Blaine: Disney is trying something new this year, that I apologize for not noticing sooner: the highly economical single disc DVD releases of major titles are shipping a few weeks later than the deluxe editions. Since these discs appear identical to the ones included in the previously released combination packs, I can only conclude that the entire point of releasing them later is to get people who want them but who don’t look ahead at release schedules to buy a more expensive edition first.
Title | Available Formats |
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Action | |
The Tom Cruise Blu-Ray Collection |
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Includes Collateral, Days of Thunder, Minority Report, Top Gun and War of the Worlds. | |
Treasure Hunter | |
Anime | |
Blassreiter: S.A.V.E. Edition | |
Bleach the Movie: Fade to Black | |
Ice Complete Collection | |
Alex: A post-apocalyptic anime that’s serving as a vehicle for members J-Pop group AKB48, based around a future where a virus has wipe out all men and most women. | |
Love Hina: Box Set (Classic) | |
Shuffle: Complete Series S.A.V.E. edition | |
Art House | |
Three Colors: Blue, White, Red (Criterion Collection) | |
Blaine: My film geek friends keep raving about this trilogy, but none of them have been able to articulate why. Still, it’s tempting. | |
Biopic | |
60 Minutes – Steve Jobs |
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Classics (Traditional) | |
Jean Harlow Collection |
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Includes Bombshell, The Girl from Missouri, Personal Property, Reckless, Riffraff, Saratoga and Suzy. | |
The Rules of the Game (Criterion Collection) | |
Comedy | |
Beginners | |
Betty Boop: 15 Animated Featurettes |
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Blaine: I don’t know which 15 cartoons are here. Betty Boop is probably the most popular classic cartoon character who hasn’t had a remastered chronological collection hit the market, likely because her history is so inconsistent. She was originally a poodle who costarred in another character’s cartoons, who was turned human when they decided her schtick would be losing her top (at least) in each cartoon before she was transformed again into a more family friendly character. | |
The Big Lebowski |
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Documentary | |
Superheroes |
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Comparing societal trends to the superheroes created at the time. Could be quite interesting. | |
Family | |
DreamWorks Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury / Book of Dragons |
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The Lion King |
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Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume One | |
Blaine: I haven’t gone through every single title, but this appears to be a Blu-Ray upgrade of cartoons already released in the Golden Collections. Aside from the numbering on the package, I’m not sure what makes the “Ultimate” edition any different from the regular edition. | |
Shaun the Sheep: Season 2 |
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Fantasy | |
Being Human: Season One | |
The American version, not the U.K. version. | |
Neverwhere: 15th Anniversary Edition |
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Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | |
Horror | |
Evil Dead 2: 25th Anniversary Edition | |
This entry in the series could just as easily be listed under comedy. | |
Music / Musical | |
Bizet: Carmen in 3D |
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The California Raisins Collection |
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The front of the box only advertises the two specials, but the Editorial Reviews section says it also includes the complete 13 episode Saturday morning series. | |
Gilbert and Sullivan |
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These are the Opera Australia versions, not the U.S. theatrical versions from the 1950s and 1960s. | |
My Fair Lady |
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West Side Story: 50th Anniversary Edition | |
Mystery | |
Crime Story: The Complete Series |
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Alex Michael Mann’s other major television series (aside from Miami Vice) | |
Romance | |
Larry Crowne | |
Science Fiction | |
Farscape | |
Note that the complete series box, like the DVD version, does not include the Peacekeeper Wars. | |
Giorgio Moroder Presents Metropolis | |
Blaine: This version of the 1927 Fritz Lang classic has a score composed of 1980s pop, including Pat Benetar, Billy Squier, Freddie Mercury, Bonnie Tyler, Adam Ant, Jon Anderson, Freddie Mercury and the like. I haven’t seen it, but I’m tempted. | |
Red vs. Blue: Season Nine |
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Suspense | |
It Takes a Thief: Complete Series |
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Blaine: This was originally listed a couple of weeks ago. There was a last minute delay in the release when the manufacturer discovered a manufacturing defect and chose to correct it before shipping instead of after. |
Finally, the picks of the week. Blaine says, “of the titles I’ve seen, the most interesting is Farscape (though I’ve only seen the first two seasons so far), followed by Looney Tunes and The Lion King. I haven’t seen this particular edition of Metropolis or The Rules of the Game yet, but both are “must see” items.” Alex says, “Farscape on Blu-Ray is something I’d definitely get if I had the money. On the anime front, I’m interested in how ICE executes its concept – but I’m on the fence due to the show basically being a vehicle for a hyper-cutsy J-Pop group.”
While I loved Farscape, I have to wonder if the effects and puppetry would hold up to HD standards. The first three seasons were not even filmed in widescreen format, if I recall correctly. They looked fine on my DVD set. If I didn’t already own the DVDs, the Blu-Ray set might be tempting, but there is a reason that some series (Like Buffy) don’t go back and release Blu-Ray sets. The quality of the early episodes just isn’t there to justify an “upgrade” like that.
I’d go for Farscape. I watched the whole series a bit ago and while the effects might not be fantastic anymore, the puppetry is still great. This is Jim Henson Creature Shop. THe puppets are pretty much on the same level as the actors.
And since I don’t have Farscape on DVD I might as well get the blu-ray!
Betty’s shtick, in her best cartoons, was the Fleischer Brothers’ batpoop insanity. Her pre-Hays Code adventures were wild, she was clearly topless (though covered) in one, and popular rumor claims the animators would reveal her breasts in a single frame per cartoon (not visible to the audience), but this was never her shtick, nor what made her famous.
As for her insane chronology, that is another matter. There is a chronological VHS series from the 90s that covers her history. That seems ripe for rerelease.