Continuing their aggressive support of the HD DVD format, Universal
Studios Home Entertainment has unveiled the full specs for its extensive lineup of August
and September disc releases.
Universal's upcoming late summer waves of titles include: '
National
Lampoon's Animal House,' '
Ray'
and '
Unleashed'
(August 8); '
The
Bone Collector,' '
The
Interpreter' and '
Spy
Game' (August 22); '
Red
Dragon,' '
Seabiscuit'
and '
Traffic' (September
12); '
Backdraft,'
'
Dazed &
Confused,' '
End
of Days,' '
Fear
& Loathing in Las Vegas' and an unrated version of '
George
A. Romero's Land of the Dead' (September 19); and '
The
Fast and the Furious' and '
2
Fast 2 Furious' (September 26).
All releases in the upcoming waves will be HD-30 dual-layer discs, except 'National
Lampoon's Animal House,' 'Dazed & Confused,' 'Land of the Dead' and 'Unleashed,' which will
be HD DVD/DVD hybrid discs.
All titles will be presented in 1080p and Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 surround. 'End of Days,' 'Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas' and both 'Fast and the Furious'
flicks will also include Dolby TrueHD tracks, while 'The Bone Collector,' 'The
Interpreter,' 'Dazed & Confused,' 'Land of the Dead' and 'Unleashed' will
offer DTS 5.1 surround options.
The releases will also feature the same supplemental content as their standard
DVD counterparts, including audio commentaries, featurettes and deleted scenes. Universal has also announced that beginning with their August HD DVD releases, they will -- at
last -- be including theatrical trailers on select titles, which
had not been included on any of the studio's past releases.
Note, however, that neither 'Traffic,' 'Dazed & Confused' nor 'Fear &
Loathing in Las Vegas' will include any of the bonus materials featured on the
Criterion DVD releases.
And hot on the heels of yesterday's announcement of an HD DVD release for the
first two films in the 'Fast and the Furious' franchise, the studio has unveiled
the box art for the third and latest installment in the series, '
The
Fast and the Furious: Toyko Drift.' Oddly, however, an official street date
the title has yet to be announced.
Complete details for all of Universal's August and September titles, including
box cover art, have been added to our complete
HD
DVD Release Schedule.