No official announcement yet, but this site has a listing up:

http://www.classicflix.com/spartacus-hd-dvd-p-2248.html

Special features:

Deleted Scenes
Interview with Peter Ustinov
Interview with Jean Simmons
Behind-the-Scenes Footage
Vintage Newsreels
Theatrical Trailer
Production Stills
Concept Art
Costume Designs
Saul Bass Storyboards
Posters & Print Ads
My Scenes
BD Live

I really hope Universal created a new HD master for this release, but I'm guessing likely not.

Hopefully they don't recycle that 3-4 year old HD DVD encode.

This is a classic and hopefully Universal gives it the treatment it deserves.

I wish Criterion could release this on Blu-ray.

i can't remember what all is on the criterion release, but i hope they port everything over.

This is what's on the Criterion:

Audio Commentary by Producer/Actor Kirk Douglas, Actor Peter Ustinov, Novelist Howard Fast, Producer Edward Lewis, Restoration Expert Robert A. Harris, and Designer Saul Bass
Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo's Scene-by-Scene Analysis
Additional Alex North Score Compositions
Restoration Demonstration
Rare Deleted Scenes
Vintage Newsreel Footage
1960 Promotional Interviews with Jean Simmons and Peter Ustinov
1992 Video Interview with Peter Ustinov
Behind-the-Scenes "Gladiatorial School" Footage
The 1960 Documentary The Hollywood Ten Plus Archival Documents About the Blacklist
Original Storyboards by Saul Bass
Hundreds of Production Stills, Lobby Cards, Posters, Print Ads and A Comic Book
Sketches by Director Stanley Kubrick
Original Theatrical Trailer

I'd rather have the Criterion on BD, but if Uni springs for a new transfer (which they should) I'd prob bite.

I'd bet anything they didnt touch the transfer.

is Universa reallyl THAT cheap and lazy.... I'd agree with you, but I wish their attitude would change and mirror what Warners, and Disney for that matte,r feel about culling the best film elements and taking the time and money in doing a film to hidef video right.

It ws the most overpriced Criterion release out there....
2 Discs, no long form documentary, pretty short pamphlet inside, $49.95.
Glad I got it for $20 because of a misprice at best buy years ago....

Still is the best looking one.

I never upgraded my criterion laserdisc... I love the Criterion cover art...

Saul Bass, FTW!

I'll also bite if there is a new transfer. Otherwise I'll be sticking with the CC.

The HD DVD had no special features, so the inclusion of them here gives me hope of a new transfer.

I concur with the rest of the posters here: new transfer or pass!

On a side note, where are Barry Lyndon and Paths of Glory? I own neither on DVD and would readily bite upon a decent BR release.

I also want a Criterion BD.

As for Barry Lyndon (and Lolita), I'm not sure why those are being sat on.

Paths of Glory (and The Killing) are rumored to be coming from Criterion.

While I'd like a Criterion blu ray on this one I wouldn't mind a Universal release IF they do a good job of remastering it for blu.

As long as the picture quality is a noticeable step up from the Criterion DVD I'll be happy.

Harry Knowles isn't necessarily the best source on anything, but he stated on Twitter tonight that he was watching Spartacus on Blu-Ray, and that it looked great. Not outright confirmation, since Harry's Tweets came from a place of non- (or at least no apparent) awareness of the cruddy HD-DVD transfer, but I do expect him to generally know what a movie should look like in hi-def.

He also raved about the perfection of the transfer of The Killer on Blu-Ray.

Ah, but IMO, The Killer has never looked good. Even if Dragon Dynasty's disc was 1080i and not a full-blown remaster, the screencaps I saw looked overwhelmingly better than the Fox Lorber DVD I've had for some time now, and I don't think there was any other American release (aside from the OOP Criterion).

My review friend has the BD, but not the HD DVD, so he can't really compare. I'll link the review here when it goes up.

http://www.highdefdiscnews.com/?p=43434#more-43434

Atrocious.

What's atrocious is Justin Sluss' technical "research" in this review. He utterly misunderstands the cinematographic process of this film and dismisses its quality potential as a result. Where he got his shockingly incorrect definition of Technirama (one of the greatest 70mm processes ever devised, IMO), I can't possibly imagine.

I don't trust that site for any reviews. I'll wait to hear from others. I'm keeping my order either way. I got it for about $15 through Amazon's $5 off sale. It has DTS-HD audio, 1080p video, and the Criterion extras. I don't own the CC DVD set, so this is my best option.

Hell, I couldn't even understand that one. Those two guys make Harry Knowles sound like Steinbeck.