Home Media Magazine - September 2-8, 2007 - (Page HD10)

fourth quarter Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Lost: The Complete Third Season » Continued from page 9 quarter for Blu-ray yet, and will further Blu-ray’s dominance as the next high-def format. I think we’ve already hit the tipping point in Blu-ray’s favor.” The Blu-ray Disc edition of Spider-Man 3 is a two-disc set that comes with such extras as bloopers, photo galleries, a Snow Patrol music video, and two audio commentaries (one from the director and cast, the other from the producers, editor and special effects supervisor). Also included is an entire disc of additional bonus materials, including theatrical TV spots from around the world and 11 featurettes exploring everything from the creation of Venom and Sandman to filming locations in Cleveland and New York. Also available is a Blu-ray Disc three-pack of all three “Spider-Man” movies. The Spider-Man High-Definition Trilogy will be the only opportunity consumers have of buying the first two “Spider-Man” movies on Blu-ray Disc. Spider-Man 3 grossed $888 million worldwide during its theatrical run, and also boasts the biggest three-day opening in box office history ($151 million). Equally significant is Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition, coming to Blu-ray Disc Nov. 13, four days shy of the 30th anniversary of its 1977 theatrical opening. The 50GB disc includes all three versions of the scifi classic: the 1977 original theatrical cut, the re-edited 1980 theatrical special edition, and Spielberg’s director’s cut, released in 1998. Extras include a new interview with Spielberg specially created for this release, a retrospective documentary and, exclusive to the Blu-ray Disc edition, new “storyboard-to-scene” comparisons and the original 1977 “Watch the Skies” featurette. Through a process known as “seamless branching,” the Blu-ray version contains all three films on a single disc. The process identifies the differences between each version of the film, segments the footage and then arranges it into three unique playlists, so that footage used in all three films is only included on the disc once — minimizing space requirements. “When Steven Spielberg first released his iconic masterpiece, it was universally hailed for both its cutting-edge technological effects and its compelling message of hope,” Bishop said. “Now on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of its release, it seems only appropriate to make all three versions of the film available on the most advanced high-definition format available, Blu-ray Disc, which will add yet another new and thrilling dimension to this timeless film.” Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, also in the Blu- ray Disc only camp, has an impressive fourth-quarter slate of product, too. The highlight is a Blu-ray Disc edition of another big summer theatrical blockbuster, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, arriving in stores Dec. 4, the same day as the standard DVD. Day-and-date releasing is fast becoming standard practice at Disney, said Lori MacPherson, the division’s GM, North America. “All of our major theatrical releases will be day-and-date on Blu-ray this fourth quarter,” MacPherson said. “That means consumers will be able to buy Pirates of the Caribbean At World’s End, Santa Clause 3 and Meet the Robinsons, among others, to watch in high-definition. In addition, we’ll have some exciting Pixar releases — Cars and the Pixar Shorts Collection — and our first TV on BD releases like Lost: The Complete Third Season.” The fourth quarter, MacPherson added, “will be extremely important for high-def. Our tracking shows that Blu-ray is clearly consumers’ preferred format already. This fourth quarter, that affinity will continue to grow as most of the year’s biggest titles begin to launch in high-def exclusively on Blu-ray. Recent announcements by retailers including Target, Blockbuster and BJs indicate that Blu-ray’s retail presence will be at the forefront during the critical holiday season.” The two-disc Blu-ray Disc edition of the third “Pirates” film, with a total of 75GB of space, comes with hours of bloopers and other extras, including a documentary on the history of piracy; a look at the relationship between Keith Richards and Johnny Depp; five individual documentaries on the film’s design teams; as well as featurettes on the special effects used to create multiple Captain Jacks; composer Hans Zimmer, who provided the score; Chow Yun Fat, who plays the devious Captain Sao Feng; and the legendary Pirate Lords and their costume designs, origins and personalities. The Blu-ray Disc edition also contains an interactive exploration of the “Maelstrom” battle sequence between the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman, with its groundbreaking blend of live-action footage and computer-aided special effects. The BD-Java feature, developed and produced by Disney and programmed by the Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory, lets viewers explore the hangar that housed the sets, with in-feature pop-ups and icons that reveal multimedia content about how the maelstrom was created, from set construction to special effects. They can either explore the set on their own or take an hour-long tour hosted by film producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Disney is firmly behind making Blu-ray Disc happen in a Continued on page 12 » 10 HOLLYWOOD goes HIGH-DEF September 2007

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - September 2-8, 2007

Contents News News/Games News Commentary TV DVD Holiday Buying Guide Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement

Home Media Magazine - September 2-8, 2007

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.