AndysDVDchat

Get A Region-Free DVD Player

2008-05-12T20:03:00.000-07:00

I'm a George Clooney placid kind of guy (without the good looks, sadly), but nothing gets me madder than the issue of DVD Region Codes.

Never heard of them? Let me explain.

Just imagine you buy a music CD from another country while on vacation, or maybe order it online. But when you put said disc in your player there's no sweet music - just a terse message telling you "Wrong Region: North American CDs are coded to only play in North America, European CDs will only play in Europe" . . . and so on.

You'd feel like smashing a guitar or putting your foot through a drum set, right? (Relax, music fans - CDs will play anywhere on the planet).

Not so with DVDs. There really IS a Region Code preventing you from playing DVDs acquired from other countries.

So say you live in the U.S. or Canada and you or your Uncle Joe just returned from Europe, for instance, with the latest James Bond flick Casino Royale - or a fascinating tourist documentary on the Rhine Valley. You pop it in the DVD player and get that darned "Wrong Region" message. Ditto if you live in London and bought a Grand Canyon tourist DVD on your trip to the U.S.

Hello, that's one expensive Frisbee you just bought!

A few small companies issue "Region-free" DVD discs that will play anywhere in the world, but the studio majors don't.

Let's be blunt: The whole region coding issue (there are six different regions!!) is a gigantic scam perpetrated by the movie industry. The studios want to control when DVDs will be released in different parts of the world and they also want to stop YOU picking up a bargain while on your travels. For example I've seen the three Jurassic Park movies in a box set for $15 U.S. while visiting England. Citizen Kane special edition? $8 U.S. in London. Ditto Bridge on the River Kwai 2-disc edition. The classic Brief Encounter special edition? An astounding $5 in the UK.

Remember - there's nothing illegal about buying whatever DVDs you like from anywhere you like on the planet. Hollywood just doesn't want you to be able to watch them! But it goes beyond getting a bargain. Some foreign material, like documentaries or obscure art films will NEVER be available in North America. What about the rights of the consumer - why shouldn't you be able to buy what you like and bring it home to use here - just like you can with music CDs?

Well you should. All power to countries like Australia and New Zealand that argue DVD Region Codes violate international free trade rules - and want to ban this vile practice.

Now, here are the current codes: REGION 1 -- USA, Canada REGION 2 -- Japan, Europe, South Africa, Middle East, Greenland REGION 3 -- South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Parts of South East Asia REGION 4 -- Australia, New Zealand, Latin America (including Mexico) REGION 5 -- Eastern Europe, Russia, India, Africa REGION 6 -- China

The good news for DVD fans is that you CAN beat the Region Code scam - and there isn't a thing Hollywood can do about it!

How? Buy a Region-Free DVD Player. You'll find lots of them on sale at leading electronics stores and "big Box" discount stores and some of them are astoundingly cheap. For example, I picked up a Norcent player for less than $50 from Wal-Mart and it lasted three years, happily playing PAL discs from Europe and NTSC discs from North America.

I got an even better deal with my latest region free model: I picked up an Accura player (made by Citizen) in a fire sale at a big box grocery store 18 months agoi for an amazing $29.99!!

These cheap players will do an excellent job, but if you are willing to pay more for an upconverting player for superior picture I can also recommend the LG brand. Some are less than $100. Toshiba, Philips and Daewoo are some of the other companies offering Region Free DVD players.

You might not think this Region Code thing is a big deal, but I believe it is. Guaranteed, if you travel you are going to see must-have DVDs at great prices.

I'm watching with interest to see how the movie industry plans to maintain this Region Code nonsense when more of us download movies online, presumably from anywhere in the world.

Untraceable Is A Solid Thriller

2008-04-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

Diane Lane (Unfaithful) does a good job as an FBI cyber crime specialist in Untraceable.

The chilling story of a serial killer who murders his victims live on the Net, this is not for the squeamish. However, the story is plausible and intriguing.

Check out the full story at Untraceable.

