---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Here's something exciting that I learned yesterday: It's Warner's goal (by mid to late summer) that going forward, EVERY TIME they issue a new catalog special edition on standard DVD, the title will also available day-and-date on Blu-ray Disc as well. George wanted to stress Warner's absolute commitment to Blu-ray, not just on the new release front but with catalog material too. They don't want situations where people have to wonder, "Should I buy the DVD now or should I wait for a Blu-ray version?" of a classic title. They intend for that choice to be available day-and-date with every new restoration/special edition release they do. Warner doesn't want there to BE a wait.

---

---

One of the challenges Warner faces in releasing its classic titles on Blu-ray, is one of expectations. Warner is obviously spending lots of time and money to complete their classic film restorations, in order to get these films looking terrific on DVD and Blu-ray. But no matter how much time and money the studio puts into them, the reality is that classic films are never going to look as good in 1080p as brand new films, or CG titles like Cars. But many who watch these discs don't fully understand that. It's something we've already heard from even a few experienced DVD watchers in recent months. There were some people, for example, who were initially surprised and disappointed at the look on Blu-ray of Sony's Close Encounters. We got more than a few e-mails saying, "Why is there so much grain!?" But savvy cinephiles knew that what they were seeing on Blu-ray was truly special: The film looking better than they'd ever seen it before, even back during its original theatrical run in 1977. People need to understand that classic films are only going to look as good in 1080p as the elements allow. You're going to see grain and other issues. But they're supposed to be there - it's part of the experience. The whole idea behind releasing classic films in high-definition is NOT to make them look like a new CG film, but to recreate the best original experience of seeing these films in an actual theatre. It's not about creating perfect, but rather perfectly right. Because of these initial unrealistic expectations, Warner has decided to delay the release of Clash of the Titans a few months. People have the expectation of perfection right now - perfect images are what's selling high-definition. Clash of the Titans looks perfect for what it is, and again a lot of time and money was spent to make it look as good as it can be. But it's not going to stack up against, say I Am Legend or The Matrix, so the studio is holding it back for a little while. In general, however, you should know that whenever Warner delays the release of a classic title, it's usually because the studio wants to get it right and really wants to take the extra time to get it there. They won't release ANYTHING before it's ready.

---

---

---

---

---

---

Our good friends over at The Digital Bits were able to squeeze Warner for a little more information about some of the catalog titles expected to be released on Blu-ray this year. The current goal is to release a Blu-ray version of any catalog film day-and-date with a Special Edition DVD release. This will take some time to implement, but they hope to get that policy up-and-running by the end of the summer.

Without further delay, here is the updated list of titles announced by Warner for Blu-ray release.

08Q1

* Bonnie and Clyde: Ultimate Collector's Edition


08Q2

* Dirty Harry: Ultimate Collector's Edition Box Set (Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, The Enforcer, Sudden Impact, Dead Pool, and Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows)


08Q3

* An American in Paris
* Batman Anthology
* Batman Begins: Limited Collector's Edition Box Set
* Gigi
* How the West was Won
* The Dark Night


08Q4

* A Christmas Story: Ultimate Collector's Edition
* Otis: Uncut


2008

* The Adventures of Robin Hood
* Casablanca
* Clash of the Titans
* Excalibur
* Forbidden Planet
* Heat
* Grand Prix
* The Matrix Trilogy
* Mutiny on the Bounty
* V for Vendetta


2009

* Ben-Hur
* Gone With the Wind
* North by Northwest
* The Wizard of Oz
* Woodstock


As you can see, those missing Warner titles which have been released on HD DVD but not Blu-ray are still coming - including 'The Matrix' trilogy.

Warner is discovering that many catalog titles don't have transfers which are good enough for Blu-ray release, including 'Clash of the Titans' (which has been delayed for restoration) and 'Heat' (which Michael Mann has just agreed to supervising a new 1080p transfer). Rest assured, Warner will continue to scrutinize every release to ensure it looks and sounds as good as possible before being released to the public.

Speaking of audio, Warner has heard your cries, and they will start releasing all high definition titles with lossless audio. Obviously, the switch to Blu-ray exclusivity makes this move easier, as the format has much more storage and bandwidth.

Additionally, any Warner catalog title you hear that is receiving 4k restoration will get a Blu-ray release. Warner spent years mastering their catalog at 1080i, and they are now having to do new masters in order to get a perfect transfer. Some catalog titles will receive 4k restoration (four times the size of 1080p), and any title you hear receiving this treatment will get a Blu-ray release

Remember, these are just a taste of what's coming from Warner this year, and there is still a bunch of titles planned for release that they are holding under their jacket, not to mention all the new release titles. But even with the list we have today, its shaping up to be a great year for Blu-ray fans.

