Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Mysterious Island Blu-ray Movie Review

For those who missed out on the 2011 release of Mysterious Island, a Twilight Time release which eventually sold out of its limited run of 3000 units, a “new, improved” limited run has been released by the niche label which includes some appealing new supplements as well as additional audio options.

Mysterious Island Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Unlike some other Twilight Time reissues, this release of Mysterious Island's AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.67:1 is evidently the same as the previous release, minus any frankly picayune differences which may have been achieved at the authoring stage. I personally noticed no appreciable difference in color space or detail levels between the two releases, and for all intents and purposes, the two look largely if not absolutely identical. (I've tried to come close to duplicating some of the screenshots in our first review so that those interested can toggle between full sized windows to make appropriate comparisons.) For my thoughts on the video quality of the original release, please see the Mysterious Island Blu-ray review.

Mysterious Island Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Aside from the new supplements, the other new element on this release is the addition of a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, one which doesn't offer hugely wide separation, but which adds some additional width to both Bernard Herrmann's fantastic score as well as some of the sound effects. This release also includes the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio Mono mixes which were present on the first release, and for my thoughts on those iterations, please see the Mysterious Island Blu-ray review.

Mysterious Island Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Ray Harryhausen on Mysterious Island (480i; 11:14) is an engaging reminiscence which includes some nice archival photos.


• Original Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:40)


• Re-Release Trailer (1080p; 2:36)


• TV Trailer #1 (1080p; 00:22) (in black and white)


• TV Trailer #2 (1080p; 1:02) (in black and white)


• TV Spot #1 (1080p; 1:02) (in black and white)


• TV Spot #2 (1080p; 00:26) (in black and white)


• TV Spot #3 (1080p; 00:16) (in black and white)


• Islands of Mystery (1080p; 5:31) is a vintage black and white newsreel tie in to the film.


• Audio Commentary features Randall William Cook, C. Courtney Joyner and Steven C. Smith


• Isolated Score Track is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.

Mysterious Island Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Limited Edition" is obviously a somewhat malleable appellation at times, as it seems to be here with Mysterious Island, but the good news is eager Harryhausen fans who missed out on the first issue can partake now, with the same excellent quality video, a new audio option and a few new supplements, including a good commentary track. Highly recommended.