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Blu-ray Movies

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Blu-ray movies

February 2013

On the WaterfrontNo Matter What the Aspect Ratio, Brando's Performance Towers

The Criterion Collection 647
Format: Blu-ray

Overall Enjoyment
*****

Picture Quality
****1/2

Sound Quality
***1/2

Extras
****

The Criterion Collection has consistently brought us the best extras to contribute to a fuller enjoyment of its feature films. But for On the Waterfront, the company has outdone itself, bringing us three different versions of the movie. To clarify, it’s exactly the same cut presented in three different aspect ratios: 1.66:1 on the main Blu-ray Disc, and 1.33:1 and 1.85:1 on a second Blu-ray.

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Blu-ray movies

February 2013

The AwakeningStandard Ghost Story Benefits from One Good Extra Feature

Universal 61124958
Format: Blu-ray

Overall Enjoyment
***

Picture Quality
****

Sound Quality
****1/2

Extras
***

Extras can often heighten one's enjoyment of a Blu-ray's feature presentation, but they are usually self-congratulatory puff pieces. There are plenty of those here, as director Nick Murphy really likes to talk, even when he's just repeating what he's already said. But imagine my surprise to find a genuinely interesting special feature on this Blu-ray: a little piece called "A Time for Ghosts."

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Blu-ray movies

January 2013

The Tin DrumThe Banned German Classic Now on Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 234
Format: Blu-ray

Overall Enjoyment
****

Picture Quality
****1/2

Sound Quality
****

Extras
***1/2

Made in 1979, The Tin Drum is a visually stunning film that will leave every viewer with images to remember, although it will probably be a different list for each person. Directed by Volker Schlöndorff, and based on the popular novel by Günter Grass, the movie tells the story of Oskar Matzerath, who decides at age three that he doesn't want to be an adult. To get his wish, he falls down a flight of stairs, and from that point on, with one exception, he never grows on the outside but matures inside until he becomes a 17-year-old boy in a child's body. And Oskar has a weapon to keep the adult world at bay: his scream breaks glass -- everything from spectacles to windows.

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Blu-ray movies

December 2012

Purple NoonA Handsome Blu-ray Transfer for Highsmith's Ripley

The Criterion Collection 637
Format: Blu-ray

Overall Enjoyment
****

Picture Quality
****

Sound Quality
****

Extras
***

Purple Noon is based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith titled The Talented Mr. Ripley. If that sounds familiar, it might be because director Anthony Minghella made a film in 1999 based loosely on the same novel, with Matt Damon, Jude Law, and Gwyneth Paltrow in the leads.

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Blu-ray movies

December 2012

Manufactured LandscapesOutstanding Film Honoring Photographer Edward Burtynsky

Zeitgeist Films 21148
Format: Blu-ray

Overall Enjoyment
****

Picture Quality
***1/2

Sound Quality
****

Extras
***

Zeitgeist Films has a solid reputation for releasing outstanding, obscure titles on DVD. The company has quite a few dramas, but its documentaries are where it really excels. Zeitgeist has just made the transition to Blu-ray, and Manufactured Landscapes is one of its first releases in that HD format.

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November 2012

RashomonKurosawa's Masterpiece on Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 138
Format: Blu-ray

Overall Enjoyment
****1/2

Picture Quality
****

Sound Quality
***

Extras
****

There's little disagreement that Rashomon is one of Akira Kurosawa's greatest films, and there's sure to be a consensus that the great Japanese director's masterpiece has never looked better than it does on this Criterion Blu-ray Disc. I found it near astonishing at times, as copies I had seen before were riddled with noise and looked fairly washed out as far as contrast goes. This Criterion release blows them all away, even their own earlier DVD version.

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November 2012

Rosemary's BabyRoman Polanski’s Classic Thriller Still Terrifies

The Criterion Collection 630
Format: Blu-ray

Overall Enjoyment
****

Picture Quality
****

Sound Quality
***1/2

Extras
***1/2

Rosemary’s Baby is still an atmospheric and scary thriller, but when it premiered in 1968 it was even more: a controversial shocker that generated water-cooler and cocktail-hour talk. Until that time, witches' covens, with a few notable exceptions like Burn, Witch, Burn and The Seventh Victim, had been portrayed as fanciful, exaggerated, and unbelievable. But Rosemary’s Baby brought witchcraft home by showing a coven as your New York City brownstone neighbors next door.

