris has a nice write up of the disc over at hometheaterforum.com including a history of the film and the restoration of its elements.

AMAZON: $17.99

MONKEYBONE

“After a car crash sends repressed cartoonist Stu Miley (Brendan Fraser) into a coma, he and the mischievous Monkeybone, his hilarious horny alter-ego, wake up in a wacked-outawaystation for lost souls. When Monkeybone takes over Stu’s body and escapes to wreak havoc on the real world, Stu has to find a way to stop him before his sister pulls the plug on reality forever! ”Saturday Night Live”’s Chris Kattan, Bridget Fonda and Whoopi Goldberg co-star in this inventive blend of live action and stop-motion animation, loaded with must-see, eye-popping F/X and some of the crudest, laugh-out-loud humor since ”South Park”. “

Oh wow, is Monkeybone ever tough to sit through. But I can totally see where director Henry Selick (Coraline, The Nightmare Before Christmas) was trying to go with it. As it stands, the film is a confused mess of live action comedians doing their level best to mesh with a half-realized world of stop motion mayhem. And there are moments of pure genius there, where you almost want to jump out of your seat and scream “Yes!” but they’re tempered with a third act that goes off the rails, and feels like a bad, overlong Saturday Night Live skit. It’s common knowledge that the studio pulled the rug out from under the production leaving Selick to pick up the pieces and make what he could with what he had. And with that in mind, Monkeybone is worth a look. Fans of the director/animator will certainly want to check it out.

Anchor Bay does a solid job with the Monkeybone Blu-ray disc, serving up a colourful, detailed transfer that actually manages to add some sizzle to the film. If you’ve only ever seen it on DVD or (gasp!) VHS, you might want to give it another look on Blu. That extra ‘POP’ goes a long way here. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack is active and dynamic for its age but can’t compete with modern Hollywood fare. There are, sadly, no bonus features to enjoy on the disc – a real lost opportunity to discuss the finer, animated elements of the film along with the squabbles and lack of financing that spoiled it, if you ask me.

AMAZON: $15.49

GRAND CANYON

“When a lawyer’s (Kevin Kline) car breaks down in a dangerous Los Angeles neighborhood, a tow-truck driver (Danny Glover) arrives just in time to save his life. The two men begin a deep friendship that sets off a chain of unsettling and surprising events involving their families and friends for years to come. Lawrence Kasdan’s powerful, uplifting film about the harsh realities of contemporary urban life co-stars Steve Martin, Mary McDonnell, Mary-Louise Parker and Alfre Woodward. “

I loved Grand Canyon a lot when I first saw it, way back in the ’90s, when it was released. I love it a lot less now that I’ve watched the new Blu-ray from Anchor Bay but not as a result of anything the film or disc does wrong. Okay, the film does one thing completely wrong – there’s a dream sequence, that I had completely blocked from my memory, that goes on forever and sucks the life out of the narrative – and I find it shocking that a filmmaker of Kasdan’s ability would miss its suckiness! But outside of that drastic misstep, the only issue I have with the film is that it feels so dated. It’s such a product of the ’90s, from the clothes, the new-age style of the score, right down to the way the dialogue is handled. I think it all totally worked at the time but the window dressing here just doesn’t hold up. The narrative, however, and the performances are all around excellent. It’s a nuanced, surprising story well told, with interesting, well rounded characters. I still like Grand Canyon and love, love, love Kasdan’s work on the whole (c’mon, dude wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark!) but if you’re averse to watching sentimental dramas steeped in decades old cultural cues, you might think twice about sitting down with the film.

Grand Canyon probably looks as good as it ever will on this new Blu-ray disc. But it’s a damn soft presentation. In fact, it quite often looks only a slight tick above the level of a standard-def DVD. Detail is sometimes excellent and colours always impress, but this is overall an unimpressive, if not source-accurate, transfer. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 is a bit of all right, though, far more dynamic and immersive than most dramas tend to be. Much like Monkeybone – and, I imagine, all Fox catalogue releases from Anchor Bay – there are no special features on the disc.

AMAZON: $15.99

NEW FROM MIRAMAX/LIONSGATE

Miramax and Lionsgate are unleashing a torrent of Academy Award winning heavyweights on Blu-ray this week. I haven’t gotten my hands on a one of them yet but early reviews are resoundingly positive on every title. Considering that they’re all priced to move, you can’t go wrong grabbing up any of your favs from this bunch.

AMAZON: $9.99 – $15.99

NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS

It was released as SECOND HOUSE ON THE LEFT, NEW HOUSE ON THE LEFT, and TORTURE TRAIN. The ads screamed, “Most movies last less than two hours! This is one of everlasting torment!” It remains one of the most graphically fiendish films in exploitation history, the story of two teenage girls traveling through Europe, forced into a nightmare of sexual assault and sadistic violence. Irene Miracle (INFERNO, MIDNIGHT EXPRESS), Flavio Bucci (SUSPIRIA), Macha Meril (DEEP RED), and Marina Berti (WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOUR DAUGHTERS?) star in this depraved shocker directed by Aldo Lado (SHORT NIGHT OF GLASS DOLLS, WHO SAW HER DIE?) and featuring a haunting score by Ennio Morricone (THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE). Experience evil gone off the rails: NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS is now presented in a brand-new High Definition transfer from the original uncensored negative!

I don’t know if you’ve got the stomach for this, but if you’re the sort who enjoys a Blue Underground Blu-ray, you’re probably as excited as I am to pick up a copy of Night Train Murders. There’s no doubt that this will be the best this gore-fest has ever looked on home video but what I’m aching to hear is Morricone’s score in the new lossless DTS-HD track! This isn’t the most feature-rich BU disc to hit shops but it does sport an interview with Co-Writer/Director Aldo Lado, some radio spots and the trailers for the film.

AMAZON: $26.99

DREAM HOUSE

“Successful publisher Will Atenton (Daniel Craig) quit a job in New York City to relocate his wife, Libby (Rachel Weisz), and two girls to a quaint New England town. But as they settle into their new life, they discover their perfect home was the murder scene of a mother and her children. And the entire city believes it was at the hands of the husband who survived. When Will investigates the tragedy, his only lead comes from Ann Paterson (Naomi Watts), a neighbour who was close to the family that died. As Will and Ann piece together the disturbing puzzle, they discover that the story of the last man to leave Will’s dream house will be just as horrifying to the one who came next.“

Dream House is weird. I mean, my most cutting criticism of it is the goddamn marketing of the film – If you watch the theatrical trailer most all of the twists and turns of the plot will be spoiled for you. What a piss off! There’s a whole lot wrong with the way the film is handled but the one thing it might have done for me is offer up a shocking twist. But it didn’t even get the chance to do that, as I had the unfortunate pleasure of sitting through a spoilerific trailer for the film only a few days prior to my screening of it. Sigh.

In any case, I was actually shocked at one aspect of the film, truth be told – and that’s the fact that it’s directed by Jim Sheridan (In the Name of the Father!) This kind of psychological horror seems outside of his comfort zone. But kudos to him fro trying. Ultimately, though, the narrative here just doesn’t hold together. Without spoiling too much I’ll just say that the antagonist doesn’t add up to much and feels rather tacked on at the end of the film. After all of Craig’s agonizing, there’s just not much pay-off. This is, however, one of the strongest casts I’ve seen in a film recently and their work is almost enough to keep you invested in it. Caleb Deschanel‘s photography is also quite fine, as per his usual.

The Dream House Blu-ray does Deschanel proud, presenting his work in a faithful and sumptuous light. Colours are bold and blacks deep here. The image is often soft, however, but that’s part of the intended look of the film. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is also a touch softer than you’d expect, but again, that’s part of the design. This is a solid, clear track with excellent dynamic range and just enough atmosphere to heighten the creep-factor.

The Canadian edition of the Dream House Blu-ray seems to have a few extra interviews on it, with cast members and crew, but otherwise special features mimic the Universal disc from the US – a host of short, EPK-style featurettes and trailers.

AMAZON: $19.99

Only in Canada: CELL 211

“The story of two men on different sides of a prison riot — the inmate leading the rebellion and the young guard trapped in the revolt, who poses as a prisoner in a desperate attempt to survive the ordeal. “

I always feel a little better about our country when we Canadians get an exclusive release. I don’t think Daniel Monzón‘s Cell 211 is the best Spanish film I’ve seen recently, despite the fact that it swept up a bajillion Goya awards in 2010 and is set to be re-made by Hollywood, but it makes for a solid evening of prison-riot entertainment.

It’s Juan’s (Alberto Ammann) first day on the job at the prison when a riot breaks out. He’s trapped inside with a rowdy horde of inmates who believe he’s one of them. Juan tries his best to navigate his way out of the touchy situation, past murderous lifer Malamadre (Luis Tosar) and the prison bars, back to his pregnant wife waiting on the other side. Elements of the plot come off as silly or rather ‘convenient’ at times and betray any authenticity the film might have had. But it never fails to ratchet up the tension and provide the kind of lock-up thrills you hope for in this sort of prison drama. Cell 211 never approaches the better episodes of Oz, and never really gets inside your head or your gut, but it’s got enough charm and vigor to provide a good night’s cinematic fun.

