District 9 is a sci-fi drama about aliens stranded in South Africa which became one of the surprise hits of the year with its clever mix of action, politics and dazzling SFX.
After being recruited to do the aborted Halo movie by Peter Jackson, director Neill Blomkamp revived a short film of his which was a science-fiction thriller where stranded alien refugees are exiled to a slum in Johannesburg.
The story explores what happens to a South African bureaucrat (Sharlto Copley) assigned to relocate the creatures, derogatorily referred to as “prawns”, after he is infected with a strange liquid.
A combination of many alien films and TV shows from Alien Nation, V and even Independence Day, it mixes political allegory with a more conventional thriller narrative.
Copley gives a strong performance in the central role and the visual realisation of the aliens is stunning with the designs coming from WETA Workshop and effects by Image Engine.
Funded by QED, it was picked up by Sony who did a shrewd marketing campaign and achieved one of the summers genuine breakthrough hits, without any recognisable stars, a first time director and working from little known source material.
In a year of overblown and tedious sci-fi/action fare such as Transformers 2 and GI: Joe, this was a breath of fresh air.
The extras on the DVD and Blu-ray are as follows:
DVD
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English DD5.1 Surround
English Audio Description Track
English HOH and Hindi subtitles
Director’s Commentary
The Alien Agenda: A Filmmaker’s Log Three-Part Documentary
Deleted Scenes
Blu-ray Disc
Coded for all regions (A, B and C), extras are presented in HD. The transfer on the Blu-ray looks fantastic and is one of the best presented discs I have seen all year in terms of picture quality. Features include:
1080P 1.85:1 Widescreen
English and French 5.1 DTS-HD MA
English Audio Description Track
English*, English HOH, French and Hindi subtitles (*also on extras)
Director’s Commentary
The Alien Agenda: A Filmmaker’s Log Three-Part Documentary
Deleted Scenes
BD Exclusives:
BD-Live: movieIQ & cinechat
Featurette: “Metamorphosis: The Transformation of Wikus”
Featurette: “Innovation: The Acting and Improvisation of District 9”
Featurette: “Conception and Design: Creating the World of District 9”
Featurette: “Alien Generation: The Visual Effects of District 9”
Joburg from Above: Satellite and Schematics of the World of District 9” – Interactive Map
The Hurt Locker succeeds brilliantly where many films about the Iraq War have failed by examining the tense details of life in a bomb disposal unit.
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow from a script by journalist Mark Boal (based on his experiences as a reporter embedded with troops), it portrays a group of soldiers who have to disarm IEDs (improvised explosive devices) in the heat of combat.
The story begins with a new sergeant (Jeremy Renner) taking over a highly trained disposal team and the tension that arises with his two subordinates, Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) as they fear his fearless attitude is endangering their lives.
Unlike the half-hearted hand-wringing that has characterised some of the films dealing with the war on terror, this plunges us deep into the anxiety and chaos of warfare.
But the clever twist of The Hurt Locker is that it steers clear of war movie clichés: the enemy is often hidden and faceless; sequences are agonisingly teased out; death is lurking everywhere; combat is a powerful drug that affects soldiers in different ways.
Bigelow wisely recruited cinematographer Barry Ackroyd to give the film a captivating, hand-held look which is reminiscent of his work on Paul Greengrass’ United 93.
As a director it is a welcome return to form and combines the energy and thrills of her best work with an attention to detail that pays of handsomely in several memorable sequences.
Since premièring at the Venice film festival back in 2008 it has deservedly reaped rave reviews and will be a leading contender at the upcoming Oscars.
The DVD and Blu-ray Disc come with the following extras:
District 9 (Sony): A sci-fi drama about aliens landing in South Africa featuring no stars and an unknown director became one of the surprise hits of the year with a clever mix of action, politics and dazzling SFX. [Click here for the full review]
The Hurt Locker (Lionsgate/Optimum): One of the most acclaimed films of the decade was this tense drama about a bomb disposal unit in Iraq, directed by Kathryn Bigelow from a script by journalist Mark Boal. [Click here for the full review]
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ALSO OUT
1941 (Universal) [Buy on DVD] A Dangerous Man (Optimum) [Buy on DVD] Darker Than Black Vols 5 & 6 (Manga) [Buy on DVD] Family Guy: Something, Something, Something, Darkside (Fox) [Buy on Import DVD] Kitaro and the Millennium Curse (Manga) [Buy on DVD] Kitaro Movie (Manga) [Buy on DVD] Law & Order: Criminal Intent Season 4 (Universal Playback) Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 10 (Universal Playback) Life Season 2 (Universal Playback) [Buy on DVD] Misfits Series 1 (4DVD) [Buy on DVD] The Final Destination (EIV) [Buy on DVD / Buy on Blu-ray] The Gold Diggers (BFI) [Buy on DVD]
The Bela Tarr Collection (Artificial Eye) [Buy on DVD] The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (Optimum) [Buy on DVD or Blu-ray] The Red Riding Trilogy (Optimum) [Buy on DVD] Dean Spanley (Icon) [Buy on DVD]
Gone with the Wind – 70th Anniversary Edition (Warner) [Buy on DVD or Blu-ray] Heat (Warner) [Buy on DVD or Blu-ray] Fanny and Alexander (Palisades Tartan) [Buy on DVD] For All Mankind (Eureka/Masters of Cinema) [Buy on DVD or Blu-ray] Moon (Sony) [Buy on DVD or Blu-ray] North by Northwest – 50th Anniversary Edition (Warner) [Buy on Blu-ray] The Terence Davies Collection (BFI) [Buy on DVD] Fight Club – 10th Anniversary Edition (Fox) [Buy on Blu-ray] The Wizard of Oz – 70th Anniversary Edition (Warner) [Buy on DVD or Blu-ray] The Jacques Tati Collection (BFI) [Buy on DVD]
N.B. As I’m based in the UK, all of these DVDs are UK titles but if you live in a different region of the world check out Play.com or your local Amazon site and they should have an equivalent version of the film.
One if the surprise hits of the summer was The Hangover (Warner Bros.), a comedy from director Todd Phillips about a bachelor party gone wrong in Las Vegas.
When three groomsmen (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis) lose their about-to-be-wed buddy (Justin Bartha) after a riotous night of partying, they have to retrace their steps in order to find him.
Along the way, they encounter a tiger belonging to Mike Tyson, a stripper (Heather Graham), a naked man in the trunk of their car and numerous other troubles.
Although on the surface this looks like another goofy mainstream Hollywood comedy, it rises well above the norm due to a clever central concept (the bachelor party itself is cleverly hidden from the audience) and some killer lines and scenes.
Made for a relatively small production budget of $35 million, it proved insanely profitable after grossing over $459 million worldwide.
The DVD version includes the theatrical version of the film with the following features:
2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English and Italian DD5.1
English Audio Description
English HOH, Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Icelandic, Italian and Italian HOH subtitles
“Map of Destruction” – Retrace each step the guys took during their fate-filled evening and see the real locations, learn about Las Vegas lore and see the filming that took place there
“Three Best Friends Song” – Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis “freestyle” their own song
Gag Reel
The Blu-ray Disc includes the theatrical and extended cuts of the film with the following features (extras are all in HD):
1080P 2.40:1 Widescreen
English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD
French and German DD5.1 (Theatrical Version only)
English Audio Description (Theatrical Version only)
Subtitles (Film): English HOH, French, German, German HOH, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Swedish subtitles
Picture in Picture Commentary (Theatrical Version only, no subtitles) featuring Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms and Todd Phillips
“Map of Destruction” (16:27mins) – Retrace each step the guys took during their fate-filled evening and see the real locations, learn about Las Vegas lore and see the filming that took place there
“The Madness of Ken Jeong” (7:56mins)– Ken Jeong’s nonstop hilarious improve
“Action Mash-Up” (35secs)– Compilation of the physical comedy from the film
“Three Best Friends Song” (1:23mins) – Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis “freestyle” their own song
“The Dan Band!” (1:08mins) – The Dan Band performs “Fame”
Gag Reel (8:16mins)
More Pictures from the Missing Camera – More photos exposing the events from the night of mayhem
Although the 60-year-old is best known to UK audiences as the screenwriter of Gomorrah (Matteo Garrone’s superb 2008 drama about organised crime), he has opted for a very different kind of film for his directorial debut.
Based on personal experiences, Di Gregorio essentially plays Gianni, a bachelor in his late 50s who is the full-time carer of his 90-year-old mother (Valeria De Franciscis).
Shot entirely on location (some of it in Di Gregorio’s old flat) with a non-professional cast, it focuses on the relationships between family members and strangers in the flat, but also explores the experience of ageing with a grat deal of charm and insight.
Gianni and his mother live in the Roman district of Trastevere and the film is set around the eve of Ferragosto, the annual celebration on August 15th of the ascension of the Virgin Mary into Heaven which empties the city.
