For their second Platinum Blu-ray title, Disney decided to open their vaults and release their second feature-length animated feature '
Pinocchio'. This timeless story of a wooden marionette who, with help from his designated conscience Jiminy Cricket, is tempted by the evils of the world as he strives to be good in order to become a real boy.
While the film nearly 70 years old, you'd never know it from the remarkable restoration job and transfer performed by Disney. Upon starting the film, I was immediately taken back by the vivid colors and detail found on the screen. The last time I had seen this film was back when Disney VHS tapes came in those over-sized white plastic cases, so watching the film on Blu-ray was a semi-new experience for me. While I remember the story well, there was much of the film that appeared new, just because of the extras detail that was missed during previous home video releases.
As noted by Staff Reviewer Kenneth Brown in
his review, the new 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack wasn't as dramatic as newer releases, but with a mono source, its hard to imagine it getting any better (the original mono track is available for purist). Some may try to compare this audio effort to the previous Platinum Blu-ray releases of '
Sleeping Beauty', but that situation was all-together different. The 7.1 soundtrack on that released was sourced from the original multi-track tapes, something never created back when 'Pinocchio' was being made.
As expected, Disney loaded-up on the special features for this release. The company is really striving to make each Platinum Blu-ray title
the definite release for each title, and it shows. There should be no hesitation by any Blu-ray owner to add this title to their collection.
Edward Norton is now one of the most highly regarded actors in the business, and it was his Oscar-nominated performance in his debut film that took him from an off-Broadway actor to super-stardom. Norton's portrayal of Andrew Stampler in '
Primal Fear' took a run-of-the-mill courtroom drama to a level beyond what anyone in Hollywood thought was possible. In
his review, Staff Reviewer Kenneth Brown concludes, "while its video transfer has a few problems, its high definition visuals still offer a solid upgrade [over the DVD], its lossless audio track is impressive, and its supplemental package finally gives owners of the original barebones DVD some insight into the production." Sounds like a winner to this fan.
Universal is releasing two Oscar-winning films today, the Sean Penn biographical film '
Milk' and the Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal drama '
Brokeback Mountain'. These are two great films (represented by two great Blu-ray releases) that you should definitely check out.
You don't really grasp the greatness of today's Blu-ray line-up until you realize that Batman is sitting forth on the list. Today, Warner releases '
Batman: The Motion Picture Anthology.' to Blu-ray, a collection of the the four Batman films made in the 80's and 90's. After a successful start with director Tim Burton at the helm, the series quickly ventured to "really, another sequel?" territory with the changes in direction and star power. I expect that many will pick up this solid Blu-ray release just to get their hands on the first two films, which isn't shameful at all.
For a complete listing of all the Blu-ray titles released today,
click here.