My Two Cents
Tuesday, 11 February 2014 13:01

Sweet Charity retrospective, Thor: Dark World BD/DVD Combo nixed, Shirley Temple Black RIP & more

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First things first today: Our own Michael Coate has turned in a new History, Legacy & Showmanship column in which he looks back at the original roadshow release of Sweet Charity, which celebrates its 45th anniversary today. The piece includes a great and lengthy roundtable interview with a trio of leading experts on the film’s history, so don’t miss it. Enjoy!

In other news today, Disney has revealed that Thor: The Dark World (which streets on 2/25) is not going to be available in BD/DVD Combo versions as originally announced, but rather a Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray Combo, and single-disc Blu-ray and DVD editions, all with digital copy. This appears to be part of a broader shift by the studio away from BD/DVD Combos. Members of the Disney Movie Club who had pre-ordered the announced BD3D/BD/DVD Combo have had their orders shifted to the BD3D/BD version. And as you can see from the art below, the versions available for pre-order on Amazon have changed too.  [Read on here...]

Speaking of Disney, YesAsia.com, which specializes in Asian import BD and DVD titles, is now taking pre-orders for a Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray edition of The Incredibles due to be available in Taiwan on 3/13. This would mark the first time The Incredibles has appeared on Blu-ray 3D. The regional distributor (Deltamac (Taiwan) Co. Ltd) is correct, so this appears to be genuine, which means a U.S. release will likely follow later in 2014 (or early 2015). It wouldn’t be the first time a title like this was released internationally first  consider that Dumbo was available on Blu-ray in Mexico more than a year and a half before it was finally released in the States.

Also today, the folks over at TrekCore.com have posted a story about how a pair of Star Trek.com downloadble “podcast” commentaries for Star Trek: Enterprise (for the episodes Judgment and North Star) are not on the Enterprise: Season Two and Three Blu-ray sets and are no longer available on the official website. They also note that a similar downloadable commentary for the Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Director’s Edition is no longer available. Obviously, the TMP Director’s Edition hasn’t been released on Blu-ray yet, but we can speak to the lost Enterprise tracks. We’re told that CBS considered including them on the Blu-rays but ultimately felt that the recording quality wasn’t good enough. In the case of Judgment, a new track was recorded instead. For the record, though, we’re told that the existing podcast commentaries for the Season Four episodes In a Mirror, Darkly – Parts I and II and Terra Prime are being included on the upcoming BD set (which streets on 4/1) for completists, but all-new commentaries are also being recorded for those episodes. Meanwhile, as for the “lost” tracks, TrekCore has them available for download in MP3 format if you’re interested.

Finally today, a bit of sad news: Actress Shirley Temple Black has passed away at the age of 85. You can read more here at The L.A. Times.

We’ll leave you with a look at the revised cover artwork for Thor: The Dark World (3D Combo and BD version) as well as Criterion’s Il Sorpasso (due 4/29)...

Thor: The Dark World (Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray Combo)    Thor: The Dark World (Blu-ray Disc)    Il Sorpasso (Criterion Blu-ray Disc)

Stay tuned...

- Bill Hunt

 

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