| BLU-RAY NEWS | Receive Blu-ray News via RSS |  |
'Ben-Hur' Blu-ray Details Revealed!
Tue May 17, 2011 at 03:00 PM ETTags: Disc Announcements, Warner Brothers (all tags)
Details are slowly trickling in for one of the greatest epics of all time planned for Blu-ray release this year!
As previously reported, Warner Brothers is working on 'Ben-Hur: Ultimate Collector's Edition' for a Blu-ray release sometime in 2011.
Directed by William Wyler, the winner of 11 Oscars (including Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture) tells the tale of a Jewish prince (Charlton Heston) who is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend and not only regains his freedom, but also comes back for revenge.
For its 50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition release, the film is being meticulously restored with a newly minted frame-by-frame transfer from the original 65mm negative at a resolution of 6k (six times the resolution of the previous DVD edition).
 |
The Blu-ray release will contain two BD-50 Blu-ray discs (or five DVDs in the standard-definition version shown at the end of this article) and loads of special features including the brand new Charlton Heston & Ben-Hur A Personal Journey -- a feature length documentary chronicling the life of the actor while making the film. The feature is composed of behind-the-scenes footage, rare Heston home movies, and much more.
Other bonuses include: Ben-Hur, A Journey Through Pictures: An audiovisual re-creation assembled using stills, storyboards, sketches, music, dialogue and other archive materials; Ben Hur: The 1925 Silent Film; 2005 Documentary, Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema; 1994 Documentary, Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic; Original Screen Tests; Vintage Newsreel Gallery; Highlights from the 4/4/60 Academy Awards Ceremony; and a Theatrical Trailer Gallery.
Inside the package will also be two collectible books, with the first being "Charlton Heston: The Ben-Hur Diaries" -- an in-depth look at the actor's experiences during filmmaking with personal photos and some of Charlton Heston's sketches.
 |
A second book will be packed with rare photographs, production artwork, and reproductions from the original theatrical press book.
 |
 |
You can find the latest specs for 'Ben-Hur: Ultimate Collector's Edition' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it is indexed under PENDING.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Discs mentioned in this article: (Click for specs and reviews)
- Ben-Hur: 50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition (Blu-ray)
» High-Def Digest home page