Because he owes favours to his landlord and doctor, Giovanni is persuaded to look after their mothers as a favour, along with an aunt for good measure.
The film then is a gentle depiction of their time together as he drinks, smokes and cooks for the older women.
There is plenty of humour too, as tensions simmer over television, food, medication and night time escapades, but it is one grounded in real life experience, never feeling forced or contrived.
The observations and details are superbly evoked, but the central appeal of the film is the humanity beating at the heart of it.
All of the characters are treated with a respect and dignity that is all too rare in modern society, let alone films featuring old people.
Instead of being hectoring caricatures, they have a depth and interior life which is charmingly presented and free from cheap sentimentality.
Interview with Gianni Di Gregorio: An interesting extra in which the actor, writer and director discusses the film but also visits the older women who star in it. He deliberately selected non-professional actors and it was a wise choice – off screen they appear just as interesting.
The story involves a young Jewish woman (Melanie Laurent) who escapes the slaughter of her family by a ‘Jew hunting’ Nazi (Christophe Waltz); a group of commandos known as ‘The Basterds’ led by a Southern lieutenant (Brad Pitt); a British agent (Michael Fassbender) behind enemy lines; a Nazi war hero (Daniel Bruhl) who has become a film star; an German actress double agent (Diane Kruger) and the Nazi high command of Hitler (Martin Wuttke) and Goebbels (Sylvester Groth).
Whilst not in the same league as his first two films, it is absorbing, well crafted filmmaking laced with considerable wit and style. From the bravura opening sequence – a homage to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – involving a Nazi having a drink with a French farmer, is a master class in tension and sets up the rest of the story beautifully.
Much of the film involves characters talking for extended periods and there is a notable lack of conventional action sequences, but this is actually a strength rather than a weakness.
The main reason for this is that the pool of characters here are some of the best Tarantino has ever written and his uncanny eye for the right actor has paid rich dividends here.
It is being sold as a World War II action movie starring Brad Pitt, but this is a much more European flavoured film with a diverse and expertly cast ensemble.
Pitt does well as the head of the Jewish commandos but the real stand outs are Christophe Waltz, who is marvellous as the multi-lingual SS offficer nicknamed ‘The Jew Hunter’ and Melanie Laurent as Shosanna Dreyfus, his Jewish nemeis who ends up owning a cinema in Paris.
One sequence between them, set in a restaurant, is superbly played with an underlying menace and tension that is tweaked quite brilliantly.
To some it will be just more ‘Tarantino speak’, but the context, the use of music and extreme close ups all give it a different texture from what you might expect.
The rest of the cast all do sterling work but special praise must go to Michael Fassbender and Mike Myers for their only scene together – a wonderfully played military briefing which is hilarious, although it could be a litmus test for those who love or hate this film.
Going in you might expect this to be mostly about the Basterds killing Nazis, but that is only one slice of the pie, with the real juice of the film being a revenge tale in which even celluloid itself is drafted into the plot.
Whilst much of the discussion about the film will inevitably centre around the director and his reputation, it is worth mentioning the wonderful technical work across the board.
The production values are first rate, with the studio based scenes (shot at Babelsberg Studio outside Berlin) mixed seamlessly with location work and the production design by David Wasco is complemented beautifully by the costumes by Anna Sheppard.
The cinematography by Robert Richardson is beautifully composed and when combined with Tarantino’s style and Sally Menke’s editing makes for some wonderfully snappy and memorable sequences.
Music has always been a strong point in Tarantino’s previous films as he has made a point of never using an original composer and instead inserting previously recorded pieces.
For longtime fans of the director, look out for the now trademark scenes involving feet, a Mexican stand off, close ups of food (think cream rather than Big Kahuna burgers) and numerous references to films throughout.
At 153 minutes maybe some of it could have been cut a little bit more (one sequence in a bar seems to have been trimmed slightly since Cannes) but the fact is that I never looked at my watch during the film – it had me absorbed and each chapter rolling into the next was a pleasure.
Mainstream audiences may get put off by the use of subtitles (attractive yellow ones as it turns out) used in much of the multi-lingual cast and the fact that Brad Pitt is in it less than the marketing is letting on.
This is a film that exists very much in its own world, as you will see when it gets to the climax, but it is such a rich and lovingly created one that avoids the pitfalls of many movies set in World War II.
It is as much about our perceptions and fantasies of that war than it is about the actual war itself. In terms of where this fits into the director’s career, I don’t think Quentin Tarantino will ever top the expectations Pulp Fiction forced on him.
Since the enormous critical and commercial success of that film he seemed to be indulged at Miramax (which, to be fair, his success helped shape) and perhaps he hasn’t had the creative tension down the years that he needed.
His last couple of films – despite undoubted qualities – seemed to be showing an artist retreating into his own self-referential head.
Grindhouse marked the point where he seemed to be chasing his own pop culture tail and this was paralleled by the commercial misfires at the newly formed Weinstein Company.
With this film they have partnered with Universal and interestingly this is the first time Tarantino has worked with a major studio as writer-director. Maybe this has given him a new sense of responsibility and helped him creatively.
Certainly Inglourious Basterds is a refreshing change of pace from the crime and exploitation influenced work he had been doing of late.
Mid-August Lunch (Artificial Eye): An Italian comedy-drama about a middle aged man (Gianni Di Gregorio, who also directed) who finds himself looking after his mother and several other older women in a small Roman flat. [Read the full review here…]
Life(2 Entertain): This ten-part series narrated by David Attenborough covers 130 stories from the natural world. Exploring the variety of life on Earth and the specialised strategies and extreme behaviour that living things have evolved in order to survive; what Charles Darwin termed “the struggle for existence”. Four years in the making, the series was shot entirely in high definition and it includes 10 minute ‘making of’ diaries for each episode. [Available on DVD and Blu-ray]
The Miners’ Campaign Tapes (BFI): Six short films about the 1984 Miners’ Strike have been collected on DVD and released for the first time by the BFI. The footage was originally shot at the time by a group of independent film and video makers on the picket lines and marches where they recorded the testimonies of striking miners, their families and supporters. Among those that appear are Arthur Scargill, Dennis Skinner and the late Paul Foot.
The episodes include:
Not Just Tea and Sandwiches
The Coal Board’s Butchery
Solidarity
Straight Speaking
The Lie Machine
Only Doing Their Job?
Also included is an illustrated 22-page booklet with essays by Chris Reeves of Platform Films – discussing the making and distribution of the Tapes; by Julian Petley (co-author of Media Hits the Pits: the Media and the Coal Dispute and Shafted: the Media, the Miners’ Strike and the Aftermath and by David Peace, author of GB84, the Red Riding thrillers and The Damned Utd. [Available on DVD]
The SopranosSeason 1gets its UK debut on Blu-ray and remains essential viewing if you don’t already own it on DVD.
One of the best and most iconic TV dramas of the last decade, it was created by David Chase and screened for six seasons on HBO from 1999 until 2007.
Set in New Jersey, where it also was shot and produced, the series revolves around mobster Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) and his struggles to balance his home and working life.
A huge ratings and critical success, it became the most financially successful cable series in history and arguably one of the landmark shows in the history of television.
It garnered several awards, including twenty-one Emmys and five Golden Globes and broke through in to popular culture with the show being parodied, analysed and discussed by many viewers across the world.
Season 1 began with Tony Soprano collapsing after suffering a panic attack which led him into therapy with Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco).
As the season develops details of Tony’s life emerge: his father and mother loom large in his personal and social development; his complex relationship with his wife Carmela (Edie Falco); his children, Meadow and Anthony Jr., who both have find out more about their father’s line of work; someone in his organization snitching to the FBI; his own family plotting against him and various behind the scenes conflicts, which gradually emerge.
The technical specs are:
1.78:1
1080p
5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
The box set include the following episodes:
46 Long
Denial, Anger, Acceptance
Meadowlands
College
Pax Soprano
Down Neck
Tennessee Moltisante
Boca
A Hit Is A Hit
Nobody Knows Anything
Isabella
Jeanne Cusamano
Extras appear to be appear to be a bit thin on the gound.
A Blu-ray only re-release for Fight Club (Fox) is a 10th Anniversary Edition of the the 1999 film based on the book by Chuck Palahniuk.
Directed by David Fincher it stars Edward Norton and Brad Pitt as disaffected males who bond over their disgust at (what was then) modern society by creating an underground club where men beat each other up.
Although I’m not the kind of die-hard fan to name this as one of the greatest films of the 90s (they do actually exist) it remains a skilful and intriguing mainstream film dealing with such issues as consumerism and terrorism in a sly and unnerving way.
Norton and Pitt both impress in the leads whilst Fincher brings his trademark visual flair to the screen. Apparently Fox’s owner Rupert Murdoch was appalled when he saw the film and it is hard to imagine such a project even being greenlit today by a mainstream studio.
The climax, which eerily foreshadows the events of 9/11, subject matter and subversive humour led to it causing a stir when it premièred at the Venice film festival in 1999.