Cell 211 looks pretty decent on this Blu-ray from eOne. I suspect that the transfer is accurate to the source material but you’ll notice detail come and go, dependent on shot type and scene. Colour and blacks are always solid, though, in this reasonably film-like presentation. Audio is available in the original Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or a French DTS-HD dub. There are, sadly, no special features on the disc.

AMAZON: CDN$ 25.49

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:

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One of the bestestest and funniestest flicks ever made is coming to Blu-ray in just over a month’s time. Monty Python and the Holy Grail is probably the least likely film to benefit from a transfer to high-def but I’m anxious to see what Grover Crisp and his wizards over at Sony digital can do with the muddy, low-def elements of the 1975 no-budget comedy film. It’s a favourite of mine and if it can benefit from the format, I’ll be the first to trumpet that fact to the world.

The studio is also launching an iPad app on the same day that is said to offer further insights into the making of the film. As far as I know, this is Sony’s first foray into the iApp world, so it’s tough to say how this will work out. I will say that as a $4.99 supplement, they’ll be hard pressed to rope the more moderate Python fans in, even with the $5 rebate coupon. More details in the PR below…

From the press release:

“From the fertile minds of the 20th Century’s most brilliant and outrageous comedy troupe comes their most highly regarded comedy classic – Monty Python and the Holy Grail – debuting on Blu-ray™ March 6th from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Canada. Their second feature film stars Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin as we follow King Arthur and his knights in their search for the Holy Grail. Encounter the Black Knight, the Killer Rabbit, The Knights Who Say ‘Ni’! and the Black Beast of Aaaargh! The Blu-ray set is brimming with coconuts, shrubberies and swallows (African or European), OOPS, we mean loads of bonus materials, including over thirty minutes of new Blu-ray exclusive special features. This medieval madness will be available on Blu-ray for $19.99 SRP.

Also debuting on March 6 is the first Monty Python interactive iTunes app. “The Holy Book of Days” is a rich companion to the film, letting fans explore each of the 28 days of the filming of the movie through outtakes, diaries, audio recordings, scripts, and scores of stills. New illustrations, animations, and the story of the filming in the Pythons’ own words make each day of the Holy Grail come alive. The app offers a second screen experience too, letting users control and navigate the Blu-ray™ from the iPad. “The Holy Book of Days” will be available for $4.99 in the App Store. For a limited time, Sony is offering a $5 mail-in rebate when consumers purchase both the Blu-ray and iTunes app. “

MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL
(April 6, 2012 – MSRP $19.99)
Video: 1.66:1 1080p
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Special Features

Blu-ray Exclusive:

• The Film re-mastered to high definition standards never before seen
• The Holy Book of Days Second Screen Experience
• Lost Animations with introduction by Terry Gilliam
• Outtakes & Extended Scenes with introduction by Terry Jones

Blu-ray Features:

• Scintillating commentaries by Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones and even more revealing commentaries by John Cleese, Eric Idle & Michael Palin
• Quest for the Holy Grail Locations with Michael Palin & Terry Jones
• Lego Knights: The Knights of the Round Table in Lego
• Special Japanese Version
• How To Use Your Coconuts (an educational film)
• BBC Film Night on location
• Three Songs to sing-along
• Cast Directory Photo Gallery

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Happy 2012, everybody! Sorry for bailing on you the last couple of weeks but between work, band and family obligations (and the need to take a few days to just unwind) I just couldn’t steal enough time away to update the blog. But this week, I’m bound and bet to get this thing back on track, starting here, with a release update of the last couple of weeks worth of Blu-ray discs. I haven’t gotten very far into this week’s yet but I promise I’m on top of it. I’ll try to have it up for you before too long.

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.

DECEMBER 20

Blu-ray disc of the week: WARRIOR

“Haunted by a tragic past, ex-Marine Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy) returns home for the first time in fourteen years to enlist the help of his father (Nick Nolte) to train for the biggest winner-takes-all event in mixed martial arts history. A former wrestling prodigy, Tommy blazes a path toward the championship while his brother, Brendan (Joel Edgerton), an ex-fighter-turned teacher, returns to the ring in a desperate bid to save his family from financial ruin. But when Brendan’s unlikely underdog rise sets him on a collision course with the unstoppable Tommy, the two brothers must finally confront each other and the forces that pulled them apart, facing off in the most intense winner-takes-all battle of their lives.“

The publication I pour my office hours into had very few kind words for Warrior. But damn, if I didn’t enjoy the hell out of it! In fact, my girlfriend proclaimed upon the credits beginning to roll that we might have just taken in the finest film of 2011! Now, I wouldn’t quite go that far (keep in mind, this enthusiastic review is from the girl who proclaimed The A-Team to be the finest film of 2010) but despite a familiar plot, some ham-fisted devices and dialogue and a run-time around two and a half hours, it’s just tough to hate on Warrior. The three leads are simply astounding (there’s Oscar talk surrounding Nolte’s work here), the fighting is fantastic and the whole thing just drives forward, to the extent that it feels like a tight 90-minute fight film. If you don’t enjoy Warrior you’re probably trying too hard.

Warrior looks and sounds great on Blu-ray. It probably won’t be your demo disc but it’s not far off, sporting a crisp, detailed transfer and three different (English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, 5.1 and DD 2.0) and very muscular sound mixes – one to suit every home theatre set-up. Special features include an excellent picture-in-picture track, a commentary track, a deleted scene, gag reel and a ton of featurettes. This is a great package!

Recommended!

Special Features:

• Enhanced Viewing Mode for the feature film
• Audio commentary
• “Making of” documentary
• MMA strategy feature
• Gag reel
• Deleted scene

AMAZON: CDN$ 25.99

Also available: WARRIOR (US Edition)

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

“This is a romantic comedy set in Paris about a family that goes there because of business, and two young people who are engaged to be married in the fall have experiences there that change their lives. It’s about a young man’s great love for a city, Paris, and the illusion people have that a life different from theirs would be much better. “

Of all the recent Woody Allen films, of which there seem to be quite a few, this is the one I’ve been dying to see most. And the incredible buzz surrounding it seems to bear out my enthusiasm. I didn’t receive a screener of Midnight in Paris, so I can’t comment on the disc itself but this is, without question, the Blu-ray I’m most excited to get my hands on this week.

AMAZON: $19.99

COLOMBIANA

“From writer/producer Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, Leon: The Professional ) comes Colombiana. Zoe Saldana plays a young woman who has grown up to be an assassin after witnessing the murder of her parents as a child. Turning herself into a professional killer, she remains focused on her ultimate goal: to hunt down and get revenge on the mobster responsible for her parents’ deaths. “

If you’re familiar with the films of Luc Besson you know exactly what to expect here. And if you know his films and don’t care for Colombiana, you probably shouldn’t have watched it in the first place. Critics have been tough on the film but to me, it’s really par for the course for Besson. It delivers plenty of thrills, a familiar structure (really, if you’ve seen La Femme Nikita and Leon: The Professional, you already know this story) and a smoking hot, ass-kicking Zoe Saldana. Heading into the theatre to watch the film, that’s pretty much exactly what I expected from it. Sure, I was hoping for some surprises – perhaps a more nuaced script or a more imaginative structure – but I enjoyed Colombiana for what it does exceptionally well – action and Saldana.

While critics and audiences might argue the merit of the film itself, there’s no denying that Colombiana looks incredible on Blu-ray! Sony have done it again, closing out the year with one of the best looking high-def presentations of 2011. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is no slouch either, delivering the explosive double-barreled goods through your unsuspecting multichannel system. Extras aren’t crazy on this release, offering only four short featurettes and a half-hour long ‘making-of’ doc that, together, manage to cover a lot of ground. There’s also a digital copy of the film available through the new UltraViolet streaming service.

AMAZON: $19.99

FUTURAMA VOLUME 6

“Blast off your inhibitions as “The Simpsons” creator Matt Groening brings you another far-out collection of “Futurama” fun! In addition to a full payload of outrageous extras not shown on TV, Volume Six delivers 13 mind-Bendering new episodes that involve time travel, self-replication, covert missions, alien eggs, and more robot roughhousing than you can shake a girder at. It’s a scream…the good kind.“

Oh man, if this collection of 13-episodes is anything like the previous Blu-ray release, Futurama: Volume 6 is probably going to make me piss my pants laughing. I had watched the show when it first aired and have always been something of a Simpsons fan but I wasn’t prepared for the sheer hilarity of the previous set of episodes. They were funny, well written and looked great in high-def. I’m expecting great, funny things from Volume 6!!

AMAZON: $24.99

MEDEA

“Based on the Greek classic by Euripides, Pasolini‘s Medea tells the tale of Jason, the leader of the invincible army, and his quest for the Golden Fleece. Meeting the priestess of the Flees, Medea (Maria Callas), Jason falls in love with her and takes her home as she sacrifices everything to be with him, including dismembering her own brother. Years later he spurns her for a new love, the young and beautiful Glauce. Medea, using her witch-craft powers, exacts a terrible revenge upon Jason leading to a terrifying climax where loyalty and betrayal are tried before the altar of human sacrifice. Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini.“

Medea is far from Pasolini’s best or most controversial film but it is worth seeing nonetheless. Avid readers of ancient Greek myths and fans of Harryhausen‘s Jason and the Argonauts will have some familiarity with the tale, but few will expect to experience it with the depth and passion Pasolini has suffused it with. With very little dialogue and without a single musical note sung by the famed soprano playing the title role in the film, Medea is nearly a surreal trip through the powerful, mythic tale. The score by Mikis Theodarakis quite often takes center stage, supplying a sonic landscape that suggests the emotional narrative at the film’s core, grounding the artful images and often neo-realistic moments in the director’s elevated style. This is visceral stuff that, if you’re willing to stick with Pasolini’s unique brand of film-making, is well worth watching.