---

---

Finally, there was one other concern many of you Blu-ray enthusiasts had for Warner. Specifically, a lot of you said you wanted to studio to start including uncompressed audio on ALL Blu-ray Disc releases, both new and catalog. Rest assured, the right people have heard your concern (naturally, George was already aware of it) and you can safely assume that the studio intends to start addressing it in the near future.

---

---

Obviously, the switch to Blu-ray exclusivity makes this move easier, as the format has much more storage and bandwidth.

---

---

It's Warner's goal (by mid to late summer) that going forward, EVERY TIME they issue a new catalog special edition on standard DVD, the title will also available day-and-date on Blu-ray Disc as well. George wanted to stress Warner's absolute commitment to Blu-ray, not just on the new release front but with catalog material too. They don't want situations where people have to wonder, "Should I buy the DVD now or should I wait for a Blu-ray version?" of a classic title. They intend for that choice to be available day-and-date with every new restoration/special edition release they do. Warner doesn't want there to BE a wait.

---

---

All right... let's talk more Warner Home Video classics. You guys had questions, we've gone and gotten you answers. At least as many as we could. So here goes...

The first concern many of you had after our post yesterday on the studio' big catalog press event, was that it just didn't seem like that many titles were announced. There were fears, accordingly, that perhaps Warner was cutting back on their catalog operations. Rest assured, absolutely not true. As Warner senior VP of classic catalog George Feltenstein told me yesterday during our conference call, Warner is at the forefront of the classic film business and they intend not only to stay there, but even to expand their efforts.

At the press event on Tuesday, some 50 classic titles were hinted at from the Warner library, because the event was designed to focus on the Warner 85th Anniversary. However, I'm told that what was announced is "just the tip of the iceberg." The studio didn't want to give away EVERYTHING that they plan to do for the year, so there are still plenty of surprises to be revealed. All those titles that the studio has said in the past are coming (for example in recent Home Theater Forum chats) are STILL coming, sooner or later. Not the least of what's also coming includes "dozens and dozens" of new-to-DVD classic titles from the other film libraries Warner owns, including older MGM titles and films from RKO, Allied Artists, etc.

Here's something exciting that I learned yesterday: It's Warner's goal (by mid to late summer) that going forward, EVERY TIME they issue a new catalog special edition on standard DVD, the title will also available day-and-date on Blu-ray Disc as well. George wanted to stress Warner's absolute commitment to Blu-ray, not just on the new release front but with catalog material too. They don't want situations where people have to wonder, "Should I buy the DVD now or should I wait for a Blu-ray version?" of a classic title. They intend for that choice to be available day-and-date with every new restoration/special edition release they do. Warner doesn't want there to BE a wait.

One of the biggest issues they've had to deal with is something that all the Hollywood studios are discovering with their catalog titles: The previous 1080i films transfers they've done just aren't good enough to release on Blu-ray. So they're having to go back and do all-new 1080p transfers for Blu-ray release. That amounts to four or five years of work that needs to be redone in some cases, and that obviously takes time, because Warner - probably more than any other studio - is determined to do it right.

In terms of the specific titles I was able to confirm are coming to Blu-ray, here's what I can tell you: Bonnie and Clyde will be available in both Blu-ray and HD-DVD (both in the Ultimate Collector's Edition versions). All five Dirty Harry films will also be available in Blu-ray disc (but not HD-DVD - this corrects an error in our original Tuesday post). The Batman Begins: Ultimate Collector's Edition will be released in Blu-ray this year, and it will have everything that was on the HD-DVD release and possibly more. Warner is at work on bringing the rest of the Batman live-action films (from their previous Batman Anthology on DVD) to Blu-ray, but that might take longer. Rest assured, though, they are in the works. Other titles announced at the event and confirmed for Blu-ray are How the West Was Won, Gigi (a full 4K restoration) and An American in Paris (the first new Ultra Resolution restoration on Blu-ray). In fact, going forward, any time the studio completes a new Ultra Resolution restoration, you can expect both a DVD and Blu-ray Disc release of the title in question. The A Christmas Story: Ultimate Collector's Edition may also be released in Blu-ray, but they're still planning what new extras are going to be created for the release (and the film itself is already on Blu-ray). Many additional Blu-ray Disc catalog titles are still yet to be announced, but rest assured that there are more coming.