In time it became much more successful on DVD and now the Blu-ray release should appeal directly to its significant fanbase.
Fincher himself supervised the transfer and included some bizarre touches in the spirit of the film (e.g. the menu is not what you might expect).
This surely is the best of all editions with a vastly superior image, flawless audio and old – as well as new – extras. Like it or love it – the film is an unforgettable ride and a milestone in the careers of the director and two lead stars.
This Blu-ray surely replicates the theatrical experience better than ever before for your home theater. An impressive amount of effort has gone into this 20th Century Fox release and for anyone, even remotely, keen on the film – we are highly recommending it as the definitive way to see David Fincher’s inventive, surprising and subversive Fight Club.
He also has comparison screen shots of the DVD and Blu-ray versions here.
The technical specs are:
1080P / 23.976 fps Dual-layered Blu-ray
Disc Size: 46,278,055,124 bytes
Feature: 34,166,661,120 bytes
Video Bitrate: 23.45 Mbps
Codec: MPEG4 AVC Video
The extras have some new elements which include:
A Hit In The Ear: Ren Klyce and the Sound Design of Fight Club (New)
Welcome To Fight Club
Angel Faces Beating
The Crash
Tyler’s Goodbye
Flogging Fight ClubNew Insomniac Mode: I Am Jack’s Search Index, Commentary Log, Topic Search (New)
Guys Choice Award (New)
Work: Production, Visual Effects, On Location (New)
Edward Norton Interview (New)
Commentary by David Fincher
Commentary by David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter
Commentary by Chuck Palahniuk and Jim Uhls
Commentary by Alex McDowell, Jeff Cronenweth, Michael Kaplan and Kevin Haug
Seven Deleted Scenes and Alternate Scenes
Theatrical Teaser, Theatrical Trailer, The Eight Rules of Fight Club
12 TV Spots
Public Service Announcements
Music Video
Five Internet Spots
Promotional Gallery
Art Gallery
Fight Club is out now on Blu-ray from 20th Century Fox
Fight Club 10th Anniversary Edition (Fox): A Blu-ray only re-release for Fight Club is a 10th Anniversary Edition of the the 1999 film based on the book by Chuck Palahniuk. Directed by David Fincher it stars Edward Norton and Brad Pitt as disaffected males who bond over their disgust at modern consumerism by creating an underground club where men beat each other up. [Read the full review here]
The espionage caper starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason has been newly remastered in 1080p from original VistaVision film elements.
One of Hitchcock’s finest and most purely enjoyable films, this suspenseful cross-continental chase has equal doses of tension and wit wrapped up in an insane plot.
Memorable for the chemistry between Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint, the famous crop-dusting sequence and the climax on Mount Rushmore, it influenced a generation of filmmakers and along with Psycho, Rear Window and Vertigo stands as one of his signature works.
As usual with Hitchcock at his peak, it can be enjoyed as slick entertainment and rigorously examined for intellectual meaning – chin-stroking academics and French intellectuals will no doubt have a field day with the references to Cold War paranoia, Freud and other motifs that litter Hitchcock’s films.
Grant is perhaps the best he’s ever been as the breezy protagonist, mixing charm and unease (Mad Men fans should note that he’s a Manhattan advertising executive) whilst Saint is pitch perfect as the icy Hitchcock blonde.
The arrival of North by Northwest on Blu-ray is significant as it is the first of Hitchcock’s films to get the full HD re-release treatment.
Although originally released by MGM, Warner Bros now have the distribution rights and they have scanned the original VistaVision production elements in an 8K resolution.
The resulting presentation has a much improved depth of field and clarity which has prompted highly positive reviews from The Digital Bits and DVD Beaver (the latter has screen shot comparisons of the Blu-ray and DVD versions).
The extras on the Blu-ray are as follows:
1080P Widescreen
English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD
French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese DD1.0 Mono
Click the image to buy the Blu-ray of Moon at Amazon UK
Moon is a futuristic sci-fi thriller about an astronaut stationed on a lunar mining station with only a robot for company until strange things start to happen.
It isn’t often that you get an intelligent low-budget sci-fi film, but this first-time effort by director Duncan Jones is highly impressive.
Set in the near future, Sam Rockwell stars as an astronaut who works on the moon harvesting helium-3 for a company who have helped reverse the planet’s energy crisis.
To say too much more about the plot would give away too much as it takes off in interesting and unexpected directions.
The script by Jones and Nathan Parker taps into the vein of more cerebral sci-fi classics like Solaris (both versions), 2001 and Silent Running.
Given the budgetary limitations, it looks terrific with clever use of sets and special effects, but the biggest highlight of all is Rockwell who gives a remarkable performance in what is largely a one man show.
Kevin Spacey also provides nice support as the voice of the base computer GERTY.
The Blu-ray Disc is coded for all regions (A, B and C) and the extra features include:
1080P 2.40:1 Widescreen
English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Thai DD5.1
English, English HOH, Hindi, Indonesian/Bahasa and Thai subtitles
Commentary with Writer/Director Duncan Jones, Director of Photography Gary Shaw, Concept Designer Gavin Rothery and Production Designer Tony Noble
Commentary with Writer/Director Duncan Jones and Producer Stuart Fenegan
From 1968 to 1972 US astronauts flew in to outer space and to the moon. They were told by NASA to shoot as much footage as they could on 16mm cameras.
However, all the footage remained in the vaults until Reinert persuaded the space agency to let him make a documentary.
Along with and editor Susan Korda, Reinhart sifted through over six million feet of film footage, and 80 hours of NASA interviews to create this truly remarkable film.
Interestingly the narrative movement is like one space mission, even though it is actually a collage of all of the Apollo lunar landing missions.
The archive footage is remarkable and neatly inter cut with the voices of the astronauts themselves including Jim Lovell, Michael Collins, Charles Conrad, Jack Swigert, and Ken Mattingly, sourced from interviews and mission recordings.
The soundtrack was originally composed in 1983 by Brian Eno and released as Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks. Because of delays the film didn’t surface until 1989 and by then some of the album tracks had been replaced with pieces by Eno and other artists.
It is available on DVD (£19.99 RRP) and Blu-ray Disc (£24.99 RRP) with the following features:
A new, restored high-definition transfer, supervised and approved by director Al Reinert
Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, remastered from the original sound stems
Audio commentary featuring Reinert and Apollo 17 commander Eugene A. Cernan, the last man to set foot on the moon
An Accidental Gift: The Making of “For All Mankind,” a new documentary featuring interviews with Reinert, Apollo 12 and Skylab astronaut Alan Bean, and NASA archive specialists
A gallery of Bean’s artwork, inspired by his life as an astronaut, with commentary and a filmed introduction
NASA audio highlights and liftoff footage
Optional on-screen identification of astronauts and mission control specialists
New optional English subtitles (SDH) for the hearing impaired
A luxurious booklet, featuring essays, credits, stills, a new interview with Brian Eno, and more
For All Mankind is out now on DVD and Blu-ray Disc from Eureka/Masters of Cinema
For All Mankind (Eureka/Masters of Cinema): A re-release of the classic 1989 documentary directed by Al Reinhert, which was assembled from the NASA archives. Featuring extraordinary footage of the Apollo lunar missions from 1968 to 1972, the hypnotic score was by Brian Eno. [Read the full review here]
Moon (Sony): Another moon-themed release, this classy futuristic sci-fi thriller stars Sam Rockwell an astronaut stationed on a mining station on the moon. Directed by Duncan Jones, it received considerable critical acclaim. [Read the full review here]
North By Northwest (Warner Bros.): The 50th anniversary re-release of Alfred Hitchcock’s espionage caper starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason has been newly remastered in 1080p from original VistaVision film elements. [Read the full review here]
Brüno (Universal): After the success of Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen returns with another mock-documentary comedy, this time playing the flamboyant Austrian fashionista Brüno, who wreaks havoc at a fashion show and then travels to America, where the fun continues.
Directed by Larry Charles, stand out sequences involve Bruno upsetting orthodox Jews and Palestinian terrorists; an uncomfortable appearance on a TV chat show with an adopted African child; an extended attempt to ‘become straight’ with the help of religion, martial arts and the US military; and a truly riotous climax involving a cage wrestling match in Arkansas. [Buy the Blu-ray at Amazon UK]
Extras on the Blu-ray include:
1080P 1.85:1 Widescreen
English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Latin American Spanish and Canadian French 5.1 DTS Surround
English SDH, Latin American Spanish and Canadian French subtitles
Alternative Scenes
Deleted Scenes (includes 1 extra scene not found on the DVD)
Extended Scenes (includes 1 extra scene not found on the DVD)
An Interview with Lloyd Robinson
Enhanced Commentary – Go behind the cameras and hear the true stories of how Sacha Baron Cohen and director Larry Charles pulled off their unscripted stunts with celebrities, politicians and other unsuspecting people
The extras on Blu-ray are all 1080P and have a listed running time of 1hr 15mins approx (not including the commentary).
