As you’ve no doubt heard, the ‘Star Wars‘ series has been officially announced for release on Blu-ray later this yet. Rumors are also running wild that the ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Indiana Jones’ franchises may be coming soon too. With that in mind, we’d like to know what other “holy grails” you’re still waiting to see released on Blu-ray.
Here are the staff’s wishes:
Josh Zyber
- ‘Twin Peaks‘ – I could be snide here and say that I’m still waiting for the original ‘Star Wars’ Original Trilogy, but I think I’ve made my feelings about that perfectly clear already. Failing that, I desperately want the entire ‘Twin Peaks’ series in a high-def replication of Paramount’s “Definitive Gold Box Edition” DVD set. It must include the original broadcast version of the pilot episode, of course. (A seamlessly-branched version of the “European” alternate cut might be nice to have too, but is less important.) I’d pay any amount of money for this. Really. If I’m fantasizing here, I should say that I’d also like Paramount to license the ‘Fire Walk With Me’ film to put in the same box set, but that seems unlikely to happen. So we’ll need New Line/Warner to put that out separately. (The movie is currently available on Blu-ray in France, but unfortunately the disc is locked to Region B.)
Nate Boss
- ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc‘ – This may sound lame, but with ‘Star Wars’ out of the way, my holy grail would have to be something else classic and epic, even if I’m dying for ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ on Blu-ray. My go-to would be ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’, one of the greatest films ever made, and probably the best silent film ever, from director Carl Theodor Dreyer. Maria Falconetti’s performance as the titular character bests any other version of the French legend without question. It’s one of those once-in-a-generation moments in acting where a film becomes secondary to how truly great one performer is. Sadly, due to the state of the film (the degraded prints, variations in speed), I doubt this film will ever be one that Criterion sees worthy of re-remastering. Only so much can be done with what we already have, and this 83-year-old classic may never have a better print come forward than the one restored for the Criterion DVD released in 1999.
Mike Attebery
- The Woody Allen Collection: Sets 1-3 – As I’ve said in the past, I’m a Woody Allen fan. For my money, he’s the most talented writer/director since Billy Wilder – only Billy didn’t act, so Woody wins. So far, one fantastic Allen film has hit Blu-ray in the U.S., along with one disastrous misfire. I have yet to see the Wood-man’s most recent release, so I can’t speak for his February 15th Blu-ray special delivery. As is so often the case, I’m hopeful, but cautious in my optimism. In the past 20 years, I’d say that I’ve loved around 50% percent of his projects, enjoyed 30%, and been depressed by 20%. While I firmly believe there’s always something interesting in his work, I have to admit that a greater number of his recent films than I’d like to admit (usually the scripts that clearly sat in mothballs for a few decades) have been more than a bit underwhelming. Still, I’ll defend the man to the death. Whatever people’s opinions of Allen’s work since the personal and professional turning point of ‘Husband’s and Wives’, I’m sure they’d agreed that his most consistently great work came during his periods at United Artist and Orion Pictures. From 1971’s ‘Bananas’ to 1991’s ‘Shadows and Fog’, Allen produced a string of uncompromising movies in his signature style, filled with the kind of slapstick comedy, dry humor, fatalistic wit, and love of jazz for which Woody is so famous. With 1992’s ‘Husband and Wives’, Allen briefly moved to TriStar Pictures, endured the wildly public and professionally damaging implosion of his personal life, and began a still-ongoing game of hopscotch from one distributor to the next, often from picture to picture. While the past 20 years have been painfully uneven, the previous 20 were golden. It’s that collection of films, previously released on DVD by the always financially-troubled MGM, that I would love to see hit Blu-ray. Alas, such a move is looking increasingly unlikely these days, but I can always hope. Perhaps the film rights could be sold off to the Criterion Collection in a studio fire sale, so the best in the business can be preserved for posterity by… well… the best in the business. That would certainly make life worth living, along with, oh, Groucho Marx… Louis Armstrong’s recording of “Potatohead Blues”… Swedish movies, naturally… Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra… and High-Def Digest, certainly…
Junie Ray
- ‘God of Gamblers‘ – My holy grail is ‘God of Gamblers’. That, and any number of other Hong Kong action, Chow Yun-Fat, and kung-fu movies. Basically, I’m looking to replace my VHS collection of horribly low-res imports.
