"Blu-ray allows us to deliver the films at a quality level that we're proud of. "The films that we made before Blu-ray were never seen in the homes the way we would want them to as filmmakers," says Avatar and Titanic co-producer Jon Landau.
But the 3-D disc version has been available only to buyers of Panasonic 3-D HDTVs and 3-D glasses. Avatar is the top-selling Blu-ray release, based on units and revenue. The following week, Cameron aims to cement his title as king of the Blu-ray world with the release of the Avatar Blu-ray 3D Collector's Edition ($39.99, Oct. Also out that day, the Hitchcock film Dial M for Murder 3D ($35.99). The Extraterrestrial ($34.98), invades stores Oct. Then, another Spielberg blockbuster, E.T. 2, Disney releases the CinderellaDiamond Edition ($39.99), while Universal offers up the Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection ($159.98), which has eight horror films including Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and The Wolf Man. The month begins with beauty and the beasts. a 15-film Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection from Universal ($299.98) that includes 13 new-to-Blu-ray films including Rear Window and The Birds.Īnd Bond 50, a $299.99 box set honoring the super-spy franchise's 50th anniversary collects all 22 films including nine new-to-Blu-ray. "The sight and sound is something I didn't even get when I made the movie." It's just really crystal clear and vivid," Spielberg says in a video segment on the new disc, about the restoration of the film. It looks better - and scarier - than when it set box-office records in 1975. Released earlier this month: Jaws ($29.98), which Universal restored for the Blu-ray release. 18 in Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures ($99.98). Raiders of the Lost Ark and the other Indiana Jones films arrive Sept. Hollywood is also leaning heavily on the legacy of another filmmaker during the upcoming Blu-ray blitz: Steven Spielberg. The documentary Ghosts of the Abyss 3D, which chronicles Cameron's real-life return visit to the shipwreck, hits Blu-ray ($44.99) on Sept. 2 all-time box office film comes in a 3-D release, too ($54.99 for Blu-ray 3D $44.99 for standard Blu-ray prices are suggested and can usually be found discounted by 40% or more). In addition to a standard Blu-ray edition, the No.
Box-office leviathan Titanic - written, directed and co-produced by James Cameron- makes its maiden Blu-ray voyage Sept. households had a DVD player, including DVD-playing PlayStation 2 systems, according to market research firm IHS Screen Digest.Ī look at some of the landmark films hitting Blu-ray for the first time in this fall's campaign to entice new Blu-ray adoptees and drive sales of discs to current Blu-ray consumers: But at this point in DVD's lifespan, about half of U.S. households have one or more Blu-ray Disc players, including a Sony PlayStation 3 game system, which plays Blu-ray games and movies.
… They want to "get these classic movies out there and sell them now, because we aren't exactly sure what the environment is going to look like a year from now."Ībout 42 million U.S. Studios "see their window closing - not real quick, but closing slowly," Swann says.
Studios see streaming video's advance "and with every step it takes" it lessens the likelihood that "somebody goes and buys a Blu-ray movie or rents it," says Phil Swann, president of.
Meanwhile, the momentum of streaming video - the fastest-growing segment of the home video market - threatens to snuff out some consumers' love of movies on physical discs. Despite its video and sound superiority to DVD, the format is growing at a slower pace than expected. The 6-year-old Blu-ray Disc is reaching a critical juncture in its growth process.