The New DVD and Blu Thread

[EricJ]

And even then it was to sell Totoro as the B-billed picture, since Japanese theaters thought a tragic postwar story made more marketable sense than a happy picture set in the postwar farming country.

[Bill1978]

I was always under the impression that the double bill came about because

a) Fireflies was a more well known story in Japan

b) Totoro would help lift the mood of the audience after the down end of Fireflies

Whatever the reason, the double bill, while a critical success in terms of both films was not a financial success. It was only after when Japan embraced the merchandise of Totoro that both films came to a wider audience. Plus the merchandise of Totoro helped Studio Ghibli to become an independent studio. Another reason for the double bill, both were financed by the some company so I guess they really wanted to make there money.

[Randall]

Somewhat off-topic, but I was thrilled to hear today that Synapse is finally releasing their Blu-ray (and DVD) of Hammer's Twins of Evil this July. It's been in the works for a while, and was the gaping hole in my Hammer collection until now. I'm so glad I fought the temptation last weekend to pick up a bootleg at a comics show.

More on topic (kinda): If you search for Twins of Evil on Amazon, Lindsay Lohan's The Parent Trap shows up!

[Randall]

Two new not-quite-animation-but-still-related exciting Blu-rays announced for the fall:

Annie -Ben and I have talked about pouncing on a Blu-ray when it comes out--- well, for me, anyhow; my wife loves this film but I wouldn't get it for her on DVD because the DVDs were lame and I have the LD; the BD looks like a budget release, but at least it should be in widescreen, unlike the last DVD

Muppet Christmas Carol--- one of my own all-time faves, and a Christmas tradition in my home. No word on the other Muppet movies, but for me this is the best one of all. Keep the old DVD though--- this one may not have anything from the extended cut, with the essential When Love is Gone song.

[Ben]

I have the original widescreen Annie DVD, which stands up pretty well when we watched it a year and a half or so ago. Think it had the trailer and a featurette on it, which isn't so bad. I may wait on a BD though, and see if they couple it with Oliver!, which they often do and I'd also like to get in HD.

Muppet Christmas Carol the best over even the Henson trilogy!? Okay, I admit that it's very, very special, and maybe it is the best of the bunch. It definitely has the Henson spirit in there, and is the most consistently narrative as opposed to the sketchy Movie and Caper, but I'll always love the feel of Movie since it harks back to the anarchy of the Show.

I'm missing all the announcements at the moment it seems: first Heidi's Song, now this! Whatever happened, I wonder, to the "Muppet Movies Collection" that was supposed to come out with the new movie? Has only Christmas been announced or are they looking to put out the others too (in the UK, we didn't get Blu-rays, but all the other films were issued on DVD with the new "Muppets" branding as "Muppets Classic Movies" or something like that).

I have Christmas on LD and just kept to that since it has the When Love Is Gone (essential I agree) sequence and is in widescreen (the first Muppet movie not to mask a taller image but be composed at 1.85, the rest were 1.66 matted, which is why you can see some things that were not meant to be seen in the UK VHS of Muppet Movie).

I hope they handle this right: they should offer the When Love Is Gone version as a default, or include both cuts. On The Muppet Movie, whenever it comes to BD, I really hope someone there is paying attention and makes sure we get the UNCUT version of the movie that corresponds to the soundtrack (as the UK VHS did) as opposed to the subsequent Disney/Sony versions that cut out random little bits here and there.

[Randall]

Yes, A Muppet Christmas Carol is the best Muppet movie of all time. For me, it is really THAT good. Though, nothing will ever beat seeing Kermit sing Rainbow Connection, which still give me tingles.

The Carol DVD only had the When Love is Gone sequence in the 4:3 version, which forces me to go to the menus to switch over for the one scene from the preferred widescreen framing, which is annoying.

No word on the other Muppet films for BD release. They must have figured they're worth more being sold as singles. Then, they'll finally bundle them together with the TV Oz film. Just watch.




I never bought Annie on DVD, and the LD is looking pretty dated at this point, so wifey will be happy to get it on BD.

[Ben]

What gets me EVERY time with Christmas Carol is "oh look, it's the Penguins' Christmas skating party!" - that line creases me up and is just so Muppet perfect. For me it's a tie: Movie has some better moments and pure Muppet comedy, but Carol is the most consistently entertaining. As to which pips the other to the post, well, Movie has Henson, but Carol has Henson's spirit (quite appropriately for the subject matter) and they're easily equals.