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October 2012

Moonrise KingdomWes Anderson Creates a Storybook World on Blu-ray

Universal 62123585
Format: Blu-ray

Overall Enjoyment
****

Picture Quality
****

Sound Quality
****

Extras
*1/2

Starting with Bottle Rocket, Wes Anderson has created a string of movies very unlike typical Hollywood films. They deal with real issues but in a storybook way. All of his films offer subtle humor through warm, often wacky characters we can root for. In a way, the movies are like contemporary fairytales. Throughout his various projects (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Fantastic Mr. Fox among them), Anderson has emerged as a director with a refreshing vision.

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October 2012

Les visiteurs du soirLove Conquers All on Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 626
Format: Blu-ray

Overall Enjoyment
****

Picture Quality
****

Sound Quality
**1/2

Extras
**1/2

I'd never seen Les visiteurs du soir (1942) before this Criterion Blu-ray. I doubt that many others have -- or if they did, they saw it only on badly transferred videocassettes where it could scarcely make a good impression. Director Marcel Carné's Les enfants du paradis (1945) has received much attention, with some calling it the greatest film ever made. Les visiteurs du soir, meanwhile, has been pushed to the background.

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September 2012

Indiana JonesIndy Cracks His Bullwhip on Blu-ray

Paramount 11111024234
Format: Blu-ray

Overall Enjoyment
****

Picture Quality
****1/2

Sound Quality
****

Extras
****

Many of the great adventure trilogies and quadrilogies have been released on Blu-ray, but we've been waiting for Indiana Jones to show up with his signature fedora and bullwhip. Now Paramount has released all four films, and all is right with the world. As far as action-adventure movies go, anyhow.

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  1. "Titanic"
  2. The Rescuers: 35th Anniversary Edition (The Rescuers / The Rescuers Down Under)
  3. "The Hunger Games"
  4. "Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax"
  5. "High Fidelity"
  6. "Down by Law"
  7. "Yellow Submarine"
  8. "Barbarella"
  9. "Shallow Grave"
  10. "Accident"
  11. "The Secret World of Arrietty"
  12. "Buck Privates"
  13. "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol"
  14. "War Horse"
  15. "A Night to Remember"
  16. "To Catch a Thief"
  17. "Dangerous Liaisons"
  18. "Lady and the Tramp: Diamond Edition"
  19. "Real Steel"
  20. "Godzilla"
  21. "Design for Living"
  22. "Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy"
  23. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
  24. "The Lady Vanishes" (1938)
  25. "The Debt"
  26. "Super 8"
  27. "Beginners"
  28. "Island of Lost Souls"
  29. "The Four Feathers" (1939)
  30. "The Tree of Life"
  31. "Captain America: The First Avenger"
  32. "The Lion King: Diamond Edition"
  33. "Dumbo: 70th Anniversary Edition"
  34. "Hanna"
  35. "Cul-de-sac"
  36. "Jane Eyre"
  37. "Source Code"
  38. "Insidious"
  39. "Beauty and the Beast" (1946)
  40. "Kiss Me Deadly"
  41. "Solaris"
  42. "American Graffiti"
  43. "Papillon"
  44. "Smiles of a Summer Night"
  45. "Blow Out"
  46. "Kes"
  47. "The Incredibles"
  48. "Tron: Legacy / Tron: The Original Classic"
  49. "The Ten Commandments"
  50. "Topsy-Turvy"
  51. "Sweet Smell of Success"
  52. "Fish Tank"
  53. "Bambi"
  54. "Waiting for Superman"
  55. "Let Me In"
  56. "Alice in Wonderland: 60th Anniversary Edition"
  57. "Once Upon a Time in America"
  58. "The American"
  59. "Backdraft: Anniversary Edition"
  60. "The Disappearance of Alice Creed"
  61. "Cronos"
  62. "Fantasia / Fantasia 2000"
  63. "America Lost and Found: The BBS Story"
  64. "Disney’s A Christmas Carol"
  65. "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: Level Up! Collector’s Edition"
  66. "Toy Story 3"
  67. "I Am Love"
  68. "Psycho -- 50th Anniversary Edition"
  69. "The Magician"
  70. "Beauty and the Beast: Three-Disc Diamond Edition"
  71. "Babies"
  72. "Breathless"
  73. "Eyeborgs"
  74. "Black Orpheus"
  75. "Kalifornia"
  76. "Mother"
  77. "Black Narcissus"
  78. "Brooklyn’s Finest"
  79. "The Leopard"
  80. "Green Zone"
  81. "Flash Gordon"
  82. "The Wolfman: Two-Disc Unrated Director’s Cut"
  83. "The Road"
  84. "Tombstone"
  85. "Saving Private Ryan: Sapphire Series"
  86. "M"
  87. "Avatar"
  88. "Ride with the Devil"
  89. "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call -- New Orleans"
  90. "Sherlock Holmes"
  91. "Broken Embraces"
  92. "Toy Story: Special Edition"

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