There have been many films made about the Second World War since it concluded almost 65 years ago, but
Saving Private Ryan was the first to replicate the experience so realistically that it received equal praise from both those who had placed their boots on the sandy beaches of Normandy, and those who had previously only read about the experience in books. Today, Paramount brings this amazing film to Blu-ray as part of their Sapphire Series, representing one of the best films the studio has to offer.
For his
Blu-ray review of Saving Private Ryan, staff reviewer Martin Liebman commented, "For all the books and memorials and movies, Saving Private Ryan is perhaps the most obvious but also most important tool through which one may see their courage, sacrifice, and purpose to the greater good not only as it applied to the world in 1942, but in the years following the film's release and, if there is any justice in the world, in the decades -- yea centuries and millennia -- to follow. Indeed, Saving Private Ryan is absolutely one of, if not the most, important pictures ever made. It's also quite possibly the best." He continued, "Boasting a sparkling 1080p transfer and a mesmerizing lossless soundtrack, the technical presentation is just as good as the movie. A strong-in-quality but somewhat underwhelming-in-quantity collection of extras rounds out what may very well be the must-own Blu-ray of 2010."
The word "epic" has been thrown around so loosely in the past decade, that its definition seems to have weakened to the point where it's easy to forget how truly epic a film can be. Of course, when one thinks of epic films, the name David Lean surely can't be far behind. Today's release of
Doctor Zhivago may not carry the universal appeal of some of Lean's other films – especially
Lawrence of Arabia – but it remains an important film in the history of cinema, nonetheless.
Staff reviewer Kenneth Brown commented in his
Blu-ray review of Doctor Zhivago, "Grand, evocative, sweeping, and unabashedly romantic, Doctor Zhivago has endured forty-five years of critical scrutiny and arrived in the 21st century largely unscathed. It isn't a perfect film by any means, nor is it an infallible classic, but it is a marvelous, utterly extravagant testament to an age and style of filmmaking that's tragically fading from modern memory." Regarding the Blu-ray quality, he concludes, "Equipped with a strong video transfer, a dramatic DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, and a generous supplemental package, it deserves a coveted spot in many a cinephile's collection."
Today's "finally" moment is best represented by the release of
Escape from L.A. on Blu-ray, which has been delayed more times than I can remember. According to Amazon, it is shipping, so the wait is finally over.
For the complete list of Blu-ray titles released today, as well as those coming out over the next few weeks, make sure to check out our new
Blu-ray Release Calendar.