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

[Number45]

Just had a mail from Movietyme that my Batman Begins LE set has been despatched.

[Strider]

The Machinist!!!

just ordered the import of this from Movietyme, although it hasn't shipped yet
Oh well, will have to make do with UNbreakable, Persepolis and Point Break

[JP]

I didn't even know that it had been announce for BD until I saw it there.

They also had Zodiac: Director's Cut, The Neverending Story & some other new film in which I'd somehow missed out on. Zodiac is ?19:99 for some reason though so I don't think I'll bother with that yet.

Strider, have you watched Persepolis yet as that's something I've not ordered but do really love what I've heard about it?

[JP]

Mmmmm overpriced films in extravagant boxes and extra crap!

Also coming in time for the holidays from HBO, just as we anticipated, is the Band of Brothers mini-series on Blu-ray Disc. All of the previous DVD extras will be included, along with new bonus content exclusive to high-def. The new extras will include In the Words of Easy Company, a dynamic, optional picture-in-picture commentary by the surviving Easy Company veterans, and In the Field with the Men of Easy Company, an interactive field guide charting a path from the storming of the beaches on D-Day to the assault on Hitler's Eagle's Nest.

On the live action front, just in time for the Presidential election, Warner will deliver a 3-disc JFK: Ultimate Collector's Edition on DVD, including special packaging, 3 hours of bonus content and collectible memorabilia, as well as an all new documentary, The Kennedy's: America's Emerald Kings. This title will also be available on Blu-ray Disc format in Digibook packaging.

A Casablanca: Ultimate Collector's Edition box set is also coming to both DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Both will include 40 minutes of special features, 2 feature-length commentaries, branded travel-related premiums, a photo book, and much more.

As for more recent live action fare, an I Am Legend: Ultimate Collector's Edition box set will be available on both DVD and Blu-ray Disc, and will include an alternate version of the film with the "controversial ending," all-new special features such as a new filmmaker commentary, deleted scenes, "iconic" premium collectible items and more.

This 300 set is DVD exclusive but as blu-ray is getting a set that is "much more elaborate" I thought it was worth showing.

Also, a 300: Limited Collector's Edition box set will be available this fall on DVD only, as a special box set including all the previous DVD extras along with two new documentaries (Recreating the Spartan Era and 300: Legend Filtered Through History, Graphic Novel and Film), as well as other exclusive memorabilia (a lenticular hologram, artwork cards and more). The reason it's DVD only? The studio tells us that a much more elaborate Blu-ray Disc version is currently in production for release in 2009, complete with new BD-Live and Bonus View content. It's tentatively set for about mid-year, so watch it to arrive in stores about a year from now. We'll have more details as they become available.

[RLench]

Playusa just posted my Batman Begins Bluray boxset Hopefully I'll have it early next week then as Playusa are very fast (faster than Movietyme in my experience)

[Angry the Clown]

Mmmmm overpriced films in extravagant boxes and extra crap!

This 300 set is DVD exclusive but as blu-ray is getting a set that is "much more elaborate" I thought it was worth showing.

The JFK set is DVD only too. You'll notice Hunt mentions it'll come to Blu-ray in Digibook form. The only two being packaged similarly on both formats appear to be I am Legend and Casablanca.

Am I the only one who shudders to think what HBO will charge for Band of Brothers? They put a $130 asking price on four-disc half seasons sets of The Sopranos which come in a card case, and this set is six discs with interactive bells and whistles in a bespoke tin.

[JP]

Am I the only one who shudders to think what HBO will charge for Band of Brothers? They put a $130 asking price on four-disc half seasons sets of The Sopranos which come in a card case, and this set is six discs with interactive bells and whistles in a bespoke tin.

No, you're very definately not the only one worrying about the price of that.

I really don't understand how HBO get away with the prices they charge for these things. They are overpriced when launched and they tend to not drop the price as happens with other TV series like these.

I really enjoyed the show but I'm really not willing to be paying £100+ for it no matter how much I want it.

I'm really looking forward to Casablanca, did it have a good HD-DVD release?
I noticed it was another digi-book release. I'm not really bothered about the extra stuff that is contained in the DVD set but I'm a little worried that previous digi-book releases have been 1 disc only and I'm more than a touch worried that they will be cramming 3hrs 26mins of film onto a single disc.

[Angry the Clown]

No, you're very definately not the only one worrying about the price of that.

I really don't understand how HBO get away with the prices they charge for these things. They are overpriced when launched and they tend to not drop the price as happens with other TV series like these.

I really enjoyed the show but I'm really not willing to be paying ?100+ for it no matter how much I want it.

I?m thinking $149 minimum, and $179 maximum. That?s retail price of course, so on Amazon and the like it ought to be more respectable and assuming the UK is still to see that reported rise to a ?118 import allowance come December then we?ll be in business I'd say. I definitely don?t see it costing over ?100 though.

