20th Century Fox returns to Blu-ray!

[captainjoe]

With a shit-load of new titles many being must-have titles including, yes, all 4 die hard movies!

October 2nd"
MASTER & COMMANDER
THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW

Octber 9th:
FROM HELL
THE FLY (1986)
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS
28 DAYS LATER (North America Only)
ROBOCOP (MGM)
AMITYVILLE HORROR (1979) (MGM) (North America Only)

November 6th:
BATTLE OF BRITAIN (MGM)
A BRIDGE TOO FAR (MGM)

Later in November:
I, ROBOT
DIE HARD
DIE HARD 2 DIE HARDER
DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE
RED DAWN (MGM) NOV

December 4th:
MR. AND MRS. SMITH
INDEPENDENCE DAY
CAST AWAY (North America Only)
RONIN (MGM)


Press Release: (from www.dvdtown.com)

What's New
By Henning Molbaek
FIRST PUBLISHED Aug 20, 2007
LOS ANGELES – August 20, 2007 -- Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (TCFHE) today unveiled an aggressive global Blu-ray Disc release strategy including 29 new release and "must-have" catalog titles that runs through the end of the 2007 calendar year. Among the many highlights of the impressive worldwide slate are six day & date BD/DVD new theatrical releases from Fox including the $241 million box-office family favorite FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER and the $335 million box-office action powerhouse LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD, four day & date BD/DVD (U.S. only) new theatrical releases from MGM, 19 ´must-have on BD´ films from the two studios´ libraries, Fox´s first-ever TV release on BD – PRISON BREAK -- and Fox´s intention to release at least one state-of-the-art title per month featuring numerous BD ´firsts.´

The only high-definition packaged media universally supported by the film, music, gaming and computer industries, BD is the #1 selling high-definition packaged media. In fact, on a worldwide basis, BD is averaging nearly 70% market-share per week of all high definition titles sold this year and, in the U.S., it is out-performing HD DVD by a margin of 115%.

"Given that Blu-ray has consistently outsold HD DVD all year, and this is the case for any titles released by any studio in both formats, we believe that the time is right for us to accelerate our activities and help convert the nearly 60 million high definition households worldwide into Blu-ray households," noted Mike Dunn, President Worldwide, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. "By the end of this calendar year there will be expansive availability of technically vibrant releases featuring never-before-seen, advanced BD-J interactivity as well as a broad offering of playback devices at attractive prices that will prove to any doubting consumers once and for all that Blu-ray is the only way."

"And as Blu-ray continues to grows stronger, it has become survival of the fittest which is most apparent in the retail landscape where our eager and growing global Blu-ray consumer base has caused a shift that is forcing the allocation of more space to the format that is selling the best. And, in many recent instances of note, top retailers in North America are choosing to promote the Blu-ray format exclusively in their stores," continued Dunn.

Among the BD industry ´firsts´ from the Studios´ upcoming global release slate are picture in picture capability, enhanced viewing and surround sound modes with the ability to mix and match picture and sound, direct access to in-movie features through one of the four colored buttons on the BD remote and the most technically vibrant BD-Java interactive multi-player challenge and trivia games to date. The Studios´ slate also takes full advantage of BD-Live functionality this fourth quarter. Internet-connected consumers will enjoy unique, title specific "web-enabled" interactive features and games and "web-exclusive" downloadable content with the ability to connect and interact with other broadband BD users worldwide.

Cementing its leadership position within the industry - previous BD releases NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM and X-MEN THE LAST STAND rank in the Top 20 best-sellers - the vast majority of the Studios´ upcoming global slate will be presented on 50 GB dual-layer discs with advanced BD-J interactivity and feature numerous Blu-ray exclusive high-definition bonus materials that further realizes BD´s incredible potential. Consumers will enjoy the superior video and audio elements of AVC encoding and Lossless HD audio on many of the coming titles as well as enhanced and integrated menus, personal scene selections, search indexing, trivia and other title specific games and high-definition bonus materials.

Upcoming BD-J features exclusive to priority catalogue titles from Fox and MGM include an "Alien Scavenger Hunt" (INDEPENDENCE DAY) that challenges players to earn points by identifying the correct number of aliens in select scenes to unlock additional bonus features; a "Global Warming Trivia Track" (THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW) where users must correctly answer questions about global warming to keep the Earth´s temperature from rising and being destroyed; and a historical and geographical pop-up map (MASTER & COMMANDER) that tracks the location of Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey and his enemies.

