Category: DVD & Blu-ray

James Cameron’s Avatar 10-12 Minutes Longer on Blu-ray and DVD
James Cameron continued his parade as king of the world last night by scoring the best director and best motion picture drama Golden Globe Awards last night for his work on Avatar. This all coming a day after the film passed Star Wars to become the second highest grossing domestic film ever at the box office.
Once the Oscar’s wrap up and Titanic’s worldwide box office record (likely) falls at the hands of Avatar, attention will turn towards the Blu-ray Disc, Blu-ray 3D and DVD release that will also look to set records later this year. Thanks to MTV, we know that a new cut of the film is in the works.
“The ‘director’s cut’ is what we release,” Cameron told MTV at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. “What we do is we do a special edition, where you could select a longer version of the film that has some scenes reinstated. But it’s really more of a fan version than a director’s version.”
That version will include approximately 10 seconds of the Jake and Neytiri “sex” scene Cameron previously hinted at and confirms was cut for being “one of those cases where the fantasy vastly exceeds the reality.” The director estimates approximately 10-12 minutes will be edited back into the “fan” version.
Any Avatar Blu-ray and DVD announcement will have to wait until the film slows down at the box office. While its December competition like Sherlock Holmes locks in March release dates, Avatar may not even be announced by then.

Doctor Zhivago Blu-ray Announced
Warner Home Video has set a May 4 date for the release of ‘Doctor Zhivago: 45th Anniversary Edition ‘. The Blu-ray of this David Lean movie will come in a Digibook with a 44-page booklet, and will also exclusively include a CD sampler with eight selections from the soundtrack that won Maurice Jarre his second Oscar.
Special features include:
– Doctor Zhivago: A Celebration (all-new production
– Commentary by Omar Sharif, Rod Steiger and Lady Sandra Lean (wife of David Lean)
– Introduction by Omar Sharif
– Doctor Zhivago: The Making of a Russian Epic
– Vintage Featurettes
– Zhivago: Behind the Camera with David Lean
– David Lean’s Film of Doctor Zhivago
– Moscow in Madrid
– Pasternak
– New York Press Interviews Omar Sharif
– New York Press Interviews Julie Christie
– Geraldine Chaplin Screen Test
– This is Omar Sharif
– This is Julie Christie
– This is Geraldine Chaplin
– Chaplin in New York
– Trailer
ìWe’re very excited about this meticulous new restoration from Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging and, in particular, how incredible Doctor Zhivago will look on Blu-ray,î said George Feltenstein, WHV’s Senior Vice President, Theatrical Catalog Marketing. ìThe qualities that have kept the film so vital and popular all these years ñ the sweeping love story, the gorgeous vistas and unforgettable imagery ñ are all dramatically enhanced through the unprecedented technical capabilities of Blu-ray. The result is not only breathtakingly beautiful to look at but also provides a magnificent aural experience with Zhivago’s highly-lauded sound mix presented with unprecedented clarity and dimension.î
WHV had stopped sales of the previous DVD edition of this movie in September 7 in preparation of this new release.

