Universal Classic Monsters - German steelbook BD

It looks like Universal Pictures Germany is going to release
classic monster movies in limited steelbook blu-ray editions
illustrated by Alex Ross, on Sep 14, 2017.

• Dracula
• Frankenstein
• The Bride of Frankenstein / Frankensteins Braut
• The Mummy / Die Mumie
• The Invisible Man / Der Unsichtbare
• The Wolf Man / Der Wolfsmensch
• Creature from the Black Lagoon / Der Schrecken vom Amazonas

Source: Bluray-Disc.de (German)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) - Italian BD

(Italian title: L'invasione degli ultracorpi)

• Release date: Mar. 18, 2014
• Publisher: Sinister Film
• Region code: Free? (A/B)
  Region code is not explicitly stated on the package and disc,
  but at least I had no problem for playback on my PC with region-A setup.
  

The Packaging

There's no insert or booklet.

Menu

Menus are not animated, but w/ the opening title music.
No popup menu is available.

Setup

English

While I could not find the way to turn off Italian subtitles in this menu,
I could eventually turn them off from the player's menu.

Chapters

Extras

All the extras seem to be in SD thus likely PAL.
But I can't confirm as I saw them only on PC,
which effectively ignore those differences.

• Kevin McCarthy (6:45)
  An interview conducted by Tom Hatten.
  Though recording date and other details are not stated,
  I believe this is the same one in the US laserdisc
  from Republic many years ago.
  
  
• The Night America Trembled (1957/BW/52:42)
  
  
  An episode from CBS's "Studio One"
  originally aired on Sep. 9, 1957, hosted by Edward R. Murrow.
  
  
  This is a dramatization of the (in)famous incident caused by
  Orson Welles' radio broadcast of "The War of the Worlds".
  Video/audio quality is not very good but serviceable.
  
  
  Here it's included with Westing House commercials.
  
  
• Presentation by Luigi Cozzi (9:12)
  
  
  Naturally, it's in Italian with no subtitles.
  
• Gallery (1:51)
  A slideshow of various publicity materials from Italy and US.
  No narration, no music, no captions.
  
• Trailer (BW/2:15)
  US version. It has some scratches.
  

Video/audio quality

I watched this BD projected onto 60" screen first, then on 27' PC monitor.

It looks and sounds good to me.
The picture is clean, without blemishes that often plague old movies.

One can argue picture is slightly too soft
(especially when you freeze frame to check the details)
and black levels need to be a bit deeper,
but I think they are nitpicking.

I've only listened to English dts-HD track, which is also clean.

Navigation problem

I'm not sure if this happens in other environment,
but I had problems for navigation
with PowerDVD and WinDVD.

The disc doesn't allow me to skip chapters, move forward/backward etc.
Both the main feature and extras have the same problem.
(For the main feature, you can go back to the chapter menu and select a scene, though.)

Conclusion

With good video/audio quality, some interesting extras,
and fairly low price (when I got it, at least),
I think this is a better choice
than US BD from Olive Films.

Rainbow "Monsters of Rock Live at Donington 1980" Japanese editions

As you probably already know, Rainbow's
"Monsters of Rock - Live at Donington 1980"
is to be released as 1CD+1DVD set on Apr. 22 in US and UK
from Eagle Rock Entertainment.


Japan's Ward Records will release it in several different editions on Apr. 15
which have 2 CDs of the concert.




There are 4 variations (with links to Amazon Japan when possible):

• 2CD standard edition
• 2CD+DVD limited edition
• 2CD+DVD+T-shirt edition (Limited to 5000 copies): T-shirt is L-size only on Amazon.
• Super Premium Box (Limited to 500 copies): only available at Ward Records website.
  
  • 2CD of the concert
  • 1CD of radio interviews of the band members (Blackmore / Powell+Airey / Powell)
  • 1DVD
  • 3LP of the concert (same content as 2CD)
  • Reproduction of the concert booklet (excerpt, Rainbow-related pages only)
  • Reproduction of the press pass (from the actual pass used by Japanese rock critic Masayuki Itô)
  • T-shirt (S/M/L/XL)

(Personally I wish there were 3CD+1DVD edition without T-shirt etc.)


Ward Records claims their CDs have
"some parts cut from the international editions."



The tracklistings are as follows:

CD 1:

1. Opening: Pomp and Circumstance (*)
2. Intro /
   Eyes Of The World
3. Since You Been Gone /
   Over the Rainbow (*)
4. Stargazer
5. Catch The Rainbow
6. Don Airey keyboard solo (*) /
   Lost in Hollywood /
   A Light in the Black (excerpt) (*) /
   Ritchie Blackmore guitar solo
7. Difficult To Cure /
   Don Airey keyboard solo
8. Cozy Powell drum solo (1812) /
   Lost in Hollywood (reprise)

CD 2:

1. Lazy (excerpt)
2. All Night Long
3. Blues
4. Will You Love Me Tomorrow
5. Long Live Rock n Roll
6. Ritchie Blackmore guitar crash (Kill the King) (*)
7. Long Live Rock n Roll (reprise) (*)

DVD:

1. Lazy (excerpt)
2. All Night Long
3. Catch The Rainbow
4. Eyes Of The World
5. Ritchie Blackmore guitar solo
6. Difficult To Cure
7. Will You Love Me Tomorrow
8. Long Live Rock n Roll
9. Ritchie Blackmore guitar crash (Kill the King) (*)
10. Long Live Rock n Roll (reprise) (*)

*-marked ones are not listed in the international editions.