Listed below are the upcoming Blu-ray Disc releases from Fox and MGM excluding new theatrical day & date BD/DVD releases. EXACT TITLE CONFIGURATIONS TO FOLLOW IN THE COMING WEEKS.

[Yi-Long]

Hmmm... not really must-haves for me. I'd upgrade to them possible in a few years when they're in a sale... but certainly not for today's prices.

[EvaUnit02]

MASTER & COMMANDER = crap, even if it is Peter Weir.
THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW = crap

Octber 9th:
FROM HELL = crap
THE FLY (1986) = SUPERB, MUST HAVE.
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS = Great movie, would be a good buy.
28 DAYS LATER (North America Only) = Good movie, would be a good buy.
ROBOCOP (MGM) = SUPERB, MUST HAVE.
AMITYVILLE HORROR (1979) (MGM) (North America Only) = crap

November 6th:
BATTLE OF BRITAIN (MGM) = Haven't seen it, would rent.
A BRIDGE TOO FAR (MGM) = Richard Attenborough, YAWN.

Later in November:
I, ROBOT = Hear it's good, would rent it.
DIE HARD = SUPERB, MUST HAVE.
DIE HARD 2 DIE HARDER = mediocre movie, would only buy as part of a boxset.
DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE = Good movie, but would still only buy as part of a boxset.

December 4th:
MR. AND MRS. SMITH = Haven't seen it, hear it's really vapid though. Rental or bargain bin only.
INDEPENDENCE DAY = crap
CAST AWAY (North America Only) = Great movie, would be a good buy.
RONIN (MGM) = Great movie, would be a good buy.

[Toge]

Ronin is a must have,

[romerojpg]

Must have hahah So many turds on there Ronin sits on the bottom of that shit pile thats for sure

I love the way Fox think this is as big of an announcement as Yesdays HD DVD announcement, its not even close

Still Will be nice to see some classic (over 10 years old!) and what Blu Ray does with them, as by the time I get Blu Ray they will be cheaper I hope.

[bradavon]

Master and Commander + Die Hard for me. Both are excellent.

As for the article agreed the films are a bit lame but the press release isn't, read what they plan to do with the BD format. That's exciting.

[saltysam]

you sound like BD fanboy Brad. both formats are great and can co-exist happily for ages,just like dvd-r & +r do.

[gasteropod]

Salty, who the hell wants TWO competing formats? Most people have to stick by one due to the fact that they can't afford two different machines/don't want two different machines. I'm not a BD fanboy, and I don't think Brad is either.

[bradavon]

Do I?

I was just pointing out where they plan to take the format sounds interesting. I'd say the same thing if it were HD-DVD. I agree btw. I've made it clear I'm waiting for the Samsung Combo Player.

It's not exactly the same as DVD+ and DVD- as those you just buy the right type of blank disk job done, here you're restricted by what movies you can play but agreed overall people will just have to get used to to formats for the foreseeable future. Studios don't like to back down when they've put so much money and time into something.

Salty, who the hell wants TWO competing formats?

I completely agree except the reality is we have two formats and I see nothing to say we won't for some time to come.

Thanks though I am no fanboy of either format.

[EvaUnit02]

Well I'm going to buy discs of both formats, too many of my favourite films are on BRD for me to ignore the format. I'll be getting a PS3 eventually.

[bradavon]

Too many of my favourite films are on both formats for me to ignore either.

[gasteropod]

I originally favoured HD-DVD, but then this year it started looking like Blu-ray + PS3 was the best option, so that's what I went for. I was much happier with my decision until Paramount dropped out, but hopefully they'll be back soon.

[saltysam]

I'm not a fanboy,i have both formats but i do dislike sony since their bullying tactics put lik-sang out of business.if anyone is seriously sure hd-dvd will go the way of the dodo then stick to blu-ray.i think both formats will be around a good while yet,the combo player is the answer.in fact if it gets good reviews when released i may buy myself a usa version and sell the ps3/hd-dvd machine

[bradavon]

It definitely has the right spec. and ticks all the boxes for me. Samsung usually make decent kit. Not up there with the likes of Sony but considering the price of the Samsung player would you want Sony?