Blu-ray Buzz – The Classics Come to Blu-ray

After some busy weeks of releases, this week is a little more before a monster release week next week. Classic tales on film come to Blu-ray this week, as well as an Emmy nominated TV movie and a 1960s French classic.

Pick of the Week
Hamlet
William Shakespeare’s HAMLET has been adapted for the screen dozens of times. The tragedy won Sir Laurence Olivier an Oscar for Best Actor and Picture. However in many ways Kenneth Branagh’s version of the domed prince’s tale is superior. At just over four hours, this 1996 rendition feels better paced. The natural approach to the material certainly makes it more accessable to a modern audience. The all-star cast includes Branagh, Richard Attenborough, Julie Christie, Billy Crystal, Judi Dench, Gerard Depardieu, John Gielgud, Rosemary Harris, Charlton Heston, Derek Jacobi, Jack Lemmon, John Mills, Rufus Sewell, Timothy Spall, Robin Williams and Kate Winslet. It puts the whole play on film with an Oscar nominated screenplay, Art-Set Direction, Costume Design and Musical Score. Branagh’s performance is especially interesting – is his Hamlet mad or just pretending? It’s hard to say.

Buy "Hamlet" on Blu-ray Here!

Queue Qualified
Black Orpheus
This Cannes and Oscar-winning French production transports the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice to 1960s Rio de Janeiro during Carnival. The simple tale is best known for bringing bossa nova music to the world. A bossa nova beat rides underneath the entire story, which finds a playboy discovering true love to sadly have it taken from him by Death himself. The film stands a landmark in world cinema and a detailed account of favela.

Buy "Black Orpheus" on DVD Here!

Buy "Black Orpheus" on Blu-ray Here!

Buzzed About
L'enfance Nue
Maurice Pialat’s 1968 French drama follows the tale of a 10-year-old delinquent as he bounces from one foster home to the next. Comparisons are drawn to The 400 BLOWS and François Truffaut actually served as one of the producers. Criterion brings the film to DVD, so I look forward to checking it out.

Buy "L'Enfance Nue" on DVD Here!

Temple Grandin
Nominated for 15 Emmys, including Outstanding TV Movie, the film tells the true life story of Temple Grandin, a woman who overcame her autism to become a leading expert in animal husbandry, developing a less stressful procedure to possess cattle. She is a legend in the autism community, having been the first person to write a book about what it was like to have autism. In addition to Claire Danes in the title role, David Strathairn, Catherine O’Hara and Julia Ormond also received Emmy nods for their performances. Sounds like one of those sappy against all odds biopics, but the cast makes me think it might be more than saccharin.