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'The Avengers' Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D Announced[teaser]The superpowered moneymaker will assemble on Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D in September! [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Disney/Buena Vista is preparing 'The Avengers' Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and 'The Avengers - 3D' Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy combo pack for September 25. Joss Whedon's action/adventure based on the Marvel Comics team of superheroes features an all-star cast including Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner. Specs have yet to be revealed, but supplements will include: Audio Commentary by Director Joss Whedon; Disney's Second Screen; Assembling the Ultimate Team; A Visual Journey; Gag Reel; Item 47 (Marvel One-Shot Short Film); 9 Deleted/Extended Scenes; and Soundgarden's Live to Rise Music Video. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray will likely be set at $39.99 with the Blu-ray 3D $49.99. You can find the latest specs for 'The Avengers' amd 'The Avengers - 3D' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they're both indexed under September 25.Posted Mon May 21, 2012 at 01:30 PM PDT by: -
'Bond 50' Blu-ray Release Date Announced![teaser]James Bond fans get ready for the ultimate 007 Blu-ray collection containing all 22 films in September! Pre-order yours NOW![/teaser] As previously reported, in celebration of James Bond’s monumental golden anniversary, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is bringing 'Bond 50,' a collectible box-set featuring all 22 James Bond films on Blu-ray Disc for the first time in one complete offering. The longest running film franchise of all time, the 'Bond 50' collection marks the debut of nine James Bond films previously unavailable in high definition Blu-ray. Fans around the world can pre-order now with participating online retailers. 'Bond 50' showcases fifty years of Bond neatly packaged into one cool, sleek collectable box-set featuring all six iconic James Bond actors. Produced using the highest possible picture quality and audio presentation, the collection includes all 22 James Bond feature films from 'Dr. No' to 'Quantum of Solace' and more than 130 hours of bonus features including some new and exclusive content. The first 22 discs will feature the 22 feature films along with audio commentaries, featurettes, photo galleries, deleted scenes, trailers, and much more. This set will also include a 23rd disc with the following exclusive features: The World of Bond – The 007 films have a look, style and attitude that is signature Bond. From the cars, to the women, to the villains and even the music, Bond films stand apart. The World of Bond takes the viewer through the best of five decades worth of classic James Bond in one thrilling montage. The World of Bond showcases the fascinating and entertaining interplay among unforgettable moments of danger, seduction, adventure and a dash of that distinguished humor that fans have cherished from the beginning up until now. To add to the experience, The World of Bond featurette will also offer a Pop-Up Trivia option to challenge even the sharpest of fans with little known facts and interesting trivia from the Bond Universe. Being Bond – There’s only one James Bond – but he’s proven too much for only one actor to play the role. In the franchise’s 50-year run, six distinguished actors have taken on the part and secured a spot in cinematic history. Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig each reflect on the impact and importance of taking on such a famous role. With this piece, gain insight into what each actor brought to the character and discover how they shaped the world’s most timeless secret agent. SKYFALL Videoblogs – Behind-the-scenes look at the making of SKYFALL from the cast and crew. The suggested list price for the boxed set is $299.99. You can find the latest specs for 'Bond 50' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under September 25.Posted Mon May 21, 2012 at 12:30 PM PDT by: -
HDD Demos Dolby Atmos and Dolby TrueHD Advanced 96K UpsamplingBy Michael S. Palmer Before we get to the good stuff, the SEC, FCC, NCAA, or some governing body says the following disclosure is manditory. NOTE: this article exists because Dolby Laboratories bought me a round trip airfare to San Francisco, housed me in a hotel I probably couldn't (or wouldn't) afford normally, and stuffed me silly with meals and beverages of adult and/or caffeinated varieties. Take that for whatever value you apply, but at the end of the day, I'm just a guy -- probably a lot like you -- who loves home cinema and was fortunate enough to see what the pros are cooking up for our next generation theatrical and home theatre auditory experiences. Second disclosure. I've been to Dolby Laboratories three times now. It's terribly depressing. Sorry, that's not true; these trips have been the most explosive audio experiences I've ever had, whether sitting in Mix Room A, which features seven Pelonis Signature Series