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

[Daragon]

Almost as big a disappointment as the movie itself lol.

If I never watch it again, I know I won't be any less of a man.

[NekoFever]

Who would have wrote out that big cheque for $150m then?

Microsoft?

I'm more curious to see what would happen if the combined might of Toshiba and Microsoft were to try and cross Fox and Disney's palms with silver. Sony is going to be pretty immovable obviously.

Maybe they saw that the tide was now going against them and so they had to use some of their financial clout to keep going. And if this isn't the last time things could get very interesting. And as a dual-format user I can sit back with some popcorn and watch

[Kotatsu Neko]

Despite Fox having abandoned blu-ray some time back they remain firmly in the blu-ray camp regardless. It will be interesting to see what they do when they come out of hibernation, but rumours have been doing the rounds for a while that they have a lot of stuff in the pipeline for BD before the end of the year. Disney are also very much in Sony's pocket and I can't see them moving either.

If there could be any more shocks I wouldn't be too surprised to see Warner following Paramount. They've always preferred HD DVD so who knows, it could happen. That would be pretty massive, as Warner are the biggest studio around at the moment.

[Angry the Clown]

Hey, kids, Paramount woke Fox up:

Fox and MGM Unveil Blu-Ray Exclusive Worldwide Releases for 2007
Aug 20 at 15:59

29 Titles To Debut Packed With Soon-to-Be-Announced BD Industry 'Firsts' - PLUS - Fox's First TV Title 'PRISON BREAK' FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER And LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD and Other Titles To Debut Day-and-Date on BD/DVD --

Blu-ray Out-Performing HD DVD 2-to-1 At Retail in 2007 --

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (TCFHE) today unveiled an aggressive global Blu-ray Disc release strategy including 29 new release and "must-have" catalog titles that runs through the end of the 2007 calendar year.

Among the many highlights of the impressive worldwide slate are six day & date BD/DVD new theatrical releases from Fox including the $241 million box-office family favorite FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER and the $335 million box-office action powerhouse LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD, four day & date BD/DVD (U.S. only) new theatrical releases from MGM, 19 'must-have on BD' films from the two studios' libraries, Fox's first-ever TV release on BD - PRISON BREAK -- and Fox's intention to release at least one state-of-the-art title per month featuring numerous BD 'firsts.'

The only high-definition packaged media universally supported by the film, music, gaming and computer industries, BD is the #1 selling high-definition packaged media. In fact, on a worldwide basis, BD is averaging nearly 70% market-share per week of all high definition titles sold this year and, in the U.S., it is out-performing HD DVD by a margin of 115%.

"Given that Blu-ray has consistently outsold HD DVD all year, and this is the case for any titles released by any studio in both formats, we believe that the time is right for us to accelerate our activities and help convert the nearly 60 million high definition households worldwide into Blu-ray households," noted Mike Dunn, President Worldwide, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

"By the end of this calendar year there will be expansive availability of technically vibrant releases featuring never-before-seen, advanced BD-J interactivity as well as a broad offering of playback devices at attractive prices that will prove to any doubting consumers once and for all that Blu-ray is the only way."

"And as Blu-ray continues to grows stronger, it has become survival of the fittest which is most apparent in the retail landscape where our eager and growing global Blu-ray consumer base has caused a shift that is forcing the allocation of more space to the format that is selling the best. And, in many recent instances of note, top retailers in North America are choosing to promote the Blu-ray format exclusively in their stores," continued Dunn.

Among the BD industry 'firsts' from the Studios' upcoming global release slate are picture in picture capability, enhanced viewing and surround sound modes with the ability to mix and match picture and sound, direct access to in-movie features through one of the four colored buttons on the BD remote and the most technically vibrant BD-Java interactive multi-player challenge and trivia games to date. The Studios' slate also takes full advantage of BD-Live functionality this fourth quarter. Internet-connected consumers will enjoy unique, title specific "web-enabled" interactive features and games and "web-exclusive" downloadable content with the ability to connect and interact with other broadband BD users worldwide.