Adam Tyner (DVDTalk)
- ‘Jaws‘ – It’s one of the few essential Spielberg films that’s not already on Blu-ray and isn’t heavily rumored to hit high-def before the year’s out. We’re talking about the movie that defined what a summer blockbuster is. It also happens to top my All-Time Favorites list. ‘Jaws’, at least for my money, is perfect. More than a decade of reviewing has made me a pretty relentless nitpicker, but with ‘Jaws’, there’s not a role I’d recast, not a line I’d tweak, not a note in the score I’d change, and not a shot I’d reframe. ‘Jaws’ ranks right next to ‘UHF’ as the two movies I’ve watched and re-watched just about to the point of rote memorization. I don’t just want ‘Jaws’ on Blu-ray… I need it.
Aaron Peck
- ‘The ‘Burbs‘ – Thinking back to my childhood in the ’80s and early ’90s, there were a few movies that became staples in my life – movies that I watched constantly while growing up. Most of those movies have recently received Blu-ray releases like the ‘Back to the Future‘ trilogy and ‘The Goonies‘. However, there is one movie that has so far eluded the format. That would be the comedic classic about how strange suburbia can get. That’s right, the movie I’m jonesing for on Blu-ray is ‘The ‘Burbs’, starring Tom Hanks and an insanely funny Bruce Dern. I can’t count the number of times I watched ‘The ‘Burbs’ while growing up. There may have been a few months there where I watched it at least once a week. I know that we’re all excited that ‘Star Wars’ is finally getting a Blu-ray release, but I won’t be truly happy until I see ‘The ‘Burbs’ in one of those little blue cases.
Chris Boylan (Big Picture Big Sound)
- ‘Lord of the Rings’ Extended Editions – For me, it has to be the ‘Lord of the Rings’ Extended Edition trilogy. I’m not a fan of double-dipping, but I think that New Line’s first high-def release of the theatrical-only versions of the films with lackluster transfers was unforgiveable. Bring us the full versions of the films, and actually put in some effort to make them look and sound as good as the format allows. If you remaster it… they will come.
Drew Taylor
- ‘Ed Wood‘ – My outstanding “holy grail” movie is Tim Burton’s ‘Ed Wood’. It’s an odd choice, sure, but think about who’s choosing. Tim Burton is a well represented director when it comes to high definition, mostly because his movies are such consistent box office powerhouses. (I’m not really sure who was begging for the up-rezzed edition of ‘Big Fish‘, though.) Unlike, say, Brian De Palma or David Cronenberg – a pair of my favorite directors who have been egregiously overlooked on Blu-ray – Burton’s very-nearly-complete oeuvre is readily consumable. This makes ‘Ed Wood’, his greatest film, such a standout. I’ve been pretty outspoken about how madly in love I am with black-and-white movies on Blu-ray. The high definition makes the image look like it was cut from strips of velvet… and that is very good indeed! Or maybe I just want to hear Martin Landau, as a strung-out Bela Lugosi (a role for which he won an Oscar), bellow “Let’s shoot this fucker!” in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound. (And Howard Shore’s score? Forget about it!) I’m sure it will happen one day, when Disney figures out what to do with its more obscure back catalog. (Thankfully, it’s not a Miramax film, but was a Touchstone release.) I’ve got my Blu-rays grouped by director, and this is a pretty sizable hole for a movie that will eventually come in such a slim box.
Now that we’ve told you what we’re waiting for, which holy grails of yours have yet to be released on Blu-ray?
Garrett
Grosse Pointe Blank- the original DVD is not even anamorphic and has no supplements whatsoever (the trailer does not count). I had hoped in 2007 they would do a 10-Year Anniversary Edition because the movie is about a 10-year high school reunon after all, but apparently I am far more clever than Hollywood. Then I thought for sure when War, Inc –its spritual sequel– came out we’d see GPB but no. And then there was Hot Tub Time Machine from the same creative team, but once again nothing on the GPB front. Please release this damn movie on Blu-Ray, Disney.
Ken Cheshire
Most of these plus
Brazil (come on, Criterion)
The Game (w/Michael Douglas)
From the Earth to the Moon (HBO)
Michael
My holy grails are:
Jurassic Park
Jaws
Rushmore: Criterion Collection
Dazed and Confused: Criterion Collection
Yellow Submarine would be neat too. The DVD release was non-anamorphic, but it blew my mind when I first watched it on a 27″ 4:3 CRT screen when it came out in 1999. Unfortunately, the same disc looks absolutely horrid on a 52″ 16:9 1080p set.
Carlos Ramos
team america world police has been on blu ray intro’s for years, we need to get that out. also need to have the shield entire series on blu. i’ve read that it would never happen because of the 16mm stock but hell if clerks! was released on blu why not the shield. round it off with a few classics like the wall, the crow and mortal kombat!!!
Brian H
A lot of personal favorites and classics hair mine have been released recently (Bridge on the River Kwai, Hamlet (1996), Last of the Mohicans).
I would love to see Conan the Barbarian come out with an original mono mix and a 5.1 mix, and with an option to play the extra scenes via branching.