New Lawrence of Arabia DVD set

2008-04-23T20:28:00.000-07:00

With surprisingly little fanfare or publicity, Sony has reissued two David Lean classics - Lawrence of Arabia and The Bridge On The River Kwai - to mark the 100th birthday of the famed director.

While they appear to be a repackaging of previous releases and include the same extra features, they are a bargain at just under $20 for 2 discs (shop around for the best price). I paid $35 for my Lawrence of Arabia Limited Edition set when it came out in 2001.

However, I did get a bargain in England with The Bridge on the River Kwai a couple of years ago - the 2-disc set was just five pounds 99 pence - about 12 bucks! Yes, it's a PAL region set, but you can get region free DVD players very cheaply now with 1080 upconversion (check out the LG brand).

If you don't have these classic flicks, the new sets are a great deal with a fantastic collection of extra features.

One Lean classic that does contain all-new features plus a gorgeous high def transfer is A Passage To India, which was recently given the 2-disc special edition treatment. Check out my full review HERE.

There Will Be Blood Is No Barrel Of Laughs

2008-04-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

Even Daniel-Day Lewis's Oscar-winning performance as an obsessive prospector looking for oil can't save There Must Be Blood.

It's 158 agonizingly grim minutes of movie making. Alfred Hitchcock said movies should show life with "the dull bits cut out" - a lesson writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson hasn't learned.

Not only does lead character Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis) have a heart as black as the oil he discovers, but the whole movie has a similar air of bleakness. There's simply no contrast.

I hated it!

Want Some Free DVDs? Find A Friend In The UK!

2008-04-13T20:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a headline to catch the eye of DVD collectors: "A fantastic collection of 16 Classic War Movies to enjoy absolutely free."

It's no scam or joke - you really can get 16 classic war movies starring the likes of Kirk Douglas, Richard Attenborough, David Niven, John Mills and Richard Harris for nothing.

Here's the catch - you have to buy a copy of the Daily Mail newspaper in the UK - or know someone who lives there who can do it for you. Every day for the next couple of weeks the paper gives a way a free British war movie - titles include A Matter of Life and Death, The Heroes of Telemark, Return to The River Kwai, Reach for The Sky, In Which We Serve, Aces High, Above Us The Waves, Battle of The River Plate and All Quiet on The Western Front. The set is of particular interest because it includes some hard-to-find titles.

Blog regulars will have heard me rave about the free DVD offers UK newspapers run to help them compete in the circulation war. I've already collected about 200 of them, thanks to my mother who lives there!

While the discs are on the PAL region code, not the North American NTSC code, I picked up a cheap Region Free DVD player made by Citizen for $29 to enjoy classics like Dr. Zhivago, Scrooge, and the Oscar-winning The African Queen. I also recently received the World At War and The Great War documentary sets - and the complete Brideshead Revisited series!

Time to look up long-lost relatives in the UK - or find a friend!

Check out Andy's DVD Reviews.

A Passage To India - Wow!

2008-03-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

Simply spectacular - that's Sony's 2-DVD special edition of the classic A Passage To India (1984).

The final movie from acclaimed British director David Lean - who would have been 100 years old this year - A Passage To India oozes class and looks unbelievably good in this high definition release on sale April 15. It's also available in Blu-Ray.

A great cast that includes Peggy Ashcroft, Judy David, James Fox, Alec Guinness, Nigel Havers and Victor Bannerjee, brings alive Colonial India where the British and Indian populations exist uneasily side by side.

There are seven great featurettes including new interviews with cast and crew and an archive interview with Lean him self.

Check out my full review at Andy's DVD Reviews.

New James Bond Flick Debuts In October

2008-03-19T20:19:00.001-07:00

Quantum of Solace, the second James Bond film to star Danie Craig, will hit movie screens on Halloween

Originally scheduled for Nov. 7 release, it's the 22nd film in the Bond franchise and eagerly awaited following Craig's dynamic performance in Casino Royale.

Adapted from a short story written by Bond creator Ian Fleming in 1960, Quantum Of Solace picks up where Casino Royale left off, with Bond searching for the man who caused the death of Vesper Lynd, the woman he loved.

The movie features the usual exotic locations, from Panama City to Chile, Austria, Italy and the California desert.

