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'Alfred Hitchcock: The Essentials Collection' Blu-ray Announced[teaser]Five of Hitchcock's very best films will be boxed up together on Blu-ray in June. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Universal is working on 'Alfred Hitchcock: The Essentials Collection' for Blu-ray on June 4. Universally recognized as the Master of Suspense, the legendary Alfred Hitchcock directed some of cinema’s most thrilling and unforgettable classics. 'Alfred Hitchcock: The Essentials Collection' features five iconic films from the acclaimed director’s illustrious career including 'Rear Window,' 'Vertigo,' 'North by Northwest,' 'Psycho' and 'The Birds' each digitally restored from high resolution film elements. Starring Hollywood favorites such as James Stewart, Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Tippi Hedren, Eva Marie Saint, Kim Novak and Rod Taylor, this essential collection captures the most memorable moments in the career of a true cinematic master. The 5-disc set will have a suggested list price of $79.98. You can find the latest specs for 'Alfred Hitchcock: The Essentials Collection' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under June 4.Posted Thu Mar 21, 2013 at 01:00 PM PDT by: -
'Shoah' Blu-ray Announced and Detailed[teaser]Claude Lanzmann's 1985 holocaust film will debut on Blu-ray in June. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Criterion is working on 'Shoah' for Blu-ray on June 25. Over a decade in the making, Claude Lanzmann’s nine-hour-plus opus is a monumental investigation of the unthinkable: the murder of more than six million Jews by the Nazis. The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, an uncompressed monaural soundtrack, and supplements include: Three additional films by director Claude Lanzmann: A Visitor from the Living (1999, 68 minutes), Sobibor, October 14, 1943, 4 p.m. (2001, 102 minutes), and The Karski Report (2010, 54 minutes); New conversation between critic Serge Toubiana and Lanzmann; Interview with Lanzmann about A Visitor from the Living and Sobibor; New conversation between associate director of photography Caroline Champetier and filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin; Trailer; and a booklet featuring an essay by critic Kent Jones and writings by Lanzmann. Suggested list price for the 4-disc Blu-ray set is $99.95. You can find the latest specs for 'Shoah' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under June 25.Posted Thu Mar 21, 2013 at 12:00 PM PDT by: -
JVC Ready To Ship Its Pseudo 8K Projector[teaser]The staggered dual 4K (8K) projector will set back your local museum around $261,000. [/teaser] What's better than UHD? Naturally that would be 8K! What JVC has in mind though is something that they have been working on for years, the DLA-VS4800. This projector seeks to project a very expensive masquerade, one which JVC hopes is entirely appropriate for its intended audience, planetarium and museum goers. While 8K is the term that JVC uses regularly with the projector, what the device does is alternately project two 4,096 x 2,400 signals at 120Hz with one pixel diagonally offset. The resulting theater sized composite 8,192 x 4,800 image has stunned the tech press routinely for years. When applied to nature photography, the idea is to induce a 'pop' from the image at an ever increasing level. This display gimmick will be ready to ship this month, but comes at an institutional price of $25 million ($261,000). That price does not include any of the four lens options, which have yet to be priced. Source: EngadgetPosted Thu Mar 21, 2013 at 10:00 AM PDT by: -
'Thale' Announced for Blu-ray[teaser]The Norwegian fantasy from writer/director Aleksander Nordaas is getting the Blu-ray treatment next month. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, XLrator Media will bring 'Thale' to Blu-ray on April 23. Two crime-scene cleaners discover a mythical, tailed female huldra (in Nordic folklore, a seductive forest siren with a cow tail) in a concealed cellar during a particularly gruesome job. She never utters a word, unable to tell her story, but the pieces of the puzzle soon come together: she's been held captive for decades for reasons soon to surface, and something is coming to claim her. Specs and supplements are still forthcoming, and suggested list price for the Blu-ray will be $24.99. You can find the latest specs for 'Thale' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under April 23.Posted Thu Mar 21, 2013 at 10:00 AM PDT by: -
