After the conclusion of the ‘
X-Men Trilogy', 20th Century Fox looked for a new way to capitalize on the extremely popular superhero property. Eventually word leaked that they would pursue a series of “origins” films which would detail the lives of the X-Men before meeting Professor Xavier. Partially because he had become one of the most popular characters, and partially because some of the story had already been told during the trilogy, Wolverine was selected as the first character to receive the origins treatment, and that film – ‘
X-Men Origins: Wolverine' – is out on Blu-ray today.
While not the critical success that the first two X-Men films were (director Brent Ratner can ruin even the most successful of properties), ‘Wolverine' managed to find success in the theaters, drawing in substantial ticket sales in the process. Because of this, it is sure to be at the top of many people's buy list for today.
Warner is release two Blu-ray titles today that were previously only available in special edition packaging. ‘
Casablanca' was previously only available as the ‘
Casablanca: Ultimate Collector's Edition' while ‘
Amadeus' is being released without the previous
digibook packaging. Both discs are exactly the same as the previous editions, so those who weren't found of the UCE or digibook packaging should have no reservations about picking up these classic titles today.
Universal is releasing ‘
Army of Darkness: Screwhead Edition' today, marking the second “Evil Dead” film to be released on Blu-ray (‘
Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn' was released two years ago by Anchor Bay). Even though the transfer does have its flaws, it will be difficult for any fan of the film to miss owning the title on Blu-ray.
Disney brings fans ‘
The Ultimate Force of Four' Blu-ray box set today, which includes Blu-ray releases of ‘
Hero', ‘
Iron Monkey', ‘
The Legend of Drunken Master', and ‘
Zatoichi'. They titles are also available individually, and are great additions to the ever growing list of Blu-ray martial arts films.
And finally, Fox brings us ‘
The Hannibal Lecter Collection', which features the Blu-ray releases of ‘Manhunter', ‘
Silence of the Lambs', and ‘Hannibal'. Oddly enough, both ‘Manhunter' and ‘Hannibal' have yet be released individually, so at least for now, this will be the only way to buy those two horror classics.
For a complete listing of all the Blu-ray titles released today,
click here.