BD Review

I already own the u.s i'am legend blu ray which came out a few weeks ago and its a top notch transfer as you'd expect from a film so recent. Pic and sound are excellent and i played this on my 1080p 40" toshiba which looks superb. There is an alternate ending which frankly doesnt add that much either way but is a good addition nonethe less.

ANOTHER TOP WARNER BROS 1080P TRANSFER

Great Movie

Not being a fan of this genre of entertainment, I didn't know what to expect, but I actually sat for the 1hour and 45 minutes absolutely enchanted by it.
The cast is a real who's who of the Anglo movie scene (everyone is in it) and the young star, Dakota Blue Richards is someone to watch out for in the future.
The critics in USA panned the movie on release, so by my experience, it had to be good!
Make sure you buy it on DVD when it is released in Europe, it's well worth it.

Regional coding

Only the BBC does natural history so well.

But why is the listing showing region 2. Surely a Blu-Ray disk should be region A, B or C?

IVE COME TO KILL YOUR MONSTAH!!

Dear oh dear.
At no point did it ever sound like a good idea to have Ray Winstone voice Beowulf making a Viking legend sound like he comes from Colchester.Yes the CGI is impressive especialy on the monsters but on the people it just looks weird and ultimately pointless with dead eyes and poor animation.This may have been more impressive to see at the cinema in 3D but at home in 2D,even on blue-ray, was less so with swords/spears/monsters been waggled at the screen just to remind us.Also watch out for an unintentionally hilarious scene where Beowulf is fighting in the buff and objects are placed infront of him to cover his modesty in the style of Austin Powers.
Does it work as a blue-ray demo? yes.But does it work as a film? sadly no.

I am not a fan of Daniel Craig as bond.

I personally thought the idea of where to take the Bond franchise was very clever, reboot it with less sillyness. However casting DC was in my opinion a very poor move. To each thier own though. So that aside how is the movie, its ok except for the over long love plot which slows the movie down too much. Other niggles include keeping supporting cast from the Brosnan era when the franchise has been rebooted, why? it is too strong a connection with the older movies. That aside the tone is darker than most bond films and the action is excellent.
Is it an essential blu ray purchase? only if you like DC as bond. However it is a good looking film and is enhanced by the format.

Pleasantly Suprised

Genuinely scary throughout, even better if you have the right set up, surround sound speakers envelope you in the feeling of being right there in this isolated town. Acting is very good. Josh hartnett pulls his role as sheriff very well. This film reminds me of one of the true vampire films"the lost boys" although completely different films they both have the same feel about it, Best vampire film in decades...

Great for a Blu-ray newbie

Having just invested in Blu-ray technology I wondered what disc to start with. I thought natural history would be a sensible initial investment. I was not wrong. The HD of 'EARTH' certainly delivers and the colours and fine detail are worth the investment. I heartily recommend it.

1 star for blu ray release!!!!!

because it only gets the theatrical version !!!!
despite the note on the cover sites that rviewed the uk blu ray said that only theatrical version is on it !
blame fox!!!

The Film

By far the best film of 2007. I'm not a fan of westerns, but this really stand out.

It's structure is wonderfully unique- groups of scenes are divided by poetic montages of subtle expression in the main characters and sweeping landscapes, wonderfully shot. The tones and hues echo the emotion of the film.

The two main actors seem perfect for the part, in particular Affleck (The"Coward" in the title) who portrays his character so perfectly- from his rise in the James gang to his fall after killing Jesse.

A big hollywood film with the spirit of an indy, highly recommended!

Excellent Film - But Disney have messed up the blu-ray

Tihs is an amazing movie but Disney have made a frustrating disc.

There are about ten different commercials at the beginning of the disc, thankfully you can skip them with the next button but you have to do each one individually, so you're sitting pushing next for about five minutes before you get to the main menu (you can't just press the menu button). very annoying. if i've paid £20 on a disc i deserve to be allowed to watch it.

more annoying is that disney have made the disc bypass one of the recent playstation 3 features. the playstation 3 remembers the playback position of dvds and blurays after you stop watching and resumes from that point, even if you take out the disc and put in another one. this even works on old dvds. however disney's enchanted blu-ray always starts from the beginning, meaning you get the adverts again.

thank you to the makers of this movie and to disney for making a movie that openly mocks its own legacy in an entertaining way. but disney's over-zealous advertising department needs to think about the consumer a bit more.

The years have changed him

Murder. Cannibalism. Death. Obsession. Revenge. Blood. Goth makeup. And lots of razors --"at last, my arm is complete again!" Sweeney Todd exults.

Somehow it doesn't come as a shock to me that Tim Burton adapted Stephen Sondheim's musical"Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" -- or that he somehow spun it into something so delicious. That dark, grotesque, hilariously melodramatic story is perfectly suited to Burton's style, and Johnny Depp is absolutely stunning as the titular bloody barber.

The malignant Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) lusts after the wife of Benjamin Barker (Depp), so he convicts Barker of a crime he didn't commit, and enfolds his family into his evil hands.