Set in the South during the American Civil War and Reconstruction, it follows the life of Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh), the daughter of a plantation owner and her relationship with Rhett Butler (Clark Gable). Featuring supporting performances by Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Thomas Mitchell and Hattie McDaniel, it is still a beloved classic of cinema despite lasting nearly 4 hours.
Famous set pieces include the burning of Atlanta (which used a piece of scenery left over from King Kong) and one of the most famous closing lines of any film. In a year littered with classic films (1939 also included The Wizard of Oz, Mr Smith Goes To Washington, Stagecoach and Ninotchka), Gone With the Wind won ten Oscars, including: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress (Vivien Leigh), and Best Supporting Actress (Hattie McDaniel, who became the first African-American to win the award). [Buy the Blu-ray at Amazon UK]
Set in Los Angeles, it explores the lives of Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro), a methodical professional thief and Lt. Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) an impulsive LAPD homicide detective and those around them as they come into conflict with one another.
The supporting cast includes Val Kilmer as Chris, one of McCauley’s partners; Ashley Judd as his wife Charlene; Amy Brenneman; Jon Voight; Natalie Portman; Diane Venora; Hank Azaria; William Fichtner and (in a cameo) Henry Rollins.
One of the best crime films of the 1990s, the big selling point at the time was the pairing of De Niro and Pacino, but there is much more to the film than just the cast. Mann creates a rich atmosphere and shoots the action set-pieces brilliantly, plus Elliot Goldenthal’s moody score and Dante Spinotti’s cinematography all add to the mix.
This Blu-ray presentation is significantly ahead of the DVD counterparts but doesn’t exhibit the demonstrative depth and detail that many have come to expect from this new format.
If you are a fan of the film, it is likely you purchased the excellent 2-disc DVD which came out a few years ago. However, if you have made the jump to Blu-ray then this is still definitely worth purchasing as it is still one of Michael Mann’s best films and a reach audio and visual feast. [Buy the Blu-ray at Amazon UK]
It should be noted that the 2005 feature The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit is not on this set (presumably for rights reasons as it was co-produced with DreamWorks) but it does feature a decent selection of extras and the brand-new short A Matter Of Loaf And Death, in which the pair run a bakery but come across a mysterious plot when all the bakers in the town go missing.
For those unfamiliar with the famous characters, Gromit is the faithful canine companion of the cheese-obsessed inventor Wallace (voiced by Peter Sallis) and they are the brainchild of Nick Park, who won Oscars for the first three films. All the characters were made from moulded plasticine modelling clay on metal armatures, and filmed with stop motion clay animation.
Information about extras is a bit thin on the ground but apparently it includes:
Audio commentaries
Behind the scenes featurette
Various shorts with Wallace and Gromit that were created for the internet
A spin-off episode of Shaun the Sheep
A scrapbook with blueprints and a photo gallery of some of the inventions
This isn’t the first time the first three shorts have been released on DVD but the big deal here is that it’s their debut on Blu-ray. [Buy it from Amazon on DVD or Blu-ray]
It’s A Wonderful Life (Universal): The perennial Christmas favourite directed by Frank Capra and starring James Stewart comes to Blu-ray and is worth getting if you don’t already own it.
The following specs for the Blu-ray are:
Black & White Original and Colour versions
1080P 1.33:1 Full Screen
English DD2.0 Mono
English SDH subtitles
Theatrical Trailer
Trivia Tracker
Picture Comparison
There will also be a new DVD release that also includes both the original and colour versions of the film, although why anyone would want to colourise a film like this is beyond me. There are reportedly no extras on the DVD, which frankly is a bit poor. [Buy it on DVD or Blu-ray]
The Proposition (Palisades Tartan): This 2005 Australian western directed by John Hillcoat and written by Nick Cave (yes, the musician) stars Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Emily Watson, John Hurt and Danny Huston.
Set in the Australian outback in the 1880s, the story follows the series of events following the horrific rape and murder of the Hopkins family, allegedly committed by the infamous Burns brothers gang.
Grimy but compelling, this is a timely release on Blu-ray as Hillcoat’s adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road will soon be seen in UK cinemas.
The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary Edition (Warner): The classic musical fantasy gets the full re-release treatment on DVD and Blu-ray from Warner Bros in its 70th anniversary year.
Directed by Victor Fleming, it was based on the 1900 children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and starred Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr and Frank Morgan, with Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, Charles Grapewin, Clara Blandick and the Singer Midgets as the Munchkins.
Originally released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it follows the story of a Kansas farmgirl Dorothy (Garland) who gets transported to the magical land of Oz where she encounters all manner of characters including the Good Witch of the North (Billie Burke), Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), Tin Man (Jack Haley) and a Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr) and the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton).
Although successful when it was originally released the songs from the film became huge, with “Over the Rainbow” nabbing the Oscar for Best Original Song and the film itself garnering several nominations, including Best Picture.
However, the film became permanently embedded in popular culture when it was screened every year on US television from 1959 to 1991, becoming one of the most watched films of all time.
The UK DVD and Blu-ray Disc release is a newly remastered version with a raft of new extrasand a sing-along feature.
It is available on 1-Disc DVD (£12.99 RRP), 4-Disc DVD (£19.99 RRP, HMV Exclusive) and 3-Disc Blu-ray (£22.99 RRP).
The extras on the different versions are outlined below:
Collector’s Edition Sing-Along Version – 3 Discs BLU-RAY Release (2 BDs, 1 DVD Sing-Along)
Blu-ray Disc 1: Main Feature
Remastered feature with 5.1 Audio
1080P 1.33:1
English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD
English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese DD1.0 Mono
English HOH, French, German HOH, Italian, Italian HOH, Spanish, Dutch, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish subtitles (Film & Extras except commentary)
Commentary by Historian John Fricke including archival interviews of the film’s cast and crew
Music and Effects Track
Original mono Track
Sing-Along Audio Feature
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic [1990 TV special]
Because of the Wonderful Things it Does: The Legacy of Oz
Memories of Oz [2001 TCM documentary]
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Storybook
Prettier than ever: The Restoration of Oz
We Haven’t Really Met Properly”” Supporting Cast Profiles
Audio Jukebox Selection
Leo Is on the Air Radio Promo
Good News of 1939 Radio Show
12/25/1950 Lux Radio Theater Broadcast
Another Romance of Celluloid: Electrical Power
Calvacade of the Academy Awards Excerpt
Texas Contest Winners
Off to See the Wizard Excerpts
Stills Galleries
6 Trailers
Harold Arlen’s Home Movies
Outtakes and Deleted Scenes
It’s a Twister! It’s a Twister! The Tornado Tests
Blu-ray Disc 2: Extra Features
Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Russian (+ 3 others my player reports as numbers)
Victor Fleming: Master Craftsman (NEW)
L. Frank Baum: The Man Behind the Curtain
Celebrating Hollywood’s Biggest Little Stars (NEW)
The Dreamer of Oz [1990 TV special] (NEW)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910 short)
His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz [1914 feature]
The Magic Cloak of Oz [1914 short] (NEW)
The Patchwork Girl of Oz [1914] (NEW)
The Wizard of Oz [1925 feature]
The Wizard of Oz [1933 animated short]
Disc 3: DVD Main Feature & Sing-along
Sing-Along Version – 1 DVD Disc Release
Re-mastered feature with Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio
Commentary by Historian John Fricke including archival interviews of the film’s cast and crew
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Storybook
Prettier than ever: The Restoration of Oz
We Haven’t Really Met Properly – Supporting Cast Profiles
Music and Effects Track
Original mono Track
Sing-Along Tracks
Trailers
Collector’s Edition Sing-Along Version – 4 Discs DVD Release
Remastered feature with Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio
Commentary by Historian John Fricke including archival interviews of the film’s cast and crew
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Storybook
Prettier than ever: The Restoration of Oz
We Haven’t Really Met Properly”” Supporting Cast Profiles
Music and Effects Track
Original mono Track
Sing-Along Audio Feature
Trailers
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic [1990 TV special]
Memories of Oz [2001 TCM documentary]
The Art of Imagination: A Tribute to Oz
Because of the Wonderful Things it Does: The Legacy of Oz
Drag Me To Hell (Lionsgate): A back to basics horror film for director Sam Raimi which is the tale of a woman (Alison Lohman) who falls under an ancient curse when she is forced to evict an elderly woman (Lorna Raver) from her house. She then has only three days to dissuade a dark spirit from stealing her soul before she is dragged to hell for an eternity of unthinkable torment.
Although maybe not quite matching up to the early reviews and buzz, this is still an effective and pleasingly old fashioned horror which relies on old-school creepy suspense rather than the sadistic butchery that has become all too prevalent in the genre.
