While sales of Blu-ray players and discs are often said to be taking the same upward trajectory as DVD did in its early years, the number of individual Blu-ray titles on the market has turned out to be a relative disappointment.
And while plenty of beloved cinema classics have made their way onto Blu-ray in recent months—such as the "Back to the Future" trilogy, "The Sound of Music," "Beauty and the Beast," "Gone With the Wind," the original "Alien" (which I just added to my collection) and even "White Christmas"—there are still some gaping cinematic holes in the overall Blu-ray catalog.
The Amazon reps who attended the recent Blu-Con event came armed with a list of the top-10 most requested movies (some of the titles here are actually trilogies, but you get the gist) yet to be released on Blu-ray—and here it is, in ascending order of gotta-haveness:
10. "Pulp Fiction"
Quentin Tarantino's blood-soaked, hilarious (yep, the two go together) 1994 classic ranks up there with one of the greatest cinematic experiences I ever had in a theater, right up there with … well, "Reservoir Dogs," Quentin's first movie. Sadly, a Blu-ray version of "Pulp" has yet to arrive in the U.S., although imports from France and Denmark (legit ones, apparently) are said to be floating around in the wild.
9. "Lawrence of Arabia"
David Lean's sweeping four-hour epic was among the first titles bandied about when Blu-ray was making its debut, yet here we are in late 2010 and still no "Lawrence." Word has it that the film's 1988 restoration now needs a restoration of its own, hence the delay—either that, or Sony is waiting for the 50th anniversary of the movie, which (unfortunately) won't arrive until Dec. 12, 2012.
8. "Jurassic Park"
No, it's not a classic destined to live beyond eternity, but 1993's "Jurassic Park" was nonetheless a milestone in terms of its groundbreaking CGI effects—and frankly, I thought it was pretty scary as well. Chatter in early 2010 held that Steven Spielberg's dino-fest might go Blu before the year was out; so far, no dice.
7. "Titanic"
It's no longer the top-grossing film of all time (and it never really was, if you factor in inflation), but "Titanic" was arguably the biggest jaw-dropping spectacle of the '90s—and a really good one, if you ask me. (Go ahead and laugh, "Titanic" haters; I can take it.) The latest word, though, is that James Cameron & Co. are holding off on a Blu-ray version of "Titanic" until they've converted the movie to 3-D … which won't happen until the spring of 2012, at least.
6. "The Incredibles"
The bad news: No Blu-ray version of "The Incredibles" in time for the holidays. The good news: It's reportedly set to arrive next spring.
5. "Finding Nemo"
While it appears "The Incredibles" is finally on the way, another Pixar classic—"Finding Nemo"—is still in Blu-ray limbo.
4. "The Adventures of Indiana Jones"
Dun dun-dun dun, dun-dun dun! Yup, that's me humming (badly) the Indiana Jones theme song. But while the latest Indy adventure—"Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull" (which I quite enjoyed, although apparently no one agrees with me)—came out on Blu-ray two years ago, there's still no sign of the original trilogy, save for the odd rumor. (HD versions of the original movies have, however, been spotted on Epix, an HD cable channel owned by Paramount, Lionsgate and Showtime.)
3. "Star Wars," Episodes I-III
Amazon has divvied up the six "Star Wars" films into two trilogies for the purposes of its top-10 most-wanted-on-Blu-ray list: episodes IV to VI, the "originals," and episodes I to III, the "new" ones. Well, here's a shock: People seem to be slightly less interested in the more recent (and generally reviled) "Star Wars" movies, although the latest blockbusters still managed to collectively make No. 3 on Amazon's list. In any case, when will Luke, Leia, R2 and Jar-Jar (ugh) finally be coming to Blu-ray? The answer ... is coming, after a few more short paragraphs.
2. "The Lord of the Rings," extended editions
Wait—isn't the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy already on Blu-ray? Yep, it sure it, but the version that finally arrived on Blu back in April outraged fans for a variety of reasons. For one thing, only the original theatrical versions were released—not the longer extended editions, which ("Rings" fanatics argued) could easily have been added to the retail discs via seamless branching. Meanwhile, reviewers complained about the skimpy extras, the lack of filmmaker commentaries, and—worst of all—the murky video transfer.
That means most die-hard "LOTR" fans are waiting for a new box set of the trilogy to arrive—with the extended editions, this time, not to mention a fresh batch of special features (in HD), a full complement of commentary tracks, and (hopefully) a spruced-up transfer. When might it happen, though? "At a later date" was pretty much the last we heard.
1. "Star Wars," Episodes IV-VI
They were among the last of the big Hollywood blockbusters to arrive on DVD (not until September 2004, years after most of the big DVD holdouts had already landed on disc), so it should come as no surprise that we're still waiting for the original "Star Wars" movies to arrive on Blu-ray. That said, the wait will end next fall, when all six "Star Wars" movies go Blu. Unsurprisingly, though, only the tweaked "special editions" will be included in the box set, meaning you'll have to dig up the old DVDs (the non-anamorphic ones) to see Han Solo shoot Greedo first.
Which movies are you waiting for to be released on Blu-ray? Or are you skipping Blu-ray and moving right along to HD streaming?
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