The Blu-Ray Upcoming, News & Info Thread

[IronFingaz]

With two early retail announcements, Paramount and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment have indicated plans to bring Roman Polanski's Chinatown as well as his Carnage to Blu-ray.

One of the most beloved thrillers ever made, Paramount's 1974 release Chinatown finds Polanski paying homage to Hollywood's great film noirs with this dark tale of a private eye (Jack Nicholson, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) becoming involved with a femme fatale (Faye Dunaway, Bonnie and Clyde) and a ruthless water baron (John Huston, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre) during a complex murder-and-land rights investigation.

Nominated for eleven Oscars at the 1975 Academy Awards Ceremony, the film won one for Robert Towne's original screenplay.

Release this past year, Sony's Carnage is the director's screen adaptation of the Yasmina Reza stageplay. A meeting between New York City couples Nancy & Alan (Kate Winslet, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds) and Penelope & Michael (Jodie Foster, The Silence of the Lambs, and John C. Reilly, Magnolia) to discuss the schoolyard conflict between their respective sons turns into a blackly comic examination of upper-class privilege as the four adults' initially civil discourse begins to curdle.

Polanski won the Little Golden Lion at the 2011 Venice Film Festival for his direction of Carnage, and stars Kate Winslet and Jodie Foster are currently both nominated for the 2012 Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical) Golden Globe.

The Blu-rays' separate technical and supplementary details are still unknown.

Carnage is expected to street on March 20th, while Chinatown has a tentative April 3rd street date.

 

[IronFingaz]

Trade ad. Didn't see it in theaters. Was it any good???

I've heard nothing but bad stuff about it and it is from Paul WS Anderson, so that's no surprise.

 

[batfan08]

Kind of off-topic, but I really hope WB puts Batman:The Animated Series on blu for the 20th Anniversary. As for the previous post, Chinatown on Blu 'nuff said.

 

[Zappy]

Finally, this release is coming out. I guess Uni was saving it for this year's Easter.

3/23/12

 

[Zappy]

I've heard nothing but bad stuff about it and it is from Paul WS Anderson, so that's no surprise.

Yeah I also heard it was pretty bad. I'll probably skip that release then.

 

[soundwave]

Kind of off-topic, but I really hope WB puts Batman:The Animated Series on blu for the 20th Anniversary. As for the previous post, Chinatown on Blu 'nuff said.

I think I would probably explode with excitement if they did that

I absolutely loved the series & we only got seasons 1 & 2 in the UK on DVD so I never did get to pick up the later stuff

Neil

 

[IronFingaz]

As part of its 100th Anniversary this year, Universal Studios will unveil the results of its extensive film restoration campaign. Beginning this year, thirteen Universal titles will benefit from the studio's labors. The list includes:

All Quiet on the Western Front
The Birds
Bride of Frankenstein
Abbott and Costello's Buck Privates
The English and Spanish language Dracula versions filmed in 1931
Frankenstein
Jaws
Out of Africa
Pillow Talk
Schindler's List
The Sting
To Kill a Mockingbird

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Universal's Technical Operations Head Michael Daruty stresses the thoroughness of this project, as "the restorations...took three to six months each and cost $250,000 to $600,000 per title."

Daruty also hinted at similar film treatment in the future, noting that "this was a commitment by the company to say, 'We're gonna devote funding and most probably continue that effort year over year, to try and preserve and restore the legacy of the company...whether we're gonna get our money back in that first year or not.' "

The only caveat is that not all of the aforementioned films will receive Blu-ray treatment; Universal has only definitively confirmed All Quiet on the Western Front, Jaws, Out of Africa, and To Kill a Mockingbird Blu-rays.

However, the studio's official press release includes a detail that "highly anticipated Blu-ray releases of Universal's Classic Monster and Alfred Hitchcock series" will street later in the year, which bodes well for expecting The Birds, Bride of Frankenstein, both Dracula versions, and Frankenstein HD upgrades.

https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=8012

 

[furystorm]

All great films, but it's Jaws I've been waiting for.

Gonna try not to buy any blu rays until Jaws!

 

[Darth Waller]

I can't wait to see what they do with Dracula, Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein.

 

[Darth Waller]

Gonna try not to buy any blu rays until Jaws!

You might be waiting awhile.

 

[IronFingaz]

You might be waiting awhile.

There's unconfirmed reports of a August release date which i hope is not true. It's like releasing Halloween in November

 

[jimjimmyjones85]

Bride of Frankenstein
Abbott and Costello's Buck Privates
The English and Spanish language Dracula versions filmed in 1931
Frankenstein
Schindler's List
The Sting
To Kill a Mockingbird

These will be musts at some point in time for me.

 

[UTtoyfan]

I need for Mr Spielberg to just go ahead and give me all his movies on Blu-ray please. Just me only.

 

[IronFingaz]

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXnu58AwvME[/ame]

As part of its 100th Anniversary this year, Universal Studios will unveil the results of its extensive film restoration campaign. Beginning this year, thirteen Universal titles will benefit from the studio's labors. The list includes:

All Quiet on the Western Front
The Birds
Bride of Frankenstein
Abbott and Costello's Buck Privates
The English and Spanish language Dracula versions filmed in 1931
Frankenstein
Jaws
Out of Africa
Pillow Talk
Schindler's List
The Sting
To Kill a Mockingbird

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Universal's Technical Operations Head Michael Daruty stresses the thoroughness of this project, as "the restorations...took three to six months each and cost $250,000 to $600,000 per title."

Daruty also hinted at similar film treatment in the future, noting that "this was a commitment by the company to say, 'We're gonna devote funding and most probably continue that effort year over year, to try and preserve and restore the legacy of the company...whether we're gonna get our money back in that first year or not.' "

The only caveat is that not all of the aforementioned films will receive Blu-ray treatment; Universal has only definitively confirmed All Quiet on the Western Front, Jaws, Out of Africa, and To Kill a Mockingbird Blu-rays.