Available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc, the following features on each format are as follows:
DVD
Theatrical Cut
2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English DD5.1 Surround
English HOH subtitles
Production Diaries:
The Bloody Nose
Inside the Psychic World
Makeup Effects
Alison in the Mud
Wirework
Nightmare
Justin Long Profile
The Parking Lot Fight
The Goat
Set Tour: The Great Room, Puzzle Car, Dragging Her To Hell
Blu-ray Disc
Theatrical Cut & Version you couldn’t see in cinemas
1080P 2.40:1 Widescreen
English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English HOH subtitles
Production Diaries
Interviews with Sam Raimi, Alison Lohman and Justin Long (BD Exclusive)
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True Blood Season 1 (HBO): The first season of HBO’s acclaimed vampire series from creator and executive producer Alan Ball (writer of American Beauty and Six Feet Under). Set in rural Louisiana it explores the lives of vampires who have emerged from their coffins and no longer need humans for their fix of blood.
Frozen River (Axiom Films): An deservedly acclaimed American indie drama about a desperate single mother (Melissa Leo) living in upstate New York who resorts to smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States as a means of making ends meet. Written and directed by first-timer Courtney Hunt, it co-stars Misty Upham and Charlie McDermott. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Feature at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, it is well worth seeking out, especially for Leo’s performance which won her an Oscar nomination earlier this year. Axiom Films are releasing it on DVD priced at £15.99 (RRP) and on Blu-ray.
Features include:
1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English DD2.0 and DD5.1 Surround
Exclusive interviews with writer/director Courtney Hunt and star Melissa Leo
Stills gallery
Trailer
English subtitles for hearing impaired (feature only)
The Essential Michael Haneke (Artificial Eye): A substantial 10-disc box set entitled of the Austrian director’s work which includes all his previously released films including both the original and American re-make of Funny Games, his breakthrough film, and his adaptation of The Castle, based on the unfinished novel by Franz Kafka, which is released for the first time in the UK as part of this set.
The collection contains the following:
The Seventh Continent
Benny’s Video
71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance
Funny Games (Original)
The Castle
Code Unknown
The Piano Teacher
Time of the Wolf, Hidden and Funny Games US.
Extra features on individual discs are identical to the original releases, with the addition of the previously unreleased documentary called ’24 Realities per Second’, which is a 60 minute documentary on Haneke and which has never been seen before on these shores.
At a whopping £74.99 it is pricey in these recessionary times, but this Haneke is one of Europe’s most accomplished living directors. The release of this coincides with Artificial Eye’s theatrical release of Haneke’s Palme D’Or winning film, The White Ribbon. [Buy on DVD]
The Complete Fritz Lang Mabuse Boxset (Eureka/Masters of Cinema): Throughout his career director Fritz Lang built a trilogy of thrillers focused on an entity who began as a criminal mastermind, and progressed into something more amorphous: fear itself, embodied only by a name – Dr. Mabuse. For the first time on DVD, all three of Fritz Lang’s Mabuse films have been collected for one package, in their complete and restored forms.
Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler [Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler] (1922) – Lang’s two-part, nearly 5-hour silent epic detailing the rise and fall of Dr. Mabuse in Weimar-era Berlin.
Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse [The Testament of Dr. Mabuse] (1933) – A thriller with supernatural elements, all revolving around an attempt by the now-institutionalised Mabuse (or someone acting under his name and possibly his will) to organise an “Empire of Crime”.
Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse [The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse] (1960) – Fritz Lang’s final film, in which hypnosis, clairvoyance, surveillance, and machine-guns come together for a whiplash climax that answers the question: Who’s channelling Mabuse’s methods in the Cold War era?
A four-disc set, the features include:
Original German-language intertitles for ‘Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler’ along with newly translated English-language subtitles for each film
Newly recorded feature-length audio commentaries on all three movies by film-scholar and Fritz Lang expert David Kalat
Three video-featurettes totalling an hour-and-a-half in length on: the score of Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler; the creation of Norbert Jacques’ “Mabuse” character; and the motifs running throughout the works
2002 video interview with Wolfgang Preiss, the star of Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse
An alternate ending to Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse taken from the French print of the film
Optional English-language dub track for Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse
3 lengthy booklets containing a new translation of Fritz Lang’s 1924 lecture on “Sensation Culture”; an essay by critic and scholar Michel Chion on the use of sound in Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse; new writing on Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse by critic David Cairns; extracts from period interviews with Fritz Lang; an abundance of production stills, illustrations, and marketing collateral – and more.
All three films are presented in their complete and restored forms, refreshed and improved from previous Eureka releases of the first two films. Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse is released here for the first time ever on home video in the UK. [Buy on DVD]
Coraline(Universal): Based on the book by Neil Gaiman, this stop-motion animation written and directed by Henry Selick follows an adventurous girl named Coraline who finds another world that is a strangely idealized version of her frustrating home, but has sinister secrets.
Available on 1-Disc DVD (£19.99 RRP), 2-Disc Limited Edition DVD (£19.99 RRP) and Blu-ray Disc (£24.99 RRP), the 2-Disc DVD and Blu-ray Disc release will include both the 2-D and 3-D version of the main feature and 4 pairs of 3-D glasses. Got that? Phew.
Features on all of the different versions are as follows:
1-Disc DVD – Includes the 2-D version of the main feature and the following extras:
Deleted Scenes
The Making of Coraline
Feature Commentary with Director Henry Selick and Composer Bruno Coulais
2-Disc Limited Edition DVD – As above plus a second disc with the 3-D version of the main feature and 4 pairs of 3-D glasses.
Blu-ray Disc – Includes both the 2-D and 3-D versions of the main feature plus 4 pairs of 3-D glasses. Features include:
2-D and 3-D Presentations
1080P 1.85:1 Widescreen
English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
French, Italian, German, Spanish and Dutch 5.1 Dolby Digital
English SDH, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Korean, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Greek and Traditional Chinese subtitles
U Control – Picture in Picture (2-D Feature Only)
U Control – Tours and Voice Sessions (2-D Feature Only)
U Control – Picture in Picture Animatic (2-D Feature Only)
Deleted Scenes
The Making of Coraline – Director and screenwriter Henry Selick hosts this behind the scenes feature about how this hand-crafted, stop-motion animated film was made
BD Exclusive: Voicing the Characters – Coraline’s acclaimed cast and filmmaker Henry Selick talk about their experiences working on the film, including defining the perfect voice for their characters
BD Exclusive: Creepy Coraline – Director and screenwriter Henry Selick and Coraline author Neil Gaiman take fans deeper into the darker intricacies of Coraline’s alternative worlds
Feature Commentary with Director Henry Selick and Composer Bruno Coulais
Looking For Eric (Icon): The unlikely pairing of French footballer Eric Cantona and English director Ken Loach is the tale of a Manchester postman (Steve Evets) undergoing a midlife crisis. When his idol Cantona appears to him in a series of visions, he manages to inspire him with his distinctive brand of philosophy.
Although much of the publicity surrounding the film focused on ‘King Eric’, the two real stars are Steve Evets and Stephanie Bishop who deliver excellent performances. It also features the hallmarks of Loach’s best work: sensitive treatment of social issues; well rounded characters with believable flaws; and a lack of cheap sentiment.
The script by Paul Laverty deserves a lot of credit for working in social issues (gun crime, football ownership) alongside some of Cantona’s reflections on life and existence in a way that isn’t forced or cheesy. Whilst some of the reactions at the Cannes film festival were correct in observing that it is lighter than usual for a Loach film, that is no bad thing as it contains some marvellous feel good scenes (especially the climax).
Synecdoche, New York (Revolver): Charlie Kaufman‘s directorial debut (pronounced “Syn-ECK-duh-kee”) is so Kaufman-esque that it takes his ideas to another level of strangeness. The story centres around theatre director Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who starts to re-evaluate life after his health and marriage start to break down. He receives a grant to do something artistically adventurous and decides to stage an enormously ambitious production inside a giant warehouse.
What follows is a strange and often baffling movie, complete with the kind of motifs that are peppered throughout Kaufman’s scripts: someone lives in a house oblivious to the fact that it is permanently on fire; a theatrical venue the size of several aircraft hangars is casually described as a place where Shakespeare is performed; and visitors to an art gallery view microscopic paintings with special goggles.
But despite the oddities and the Chinese-box narrative, this is a film overflowing with invention and ideas. It explores the big issues of life and death but also examines the nature of art and performance – a lot of the film, once it goes inside the warehouse, is a mind-boggling meditation on our lives as a performance.
Imagine The Truman Show rewritten by Samuel Beckett and directed by Luis Buñuel and you’ll get some idea of what Kaufman is aiming for here. I found a lot of the humour very funny, but the comic sensibility behind the jokes is dry and something of an acquired taste. Much of the film hinges on Seymour Hoffman’s outstanding central performance in which he conveys the vulnerability and determination of a man obsessed with doing something worthwhile before he dies.
