The biggest film event in history comes home on Earth Day

It was bound to be thus… Fox has announced that as of Earth Day, April 22nd you can re-visit planet Pandora, and mate before Eywa at the Tree of Voices direct from the comfort of your sofa. The highest-grossing motion picture of all-time is set to arrive in stores on both DVD and Blu-ray, but you know in your heart of hearts and what your eyes see that Blu-ray is the only way to go with this cinematic experience. And now a caveat of sorts… In order to provide the ultimate Blu-ray (and DVD) viewing experience, the Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment release will be sold without special features, menu options, trailers, studio promotional material, etc… nothing but 162 minutes of James Cameron’s ode to technical wizardry and mediocre storytelling environmentalism. The L.A. Times reports that the film will NOT be released in 3-D as the home-version of the technology (as previously stated at HD Report) is still in the baking stage and is not quite ready to serve. Full Story

‘Twilight New Moon’ leads Blu-ray releases this week

The biggest release on Blu-ray and DVD this week is without a doubt The Twilight Saga: New Moon. But it won’t be part of Tuesday’s weekly list. Rather, the movie will hit the shelves on Saturday, Mar. 20. As Twilight fans anxiously await the clock to strike midnight, retail stores nationwide are getting in on the hype by hosting release parties and offering special promotional goodies. To check for a local release party near you visit the official ‘New Moon’ website and enter your zipcode on the left column. Full Story

Hi-def Blu-ray release date set for BBC’s LIFE

The much anticipated LIFE series from the BBC and Discovery Channel will release on hi-def Blu-ray and DVD June 1, 2010. The series documents in astonishing high-definition the natural world’s struggle for survival. Extreme camera techniques, such as high-speed photography at speeds of 1,000 frames-per-second, make this an extraordinary piece of documentary work that covers all continents. Full Story

Samsung prices 2010 Blu-ray players

Samsung has officially released pricing on its 2010 line of Blu-ray players ranging from $179 to $499. The BD-C6900 (which won Best of Innovations at CES 2010) features built-in 3D playback, Netflix and Blockbuster apps, social widgets, and a slim design with transparent cover (so you can be mesmerized by the spinning of your Blu-ray discs). The BD-C6900 also comes with 1GB internal memory and 7.1 channel audio. Full Story

Stop Making Sense: 25th Anniversary Blu-ray Disc Review

“And you may ask yourself– Well…how did I get here?”

As incredibly invigorating as it was upon its initial release in 1984, the Talking Heads’ concert film Stop Making Sense is still unlike any concert film made and yet it continues to influence the genre, becoming the singular totem of 80s-era music on film. Though there are plenty of other concert films that may rank higher in historical importance (Woodstock, Gimmie Shelter, The Last Waltz, to name but a few) as cultural touchstones for a generation, the Talking Heads concert, impeccably filmed in an unobtrusive manner by Jonathan Demme (though fully conceived by the Talking Heads) ranks far above them all in terms of cinematic importance as a pure document of rock n’ roll energy that transcends itself to become performance art. Full Story

Where the Wild Things Are headed for Blu-ray/DVD this week

Where the Wild Things Are will release on Blu-ray Disc and DVD this coming Tuesday, March 2. The movie adaptation of the classic Maurice Sendak children’s book is directed by Spike Jonze, known for his music video direction and the Jackass series. The BD aspect ratio is 2.40:1 with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and extras run about an hour and fifteen minutes. Amazon is now selling the Blu-ray Disc for $23.49 (List $35.99). Full Story

50 years old, Spartacus get Blu-ray treatment

It isn’t the first time Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus has been released on disc in high-definition, but this year’s upcoming Blu-ray Disc comes at the film’s 50th anniversary, and will contain extras and deleted scenes never included in the previous HD DVD version. Full Story

Toy Story 1 and 2 to release as Blu-ray/DVD Combos

Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are headed for Blu-ray Disc March 23, 2010. The releases will include both Blu-ray and DVD versions as Combo Packs. Disney Home Entertainment will also release special edition standard-def DVDs of the films on May 11, 2010. Full Story

