Welcome to the latest column on Premium Hollywood, Blu Tuesday, where I’ll be covering some of the best and biggest high-def titles of the week. For those hoping this was a post about a New Order/Rolling Stones tribute band, I apologize, but you’ll have to keep holding your breath for that one, whoever you may be.
You see, when Blu-ray first hit the market, there weren’t very many titles to talk about other than the new releases that were already coming out on DVD. Now that the format is more popular with studios, however, my office has become overrun with high-def titles, and well, I just don’t have the time to cover every one in as much detail as I’d like. That doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to be covered at all, however, and so I’ve created this column to help cleanse my conscience (and some office space) and keep you all in the know on some Blu-rays you might be looking forward to, as well as a few others you should add to your shopping list.
One of my least favorite Disney classics after “Dumbo” and “Bambi,” “Pinocchio” is still a no-brainer when it comes to diehard collectors and fans of animated films. It’s been years since Disney last released this from their ominous vault and so they’ve not only put out a new DVD edition to celebrate the occassion, but a high-def version as well. As expected, the new digital restoration is incredible. The colors pop off the screen like they were freshly painted, and were it not for the fact that hand-drawn animation is virtually extinct, you’d swear this was made yesterday. The best part about the three-disc set, though, isn’t the new transfer or the fact that you get three different versions of the movie (Blu-ray, DVD and a digital copy), but the hours of bonus material that have been lovingly crammed onto the disc. You get all the usual stuff that you’d expect from a typical new release (audio commentary, making-of, deleted scenes), but somehow they just feel more special on a movie this old.