Medea looks decent on Blu-ray but won’t blow you away. Expectations of the quality of the disc are low to begin with as the source material is far from pretty, and with that in mind, things here look quite nice. Colours are stable, and detail is reasonable but the overall image is quite soft. Audio sounds quite nice on the disc despite the fact that it’s only presented in a compressed Dolby Digital 2.0 track. The recently released BFI Blu-ray in the UK features the same track in lossless LPCM along with a lossless English dub. Yeah, we kind of get the shaft here.

Where eOne makes up for their unfortunate audio gaff is in the special features department, including an incredible feature length doc on Maria Callas. Filmmaker Tony Palmer‘s 90-minute tribute to the opera star is a welcome addition to this Blu-ray package and a must-watch for anyone even mildly touched by the film. The disc is rounded out with the theatrical trailer.

AMAZON: CDN$ 31.99

SAINT (SINT)

“Saint Nicholas is not the good-hearted children’s friend as people think he is. In reality he is a cruel bloodthirsty bishop who, whenever there’s a full moon on December 5, will try to slaughter as many children as possible.“

Dutch filmmaker Dick Maas (Amsterdamned) classifies his latest film, Sint (or, as we call it on these shores, Saint) as an “action horror”. I can’t say he’s so far off the mark. It’s a fun-filled, blood-soaked romp across the rooftops of modern day Amsterdam, following a killer St. Nick, closer in likeness and predilection to Freddy Krueger and Jason Vorhees than Santa Claus, who aims to take as many young lives as he can before his fateful return from the grave comes to an end. If you look too closely, you’ll find some clunky plotting here, as the narrative jumps from the middle ages to the ’60s to present day, weaving unnecessary chunks of story as it goes. But if you’re satisfied to just go along with Maas’ crazy zombie-Santa ride (and if that sort of thing happens to be your cup of tea, as it is mine) you’re bound to have a good time with this yuletide slasher flick.

There’s a great deal of Sint that appears heavily processed, I imagine, to blend Maas’ comparatively low-budget (but nice looking) effects work into the RED-shot footage. The whole affair has a very ‘digital’ look and, while it’s not the sharpest or best looking Blu-ray ever, I believe this new Canadian release from eOne Films to be a solid transfer. Colours are stable, blacks are solid and detail is satisfactory. Audio is presented in the original Dutch in a solid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, as well as being offered in DTS-HD French and English dubs. The sole special feature is a half-hour ‘making of’ program that seems to have been produced for television, as there are breaks clearly left for commercials. The doc is in Dutch, of course, but offered with either English or French subs.

AMAZON: CDN$ 25.49

UNDERWORLD TRILOGY

“There’s more to the Underworld universe than ever before! the essential collection includes all three films, and for the first time ever, exclusive original anime shorts.

Underworld
Underneath the city streets, amid the labyrinth of subway tunnels and gothic ruins, the two most notorious creatures of the night are embroiled in an all-out war that has been going on for centuries. It is the culmination of a blood-thirsty battle between the vampires and their mortal enemies, the werewolves. Stars: Kate Beckinsale (Pearl Harbor, My Life Without Me), Scott Speedman (My Life Without Me, TV’s Felicity).

Underworld: Evolution
The saga continues as the battle rages on between the death dealers (vampires) & the lycans (werewolves) in this fast-paced modern-day tale of deadly action ruthless intrigue & forbidden love all leading to the battle to end all wars as the immortals finally face their retribution.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans delves into the origins of the centuries-old blood feud between the aristocratic vampires, known as Death Dealers, and the barbaric Lycans (werewolves). A young Lycan, Lucian (Michael Sheen), emerges as a powerful leader who rallies the werewolves to rise up against Viktor (Bill Nighy), the cruel vampire king who has persecuted them for hundreds of years. Lucian is joined by his secret lover, the beautiful vampire Sonja (Rhona Mitra), in his battle to free the Lycans from their brutal enslavement. “

I thought I’d give a shout-out to this boxed set, sight unseen, as it’ll most likely prove a pretty good value for fans who don’t yet own the previous releases. Outside of the packaging, the only new content here is the Underworld: Endless War animated feature and some UltraViolet streaming copies of all the films. It sounds like the set doesn’t provide much impetus to upgrade from older releases but there’s enough here for Vampire War noobs to get excited about, that’s for sure.

AMAZON: $34.99

DECEMBER 27

Blu-ray disc of the week: SHAMELESS: THE COMPLETE SEASON 1

“Meet Frank Gallagher, a working-class patriarch who loves his six kids almost as much as he loves booze, cigarettes, his monthly disability check and booze. So he leaves it to eldest daughter Fiona to hold the family together and make sure everyone (except Frank) works to keep the lights on and food on the table. William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum lead a brilliant cast in the complete first season of “Shameless“, a big-hearted, irreverent, outrageous and outrageously funny series in the tradition of… well, nothing. “There’s never been anything like ‘Shameless’ on American TV,” says the Chicago Sun-Times. Break some ground, break some rules with the breakthrough smashed hit about good time, bad times, crazy times – our times.“

Shameless looks like garbage TV, if you go by the Blu-ray cover or any of the marketing materials attached to the show. In fact, I couldn’t even get my girlfriend to watch this new 2-disc boxed set with me based on the look of the disc set sent to me by Warner, until I tricked her into resting on the couch through the pilot episode, while I screened it “for work purposes.” Needless to say, she didn’t sleep a wink and we’re now obsessed with what we’re both certain is the best new show of the past year. Sure, it’s an adaptation of a hit UK show, but when the team responsible for the original version is the one behind the adaptation, it’s a safe bet that something decent will come of it. Creator Paul Abbott and crew have really nailed it with this one. From the stellar cast to the pitch-perfect comedic-yet-touching scripts, every one of the twelve episodes of this first season is a winner. Really looking forward to the second season, which, I believe, starts shortly.

Shameless: The Complete First Season arrives on Blu-ray looking like a million bucks. I didn’t see the episodes as they were broadcast but there is no way they looked even a fraction as good as they do here. Detail is abundant, blacks are deep and colour is vibrant when it’s called for in the mostly dingy, desaturated world of the Gallagher family. The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track is also a winner but, as the show is primarily a chatty dramedy, most of the action will be coming at you front and center. Don’t expect the thunderous bass and gimmicky surround use of Hollywood features to turn up often.

Special features include a couple of decent commentary tracks, deleted scenes on six of the episodes, three interview-heavy featurettes and a preview of Season Two.

AMAZON: $34.99

SID & NANCY

“Gary Oldman (“Batman Begins”) and Chloe Webb (“The Newton Boys”) execute performances that are “nothing short of phenomenal” (Los Angeles Times) as Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious and his unforgettable junkie girlfriend – two social misfits who literally love each other to death. In this “riveting biography of burnt-out icons” (The Washington Post), award-winning writer/director Alex Cox (“Repo Man”) creates “a great film” (Siskel & Ebert) about the destructive lives of two 1970s punk legends. Their love affair is one of pure devotion. Sid falls hard for groupie Nancy Spungen, who seduces him with her affection – and addiction to heroin. Their inseparable bond – to each other and their drugs – eventually corrodes the band, sending Sid and Nancy down a dark road of despair. Out of money, hope and options, the despondent two hit rock bottom while living in squalor at New York’s infamous Hotel Chelsea. But their journey takes yet another tragic turn as they face their final curtain – and attempt to fulfill their destiny of going out in a blaze of glory.“

As is par for the course with Fox and MGM, I haven’t yet laid eyes on the Sid & Nancy Blu-ray disc but I have my usual high-hopes invested in it. From what I understand, it’s a pretty solid release. I’ll give you an update when/if I get a hold of a copy.

AMAZON: $18.49

ALSO AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY THIS WEEK
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Next: Animation on Blu-ray

MORE GIFT IDEAS:

* GIFT & BOXED SETS

You can always tell that the holiday shopping season is approaching when the handsome boxed sets start showing up in stores. This new 13-disc collection of all ten episodes of HBO series Band of Brothers and all ten episodes of its follow up series, The Pacific is a real beaut. From the matte finish of the carboard box (watch out for greasy finger-prints on this one), reflective silver print treatment and hidden, magnetic lid lock, you know you’re in for a treat before you even remove the thick, weighty book from it’s housing. Lifting a ribbon attached to the bottom interior of the box raises the hardcover tome from it’s housing, revealing book-packaging of the sort used for the Rome boxed set, but at twice the width. Most of the glossy pages hold two Blu-ray discs full of episodes, with the exception of the pages that bridge the two series, which houses but a single disc containing the sole new feature in the set – He Has Seen The War, an hour-long documentary featuring the surviving members of both Easy Company and the 1st Marine Division whose exploits are dramatized in the series’. It’s an excellent doc but not worth re-purchasing both Band of Brothers and The Pacific on Blu-ray for, if you already own both boxed sets. The rest of the discs and all their features are identical to those previously available.

Highly recommended for those who don’t already own the series and for those ultimate fans who are completists.