I'm really looking forward to Casablanca, did it have a good HD-DVD release?

The HD DVD looked very good in my opinion. I?ve no idea if this new release marks yet another re-master of the film, but I can?t imagine that it would. By the looks of things the DVD version of the set is pictured ? going by the number of disc hubs shown for the digipack. I get the impression therefore that it carries identical content to the two-disc 2004 special edition and adds a third disc of new features for good measure.

I?ll be keen to get the Blu-set (and at the same time I?d hope we might see the Forbidden Planet tin finally made available on Blu). Since the previous two-disc DVD content translated neatly to a 30GB HD DVD a 50GB BD will have no problem housing that and the new extras. It?s quite likely then that the BD version of the collector?s set will just have a keepcase housed amongst all the collectibles (such was the case with the HD DVD set of Forbidden Planet vs a digipack housed inside the standard DVD equivalent).

I noticed it was another digi-book release. I'm not really bothered about the extra stuff that is contained in the DVD set but I'm a little worried that previous digi-book releases have been 1 disc only and I'm more than a touch worried that they will be cramming 3hrs 26mins of film onto a single disc.

How the West Was Won was announced as a two-disc digibook, but curiously enough Warner?s press materials now show it have keepcase packaging (which disappoints me I must say as I?m rather fond of the books and I am eager for the release of How the West was Won). I don?t see how it would pose a problem packaging wise though as they could always form the plastic hub at the back so as that it is layered so one disc can rest partially over the other (I?m sure you know the layout I mean; it?s quite common in digipack based TV series sets on DVD).

I?d be curious as to whether JFK is one disc or not on BD myself though as I too would be worried about them cramming the film and a potential TrueHD audio track into 50GB along with what I presume would be all the extras from the previous two-disc DVD (that's all the new DVD collector's set seems to be; the old 2-disc edition, plus a new the separate 'The Kennedy's: America's Emerald Kings' documentary disc which I suspect wont be part of the BD version). Who knows, maybe they could just pull it off getting it all on a single dual layer disc if the film doesn't command frequent rises in bitrate and all the extras were standard definition VC1.


You know I?d probably kill, or at least wound significantly, for a Blu version of that DVD only 16 disc Batman Animated Series set also pictured at The Bits today. Flintstones too. Speaking of which, imagine the pricing were HBO to bring that complete Sopranos set shown to BD as well.

[JP]

I noticed the Sopranos set and actually laughed when I thought about the price of it. It is a lovely looking set though.

I'd prefer the original Batman series to be honest as I'm a really big fan of that.

I didn't realise that Forbidden Planet had been released in HD. I'd love to pick that up on BD sometime. I was impressed with the 20 Million Miles BD (Although not with the PQ really) and I've watched it a few times now. I know that Harryhausen originally wanted to film it in colour and it's certainly better than I've seen in the past but I really struggle to watch that version but at least you can flick between the 2.

A couple of things that I would absolutely love to see sometime would be It's a Wonderful Life & Universal's Laurel & Hardy remasters from a few years back.

I know it's probably the most corny film ever but the combination of Capra & Jimmy Stewart is absolutely perfect. I know that there probably a lot more that could be done with the Laurel & Hardy sets but I'd like to see that 21 DVD set all HDd up anyway.

My Baron Munchausen turned up today and although I've not watched it a had a quick look at a few scenes and from what I've seen so far the quality was really good. There seemed to be a lot of detail in some of the scenes I saw but that doesn't necessarily mean it will be like that all the way through but I live in hope.

[NekoFever]

I'm definitely buying Band of Brothers. Made a profit on the Japanese HD DVD set when I sold it, and it can't do to only have that set on normal old DVD.

I watched Men in Black this afternoon and was really disappointed with the transfer. Detail wasn't anything special, no pop to it, and I could definitely see some edge enhancement going on. I don't know how it got such a positive video score on HD Digest. Of course I did watch it immediately after Ratatouille, which is going to reflect badly on pretty much any transfer.

My Batman Begins (standard edition) was shipped on Wednesday with MT's priority shipping, so it might be here tomorrow.

[Lyris]

Baron Munchausen's been done by someone who knows what they're doing (i.e. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment). They've degrained it but have turned off (or weakened) the effect whenever there's something on screen that could cause NR artefacts (there's a couple of scenes with scrolling clouds, for example, where they wisely appear to turn it off).

[JP]

That's really good to hear as it may be my favourite Gilliam film.

As you're obviously somebody who understands and I'm obviously somebody who doesn't, what is it about scenes like the ones that you mention that would cause the artefacts more than other scenes?

Please don't get too technical as it'll probably go way over my head but I'm getting more and more interested in this type of stuff.

[Lyris]

It's difficult to explain without pictures, and I don't have any to hand, but noise reduction filters that smooth details out over time ('temporal' filters) cause smearing in the picture. I actually don't know the precise technical reasoning why clouds are such a problem, but every time I've tried using temporal NR filters in a scene with moving clouds, it's caused some nasty artefacts.

