What BluRay Have You Just Watched?

Ben Hur

One of my favourite movies, and now on BluRay.

I got the boxed DVD set with the re-mastered movie a few years ago, which is very good, but if you have a larger HD TV then I would say that this is an essential purchase. The picture is superb.

While you're buying this I'd take a look at the BluRay of El Cid. This is another great film, but one with a poor 4:3 DVD, whereas the BR is excellent.

M

tonym--

Thanks for the Procul Harum recommendation.  Utterly superb disk, takes me back to a few concerts in the late-60s - early 70s.

Currently working my way though the Alien quadrilogy. Forgot how good the original Alien was.

Yeah, it's a great film. The second one aint too shabby either but it goes downhill from there. 

Speed

Jan de Bont's classic is available for a few quid. An impulse buy, hadn't seen it for years. Still a fun film with a cute Sandra Bullock. Can't imagine the BD to be a big upgrade over DVD, but then I never owned the DVD.

Star Wars IV: A new hope

Great visual update of this classic. Lucas has again changed some of the scenes: Han and Greedo now shoot at the same time.

Cheers,

EJ

Lucas be screwing with Speedo childhood memories.  He be not cool

NOOOOOOoooooooo!!!

Ready to watch Episode Three of Star Wars. The quality of the first two in terms of picture and sound are exceptionally high. However, I'd forgotten just how lousy the stories are!

How the hell could George make them so incredibly naff?

I agree - my wife actually saw all 6 for the first time and she said 1-3 were average and 4-6 she was on the edge of her seat most of the time.

I always thought that 'A New Hope' was note perfect.

'The Empire Strikes Back' & 'The Return of the Jedi' had a degree of sentimentality that I found cloying:

'I feel like I'm not going to see her again', 'Get out of here you pirate', 'Look after yourself' .....please, pass me a bucket!

But at least the plot lines stood up, although I would have gladly wiped out the Ewoks! Little did I suspect that Jar Jar Binks was in the wings.

When the 'Phantom Menace' came out Lucas appeared to have fostered his inability to write decent dialogue, and lost his ability to write a coherent plot-line.

....and yet, there were still some flashes of inspiration. Darth-Maul and the fight scenes were great.

Such a missed opportunity - even if they made money.

M

X-Men: First Class

Cool film, a good step up in terms of ambition and quality from the usual superhero fare. Fassbaender / Magneto's journey to the dark side is a lot more believable than Anakin Skywalker's, but then X-Men deals in shades of gray, not black and white.

EJ

Just finishing the whole 6 in plot order. I think the stories actually hold together pretty well. I actually enjoyed the "first" three (Episodes 1 to 3) much more than I remembered them. Good remastering of the originals from a picture quality and sound perspective. I didn't mind the additions and fx enhancements.

Tangled

Disney under Pixar direction.

I remember reading the reviews, which were not overly complimentary  - from memory.

I really enjoyed this; esp. the horse/dog - you'll understand if you give this a watch.

A hoot.

Why include this in the BluRay section?

The rendering on this film is SUPERB.

M

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The only Bluray i have in my collection, only £4.99 delivered from Amazon.

Okay, but imo lacking the suspense and detail of earlier HP films.

I supose it's only a very long episode...

Can't wait to the end of em so they can all gather magic dust on the shelf : )

Debs

Senna

Watched with my wife, (not an F1 fan), as I had heard that it would be interesting to all.

It was... with bells on.

Touching, it endeared you to Senna, I grew-up watching F1 and Senna, but really didn't really know much about this intelligent man of deep faith.

Allan Prost doesn't fair well in this flick, neither does F1 organisers.

Beware though, crash scenes are brutal, far more footage than the BBC showed at the time.

All in all, a film that touches you IMHO.

Enjoy

Jason

PS not really worth the cost of a BRD as footage is so grainy, sounds good though and subtitles are pin sharp. I would have Apple TV'd it if I'd known it was available.

Senna:

On my Love Film list.

Wish I'd got to see it on the big screen.

M

Starwars IV, V and VI

Havent seen these since they were first released.

Wow, they make me feel like a boy again.

Jason

Just picked up the BluRay of Hitchcock's "Psycho."  Very impressive B/W transfer, excellent shadow detail and all that, plus a lot of interesting extras.

Next up is "The Birds," I hear.

Thx aht,

One set of films that I probably WILL rebuy - how H. never got an Oscar is incredible, and probably says as much about them as you need to know.

M

Call me Mr. sentimental. A comedy in the vein of 'Ghost Town' and 'The Truman Show', that doesn't concede to the biggest common denominator, I loved it. Also went down well with the mrs. Brilliant.

EJ

Spectacular visuals. Really raises it up another notch. Not as engaging as some other Pixar efforts, though. The Cars franchises is very profitable for Pixar due to the merchandising tie-ins. The movie is perhaps really just an advertisement for toys.

Absolutely brilliant series, wonderful sets, plots, lighting, modelwork and acting - this looks so searingly clear on blu-ray (it was originally shot on 35mm) that it is of reference quality.  I like Star Wars, but Space 1999 captures the awe inspiring mystery and majesty of space best of all.

Jonathan