Just recently, I sold my bare bones editions of several of my favorite films of all-time, including One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Big Lebowski, Dr. Strangelove, Taxi Driver, Sling Blade, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Chinatown, Alien, and Apocalypse Now. However, I'm torn between going ahead and buying the special edition DVDs of these films, or waiting God knows how long on Blu-Ray editions. The SEs of all of these are relatively cheap, but I just know the day after I buy them, the Blu-Rays will be announced. What would you do?

I'd say a Blu Ray of 'Big Lebowski' is pretty much a lock once Universal goes Blu-Ray.

It was one of the first HD-DVDs.

I would also think Fox will release the Alien set on Blu Ray next year in celebration of the original's 30th Anniversary.

since The Big Lebowski was released on HD DVD, i think it is reasonable to expect Universal to release it on Blu-ray at least within the next 12-18 months.

as for the others, your guess is as good as anyone else's. paramount had a perfect opportunity to release Chinatown in hi-def when they re-released it on DVD, but they inexplicably decided not to. considering how inexpensive the new DVD is and how much improved the picture quality is, i would go ahead and pick that up probably.

Taxi Driver is expected to be released on blu-ray overseas later this year. I'd expect a domestic release about the same time.

Cuckoo's nest is slated for this year. That's a must buy for me!

Hey guys, thanks for the advice! In addition to what mike2 said, here is a link to the blu-ray announcement of both Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus, which I'm sure has been posted here before. It's a bit dated, though, as it states they will be released in February 2008.

And you may die tomorrow.

I would and have bought the DVD releases and don't regret any of the purchases in the least.

Fox has been terrible with releasing Blu-Rays (some without any extras, not even a trailer). Universal usually ports over the extras (some even from the super-limited editions: see Cinderella Man and Jarhead). Warner usually does a very good job, as do Paramount.

So, if I were you, I would pick up the Fox DVDs.

I look at it this way...if the current disc is spectacular and cheap, go for it. In the case of Dr. Strangelove, the 40th anniversary edition has a fantastic transfer that upscales well, and the special features are great. If it's one of your fave films, there's no reason not to own it.

Some others, like Alien, I'd wait. It all depends on the type of film and whether or not an HD transfer is going to make a difference (for me, at least). I watched a shitty VHS of Dr. Strangelove for years over and over, and to me, it's not a film that needs some eye-popping HD transfer.

All of those movies are popular titles. It's not like any of them wouldn't sell on Blu-ray. I would expect virtually all of them to be on Blu-ray within 24-30 months.