Basically, every time I saw an increase in grain, I could spot something else on screen that made me say "Ah, that's the reason".

[JP]

Cheers, I've had a bit of a look into what seems to be the dreaded temporal blur. I had a brief look at a few sites and did get a very basic idea of what's happening.

I think I'm going to have to start looking into this stuff properly though.

Some more releases:

Fox has just officially revealed the Blu-ray Disc release of The Omen (1976) and The Omen Collection, as well as Night Watch and Day Watch. All will street on 9/9, as we've reportedly previously. What's new here are official details on these titles, as follows:

Night Watch, Day Watch and The Omen (1976) will all be released on BD-50 discs. The other discs (in The Omen Collection) will be BD-25s. All will feature DTS-HD audio, save for Night Watch, which will include Dolby TrueHD. Each title will SRP for $39.98, while the collection will sell for SRP $129.98.

The Omen (1976) will include the previously-released DVD extras, among them an introduction by director Richard Donner, audio commentary by Donner and editor Stuart Baird, a second commentary with Donner and screenwriter Brian Hegeland, the "dog attack" deleted scene with optional commentary, 5 featurettes ( 666: The Omen Revealed, The Omen Legacy, Curse or Coincidence?, An Appreciation: Wes Craven on The Omen, Jerry Goldsmith on The Omen Score and Screenwriters Notebook), the film's theatrical trailer and a still gallery. Also included will be a number of BD-exclusive features, such as the Richard Donner on The Omen featurette, The Omen Revelations BonusView viewing option with trivia track, a third audio commentary with film historians Lem Dobbs, Nick Redman and Jeff Bond, and the film's score in Dolby Digital 5.1 as an isolated audio track.

The Omen Collection will include The Omen (1976 - with extras listed above), Damien: Omen II (with audio commentary by producer Harvey Bernhard and the theatrical trailer), Omen III: The Final Conflict (with audio commentary by director Graham Baker and the theatrical trailer) and The Omen (2006 - includes audio commentary with director John Moore, producer Glen Williamson and editor Dan Zimmerman, the Revelations 666 and Abbey Road Sessions featurettes, extended scenes and the BD-exclusive The Devil's Footnotes trivia track).

Meanwhile, Night Watch will include audio commentary with director Timur Bekmambetov, subtitled commentary by novelist Sergei Lukyanenko (in English, French and Spanish), 3 featurettes (The Making of Night Watch, Characters, Story and Subtitles and Night Watch Trilogy), 7 deleted scenes with commentary by Bekmambetov, an extended ending, poster and comic book still galleries, the film's theatrical trailer and D-Box compatibility.

And Day Watch will include audio commentary with Bekmambetov, The Making of Day Watch featurette, original Russian TV spots, theatrical trailers and D-Box compatibility.

Here's the final cover art for all four titles...

[Angry the Clown]

Following on from the demise of their US division now Tartan UK is no more:

LONDON - U.K. distrib Tartan Films has finally shuttered.

Sources told Variety that Tartan employees found the London office doors closed Thursday June 26 and were then informed later in the day by Tartan topper Hamish McAlpine the company was closed for business.

Speculation over the future of Tartan has been rife for several months. The distrib was believed to be in takeover talks with David Bergstein of the Capco Group, the firm that owns ThinkFilm, a stake in I.M. Global as well as the U.K.'s Capitol Film and has itself been plagued by rumors of financial troubles, for much of last year before negotiations broke down following disagreements over Tartan's financial worth.

Last October Tartan announced it had received a cash injection of £3 million ($6.2 million) in the form of a convertible loan from a private investor and also had restructured its Brit operation, with managing director Laura De Casto ankling. The company's theatrical and home entertainment departments, previously run out of separate London offices, were also merged into one entity based at Tartan's head office.

Tartan USA, the company's U.S. arm, announced at this year's Cannes that it was being foreclosed. Film print and advertising financing company Palisades Media Corp. has since bought the U.S. rights to its library.

Those moves now appear to have only offered temporary respite from a downward turn of fortune for McAlpine, who founded Tartan in 1982. The company subsequently expanded by launching sub-labels such as Tartan Terror and Tartan Asia Extreme. Distrib arguably became the home for genre fare and edgy, foreign-language pics, especially from Asia.

No official comment has been made yet by Tartan execs as to what the future holds for the company although it seems likely that a team of liquidators and accountants will be brought in to assess the company's assets and sell them off.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...goryid=18&cs=1


This is most unfortunate news. They were a jolly good bunch and their initial Blu-ray releases showed great promise. I suspect their UK discs will be around for a little while yet, but with their US division already dead those who want Old Boy, the only disc they released in the States, might want to go after that sooner rather than later as it was a two-disc set boasting more features than Tartan’s own UK version.