The makeup for the characters supervised by Mike Marino is also first rate, creating a believable ageing process whilst the sets are also excellent, even if some of the CGI isn’t always 100% convincing. The supporting cast is also impressive: Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton, Emily Watson, Hope Davis, Tom Noonan and Dianne Weist all contribute fine performances and fit nicely into the overall tone of the piece. Although the world Kaufman creates will alienate some viewers, it slowly becomes a haunting meditation on how humans age and die.
Revolver Entertainment are releasing it, priced at £19.99 RRP on DVD and £24.99 RRP on Blu-ray Disc.
Extras include:
Infectious Diseases In Cattle: Bloggers’ Roundtable
Directed by Andrzej Wajda, it stars Artur Zmijewski, Andrzej Chyra and explores the continuing struggle over the memory of the event as well as the Russian cover up that prevented Poles from commemorating those that had been killed.
Available on DVD, although there hasn’t been a Blu-ray announced yet, the extras include an interview with the director and a making of featurette. Unlike some editions of the film Artificial Eye have presented this in the proper aspect ratio of 2:35.
Beaufort(Trinity): Although already out on regular DVD, the Blu-ray release of this 2007 drama is just coming out now.
The new Blu-ray is playable in all regions and the transfer is presented at 1.85:1 rather than the theatrical 2.35:1 aspect ratio and the audio has both 2.0 and 5.1 DTS HD Audio Master mixes (the DVD release only had a Dolby Digital 2.0 track).
The extras include:
A Making of Featurette (23:42): This has interviews, footage of the sets being built and some scenes being shot.
Deleted Scenes (16:41): A couple of which are extended scenes, which fill out the characters a bit more.
Trailers: There is a short trailer (1:24) and a long trailer (2:09) for the film.
Time Bandits(Optimum): Terry Gilliam‘s 1981 fantasy film, which he co-wrote with Michael Palin, tells the story of a group of dwarves who leave their jobs with ‘The Supreme Being’ for a life of crime with a map they’ve stolen from their workplace.
The map holds the secrets to time-holes in the fabric of creation, allowing the holders to go forward and back as they please. One such journey lands them in the bedroom of a young boy Kevin (Craig Warnock), who joins them on their journey.
The New World – Extended Cut (EIV): New Line and UK distributors Entertainment have finally got around to releasing the extended cut of Terrence Malick‘s wonderful 2005 version of the Pocahontas story on DVD and Blu-ray.
The performances from Farrell, Plummer and Bale are nicely restrained, whilst Kilcher is terrific, bringing an impressive depth of feeling to her role.
James Horner’s score, alongside some judicious use of Wagner, is probably the greatest he’s ever written with a thrilling use of strings and melody.
When the film premiered in late 2005 in New York and Los Angeles with a running time of somewhere around 2 hour 30 minutes, Malick decided to cut it down by about 15 minutes for the wider release.
I remember going to a BAFTA screening in November 2005 and I caught the longer cut and when I saw the initial DVD release in 2006, it seemed a little cut down, although it isn’t the kind of film where the cuts were immediately apparent.
The ‘Extended Cut’ on the Blu-ray is the same the DVD released at October 14, 2008 which is almost 22 minutes longer than the original extended cut.
This is the kind of film that could have been made to highlight the Blu-ray format because the stunning cinematography )all shot on Steadicam using natural light) is a key element in the film’s power.
The new Blu-ray is a 1080P transfer the sharpens everything up in terms of colour and resolution.
DVD Beaver has posted some screen captures comparing the DVD and Blu-ray versions and they also note that grain is not as prevalent as expected and note that the audio is a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track at 1437 kbps.
The extras on the Blu-ray Disc include:
Behind The Story – Making ‘The New World’: A comprehensive 10-part documentary about the making of the film that expands by about 20 minutes on the original making-of doc on the original 2006 DVD release.
Theatrical trailers (x2)
Ran (Optimum): Akira Kurosawa’s classic 1985 drama is a loose re-imagining of the legends of the daimyoMōri Motonari and Shakespeare’s King Lear.
This new Blu-ray release follows an aging Sengoku-era warlord (Tatsuya Nakadai) who decides to abdicate as ruler in favour of his three sons and the subsequent chaos that is unleashed on his kingdom.
Returning to the Shakespearean themes he had previously explored in Throne of Blood, this was Kurosawa’s last major epic and silenced doubters who felt he couldn’t work in colour.
After a glittering career as one of world cinema’s most acclaimed directors, by the late 1970s Kurosawa had been struggling with numerous personal and professional problems which saw him have difficulty in getting financing for his films.
That changed with Kagemusha (1980), the story of a man passed off as a medieval Japanese lord, and it was financed with the help of the director’s most famous admirers, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola.
Ran explored similar aspects of medieval Japan but was bigger and more ambitious in scope, to the point that he spent nearly a decade planning it and trying to obtain funding.
With the help of French producer Serge Silberman, he finally managed to get it in production and the result was a stunning epic filled with memorable compositions and haunting performances.
For the Blu-ray Disc the specs and extras include:
1080P Widescreen
Japanese 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Japanese, English, French, German, Spanish (Castilian) and Italian 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
Art of the Samurai: Interview with J.C. Charbonnier (41mins, NEW)
The Epic and the Intimate: Documentary on Kurosawa (50mins, NEW)
Interview with Kurosawa by Catherine Cadou (13mins, NEW)
AK documentary by Chris Marker (70mins)
The Samurai (52mins, NEW)
BD-Live (DynamicHD)
Booklet: Analysis by David Jenkins, writer and critic for Time Out London magazine (NEW)
Excerpts from an interview with Paul Verhoven (NEW)
The Deer Hunter (Optimum): The winner of Best Picture at the 1978 Oscars still remains a powerful and moving drama about the effects of war on a tightly-knit community.
However, the film has always had a noisy band of critics from the ludicrous gang of socialist delegates at the 1979 Berlin film festival who protested against the screening of the film – feeling obliged to voice their solidarity with the “heroic people of Vietnam”.
After Cimino’s epic fall from grace with Heaven’s Gate (1980), the knives came out as revisionists attacked the film: the Russian roulette sequence was historically inaccurate; the lead characters were too old; and of course the hoary old critique – beloved of contrarians apparently grasping at profundity – that it was somehow racist in its depiction of the North Vietnamese.
Some of these criticisms can be refuted by the fact that it is a work of imagination, not documentary, and that it isn’t actually about the politics of the Vietnam War.
Given the lies and political deceptions that created and prolonged the conflict, it is perhaps understandable that justifiable anger would spill out into discourse about the first major film to feature it as a backdrop.
But it isn’t a defence of US involvement in South East Asis and, if anything, is something of a cautionary tale of how innocence and idealism – very American virtues after World War II – can be devoured by the horrors of war.
If a film like The Green Berets (1968) was a deluded depiction of what some Americans actually thought was going on in Vietnam, The Deer Hunter represents the painful cultural hangover the nation felt at losing their first war.
Over thirty years on from its release, there is still a powerful sense of existential dread within the film which has probably been felt by any community scarred by sending its people off to war, be it Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan.
Rather than being a sentimental celebration of fallen soldiers, it remains a haunting portrayal of patriotic ignorance being slowly crushed by the reality of armed conflict.
With a running time just over three hours, it is a slow and meditative epic filled with memorable images that were superbly shot by Vilmos Zsigmond and the Blu-ray does real justice to his visuals.
Some of the extras have appeared on previous versions by Warner and Optimum but for the Blu-ray Disc some new ones have been added.
The most interesting of these is a French documentary about the Vietnam War called ‘Unknown Images’ which is gives valuable context to what they describe as an ‘abominable war’.
Realising the Deer Hunter: Interview with Michael Cimino (23 mins)
Shooting the Deer Hunter: Interview with Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond (15 mins)
Playing The Deer Hunter: Interview with John Savage (15 mins)
Unknown Images: Documentary on the Vietnam War (47 mins, NEW)
Introduction by Mickey Rourke (2 ½ mins, NEW)
Trailer
BD-Live (DynamicHD)
Booklet: Analysis by Ryan Gilbey, film critic of the New Statesman (NEW)
An American Werewolf in London (Universal): A fully remastered re-release on Blu-ray for John Landis’ 1981 werewolf horror is most welcome, especially as it has a new set of extras including a feature-length documentary ‘Beware the Moon’ and a featurette ‘I Walked With a Werewolf’.
The plot involves two US tourists named David and Jack (David Naughton and Griffin Dunne) who are attacked by a werewolf on the Yorkshire Moors. Jack dies but David survives and is taken to London where he falls in love with a nurse (Jenny Agutter). However, after dark dreams and visions he slowly realises he has become a creature of the night, wreaking havoc on the British capital.
Interestingly 1981 was the year of two other werewolf films (The Howling and Wolfen) but this one has accumulated a particular cult following due to its killer blend of scary horror (watch out for the curtains) and humour which is often at its best when you are least expecting it.