What I'm secretly hoping is that Disney has held up the Movies set to talk with Sony about including Manhattan and Space in there. They've nabbed the Iron Man and Hulk films from different distributors to include them in their Avengers Assembled set, so it's not outside the realms of possibilities, and Sony would realize that they can get a few more $s by "reissuing" them again through a license to Disney. Or maybe Disney will exchange titles, like letting them have rights to a co-pro title for instance. I didn't pick up those two on BD yet, so that would be cool.

[Ben]

Hahahahaaaarrr…!

Had to go back a fair way to find an appropriate thread to post this totally useless piece of information! I saw a couple of contenders, and was just about to lament that it seemed we never had just a "general disc" thread, and this popped up!

I guess the subject has fractured off into other dedicated threads, such as for Criterion and the Warner Archive, and those should definitely continue to be used as well as other appropriate threads for specific releases, but it’s kind of fun and cool to have a place to just post random thoughts, news, and bits. I was tempted to change the title, but it does what is says and covers all basis…


Anyway, just wanted to say, somewhere and to anyone who’ll listen, that I just surprised myself: I just visited Blu-ray.com's homepage and, for the first time in forever (hmm, that’s catchy!), there's not one title in their entire left-hand side Featured News column that I feel any need to be tempted by or curious about!

This is…"progress"…!??

[Randall]

The thread rises from the dead! Nice job! Feels like visiting an old friend I had forgotten about.

I am definitely in the same boat. I am at the point where my collection is "mature." I have what I want, and it is getting pretty hard to surprise or delight me with disc announcements. So many announcements now are for 4K upgrades; and I do not intend, generally, to upgrade my collection further, though I may make the odd exception. (A 70mm film like 2001 seems worth it. I did just get Batman: Mask of the Phantasm on 4K, just because I love the cover, it has a Kevin Conroy bonus feature, and it felt wrong to not have a standalone disc outside the Batman: TAS box.)

Other than 4Ks, new announcements are now largely resissues with no added value, but are fine for younger collectors that have not built their collections yet; obscure horror; Euro crime flicks or westerns I have no interest in; or frankly lame films. There are not many true treasures left to unearth.

My wish lists have gotten pleasingly small. I am glad that I am spending money on fewer discs than I used to, and am focusing on watching what I have. My recent spending has largely gone back to books instead, though I have lots of catching up with what I already have there, too.

Still, collecting discs can yet offer some excitement, as with Shout! Factory's recent surprise Tokusatsu set (which is amazing!). Kino may still unearth some vintage gems from their Universal and Paramount deals. Warner Archive offers the most anticipated classic titles, and I will enjoy splurging during the next sale, to get more classic movie stars into my colection.

And, like so many, I have preorde4ed The Abyss and True Lies for this coming week. With those finally coming out, it feels like the end of an era.

[Ben]

Nooooooooo! Donut say that! Still lots to surprise us with and almost-grails to wish for!

[gaastra]

Extreme ghostbusters getting an american releases at last.

[Ben]

See? Good ol' DVD lives!

[Randall]

Yes, I suppose so. I just know that I have more than enough stuff already!

[droosan]

Diskotek Media continues to surprise me with their anime offerings all the time.

I just bought their Blu-ray release of Puss 'N Boots Around the World (one of several sequels to Toei's Wonderful World of Puss N' Boots, which casts Pero in an 'Around the World in 80 Days' scenario).

Another recent Diskotek purchase I've been enjoying is Lady Georgie .. an 'SD on Blu' (45 episodes on 1disc!) of a 1983 historical soap/romance anime TV series.

They also recently (finally!!) released Re:Cutie Honey, an absolute romp of a 'reboot' of the classic Go Nagai anime from 2004, directed by the legendary Hideaki Anno. ( and very definitely not 'family friendly' fare )

I've also been working my way through their various Aim for the Ace! releases (the 1973 TV series, the 1978 movie, and the 1988 OVA (DTV) series, featuring intense tennis action and soapy draaamaaa.

All of which are new to the North American market, and most of which are available with english language options for the very first time!

[gaastra]

Disney movie club titles are now sold at wal-mart.