AMAZON: $105.49

Season Three is the most disappointing Clone Wars season yet but it’s still some of the most entertaining, thrilling sci-fi TV out there. The series hits a handful of lows in this collection of 22-episodes, including a three-parter that lingers in a sort of “Force realm” where Anakin is taught allegorical lessons and far too many Jedi-free episodes, that instead feature Jar Jar and the droids. But the season is balanced out with some of the best episodes of the series thus far. The three part “Nightsisters” arc which pits Force-powerful witches and Darth Maul’s brother against the forces of the Jedi and the Sith is as awesome as the Clone Wars has ever been! The transfers are gorgeous, as usual, and audio is finally presented in a lossless format. The standard collection of featurettes and “Jedi Temple” bonuses are present but gone is the fancy digi-book packaging. Season 3 is packed in a run-of-the-mill snapper case, housed in a slipcase. Despite the relative drawbacks of this season set, I still highly recommend it.

AMAZON: $34.99

AMAZON: $22.49

This is a fantastic package. It’s just really unfortunate that this isn’t what the studio released back in March, instead of the two-disc, feature-lite set that most fans picked up. I think they’re going to have a lot of irate customers on their hands – folks who wish they would’ve held off grabbing the first set in favour of waiting for this, more feature-rich release. If you didn’t buy the previous set, this is your huckleberry. If you did and you dig extras, better start looking for a painless way to trade up.

READ MORE: The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season – 3-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $24.99

One of the funniest and finest television comedies in years made its Blu-ray debut this past summer in a 2-disc set that contains all thirteen episodes of the first season. Louie might be a little crass for the most conservative viewers but it’s so original and such a clear breakout hit for comedian and star Louis C.K. that it’s worth a look by even the most timid of sitcom fans. The Blu-ray disc features a nice high-def presentation, culled from digital footage shot on the Red One camera, that only falters during the pilot episode. The 5.1 DTS-HD soundtrack is solid enough for this sort of program – clean and clear but not terribly immersive. There are 11 commentary tracks to check out in the set, over half and hour of deleted content and a 4-minute interview with the star.

AMAZON: $17.99

As usual, Dexter’s family life is in peril (no, I’m not going to tell you what’s tearing them apart this time) and he spends the season trying to sort out his place within it. Seeking solace, he returns to his criminal-eviscerating ways but, in the midst of disposing of one particular serial killer, inadvertently rescues the fiend’s next victim. Lumen, as played by Julia Stiles is damaged from her ordeal but far from helpless. She and Dexter develop a deep connection and open up to one another. But now that she knows the real Dexter, will their shared secrets put them at greater risk or will they become the ultimate dark passenger teamup?

As per Showtime, CBS and Paramount‘s norms, the 3-Disc Dexter: The Fifth Season Blu-ray set is technically marvelous! There aren’t any bonus goodies on the Blu-ray discs themselves but the package claims you’ll be able to access cast and crew interviews as well as episodes of other programs over the BD-Live portal once it goes live.

AMAZON: $40.99

If your loved one is a proper nerd, their fascination with fantasy doesn’t end with guys in capes and warp-drive powered starships. They probably love themselves some good old sword and sorcery too! With that in mind, why not hook them up with the first season of the classic, British Robin of Sherwood series, now on Blu-ray and looking better than ever? This ‘modern’, young take on the story of the bandits of Sherwood forest is far more gripping and real than any version before or since, despite the odd episode that relies too deeply on paganism and magic. The 4-disc set carries over all the special features of the DVDs and is worth every penny.

AMAZON: $59.99

Another year, another couple of boxed set collections of The Simpsons and Futurama. I just gave a thorough once over of the feature-packed Simpsons set in last week’s New Release post so I’ll direct you there if you want to read again about how much I enjoyed this boxed set, despite the fact that the feature content is up-converted from SD. I anxiously await the new Futurama 2-disc Blu-ray set, due for release on December 20th. If it’s anywhere near as good looking and hilarious as last year’s Blu-ray release it’ll be an absolute must-own. Bring it on!

AMAZON: $38.99 and $27.99

Season Three of Fringe continues to follow the exploits of FBI agent Olivia Dunham, crackpot-scientist Walter Bishop and the team as they fight the good fight against the weird stuff that’s taking over their world as a result of a breach into an parallel dimension. The season is compelling as it shifts back and forth between alternate versions of the characters – good Olivia trapped in another universe one episode, bad Olivia in ours the next. The show never ceases to be fun and if you or your loved one already have the first two boxed sets you won’t want to miss this one!

The big news about this boxed set is that Warner has finally seen fit to grace its TV-on-Blu releases with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks instead of the lossy mixes of the past. Fringe: The Complete Third Season is one the first titles to benefit and I expect great things. As usual, the discs are packed with extras including a few commentary tracks, featurettes, a gag reel, trailers and more.

AMAZON: $45.99

HBO‘s New Orleans drama Treme is a tough show to get into, you know, starting off slow and heating up over the course of the first half of this first season. But it’s a commitment that rewards the viewer in the end, leading into a fiery second season, which will be collected on Blu-ray before you can say “Chicken Gumbo”. This Blu-ray disc set looks and sounds great, as I’m sure you’d expect from HBO. As there’s a great focus on the music of the city in this series, you’ll be happy to know that the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is absolutely pitch-perfect – a demo-quality soundtrack with great dynamic range during the musical interludes and convincing atmosphere throughout. Special features are abundant, with episode commentaries, music commentaries, “making-of” featurettes, and an interactive “Look at the Music and Culture of New Orleans“.

AMAZON: $45.99

And now a few words from our reviewer, Chris Tucker:

Anyone who was a fan of Starz‘s Spartacus: Blood and Sand will be happy to hear about the Blu-ray release of it’s mini prequel Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. You’re not left out on anything by missing Blood and Sand. In fact you can do no better than to start here and get the story behind the story. If you watched the show on cable and enjoyed the way the digital-shot footage looked, wait’ll you see it on Blu, presented clearer and at a much higher bitrate. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track is even more powerful, spreading itself judiciously around the sound field, offering plenty of dynamic range for thunderous blows in the arena and the fullness of the score, all the while keeping dialogue clean and clear up the middle. Special features are plentiful and are, for the most part, found on the second disc of the 2-disc set. Getting to the commentary tracks can prove to be a challenge and involves clicking through too many menus but are ultimately well worth the effort. The main featurette runs almost 15-minutes long and is a fairly standard studio EPK piece. The rest of the features are quite short, all running around 5-minutes in length, give or take a minute, but offer plenty of fun looks behind the scenes, interviews and bloopers.

AMAZON: $24.99

Oh my God, True Blood is addictive. The Complete Third Season proves to be the most compelling season yet. But not always for the best reasons. Watching True Blood feels a lot like how I would imagine reading a dirty, yet well crafted romance novel would make one feel. I know I’ve been sucked into pulpy, low-class fare full of naked skin, spilled blood and creatures of the night but damn, I just can’t stop watching. And I don’t feel guilty about it, either. Much like the previous two seasons, the writing is strong and unpredictable, production design is pulpy, sweaty and dark and performances are solid across the board.

HBO and Warner deliver another fang-tastic Blu-ray transfer (sorry) with True Blood: The Complete Third Season. If you’ve seen the first two seasons on Blu, you know what I’m talking about. Blacks are deep and striking, colours are vivid and detail abounds. I did note some compression issues in the blacks but unless you’re watching an improperly calibrated LCD from off-centre, you’ll never notice. The sound track is beyond reproach, with every neck bite and howl to the moon perfectly reproduced in ambient, dynamic DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. This third season features the best collection of extras for the series to date, with every episode awarded its own picture-in-picture ‘Enhanced Viewing Experience‘ and short ‘Post Mortem‘ follow-up. There are 6 commentary tracks, an 11-minute “Anatomy of a Scene” breakdown, an interactive guide to the characters, previews, recaps and a music video.

AMAZON: $34.99

Vampire Diaries feels as if it suffers from the same problems I perceive in a lot of series’ sophomore outings – random musical-chairs relationship shifting, out-of-character action to drive desperate plot contrivances and general, all around silliness. That said, it’s still a fun way to kill a few hours, if you’re into vampires, werewolves and teen-makeouts.

Warner‘s Blu-ray transfers look great, as you might expect. And, again, it’s one of the first Blu-ray season sets to receive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio tracks from the studio. Kudos to them for finally seeing the light. Extras include one commentary (on the episode “Masquerade“), deleted scenes, Pages of the Wolf (3 behind the scenes werewolf featurettes totaling around 20-minutes or so), “The Perfect Love Triangle: Vampires, Werewolves, Witches“, “Her Own Worst Enemy: Elena, Katherine and Nina! “, “Second Bite” gag reel and BD-Live.

AMAZON: $42.99

Season One was all about set up. Getting Ray (Thomas Jane) comfortable in his new role as gigolo and Tanya (Jane Adams) comfortable in her new role as pimp. It’s safe to say that one worked out a little better than the other as Ray has …ahem… risen to the occasion while his business partner can barely …ahem… keep her end up. Season Two sees all relationships becoming as strained as possible to the extent that I often wanted to reach right into the TV set and strangle some of the characters (read: Tanya.) The fact that this show is getting me wound up at all is evidence that the creators are doing something right here. I don’t want to give any plot details away but there are big changes afoot by the time the season wraps up, with most characters exploring a new status quo. I don’t pretend to feel as if Season Three will bring any resolution but I can’t wait to see where the series goes from here.

