Blu-Ray Best Of The Best - for discussing releases only

[JP]

In fact the bass is so intense it just knocked two of my Blu-Ray shelves down!!!!

Lol I'm not sure if you're joking or not but how's that for new levels of immersion? You watch a film about tornados and stuff starts falling off your walls!!!

If that's anything to go by I advise you not to watch Titanic or The Crying Game just incase they have similar levels of immersion. Actually, avoid titanic all together!!

[Strider]

I had the same problem with Blade 2 when it was on DVD. I had an ornament on the top of my old tv and I just watched it slowly judder to the edge of it where it suddenly just fall straight off and smashed to pieces/

[Lyris]

NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

The excitement comes at the conclusion of the montage, however, with a sparkling clip for Tim Burton's beloved cult classic 'The Nightmare Before Christmas.' Though the spot offers no exact street date, the Blu-ray is touted as arriving this Fall, and timed to coincide with a new standard DVD two-disc re-issue.

[JP]

I can't believe I've not managed to watch this yet even though I keep getting told to by my mates, I'm sure I'll pick up the HD release though.

Confirming the rumors, New Line has announced a late-July Blu-ray debut for the cult classic 'Dark City,' which will hit high-def in a brand-new "Director's Cut."

Speculation on a possible 'Dark City' high-def release had the web buzzing last month, after director Alex Proyas dropped hints that New Line was retooling the film for a new video release, though the studio remained mum on any plans.

Now New Line has confirmed that the 'Dark City: Director's Cut' will debut on Blu-ray July 29, day-and-date with a new standard DVD re-issue.
There are no tech specs or supplement details as of yet, but we'll report more as further details are announced for what is sure to be one of the most anticipated Blu-rays of the season.

Suggested retail price for the Blu-ray has been set at $34.98.

[Angry the Clown]

Guess who?s back? Back again?

Paramount goes Blu day-and-date with Spiderwick

Catalog titles will be released on high-def format earlier


APRIL 29 | The Spiderwick Chronicles will be Paramount Home Entertainment?s first title released simultaneously on DVD and Blu-ray Disc when it streets June 24.

The studio previously supported the HD DVD format exclusively. When Toshiba pulled the plug on HD DVD in February, Paramount said it would throw its support behind Blu-ray but had offered no details until now.

The studio has committed its largest 2008 titles for Blu-ray release, including DreamWorks Animation?s Bee Movie on May 20 and There Will Be Blood and Cloverfield on June 3. The titles have all already been released on DVD.

On May 20, the studio will release catalog titles Face/Off and Next on Blu-ray.

?Paramount Home Entertainment continues to focus on the consumer and to explore avenues that allow fans to get more out of their home entertainment experience,? said Kelley Avery, president of worldwide home entertainment, Paramount Pictures. ?We will have a strong slate of titles for Blu-ray release throughout the year worldwide and are enthusiastic about expanding the format?s offerings for a broad consumer audience while delivering an experience that goes beyond what viewers love about DVD.?

Outside of the U.S, Paramount will street this year's Oscar winner for best film, No Country for Old Men, and Cloverfield on Blu-ray beginning in August.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, which retains the U.S. distribution rights for No Country, launched the Oscar winner on Blu-ray domestically in March.

Paramount arguably has the most complicated relationship with high-def, as it launched titles in both Blu-ray and rival format HD DVD for some time until switching to HD DVD exclusively last year. The studio gave its allegiance solely to Blu-ray shortly after Toshiba dropped its support of its HD DVD hardware.

Many of Paramount's debut 2008 Blu-ray releases will be packed with bonus features. Highlights include a feature-length 'Special Investigation Mode' exclusive to Cloverfield. Spiderwick will include an exclusive Arthur Spiderwick Field Guide feature.

http://www.videobusiness.com/article...?desc=topstory

[Lyris]

The studio has committed its largest 2008 titles for Blu-ray release, including DreamWorks Animation’s Bee Movie on May 20 and There Will Be Blood and Cloverfield on June 3.

And suddenly the people on eBay who paid $400 for the HD DVD begin to feel very, very silly indeed Great news!

[JP]

Why the hell were people paying $400 for it on eBay?

Anyway, just got the full press release:

PARAMOUNT HOME ENTERTAINMENT'S FANTASTICAL HIT THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES LAUNCHES DAY-AND-DATE WORLDWIDE ON BLU-RAY

There Will Be Blood, Cloverfield, Bee Movie, Face/Off and Next Also Released in Time for Memorial Day and Father's Day; Focus Remains On Immersive High-Def Home Entertainment Experiences

LOS ANGELES (April 29, 2008) -- Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE), a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA), today announced its first day-and-date Blu-ray release, The Spiderwick Chronicles on June 24 and rolling out in key international markets beginning in July. Continuing its commitment to offer the best possible movie experiences for consumers, the studio will deliver the highest quality picture, sound and special features available with these upcoming Blu-ray releases. In the U.S., There Will Be Blood, Cloverfield, Bee Movie, Face/Off and Next will begin arriving May 20 to capitalize on Memorial Day and Father's Day. Internationally, The Spiderwick Chronicles will be followed by Cloverfield and the Academy award-winner for Best Picture, No Country for Old Men beginning in August.

"Paramount Home Entertainment continues to focus on the consumer and to explore avenues that allow fans to get more out of their home entertainment experience," said Kelley Avery, President of Worldwide Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures. "We will have a strong slate of titles for Blu-ray release throughout the year worldwide and are enthusiastic about expanding the format's offerings for a broad consumer audience while delivering an experience that goes beyond what viewers love about DVD."

The Spiderwick Chronicles launches PHE's day-and-date new release strategy. Based on the best-selling series of books, The Spiderwick Chronicles takes viewers on a fantastical journey into the unseen world all around us and the Blu-ray disc will include behind-the-scenes featurettes, an exploration of the Spiderwick world, an exclusive peek inside Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide and much more.

PHE's 2008 Blu-ray titles debut on May 20 in the U.S. with two sensational action-adventures: a Special Collector's Edition of Face/Off , the mind-blowing crime-drama starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, with special features such as multiple commentaries, deleted scenes, an alternate ending, the Making Of Face/Off and more; and the sci-fi thriller Next , which stars Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore and Jessica Biel in an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick story. The Next Blu-ray includes a Making Of featurette, "Visualizing the Next Move," "The Next Grand Idea" and "Two Minutes in the Future with Jessica Biel."

DreamWorks Animation's smash hit Bee Movie also will buzz onto Blu-ray on May 20. The hilarious animated adventure from renowned comedian Jerry Seinfeld took audiences by swarm and earned approximately $287 million in worldwide box office. The Bee Movie Blu-ray features a wealth of bonus materials including "Barry's Trivia Track" with fun pop-up trivia, changeable menus, a Build-A-Bee feature to allow viewers to create their own avatar, lost scenes, alternate endings and much, much more.

Following the initial wave of titles, Producer J.J. Abrams' monster hit, Cloverfield, arrives on Blu-ray on June 3. Earning over $166 million in worldwide box office to date, Cloverfield thrilled critics and audiences alike with its shocking, first-person video account of a horrifying attack on Manhattan by an unknown -- and seemingly unstoppable -- force. The Cloverfield Blu-ray will include an exclusive feature-length "Special Investigation Mode" with added details about the film. Additional features include a director commentary, Making Of featurettes, deleted scenes, alternate endings with commentary and more.

Director Paul Thomas Anderson's critically-acclaimed epic There Will Be Blood also arrives on Blu-ray June 3. The film was named by more than 200 critics as one of the top 10 movies of 2007 and stars Academy Award®, Golden Globe® and SAG Award® winner Daniel Day-Lewis. The Blu-ray features a slideshow of vintage photos selected by the director and set to the unforgettable score by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, deleted scenes, a featurette on dailies and more.

About Paramount Home Entertainment

Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) is part of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. PPC is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. PHE is responsible for the worldwide sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment products on behalf of various parties including: Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Studios, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, CBS, PBS and Hasbro and for providing home entertainment fulfillment services for DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment.

[JP]

Some more specific specs on the upcoming Paramount BD releases.

All righty then... we're waiting on additional artwork and details from the studio, but we've learned from our sources in the meantime that all of the newly announced Paramount Blu-ray titles will feature Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio, save for the titles originally authored last year (like Face/Off, Next and Blades of Glory). However, we're told that going forward, Dolby TrueHD audio should become a standard feature on the studio's Blu-ray titles as they're newly authored. Also, most of the new titles will be on BD-50 discs and many of the video extras will be in full HD.

We've also learned that many of Paramount's previously released Blu-ray titles will be officially returning to store shelves in May, including Aeon Flux, Babel, Black Snake Moan, Coming to America, Dreamgirls, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Sleepy Hollow, The Untouchables, Trading Places, We Were Soldiers and World Trade Center (all due on 5/20). You might also recall that the Blades of Glory Blu-ray was yanked right before it was set to be released last year. We'll, it's now finally streeting on 5/20 as well. Here's the cover art we have so far for the new titles - Bee Movie, Face/Off, Next and Blades of Glory.

Bee Movie - Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 5.1 (French and Spanish), English, French and Spanish subtitles, English SDH, audio commentary with Jerry and the filmmakers, Barry's Trivia Track, 9 deleted scenes and alternate endings (with optional commentary), customizable menus, the Build-a-Bee Avatar game, 6 featurettes (The Animators' Corner, The World of Bees, Inside the Hive: The Cast of Bee Movie HD, Jerry's Flight Over Cannes, Meet Barry B. Benson and Tech of Bee Movie HD), Jerry's NBeeC TV Juniors, DWA Kids, a DreamWorks Animation Video Jukebox HD, the We Got the Bee music video HD, trailers for Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar: The Crate Escape and The Spiderwick Chronicles (all in HD)

Blades of Glory - Uncompressed PCM 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 (no TrueHD - this title was originally authored last year), English, French and Spanish subtitles, 7 featurettes (Return to Glory: The Making of Blades HD, Celebrities on Thin Ice HD, Cooler Than Ice: The Super-Sexy Costumes of Skating HD, Arnett and Poehler: A Family Affair HD, 20 Questions with Scott Hamilton HD, Hector: Portrait of a Psychofan HD, Moviephone Unscripted with Will Ferrell, Jon Heder and Will Arnett), 5 deleted scenes HD, gag reel HD, alternate takes HD, Bo Bice's Blades of Glory music video, a photo gallery and 3 MTV interstitials

Cloverfield - Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 (French and Spanish), English, French, Portuguese and Spanish subtitles, English SDH, audio commentary by director Matt Reeves, interactive in-film Special Investigation Mode, 4 featurettes (Document 01.18.08: The Making of Cloverfield, Cloverfield Visual Effects, I Saw It! It's Alive! It's Huge! and Clover Fun), 4 deleted scenes, 2 alternate endings with optional commentary), 14 Easter eggs, www.cloverfieldfiles.com (Note that it does NOT appear that T.J. Miller's Video Diary from the Best Buy bonus disc is included)

Face/Off: Special Collector's Edition - DTS 6.1 ES, Dolby Digital 5.1 EX (no TrueHD - this title was originally authored last year), English, French and Spanish subtitles, audio commentary by director John Woo, audio commentary by writers Mike Werb and Michael Colleary, 7 deleted scenes (HD - including an alternate ending, with optional commentary), 2 featurettes (The Light and the Dark: Making Face/Off HD and John Woo: A Life in Pictures HD), and the theatrical trailer HD

Next - Still waiting on final specs

There Will Be Blood: Collector's Edition - Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 (French and Spanish), English, French and Spanish subtitles, English SDH, The Story of Petroleum and Dailies Gone Wild featurettes, 3 deleted scenes, 15 Minutes, and the film's teaser and theatrical trailers

The Spiderwick Chronicles - Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 5.1 (French and Spanish), English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles, English SDH, Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide interactive feature, 6 featurettes (Spiderwick: It's All True!, It's a Spiderwick World!, Spiderwick: Meet the Clan!, Making Spiderwick!, The Magic of Spiderwick! and A Final Word of Advice!), 4 additional scenes, 9 TV spots and 2 trailers

[JP]

For people who don't visit The Criterion Collection Thread on here...

May 8, 2008

We?ve got some exciting news for this fall: our first Blu-ray discs are coming! We?ve picked a little over a dozen titles from the collection for Blu-ray treatment, and we?ll begin rolling them out in October. These new editions will feature glorious high-definition picture and sound, all the supplemental content of the DVD releases, and they will be priced to match our standard-def editions.


Here?s what?s in the pipeline:

The Third Man
Bottle Rocket
Chungking Express
The Man Who Fell to Earth
The Last Emperor
El Norte
The 400 Blows
Gimme Shelter
The Complete Monterey Pop
Contempt
Walkabout
For All Mankind
The Wages of Fear

Alongside our DVD and Blu-ray box sets of The Last Emperor, we?ll also be putting out the theatrical version as a stand-alone release in both formats, priced at $39.95. Our Blu-ray release of Walkabout will be an all-new edition, featuring new supplements as well as a new transfer; we will also release an updated anamorphic DVD of Nicolas Roeg?s outback masterpiece at the same time.

Enjoy spring!

Certainly not the most interesting films they could have announced but there's some good stuff there.

It'll be interesting to see how they handle region locking with these.

[On The Edge of Insanity]

Chungking Express is good enough for me! Can't wait to see Wong Kar Wai's films in HD.

[CMcK]

Chungking Express is good enough for me! Can't wait to see Wong Kar Wai's films in HD.

If ever there was a director whose work could be a great showcase for HD it that man. In The Mood For Love would look awesome in HD.

[JP]

Good news for October here & here!

[CMcK]

Not too fussed about the adventures of Dr.Jones but I cannot wait to see The Family in HD.

[Lyris]

Yesssss, INDY!

[Number45]

Indy, just after my birthday! *starts making a list*

Hopefully we'll get a boxset of some description.

EDIT: Not sure if this has been posted or not. Sounds quite cool, although I'm sure it's a fairly hefty development expense for a feature I can't see to many people using.