The other aspect of the film that is notable is the groundbreaking use of makeup and visual effects by Rick Baker. The famous transformation sequence was actually a major factor in makeup and industry technological contributions being recognized at the Academy Awards in 1981 as Baker won the first ever Oscar to be awarded to a special effects artist.
Landis has been effusive about the quality of the transfer to Blu-ray as he revealed in this interview with /Film at FrightFest last month in London:
French (European), German and Italian 2.0 Mono DTS
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Latin American Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese, Traditional Chinese, Canadian French, Greek
I Walked With A Werewolf (New) (HD) – Make-up effects artist Rick Baker tells of his life-long love of the Wolfman, how he would go on to create the creature in An American Werewolf in London, and how he was able to pour his passion into the upcoming Wolfman feature.
Beware The Moon (New) – In this feature-length documentary, filmmaker Paul Davis guides us through a never-before-seen, in-depth look at the Making of An American Werewolf in London, with the help of director John Landis and make-up artist Rick Bake
Making An American Werewolf in London, An Original Featurette
An Interview With John Landis
Make-up Artist Rick Baker On An American Werewolf in London
Casting of the Hand
Outtakes
Storyboards
Photograph Montage
Feature Commentary with Cast Members David Naughton & Griffin Dunne
Belle De Jour (Optimum): Another classic gets re-rleased by Optimum this week and this 1967 drama from director Luis Bunuel still exudes a classy eroticism.
Catherine Deneuve plays a frigid housewife whose sexual fantasies come true when she opts to become the high class call girl of the title during the day and a loyal housewife at night.
From the famous opening scene to the later stages, Bunuel creates a telling portrait of a suffocating bourgeois life (aided by the magnificent cinematography by Sacha Vierny) but also subverts many of the audience assumptions in the surrealist fashion distinctive of his other work.
Deneuve gives an immaculate performance in what is probably her most iconic role, her icy beauty sometimes overshadowing the subtleties of what is arguably her finest performance.
It is a film that repays repeated viewings, not only for the little enigmas that are peppered throughout (such as that mysterious box) but for the questions it raises about desire and fantasy which retain a lasting power.
The Blu-ray transfer is impressive and the specs and extra features are:
1080P Widescreen
French 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English, German, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
The Last Script (1hr 34 mins, NEW)
Commentary from Spanish Cinema expert: Professor William Evans
Story of a Film documentary (29 mins)
Theatrical trailer
A Story of Perversion or Emancipation: Interview with a sex therapist (28 mins, NEW) (HD)
BD Live (DynamicHD)
Booklet: Analysis of the movie by Derek Malcolm, film critic of the Guardian for 35 years and now critic of the London Evening Standard (NEW)
The Prisoner (Network): Network have announced the release of the complete series of The Prisoner on Blu-ray Disc. This iconic cult series starring Patrick McGoohan as a former spy taken prisoner in a mysterious village, marks Network’s first foray into the Blu-ray market.
The 6-disc limited edition box set is priced at £59.99 RRP and this is the first Blu-ray version of the series anywhere in the world and is the only home entertainment edition of the series to be officially endorsed by McGoohan.
Containing all seventeen episodes, extras on the set are as follows:
“Don’t Knock Yourself Out” a feature-length documentary which is the most comprehensive look at the production of ‘The Prisoner’, told by those involved in its creation
Restored original edit of ‘Arrival’ with an optional music-only soundtrack featuring Wilfred Josephs’ complete and abandoned score
Production Crew audio commentaries on seven episodes
Trailers for all episodes
Archive textless material, including the title sequence with clean themes by Ron Grainer, Wilfred Josephs and Robert Farnon
Commercial Break Bumpers
Behind-the-Scenes footage including much previously unseen
Script and Production Documentation PDFs
Image Galleries with Music Suites
Exclusive book on the making of the series by TV historian Andrew Pixley
Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mixes on all episodes + the original Mono
Five Minutes of Heaven (Element Pictures): Although UK audiences may have already seen it earlier this year on BBC2, this powerful drama about a perpetrator and victim of violence during the Troubles meeting decades later is worth catching on DVD, especially as it didn’t have the publicity push here that a theatrical release provides (although IFC did distribute it in the US).
Inspired by true events, it begins with the murder of teenager in October 1975, witnessed by the victim’s younger brother, and it sees the killer go to jail for 10 years.
Flashing forward to the future it then explores the imagined encounter between the killer (Liam Neeson) and the victim’s brother (James Nesbitt), when they eventually meet for a television documentary 33 years after the murder.
Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, it features two excellent performances from Neeson and Nesbit and a script by Guy Hibbert that skilfully avoids many of the pitfalls involved in bringing episodes of The Troubles to the screen.
The title comes from Hibbert’s research, which involved three years of interviews with the actual Alistair Little and Joe Griffin, which resulted in details of what might happen if they ever met in real life (which is unlikely). Griffin has said he’d probably kill Little, something he feels would provide “five minutes of heaven.”
Although the subject matter is going to be a turn off to some viewers wanting an easy night in, the film represents another intelligent exploration of the dark and tortuous history of The Troubles, following such films as Hunger, Omagh and Bloody Sunday.
It is available on DVD and the features include:
Anamorphic Widescreen
English DD 2.0
Interviews
Trailer
In This World (ICA): Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 docu-drama follows the journey of two young Afghan refugees, Jamal Udin Torabi and Enayatullah, as they travel from a camp in Pakistan for a better life in London.
The film does an impressive job of showing how difficult and fraught with danger the journey immigrants take and the fluid, hand-held style gives it an extra jolt of realism. Added to this is the clever use of non-professional actors who play fictionalised versions of themselves.
Although it played well at film festivals in 2002, even winning the Golden Bear at Berlin in 2003, the subject matter and style meant that it didn’t set the box office alight. However, this re-issue on DVD by the ICA is well worth checking out.
Incidentally writer Tony Grisoni told me earlier this year that this was one of the best film experiences he ever had.
The feature is presented in Anamorphic widescreen with stereo sound and the extras include:
Trailer
A behind-the-scenes with Michael Winterbottom and Tony Grisoni documentary (31mins)
Filmographies
Stills gallery
Sunrise (Eureka/Masters of Cinema): F. W. Murnau‘s classic 1927 film is often a regular in lists of ‘the greatest films ever made‘ and has long been considered to be the finest silent film produced by a Hollywood studio.
Based on the Hermann Sudermann novel ‘A Trip to Tilsit’, it is the tale of a peasant couple (George O’Brien and Janet Gaynor) threatened by a Machiavellian seductress from the city (Margaret Livingston).
A milestone of film expressionism, it was made in the twilight of the silent era and became something of a swan song for the vanishing medium.
It was met with instant acclaim and won three Oscars for Best Actress (Gaynor), Cinematography, and a never-repeated award for “Unique and Artistic Picture” (although Best Picture went out to the more financially successful Wings).
Beyond the Clouds (Second Sight): Near the end of his professional career in 1995, Michelangelo Antonioni embarked on this co-project with Wim Wenders, an erotic drama based on his own short stories, which includes four tales linked by a director (John Malkovich) in search of his next picture.
Included on this release is ‘To Make A Film Is To Be Alive’ a 52 minute documentary and an audio essay by Seymour Chatman (author of Antonioni: The Complete Films), along with a with production stills gallery.
Although not in the same league as Antonioni’s very best work, it is a fascinating project with some marvellous visuals, aided by an evocative score featuring memorable contributions from Brian Eno and U2 (aka Passengers).
Is Anybody There? (Optimum): Set in a sleepy British seaside town in the 1980s, this drama tells the story of a morbid, bookish 10-year-old boy Edward (Bill Milner) who becomes increasingly obsessed with the afterlives of the residents of the old peoples’ home which his parents run, until he is distracted by the arrival of ‘The Amazing’ Clarence (Michael Caine), an anarchic retired magician and grieving widower who is determined to age disgracefully.
Leon (Optimum): The Blu-ray release for Luc Besson‘s 1994 thriller is part of a bunch of releases for the French director. Given the lacklustre quality of his recent output, it is worth revisiting this sharply written tale of a French hitman (Jean Reno) in New York befriending a young girl (Natalie Portman), whose family have been killed by corrupt cops (led by a splendidly nuttyGary Oldman).
Although the HD transfer has got mixed to negative reviews, the quality of the film makes it worth buying as it probably won’t get a re-release for a while.
The extras and technical specs are:
Theatrical & Director’s Cut Versions
1080P 2.35:1 Widescreen
English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio & 2.0 Stereo LPCM
Optional English subtitles (only on Director’s Cut)
Set in a sleepy British seaside town in the 1980s, it tells the story of a morbid, bookish 10-year-old boy Edward (Bill Milner) who becomes increasingly obsessed with the afterlives of the residents of the old peoples’ home which his parents run, until he is distracted by the arrival of “The Amazing” Clarence (Michael Caine), an anarchic retired magician and grieving widower who is determined to age disgracefully.