Blu-ray Discs for $12.99

Amazon has a bunch of Blu-ray Discs priced at $12.99, which is a deal considering most Blu-rays list for $29.99 or higher, and it costs $5 to rent a Blu-ray Disc from Blockbuster. If you dig around, you can find Blu-rays that cost less than DVDs. Below are some of the better titles available at $12.99. You can also check out the full list of discounted Blu-rays directly on Amazon, which includes some titles priced even lower. Full Story

Weinstein Co. makes deal with Sony to distribute Blu-ray

Sony and The Weinstein Company have reached an agreement to distribute DVD and Blu-ray titles from the studio, which previously partnered with Genius Products, Inc., until last year. Full Story

Redbox to carry Blu-rays mid-year

Coinstar CEO Paul Davis said Redbox will most likely begin offering Blu-ray Disc rentals from its over 22,000 rental kiosks throughout the U.S. by the middle of 2010, that according to Home Media Magazine. Although a rental fee was yet to be determined, the CEO said the fee will “for sure be higher” than standard DVDs. Full Story

Up in the Air headed for Blu-ray, disc specs revealed

Six-time Oscar nominated film Up in the Air will release on Blu-ray Disc and DVD Mar. 9, 2010. The Parmount film was directed and co-written by Jason Reitman who has been nominated for Best Director, and stars George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick, who are also Oscar nominees. Full Story

This week on Blu-ray Disc

Set in 16th century Japan Akira Kurosawa’s Ran, loosely based on Shakespeare’s King Lear, tells the story of Lord Hidetora who while dividing his land among his three sons ends up banishing one of them. Extras include audio commentary, A.K., a 74-minute film about Kurosawa by director Chris Marker (La Jetée), a 30-minute making of documentary, interviews and booklet. This film is in Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 with English subtitles, 1080p video at 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Full Story

‘Saving Private Ryan’ headed to Blu-ray

It’s one of the films we’ve been waiting for on Blu-ray and it’s headed for release on Paramount’s Sapphire Series this coming May 4. Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, and Tom Sizemore are just part of an all-star cast in a film that paved the way for the HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers” and the upcoming “The Pacific.” The Blu-ray release of Saving Private Ryan will be a two disc set loaded with extras including interviews, narration and documentaries. Unfortunately all extras are in standard-def, but a couple of trailers will be in HD. Aspect ratio is 1.85:1 at 1080p and audio will be DTS-HD Master 5.1. The film will join other Sapphire Series labeled films such as Braveheart and Forrest Gump. See full extras details below: Full Story

Out on Blu-ray this week

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Running Man gets the high-def treatment this week. This is a film from back in ‘87, around the time Predator, Twins and Raw Deal were released. Now it’s out in 1080p at 1.78:1 aspect ratio (originally 1.85:1) with DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1. Full Story

Walmart to carry exclusive Twilight New Moon Fan Edition

A sneak peak of upcoming film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse will be found on special fan edition Blu-ray and DVD releases of Twilight: New Moon. Walmart (now taking pre-orders) will exclusively carry “The Twilight Saga: New Moon Ultimate Fan Edition” which contains seven minutes of behind-the-scenes footage and a scene from the upcoming film. Full Story

Zombieland tops weekly Blu-ray rentals

Zombieland topped Blu-ray rentals for the week ending Feb. 7, 2010, according to Blockbuster. The film, starring Bill Murray, Woody Harrelson, and Emma Stone, grossed $75 million at the box office last year. Coming in second and third for top Blu-ray rentals were “Surrogates” and “The Hurt Locker.” (“Zombieland” and “Surrogates” were also the Top 2 DVD rentals respectively.) Full Story

Out on Blu-ray this week

Top selling Blu-ray Discs

What are the current top selling Blu-ray Discs? According to Home Media Research, the top selling BD for the week ending Jan. 17 was The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment), followed by The Hangover (Warner) and District 9 (Sony Pictures). In fourth and fifth place positions were Inglourious Basterds (Universal) and Halloween II (Sony Pictures). Full Story

Paramount selling Blu-ray Discs and movie memorabilia online

Paramount has just launched its online store, selling Blu-ray Discs as well as DVDs, t-shirts, and other movie-related memorabilia. Among the Blu-ray Discs are the company’s Sapphire series releases which include such titles as Braveheart, Gladiator and Forrest Gump. Full Story