It reportedly opens with a kick-ass car chase.

Bette Davis 100th Anniversary Special Edition

2008-03-16T08:02:00.000-07:00

There's no bigger name from the Golden Age of Hollywood than the late, great Bette Davis and Fox Home Entertainment is honouring her 100th birthday with a fabulous 5-DVD special edition box set.

Davis, who died in 1989 at age 82, won 2 "Best Actress" Oscars and was nominated for 9 others. She dominated every movie she appeared in and worked with iconic leading men like Errol Flynn and Henry Fonda.

Available April 8, the set includes the DVD debut of The Virgin Queen, which has a making-of featurette and a look at its restoration. Also included are: A 2-disc Special Edition of All About Eve (pictured), Phone Call From A Stranger, Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte, and The Nanny.

One Damn Speech After Another

2008-03-01T13:19:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth The Golden Age sure looks great (worthy of its Best Costume Design Oscar), but it's a dull drama.

It's like William Shakespeare wrote the screenplay and loaded it with dialogue. Yawn.

Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen, Geoffrey Rush and Abbie Cornish do their best, but can't save it. Even the climactic sea battle, when the mighty Spanish armada was destroyed by the outnumbered British fleet, is a let down. Too little, too late, no thrills.

Despite the mighty resources of CGI at his disposal, direct Shekhar Kapur is outgunned by such classic movies as The Sea Hawk (1940), whose sea battles really were thrilling and dramatic. Matinee idol Errol Flynn and Warner Bros. did it the old fashioned way, with models and live action on impressive studio sets.

Elizabeth The Golden Age is nowhere near as good as its predecessor, 1998's Elizabeth, but at least has some decent extra featurettes.

Disappointing, Your Majesty.

Lou Grant - When Will It Be On DVD?

2008-02-19T19:55:00.000-08:00

It's like the biggest black hole in the TV universe - no Lou Grant on DVD.

Why oh why, 2oth Century Fox, haven't you issued this great newspaper drama on DVD?

Long after the Mary Tyler Moore Show was issued by Fox we Lou Grant fans still wait for our favourite show, a Mary Tyler Moore spinoff, which aired on CBS from 1977 to 1982.

Surely Lou hasn't been spiked because of the sometimes controversial left-wing views of its main star, Edward Asner? OK, so advertisers were queasy about Asner 25 years ago, but surely that wouldn't be a factor now in preventing this superb show coming to DVD?

Heck, we've got full frontal nudity, foul language, drugs and unbelievable violence these days on TV - all of it being issued on DVD - and someone, somewhere is still nervous about old Lou?

Fans - if you want to see Lou Grant, please leave me a comment and I'll forward it to some folks I know at Fox.

I just gotta see Lou Grant back at the old LA Tribune City Desk, barking "Hey, Animal!"

DVD Format War Over - Blu-Ray Wins

2008-02-19T04:27:00.000-08:00

My sympathies if you bought an HD DVD player - it's the loser in the high-def war with the Blu-Ray format.

With the announcement Tuesday Feb. 19 by Toshiba that it will no longer "develop, make or market HD DVD players and recorders", Blu-ray has emerged the victor after a three-year dogfight.

Blu-ray is backed by Sony Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., (Panasonic brand), and major Hollywood studios like Sony, 20th Century Fox, Disney and Warner Bros. In fact, it was Warner Bros' decision last month to back Blu-Ray that finally tipped the balance. (Universal and Paramount had backed HD DVD).

The final blow came Friday when retail giant Wal-Mart said it would sell only Blu-ray DVDs and hardware.

Around 600,000 people in North America have bought HD DVD machines and Tosiba says it will continue to provide product support for the technology.

Shipments of HD DVD machines to retailers will stop by end of March.

If there are any winners in this it is cheapskates like yours truly, who have resisted the siren call of the ad agencies: "Upgrade to high def or your life will be meaningless."

I have continued to enjoy my "standard" DVD setup and now look forward to a huge drop in price for Blu-Ray machines and discs before I'll even think of buying one.

