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Lionsgate Goes Profile 1.1 with 'War' Blu-ray
Mon Nov 12, 2007 at 01:00 PM ETTags: Disc Announcements, Exclusive HD Content, Lionsgate (all tags)
Lionsgate has unveiled complete specs for its January Blu-ray release of 'War,' promising a battalion of exclusive content, including the studio's first-ever Profile 1.1-compliant picture-in-picture video commentary.
As we've previously reported, Lionsgate recently announced a January 1, 2008 Blu-ray arrival for its $30 million-grossing 'War,' day-and-date with standard-def DVD. Though few details beyond the date were known at the time, full specs are now in, with the studio confirming that 'War' will boast an array of Blu-ray-exclusive content, including true PIP.
Although the studio has toyed before with the feature on such past Blu-ray releases as 'The Descent' and 'Crank,' those titles had simply encoded a second full-length version of the film with the picture-in-picture content burned-in. That will change with 'War's "Behind the Scenes FX Bonus" track, which will make full use of the secondary video decoding capabilities of Profile 1.1-compliant Blu-ray hardware as it guides viewers through the intricacies of the film's special effects.
With 'War,' Lionsgate is now the second Blu-ray studio to announce a Profile 1.1-compatible Blu-ray title. (Late last month, Fox confirmed plans to issue 'Sunshine' as its first Profile 1.1-compatible Blu-ray title on January 8.)
In addition to the PIP content on 'War,' other Blu-ray exclusives include the BD-Java-enhanced interactive game "Yakuza Fighter," a "Blu-Line Slider" interface that allows for enhanced scene access, a custom bookmarking function, and what Lionsgate is calling "dynamic resizing" menu navigation.
The Blu-ray edition of 'War' will also carry over all of the standard DVD's supplements, including two audio commentaries with director Philip Atwell and co-screenwriters Lee Anthony Smith & Gregory J. Bradley, a "War Chest" mode that allows for bonus making-of vignettes to be unlocked via seamless branching, a "War Zone" subtitle fact track, "Scoring 'War'" featurette, deleted scenes, a gag reel and the film's original theatrical trailer.
As for tech specs, the Blu-ray will boast 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video, along with a full-blown uncompressed PCM 7.1 Surround track (at 48kHz/24-bit) and subtitles in both English and Spanish.
Lionsgate has set a suggested retail price for 'War' at $39.98.
As always, you'll find complete disc details for 'War' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, indexed under January 1, 2008.
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- Discs mentioned in this article: (Click for specs and reviews)
- War (Blu-ray)
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (Blu-ray)
- Sunshine (Blu-ray)
- Hairspray (2007) (Blu-ray)
- The Descent (Blu-ray)
- Crank (Blu-ray)
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Lionsgate Declares 'War' on Blu-ray (Oct 09, 2007)
- Fox Plans Profile 1.1 'Sunshine' Blu-ray For Q1 2008 (Oct 30, 2007)
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