As an unlikely friendship blossoms between them, the old man comes to terms with his past, the child masters his fear of the future, and both learn to seize the day.
Extras include:
Interview with Michael Caine
Interview with John Crowley
Interview with Bill Milner
Interview with Ann-Marie Duff
Theatrical Trailer
TV Spots
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To stand a chance of winning a copy just answer this question:
Which 2008 film starred Michael Caine alongside Christian Bale?
This Is Spinal Tap – Up To 11 Edition (Optimum): A re-release for the classic 1984 spoof music documentary which stars Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer as the three members of fictional heavy-metal/hard rock band Spinal Tap.
Directed by Rob Reiner it remains a brilliantly observed look at the pretentious glory of rock and roll and fully justifies it’s hallowed status amongst audiences the world over.
Limited Edition customised fully working Marshall amp (going up to 11)
Numbered speciall amp packaging
7 original art cards
5 Disc Stonehenge digi pack – including:
Discs 1-3 – DVD content as per the 3-Disc DVD box-set (detailed below)
Disc 4: The Blu-ray of ‘This Is Spinal Tap’
Disc 5: The Original Soundtrack CD
Extras on the Blu-ray Disc (all on a single-disc with the film) and the 3 DVD box-set include:
Disc 1:
Fully re-mastered feature
This is Spinal Tap: Up to 11 – Brand new 25th Anniversary Documentary feat. Ricky Gervais, Eddie Izzard, Martin Freeman, Anvil, Serge Pizzorno and more (43 mins)
Audio Commentary by the band
Menu commentary by the band
Go To 11 – Menu animation feature
Disc 2:
The Return of Spinal Tap Royal Albert Hall concert (57 mins)
2007 Live Earth footage & Live Earth reunion short film (4 mins 20)
National Geographic Stonehenge interviews with Nigel (9 mins 1)
Sprinkle some ****in Fairy Dust On It – interview with Reg Presley of The Troggs (6 mins 54)
Disc 3:
Outtakes** (1 hr 7 mins)
Original Trailers (7 mins)
4 x Music Videos (12 mins 27)
TV Spots (1 min 37)
Cutting Room Floor Deleted Scenes incl Heavy Metal Memories, Flower People, Cheese Roll trailer
EPK featurettes (20 mins 50)
Creative Meeting & Bitch School Videos (4 mins 33)
DVD Specs:
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English DD5.1 Surround
English and French DD2.0 Stereo
Subtitles (Main Feature): Danish, French, German, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish
Subtitles (Extras & Commentary): French, German
Blu-ray Specs:
1080P 1.85:1 Widescreen
English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English and French Stereo LPCM
Subtitles (Main Feature): Danish, French, German, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish
Subtitles (Extras & Commentary): French, German
Perhaps the highlight of the new package is the Outtakes which include many scenes which didn’t make the final cut including:
Although some changes to the actual events reduce the film’s overall impact the performances and direction make this a fairly substantial drama. It isn’t in the same league as ‘Bloody Sunday’ or ‘Hunger’ but remains a compelling portrait of one particular episode within the Troubles.
Available on DVD (£15.99 RRP) and Blu-ray Disc (£19.99 RRP), it contains the following extras:
Commentary with Director Kari Skogland
On set with ‘Fifty Dead Men Walking’
Exclusive extract from the book ‘Fifty Dead Men Walking’
Gladiator (Universal): The Blu-ray release for Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning Roman epic has arguably been one of the most anticipated releases of the new format.
Russell Crowe stars as Maximus, a Roman general who is betrayed, has his family killed and is sold into to slavery by a corrupt prince, before eventually returning to Rome as a gladiator seeking revenge.
There has been a big debate on various Blu-ray and Hi-def sites about the quality of the transfer used for this release with some suggesting that it is good, whilst others are critical of Paramount (who own the film after acquiring DreamWorks in 2005, even though Universal is releasing it in the UK), accusing them of cutting corners in the process.
However, it is likely to be a big seller, not least because of the wealth of extras, which are as follows.
Tech Details
1080P 2.35:1 Widescreen
English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese & Latin American Spanish 5.1 DTS Surround
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Brazilian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese, Traditional Chinese, Latin American Spanish
Disc One
Theatrical Version (155mins)
Audio Commentary by Director Ridley Scott, Cinematographer John Mathieson & Editor Pietro Scalia
Deleted Scenes with optional commentary
Extended Version (171mins)
Introduction by Ridley Scott
Audio Commentary by Ridley Scott & Russell Crowe
U-Control features on both Theatrical and Extended versions
The Scrolls of Knowledge – The original Are You Not Entertained? trivia track newly enhanced allowing viewers to access a series of new behind-the-scenes featurettes exploring key scenes throughout the film
Visions from Elysium: Topic Marker – A U-Control feature that allows Disc One Viewers to tag moments of interest throughout the entire film, allowing them to create “shopping lists” of topics to learn more about from the features on Disc Two
Disc Two
Visions from Elysium – A U-Control feature that automatically accesses further content from tagged moments of interest that have been marked by viewers from Disc One
Strength and Honour: Creating the World of Gladiator (200 mins.) – The definitive documentary on the origin, production and impact of this Oscar-winning Best Picture
Tale of the Scribes: Story Development
The Tools of War: Weapons
Attire of the Realm: Costume Design
The Heat of Battle: Production Journals Germania / Zucchabar / Rome
Shadows and Dust: Resurrecting Proximo
The Glory of Rome: Visual Effects
Echoes in Eternity: Release and Impact
Strength and Honour will now include all-new Picture-In-Picture content accessed via U-Control (156mins)
Aurelian Archive
The Making of Gladiator (25 mins.)
Gladiator Games: The Roman Bloodsport (50mins.)
Hans Zimmer: Scoring Gladiator (21 mins.)
Maximus Uncut: Between the Takes with Russell Crowe (8mins.)
My Gladiator Journal by Spencer Treat Clark (Text/Photos) – The personal diary of the young actor who played Lucius, providing a unique and amusing perspective on the creation of an epic film
VFX Explorations: Germania & Rome (24 mins.)
Image and Design
Production Design Featurette and Galleries (10 mins.)
Storyboard Demonstration (14 mins.)
Multi-Angle Storyboard Comparisons and Galleries (15 mins. x 2 angles)
In The Loop(Optimum): The directorial debut of Armando Iannucci is a marvellous political satire exploring the the inner mechanics of the ‘special relationship’ between London and Washington in the build up to a war in the Middle East.
The plot follows government officials and spin doctors in their behind-the-scenes efforts either to promote the war or prevent it. The cast is excellent with fine performances from Tom Hollander, James Gandolfini, Chris Addison, Peter Capaldi, Anna Chlumsky, Gina McKee, Steve Coogan and David Rasche.
The hilarity of the comedy is only matched by the political savvy of Iannucci’s script which ultimately reveals some sad truths about the craven subservience of Tony Blair’s government to the Bush administration in the build up to the Iraq war.
On Blu-ray the film is presented in 1080P Widescreen with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 2.0 PCM Stereo, English Audio Description and English HOH subtitles (film only). The disc is coded for Region B.
Shifty (Metrodome): A low budget urban thriller from writer/director Eran Creevy set on the outskirts of London, where it follows themes of friendship and loyalty over the course of 24 hours in the life of a young drug dealer, the charismatic “Shifty”.
is a new British film about a young drug dealer (Riz Ahmed) in a town just outside London who sees his life spiral out of control when his best friend (Daniel Mays) returns home.
As it is a woeful week for DVD releases (is everyone on holiday?) this weeks picks are Blu-ray only. A further piece of bad news is that although these three films are worth getting, they don’t have any extras so you may want to get the special edition DVD versions (which I’ve linked to below).
BLU-RAY PICKS
Angel Heart (Optimum): Mickey Rourke stars as hard-bitten private dick Harry Angel in director Alan Parker’s moody atmospheric 1987 thriller. Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet and Charlotte Rampling complete the cast of this supernatural detective story. (Special edition DVD available here).
La Haine (Optimum): A stunning 1995 crime drama shot in black and white verite style that follows a day in the life of three aimless, violence-prone, young men who hail from the same decaying housing project in Paris. Mathieu Kassovitz won the Best Director prize for his work on this at the Cannes Film Festival. (Special edition DVD available here)
Near Dark (Optimum): With her new film The Hurt Locker about to hit UK cinemas, director Kathryn Bigelow‘s 1987 horror film gets released on Blu-ray. The story is about a young cowboy (Adrian Pasdar) who is seduced by a vampire (Jenny Wright) and is persuaded to join up with a roaming band of ghouls before having to make some difficult choices. A stylish and brutal mixture of horror, western and action movie that ranks as one of the best horrors of the 1980s. (Special edition DVD available here)
District 9 is a sci-fi drama about aliens stranded in South Africa which became one of the surprise hits of the year with its clever mix of action, politics and dazzling SFX.
We have 3 copies of 