Model 110P 2-way Passive Reference Monitors and a Velodyne Model DD-15BG Subwoofer, or the Dolby Cinema Lab, which is completely isolated from the rest of the building and set up for 26.3 surround sound. No, the depressing part about Dolby is returning home, flipping on my consumer surround sound system (Denon powering 7.1 KEF iQs), and realizing it all sucks-to-my-asthmar compared to the sonic bliss my spoiled ears had grown accustomed over the previous couple days. Oh well, such is life. [teaser]Fidelity Forum 2.0 was a two day event with over 20 journalists and bloggers from a variety of sound hobbies. Everything from the guy who bled for the San Francisco Symphony and high-resolution stereo audiophile recordings, to guys like me who wants his action blockbuster Blu-rays to be swirling infernos of percussive chaos.[/teaser] HDD's own resident technical guru, Josh Zyber, also attended and, from what I understand, is writing up a couple articles as well. For our purposes here, consider this piece a general introduction and mini-review of what I experienced. In layman's terms, "on a scale of awesome to lame, how much should I get it up?" Josh will attempt to go more in depth with the technology itself. Dolby TrueHD Advanced 96K Upsampling Day one was dedicated to Dolby TrueHD Advanced 96K Upsampling, which has just been announced to the public. From my minimal experience getting to know the Dolby culture, it's evident how much Laboratory best describes this company. Their engineers and neuroscientists and craftsmen of all types seem to be driven by one simple question: How can we make an audio experience better? In our first demo, the question was, how can we improve Dolby TrueHD? But the challenge was where to make the change. They can't upgrade Blu-ray itself because the BDA (Blu-ray Disc Association) has strict product specs. You could put new chips or software into Blu-ray players or AV Receivers, but that could be terribly expensive for the consumer or processor heavy on the gear itself. Then it hit them, what if the key to improving Dolby TrueHD was at the encoding level? What if there was an improvement that not only fits TrueHD's current capabilities -- up to eight full-range channels of 96 kHz/24-bit audio and six full-range channels of 192 kHz/24-bit audio -- but also works with gear consumers already have sitting on shelves and in closets? I'm probably about to butcher this explanation, in terms of the science, but when sound is digitally recorded at 48 kHz, artifacts are introduced into the sound files. One of these is called Pre-Ringing; think of it like digital noise that shows up a millisecond before the real sound, and is most commonly found in things with fast attack rates -- drums, gunfire, explosions, glass breaking, etc. At 96 kHz, this phenomenon is apparently minimized. What's important to remember here is that most (if not all) television and theatrical motion picture audio is recorded at 48 kHz. Because multi-track soundtracks are so complicated, and because source materials are recorded in many places, upgrading the mixing process to 96K would take a lot more gear and storage. But what if the professional sound designers could keep their current workflow, but still produce a better product? Because TrueHD can natively handle 96K, Dolby thought if they could upsample finished audio from 48K to 96K, there would be a noticeable fidelity upgrade. But, again, what's the best way to make this happen? Sure, some AV Receivers have DACs (digital to analog converters) capable of such upsampling, but in a 7.1 mix, it requires a lot of horsepower. Also, up-resolution algorithms introduce their own flaws, which can only be fixed with expensive "apodizing" filters. How expensive? Consider Meridian Audio's 808.2 Signature Reference CD Player. It does everything we're talking about here…for $16,000. Dolby realized that the only way for them to increase the fidelity of soundtracks and reduce digital artifacts while not making it more expensive for movie studios or consumers is after the mix, but before the TrueHD encoding process. So Dolby licensed Meridian's apodizing filter technology and cooked it into the latest version of their professional encoding software. This means we're about get all the benefit of 96K recordings from 48K source material without having to change anything in our systems (assuming your AVR is capable of doing 96K digital to analog conversions). Okay, I've butchered the behind-the-scenes long enough. The most important questions are, does this really matter to the average consumer (the will I care quotient)? To be honest, I was pretty skeptical. I can tell when someone's playing a low res .mp3 file on a nice home or car audio system because it sounds tinny and harsh, but Blu-ray sounds awesome as is. 48K has to be good enough, right? To be fair, 48K is good enough and will most likely remain a standard for most Blu-ray presentations. But when you hear 96K, you might just hope studios encoding in TrueHD will click literally one button, in the encoding software bundle, and instantly upgrade all their Blu-ray soundtracks. Is it change-the-world