Epics of Cinema Come to Blu-ray

Epics of Cinema Come to Blu-ray no comments

Posted at 4:37 pm in General

Culminating in the recent release of the ultimate Harry Potter box set, almost all of the “must-see” series of films of the past few decades are now available in HD thanks to the proliferation of the Blu-ray format. Since Blu-ray first became available, many new releases and timeless classics have been released on home media with the highest possible quality of picture and sound. The Alien Anthology set the benchmark when it was released in 2010, paving the way for The Lord of the Rings Extended Editions (June 2011) and Star Wars: The Complete Saga (September 2011). Major series of films such as these have always lent themselves to being released in collective editions, often re-released over and over again as new formats and features become available. When the Harry Potter series was concluded earlier this year with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, a complete Harry Potter box set was finally made possible, and the 8-disc Blu-ray collection was released on November 11^th.

When Blu-ray first came on the scene, consumers were sceptical about how much difference HD could possibly make to the viewing experience, especially when it came to older films. However, over time the sales of Blu-ray discs have increased. Whilst originally new releases were made available in separate DVD and Blu-ray formats, it is becoming increasingly common for a film to be released in one edition, often with a disc included for both the standard and enhanced versions. It is a possibility that just as films eventually stopped being released on VHS and only came out on DVD, in the near future DVD may fade into the background as well. Producers and distributors are likely to embrace this idea because of the many financial benefits that Blu-ray re-releases present; they can repeatedly add more and more high quality features in order to encourage consumers who may already own the films themselves to buy yet another enhanced edition. Star Wars is the best example of this phenomenon, with George Lucas under scrutiny for his constant “tinkering” with the original films. The Blu-ray box set of The Complete Saga is loaded with special features, including several never-before-seen deleted and alternative scenes and exploration of the exclusive Star Wars archives.

Over 9 discs, the Complete Saga box set features all 6 films and over 30 hours of special features.

2011 has been a surprisingly good year for Blu-ray, despite a sluggish start early on when the future of the format was in question. Sales predictions from 2010 have been greatly surpassed, with global sales of Blu-ray discs increasing from 161 million units to 234 million. This may be due to consumers becoming more used to the idea of Blu-ray and therefore more likely to instinctively buy films in this format; whilst for some time DVD has remained the norm and Blu-ray has been a sort of “special” edition, the gap in price between the two has now decreased somewhat, meaning that people are more likely to pay a few extra pounds for what is generally considered a “superior” version of whatever they are purchasing. Some of this year’s most successful films are now high up on the list of best-selling Blu-ray discs, including titles such as Thor, Captain America, and Cars 2. Like the box sets and collections mentioned above, many classic films have also proved popular when re-released on Blu-ray: The Lion King, for example, is currently at number 5 in the official Blu-ray chart.

However, the constant re-release of many popular titles has strongly affected consumer inclination to keep on purchasing each new edition. Why bother buying a Blu-ray edition of a film, for example, if it is likely to be re-released in a few months’ time with added special features? Or even, possibly, in 3D? Many fans of popular films and film series have become increasingly frustrated with the constant re-releases of their favourite titles. Take the Alien franchise, for example – as the first film began to expand into a series, collections started to form. 1992 saw the first with the VHS Alien Triple Pack which contained the first two films and a preview of the theatrical release of Alien 3. A year later, after the third film had officially joined the series, the Alien Trilogy was released, also on VHS. Alien Legacy in 1999 was the first collection to be released on DVD as well as VHS, and featured all four films including Alien Resurrection. The Alien Quadrilogy was released in 2003 as one of the most exhaustive box sets of the era, with huge amounts of special features as well as all four films over nine separate discs. Finally, the Blu-ray Alien Anthology was released in 2010, although little was added in terms of special features and additional content. Some brand new film releases are already being launched in 3D, so it is only a matter of time before 3D collections start to appear, replacing those Blu-ray box sets that have only just been released.

How long before all films are being released in 3D?

The Blu-ray format has already won one battle in its time: it beat out its rival format, the HD DVD, when the two came into direct competition in the early 2000’s. Since then cinematic developments and innovations have meant that visual quality is increasingly important; films such as Avatar and Inception rely heavily on the quality of visual effects and therefore may be worth buying on Blu-ray rather than standard DVD in order to fully appreciate the superiority of their imagery. One of 2011’s major box office hits is coming out this week in glorious HD: Rise of the Planet of the Apes is out on DVD and Blu-ray December 13^th and perfectly exemplifies the height of visual excellence in cinema today. Check out the trailer below!