19th June 2008

HAMMER DVD NEWS

I have updated the Hammer DVD Guide entry for The Stranglers of Bombay with notes on the 1996 UK VHS release, from Encore. Click here to go to the page in question.

18th June 2008

BLU-RAY NEWS

An exciting press release from MGM and Fox:

The world’s most famous secret agent and his bevy of beautiful women are even hotter in high definition when six, must-have, classic James Bond films debut worldwide on Blu-ray Disc on October 20 from MGM and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Recently restored and re-mastered for the highest quality picture and sound quality via the state-of-the-art Lowry process digital frame-by-frame restoration and featuring special features galore, Bond is primed for Blu-ray Disc with a selection of 007 adventures spanning the storied career of cinema’s most recognisable spy. Bond titles arriving on Blu-ray Disc, timed to the highly anticipated worldwide theatrical release of the 22nd James Bond mission Quantum of Solace on October 31st, include Dr. No, Die Another Day, Live and Let Die, For Your Eyes Only, From Russia With Love and Thunderball.

The world’s most successful film franchise, Bond… James Bond has generated more than one billion in global box office gross and boasts an astounding 98% global consumer awareness. Casino Royale, the most recent James Bond film starring Daniel Craig, debuted on BD March 2007, and continues to rank as the best selling Blu-ray Disc to date in the UK.

“With Quantum of Solace on the horizon, Bond fever is building once again and there is no better time to re-introduce these beloved films featuring the best picture and sound quality available today to the 60 million+ HD-capable households worldwide,” said Eric Doctorow, General Manager Worldwide, MGM Home Entertainment.

You can find our guide to James Bond movies on DVD here.

16th June 2008

HAMMER NEWS

I've updated the Hammer DVD Guide today!

After a very quiet period, June has seen a couple of important releases, most notably the Icons of Adventure set, which contains three films never-before released on DVD (The Stranglers of Bombay, The Pirates of Blood River and The Terror of the Tongs), and one previously unavailable in the US (The Devil-Ship Pirates). It's a lovely set, even if it does have some of the worst sleeve art I've ever seen!

Next month will see the release of another previously-unreleased Hammer movie: The Man Who Could Cheat Death, from US indie label Legend Films (one of a number of cult films they've licensed from Paramount). Sadly, this is going to be sold exclusively by US retailer Best Buy, which will make it difficult for UK fans to obtain.

It now looks like the deal between Sony Pictures and DD Home Entertainment has fallen through, after financial problems for DD's parent company. The rights to the films have now apparently reverted to Sony.

The next issue of the Hammer magazine Little Shoppe of Horrors is imminent! Issue twenty features an "uncensored history" of Hammer rival Amicus. More details here.

Click here to go to the Hammer DVD Guide index.

DVD NEWS

Many titles have been added to the Incoming database in the last week, including Only When I Laugh - The Complete Third Series, Robin's Nest - The Complete Fourth Series, Jason King - The Complete Series Special Edition, Spitting Image - Series 2, Into The Labyrinth, theatrical hit Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and long-overdue UK editions of science-fiction classics Westworld and Logan's Run.

I've also added full details of the two-disc X-Files Essentials DVD set, which is being released in the lead up to the new X-Files feature film.

There are lots of new Blu-ray titles in the database, too, including V For Vendetta, Semi-Pro, Troy, Batman Begins, 10,000BC, Son of Rambow and Basic Instinct.

Last week's Zeta Minor News can be viewed here.

Previous Zeta Minor News entries can viewed here.