As always, HBO delivers a solid Blu-ray release in Hung: The Complete Second Season. It’s far from the most attractive looking show on the air but the Blu-ray does it justice in just about every way, appearing source-accurate from beginning to end. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks are more muscular than the image on the image on the disc, delivering concert-quality music reproduction, clean, clear dialogue and plenty of ambient sound. Extras on the disc include a “Hung: Inside the Series” featurette, deleted scenes and five audio commentaries with the creators, producers and writers of the show.

AMAZON: $28.99

I can’t believe it took me so long to get into this show! Eastbound and Down is one of the funniest things on TV these days. It’s a show about an egotistical ass of a down-and-out former baseball superstar who insists he’s still a superstar while crashing at his brothers house and substitute teaching at the local elementary school. Amazing. Uncomfortable. And never not funny. This is great stuff. Danny McBride is a comedic genius.

Both Season One and Two boxed sets are new this year and look as good as the source material allows. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is a whopper and offers a more bang for your buck than you’d expect. Both sets feature commentary tracks, deleted scenes and featurettes.

AMAZON: $26.99 each

TV SHOWS ALSO AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY
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Who wants a lot of Blu-ray discs? If you’re reading this post, I’m betting you do! Well, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and The Blu-ray Blog have got you covered. We’re going to send three lucky winners a prize package of five randomly chosen Sony Blu-ray discs to either kick-start your new collection or pad-out your burgeoning one.

Here’s what you have to do to win:

1. Follow The Blu-ray Blog on Twitter
2. Between Monday Decemeber 12th and Friday December 16th, tweet the following –

“Sony and @theblurayblog are giving away Blu-rays! RT to win. #contest”

3. Three winners of a Sony Blu-ray disc 5-pack will be chosen at random
4. Winners will be announced on Monday, December 19th and contacted via Direct Message on Twitter
5. Enter (Tweet!) as many times as you like.
6. Prize packs will be sent out before the holiday but might not arrive until closer to the New Year.
7. Contest is open to residents of the USA and Canada only.

That’s it (I think!) Happy holidays and best of luck!

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I really enjoyed Attack the Block. It’s a solid little indie film that’s got a very contemporary Goonies feel to it – if the Goonies were little London thugs defending their neighbourhood from nasty aliens. While Sony has yet to announce the release of the film on Blu-ray, Amazon has listed it for pre-order, without, of course, any details or release date. Thank goodness for the e-tailer’s Canadian counterpart, Amazon.ca, who have the Blu-ray scheduled for release on October 25th, with a suggested retail price of $35.99 CAN. We don’t have any package art or any idea what supplemental material Sony will include on the disc yet but it’s fairly likely their release will mimic the UK Blu from Optimum (Scheduled for release next week, on September 19th.) With that in mind, the “Special Features” and art below are lifted from the UK disc details.

UPDATE: Release date and special features confirmed by Sony!!

ATTACK THE BLOCK
(October 25, 2011 – MSRP CDN$ 35.99)
(UK Package art shown above and detailed below)
Video: 2.35:1 1080p
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio

Special Features:

• Three Audio Commentaries
• ‘Behind the Block’ Featurette
• ‘Creature Feature’ Featurette
• ‘Meet the Gang’ Featurette
• ‘It’s a Rap’ Featurette
• ‘Unfilmed Action’ Featurette
• Trailers

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It’s another one of those weeks where I haven’t had a chance to screen many of the most intriguing Blu-ray discs on offer. As a result, the Top 5 list ends up being comprised of titles in order of my excitement for them, balanced with what I’ve read in early reviews. Here we go!

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.

1. DAS BOOT: THE DIRECTOR’S CUT

“It is 1942 and the German submarine fleet is heavily engaged in the so called “Battle of the Atlantic” to harass and destroy English shipping. With better escorts of the Destroyer Class, however, German U-Boats have begun to take heavy losses. “Das Boot” is the story of one such U-Boat crew, with the film examining how these submariners maintained their professionalism as soldiers, attempted to accomplish impossible missions, while all the time attempting to understand and obey the ideology of the government under which they served.“

All right, not only is this Wolfgang Petersen‘s best film ever, Das Boot is also one of the best films ever made. It presents an unflinchingly tense look at the lives of the captain and crew of U-96, as they alternately battle the allied forces across the Atlantic and battle boredom and frayed nerves awaiting action in their claustrophobic, underwater tin can. You’d think nearly four hours of waiting and sweating and not ever seeing the sun would be tedious but it’s to Petersen’s credit that the film just rockets by. We sympathize with the plight of the men, all the while biting our nails waiting for the next encounter, the next malfunction or simply for submarine life to get the better of their spirits. It’s astounding work that holds up thirty years on.

Sony has got another winner on its hands, presenting the 1981 film, in its Blu-ray debut, in both the original theatrical cut and the much longer, more involved Director’s Cut, each on its own disc. There’s no hint here of the longer, uncut version, released to German television with a lengthy 293-minute runtime in 1988 and on DVD in 2004 but you know, that’s all right with me. The film becomes ungainly with that much extra footage anyway. In every other way, though, this 2-disc set is complete. While the transfers won’t wow most viewers new to the film, this is clearly the best it’s ever looked on home video. The Director’s Cut maxes out its dual-layer platter, leaving room for little else on the disc. I noticed some artifacting (clearly, the film doesn’t compress easily to fit the 50-gig limit) but it’s slight and won’t offend. Both versions appear similar, otherwise, with inconsistent grain and black levels, less detail than you’d hope but stable, if appropriately dull colour throughout. The longer cut features a nice DTS-HD Master 5.1 track, while the Theatrical Cut sports a lossless 2.0 track (advertised as 5.1).

Special features are fantastic across the board, highlighted by the feature length commentary on the Director’s Cut (hosted by disc producer Ortwin Freyermuth and featuring Petersen and actor Jürgen Prochnow) and the 45-minute HD doc, “Wolfgang Petersen-Back To The Boat“. I also really enjoyed “The Perfect Boat” featurette, which looks at the creation of the Director’s Cut of the film, finding a cut of the film that could exist between the truncated Theatrical version and the Uncut version that aired on TV.

Highly Recommended!!

Special Features:

• Wolfgang Petersen-Back To The Boat
• Going Deeper:
  • Maria’s Take
  • The Perfect Boat

  Captain’s Tour

  • Rooms Overview
  • Entry Conning Tower
  • Torpedo Room & Crew Quarters
  • Captain’s & Officers’ Rooms
  • The Control Room
  • Petty Officers’ Room & Galley
  • Diesel & Electric Motor Rooms
• Historical Material
  • Behind the Scenes (1981)
  • Battle of the Atlantic (1983)
• Director’s Commentary – Wolfgang Petersen

AMAZON: $19.49

2. THE SACRIFICE

“In The Sacrifice, Alexander’s (Erland Josephson) birthday party is interrupted by news that World War III has begun and mankind is hours away from annihilation. To avoid war, Alexander promises to God that he’ll sacrifice all he has — even his son. This new remastered edition of Tarkovsky‘s final film features a new, much improved transfer of the film in anamorphic widescreen and the first time on Blu-ray! Special features include the feature length documentary ‘Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky’, a behind the scenes look at one of the most influential directors of our time, photo gallery, trailers and more! (NOTE: This two disc set features the movie on Blu-ray and the second disc with the special features is a DVD) “

Tarkovsky’s final film, The Sacrifice is out today on Blu from Kino and it’s killing me that I haven’t been able to take a look at it yet! This is one of the most exciting releases of the month, sporting a transfer that is apparently the best the film has seen on home video. DVD Beaver has noted, however, that there is edge enhancement present, possibly a holdover of the print used (doesn’t quite make sense to me, unless the print was digitally processed at some point.) Nevertheless, the word on the disc is generally positive. I’ll have more to say about this one when I get my hands on it.

AMAZON: $31.49

3. 13 ASSASSINS

“Cult director Takashi Miike (“Ichi the Killer”, “Audition”) delivers a bravado period action film set at the end of Japan’s feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a wartorn future.“

New Takashi Miike with tons of bloody samurai action. ‘Nuff said. If you’re a fan of the man’s work or a fan of the genre you’re going to be so pleased with this film and, from what I’ve read around the ‘nets, pretty pleased with the Blu-ray disc from Magnolia Pictures. Word on the street speaks of a pretty film-like transfer and a booming Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 that’ll knock your eardrums silly during the climactic battle sequence. Extras include almost 20-minutes of deleted scenes, an interview with Miike and trailers.

AMAZON: $17.99

4. OF GODS AND MEN

“Eight French Christian monks live in harmony with their Muslim brothers in a monastery perched in the mountains of North Africa in the 1990s. When a crew of foreign workers is massacred by an Islamic fundamentalist group, fear sweeps though the region. The army offers them protection, but the monks refuse. Should they leave? Despite the growing menace in their midst, they slowly realize that they have no choice but to stay… come what may. This film is loosely based on the life of the Cistercian monks of Tibhirine in Algeria, from 1993 until their kidnapping in 1996.“

I have to admit that I’m not exactly aching to watch Of Gods and Men, despite the accolades it received throughout the past year. I’m sure it’s amazing but it seems like it’ll be a slow moving drama about a bunch of monks. At least the photography, from what I’ve seen so far, is quite stunning. The disc is receiving rave reviews, with Martin Liebman over at Blu-ray.com giving it a 5/5, calling it “one of the finest around“. Pretty strong words! The French-language DTS-HD MA 5.1 receives similar praise, with the lack of special features on the disc referred to as its only “weak spot”.

