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'X-Files: I Want to Believe' Blu-ray Due December (UPDATED)[teaser]Fox has announced an early-December Blu-ray arrival for 'X-Files: I Want to Believe,' which will come to high-def as the studio's first title with BD-Live interactivity.[/teaser] The follow-up to 1998's first big-screen 'X-Files' film 'Fight the Future,' 'I Want to Believe' arrived in theaters this past summer over six years after the end of the television series. Again re-teaming David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as agents Mulder and Sculley, 'I Want to Believe' failed to ignite in theaters, grossing less than $25 million domestically. Hoping to give the Chris Carter-directed thriller a second shot on video, Fox will debut the Blu-ray with multiple exclusives and Digital Copy on December 2, day-and-date with the standard DVD. Complete supplements have not yet been revealed, but exclusive content confirmed so far includes a picture-in-picture (Bonus View) in-movie experience (featuring video commentary with cast & crew, behind-the-scenes footage and storyboards and concept art), an isolated score track and D-Box enhancement. And in a first for the studio, the Blu-ray will include the BD-Live feature "The X-Files Dossier: Agent Dakota Whitney Files," allowing users to search the files of the film's characters. Additional content shared between the Blu-ray and DVD include audio commentary by Carter and producer Frank Spotnitz, the "Trust No One: Can The X-Files Remain A Secret?" documentary, a pair of featurettes ("Body Parts: Special Make-up Effects," "Chris Carter: Statements on Green Production"), deleted scenes, gag reel, still galleries, a music slideshow, theatrical trailers and a Digital Copy of the film. Tech specs for the Blu-ray will see both the theatrical and unrated cuts of the film presented on a BD-50 dual-layer disc with 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video and English DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround. Finally, Fox has issued the final box art for 'I Want to Believe': Suggested retail price for the Blu-ray has been set at $39.98. You'll find final specs for 'X-Files: I Want to Believe' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under December 2.Posted Tue Sep 16, 2008 at 06:00 AM PDT by: -
Disney Unveils 'Sleeping Beauty' Blu-ray Specs, Exclusives[teaser]Rolling out the red carpet for its premiere Platinum Blu-ray release, Disney has unveiled final specs for 'Sleeping Beauty' that include hours of high-def exclusives and never-before-seen bonus content.[/teaser] Disney's most high-profile Blu-ray release of the year, the studio will debut 'Sleeping Beauty' on October 7, as the first in its much-touted Platinum series of animated classics. (As previously reported, future Disney Platinum titles confirmed for release in the coming years include 'Snow White,' 'Fantasia' and 'Beauty & the Beast.') After months of anticipation amongst Disney fans, the studio has now finally confirmed complete tech specs and supplement details for the two-disc Blu-ray 'Sleeping Beauty,' and the title looks to easily earn the mantle of 'Platinum" with hours of bonus features and interactive next-gen content. Blu-ray exclusives will include a "Cine-Explore" mode (with full-motion PIP commentary by Pixar's John Lasseter, Andreas Deja and critic Leonard Maltin), "Maleficent's Challenge" interactive game, the "ultimate audio experience" Dragon Encounter allowing you to immersive yourself in a 7.1 surround sensory adventure, the "Restoring the Soundtrack" featurette, and a "Customized Living Menu" facilitating real-time customization to the disc's menus. Additional BD-Live content boasts a fully-functional "Disney BD-Live Network." Extras will include "Movie Chat" (allowing for synchronized viewing across the Internet), "Movie Mail" personalized user video messages, a "Movie Challenge" online interactive real-time trivia challenge, and "Disney Movie Rewards Live," featuring downloadable movie content such as avatars, wallpapers and more. Features shared with the standard DVD Platinum release of 'Sleeping Beauty' enjoy an all-new "Picture Perfect: The Making of Sleeping Beauty" documentary, additional "Four Artists Paint One Tree" featurette, the "Original Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Walk-Through Attraction With Walt Disney Imagineering" 3-D experience, four deleted songs and an alternate opening, a pair of interactive games ("Briar Rose's Enchanted Dance Game," "Fun with English") the Oscar-winning short film "Grand Canyon" ad a episode of the legendary Walt Disney TV series "The Peter Tchaikovsky Story." Tech specs for the Blu-ray will see the 75-minute feature film spread across a BD-50 dual-layer disc with 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video and uncompressed English DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 7.1 Surround audio. As previously announced, suggested retail price for the Blu-ray has been set at $35.98. You'll find final specs for 'Sleeping Beauty' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under October 7.Posted Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 12:00 PM PDT by: -
Koch to Bring Tom Petty 'Soundstage' Performance to Blu-ray[teaser]Koch Releasing has announced it has set a November Blu-ray debut for the latest entry in its Soundstage series, featuring Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.[/teaser] Including a complete 60-minute performance boasting many of the band's biggest hits (and captured entirely in high-definition), 'Soundstage: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' will debut the Blu-ray on November 11. There are no tech specs yet, nor any announced supplements, but we'll keep you posted. Suggested retail price for the Blu-ray has been set at $24.99. You'll find the latest specs for 'Soundstage: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under November 11.Posted Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 10:00 AM PDT by: -
First Look: 'Hancock' Blu-ray Box Art[teaser]Its release is still almost three months away, but Sony Pictures has unveiled a first look at the box art and final confirmed specs for 'Hancock.' [/teaser] As previously reported, the Will Smith comic book blockbuster will hit Blu-ray on November 24 (day-and-date with the standard DVD) with extensive extras and exclusive content. Mirroring the two-disc standard DVD version, the Blu-ray will enjoy a spate of seven featurettes ("Superhumans: The Making of Hancock," "Home Life," "Seeing the Future," "Suiting Up," "Building a Better Hero," "Bumps and Bruises," "Mere Mortals: Behind the Scenes with 'Dirty Pete'"), plus a Digital Copy of the film included on a second DVD. Exclusive to the next-gen is the "On-Set Visual Diary" picture-in-picture (Bonus View) commentary, provided on both the unrated and theatrical versions. Tech specs will see BD-50 dual-layer presentation of both the film's theatrical and unrated cuts, in 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video and Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround audio. Finally, we've found a sneak peek at Sony's box art for 'Hancock': As previously announced, the retail price for the Blu-ray has been set at $39.95. You'll find final specs for 'Hancock' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under November 24.Posted Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 08:00 AM PDT by: -
Criterion Brings 'Last Emperor' to Blu-ray this November[teaser]Criterion has announced the latest addition to their growing Blu-ray collection, bringing 'The Last Emperor' to high-def this November.[/teaser] The Oscar-winning epic (which took home nine awards including Best Picture and Best Director for Bernardo Bertolucci), will make its highly-anticipated Blu-ray debut on November 18. (Criterion previously released an extensive DVD set in 2001.) Tech specs will see a BD-50 dual-layer presentation with a new 1080p high definition digital transfer approved by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo track. Extras on the two-disc set are impressive, and will include audio commentary (by Bertolucci, producer Jeremy Thomas,screenwriter Mark Peploe, and composer-actor Ryuichi Sakamoto), Bertolucci's 53-minute film "The Italian Traveler," a montage of video images taken by Bertolucci in China, multiple making-of documentaries ("The Chinese Adventure of Bernardo Bertolucci," "Making of The Last Emperor"), additional crew interviews, the theatrical trailer and a collectible booklet with an essay by critic David Thomson. Suggested retail price for the Blu-ray has been set at $39.95. You'll find the latest specs for 'The Last Emperor' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under November 18.Posted Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 06:00 AM PDT by: -
'Shawshank Redemption' Gets Specs, New Date[teaser]Warner has unveiled final specs and box art for 'The Shawshank Redemption,' which will now hit Blu-ray in early December, one month later than previously expected.[/teaser] Originally scheduled for Blu-ray release on November 4, Warner has now officially assigned the title a new date of December 2, a postponement of nearly a month. The BD-50 dual-layer presentation will feature 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video, English and French Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround tracks, and additional Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround dubs in Spanish, Portuguese, and Thai. Extras will mirror the previous standard DVD special edition, with audio commentary by director Frank Darabont, a pair of documentaries, a still gallery, additional storyboards, a "Charlie Rose Show" interview with Darabont and star Morgan Freeman, and the theatrical trailer. The Blu-ray will also come housed in warner's Digi-Book packaging, which includes a collectible booklet with rare photos, production notes and other archival materials. Tech specs will see a BD-50 dual-layer presentation with 1080p video and Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround audio. Finally, Warner has issued the final box art for 'The Shawshank Redemption': As previously announced, Warner has set the suggested retail price for the Blu-ray at $34.95. You'll find complete specs for 'The Shawshank Redemption' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under its new date of December 2.Posted Fri Sep 12, 2008 at 12:00 PM PDT by: -