I’m looking forward to a Soylent Green release.
A Criterion Brazil release
The Gundam Wing, Big O, and Ghost in Shell: SAC series releases
Sopranos seasons 2-5
Witness (how this movie isn’t more popular is beyond me)
Futurama 1-4, and the first two features
Rashomon
A Man for All Seasons
Brotherhood of the Wolf
Cowboy Bebop
The Bronx is Burning
Rollerball (1975)
Shallow grave
Shoot to Kill
Infernal Affairs
Death Wish
Gettysburg
Runaway/Looker double feature
Solaris
Ravenous
True Lies
Kill Bill (complete feature)
Transformers the Movie (the 20th anniversary version)
The Hustler
High Noon
Maverick
Perfect Blue
In the Name of the Father
EM
Rollerball is another movie I’d like to see on Blu-ray. Alas, it is yet another one of those widescreen films whose DVD releases have been non-anamorphic only, and so it’s really begging for an upgrade.
Lone_gunmen
Could be childhood nostalgia but I’d love to see Jurassic Park on Blu-ray. Seeing the Mr DNA guy presentation in HD would be awesome.
andre adelson
west side story
frankenstein
bride of frankenstein
dracula
great escape
von ryan’s express
guns of navarone
greatest show on earth
the great race
the alamo
EM
I stand with you in support for Universal classic monsters on Blu-ray. 2011 is the 80th anniversary of Dracula and Frankenstein, and so maybe Universal will celebrate on Blu—no later than October, I should hope! I’d particularly be interested in Dracula, Bride of Frankenstein, and Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein.
Hastor
Also, Inherit the Wind. I’ve seen it in 720p off Playstation Network and while it’s no Blu-ray, it showed enough detail to see that SD doesn’t do the photography justice. Considering that there is no anamorphic DVD, and all HD versions are rental-only and sub blu-ray quality, it really needs a proper upgrade.
Tommy Orr
really want to see Brazil!!
Hastor
Also forgot to mention The Last Laugh, a truly silent film without even dialogue cards, though a lossless performance of the score would be nice.
Tommy Orr
ideally with both the original theatrical cut and Gilliam’s Directors Cut…..
E. Hider
We need big-screen hi-def thrills.
They need to get to the good stuff:
-)The remaining James Bond titles
-)Collective works of Antonioni & Fellini
-)Lifeforce (1985)
-)Lassiter
-)Monty Python’s Holy Grail + Meaning of Life
-)Animal House, Blues Brothers
-)Throw-in a few Andrew Blake titles
-)Eastwood’s Eiger Sanction + Tightrope
-)Sean Connery’s older non-Bond titles
Truth is, I will probably be waiting decades for most these to be released.
Gareth Callenby
Meet the Feebles, Dead Alive, The Frighteners, and Heavenly Creatures
Barry Lyndon and The Killing (I want every Kubrick film on blu-ray)
E.T.
American Graffiti (without the re-release CGI)
Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Brazil
E. Hider
PART 2: More great ones, most of which will probably take years and years before we see them on blu-ray:
-The Beatles: LET IT BE
-Paul McCartney & Wings Rockshow
-The Wall (Pink Floyd)
-AC/DC: Let There Be Rock
-The Island (domestic)
-Escape from New York (better transfer, “Deluxe” extras)
-Vampyros Lesbos
-Eastwood’s The Beguiled + Outlaw Josie Wales
-Roger Moore’s non-Bonds from the 1970’s
-That Obscure Object of Desire + more from Bunuel
-The Valley (soundtrack music by Pink Floyd)
-More (soundtrack music by Pink Floyd)
-1941
-Kentucky Fried Movie
-Friday the 13th Parts 4 & 5
Thulsadoom
Conan the Barbarian
The Mothman Prophecies
In the Mouth of Madness
They Live
eXistenZ
The 1st 3 Indy films (Already got #4)
War of the Worlds (1952)
The Time Machine (1960)
Cypher
I’d like a decent transfers of Robocop and Escape from New York
Babylon 5 – Unlikely to ever happen, but the live action was filmed ready for HD and in widescreen. Unfortunately the effects weren’t. So it would need the Star Trek (TOS) treatment, which is unlikely to ever happen.
Guilty pleasures…
Lifeforce (Recorded off MGM HD a while back, but the SKY+HD box hard drive went belly-up, and of course with current systems, you can’t copy or record HD broadcasts without a fancy PC setup!!! grrrr…)
William Henley
I got a few, but my list is greatly decreasing as more and more things get released.