DVD in awards season could be the trigger for ‘The Hurt Locker’
The Hurt Locker is getting ready to redeploy.
The film about a renegade member of a bomb squad in Iraq opened in June to near unanimous critical acclaim. But it earned a not-so-whopping $12.7 million at the box office.
Still, though audiences seemed unwilling to trust the 97% positive rating from film review site RottenTomatoes.com, the awards season may help The Hurt Locker turn a corner in the fight for moviegoers.
The film is still playing on a handful of screens, but its potential for discovery now rests on its DVD and Blu-ray debut Tuesday and the momentum of Sunday’s Golden Globes, where it is up for three prizes, including best drama.
Oscar nominations are announced Feb. 2, and The Hurt Locker is expected to fare well after earning numerous critics’ awards and guild nominations.
Releasing it on home video now allows the film to ride a wave of attention cast by Hollywood’s backslapping season.
“We were obviously very, very hopeful we would get the award recognition that critics were talking about when we released the movie back in June,” says Rob Friedman, co-chairman and CEO of Summit Entertainment, which distributed The Hurt Locker. “It was definitely something we hoped for. You can never anticipate, but you can plan.”
The awards race has long been a marketing tool for prestige films, which is why many open in theaters late in the year with hopes of generating ticket sales while amassing honors.
Making a DVD available during awards season may be particularly smart for more intimate, sophisticated fare that doesn’t have the bombast that typically drives blockbusters, says Paul Bond, West Coast business editor for The Hollywood Reporter.
“Adults have less time on their hands, they’re more conscious about money, they’re less interested in the social aspect of moviegoing than high school and college kids are,” Bond says. “It’s no surprise they’re willing to wait for the DVD release to see a film they’re interested in. And adults are interested in The Hurt Locker.”
Though it will be many months before Avatar or Up in the Air arrive on home video, other films such as Julie & Julia, Inglourious Basterds and District 9 were on DVD last month.
In those cases, they opened strongly in theaters and were trying to capture the holiday gift-buying crowd. But now they have another wave, thanks to their respective award campaigns.
“We try to determine the appropriate date, and we have a lot of flexibility there, so with District 9 and Julie & Julia, we knew they had awards potential and releasing at the holiday would be ideal, but also we would capture the timing of the Golden Globe nominations and the Academy (Award) nominations,” says Lexine Wong, senior executive vice president of marketing for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Smaller films waited out the holiday crush rather than risk being overshadowed and instead based their release solely on awards season.
That’s why you’ll see the Coen brothers’ A Serious Man on Feb. 9, An Education announcing its DVD debut around the Oscars, and The Hurt Locker out now. “It’s a good time post-Christmas for titles that are a little less well-known than the big behemoths coming out in November and December,” says Summit’s Friedman.
With that in mind, the literary romance Bright Star is due Jan. 26. Says Sony’s Wong: “If you wait until January, you can still capture awards buzz, but you get out of the way of the other stuff, and you get more attention.”
But what if you don’t get the nominations?
“If you’re assuming you’ll get that nomination, and then you’re not nominated,” Bond says, “you’ll be sorely disappointed.”

Quentin Tarantino Is ‘Very Proud’ Of ‘Inglourious Basterds’ DVD
It was a Sunday morning in late August and Quentin Tarantino was hunkered down in his Hollywood Hills home, trying to shut out the world. His chillingly bloody Nazi revenge epic “Inglourious Basterds” had opened two days earlier and the writer/director was following his normal ritual of not hearing his film’s total weekend box-office haul until Monday. Then his doorbell rang.
Star Eli Roth and producer Pilar Savone were standing outside holding bottles of champagne and wearing T-shirts that stated the film’s weekend estimate: over $37 million, the 46-year-old director’s biggest opening ever.
“I never knew I’d make a movie that would do that well on an opening weekend, so that was pretty groovy,” Tarantino told MTV News.
Months later, Tarantino’s “Basterds” arrives on DVD on December 15, which is ó only coincidently, so it seems ó the fifth day of Hanukkah. It’s nonetheless apt that this tale of Brad Pitt and his band of revenge-seeking Jewish soldiers comes out on this day of lights. While Tarantino tweaks World War II history throughout the film ó and then veers off into gloriously satisfying fictional territory at its conclusion ó the version on the DVD is the exact same as the one moviegoers caught back in August.
“There won’t be an extended version,” he said. “I’m very proud of the fact that my director’s cut has been seen in 3,000 theaters. I wasn’t not going to do my best and say, ‘Wait for the DVD, then you’ll know what I really meant!’ I want that playing in the theaters.”
Among commentary tracks and bonus clips, what’s also fresh on the disc is the full, black-and-white version of “Nation’s Pride,” the Nazi propaganda film within “Basterds” that plays a key role in propelling the narrative forward. There’s also a faux “making of” documentary about the production of “Pride,” starring Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.
“Joseph Goebbels talks about how this was a passion project for him,” Tarantino laughed.
The upcoming DVD release is likely only the beginning of renewed talk about “Basterds.” From Christoph Waltz’s performance as a crazily evil Nazi to Tarantino himself, awards-season chatter has surrounded the film since its debut in Cannes earlier this year. Tarantino welcomes such talk, but it’s an awards show later in 2010 that has him truly pumped.
“I’m looking forward to Christoph Waltz winning Best Villain at the MTV Movie Awards!” he laughed.