AMAZON: $26.99

5. HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN

“A train pulls into the station – it’s the end of the line. A Hobo jumps from a freight car, hoping for a fresh start in a new city. Instead, he finds himself trapped in an urban hell. This is a world where criminals rule the streets and Drake, the city’s crime boss, reigns supreme alongside his sadistic murderous sons, Slick & Ivan. Amidst the chaos, the Hobo comes across a pawn shop window displaying a second hand lawn mower. He dreams of making the city a beautiful place and starting a new life for himself. But as the brutality continues to rage around him, he notices a shotgun hanging above the lawn mower… Quickly, he realizes the only way to make a difference in this town is with that gun in his hand and two shells in its chamber.“

Oh man, I can’t wait to watch Rutger Hauer do his thing with a shotgun!

That didn’t come out right.

I’ve been waiting a long time to see this film. Since the fake trailer appeared as a part of Rodriguez and Tarantino’s Grindhouse interstitials (Well, to be fair, it was screened here in Canada along with the other trailers, as the winner of the SXSW trailer competition. I guess you folks south of the border didn’t get to see it on the big screen.) And now, having missed my chance to see the film on the big screen, I’m excited to catch this Canadian production on Blu. The Blu-ray of the digitally lensed film has been getting positive reviews for its technical merits and is also stacked with extras. A full listing of the bonus goodies can be found in our previous post, here: Hobo with a Shotgun coming to Blu-ray in July

AMAZON: $17.99

CANADIAN EXCLUSIVE: ESSENTIAL KILLING

“A Taliban member who lives in Afghanistan is taken captive by the Americans after killing three American soldiers. He is transferred to Europe for interrogation but manages to escape from his captors and becomes an escaped convict on a continent he does not know.“

Sometimes I feel really lucky to be in Canada. Today is one of those days. Today we’re graced with a Blu-ray release of Essential Killing, the exceptional 2010 film by Jerzy Skolimowski, the filmmaker most well known for writing Roman Polanski’s Knife on the Water. Here, he crafts something of an existential chase film, a survival thriller, if you will, with the remarkable Vincent Gallo on the run, at the centre of the proceedings. Nearly wordless, the film launches Gallo into the wild, alone and wouded, hunted by foreign forces anxious to reclaim their Taliban prisoner.

It goes without saying that Gallo is fantastic here, bleeding and killing to survive. It’s probably his best performance since his own Buffalo 66. But what’s also remarkable is the restraint Skolimowski exhibits in his writing. Nothing is wasted in this film. There isn’t a single false note. Dialogue is spare but right on the money, while action is key. The often abstract score by Pawel Mykietyn (with consultant Janice Ginsberg) compliments the gorgeous, stark photography of Adam Sikora. With it’s off-kilter tone and wordless tale, Essential Killing isn’t for everyone but will reward those who give it a chance.

The Blu-ray disc from eOne isn’t a stunner but that’s more than likely due to the low-budget source material. Blacks are uneven, often looking dark grey and, while detail is acceptable, it will never blow you away. Colours are muted by choice but are stable and accurate. Fairing better is the strong 5.1 English/Polish DTS-HD Master Audio track. Dialogue is clean and clear, there’s plenty of ambient sound and while the explosions in the early part of the film don’t quite compare to big budget Hollywood, they’ll give your china a good rattle. Sadly, there are no special features on the Blu-ray disc.

AMAZON: $18.89 CDN

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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It’s another big week of Blu-ray releases but there’s very little from the mainstream that sticks out. A couple of Criterion releases and some solid catalogue titles make it a busy week for collectors and fans but those looking for sparkling new Hollywood fare worth their hard earned dollars have little of true value to choose from.

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.

1. BATTLE: LOS ANGELES

“For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sighting around the world – Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings will become a terrifying reality when Earth is attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the world’s great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It’s up to a marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they’ve ever encountered before.“

Imagine the kind of alien invasion story you saw in Independence Day shot in the style of Blackhawk Down and you’ll get a solid sense of what you’re in for in Battle: Los Angeles. This is far from the finest film ever made. In fact, what it lacks in plot it tries to make up for in character and action, failing miserably in the former yet winning the viewer over with healthy helping of the latter. As much as there’s an attempt to aquatint you with the soldiers (read: cannon fodder) early in the film, it’s the well staged, immersive fight sequences that keep the film alive. Battle: Los Angeles took a critical bludgeoning during its theatrical run but deserves a second look on home video, as what it does best it does better than most. It deserves the number one spot on the list this week for being one the most genuinely exciting action films released so far this year and for being the biggest, most commercial release of the week.

As you’d expect from Sony, the Blu-ray is reference quality work all around. The transfer appears without flaw, exhibiting incredible amounts of detail, vivid colours and deep blacks. The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is dynamic and fully immersive, able to rattle your china with explosive lows while convincingly placing the viewer in the middle of a battlefield, bullets zipping by your head through the very active surround channels.

Extras are plentiful and well thought out with the Command Control picture-in-picture track being the most compelling feature available. Filled with storyboard-to-film comparisons and interview snippets, the track also allows you to bounce out and watch over 20-minutes of ‘Focus Points’ which can also be viewed separately. Be aware that there are two flavours of this release out there – one with a bonus DVD copy of the film (as pictured above) and one that includes a demo of Sony’s Resistance 3 videogame for the PS3. Both are valuable but unnecessary additions to an already excellent Blu-ray package.

Special Features:

• Exclusive playable game demo of the first-person shooter PS3 game Resistance®3
• Command Control – Command and control your viewing experience by watching Picture-in-Picture, Storyboard Comparisons and Battle Points within the context of the movie.
• Featurettes:
  • Behind The Battle
  • Aliens in LA
  • Preparing for Battle
  • Creating L.A. in LA
• movieIQ

AMAZON: $17.99

2. THE MAKIOKA SISTERS

“This lyrical adaptation of the beloved Japanese novel by Junichiro Tanizaki was a late-career triumph for world-class director Kon Ichikawa (The Burmese Harp, Fires on the Plain). Revolving around the changing of the seasons, The Makioka Sisters (Sasame-yuki) follows the lives of four sisters who have taken on their family’s kimono manufacturing business, over the course of a number of years leading up to the Pacific War. The two oldest have been married for some time, but according to tradition, the rebellious youngest sister cannot wed until the third, conservative and terribly shy, finds a husband. This graceful study of a family at a turning point in history is a poignant evocation of changing times and fading customs, shot in rich, vivid colors. “

In terms of my love for the films on this weeks list, The Makioka Sisters should own the number 1 spot. This is, without question, the finest film hitting Blu this week. But it’s staid, poetic style (not to mention the lengthy runtime and subtitles) will keep a lot of folks from experiencing it. It’s pretty far from a mainstream release. But if you’re a film lover, as I am, and you don’t mind longer, foreign releases, this new Criterion disc is where you should spend your $20 today.

For more detail on the disc, read my full review here: The Criterion Collection: The Makioka Sisters Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $19.99

3. THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE (Canadian Exclusive)

“What do women really think of men? What do they talk about when men aren’t around? What about men, what do they talk about? Fantasies, temptation, desire, indiscretions, infidelity, confessions, acrobatics and everything else that makes sex the only subject worth talking about. Every taboo is hilariously exposed in this unforgettable classic about modern relationships.“

Is Denys Arcand‘s The Decline of the American Empire the best Canadian film ever made? Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to claim that, although countless others have since its release in 1986. But it’s certainly significant, winning 9 Genie awards (Canadian Oscars) and an Oscar nod and spawning a sequel in 2003 (The Barbarian Invasions) that would ultimately walk away with the golden statue. Arcand assembles here a chatty yet riveting, frank collection of discussions and debates on the nature of men, women and sex that frame a drama between a group of eight friends, crisscrossing relationships that span several years.

The Decline of the American Empire makes its Blu-ray debut in stellar style on a Canadian exclusive Blu-ray disc release from eOne films (Seville). This is undoubtedly the finest this film has ever looked on home video. In fact, it looks so fresh and clean that it’s quite often hard to believe this is a twenty-five year old film. But that cleanliness is sometimes troubling, as grain comes and goes from shot to shot, exhibiting an all around inconsistent look to the transfer. It’s possible that a heavy hand was employed on the digital scrubbing here, or that the original elements exist in varying states. nevertheless, the overall image is quite pleasing to watch and most scenes are fairly film-like.

I would advise avoiding the Dolby Digital 2.0 English dub of the film for the more well-rounded French DTS-HD 5.1 track. Though most of the sound comes at you through the center channel in this conversational drama, the original soundtrack is more dynamic and, it goes without saying, true to the film. Extras are, sadly, presented in French only but consist of a half-hour look back at the making of the film at its 15th Anniversary mark and a shorter retrospective on its 25th.

Recommended!

AMAZON: $20.99 CDN

4. THE CINCINNATI KID

“Steve McQueen brings his cool fire to the role of the Cincinnati Kid, a small-timer eager to take his chances in high-stakes poker. He gets his chance. Regal, ruthless Lancey Howard (Edward G. Robinson), the elite gambler called the Man, accepts the Kid’s challenge. Norman Jewison (“In the Heat of the Night”, “Moonstruck”) directs this taut exploration of back-room gaming, building suspense with each turn of a card. And Ann-Margret, Karl Malden, Rip Torn, National Board of Review Best Supporting Actress Award winner Joan Blondell and many more comprise a full house of talent. Grab a chair and ante up.“

I just can’t get enough of Steve McQueen. And though he’s not busting heads or driving fast cars here in The Cincinnati Kid, he’s all kinds of card playing cool. This is Jewison as a young filmmaker and the work reflects that – more classical and tentative in production than his later cocksure efforts. But it really comes alive with its stellar cast. I’m telling you, I could watch any number of these performers sit quietly in a room on their own for hours and be entertained. Rip Torn and Edward G. Robinson simply light up the screen every time the camera turns to them. And don’t get me started on how sexy Ann Margaret and Tuesday Weld are here. What a powerhouse cast.

Warner has done a bang-up job on this Blu-ray disc. The transfer is perfectly film-like, with a nice sheen of grain, tons of detail and vivid colours that pop right off the screen. There doesn’t seem to be a hint of unnecessary digital tampering here. The DTS-HD Master Audio track is mono only but serves the dialogue-heavy film quite well. Extras are ported over from the previous DVD edition of the film and consist of an energetic and enjoyable commentary from Jewison, scene specific commentary from the hosts of Celebrity Poker Showdown (guess what they chat about?), a 6-minute vintage featurette and a trailer.

Recommended!

AMAZON: $13.99

5. INSIGNIFICANCE

“Four unnamed people who look and sound a lot like Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio, and Joseph McCarthy converge in one New York City hotel room for this compelling, visually inventive adaptation of Terry Johnson’s play, from director Nicolas Roeg (Walkabout, The Man Who Fell to Earth). With a combination of whimsy and dread, Roeg creates a fun-house-mirror picture of cold war America that questions the nature of celebrity and plays on a society’s simmering nuclear fears. Insignificance is a delirious, intelligent drama, featuring magnetic performances by Michael Emil (Tracks, Always) as “the professor,” Theresa Russell (Bad Timing, Black Widow) as “the actress,” Gary Busey (The Buddy Holly Story, Lethal Weapon) as “the ballplayer,” and Tony Curtis (Sweet Smell of Success, Spartacus) as “the senator.” “

Oh boy. This is a tough one for me. I’m such a fan of director Nicolas Roeg. I just want to love everything he does but if I’m going to be honest, Insignificance just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe it’s my natural aversion to all things ‘theatrical’ (the film is an adaptation of Terry Johnson‘s stage play) or the wantonly existential nature of the dialogue in the film but I find sitting through it a hard slog. Or perhaps it’s that I just never believe that Theresa Russell is Marilyn Monroe or that Gary Busey ball player Joe DiMaggio, the famous movie-star’s one-time husband. Or that either of them would wax intellectual about the nature of space time in a hotel room with Einstein (well embodied by Michael Emil.) Tony Curtis is the highlight here, as far as I’m concerned, chewing scenery in the role of Senator Joe McCarthy. Though Roeg goes to great lengths to move the story from the stage to celluloid it never manages to transcend the proscenium arch of the theatre, remaining an unnecessarily ponderous treatise on the fleeting nature of celebrity, science and life.

Thankfully, Criterion knocks the Blu-ray presentation out of the park. The transfer is rich and film-like, with vivid colours and a ton of detail. Audio is presented in lossless mono and is clean and clear, while limited to the nature of the source. It would be nice to hear Stanley Myers and Hans Zimmer‘s music on a larger, more dynamic stage but nevermind. This is a faithful soundtrack. Supplements are present in the form of several interviews (around 45-minutes worth), the theatrical trailer and a nice 24-page illustrated booklet.

AMAZON: $27.99

6. HARRY POTTER: ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITIONS

I love these Harry Potter boxed sets! I really do. They feature the films, a ton of bonus material, a gorgeous hardcover book and a bunch of goo-gaas in packaging that looks like a series of hardbound library books. I only received review copies of the DVD editions of these latest two editions in the series, so I can’t comment on the discs themselves but the content seems to replicate previous home video editions with the addition of the hour-long chapter of the World of Harry Potter documentary series. It should be noted that the 43-minute The Hidden Secrets of Harry Potter doc is no longer included in the Order of the Phoenix set, so completists will want to hold onto the previous Blu-ray disc.

AMAZON: $33.99, $29.99

7. 36TH PRECINCT

“In this action-packed cop thriller a gang of armed robbers have committed seven deadly robberies within a year. When two lieutenants are told that whoever stops the gang will become the next Chief of Police, the competition between them becomes increasingly ruthless, blurring the lines of morality, until there is no difference between the police and the criminals they chase.“

Described as a French version of Michael Mann‘s Heat, 36th Precinct finally makes its way to Blu-ray here in North America. Palisades Tartan released the 2004 film on Blu in the UK early last year and it’s been available in France for about two and a half years now. I haven’t seen the disc myself but we can assume the transfer will match the excellent image on the Gaumont transfer from France (also used for the UK disc) and the punchy DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 French language soundtrack. Extras are plentiful and include a ‘making-of’ doc, an interview with the director, featurettes on weapons and wardrobe and trailers.

AMAZON: $13.99

8. POINT BREAK

“Young FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) goes undercover at the suggestion of his partner (Gary Busey) to learn if a group of wild surfers is actually a gang of bank robbers. He soon comes under the dangerous spell of the surfers’ charismatic leader, Bodhi (Patrick Swayze), a mystical mastermind who’ll do absolutely anything for a thrill – and expects his followers to do the same.“

Point Break makes the move from Fox to Warner in a new release of the classic surfers-who-rob-banks thriller, starring Keanu and Swayze in a couple of their now iconic roles. It’s pretty hard to take this film seriously, filled as it is with laughably over-the-top or simply bad performances. Swayze rules both the beach and the film here, as the presence that not only holds the plot together but the performance that keeps the film from feeling bargain basement cheap. He’s electric every time he’s on screen and nearly worth the price of admission all on his own.

The new BD from Warner appears identical to that of the previously issued disc from Fox, suffering only from the quality of the source material. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack also seems identical, with clean and clear dialogue and a limited dynamic range. Extras have been ported over and include additional scenes, 4 featurettes and the theatrical trailer. A couple of additional trailers and a photo gallery have been excised for this edition and are not missed.

AMAZON: $13.99

9. HEAVY METAL

“Based on the fantastical illustrated magazine Heavy Metal, producer Ivan Reitman enlists the help of some of Hollywood’s animation masters to create the otherworldly tale of a glowing green orb from outer space that spreads destruction throughout the galaxy. Only when encountered by its one true enemy, to whom it is inexplicably drawn, will goodness prevail throughout the universe. Richly and lavishly drawn, the vignettes of the orb’s dark victories include the character voices of John Candy, Harold Ramis and a pounding soundtrack by Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Cheap Trick, Devo, Donald Fagen, Don Felder, Grand Funk Railroad, Sammy Hagar, Journey, Nazareth, Stevie Nicks, Riggs, and Trust. Highly imaginative and full of surprising special effects, Heavy Metal set the standard for alternative contemporary animation. An intoxicating experience not be missed! “

This classic animated film has been available on Blu-ray as Best Buy exclusive since February but is available in wide release today. Fans of the film will no doubt be happy to have Sony’s faithful transfer to high-def but should be prepared for the ugly details revealed by the bump up to 1080p. A pretty decent DTS-HD MA 5.1 sound track presents the ’80s music in all its due grandeur. Extras are limited but pretty cool, including an entire early cut of the film with optional Carl Macek (the late father of Robotech!) commentary.

AMAZON: $14.99

10. RED RIDING HOOD

“In a medieval village a beautiful young girl falls for an orphaned woodcutter, much to her family’s displeasure. When her sister is killed by the werewolf that prowls the dark forest surrounding their village, the people call on a famed werewolf hunter to help them kill the wolf. As the death toll rises with each moon, the girl begins to suspect that the werewolf could be someone she loves. Panic grips the town as she discovers that she has a unique connection to the beast–one that inexorably draws them together, making her both suspect…and bait. “

Well, I had to fill the list out with something, right? I’m still waiting for my review copy of Red Riding Hood but, as much as I’m told of its suckitude, the stills and trailers I’ve seen for this thing look stunning. I’m really looking forward to seeing it in full 1080p on my 110″ projector screen. Extras include an Alternate Cut of the film, a picture-in-picture commentary track, deleted scenes, a gag reel and more.

AMAZON: $22.99

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

• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of April 12 (0)
• The Criterion Collection: The Makioka Sisters Blu-ray Disc Review (0)
• The Criterion Collection: Insignificance Blu-ray Disc Review (0)
• Sony announces Battle: Los Angeles Blu-ray disc (0)
• Top New Blu-ray releases for the Week of November 8 (1)

Argh! I know, another new release post that’s hitting a day late. Sorry about that. Aside from being swamped at my office job, this weeks Top 5 was a killer to put together. There are a ton of discs hitting shelves this week but very few truly worthy of your time and hard-earned cash. I’ve paired the list down to the essentials (cheating at number 3 but hey, if you read this list with any regularity you’re used to that by now) while including package art and links for the rest below.

