First up, Warner Home Video has just announced the Blu-ray Disc release of a trio of classic films on 3/11 (SRP $19.98 each). They include the westerns El Dorado and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, as well as Hatari! We don’t have any information about extras yet, but it would be reasonable to assume that anything that was on the previous DVD releases will carry over.
In addition, Warner will release Denis Villenueve’s kidnapping thriller Prisoners on Blu-ray Combo and DVD on 12/17 (SRP $35.99 and $22.97). Extras will include a pair of featurettes. The film stars Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Warner has also set a Nicholas Sparks Collection for release on DVD only on 1/28, due to include Safe Haven, The Lucky One, Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe, A Walk to Remember, Message in a Bottle and The Notebook (SRP $69.97). Guess that’s a Valentine’s Day promotion.
Meanwhile, CBS and Paramount have set The Game: The Sixth Season for DVD only release on 12/20.
And for you soundtrack fans, Blue Underground has set a Maniac Cop 2: Limited Edition soundtrack CD for release on 12/3. Just 1,00 copies will be available.
Also on the music front, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release Cliff Richard Still Reelin’ and A-Rockin’ – Live in Sydney on Blu-ray and DVD on 11/12 (SRP $19.98 and $14.98).
In a quick bit of pre-order news, Amazon apparently now has Thor: The Dark World available for pre-order on Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray (just click on the link).
Finally, we’ve been hearing from readers that Warner’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Extended Edition on both Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray is difficult to find. Checking in with our sources, we’ve learned that there’s a bit of a holiday BD replication bottleneck right now, which means copies of this particular title are in short supply at the moment. Multiple industry sources tell us your best bet if you want to get your hands on the title over the next few weeks is either Amazon (see the purchase links below) or Walmart. One more note on this: We’ve confirmed that the Walmart “retail exclusive” version of this title actually has LESS content than the wide BD release. Apparently, Walmart only wanted a 2-disc version, which means you get the film and very little of the bonus content – no Appendices. Just FYI. Adjust your plans accordingly.
Here’s a look at the Blu-ray cover artwork for those three new Western tiles (we’ll add Amazon pre-order links when they become available), plus The Hobbit and Warner’s Prisoners…
Stay tuned...
- Bill Hunt