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This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: January 29, 2008
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Sony, Warner Bros, Adaptation, Classics, Drama, Foreign, Music, Musicals, Religious, Satire, Comedy, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, New Releases
Happy Tuesday, all!
The big news this week is the release of Monty Python’s Life of Brian on Blu-ray. The classic film, walking the hyper-sensitive line between important social issues and side-splitting comedy, is easily one of the best from the Python team, and should have a place on every movie lover’s shelf. Why not own it in gorgeous 1080p resolution and Dolby 5.1 surround sound? The harmless religious satire is that much better.
On a side note, am I crazy, or has Warner started consistently releasing films on HD DVD weeks later than those released on Blu-ray? For instance, this week’s Blu-ray release, The Invasion, won’t come out on HD DVD until February 19. And it’s not this one time either—the list of upcoming titles from High-Def Digest shows a serious lag in Warner HD DVD releases. I realize that Warner is phasing the format out, but have they officially put HD DVD on the back burner?
Check out the full list of high-def releases after the jump.
Click to continue reading This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: January 29, 2008
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Thousands Sign Petition to Save HD DVD
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Corporate Shakeups, Home Entertainment, Technology
Impassioned high-definitionites are still fighting to save their precious HD DVD with an online petition. Beginning January 5, the outcry had hoped to urge Warner Home Entertainment to reconsider its recent decision to go Blu-ray, after long-time indecisiveness regarding the format war.
Petitioners also hope the two remaining studios, Paramount and Universal, will see that HD DVD has many supporters and shouldn’t be relegated to history along with Betamax.
Many people have left comments vilifying Warner for allegedly choosing money over consumer choice. Some even swore to never buy another Warner-related film. To be sure, the decision dealt a mighty blow to HD DVD owners; it is clear they feel passionately.
As of this writing, the petition had topped nearly 14,000—not bad considering its short existence—though one wonders what it would take to convince a monolithic conglomerate like Warner.
If you want to do your part to keep HD DVD alive, or if you simply like the competition, sign the petition. Or if you’re ready for the format war to end— eschewing consumer choice and embracing monopoly—you can always sign the Let HD DVD Die Petition.
This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: January 15, 2008
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Lionsgate, New Line, Adaptation, Documentary, Drama, Independent, Religious, Satire, Comedy, Home Entertainment, New Releases
Alright, yes—this article should have been written yesterday. But despite my lack of punctuality, I’ve decided to go ahead and post it anyway as part of a New Year’s resolution to write more. And this is a slow time for film in general, so I think I deserve a reprieve.
To be perfectly honest, little jumps out at me this week. We have the hilarious, slightly esoteric The Ten, helmed by some The State alumni and starring, well, just about everyone. Is there anything else worth mentioning? Could Girls Gone Wild: Baby Bash—Live and Uncensored be the best Blu-ray title this week? That seems a bit sad, doesn’t it? Don’t worry, HD DVD patrons—if you were looking for some girl-on-girl action, hold out until February 12th when it releases in your format.
I can’t wait for these sluggish few weeks to pass.
Check out the full list of high-def releases after the jump.
Click to continue reading This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: January 15, 2008
This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: January 08, 2008
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: 20th Century Fox, Buena Vista, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Foreign, Foreign Language, Horror, Independent, Science Fiction, Sequels, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, New Releases
This week marks the release of the first batch of high-definition DVDs since on-the-fence Warner landed decidedly on the Blu side; I must admit, as an HD DVD man, the day feels a bit colder than normal. But no matter—the format war is far from over.
On a lighter note, both formats have some exciting titles to speak of, including the Blu-ray release of one of my favorite movies from 2007, Sunshine; Roman Polanski’s Oscar-winning film, The Pianist, on HD DVD; and the long-awaited special edition of David Fincher’s Zodiac, also on HD DVD. The DVD release from July contained nary a special feature, so this two-disc director’s cut ought to please those Fincher fans waiting for a decent version.
Check out the full list of high-def releases after the jump.
Click to continue reading This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: January 08, 2008
Warner Titles Go Blu-ray
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Corporate Shakeups, Distribution, Home Entertainment, Technology
Warner Home Video - the last major studio to spread the love between both Blu-ray and HD DVD - has finally chosen to consolidate. Unfortunately, its a decision owners of the Toshiba system aren’t going to like. As of May 2008, high definition titles released by the company will be Blu-ray exclusive.
This a major blow for the HD DVD camp which is now fighting a lopsided battle. Although Paramount Studios (with Dreamworks) announced back in August that it was joining the underdog’s team, it is now only one of two major studios (Universal being the other) on that side of the fence. Meanwhile, owners of the Sony product have selections from Walt Disney, Sony, Fox and Lionsgate to choose from.
Although Toshiba claimed to be ‘surprised’ by the announcement, Warner says its decision was simply based on consumer demand. Blockbuster cited this same reason when it Blu-ray only back in June.
Read More 
| Hollywood Reporter
This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 16, 2007
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Buena Vista, DreamWorks, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Music, Political, Romance, Sequels, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases, Upcoming Releases
As the autumn season pulls the coats from our closets, warms our chocolate beverages, and turns our leaves from a verdant green to a rusty orange, the movie studios give us another reason to spend a comfy evening at home: summer blockbusters on DVD. And what better way to view these visual—if not always plausible—delights than in high definition?
The coveted two-disc special edition of Transformers releases this week on HD DVD, much to the chagrin of Blu-ray loyalists; without a major exclusive release, they’ll simply have to make do with some mediocre thrillers.
But aside from the inferior cinematic fare, the first and second volumes of Showtime’s Masters of Horror series is out just in time for Halloween. The anthology show gives modern horror directors a full hour to play without the restrictions of an MPAA rating or television censorship. Although it failed to garner much critical acclaim, the show ended up being quite successful and achieved what some could perceive to be cult status.
Check out the full list of high-def releases after the jump.Click to continue reading This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 16, 2007
This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 9, 2007
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Classics, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases, Upcoming Releases
The war between Blu-ray and HD DVD rages on, but this week the battle looks particularly one-sided.
HD DVD has only one exclusive release this Tuesday (and not even a very good one), which can’t counter-balance the nine exclusive Blu-ray titles. Now, one could see this as merely a slow week for the format’s proponents—Universal has the one title, and Paramount has zilch—or maybe Fox, Sony and MGM have simply realized that the holidays are fast approaching, and that … well, this is a war! Whatever the case, HD DVD loyalists will find little to drool over this week. As for the Blu-ray fans, they’ll find three day-and-date releases plus a high-def 28 Days Later to supplement its impressive new-release sequel.
Have a look at this week’s HD releases after the jump.
Check out this week’s standard-definition releases,
or take a look at the TV-on-DVD titles.
Click to continue reading This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 9, 2007
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