Bcolon

BUENA VISTA HOME ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES
LAUNCH OF BLU-RAY DISC TITLES

First titles to include Dinosaur, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and others; Second wave of releases to include Dark Water, Gone in Sixty Seconds, and others.

Burbank, CA, (July 17, 2006) – Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) president Bob Chapek today announced that BVHE will begin releasing titles beginning September 19, 2006 on the Blu-ray Disc format. Titles available on that date will include Walt Disney Pictures’ Dinosaur and Eight Below; Miramax Films’ Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and The Great Raid. These four titles mark the first wave of an ongoing release strategy from BVHE which will support the Blu-ray format. Both Eight Below and Dinosaur will feature Blu-Scape, exclusive high-definition short films inspired by the movies available only on BVHE Blu-ray Discs. These shorts are presented in 1080p and shot by renowned cinematographer Louie Schwartzberg.

Commenting on the announcement, Chapek stated, “The Blu-ray Disc represents a major technological breakthrough in our industry, and just as DVD revolutionized home entertainment, the Blu-ray Disc promises to deliver a new and unparalleled consumer experience. The possibilities are endless and we’ve just begun to bridge the future of this exciting new paradigm.”

A second wave of releases will be available on October 17, 2006, including Walt Disney Pictures’ Glory Road and Haunted Mansion; Touchstone Pictures’ Dark Water and Gone in Sixty Seconds; and Dimension Films’ The Brothers Grimm. From the second wave Gone in Sixty Seconds; Glory Road; and Haunted Mansion will feature Blu-Scape. Most Blu-ray titles from BVHE will be available for $34.99 SRP.

Blu-ray Disc is the next-generation optical disc format for high-definition video and high-capacity software applications. A single-layer Blu-ray Disc will hold up to 25 gigabytes of data and a double-layer Blu-ray Disc will hold up to 50 gigabytes of data. Blu-ray Disc is supported by the world's leading Consumer Electronics, Personal Computer & Gaming companies, and with 7 of 8 Hollywood studios releasing their high-definition content on Blu-ray Disc, Blu-ray will deliver the widest variety of high-definition, home entertainment content.

At launch, BVHE’s Blu-ray titles will feature advanced new menus offering seamless navigation and settings while the movie is still playing; dynamic and unparalleled, high-definition picture; new layering coating technology which provides a scratch resistance surface; and new sleek packaging. Other Disney Blu-ray feature technologies being developed include unparalleled interactive features; personalized chapter selections; and compelling online content, including web connectivity, which will allow users to connect to live events hosted by the studio and more.

Chapek concluded, “These are incredibly exciting times since we are in an era where the consumer has growing control over the delivery of their entertainment choices including packaged media. We are confident that the Blu-ray Disc will be the high-definition choice for the home entertainment future.”

About Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., a recognized leader in the home entertainment industry, is the marketing, sales and distribution company for Walt Disney, Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures, Miramax and Buena Vista videocassette and DVD product. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Studios.

bboisvert

I'm saying this with no bias whatsoever... that's a pretty underwhelming list.

I own 3 of those on DVD:

Jay+Silent Bob: Hated the movie, loved the extras. I'm in no hurry to get this with improved HD picture.
Dark Water: Mediocre movie, but J.C. I'd upgrade this some day, I guess. Maybe.
Brothers Grimm: Really just because I'm a Gilliam completist and it had a commentary. Again, I'd upgrade this someday, but I'm in no rush.

So, even the ones that I "liked" enough to buy are really b-list titles for me. That's a really odd list of things to launch with...

RoboDad

So far, so good. There are no titles in this list that are "must-haves" for me, and only a few that I would ever even consider buying yet again, so there's nothing that is compelling me to pre-order a BD player. Yet.

digitalfreaknyc

Yep. Nothing there for me either. As I said, there's a few LG and Sony movies that I would buy...but at that quality, not a chance in hell. It makes it easier to say no.

darkside

Couple on that list I would like. Hopefully Disney can put out a better product on Blu-ray than the current offerings.

Supermallet

Is it wrong to laugh at the inclusion of Dinosaur?

Giles

why?

I've always liked the visuals/FX for Dinosaur - but the others - meh!

pinata242

Think they'll at least have the Easter Egg(s?) on there in HD?

digitalfreaknyc

Hmm...i think that was more a slam on BD than anything else.

candyrocket786

Japan is getting Brothers Grimm on HD-DVD

I wonder if Blu-Ray will get Equilibrium on Bluray (HD-DVD in Japan)

Giles

drat! - and I was hoping 'Pirates of the Caribbean' to be a first wave release? - Arrrrr!

(since it's featured in current Blu-ray ads: along with 'Finding Nemo' and 'Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe)

digitalfreaknyc

What BD ads?

candyrocket786

Probably the inserts included with the discs.

BravesMG

Crap. Pirates of the Carribean is the first title either released or announced that I actually got pissed wasn't going to be in HD-DVD, for some reason I wasn't thinking that was a Disney release.

Giles

there's a current two page BR print ad that features Jack Sparrow front and middle of the layout- Premier magazine had it I believe.

candyrocket786

It's quite possible that it might be on HD-DVD in Japan first, before we get here in the states.

Eric D.

Only title I would want from that list is Eight Below.

Qui Gon Jim

I wonder if J&SBSB will have new extras...

Drexl

I don't want any of those titles, and I'm glad. I'm glad because these may also be MPEG-2 and single-layer, so I'm hoping they'll fix the issues by the time they're ready to release something I'd buy. If they had released something I would have wanted, IF I were to get into BD I'd have to choose between buying a sub-par disc or waiting for them to rerelease it, which could take years.

MBoyd

I wonder if Kevin Smith will do a commentary and say "Fuck Blue Ray."

Eric D.

Actually that would be a bad thing since DVD ending up taking over after he said that.

valkyrie

Truly the most underwhelming list of titles I have seen to-date. Pretty sad state of affairs at Disney, I guess. Maybe they'll wise-up and switch over to HD-DVD.

Giles

given the lacklustre reviews of the first batch of 25GB Single layer Blu-Ray titles, one would hope so....

ChrisHicks

I figured I'd save him the trouble of typing.

NitroJMS

I'm pretty surprised to see them not put one of their A-list live-action films in the first batch (Pirates, The Sixth Sense, Pulp Fiction, Armageddon, etc.) but I'm guessing they'll wait for better player penetration before releasing one of those to market.