dramatic? Not always. Sometimes the difference is subtle. And, it affected each listener a little different. As a demo, Dolby played back-to-back recordings at 96K and 48K straight out of ProTools so there would be no difference in volume levels between the demos. We sampled scenes from 'The Lost Bladesmen', 'The Dark Knight', 'Kung Fu Panda', 'Flowers of War' and a couple music selection. To be very clear, the only demo currently slated to appear with Advanced 96K Upsampling is 'Flowers of War'; the other clips were for test purposes only, courtesy of the various studios. To my ears, because I'm an action-junkie, 'The Dark Knight' scenes had the most impressive improvements. We heard the scenes where Batman HALO jumps into a Hong Kong skyscraper as well as Batman riding the Batpod (I mean to say motorcycle, whatever that's called) through the mall, an alley, and racing towards the Joker in the 18-wheeler (though sadly, the clip ended before it flipped). What I felt and heard, as we jumped back and forth between 96K and 48K, was akin to listening to the sound in a large room with lots of echoing surfaces, and then listening in a smaller room that had been professional calibrated. The 96K material sounded warmer and precise. Gunshots and shattering glass seemed more lifelike and realistic. At 48K, those sound were still pretty excellent (the speakers for this demo looked very expensive), but those percussive, explosive moments had much more noticeable harshness and edge to them. As long as the studios don't charge a crazy-premium over standard Blu-rays -- they shouldn't because it doesn't cost extra, save for a little more encoding time -- I personally cannot wait to pick up Advanced 96K Upsampling Blu-ray titles. In terms of what's available now, you can currently pick up 'San Francisco Symphony at 100' as well as the Joe Satriani concert film 'Saturated: Live in Montreal'. Also, as I said a moment ago, the Asian market release of Christian Bales 'The Flowers of War' (from Best * Original Production Limited) is slated to release this summer in the format; I'm not sure about the North American Blu-ray. To tell whether or not a title has this technology, look for the special gold badging, which will appear as a circular sticker (pictured), a gold bar along the lower portion of the Blu-ray's front cover, or as a technical specification on the Blu-ray's back cover. For more information, be on the lookout for Josh's blog posts, read this detailed .pdf from Dolby, or check out these two videos. First, we have a short piece on the ' San Francisco Symphony at 100' Blu-ray Disc: San Francisco Symphony at 100 Blu-ray Disc In Dolby TrueHD with advanced 96K Upsampling from Dolby Laboratories on Vimeo. And, here's the full 45 minute Saturated Panel from Fidelity Forum 2.0: Saturated: Live in Montreal Panel from Dolby Laboratories on Vimeo. Dolby Atmos On day two of Fidelity Forum 2.0, we finally heard the technology I've been most excited about: Dolby Atmos. Atmos was announced a couple weeks ago and, if you don't know what I'm talking about, have a look at this short video explaining the technology: As I said above, we went into the Dolby Cinema Lab for this, which is set up for 26.3 surround sound, including six speakers on each side (two of which are full range), five rear speakers, and six overheads. The Atmos logo trailer was mixed at Dolby Burbank in a 38.1 speaker array, the Atmos launch demo took place in Las Vegas in a 47.3 configuration, and Skywalker Sound just built a new Atmos-capable mixing stage in a 41.3 setup. Sounds complicated, right? Atmos actually begins with a 9.1 based configuration (the current Dolby 7.1 format plus stereo height channels), which sound designers will mix in a familiar workflow. However, what makes Atmos amazing is that it includes "object" mixing. Meaning, any individual sound effect or music clip can pan anywhere in a 180-degree hemisphere. The Atmos cinema processor -- which can be configured for any professional theatre -- will place that object discretely in as few or as many speakers as the filmmakers intend. What's particularly impressive is how scalable it all is for any venue. In terms of technical requirements, Dolby suggests a pair of height channel speakers for every pair of side channel speakers, full range surrounds because of added LFE capabilities, and individual speaker amplification (this allows for more discrete placement). So how does it sound? We were fortunate enough to demo the Atmos logo trailer (created by Erik Aadahl, best known for his sound work on 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon'), four sound only clips, the climax of 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes', and a secret clip about which I may not write despite it being the presentation highlight. Overall, when I first heard 7.1, I felt as though I had been sucked forward towards the screen. With Atmos, it sounds like you're literally in the world of the movie; the height channels are a big part of this, but the precision with which bullets ping and helicopters fly is impressive and perhaps the most lifelike I've ever encountered. But