(Thought I should let you know that I started this post yesterday, to get it out in time for release day. Then the office called, forcing me in early and keeping me from finishing this up until now. Sorry about the delay!)
This week is a killer. Seriously, this list could easily be a top 10. Or 15. I can’t recall a week in recent history when their was such a plethora of amazing titles hitting the shops on the same day! Four Criterion discs, two Pixars, Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe winners…This weeks Blu-ray releases are going to put me in the poor house.
My friend, Mark Slutsky, film editor at the Montreal Mirror described this Blu-ray release to me in these words – “It’s butter.” He’s right. Smooth, rich and amazing with popcorn, John Huston‘s The African Queen has been a long time coming to optical disc and it has been well worth the wait. Featuring an incredible restoration (watch a short video here) of the classic film and a wonderful, near-feature length documentary produced by Nicolas Meyer. If you’re going to pick up any disc this week, this is your boy.
Read more: The African Queen comes to Blu-ray in March
Amazon: $23.99 (Commemorative Box Set: $38.99)
2. New Criterion Titles: DAYS OF HEAVEN, YOJIMBO, SANJURO, BIGGER THAN LIFE
I’m actually starting to believe that Criterion is trying to bankrupt me. I can’t afford to keep up with the sheer number of awesome titles they release every month. And this month, they’ve got four doozies out in one week! And as today (March 23rd) would have been the 100th birthday of director Akira Kurosawa, I’d say that picking up a couple of his classic films on Blu is the perfect way to celebrate!
Read more: Criterion Announces Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and Sanjuro Blu-ray Editions
Read more: Criterion brings Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven to Blu-ray
Amazon:
Days of Heaven – $27.99
Yojimbo – $26.99
Sanjuro – $26.99
Yojimbo & Sanjuro (2 Disc set) – $48.99
Bigger Than Life – $32.49
I’ve been a fan of Wes Anderson‘s films since the first time I watched Rushmore. But I have to admit, I didn’t really care to see his stop-motion animated Fantastic Mr. Fox. I thought it looked kitschy and poorly designed. Boy, was I wrong about this film. It’s incredible! I’ve seen a lot of movies in the last year and, I have to say, this has got to be one of my favourites. I’ll publish my full review later in the week, with more specific thoughts about the disc itself (Hint: it is, in fact, quite fantastic!!!)
4. TOY STORY and TOY STORY 2
Come on…who doesn’t love a Pixar movie?! Every CGI animated film they create is a ninety-minute masterpiece. And Toy Story is where it all started. These first two films in the franchise are absolutely wonderful. And, of course, because they were created inside a computer, their video and audio elements have held up extremely well over the years. The Toy Story films look and sound damn-near perfect on Blu-ray! Combine the reference quality presentation with a crap-load of bonus features and you’ve got two discs that any animation fan can’t afford to miss out on.
Urgh…another sports movie. I was all set to avoid The Blind Side like the plague. And then Warner Home Video sent me the Blu-ray disc. And then I watched it. And I hate to say it, but it was good. Now, I don’t know if I would’ve necessarily given that Best Actress Oscar statue to Sandra Bullock for her performance in this film but she does do a pretty good job. As do all the performers. With a strong script and a winning transfer, The Blind Side is a fairly safe bet for anyone who likes sports fliks or Oscar bait.
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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]]>As most film fans know, Criterion is releasing a beautiful boxed set of 25 Akira Kurosawa films on DVD to celebrate the centenary of the director’s birth. As incredible as the set seems, it has only served to depress me on a couple of levels – I already own a lot of the films in the set and they’re not making the 25 films available on Blu-ray. Well, they may not be on Blu anytime soon but the label did announce today via a blog post on their site that they’ve been struggling to create a month of high-def Kurosawa releases. They have, sadly not been entirely successful. Here’s what they had to say…
- “…we had hoped to celebrate the actual centenary, in March, with a Blu-ray edition of Seven Samurai, but weeks of additional restoration have turned into months—yes, it looks really amazing—and the release won’t be until later in 2010. Instead, on March 23, we’ll be releasing Kurosawa’s Yojimbo and Sanjuro.”
This is fantastic news! Now I can remove Seven Samurai from our list of the Top 10 Criterion DVDs that deserve a Blu-ray upgrade. I wonder what other fantastic treats Criterion has in store for us in 2010…
UPDATE: Criterion has now officially published the details of the Yojimbo and Sanjuro discs, both of which appear to mimic their DVD counterparts in every way. Both films are available individually or as part of a gift pack.
YOJIMBO
(March 23, 2010 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 2.35:1 1080p
Audio: TBA
Special Features:
• All-new, restored high-definition digital transfer
• Optional Dolby Digital 3.0 soundtrack, preserving the original Perspecta simulated-stereo effects
• Audio commentary by film historian and Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince
• A 45-minute documentary on the making of Yojimbo, created as part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create
• Theatrical trailer and teaser
• Stills gallery of behind-the-scenes photos
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Alexander Sesonske and notes from Kurosawa and his cast and crew
SANJURO
(March 23, 2010 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 2.35:1 1080p
Audio: TBA
Special Features:
• All-new, restored high-definition digital transfer
• Optional Dolby Digital 3.0 soundtrack, preserving the original Perspecta simulated-stereo effects
• Audio commentary by film historian and Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince
• A 35-minute documentary on the making of Sanjuro, created as part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create
• Theatrical trailer and teaser
• Stills gallery of behind-the-scenes photos
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Michael Sragow and notes and statements from Kurosawa and his cast and crew