But, it seems to me the differences can be mostly attributed to how you describe medleys and solos.

For example, the last 3 "tracks" of CD2,
may be same as the one Long Live Rock n Roll
in the international edition.

The only significant difference may be the opening.
But I'm not sure if it makes 2CD necessary.
There may be more differences actually.

Too bad they don't mention track length, or total time of each disc.
(They say DVD is approx. 30 mins, though.)


BTW, Ward Records explicitly states 2 songs played in the concert -
Love's No Friend and Man on the Silver Mountain - have been lost,
and this is the "as full version as possible today."

"Thunderbirds Are Go" (2015) BD coming in Japan

Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's 2015 TV series
"Thunderbirds Are Go"
is to be released on BD (and DVD) in Japan in May.

Here's what I can tell about the BD boxset.

Basic information

"Thunderbirds Are Go" Blu-ray Collector's Box Vol.1

• Release date: May 11, 2016
• Publisher: NBC Universal Entertainment
• Cat. #: GNXF-1993
• Discs: BDx4
• Region code: ALL
• Video: 16:9 HD
• Audio: English dts-HD MA 5.1 / Japanese LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Subtitles: Japanese / English / Japanese for Japanese dubbs
• Contents: Episodes 1-13
• Runtime: 286 mins (+ 60 mins of extras)
• SRP: 19200 Yen (+ tax)

Extras

• Reggie & Thunderbirds: No Strings Attached
  British TV special aired prior to the series,
  which includes behind-the-scenes,
  interviews with Richard Taylor (executive producer), Rosamund Pike (Lady Penelope), etc.
  
• Shôji Kawamori on Thunderbird S - Part 1
  Interview with Japanese artist Shôji Kawamori (perhaps best known for "Macross" anime franchise), who designed "Thunderbird S" for this new series.
  Here he talked about how he came into the project, where he got the idea for the design, the evolution of the design, also his childhood experiences with the original "Thunderbirds" show.
  
• Slideshow (stills)
  

The Package

• Digipack with slipcase
• Full color booklet (32 pages)
• Postcard ("Thunderbird S" design sketch by Shôji Kawamori)

Notes

• This is a limited edition, initial press only.
• Vol.2 is not announced yet.

As you know, in UK, ITV released the show only on DVD,
and reportedly they have no plan for BD release for now.
It's a strange decision when the show was made and aired in HD in the first place.

Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's shows have been VERY popular in Japan,
especially the original "Thunderbirds".

The original show was released on BD s few years back, in the original 4:3 AR,
unlike 16:9 trimmed version in the UK.

That boxset has long been OOP but, it's to be reissued on the same date.
(minus the booklet included in the previous set.)

"Thunderbird" Blu-ray BOX


I wrote about the previous boxset here (near the bottom).

Links

• Japanese official website of the show (in Japanese only)
• NBC-UNI's information page of BD boxset
• Shôji Kawamori's official website (partially in English)

"Hard to be a God" Japanese BD includes "Playback" documentary

Aleksey German's "Hard to be a God" has been available on BD in US and UK
with different extras, as reviewed by
Blu-ray.com and DVDBeaver, respectively.

Based on these reviews, both BDs have good extras,
but there's one notable material missing:
"Playback"(2012),
a documentary movie on ther making of "Hard to be a God".
(For the details of "Playback", please read Film Divider's article.)

But the recent Japanese BD includes it.
As far as I know, this is the first time "Playback" is available on BD/DVD.




Japanese BD basic specs

• Video: VistaVision (16x9 enhanced)
• Audio: Russion
• Subtitles: Japanese
• Region code: ALL
• Discs: BDx2 (Disc 1: DL, Disc 2: SL)
• Publisher: IVC
• Release date Dec. 18, 2015
• Runtime: 177 mins

Disc 2 is devoted to "Playback" (67 mins).
Also comes with a 28-page leaflet with essays by Japanese critics.

Of course, even if you can ignore its high price,
the Japanese BD wouldn't attract many foreigners
as it only has Japanese subtitles,

I have no plan to get it for the present, because
I'm rather skeptical of the A/V quality of the products from IVC.

James Bond 007 - Japanese graphic novels

In Dec. 2015, Japanese publisher Shogakkan released
the reprints of 4 books of Takao Saitô's graphic novel adaptations of
Ian Flemming's James Bond stories.

• Live and Let Die
• Thunderball
• On Her Majesty's Secret Service
• The Man with the Golden Gun
  

Originally written in 1968,
they are officially licensed adaptations,
but long time out-of-print.