But fifteen years later, the Barker returns to London and sets up a barber shop over Mrs. Lovett's ghastly meat pie store. Of course, he's enraged when he learns that his wife was raped and since poisoned herself, and that his daughter is the ward of the lecherous Judge. Enraged and maddened, Barker renames himself"Sweeney Todd" and vows revenge.

And he finds that he LOVES using his razors for a far bloodier task than shaving. With the help of Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) -- who finds a thrifty use for those bodies -- Todd cuts a bloody swathe through all who have wronged him. And when his daughter is punished for refusing to marry the cruel Judge, Sweeney closes in to get his revenge at last.

There's always been a gothic look to Burton's movies, and he's always dabbled in very twisted, macabre storylines. And he really tops himself with"Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" -- London is painted in black, white and grey, right down to the ghoulish faces of the characters, and their bleak little dens of horror. And songs -- lots of magnificently horrible songs.

But Burton pretty obviously adores the combination of gory grotesquerie and very, very sick humour ("They don't commit sins of the flesh, so it's pretty fresh"). And he doesn't try to make Sweeney or Mrs. Lovett palatable, thankfully. While we sympathize with Sweeney's losses, and the horrors that have changed him into the Demon Barber, you just can't pass over scenes where they sing,"It's man devouring man, my dear!""Then who are we to deny it in here?"

There are some moments that relieve this gory gothic parade -- there's a sweet love story between Sweeney's daughter and a young sailor. And the plot becomes progressively darker toward the end (yes, it CAN get worse), when the plot throws us some shocking new twists, resulting in a Grecian-tragedy finale soaked in even more gore.

Oh yes, there's blood. Tons of it. It spurts like Monty Python's bloodier sketches, which ends up being more hilarious than yucky -- as is the casual introduction of cannibal meat pies. And there are some spectacularly gross moments, like a finger found in one of the pies.

Burton uses some of his favorite actors in this one, particularly Depp and Bonham-Carter. Depp is THE perfect ideal Sweeney Todd -- his creepy eyes, pallid face and still, almost seductive manner are perfect for the maddened murderous barber. He goes through the movie slashing his razors at the world, and injects a real creepiness into scenes like Sweeney cooing at his"friends."

While she's only a passable singer, Bonham-Carter is eerily wholehearted as Todd's equally amoral partner-in-crime, who is quite happy to assist him.... and make tastier pies in the process. Rickman is wonderfully loathsome as the Judge, and Sacha Baron Cohen has a small but priceless role as Pirello, a huckster acquaintance of Todd's who starts causing trouble. He really steals his scenes.

Most directors would have prettified, sanitized and defanged the grotesque"Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," but Tim Burton and Johnny Depp revel in the gore and madness. Astoundingly great.

A masterpiece, truly worth of the 1080p format and vice versa

Finally a film that makes the most of the 1080 progressive lines and 1920 pixel width, delivered without artefact in all the glorious depth of field that an anamorphic lens offers together with the rich tapestry of colour and mood that only both Scott's or Kubrick can really pull off. This film was born to be on High Definition.

This cut is great, but like the other reviewers I cannot help feel cheated by the UK distribution being limited to one cut. To add insult, Ridley's commentary at the beginning title sequence states"I hope you enjoy all five cuts", so it would seem fair to assume that he was obviously intending this final cut (or as he puts it until 25 years time) to be a 5-disc inclusive experience.

Aside from the CRT displays used throughout, its one of the only films that I think can still convince even 25 years on. Digitally re-mastering it on to HD has made a wonderful film zing with lustre.

Let's hope some other greats from Abyss to Zulu get the HD treatment.

MadMaxMel

Simply stunning

I had never seen 'Close Encounters' before, so my purchase of the Blu-Ray release was something of a blind buy except, other than a positive review I glanced through on highdefdigest. I don't even know anyone that has seen it, so was getting curious because of the revenrential terms in which the film is described. Having just finished watching it about 15 minutes ago, however, let me just say wow. If you haven't seen the film it's very intense and has aged incredibly well. The special effects don't break the immersion (as happens sometimes with older effects-laden films) and the acting is great. I was totally sucked into the scenario... I read in the supplementary material included that Spielberg believed at the time that UFO contact had really happened in the 20th century, which makes sense since there is an amazing sense of realism to it. This is definitely not the recent 'War of the Worlds' film or 'Independence Day'. Basically, if you have not seen the film before you will not be disappointed by it; you can afford to blind buy this one.

For people who have already seen 'close encounters', I should mention that this includes three versions of the film, all three of which are in 1080p... the theatrical version, special edition, and director's cut. There is lots of printed material (a booklet and a small timeline poster) showing what the differences are between the various cuts. For £14, you get more than you do with a lot of Blu-Rays costing £25.

Picture quality is a huge pleasure to behold. The film is definitely nicer in high def. I was really impressed at how good it looks for its age. While not every scene is a showcase of what 'high definition' is, anyone could see the difference between this and standard def DVD. 100% recommended on picture quality.