'The Assassin's Blade' Blu-ray Announced[teaser]The action/romance about star-crossed lovers is coming to Blu-ray in May. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Well Go USA Entertainment is preparing The Assassin's Blade' for Blu-ray on May 7. The celebrated cast includes Charlene Choi ('The Jade and The Pearl,' 'The Sorcerer and the White Snake'), Chun Wu ('Magic to Win,' 'My Kingdom'), Ge Hu ('1912'), Xin Xin Xiong ('Tai Chi Zero') and Siu-Wong Fan ('Ip Man,' 'Wu Dang'). Based upon a famous Chinese legend, 'The Assassin's Blade' tells the story of Zhu Yanzhi (Charlene Choi), who chooses to disguise her female identity in order to be accepted into the country’s most prestigious male-only martial arts academy, where she immediately finds herself at odds with her superior, Liang (Chun Wu). But soon, a stronger connection develops between the two, and as their attraction grows, so does the danger of Liang discovering Zhu’s gender. It’s not until Zhu is required to return home that she reveals her true identity. Could it be that they're destined to be together? As the two lovers dare to voice their feelings, Zhu and Liang learn that her parents have betrothed her to Ma Wencai (Ge Hu). Will the star-crossed couple ever be able to create a life together or are they doomed to a life without love? Specs and supplements have yet to be revealed, but suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $29.99. You can find the latest specs for 'The Assassin's Blade' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under May 7.Posted Thu Mar 21, 2013 at 08:00 AM PDT by: -
HP Introduces a Modified LCD Design for Glasses-Free Multi-Angle 3D Viewing[teaser]By introducing 'directional pixels,' even a cell phone could support 64 viewpoints for a video. [/teaser] Among the challenges and drawbacks associated with 3D is the need for the viewer to maintain a precise viewing angle. This may be the most evident in a glasses-free 3D device like the Nintendo 3DS. HP Labs, which serves as Hewlett-Packard skunkworks, has cut to the chase with a solution that is so dramatic in its effect, the word hologram comes to mind. Their modified LCD design utilizes the backlight of an LCD in a structured manner. By integrating nonopatterned grooves into the light directed sheet that is normally in place in the LCD, the LCD gains 'directional pixels.' Those pixels can display 200 different viewpoints of a static image, like a picture, or 64 viewpoints for a video. The effect of all those viewpoints is holographic, an image projection far beyond stereoscopic 3D. The technology is suitable for current LCD devices, and smartphones and other mobile displays seem like the first candidates. Unfortunately, as intelligent and innovative as the design is, it requires source information for each viewpoint. That means a 200 viewpoint photograph needs 200 angles worth of captured information. Likewise, a 64 viewpoint smartphone interface needs each angle rendered in order to feed the display. Source: Technology Review via EngadgetPosted Thu Mar 21, 2013 at 07:00 AM PDT by: -
'The Burning: Collector's Edition' Blu-ray Features Finalized[teaser]The supplements have now been fully detailed for the 1981 cult horror classic debuting on Blu-ray this May. [/teaser] As previously reported, Scream Factory will release 'The Burning: Collector's Edition' on Blu-ray on May 21. A group of summer camp pranksters get the scare of their lives when they target the camp's creepy caretaker...and he takes bloody revenge! "Gruesome" (The Hollywood Reporter) and "stomach-churning" (Boxoffice), this terrifying tale is "a brilliant slasher flick [and] gory as hell" (slasherpool.com)! After a cruel joke goes awry, severely burning him and subjecting him to five years of intensive, unsuccessful skin graft treatments, Cropsy (Lou David) is back at camp...and ready to wreak havoc on those who scarred him! With his hedge clippers in hand, he terrorizes the camp and systematically mutilates each victim. Can a few courageous campers save themselves and destroy this demented madman before he kills them all? Starring Brian Matthews ('Crime Stopper'), Leah Ayres ('Bloodsport'), Brian Backer ('Fast Times At Ridgemont High'), Larry Joshua ('Dances With Wolves') and featuring early film appearances by Fisher Stevens ('Short Circuit'), Jason Alexander ('Seinfeld') and Holly Hunter ('Raising Arizona'), 'The Burning' is a “grim and nasty movie [that] gets under your skin” (efilmcritic.com)! The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono soundtrack, and supplements include: Audio Commentary with Director Tony Maylam and International Film Journalist Alan Jones; Audio Commentary with stars Shelley Bruce and Bonnie Deroski; Blood ‘n’ Fire Memories – A detailed look at the creation of the film’s make-up effects with Special Effects Artist Tom Savini; Slash & Cut – An interview with editor Jack Sholder; Cropsy Speaks – An interview with actor Lou David; Summer Camp Nightmare – An interview with actress Leah Ayres; Behind-the-Scenes Footage; Theatrical Trailer; Make-Up Effects and Poster Still Galleries. Avid movie fans and collectors take note: those who order 'The Burning Collector’s Edition' Blu-ray™ + DVD combo pack from ShoutFactory.com will receive the exclusive 18”x 24” poster featuring the newly commissioned artwork! Only 300 posters will be printed, so these are only available while supplies last. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $29.93. You can find the latest specs for 'The Burning: Collector's Edition' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under May 21.Posted Thu Mar 21, 2013 at 06:00 AM PDT by: -
'Earthquake' Blu-ray Dated[teaser]The 1974 disaster movie will shake up high-definition this summer. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Universal says 'Earthquake' is coming to Blu-ray on June 4. Charlton Heston leads an all-star cast in an epic film about ordinary citizens who must come together in the face of an unstoppable natural disaster. When the most catastrophic earthquake of all time rips through Southern California, it levels Los Angeles and sends shockwaves through the lives of all who live there. Now strangers must become heroes as the city struggles to get to its feet before the next terrifying aftershock hits. Also starring Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, Lorne Greene, Victoria Principal, Geneviève Bujold and Richard Roundtree, Earthquake combines outstanding performances with Academy Award-winning sound and then-groundbreaking special effects. The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and there doesn't appear to be any supplements. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $19.98. You can find the latest specs for 'Earthquake' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under June 4.Posted Wed Mar 20, 2013 at 01:00 PM PDT by: -
'The Four' Blu-ray Detailed[teaser]The action flick based on Wan Ray-an's classic wuxia novels planned for Blu-ray in April has now been fully detailed. [/teaser] As previously reported, Well Go USA says 'The Four' is planned for Blu-ray on April 9. Touted as China's X-Men, 'The Four' are extremely skilled assassins and detectives who are hired by the Chinese Emperor to arrest and kill the most deadly criminals roaming throughout the country. The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements will include a making of featurette and deleted scenes. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $29.98. You can find the latest specs for 'The Four' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under April 9.Posted Wed Mar 20, 2013 at 12:00 PM PDT by: -
'Wild Strawberries' Blu-ray Dated and Detailed[teaser]The long-awaited Ingmar Bergman classic will finally hit Blu-ray in June! [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, the Criterion Collection will proudly present 'Wild Strawberries' on Blu-ray on June 11. Traveling to accept an honorary degree, Professor Isak Borg—masterfully played by veteran director Victor Sjöström—is forced to face his past, come to terms with his faults, and make peace with the inevitability of his approaching death. The Blu-ray will feature a 1080p digital transfer, an uncompressed monaural soundtrack, and supplements include: Audio commentary by film scholar Peter Cowie; Introduction by director Ingmar Bergman; Ingmar Bergman on Life and Work, a ninety-minute documentary by filmmaker and author Jörn Donner; Behind-the-scenes footage shot by Bergman; and a booklet featuring an essay by film writer Mark Le Fanu. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $39.95. You can find the latest specs for 'Wild Strawberries' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under June 11.Posted Wed Mar 20, 2013 at 10:00 AM PDT by:
