Warner Plans Ten Blu-ray "Book" Releases for 2008

Adding a collectible spin to high-def packaging, Warner has revealed plans to release ten Blu-ray titles in "book"-like editions in the coming year.

Home Media Magazine is reporting that with Warner's March 25 Blu-ray debut of 'Bonnie & Clyde,' the studio will kick off a new line of deluxe next-gen releases geared towards the collector's market. Sure to please film buffs, the slate of ten releases will wrap the high-def picture and sound in a handsomely bound volume containing rare and never-before-seen archival material.

As previously reported details for 'Bonnie & Clyde' illustrate, the "book" houses the Blu-ray disc, and opens up to a full-color booklet with additional photographs, production notes, and vintage press kit excerpts.

Future titles earmarked by the studio to receive the "book" treatment include 'Dirty Harry' (due June 3), as well as the as-yet-unscheduled 'Woodstock,' 'Gone with the Wind,' and 'North by Northwest.'

Warner says it's also planning to re-issue some previously-released Blu-rays in "book" editions, including 'Blade Runner' and selections from the 'Harry Potter' series (dates TBA).

Note that as 'Bonnie & Clyde' is due before Warner's May HD DVD transition cut-off, the studio will release an HD DVD version of the title in the same book-style configuration on April 15, three weeks after the Blu-ray. However, all subsequent "book"-style releases from the studio will be Blu-ray only.

In anticipation of future announcements, we've added all of the Warner "book" titles previewed in the Home Media story to the "Release Dates Pending" section of our Blu-ray Release Schedule.