Hey, high-def looks great, but it's not not so great as to spend a bundle of money of money on when you know the price will plummet if you are patient. Plus there will now be a flood of back-catalogue DVD titles released on Blu-Ray.

Check out my DVD reviews at Andy's DVD Reviews.

Star Of Movie Classic Jaws Dies

2008-02-11T00:29:00.000-08:00

Roy Scheider, famous for his role as the beleagured police chief in the 1975 movie Jaws has died at age 75.

Scheider died Sunday Feb 10 in hospital in Little Rock, Ark., where he had been treated for bone marrow cancer.

Scheider's most famous line in the movie about a rogue shark attacking vacationers -"You're gonna need a bigger boat" - was voted No. 35 on the American Film Institute's list of best quotes from U.S. movies in 2005.

Scheider starred in dozens of movies, including The French Connection, Klute, Blue Thunder, and Marathon Man. He recently completed filming Iron Cross, the story of a retired New York cop who as a child witnessed the massacre of his family in Poland by the Nazis.

Directed by Steven Spielberg, Jaws was the first of the Hollywood blockbusters and co-starred Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw. Read my review of Jaws.

A Passage To India - Special Edition DVD

2008-02-07T19:36:00.000-08:00

Great news for fans of legendary director David Lean as his final film A Passage To India gets the 2-DVD special edition treatment.

The 1984 classic, to be released April 15, features a new picture and sound transfer plus some great featurettes on the making of the movie.

Nominated for 10 Oscars, the film won for Best Supporting Actress (Peggy Ashcroft) and Best Musical Score (Maurice Jarre - who wrote the music for Lean's Lawrence of Arabia and Dr. Zhivago).

Judy Davis, Alec Guiness, James Fox and Victor Banerjee also star in the absorbing story of a young woman who claims to have been sexually assaulted during a visit to some remote Indian caves in 1924. A legal battle ensues with many plot twists.

As you'd expect, Lean's movie is visually magnificent and the period details are perfectly captured. It was a fitting final film for the master of the epic.

Anyone interested in Lean's career should check out his earlier British movies, particularly Oliver Twist.

Was Heath Ledger Seeking A Cure For Insomnia?

2008-02-04T19:32:00.000-08:00

More details have emerged about the life and sudden death of Brokeback Mountain star Heath Ledger, including his battle with insomnia.

The 28-year-old Ledger was taking sleeping pills and anti-anxiety drugs in the weeks leading up to his death in New York last month. New York's medical examiner ruled Feb. 6 Ledger died from an accidental overdose of six different prescription drugs, including pills to help him sleep.

It's clear the Oscar-nominated star was under huge personal and career stress, was having trouble sleeping and and needed help with his sleeplessness.

Last fall, Ledger parted company with his Brokeback Mountain co-star Michelle Williams, the mother of his two-year-old daughter Matilda, and said his roles as the Joker in The Dark Knight and as Bob Dylan in I'm Not There had left him "stressed out a little too much".

In an interview in November with The New York Times, Ledger admitted: "Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night.

"I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going."

Just before his death, Ledger had flown back to New York from London, where he'd been filming yet another movie, Terry Gilliam's fantasy The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

Police have said there were no illegal drugs in Ledger's apartment and they suspected from the start he was the victim of an accidental overdose of the prescription drugs he was taking to calm his anxiety and help him sleep.

Insomnia has long been a problem in the entertainment industry and on Feb, 4, the Los Angeles Times reported that another well known actor, Justin Chambers, (who plays Dr. Alex Karev on the TV show Grey's Anatomy) had voluntarily checked himself into UCLA Medical Center recently "to get help with a pre-existing sleeping disorder," according to his publicist, Danica Smith.

Showbiz people are no different to the rest of us - they want an easy cure for insomnia. However, popping sleeping pills is not a long-term solution.

Read more about my e-book Banish Insomnia, which offers a cure for insomnia without drugs.

The name is Solace . . . Quantum of Solace

2008-01-24T08:20:00.000-08:00

Take solace Bond fans - we now know the title of the next Bond flick, due out in November.

Quantum Of Solace sounds like an edgy, 21st century phrase, but it's taken from a short story published by Bond creator Ian Fleming in 1960.