Basically, I went from knowing almost nothing about this film to prizing this bluray as one of the best in my collection. A wholehearted recommendation which, at this low price, deserves to be on everyone's shelf.

A classic got even better

You will probably know the story-line by now but believe me, seeing the movie in HD is a new experience. It is not just the picture detail and vibrancy but also the sound - stunning, especially if you are lucky enough to have a surround sound system. A must purchase for any BR collection even if this type of movie is not your normal choice. Enjoy.

nothing to write about

Looked forward to this, maybe that's where I go wrong. It was not anything special, an ok film, not impressed with the grainy look, the story wasn't very engrossing & at the end I thought, what a load of rubbish. I even checked it was a blu ray disk I was watching at one point as the picture was so poor & as for the film I was waiting for it to end rather than hoping it wouldn't end.

An amazing film and blueray, simply the best !

Wow .. what an absolutly stunningly buitifull film ratatouille is ! The story is as meaningfull as it is funny and will have you laughing and crying at the same time ! The visuals are amazing and the hi-def animation is a wonder to just watch ! but luckly for us we have ears so we can hear the awsom surround sound that this film offers as well. Disney have realy out done them selves with the quality of this blueray and I found my self on many occasions just pausing the film so i could walk up to my screen and just look at the detail !! which on occasion is just daw dropping !
The extra features are, as usual from disney plentafull, very well thought out and give you plenty of things to watch and play with.
You must buy this film, not doing so is doing yourself, your hi-def telly and your bluray player an injustice ! This is what HD was made for !

What I watched it on.
Panasonic 42px60 (plasma 1080i)
playstation 3 blu-ray player (HDMI)
JVC th-v70r surround sound (optical) (dolby digital 5.1) (inc tannoy m1 front L/R speakers)

Missman

The Hitman has no name other than Agent 47. Sired by a mysterious group his entire life has been geared towards becoming the best assassin in the world. He is given his missions via computer and executes his goals without bias or compassion. That is until he himself becomes a target for the others in his brotherhood. This betrayal all seems to stem from the execution of a Russian President who died, but appeared alive the next day. Hitman must uncover the truth behind the botched murder and in doing so discover who is trying to kill him. It's just lucky that he happens to be the best of the best.

`Hitman' is one of the worst films I have seen this year which is a real shame as I am a huge fan of the games. The main issue is that you never feel any connection to Timothy Olyphant as the Hitman because he is a character who has no emotion or background. Killing several police officers who are only doing their job does not make me sympathetic. This may be similar to the game, but games and films are very different.

Other problems are rampant. The acting is awful with Olyphant and Olga Kurylenko being the worst - any film that makes Dougray Scott look good is doing something wrong. I also felt that the action was too clinical. There were some extreme moments earning the 15 cert, but the majority of fights used fast editing which is a technique best left to 12A films. Finally this is the worst BluRay translation I have seen with a slightly grainy image with less quality than a DVD - perhaps this was due to the poor direction only? Overall, one to avoid - especially if you have a love for the source material or good action films.

Sammy Stinker

simply amazing

i bought this as a normal dvd a while ago and ever scince its been my favorite film. the effects are great and well worth being in bluray to make what was a normal amazing dvd into a must have essential.

Stunning!

This blu-ray disc is simply stunning. It appears more of the footage is in HD than on Planet Earth and it shows. Some of the underwater footage, the resolution and the colour takes your breath away. An absolute bargain for 150 minutes of wonder - well done BBC.

Pretty Cool

Although I wasn't a fan of the first two films in the series, I decided to get this because it was recommended to me by a friend. Needless to say I wasn't disappointed. If you're after a popcorn"horror" flick with a difference then this is certainly the film for you.
I placed the word horror in quotation marks for a reason. I use the word horror in the classic context of something that is genuinely menacing, intimidating and is destined to give you nightmares e.g. The first Nightmare on Elm Street. This wasn't one of those movies that really sent the shivers down your spine, but it did have its moments where you would jump out of your skin and this is obviously something that is considered horror by todays standards.

Milla Jovovich returns to the series as Alice who is now on the move through the desert because she has learned the Umbrella Corp can track her location by satellite. After the incident in Raccoon City in the previous installment the Umbrella Corporation was unable to contain the T-Virus. It quickly spread across the world drying up all the lakes and rivers and turning almost every living thing into a Zombie. The Umbrella Corporation seem to be the only organised group of humans not in a Zombified state. In an attempt to try and create a cure for what's left of humanity, Dr. Sam Isaacs is using Alice clones in an attempt to create a cure and help tame the zombies so as to create a viable work force.
All is not so sweet however as a group of roaming Raccoon City survivors lead by Claire Redfield are attacked by a huge flock of ravenous zombified crows. 5 are killed in the incident, but it could have been more if it weren't for Alice incinerating the flock by using her psionic powers which were gained from her bried imprisonment in the Umbrella facility.

Overall this is a really good film and one of those popcorn flicks that you can enjoy with your friends. Although this isn't entirely based around the game storylines it's still a good stand alone movie and if the rumours are true, I can't wait for the fourth.