If you listen very carefully you can hear the sound of hundreds of thousands of wallets screaming for mercy. The biggest studio offering today comes from Paramount who have decided to issues six highly anticipated "make-up" titles for Blu-ray - including the blockbuster hit '
Beowulf' - along with Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones concert documentary '
Shine a Light'.
But I'm going to start today's post with a personal favorite of mine making its high definition debut: '
Dark City'. From the director of such films as 'The Crow' and '
I, Robot', the style of this film (admittedly borrowed from early sci-fi work such as 'Metropolis' (1927)) inspired a slew of future blockbuster hits, including '
The Matrix'. It was an absolute failure in the box office, but achieved cult status on DVD due, in part, to the praise of Roger Ebert who contributed an audio commentary track for the release (which also appears on the Blu-ray).
Paramount has come through with the release of four Jack Ryan films in high definition. Initially announced as a box set (and released as a box set on HD DVD), Paramount decided to release the titles separately for Blu-ray. While everyone has their favorites, it seems as though '
The Hunt for Red October' is the fan favorite, with '
Clear and Present Danger' coming in as a close second. But those of you who just have to get them all will appreciate the Blu-ray releases of '
Patriot Games' and '
The Sum of All Fears' as well.
Besides the aforementioned Blu-ray release of 'Beowulf' and 'Shine a Light', Paramount also released '
Top Gun' which, for those who are old enough to remember, is a shining example of the over-the-top action films of the 1980's.
And if you happen to be torn between the "cultiness" of 'Dark City' and the 80's appeal of 'Top Gun', may I suggest '
The Lost Boys' (and of course its direct-to-video
sequel)?
If for some reason none of those appeal to your taste, have no fear because there are a lot more coming out today that I didn't even mention. A full list of today's releases can be seen
here.