Daniel Craig reprises his role as the "new" kick-ass Bond and the producers are promising Quantum Of Solace will deliver twice as much action as 2007's Casino Royale.

Heath Ledger - a terrible loss

2008-01-23T07:45:00.000-08:00

It really doesn't matter how Heath Ledger died - an accidental overdose of prescription pills found near his body or suicide - any way you look at it this is a tragedy.

I first saw him in the enjoyable romp A Knight's Tale (2001), and he soon began establishing a major career, getting an Oscar nomination for his role in Brokeback Mountain (2004).

What a terrible time for his family and former girlfriend Michelle Williams, with whom he has a two-year-old daughter. They are the people we should be thinking of now.

Oscar Nominations Announced

2008-01-22T07:34:00.000-08:00

The Oscar nominations are out and we'll soon find out whether its No Country for Old Men or Atonement (my top picks) that gets the Best Picture award.

Here is the full list of Oscar nominations for the 80th Academy Awards, which will be held at the Kodak Theatre, Los Angeles, on Feb. 24:

Best Picture

Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Director

Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jason Reitman, Juno
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Best Actor

George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away from Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno

Best Supporting Actress

Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

Best Supporting Actor

Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James...
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

Best foreign language film

Beaufort, Israel
The Counterfeiters, Austria
Katyn, Poland
Mongol, Kazakhstan
12, Russia

Best animated feature film

Persepolis
Ratatouille
Surf's Up

Best adapted screenplay

Atonement
Away from Her
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best original screenplay

Juno
Lars and the Real Girl
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille
The Savages

Best music (score)

Atonement
The Kite Runner
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille
3:10 to Yuma

Best music (song)

Falling Slowly - Once (performed by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova)
Happy Working Song - Enchanted (performed by Amy Adams)
Raise It Up - August Rush (performed by Jamia Simone Nash and Impact Repertory Theatre)
So Close - Enchanted (performed by Jon McLaughlin)
That's How You Know - Enchanted (performed by Amy Adams)

Best documentary feature

No End in Sight
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
Sicko
Taxi to the Dark Side
War/Dance

Best documentary short subject

Freeheld
La Corona (The Crown)
Salim Baba
Sari's Mother

Best visual effects

The Golden Compass
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Transformers

Best cinematography

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Atonement
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best art direction

American Gangster
Atonement
The Golden Compass
Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
There Will Be Blood

Best animated short film

I Met the Walrus
Madame Tutli-Putli
Meme Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)
My Love (Moya Lyubov)
Peter & the Wolf

Best short film

At Night
Il Supplente
Le Mozart des Pickpockets
Tanghi Argentini
The Tonto Woman

Best costume design

Across the Universe
Atonement
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
La Vie en Rose
Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best make-up

La Vie en Rose
Norbit
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Best sound mixing

The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
3:10 to Yuma
Transformers

Sound editing

The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
There Will Be Blood
Transformers

Best film editing

The Bourne Ultimatum
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Into the Wild
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Check out my DVD reviews and features at Andy's DVD Reviews.

Movie Piracy — Dumber and Dumber

2008-01-18T12:55:00.000-08:00

The Calgary Herald reports that a 20-year-old man has become the first person in Alberta — and only the second in Canada — to be charged with illegally recording a movie at a theatre under recent federal laws against film piracy.

"Police say the suspect smuggled a camcorder into Empire Studio 16 Country Hills during a matinee showing of the Johnny Depp movie Sweeney Todd on Dec. 21, the film's opening day," The Herald says.

It remains to be seen whether this particular idiot was involved in a major DVD piracy operation or just something "local".

However, this is serious stuff. Not only do video pirates rob artists of their rightful income, but they also dupe consumers who buy what they think are genuine DVDs, particularly from market traders and discount stores overseas. The thing is, it's easy to be duped because sophisticated DVD pirates do a great job of copying the artwork for these DVDs. All you need is one "original" sleeve, a good scanner and color laser printer. From the outside, the fake looks like the real thing.