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.

1. THE ILLUSIONIST

“From the Director of the Oscar®-nominated classic The Triplets of Belleville, The Illusionist is a story about two paths that cross. While touring concert halls, theaters and pubs, an aging, down-on-his-luck magician encounters a young girl at the start of her life’s journey. Alice is a teenage girl with all her capacity for childish wonder still intact. She plays at being a woman without realizing the day to stop pretending is fast approaching. She doesn’t know yet that she loves The Illusionist like she would a father; he already knows that he loves her as he would a daughter. Their destinies will collide, but nothing – not even magic or the power of illusion– can stop the voyage of discovery. “

In a lot of ways, I feel like Sylvain Chomet‘s The Illusionist was robbed of a golden statue earlier this year. It clearly wasn’t the popular choice amongst it’s more kid-friendly peers but it’s most likely the best animated film of the past year. The Oscar, of course, went to Toy Story 3 (was there ever any question?) but my affections are rewarded to The Illusionist – a sensitive, watercolour love-letter to late-filmmaker Jacques Tati and my favourite city in the world, Edinburgh.

Sony‘s Blu-ray presentation of The Illusionist is flawless – one of the finest ever for a cel-animated film. Don’t expect the crisp CGI perfection of Pixar animation here, though. The image on this Blu-ray is an accurate representation of lush, sometimes soft, sometimes dark, hand-painted animation cels. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless audio track isn’t aggressive by any means but provides sufficient ambient texture to bring the nearly-wordless film to life. Music is given more than enough dynamic headroom to breath in this overall natural and pleasing track.

I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed that the North American home video release of The Illusionist doesn’t include the 77-minute interview with Chomet from the UK DVD. Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather have a bare-bones Blu-ray than a DVD of any variety. But, despite the nice, little collection of bonus features included here, I just feel like we could have/should have had more. A commentary, interview or documentary of significance (all the featurettes on the disc are under 10-minutes, most under 5). Something!

Nevertheless, on the basis of the film itself and the quality of its presentation, the Blu-ray is highly recommended!

Special Features:

• “The Making of The Illusionist” Featurette
• The Animation Process: A rare look at the line tests and progression sequences
• “Chasing the Rabbit” Line Test
• “Window Shopping” Line Test
• “Fish and Chips” Line Test
• “Morning Routine” Line Test and Completed Scene Montage
• Garden Party & Travel Before & After Animation Sequences
• Steam, Splashes, Smoke and The Flying Scotsman Before & After Animation Sequences
• Tatischeff Before & After Animation Sequences

AMAZON: $24.99

2. SOMETHING WILD

“A straitlaced businessman meets a quirky, free-spirited woman at a downtown New York greasy spoon. Her offer of a ride back to his office results in a lunchtime motel rendezvous—just the beginning of a capricious interstate road trip that brings the two face-to-face with their hidden selves. Featuring a killer soundtrack and electric performances from Jeff Daniels (Terms of Endearment, The Squid and the Whale), Melanie Griffith (Body Double, Working Girl), and Ray Liotta (Field of Dreams, Goodfellas), Something Wild, directed by oddball American auteur Jonathan Demme (Stop Making Sense, The Silence of the Lambs), is both a kinky comic thriller and a radiantly off-kilter love story. “

Watching Something Wild, it’s hard to believe that the film emerged from the hand of the same man responsible for bringing Silence of the Lambs to the big screen only five years later. But perhaps that’s due more to the differing tones of the screenplays and less to the choices of the director. In Something Wild, Jonathan Demme crafts something of a genre hybrid. Unlike the razor-sharp, single note, intense style of Lambs, this earlier work drifts into being as a casual, fun road-movie but eventually winds its way into becoming an edgy crime-thriller. Griffith leads Daniels down the garden path, from his hum-drum office-job existence, into a world of chance and impulse. Oh, it starts innocently enough – an unpaid bill here, a little shoplifting there – but the road-trip eventually digs into Griffith’s past, which comes back to haunt she and Daniels in a dangerous way.

Something Wild sports one of the finest high-def transfers that Criterion has released thus far in 2011. And that’s saying something. The film looks remarkably clean, colourful and detailed for a nearly-forgotten eighties relic. I didn’t note any untoward use of digital manipulation on this extremely handsome, film-like presentation. The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 is robust and clean, with a surprising dynamic range.

Supplemental material is a bit on the lite side for a Criterion disc but of the highest standard, as you’d expect. Aside from a trailer for the film and an excellent 16-page illustrated booklet, the only extras are a couple of interviews – a half-hour chat with Demme and 10-minutes with the writer, E. Max Frye.

AMAZON: $26.99

3. MGM Classics: THE MISFITS, SOME LIKE IT HOT, THE HORSE SOLDIERS

Wow. Fox and MGM have unleashed a torrent of films onto Blu this week. While most have been on shelves in some form or another before (some are newly re-issued in Blu-ray Digi-book format, others have been retail exclusives until this week) the three titles above are of note. Not only are all three classic films from the MGM library but they’re also notable for making their high-def debut this week! I haven’t laid eyes on any of them as yet but, if gauged by the quality of recent catalogue releases from the studio, I would guess that all three will sport pleasant, film-like transfers that won’t quite take your breath away. I’m excited to get my hands on them and will report back when I do. I’m not holding my breath for greatness with these but I expect them to be head and shoulders above their DVD counterparts.

UPDATE: I just received all three of the above discs. I haven’t had time to sit through the films in their entirety but here are my initial impressions of the quality of the discs…

AMAZON: $14.99, $14.99, $11.99

4. BLUE VALENTINE

“Blue Valentine is the story of love found and love lost told in past and present moments in time. Flooded with romantic memories of their courtship, Dean and Cindy use one night to try and save their failing marriage. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams star in this honest portrait of a relationship on the rocks. “

Blue Valentine isn’t for everyone. It’s a raw, truthful examination of a couple at the end of their rocky marriage. Director Derek Cianfrance turns in a stylistic, if somewhat depressing film that rocks the verite like there’s no tomorrow, with stunning performances from leads Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling. The Blu-ray presentation is only as fine as the source material, which is all over the map. It’s a faithful transfer of the film but the disc won’t be the one you pop in to showcase your home theatre setup. The dialogue-heavy DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio track is solid and clean. Extras include a director’s commentary track, deleted scenes, a ‘making-of’ doc and a short film.

AMAZON: $18.99

5. I SAW THE DEVIL

“I Saw the Devil is a shockingly violent and stunningly accomplished tale of murder and revenge. The embodiment of pure evil, Kyung-chul is a dangerous psychopath who kills for pleasure. On a freezing, snowy night, his latest victim is the beautiful Juyeon, daughter of a retired police chief and pregnant fiancée of elite special agent Soo-hyun. Obsessed with revenge, Soo-hyun is determined to track down the murderer, even if doing so means becoming a monster himself. And when he finds Kyung-chul, turning him in to the authorities is the last thing on his mind, as the lines between good and evil fall away in this diabolically twisted game of cat and mouse. “

I Saw the Devil isn’t for everyone (yes, another film that isn’t for everyone…) but if you like your revenge films brutal, bloody and from Korea you’re in luck. You’ll recognize Oldboy‘s Choi Min-sik and Lee Byung-hun from G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra but it’s the beautifully stylized imagery of director Kim Ji-woon that you won’t be able to take your eyes off of. The film looks like a million bucks on Blu, sporting a detailed, colourful, film-like image. Audio is delivered via English or Korean language tracks, both in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. (Skip the English dub.) Extras include 25-minutes of deleted scenes, a half-hour long ‘behind the scenes’ featurette and trailers.

AMAZON: $19.99

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

• Sylvain Chomet’s animated The Illusionist coming to Blu-ray in May? (1)
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• Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of February 22 (1)
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Was Battle: Los Angeles any good? It totally blew in and out of cinemas before I was even aware it had been released. It looks like some crazy kind of action-movie fun. I might have actually checked it out, you know?! I like Aaron Eckhart a lot and Bridget Moynahanis pretty easy on the eyes. And from what I can tell, the film is chock full of soldier-versus-alien action so, really, how bad can it possibly be? Guess I’ll find out when the film hits Blu-ray on June 14th.

“For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world — Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, and China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings will become a terrifying reality when Earth is attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the world’s great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It’s up to a Marine staff sergeant (Eckhart) and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they’ve ever encountered before. BATTLE: LOS ANGELES was written by Chris Bertolini (The General’s Daughter) and produced by Neal H. Moritz and Ori Marmur (The Green Hornet, The Bounty Hunter). Executive producers are Jeffrey Chernov (upcoming Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Star Trek) and David Greenblatt. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures and has a run time of approximately 116 minutes. It has been rated 14-A.“

BATTLE: LOS ANGELES
(June 14, 2011 – MSRP $38.96 Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)
Video: 2.39:1 1080p MPEG-4 AVC
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Special Features:

• Exclusive playable game demo of the first-person shooter PS3 game Resistance®3
• Command Control – Command and control your viewing experience by watching Picture-in-Picture, Storyboard Comparisons and Battle Points within the context of the movie.
• Featurettes:
  • Behind The Battle
  • Aliens in LA
  • Preparing for Battle
  • Creating L.A. in LA
• movieIQ

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