Mel Gibson's "Braveheart" and Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" finally enter the Blu-ray arena, as the inaugural titles in Paramount Home Entertainment's new Blu-ray "Sapphire Series."
The tricked-out high def movies arrive Sept. 1, with "Forrest Gump," another Paramount mainstay, hoofing it toward a Nov. 3 release.
The series continues Paramount's recent push to upgrade its classic films. The ongoing Centennial Series has right by some of the studio's older legacy titles such as "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," "Sabrina" and "To Catch a Thief." Those titles have best-possible audio and video, as well as new extra features aimed at film buffs.
The new Sapphire Blu-rays come in double-disc sets that take advantage of the Blu-ray players' interactive possibilities.
In the case of "Braveheart," the Sapphire Series ups the ante with two hours of new extra features. (The late 2007 Special Collector's Edition release had a decent package of bonus materials.)
The "Braveheart" Blu-ray
features include:
features include:Braveheart: A Look Back -- New interviews with the cast and crew. The DVD had "archival" interviews, meaning recycled press stuff.
Timelines -- An "interactive" extra that clicks off to video, images and text. The three separate timelines cover production, historical and fiction. The historical timeline focuses on "Braveheart" William Wallace and his contemporaries.
Geography -- A history of Smithfield's "medieval killing fields," where Wallace was drawn and quartered. Another feature looks at the "Battlefields of the Scottish Rebellion" in a museum-style format, complete with 3D models.
"Braveheart," like "Gladiator," comes in 5.1 Dolby TrueHD.
The upcoming "Gladiator" Blu-ray
comes with new extras and also updates some of the older special features with interactive activities. This is worth noting, since most DVD extras are just repurposed when used on later videos.
comes with new extras and also updates some of the older special features with interactive activities. This is worth noting, since most DVD extras are just repurposed when used on later videos."Gladiator" has been well represented on DVD by the exhaustive "Gladiator: Extended Edition"
, which included a 200-minute making-of documentary. That fairly remarkable docu, "Strength and Honor: Creating the World of Gladiator," appears on disc 2 of the Blu-ray, this time augmented by an alternative viewing mode leading to updated interviews and other materials.
Another innovative feature allows viewers to "bookmark" scenes on the film on disc 1, and then automatically access the supporting exta features on disc 2.
, which included a 200-minute making-of documentary. That fairly remarkable docu, "Strength and Honor: Creating the World of Gladiator," appears on disc 2 of the Blu-ray, this time augmented by an alternative viewing mode leading to updated interviews and other materials.
Another innovative feature allows viewers to "bookmark" scenes on the film on disc 1, and then automatically access the supporting exta features on disc 2.There are two feature-length commentaries, an updated version of the trivia track and the old "First Look" from HBO.
The upcoming "Forrest Gump" Blu-ray
includes new extra features such as a contemporary roundtable discussion about Robert Zemeckis' hit popcorn movie.
includes new extra features such as a contemporary roundtable discussion about Robert Zemeckis' hit popcorn movie.Also on the Blu-ray front, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has teamed up with the entertainment data provider Gracenote for "movie!Q," which allows home viewers to look up film credits, production info and the like.
The feature is part of Sony's BD-Live services. The Blu-ray player must be connected to the Internet. Gracenote, also a Sony unit, is best known perhaps for providing track information on iTunes.
We put blu ray in about 9 months ago but don't have a ton of movies under that format. But Braveheart would be a great movie to watch with it.
Posted by: arizona carpet cleaning | June 23, 2009 at 07:08 PM