However, once the case is opened it becomes obvious the DVD doesn't look right. And the picture and sound quality is AWFUL. Can you imagine what the quality of a movie filmed by a guy with a camcorder in the back of the movie theatre is going to be?

If you ever get stiffed by one of these fakes, insist on getting your money back from where you bought it, but also report it to the police.

Check out my reviews and features at Andy's DVD Reviews.

Baseball Greats Coming To DVD

2008-01-17T13:16:00.000-08:00

Baseball fans have an added reason to look forward to the new season in March — three baseball movie classics from MGM loaded with extra features.

Pencil March 18 on your calendar for the arrival of:

BULL DURHAM: COLLECTOR’S EDITION
PRIDE OF THE YANKEES: COLLECTOR’S EDITION
EIGHT MEN OUT: COLLECTOR’S EDITION

Kevin Costner, John Cusack, Charlie Sheen and Hollywood legend Gary Cooper are among the bat-wielding stars stepping up to the plate.

Check out my reviews and features at Andy's DVD Reviews.

Beowulf Epic Coming To DVD

2008-01-16T08:15:00.001-08:00

Adventure fans have been waiting for this one and Paramount doesn't disappoint with its Feb. 28 release of Beowulf.

The epic tale of a great warrior, starring Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Robin Wright-Penn and Ray Winstone, arrives on DVD and HD-DVD in a "director's cut" loaded with extra features.

Among the goodies on this mind-blowing 2007 fantasy are:
“The Making of BEOWULF”
“Designing the Creatures of BEOWULF”
“The Origins of BEOWULF”
“Creating the Ultimate BEOWULF”
“The Art of BEOWULF”, deleted scenes and more.

Let battle commence!

Check out my reviews and features at Andy's DVD Reviews.

Olivia Newton-John Live At The Sydney Opera House

2008-01-15T19:04:00.000-08:00

Fans of Australian-born singer Olivia Newton-John will love this recent live concert in her hometown.

The perky blonde star of Grease and singer of countless chart-toppers, beginning in the 1970s, is on good form - and boy does she look great as she fast approaches her 60th birthday!

Check out my review here.

An Affair To Remember - Brilliant!

2008-01-15T18:02:00.000-08:00

Thank you, thank, you, thank you 20th Century Fox for doing such a great job with the 50th anniversary edition of this classic romantic tearjerker.

The remastered picture gleams with the vibrant color so typical of the studio's work in the 1950s and the extras in this 2-DVD release are terrific - including a lovely interview with Barbara Harris, the enchanting Englishwoman he was married to for the last five years of his life.

Read my full review here.

Singin' The Blu-ray Blues

2008-01-15T08:13:00.000-08:00

Call me a dinosaur or resistant to change, but there's a million reasons NOT to invest in HD-DVD or Blu-ray technology right now.

Aside from the fact the two warring camps are still duking it out for supremacy (though Blu-ray has the upper hand), there's the issue of cost - both machines and discs over waaay over-priced.

And now we learn that fancy Blu-ray machine folks bought might well be obsolete sooner than you think.

Sort it out guys!! I'm not buying until there's a single, cheap format.

Here's the latest depressing news: Blu-ray Future Limited For Some

It Came From Beneath The Sea - a triumph!

2008-01-09T18:00:00.000-08:00

In some ways even better than Earth vs The Flying Saucers, the newly colorized 2-disc edition of Ray Harryhausen's It Came From Beneath The Sea is a gem

Featuring the original black and white - but even Harryhausen prefers the color version - and some dandy extras, this crisply acted film features a great sea monster. The picture is in remarkably good shape considering this was a low-budget flick made for $200,000 in 1955.

Check out my review here.

Earth vs. The Flying Saucers in color!

2008-01-08T20:27:00.000-08:00

Well, it didn't disappoint - Sony's fine 2-DVD edition of the 1950s Ray Harryhausen classic Earth vs. The Flying Saucers is a beauty.

Featuring a great new colorized version (with Harryhausen's eager approval) plus the original black and white AND some great extra features, Earth vs. The Flying Saucers is set to fly for a new generation of sci-fi fans.

Check out my review of Earth vs. The Flying Saucers and other recent DVDs here.