By David Poland poland@moviecitynews.com
Blu-Ray Catch-Up, June 2010
The “Blu-ray 3D” of Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs landed today… but it won’t play in 3D without a 3D-enabled player and TV. No lookie loos at this technology. Open Season and Monster House are next on the docket.
Meanwhile, Sony added to their Ray Harryhausen Collection. There was a box set of Blu that included It Came From Beneath The Sea, Earth Vs The Flying Saucers, 20 Million Miles To Earth, and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. Two key films from his oeuvre have been missing from that box. One is owned by WB… the original Clash of the Titans… which Warners put out in Blu in March. And now, Jason & The Argonauts arrives from Sony with a two separate commentaries, by Peter Jackson and Harryhausen, storyboards, and a sitdown interview with Harryhausen conducted by John Landis.
IN the realm of Classics, Toy Story 1 and 2 on Blu-ray are remarkable. Digital is their native state and really, they couldn’t be more beautifut than they are on Blu, aside from on a big screen. Disney has loaded them up with goodies, from design work, “outtakes,” filmmaker interviews, and of course, a lot of clever Toy Story 3 promotion.
And we finally purchased The Wizard of Oz on Blu. It’s fascinating. It’s never been so fake for me… or so real. Maybe if I was relaly looking, I would previously have noticed the backdrops looking so much like backdrops or the boundaries of the stages or how much the yellow brick road looks like yellow-painted bricks. But my God, it’s glorious.
The level of craft in this film is greater than the modern measure.
But I guess you knew that…
Dave, if you have a PS3 then a system update for 3D gaming is already available from the official website. Another update for 3D Blu-Ray is due over the Summer. You won’t need to drop $400+ on a new 3D enabled Blu-Ray player. Unless you really can’t wait to see Monsters vs Aliens in 3D at home, takes all sorts after all.
It’s the 3D TV I haven’t invested in and don’t want to…
David, for the sake of just knowing if these 3D Blu-Rays are worth a crap, maybe you should look into getting a 3D TV. I’m not stating you throw your money down to get it but see if you can get a tester or something, because you are going to keep on getting these 3DBDs. You might as well be able to watch them.
I believe that’s what he referred to when he wrote “No lookie loos at this technology”.
The one 3D TV experience I have had was at Best Buy with Avatar and it was so poorly set-up, it looked terrible… so much so I worried about the Blu-ray of Avatar… which was gorgeous.
A Best Buy demo should never be the basis for assessing the merits or flaws of any technology.
I’m confused… the 3D Blu-Ray of Avatar hasn’t been released yet. What were you watching at Best Buy, a demo clip?
If that’s the case, I have to agree with Blackcloud — not the best way to evaluate any new technology…
It could have been the PS3 video game, which is 3D enabled?