Batman is not your typical superhero. He has no special powers, didn't mutate during a freak accident, and didn't travel from any distant planet. He is as human as you or me. But what he lacks in uniqueness, he makes up for with gadgets and a consuming desire to protect those who can not protect themselves. It is these qualities which propelled '
The Dark Knight' to record-breaking success.
The most recent Nolan/Bale Batman is only the latest iteration of the popular character, having already survived the "Pow", "Zing" character portrayed by Adam West and the curiously large-nippled character directed by Schumacher. While there were successes on the way - namely Tim Burton's Batman - none were as successful as the current Bat. With the film about to cross the $1 Billion line (and it will when Warner re-releases the film this January), it is not only the most successful in the series, but also one of the most successful films ever.
Today's Blu-ray release of 'The Dark Knight' has already broken Blu-ray records even before it was released, shipping record numbers to retailers in preparation for overwhelming demand. In the UK, where the disc was released yesterday, it broke one-day Blu-ray sales records by surpassing 100K units sold. The industry has high hopes for this release to drive Blu-ray players into homes, and it looks like that is exactly what is going to happen.
There are also some other notable Blu-ray releases which are coming out today. Fox is releasing the animated tale '
Horton Hears a Who' which stars Jim Carrey and Steve Carrell in the Dr. Seuss classic. And you can't have a new release without catalog titles to ride on its success, so Warner today releases Carrey's '
The Mask' and '
Dumb and Dumber' today as well.
Fox also today releases two comedies which have devout followings. Both '
Dodgeball' and '
Super Troopers' may not have had the same box office success as the "masked crusader", but there is a deeply loyal group of viewers who love these films. I am happy to say that I am one of them.
Universal today releases Jet Li's last martial arts film, which fittingly enough, tells the story of one of China's premiere martial artists. The Blu-ray release of '
Fearless' actually contains three separate cuts of the film, which in my opinion is an excellent use of the seamless branching feature of Blu-ray. The video is excellent, and the audio is pounding. The fight scenes really are stunning, and a treat to watch.
And finally today, Disney releases '
Lost: The Complete Fourth Season' on Blu-ray. Still widely popular in its fourth season, fans are sure to pick up this set in order to prepare themselves for the upcoming fifth season.
For a complete listing of all the Blu-ray titles released today,
click here.