For example, those of you who have been upset about the fact that certain key classic (and newer catalog) titles were released on HD-DVD, but still haven't been released on Blu-ray, needn't worry. They're ALL coming to Blu-ray in the months ahead. Think Mutiny on the Bounty, Forbidden Planet, Casablanca, Excalibur, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Grand Prix, V for Vendetta. Yes, all of The Matrix films are coming. The first of these previously HD-DVD exclusive titles hat you're likely to see on Blu-ray very soon is The Adventures of Robin Hood, a title for which the Blu-ray "disc image" is already complete.

As for other titles, yes... Clash of the Titans is coming. Heat needs a new 1080p transfer, but director Michael Mann has agreed to supervise one, so as soon as the studio can get the work finished properly, you'll see that title released on Blu-ray. Twister is coming to Blu-ray (and HD-DVD, both in May). As for those titles we mentioned yesterday that are going on moratorium (The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Woodstock and North by Northwest), the moratorium begins at the end of February, and then they'll come back to DVD - and be all-new on Blu-ray - in 2009. Better still, I learned of an additional major classic catalog title that you can look forward to on Blu-ray in 2009, just in time to celebrate the film's 50th anniversary... Ben-Hur (though no moratorium on the standard DVD is planned). After all, as George told me (and I could tell he was smiling when he said it), "How better to celebrate a milestone like that than by watching the chariot race in 1080p?" George Feltenstein, some of you will be happy to learn, is as big a fan of these classic films as anyone... and NO ONE knows them better. Those of you familiar with George from his HTF chats (not to mention our own past interviews with him) will know what I'm talking about. He's EXACTLY the guy you'd want helping to oversee the release of classic titles on disc at a studio like Warner.

Some other stuff worth mentioning...

One of the challenges Warner faces in releasing its classic titles on Blu-ray, is one of expectations. Warner is obviously spending lots of time and money to complete their classic film restorations, in order to get these films looking terrific on DVD and Blu-ray. But no matter how much time and money the studio puts into them, the reality is that classic films are never going to look as good in 1080p as brand new films, or CG titles like Cars. But many who watch these discs don't fully understand that. It's something we've already heard from even a few experienced DVD watchers in recent months. There were some people, for example, who were initially surprised and disappointed at the look on Blu-ray of Sony's Close Encounters. We got more than a few e-mails saying, "Why is there so much grain!?" But savvy cinephiles knew that what they were seeing on Blu-ray was truly special: The film looking better than they'd ever seen it before, even back during its original theatrical run in 1977. People need to understand that classic films are only going to look as good in 1080p as the elements allow. You're going to see grain and other issues. But they're supposed to be there - it's part of the experience. The whole idea behind releasing classic films in high-definition is NOT to make them look like a new CG film, but to recreate the best original experience of seeing these films in an actual theatre. It's not about creating perfect, but rather perfectly right. Because of these initial unrealistic expectations, Warner has decided to delay the release of Clash of the Titans a few months. People have the expectation of perfection right now - perfect images are what's selling high-definition. Clash of the Titans looks perfect for what it is, and again a lot of time and money was spent to make it look as good as it can be. But it's not going to stack up against, say I Am Legend or The Matrix, so the studio is holding it back for a little while. In general, however, you should know that whenever Warner delays the release of a classic title, it's usually because the studio wants to get it right and really wants to take the extra time to get it there. They won't release ANYTHING before it's ready.

The other issue facing the studio right now, is that catalog sales are down a bit, and particularly on high-def, catalog sales aren't what's driving the early growth of the format. Just as it was in the early days of DVD, most early adopters and A/V enthusiasts all seem to want action films and science fiction and other dazzling eye candy to show off their displays and other equipment. It's new releases that are selling the highest. So the bottom line is that those of you who want more classic catalog on Blu-ray (and DVD for that matter), need to all get out there and support the titles that do come out. Buy them and show the studio that classic film fans are willing to justify the effort and expense involved in releasing them. Rest assured, however, that Warner is totally committed to not only continuing its catalog efforts on DVD, but also expanding them to Blu-ray as well. Lots of great titles are on the way.

Finally, there was one other concern many of you Blu-ray enthusiasts had for Warner. Specifically, a lot of you said you wanted to studio to start including uncompressed audio on ALL Blu-ray Disc releases, both new and catalog. Rest assured, the right people have heard your concern (naturally, George was already aware of it) and you can safely assume that the studio intends to start addressing it in the near future.

---