However, the studio's official press release includes a detail that "highly anticipated Blu-ray releases of Universal's Classic Monster and Alfred Hitchcock series" will street later in the year, which bodes well for expecting The Birds, Bride of Frankenstein, both Dracula versions, and Frankenstein HD upgrades.

Update: Included in their restoration press release is a mention of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, which, while not officially part of Universal's 2012 restoration slate, will receive a 30th Anniversary Blu-ray Edition this year.

After yesterday's early retail announcement, Paramount Home Entertainment has finally confirmed the April release of Chinatown on Blu-ray. Directed by Roman Polanski (Repulsion), this classic noir homage stars Jack Nicholson (The Departed) as Jake Gittes, a private eye in 1930's Los Angeles who unwittingly becomes a pawn in a complex murder-and-land rights scheme.

Through his investigations, Gittes soon begins to suspect deeper, more perverse motivations behind the case as he becomes involved with a mysterious femme fatale (Faye Dunaway, Network) and a ruthless water baron (John Huston, director of The African Queen).

Nominated for eleven Oscars at the 1975 Academy Awards Ceremony - Best Picture: Robert Evans; Best Director: Roman Polanski; Best Actor: Jack Nicholson; Best Actress: Faye Dunaway; Best Film Editing: Sam O'Steen; Best Art Direction: Richard Sylbert, W. Stewart Campbell, & Ruby Levitt; Best Costume Design: Anthea Sylbert; Best Cinematography: John A. Alonzo; Best Sound Mixing: Bud Grenzbach & Larry Jost; Best Music Score: Jerry Goldsmith; and Best Original Screenplay: Robert Towne - the film ultimately won just one for Towne's screenplay.

Paramount's Blu-ray presents the film in its 2.39:1 original aspect ratio with both 5.1 and restored monaural Dolby TrueHD audio tracks. The disc also carries a number of bonus supplements, including:
Commentary with Robert Towne and David Fincher
Three-part Water and Power documentary with Robert Towne:
- The Aqueduct
- The Aftermath
- The River & Beyond
Chinatown: An Appreciation retrospective with filmmakers Steven Soderbergh, James Newton Howard, Kimberly Peirce, and Roger Deakins
Three behind-the-scenes featurettes:
- Chinatown: The Beginning and the End
- Chinatown: Filming
- Chinatown: The Legacy
Theatrical trailer

In addition, the Blu-ray contains a slipcover with the original theatrical poster art as well as a collectible booklet with information about the film.

Chinatown streets on April 3rd.

At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, the guests at the James Bond Directors' Panel - guests that included directors John Glen (Licence to Kill), Martin Campbell (GoldenEye), and Michael Apted (The World is Not Enough) as well as actresses Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) and Caterina Murino (Casino Royale) - made a special announcement regarding the franchise's future on Blu-ray.

This year, MGM and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will bring the Bond 50 collection to Blu-ray. Commemorating the iconic spy's fiftieth anniversary, the box set includes twenty-two Bond thrillers - including nine never-before-released on Blu-ray - beginning with Dr. No and ending with Quantum of Solace.

Though the exact technical and supplementary specifications are still unknown, MGM and Fox's official press release notes that the films have been "produced using the highest possible picture quality and audio presentation...with more than 130 hours of bonus features including some new and exclusive content."

While the two studios have not yet set a street date, MGM's Senior Vice President Michael Brown told CES that "[Bond 50] is a great way for fans to catch up on 007's epic journey before Skyfall hits theaters" on November 9th, 2012.

Bond 50 is available for pre-order at Amazon for $199.99.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release a 35th Anniversary Edition of Wizards this March. Directed by Ralph Bakshi (Fire and Ice), this animated adventure centers on kindly sorcerer Avatar as he navigates through a post-apocalyptic Earth.

From Fox's official press release:

"Avatar's evil brother, Blackwolf, dominates Scortch, a bleak land of goblins and wraiths. When the power-hungry Blackwolf attacks Montagar [a rainbow paradise inhabited by elves and fairies], Avatar, accompanied only by a spirited young woman and a courageous elf, must enter the darkness of Scortch to save his world."

Fox's 35th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray presents the film in its 1.85:1 original aspect ratio with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. The Digibook release also contains the following supplements:
Digibook packaging has 24-pages of artwork, some never-before-seen
Special message from Bakshi

Wizards is expected to street on March 13th.

 

[Darth Waller]

^^ If buying that box set is the only way to get the other nine Bonds on Blu-ray, ____ you MGM/Fox.

I need for Mr Spielberg to just go ahead and give me all his movies on Blu-ray please. Just me only.

Even Hook?

 

[batfan08]

Good thing I only paid a couple of bucks for Casino Royale on Black Friday. That Bond set looks awesome, and a killer price, too. Just over $9 per film.

 

[IronFingaz]

^^ If buying that box set is the only way to get the other nine Bonds on Blu-ray, ____ you MGM/Fox.



Even Hook?

I think it is.

 

[batfan08]

So, E.T., Jaws, and Schindler's List. Plus the inevitable releases of War Horse and TinTin on Blu Ray. It seems like 2012 is the year for Spielberg on Blu-Ray. Hopefully, we see Indy as well.

 

[IronFingaz]

So, E.T., Jaws, and Schindler's List. Plus the inevitable releases of War Horse and TinTin on Blu Ray. It seems like 2012 is the year for Spielberg on Blu-Ray. Hopefully, we see Indy as well.

Indy is coming this year as well.

 

[Darth Waller]

Indy is coming this year as well.

In a box set, too.