Weinstein Plotting December Bow for 'Death Proof,' 'Planet Terror'[teaser]High-def fans won't be able to have the full 'Grindhouse' experience, but retailers have been alerted that the Weinstein Co. is planning to release stand-alone versions of 'Death Proof' and 'Planet Terror' on Blu-ray this December.[/teaser] Originally released in theaters as 'Grindhouse,' a double bill featuring Robert Rodiguez's 'Planet Terror' and Quentin Tarantino's 'Death Proof,' the two films were subsequently separated and issued in stand-alone versions only for their domestic DVD releases. According to early retailer reports, the Weinsteins will now repeat the same formula on Blu-ray, with both titles due to hit stores separately on December 16. There's no word yet on tech specs, version details, or whether any of the extra 'Grindhouse' materials (including a series of "fake" trailers shown between the two features) will be included. As always, we'll keep you posted. Suggested retail prices for the Blu-rays have been set at $29.98 a pop. You'll find preliminary specs for 'Planet Terror' and 'Death Proof' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they're indexed under December 16.Posted Fri Sep 12, 2008 at 10:00 AM PDT by: -
Anchor Bay to Release 'Heathers' in Dual Blu-ray Editions[teaser]Anchor Bay has announced a mid-November debut for 'Heathers,' which will hit Blu-ray in standard and limited edition versions.[/teaser] Widely considered to be among the best teen films of the past few decades, the 1988 cult classic has received numerous DVD releases over the years. Finally due to make its next-gen debut on November 18, Anchor Bay will issue the Winona Ryder-Christian Slater black comedy on Blu-ray in standard and limited "Locker Set" editions. Tech specs for the standard edition include remastered 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video and DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround audio. Including the same stand-alone Blu-ray as the standard release, the "Limited Edition Locker Set' will also contain a standard DVD edition of the film, and come housed in a deluxe package with additional collectibles (to be announced). Anchor Bay has not yet issued supplemental details for either Blu-ray edition, but full details are expected soon. We'll keep you posted. Suggested retail price for the standard Blu-ray has been set at $29.98, and $89.97 for the 'Limited Edition Locker Set.' You'll find the latest specs for 'Heathers' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under November 18.Posted Fri Sep 12, 2008 at 08:00 AM PDT by: -
'Open Season 2' to Get Direct-to-Blu Premiere this January[teaser]Sony Pictures has announced an early-2009 release for the direct-to-video premiere sequel 'Open Season 2'.[/teaser] Original expected to be a theatrical follow-up to the original $100 million-plus grossing hit 'Open Season,' the sequel will now go direct-to-video. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Sony has set a January 27 bow for the all-CGI feature, day-and-date on Blu-ray and standard DVD. As Sony has yet to issue a full media announcement, there are no tech specs or supplemental details (or even a list price). We'll keep you posted. You'll find preliminary specs for 'Open Season 2' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under January 27.Posted Fri Sep 12, 2008 at 06:00 AM PDT by: -
'Hell Ride' Headed to Blu-ray[teaser]Quentin Tarantino is preparing to take high-def fans on a 'Hell Ride,' when Dimension Extreme releases the cult favorite on Blu-ray this October.[/teaser] Presented by executive-producer Tarantino, the Larry Bishop-directed 'Hell Ride' was a hit at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival with its grindhouse-like ode to '70s biker flicks. Following a limited theatrical release earlier this year, the Michael Madsen-starrer will hit Blu-ray on October 28, day-and-date with the standard DVD. Supplements boast audio commentary with Bishop and director of photography Scott Kevan, four featurettes ("The Making Of Hell Ride," "The Babes Of Hell Ride," "The Guys Of Hell Ride," "The Choppers Of Hell Ride") and a video diary by Madsen. Tech specs will see a BD-50 dual-layer presentation with 1080p video and Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround audio. Suggested retail price for the Blu-ray has been set at $29.95. You'll find the latest specs for 'Hell Ride' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under October 28.Posted Thu Sep 11, 2008 at 12:00 PM PDT by:
