New on Blu-Ray: Six Sci-Fi Action Favorites Debut On Blu-Ray™ For The First Time
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- Last Updated: Tuesday, 12 November 2013 05:51
- Written by Lupe Haas
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The upcoming wave of sci-fi titles includes the much anticipated release of Forbidden Planet on Blu-ray, one of the most influential science fiction films in cinematic history. The grandfather of sci-fi movies, Forbidden Planet features a number of Oscar®-nominated special effects, groundbreaking use of an all-electronic music score and the first screen appearance of both Robby the Robot and the C-57D flying saucer starship (this was the first film in which humans are depicted traveling in flying saucers of their own construction). A 50th anniversary version of the film was restored by the Warner Bros.-MGM reconstruction crew before its HD DVD release in 2006, and since then there has been an enormous consumer demand for its Blu-ray debut.
Another title making its long-awaited Blu-ray debut is Mars Attacks! the comic science fiction hit directed by Tim Burton (Alice in Wonderland) and based on the cult trading card series of the same name. Mars Attacks! features a huge ensemble cast which includes Jack Nicholson, Lukas Haas, Annette Bening, Jim Brown, Pierce Brosnan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Glenn Close, Martin Short, Michael J. Fox, Jack Black, Natalie Portman, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones, Danny DeVito and more. With their mind boggling special effects and futuristic themes, sci-fi movies are some of the most sought after Blu-ray titles in the marketplace. Other titles being released on Blu-ray as part of Warner Home Video’s science fiction action promotion include, THX 1138 Director’s Cut, Lost in Space, A Scanner Darkly and Matrix Reloaded *.
According to DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group, with input from all major motion picture studios, Blu-ray software continued to see significant growth in the first quarter of 2010, with sell-through up 61 percent and rental up 36 percent, compared to the same period last year. The DEG also announced that Blu-ray hardware sales experienced remarkable growth, with set-tops up an astounding 125 percent versus first quarter 2009, indicating a strong consumer demand for Blu-ray.
“Oscar®” is the registered trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences *This is the first time the Matrix Reloaded is being released as a Blu-ray single.
About the films
FORBIDDEN PLANET
A dutiful robot named Robby speaks 188 languages. An underground lair provides astonishing evidence of a populace a million years more advanced than Earthlings. There are many wonders on Altair-4, but
none is greater or more deadly than the human mind. Forbidden Planet is the granddaddy of tomorrow, a pioneering work whose ideas and style would be reverse-engineered into many cinematic space voyages to come. Leslie Nielsen portrays the commander who brings his spacecruiser crew to the green-skied Altair- 4 world that's home to Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon), his daughter (Anne Francis), the remarkable Robby...and to a mysterious terror. Featuring sets of extraordinary scale and the first all-electronic musical soundscape in film history, Forbidden Planet is in a movie orbit all its
own.
Director: Fred M. Wilcox
Starring: Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon and Anne Francis
FORBIDDEN PLANET (BLU-RAY)
Duration: 98 minutes
MPAA Rating: G
Language: English
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French and Portuguese
U.S. Street Date : September 7 2010
$24.98 SRP
Mars Attacks!
Awake, Earthlings! It’s later than you think. Don’t miss this hilarious frenzy as Tim Burton (Alice in Wonderland) directs – and Mars Attacks!
See! Stars that shine across the galaxy. Jack Nicholson (in a dual role), Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito and a dozen more!
Shriek! At mean, green invaders form the angry red planet! Armed with insta-fry ray guns, endowed with slimy, humongous brains – and enlivened with out-of-this-world but state-of-the-art special effects.
Gasp! As the U.S. Legislature is overwhelmed. Don’t fear, we have two out of three branches of the government working for us, and that ain’t bad!
Thrill! As Earth fights back with an unexpected weapon. Take that, Martians!
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Pierce Brosnan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Martin Short, Danny De Vito, Natalie Portman, Jim Brown, Lukas Haas, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones, Pam Grier, Paul Winfield, Annette Bening, Sylvia Sidney, Lisa Marie, Christina Applegate, Joe Don Baker, Jack Black, Barbet Schroeder, Brandon Hammond and Ray J. Norwood.
MARS ATTACKS! (BLU-RAY)
Duration: 107 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Language: English
Subtitles: English, Spanish and French
U.S. Street Date: September 7, 2010
$24.98SRP
THX 1138 Director’s Cut
Master filmmaker George Lucas (Indiana Jones, Star Wars trilogies) makes his directorial debut in this futuristic sci-fi thriller. Academy Award® and Golden Globe®-winner Robert Duvall (Falling Down, A Civil Action) stars in this story of a computerized subterranean world, where sex is forbidden and emotions have been eradicated. When one computer-matched couple discovers love, this perfectly controlled world is turned upside down. Co-starring Tarzan’s Johnny Weismuller.
Director: George Lucas
Starring: Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence
Special Features Include:
1. Commentary with George Lucas and Walter Murch
2. Theater of Noise (Sound Effects Only Track)
3. Master Sessions with Walter Murch
4. A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope
5. Artifact from the Future: The Making of THX 1138
6. Electronic Labyrinth TXH 1138 4EB
7. BALD
8. Theatrical and Re-Release Trailer
THX 1138 DIRECTOR’S CUT (BLU-RAY)
Duration: 100 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Language: English
Subtitles: English, Spanish and French
U.S. Street Date: September 7, 2010 $24.98SRP
Lost in Space
TV's Robinson family takes a galactic wrong turn with state-of-the-art visuals and effects. Starring William Hurt (One True Thing, Michael) and Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight, Harry Potter and the Order of
the Phoenix) as Dr. Smith.
Director: Stephen Hopkins
Starring: William Hurt, Mimi Rogers, Gary Oldman, Heather Graham, Lacey Chabert, Matt Leblanc, Jared Harris
LOST IN SPACE (BLU-RAY)
Duration: 88 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Language: English
Subtitles: English, Spanish and French
U.S. Street Date: September 7, 2010
$24.98SRP
A Scanner Darkly
Set in a not-too-distant future where America has lost its "war" on drugs, Fred, an undercover cop, is one of many people hooked on the popular drug, “Substance D,” which causes its users to develop split personalities. Fred is obsessed with taking down Bob, a notorious drug dealer, but due to his “Substance D” addiction, he does not know that he is also Bob.
Based on a classic novel by Philip K. Dick and starring Keanu Reeves (Constantine, The Matrix trilogy), Academy Award®-nominee and Golden Globe®-winner Winona Ryder (Girl, Interrupted, Mr. Deeds), Academy Award® and Emmy-nominee and Golden Globe®- winner Robert Downey Jr. (Good Night, And Good Luck, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang), and Academy Award® and Golden Globe®-nominee and Emmy-winner Woody Harrelson (North Country, The People vs. Larry Flynt). Directed by
Academy Award®-nominee Richard Linklater (Me and Orson Welles, Before Sunset, Dazed and Confused). Filmed in live-action and then animated using the same critically acclaimed process that Linklater used in his previous film, Waking Life.
Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Rory Cochrane, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Winona Ryder
A SCANNER DARKLY (BLU-RAY)
Duration: 100 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Language: English
Subtitles: English, Spanish and French
U.S. Street Date: September 7, 2010
$24.98SRP
Academy Awards® is the registered trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
GOLDEN GLOBE(S)® is the registered trademark and service mark of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association
Matrix Reloaded
In the second chapter of The Matrix trilogy, Neo (Keanu Reeves), Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) continue to lead the revolt against the Machine Army. In their quest to save the human race from extinction, they gain greater insight into the construct of The Matrix and Neo's pivotal role in the fate of mankind.
Directors: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving
MATRIX RELOADED (BLU-RAY)
Duration: 138 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Language: English
Subtitles: English, Spanish and French
U.S. Street Date: September 7, 2010
$24.98SRP
*This is the first time the Matrix Reloaded is being released as a Blu-ray single.
Note: All enhanced content listed above is subject to change.
Warner Home Video Blu-ray™ Discs offer resolution six times higher than standard definition DVDs, as well as extraordinarily vibrant contrast and color and beautifully crisp sound. The format also provides a higher level of interactivity, with instant access to extra features via a seamless menu bar where viewers can enjoy features without leaving or interrupting the film. For more information: http://warnerblu.warnerbros.com/