Cementing its leadership position within the industry - previous BD releases NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM and X-MEN THE LAST STAND rank in the Top 20 best-sellers - the vast majority of the Studios' upcoming global slate will be presented on 50 GB dual-layer discs with advanced BD-J interactivity and feature numerous Blu-ray exclusive high-definition bonus materials that further realizes BD's incredible potential. Consumers will enjoy the superior video and audio elements of AVC encoding and Lossless HD audio on many of the coming titles as well as enhanced and integrated menus, personal scene selections, search indexing, trivia and other title specific games and high-definition bonus materials.

Upcoming BD-J features exclusive to priority catalogue titles from Fox and MGM include an "Alien Scavenger Hunt" (INDEPENDENCE DAY) that challenges players to earn points by identifying the correct number of aliens in select scenes to unlock additional bonus features; a "Global Warming Trivia Track" (THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW) where users must correctly answer questions about global warming to keep the Earth's temperature from rising and being destroyed; and a historical and geographical pop-up map (MASTER & COMMANDER) that tracks the location of Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey and his enemies.

Listed below are the upcoming Blu-ray Disc releases from Fox and MGM excluding new theatrical day & date BD/DVD releases. EXACT TITLE CONFIGURATIONS TO FOLLOW IN THE COMING WEEKS.

TITLE N.A. RELEASE INTERNATIONAL RELEASE
MASTER & COMMANDER OCT. 2 OCT.
THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW OCT. 2 NOV.
FROM HELL OCT. 9 OCT.
THE FLY (1986) OCT. 9 Q1 08
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS OCT. 9 NOV.
28 DAYS LATER OCT. 9 North America Only
ROBOCOP (MGM) OCT. 9 DEC.
AMITYVILLE HORROR (1979) (MGM) OCT. 9 North America Only
BATTLE OF BRITAIN (MGM) NOV. 6 Q1 08
A BRIDGE TOO FAR (MGM) NOV. 6 Q1 08
I, ROBOT NOV. 13 Q1 08
DIE HARD NOV. NOV.
DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER NOV NOV.
DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE NOV. NOV.
RED DAWN (MGM) NOV. Q1 08
MR. AND MRS. SMITH DEC. 4 DEC.
INDEPENDENCE DAY DEC. 4 DEC.
CAST AWAY DEC. 4 North America Only
RONIN (MGM) DEC. 4 DEC.

Blu-ray Disc is a next generation optical disc format developed for high-definition video and high-capacity software applications. A single-layer Blu-ray Disc holds up to 25 gigabytes of data and a dual-layer Blu-ray Disc holds up to 50 gigabytes of data. This greater storage capacity enables the Blu-ray Disc to store over six times the amount of content than is possible with current DVDs, and is particularly well-suited for high definition feature films with extended levels of additional bonus and interactive material. Blu-ray also features the most advanced copy protection, player backward compatibility with the current DVD format, connectivity and advanced interactivity.

Fox takes advantage of the next generation format's high definition technology and advanced functionality to present its titles with the highest quality audiovisual elements. Showcasing picture quality with six times the resolution of DVD and theater quality "uncompressed" audio for the purest digital sound, the cutting-edge discs also feature enhanced and integrated menus, games, high-definition bonus materials and Java-encoding for more dynamic and sophisticated interactivity.

The Studio's commitment to emerging technologies is dedicated to enhancing the consumer experience of its products and providing for backward compatibility with their existing home entertainment libraries while also aggressively protecting its intellectual property from piracy. The Blu-ray companies fully embrace the Studio's steadfast commitment to the fight against piracy and the preservation of the integrity of its properties. Twentieth Century Fox is a member of the Board of Directors of the Blu- ray Disc Association.

A recognized global industry leader, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC (TCFHE) is the worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox film and television programming on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray Disc (BD) as well as acquisitions and original productions. The company also releases all products around the globe for MGM Home Entertainment. Each year TCFHE introduces hundreds of new and newly enhanced products, which it services to retail outlets -- from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores and e-commerce - throughout the world. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC is a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News
Corporation company.