Jackson’s “This Is It” set for January DVD release
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) ñ The Michael Jackson documentary “This Is It” will be released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on January 26.
Sony’s “This Is It” has rung up $71 million in domestic box office since bowing in theaters October 28, and the studio’s plans for its home-video release have been the subject of considerable speculation.
Initially, many observers assumed the studio would push out “This Is It” discs before the lucrative Christmas gift-buying season. Instead, Sony has opted for a post-holidays release in the hope that seasonal gift-card recipients will use their plastic to purchase discs.
Both the DVD and high-def versions of “This Is It” will include several mini-documentaries and other special features. The Blu-ray Disc also will include two versions each of the Jackson music videos “Smooth Criminal” and “Thriller.”
The DVD of “This Is It” will carry a suggested retail price of $28.96 and the Blu-ray version an SRP of $39.95. A PlayStation Portable disc is also planned, priced at $24.94.

‘This Is It’ DVD launch delayed to 2010
Movie executives at Sony Pictures have scrapped plans to release Michael Jackson’s This Is It film on DVD before Christmas after cinema bosses urged them to delay the release.
Theatre chain heads insisted a speedy DVD turnaround for the holiday season would keep fans away from cinemas and hamper ticket sales, prompting movie bosses to hold off releasing the concert rehearsal film on DVD until the New Year.
Instead, the Sony bosses have extended the film’s limited two-week run by one to three weeks.
Michael Jackson’s This Is It pulled in $101 million around the world in just five days. The film ruled the U.S. box office, taking $21.3 million in its opening weekend.

ëAnythingí for love
Cameron Croweís ìSay Anythingî was perhaps the most romantic teen comedy of the í80s. But it wouldnít have been so if star John Cusack hadnít actually fallen in love during the filming.
ìAt first, he didnít want to say ëI love youí in the movie,î says Ione Skye, who played Diane, Lloyd Doblerís love interest. She contributes to the extras on the filmís 20th anniversary DVD release, out Tuesday. ìHe liked women very much, but he hadnít opened up to the vulnerability of being in love yet.î
But while Crowe, the filmís writer-director, initially had to talk his star into letting his emotions inform the role, all that changed when Cusack met a girl named Suzanne.
ìCameron was trying to convince John to say ëI love you,í and Johnís like, ëI donít want to say it in the movie,íî says Skye. ìThen he met this girl Suzanne, and all of a sudden he loosened up and seemed more open and mature. He was comfortable saying it and playing it.î
Skye says that Croweís natural sense of romance also helped cement the filmís tone.
ìCameronís very passionate about romance,î she says. ìHe told me how the first time he said ëI love youí to his wife [Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson], she didnít really hear him, and minutes felt like hours until that was revealed. He remembered every detail of their falling in love.î
Skye, who was also in her first serious relationship at the time, feels that the platonic nature of her friendship with Cusack (who she did date briefly years later) helped create some of their emotional sparks.
ìThere was a very high-pitched chemistry there,î she says. ìMaybe not doing anything about it made it stay at that level of intensity ó how, before you do anything about it, it can be more exciting.î
But while the friendship held elements of romance, the filmís most romantic and iconic moment ó when Lloyd stands outside Dianeís window for a minute and a half, blasting Peter Gabrielís ìIn Your Eyesî from a boom box held high above his head ó was lost on both of them.
ìItís part of Cameronís style to have these romantic moments,î says Skye. ìHe realized [the sceneís power], but we didnít. I think John was like, ëThis is cornyí…I donít think I knew that this was a moment.î
Now that itís become a central moment in her career, however, Skye well understands the sceneís effect ó although, when asked how sheíd react to such courting in real life, she advises against potential Romeos using it unwisely.
ìIf I liked the person, I would think it was the most amazing thing in the world,î she says. ìBut if I didnít, it would creep me out.î
Also on DVD this week: ìItís a Wonderful Life,î newly restored on Blu-ray ● ìGet Yer Ya-Yaís Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert,î expanded and enhanced ● Denzel in ìThe Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.î

Goodfellas Returning to Blu-ray
Warner Home Video is prepping a 20th Anniversary Edition of Goodfellas for Blu-ray Disc with a February 16, 2010 release date per Home Media Magazine.
The revered mobster drama starring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino was originally released January 17, 2007 on Blu-ray Disc. This new edition comes just over 3 years later.
The anniversary upgrade will see a bump up to Digibook packaging with a 34-page booklet and the following bonus features:
– Commentary with Martin Scorsese
– Commentary with ex-gangster Henry Hill and ex-FBI agent Edward McDonald
– Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film documentary
– Three cast and crew documentaries
– Trailers
– Four Warner Bros. mob-themed cartoons
Goodfellas: 20th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray has an SRP of $34.99. Pre-order information and cover art will be available in the near future.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs announced already!
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has already announced a release date for the animated movie Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, bringin the film to DVD in January.
ìCloudy with a Chance of Meatballsî tells the story of an eccentric wannabe scientist, Flint Lockwood. His latest contraption is a miraculous device designed to solve the world hunger crisis. But when Flint bites off more than he can chew, he sets in motion a global disaster of epic proportions. Based on the #1 best-selling book by Judi and Ron Barrett.
Arriving as a 2-disc DVD set, the release will feature an anamorphic widescreen presentation of the movie,with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. The release will contain a Commentary Track with Bill Hader as well as the Featurettes îA Recipe for Success: The Making of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballsî and îKey Ingredients: The Voices of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballsî. Also look for Extended Scenes and Early Development Scenes, as well as Progression Reels with Introductions by Visual Effects Supervisor Rob Bredow.
The release will further come with a Sing-A-Long for “Raining Sunshine”, as well as the ìRaining Sunshineî Music Video and a Behind the Scenes Featurette of Miranda Cosgrove’s “Raining Sunshine” Music Video. The DVD set is rounded out by Flint’s Food Fight Game.
ìCloudy With A Chance Of Meatballsî will be in stores on January 5 for $34.95. A blu-Ray version has not yet been announced but wil most likely become available around the same time. We will keep you posted, of course, as new information comes in.

Bruno Visits Blu-ray in November
Sacha Baron Cohen’s Bruno will strut his way onto Blu-ray Disc and DVD on November 17 courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
Bruno will be served up in 1.85:1 1080p video and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio on video with an accompanying digital copy of the standard definition version.
Bonus features have been revealed and include a few Blu-ray exclusives as outlined below.
– Video Commentary with Sacha Baron Cohen and Director Larry Charles (BD exclusive)
– Digital copy (BD exclusive)
– App for iPhone (BD exclusive)
– An hour of Alternative, Deleted and Extended Scenes not shown in theaters
Enhanced Commentary — Hear in depth stories for selected scenes from Sacha Baron Cohen and director Larry Charles.
– An Interview with Hollywood Agent Lloyd Robinson — Get the story behind Bruno’s real Hollywood agent.
Bruno on Blu-ray will retail for $39.98 and come with an outer o-sleeve. High-res cover art and Amazon pre-order information should be available shortly.