remember, all of these demos was designed to call attention to the new format; like anything, Atmos can be as aggressive or subtle as needed. The Atmos logo sounds like a cross between the THX and 'Transformers'. It has a wide dynamic range with heart-stopping base and an incredibly immersive surround experience. The four sound-only clips were fun as well. A thunder and rain sequence was akin to sitting in a covered porch during a summer storm; I could hear the individual drops of rain hitting the ground, while others dripped off a roof. It was incredibly realistic. Next, they panned a song 360-degrees around the room, first in 5.1, and later in Atmos. The 5.1 had gaps, uneven levels, and bled across multiple speakers at a time. In Atmos, a single voice traveled in an exact line. Then, Dolby took two conversations from 'The Dark Knight' and played them at the same time on the same side of the auditorium. In 5.1, you couldn't understand anything. In 7.1, things were clearer, but the conversations sounded on top of one another. In Atmos, it was like sitting at a restaurant and isolating two other tables conversing around you. The last sound-only demo was originally created for Vodaphone commercials in the U.K. It began on a in-flight jetliner. After a terrifying crash sequence, a man swims to safety and encounters cannibals on a jungle island. While not as good as 'The Grey' plane crash, this was also incredibly immersive. Fellow passengers opening overhead bins sounded like they were doing so above you. In a moment where we were bobbing up and down under the water, you could hear the water rising up around you and receding. It was pretty cool. 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' wasn't my favorite demo, but the sequence where the gorillas leaps into the crashing helicopter was pretty good. Perhaps in its current form a little too chaotic and not as discrete as the other clips, especially the finale that followed, which was perfect. When properly mixed, Atmos is an unmatched force in theatrical motion picture sound capability, but when and where will you get to hear it? Dolby just went over to Skywalker Sound to do a "test-mix" on Disney/Pixar's 'Brave'. If all goes well, Atmos will debut on 15 screens in the US when 'Brave' hits cinemas on June 22. Though the official list hasn't been released (look for that in the next couple weeks), these select cinemas will all be in major cities. AMC's "ETX" auditoriums, which already have built-in height channels, are likely conversion candidates. Again, this is mostly a test. Atmos doesn't officially debut until next year, when Dolby is planning to run a "Road to 1000" campaign in hopes they'll have 1,000 Atmos screens by the summer of 2013. In the meantime, they plan to work with Hollywood's top filmmakers to mix the biggest movies in the format for next year. To learn more about Atmos, here's the Launch Event and Panel: Dolby Atmos Launch Event & Industry Panel from Dolby Laboratories on Vimeo. Fidelity Forum 2.0 Wrap Up Visiting the Laboratory is an aural treat. Despite the amazing demos, my favorite part was probably the visit to Mixing Room A, where we sampled the B.O.B. (featuring Halley Williams) song Airplanes and the Owl City song Fireflies in 7.1. Not only was the equipment drool-worthy (sorry about the puddle, fellas) and the room perfectly tuned, but we were able to isolate vocals and other track elements and learn how mutli-channel audio is mixed. Fascinating. As for the other technology explored, Dolby TrueHD Advanced 96K Upsampling is a fun new home theatre improvement. I could hear it and I look forward to hearing as many movie soundtracks in the format as possible. Since I've already got the gear, why not, right? I suppose the only potential downside is the inevitable studio double-dip release, but that would probably happen anyway. Dolby Atmos won't be in our homes anytime soon, but as a theatrical experience, I'm eagerly waiting for 'Brave' and whatever follows. Will either change the movies forever? For some, yes; for others, no. But at the end of the day, what's most important is Dolby, and many other companies out there, won't settle for what's "good enough." Because they always need to make it better.Posted Mon May 21, 2012 at 12:05 PM PDT by: -
'Django Kill...If You Live, Shoot!' Blu-ray delayed[teaser]The controversial 1967 cult spaghetti western from director Giulio Questi originally gunning down Blu-ray at high noon in June has been delayed a few weeks. [/teaser] As previously reported, Blue Underground was preparing 'Django Kill...If You Live, Shoot!' for Blu-ray on June 19, but now the date has been changed to July 3. "SHOCKINGLY VIOLENT AND SURREAL... A MASTERPIECE OF THE GOTHIC WESTERN!" - Spaghetti Cinema "SO EXTREME IN EVERY WAY - IT IS ONE OF THE HANDFUL OF GREAT ITALIAN WESTERNS!" - Alex Cox, Director of Repo Man and Sid & Nancy Tomas Milian ('Traffic,' 'Run Man Run') stars as a half-breed bandit double-crossed and left for dead who rises from the grave to seek his revenge. But when his quest leads to a bizarre town called The Unhappy Place, he is plunged into an odyssey of gruesome torture, graphic violence and relentless sexual depravity. This is the landmark movie that fans and critics still consider to be the strangest and most controversial Spaghetti Western ever made. This is 'Django Kill!' Specs and supplements have yet to be revealed, and suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $29.98. You can find the latest specs for 'Django Kill...If You Live, Shoot!' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under July 3.Posted Mon May 21, 2012 at 10:00 AM PDT by: -