Jurassic Park (and it BETTER have a DTS soundtrack)
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (there is only the non-anamorphic DVD release of it. Still, it looks fantastic on DVD zoomed, would LOVE to see it on Blu)
Dreamer
Singing In The Rain
My Fair Lady
The American Girl movies
A decent LOTR transfer – preferably with seamless branching for extended versions
The Parent Trap (Haley Mills)
Flight of the Navigator
Mary Poppins
Colorized version of Miracle on 34th Street
Absent-Minded Professor (both B&W and colorized)
The Three Lives of Thomasina
Hilfe, Ich Bin Ein Junge (both subtitled and English Dub would be great)
I am sure there are some more, and if I think of them, I will come back and post them here.
William Henley
Here are a few more:
Uptown Girls
I Am Sam
The various Muppet Movies
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (I thought I had it. Very weird. But was looking for it on my shelf the other day and couldn’t find it, thought I had lent it out, but obviously not as its not released)
TV Shows
Lost In Space (the tv show)
Enterprise
Voyager
The Next Generation (yes, I know the post production was done in SD and as such, the special effects would have to be redone)
I Love Lucy / The Lucy Show
Dick Van Dyke
Mary Tyler Moore
Little House on the Prarie
The Waltons
William Henley
Prince of Egypt
Demolition Man
Aladdin
Lion King
E. Hider
Here’s a few more:
-All That Jazz
-The HAMMER classics (Vampire Lovers, all of Christopher Lee’s Draculas, etc.)
-Zardoz
-The AIRPORT series
-Both AIRPLANE parodies
-Alien (stand alone release)
-Aliens (stand alone release)
-The James Dean films (Rebel without a Cause, etc.)
-Fast Times at Ridgemont High
-The Bounty (Mel Gibson/Anthony Hopkins)
-The films of RUSS MEYER
-Factory Girl
-Mall Rats
-DePalma’s Dressed To Kill + Body Double
-Altman’s Short Cuts
William Henley
I second stand-alone releases of the first two Alien movies – i would pick those up. The third and fourth movies were horrible, and never want to see those again!
Hastor
Yeah I second the Russ Meyer films. Esp Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, one of my absolute favorite movies.
Would love to see Head from the Monkees as well, the DVD was an impressive transfer but open matte, wouldn’t mind seeing it framed properly and in HD.
Josh Zyber
AuthorHastor, Head is available on Blu-ray right now as part of the “America Lost and Found” box set from Criterion.
Crusader
To Catch a Thief
Gunfight at the OK Corral
Last Train from Gun Hill
El Dorado
High Noon
SamBeckett
I have to say Lawrence of Arabia, then maybe Vertigo
besch64
Also, Chinatown.
Flo Hendry
Star Wars
Indiana Jones Triology
Champions (The true story-UK film about Bob Champion Steeplechase jockey & a champion horse-kinda the Lance Armstrong story in the equine world & and would like to see some proceeds go to cancer research)
Ben & Willard
Rat (Pete Postlethwaite RIP)
Robert Taylor
Jurassic Park/Timeline/Raiders Of the lost Ark/Money Talks/The Party/
Somewhere In Time
Mike
Yellow Submarine: At the 2010 Golden Globes (not this year, previous year) Paul McCartney said Yellow Submarine would be “surfacing soon.” So what up with that? Any news.
Also, Help and Let It Be (with extra footage)
Josh Zyber
AuthorRobert Zemeckis is remaking Yellow Submarine in motion-capture animation (like A Christmas Carol and his last few movies).
J Morris
Vertigo
Rear Window
The Birds
Marnie
Barry Lyndon
Blue Velvet
Mulholland Drive
The Big Sleep
Tim H
I preordered The Birds on blu ray from Amazon. there isn’t a release date though.
I would be up for more Hitchcock films on blu ray as well!
Alex
The Great Escape. You would be hard pressed to find a film with a more spectacular ensemble cast. I would love to see that one in High Definition.
Max
Of course the Indiana Jones Trilogy, Jaws, and please give me a decent edition of The Abyss!!
Tim H
Hands down, the last 9 Bond films that are not on blu ray.
You Only Live Twice
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Diamonds Are Forever
The Spy Who Loved Me
Octopussy
A View to a Kill
The Living Daylights
Goldeneye
Tomorrow Never Dies
I just read that The Persuaders! tv series is coming to blu ray in the UK this year. I’d love for that show to be on blu ray here in the US as well. Along with The Saint and The Avengers!
RJA
Thirst (Park Chan-wook’s )
Jackie Brown
The Beyond
In the Mouth of Madness & The Fog
Ed Wood
Fright Night
Lost Highway
Being John Malkovich
Rebecca & Notorious
RJA
also Lord of the Rings extended editions, Dario Argento’s Opera, and Femme Fatale