After the licence has expired Saitô begun his most successful
(and still going on) series Golgo 13.
It's widely believed these Bond adaptations served as the basis for Golgo 13.

These reprints are billed as
the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Saitô's career.

Also obviously a tie-in with Japanese release of the movie Spectre.



Of course they are in Japanese,
but if you are a collector who wants to have anything James Bond,
they may be of your interest.


I haven't read any of them myself, but reportedly,
the stories are very different from the Flemming's source books.

Note that, among the 4 stories above,
Thunderball was the only one already adapted to screen at the time.

Still, Saitô's Bond doesn't look like Sean Connery at all.
(Somewhat like Victor Mature IMO.)
See here, for example.

William Friedkin's "Sorcerer" French BD

Recently, William Friedkin's "Sorcerer" has been released on BD in France
in 2 editions: Regular Edition (RE) and Limited "Ultimate" Editon (LE).



RE is Mediabook which is included in LE.
I've got LE and here I'm going to describe it.

• Basic specs
  
  
  • Disc: BD (50GB) x1 + DVDx1
  • Region code: B + 2
  • AR: 1.77:1 (as stated on the package)
  • Audio:
  • English dts HD-MA 5.1
  • English dts HD-MA 2.0
  • French dts HD-MA 2.0
  • Subtitles: French
  • Runtime (BD): 121 mins (Director's Cut)
  • Chapters: 16
  • Release date: Dec. 02, 2015
  • Publisher: Wild Side/La Rabia/NWR
  
  
• The Package
  
  
  • The Box
    
    
    
    
    
    
  • In the box
    
    The box houses a mediabook and a reproduction of the script.
    
    
    
    
    
    The box has an adjuster at the bottom so that the top of the mediabook and the script are aligned.
    
    
    
    
    • Reproduction of the original script annotated by Friedkin (164 pages)
      
      
      
    • Mediabook
      
      
      
      
      Booklet (50 pages)
      
      Text is French only.
      The words from Friedkin, production history, etc.
      
      The booklet has some production photos, sketches, and publicity materials.
      (The contents are very different from the US BD counterpart.)
      
      
      
      
      
• BD
  
  • Top menu
    
    
    
    Animated with music.
    
    
  • Scene selection
    
    
    
    
  • Audio
    
    
    
    When you select English audio,
    French subtitles are automatically turned on.
    
    Although the disc menu does not offer any option for subtitles,
    actually you can turn it off via player's menu (or remote).
    
    The real problem is: this BD has NO English subtitles
    for the scenes in Jerusalem and Paris, where dialogues are NOT in English.
    This is particularly problematic during the Paris scenes.
    (US BD has irremovable English subtitles for them.)
    
    
  • Bonus materials (2 pages)
    
    
    
    
    
    There's no English subtitles in the bonus materials.
    Also, when they have French subtitles, you can NOT turn them off.
    
    
    • Sorcerers: un entretien entre William Friedkin et Nicolas Winding Refn (77 mins):
      
      
      
      Interview with William Friedkin conducted by filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn,
      shot in Feb. 2015.
      In English, with French subtitles.
      The majority of the video is in B/W.
      
      
      
      This centerpiece of the bonus materials is certainly interesting,
      but I don't like the way Refn conducted it.
      
      It seems to me that Refn prepared too well,
      and couldn't react spontaneously when Friedkin's answer was not what he expected.
      
      Sometimes, when Friedkin deviates to tell something that seems to be interesting,
      Refn interrupts him and returns to the original course of the interview.
      I find it frustrating.
      
      
    • Métaphysique de la peur: Philippe Rouyer à propos de Sorcerer (25 mins)
      
      
      
      French film critic Philippe Rouyer discusses the movie. In French.
      
      
      
      
    • William Friedkin sur le tournage de Sorcerer: document d'archives (6 mins)
      
      Silent footage of the shooting in New York, which looks like home movie.
      
      
      
      
    • French trailer (2:55): with French subtitles.
      
      
    • Original trailer (1:45): with French subtitles.
      
      
    • Gallery of poster projects (4 mins)
      
      Slide show of various posters, with music.
      
      
      
      
      
      It's not explicitly stated but I'm under impression that they are designed for this BD release,
      not for the original movie release.
      
      
  • BD credits
    
    
    
    
  • Popup menu
    
    
    
    
• DVD
  DVD is movie only, no extras.
  I only sampled several scenes, but it looks and sounds very good for a DVD.
  

Screenshots (resized)












Personal thoughts

I also own US BD of "Sorcerer" which looks and sounds very good.
The French BD also looks and sounds very good.

I'm no expert and doesn't have reference quality A/V systems,
but I find them virtually identical in terns of A/V quality.

Since US BD is movie-only, this Special Edition treatment is quite welcome.

If you are capable of playing Region B disc,

and interested in those bonus materials,
and have little or no problem with the lack of English subtitles,
then the French BD (whichever editions) is recommended.

The package looks cool to boot.


References:

• DVDFr.com
• Blu-ray.com

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