'Quadrophenia' Announced and Detailed for Blu-ray[teaser]Franc Roddam's classic 1979 coming-of-age drama is getting the Blu-ray treatment at the end of August. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Criterion is preparing 'Quadrophenia' for Blu-ray on August 28. The Who’s classic rock opera Quadrophenia was the basis for this invigorating coming-of-age movie and depiction of the defiant, drug-fueled London of the early 1960s. The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 soundtracks, and supplements include: New audio commentary featuring director Franc Roddam and director of photography Brian Tufano; New interview with Bill Curbishley, the film's co-producer and the Who's co-manager; New interview with the Who's sound engineer, Bob Pridden, discussing the new mix, featuring a restoration demonstration; On-set and archival footage; Behind-the-scenes photographs; and a booklet featuring an essay by critic Nick James, a reprinted personal history by original mod Irish Jack, and Pete Townshend's liner notes from the album. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $39.95. You can find the latest specs for 'Quadrophenia' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under August 28.Posted Mon May 21, 2012 at 08:00 AM PDT by: -
James Cameron's 'Ghosts of the Abyss - 3D' Announced for Blu-ray 3D[teaser]The 2003 documentary comes to Blu-ray 3D with two cuts in September. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Disney/Buena Vista has slated 'Ghosts of the Abyss - 3D' for Blu-ray 3D on September 11. For the first time on Disney Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray 2D, see the real story behind the Titanic and watch this groundbreaking cinematic achievement in a beautiful new digital restoration! Academy Award®-winning Director and master storyteller, James Cameron journey’s back to the site of his greatest inspiration – the legendary wreck of the Titanic. With a team of the world’s foremost historic and marine experts and friend Bill Paxton, he embarks on an unscripted adventure back to the final grave where nearly 1,500 souls lost their lives almost a century ago. Using state-of-the-art technology developed expressly for this expedition, Cameron and his crew are able to explore virtually all of the wreckage, inside and out, as never-before. With the most advanced 3D photography, moviegoers will experience the ship as if they are part of crew, right inside the dive subs. In this unprecedented motion picture event, made especially for IMAX 3D theatres and specially outfitted 35MM 3D theaters across the country, Cameron and his team bring audiences to sights not seen since the sinking 90 years ago and explore why the landmark vessel – more than any shipwreck – continues to intrigue and fascinate the public. The Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD combo pack will feature both the theatrical (60 minute) and extended (90 minute) cuts in 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements include Reflections from the Deep. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray 3D combo pack is $44.99. You can find the latest specs for 'Ghosts of the Abyss - 3D' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under September 11.Posted Mon May 21, 2012 at 06:00 AM PDT by: -
HDD Deal of the Week: 'Rocky: Undisputed Collection' Blu-ray $29.99 at Amazon[teaser]Yo, Adrian! Amazon's Gold Box deal of the week has the eye of the tiger. [/teaser] The online retailer has just reduced the price of 'Rocky: Undisputed Collection' featuring Sylvester Stallone in his iconic role to just $29.99 (57% off suggested list price). Click here to add this set to your collection for a fantastic price and don't miss Aaron Peck's "highly recommended" 'review here.' This offer is valid now through May 27th.Posted Sun May 20, 2012 at 08:38 AM PDT by: -
Bonus View Digest - May 18, 2012[teaser]What? You've been missing out on The Bonus View this week? If you have that means you've been missing our Hitchcock Blogathon that we started in hopes of raising some money for a new musical score and online streaming distribution for 'The White Shadow', an early silent film that young Mr. Hitchcock (then officially a writer and Assistant Director) used as a stepping stone to launch his own directorial career (you can donate here).