Source: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Contact: Fox Home Entertainment
North America
Steve Feldstein/Callie Jernigan
310.369.5369 / 310.369.8370
or
International
Marla Rothschild/Stephanie Wenborn
310.369.5827 / 44.77.986.28695

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070820005957&newsLang=en

I can only assume '28 Days Later' is a typo and is in fact '28 Weeks Later' as the former was shot entirely on PAL DV (save for the last 3 mins which are 35mm). It's sequel was Super16 and a tiny bit of HD.

[ChrisF]

Robocop bitches! Hell yeah!

[RLench]

Who cares about Robocop? It's got Die Hard on there!!

[JP]

I was looking forward to picking up the original Shrek but it looks like I'll have to wait a little for that now.

Hasn't Ronin already had a release on Blu-ray??

It's good to see the Die Hard films making an appearance. I'm guessing number 4 will be next year sometime then.

They may seem like good films but when I think Fox I think The Simpsons, Family Guy, Futurama, King of The Hill, The X-Files & Millennium!!!

And of course...Star Wars!! As much as I dislike those bloody films myself they are pretty much guaranteed to sell Blu-ray players by the thousand.

I'd really rather all this two format crap just ended though, it serves no purpose...

[Kotatsu Neko]

Die Hard and 28 Weeks Later sound good, but the rest not so much. Robocop is a fun movie but having seen it so many times over the years I'm not sure I'm too fussed over seeing it yet again.

Quick response from the BDA though, but not hard hitting enough to counter the Paramount shocker. And it's interesting Fox are still holding back the real big hitters, - such as the Alien movies.

[ChrisF]

I'm guessing number 4 will be next year sometime then.

I'm guessing this year?

including 29 new release and "must-have" catalog titles that runs through the end of the 2007 calendar year.

Among the many highlights of the impressive worldwide slate are six day & date BD/DVD new theatrical releases from Fox including the $241 million box-office family favorite FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER and the $335 million box-office action powerhouse LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD

Think that means this year?

[JP]

It seems that Fox are "fast-tracking a press release" to arrive shortly concerning upcoming titles according to High-Def Digest.

We've just received official confirmation from Fox today that in response to Paramount's announcement, they are currently fast-tracking a press release reiterating their exclusive support for Blu-ray, as well as providing long-awaited details on their future release plans.

I'm not sure if the 2007 calendar year means this financial year though?

EDIT:
Just feel like saying it once more...FUTUREFRIGINAMA!!!

[Angry the Clown]

It's good to see the Die Hard films making an appearance. I'm guessing number 4 will be next year sometime then.

Die Hard 4 will be this year. It is mentioned along with a series of Prison Break and Fantastic Four er, 2 as a forthcoming release in the bulk of the text in the press release. Fox actually note a total of six day and date theatrical new releases will be coming to Blu Ray this year. If one accounts for Die Hard 4, Fantastic Four: Rise of... and assumes 28 Days Later is actually meant to read '28 Weeks Later,' then thus far they have only named three (one might easily assume The Simpsons Movie could be a yet to be announced fourth.. Sunshine as a fifth one maybe?).

The press release mentions 22 titles in total, and promises 29 for the 4th quarter of 2007 (for America) so clearly they've seven more titles they are not yet ready to announce, three of which we can work out to be new releases, and the remaining four catalogue.

[JP]

I wonder if they'll make the US discs region free?

[Lyris]

Doubtful - Fox LOVE their region coding. I don't think they've ever put out a BD that isn't locked.

Edit: also, one thing - 28 DAYS LATER, wasn't that shot on PAL DVCAM? What's the point of an HD disc?

[Angry the Clown]

Edit: also, one thing - 28 DAYS LATER, wasn't that shot on PAL DVCAM? What's the point of an HD disc?

As I wrote earlier, I believe it may be a typo for that very reason as it was indeed PAL DV (with its final few minutes in 35mm). I've a feeling they meant to have 28 'Weeks' Later listed. The sequel is super16 for the most part with a smattering of HD Cam material. That's not to say a decent upscaled disc of a film like the first one with lossless audio would be entirely pointless however.

[Strider]

hmmm, this paramount news has really put the cat amongst the pidgeon. Will be interesting to see how many of these fox films actually get released on time...