[/teaser] Hitchcock Blogathon We have a ton of entries in the Blogathon, many of which will please even the most avid Hitchcock fans. Guest blogger John Carvill, from the UK-based pop culture web site Oomska.co.uk, wrote a great piece which he described as, "an unscientific analysis of the Blu-ray editions of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The 39 Steps’ & ‘North by Northwest’." Other Hitchcock entries include a column about 'The Birds' by Steven Cohen, a look back at 'Topaz' by Adam Tyner, a 'Vertigo' walking tour by Josh Zyber, the story behind Hitchcock's blonde bombshells as well as his one-word titles, both by David Krauss, and a special edition of Posterizing by Aaron Peck where he lists his top ten favorite Hitchcock movie posters. If you're a fan of the immortal director then you'll really want to take a gander at some of these articles. We're really proud here at The Bonus View to be honoring such a cinematic legend. We hope you enjoy. TV Madness We've entered the round of the final sixteen characters. The last matchup we did, before the Madness tournament took a little hiatus for Hitchcock Blogathon, was a fight between super-spy Michael Westen and vampire slayer extraordinaire, Buffy. Who do you think would win? Theatrical News Luke saw this weekend's movies so you don't have to. In case you wanted to know how bad 'What to Expect When You're Expecting,' and 'Battleship' are, you can read his reviews. He also reviewed 'The Dictator' in case you wanted to know the latest about Sacha Baron Cohen's scripted comedy future. TV Recaps We haven't had much time to get to television with our Hitchcock Blogathon taking over, but there was one recap posted this week by Aaron Peck about the latest episode of 'The Killing.' Even if you're not watching the show, keep up with the recaps. They're fun. Special Features Tom Landy went off to the Calgary Expo (a.k.a. Geek Paradise in Canada) this past week. He's posted a few Captain's Blog updates of his time at the Expo. Take a look at posts for Day 1 and Day 2 along with a post about Tom's emergency that had him heading to the hospital instead of back to the Expo. Finally, we have the trusty weekly posts like the Weekend Roundtable where we asked what remake or reimagining should Tim Burton take on next and our Mid-Week Poll that focused on what you may think about gesture-controlled television sets. That's it for this week. Stay tuned though. As always, we have a bunch of great stuff coming your way next week.Posted Fri May 18, 2012 at 11:35 AM PDT by: -
Blu-ray Goes 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen'[teaser]The film adaption of Paul Torday's acclaimed novel will be swimming upstream on Blu-ray in July. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Sony will be releasing 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' on Blu-ray on July 17. Ewan McGregor ('Beginners') and Emily Blunt ('The Adjustment Bureau') star alongside Oscar-nominee Kristin Scott Thomas ('I've Loved You So Long') and Amr Waked ('Syriana') in this extraordinary, beguiling tale of fly-fishing and political spinning, of unexpected heroism and late-blooming love and of an attempt to prove the impossible, possible. Directed by Oscar-nominee Lasse Hallstrom ('Chocolat') and written by Oscar-winner Simon Beaufoy ('Slumdog Millionaire'), this feature film is based on Paul Torday's acclaimed novel about a scientist who looks to fulfills a sheikh's dream of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to his homeland in Yemen. It is produced by Paul Webster ('The Motorcycle Diaries') and executive produced by Jamie Laurenson, Stephen Garrett, Paula Jalfon, Zygi Kamasa and Guy Avshalom. The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements will include Miracles Happen: Making Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and The Fisherman in the Middle East: Novelist Paul Torday. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $35.99. You can find the latest specs for 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under July 17.Posted Fri May 18, 2012 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
'Weekend' Blu-ray Announced and Detailed[teaser]The Criterion Collection welcomes Andrew Haigh's 2011 feature film to their Blu-ray line-up this August. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Criterion says 'Weekend' will hit Blu-ray on August 21. Rarely has a film been as honest about sexuality—in both depiction and discussion—as this tale of a one-night-stand that develops into a weekend-long idyll for two very different young men (exciting newcomers Tom Cullen and Chris New) in Midlands England. The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 soundtrack, and supplements will include: New program featuring interviews with Haigh, Pontikos, producer Tristan Goligher, and actors Tom Cullen & Chris New; New interview with Haigh on the film's sex scenes; On-set video footage shot by New and others, and two scenes from Cullen's and New's auditions; Video essay on the film's set photographers, Oisín Share and Colin Quinn; Cahuenga Blvd. (2005) and Five Miles Out (2009), two short films by Haigh; Trailer; and a booklet featuring an essay by film critic Dennis Lim. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $39.95. You can find the latest specs for 'Weekend' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under August 21.Posted Fri May 18, 2012 at 10:00 AM PDT by:
