DVD Releases For July 29, 2008
A plethora of Blu-ray releases for fans of all genres, some Tiny Toons and more, all on DVD and Blu-ray today.
BEOWULF Director's Cut On Blu-ray
From Paramount Home Ent. comes the director's cut Blu-ray and DVD of BEOWULF. In a legendary time of heroes, the mighty warrior Beowulf battles the demon Grendel and incurs the hellish wrath of the beast's ruthlessly seductive mother. Their epic clash forges the timeless legend of Beowulf.
Groundbreaking director Robert Zemeckis offers a unique vision of the Beowulf saga in a way that it has never been told before. BEOWULF stars Ray Winstone in the title role and Anthony Hopkins as the corrupt King Hrothgar, as well as John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman and Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mother. Neil Gaiman (the graphic novel MIRRORMASK, SANDMAN) & Roger Avary (PULP FICTION) have adapted the legend to the screen.
The performance capture CG and vfx were by Sony Pictures Imageworks.
"Details, details, details" seemed to be the mantra, according to Visual Effects Supervisor Jerome Chen, who also worked on THE POLAR EXPRESS. And Chen really didn't appreciate the full extent of this until first viewing BEOWULF in 3-D. "I have come to realize that this should be the native format that audiences should experience," Chen suggests. "Bob's [Zemeckis] movies are always instinctively 3-D and, like James Cameron, he understands the stereoscopic aesthetic, because he likes objects to come up to the camera and he likes to break the screen plane and come out toward the viewer. And what's fascinating to me is that you get to look around at things and we have an incredible amount of detail in BEOWULF, both geometric and textural in our models and the clothes and the faces. I had forgotten how much stuff the artists had put in there.
"In terms of stats, there are probably only 800 shots in the whole film. Bob likes to have very long 'concept shots.' He likes to connect the story into one long camera move and show all the different perspectives. However, it not only makes for incredibly long shots but it also complicates things as you pan from one side of an environment to another. You have to light two directions and then you have longer rendering times. And in Bob's case, you always have some other effects element that has to be incorporated," Chen said.
Special Features:
Disc 1:
--In The Volume -- feature-length picture-in-picture track, including motion capture performance, animatics and storyboards
--Web Enabled Features (tbd)
--BEOWULF Profiler
--Scene Sharing
Disc 2:
--A Hero's Journey: The Making of BEOWULF (HD)
--A Hero's Journey: The Making of BEOWULF Interactive Version with Optional Pop Up Trivia and Additional Featurettes (HD)
--The Journey Continues (HD)
--The Volume (HD)
--"T" Pose (HD)
--What is the E.O.G.? (HD)
--Lay of the Land (HD)
--Givin' Props (HD)
--Scanners (HD)
--Stunts and Rigs (HD)
--Plan of Attack (HD)
--Fight Me (HD)
--Baby It's Cold Outside (HD)
--Beasts of Burden: Designing the Creatures of BEOWULF (HD)
--The Origins of BEOWULF (HD)
--Creating the Ultimate BEOWULF (HD)
--The Art of BEOWULF (HD)
--A Conversation with Robert Zemeckis (HD)
--Deleted Scenes (HD)
--Theatrical Trailer (HD)
DARK CITY Director's Cut On DVD And Blu-ray
From New Line comes the critically-acclaimed triumph from visionary director Alex Proyas (I ROBOT THE CROW) is back with a brand new directors cut featuring enhanced picture and sound never-before-seen footage and three commentary tracks that take you deeper than ever before into the world of one of sci-fi's most exciting and revered tales.
When John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) wakes with no memory at the scene of a grisly murder he soon finds himself hunted by the police a woman claiming to be his wife and a mysterious group of pale men who seem to control everything and everyone in the city. Starring Rufus Sewell (THE ILLUSIONIST) Jennifer Connelly (A BEAUTIFUL MIND) William Hurt (A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE) and Kiefer Sutherland (24).
BEOWULF Director's Cut On Blu-ray
From Paramount Home Ent. comes the director's cut Blu-ray and DVD of BEOWULF. In a legendary time of heroes, the mighty warrior Beowulf battles the demon Grendel and incurs the hellish wrath of the beast's ruthlessly seductive mother. Their epic clash forges the timeless legend of Beowulf.
Groundbreaking director Robert Zemeckis offers a unique vision of the Beowulf saga in a way that it has never been told before. BEOWULF stars Ray Winstone in the title role and Anthony Hopkins as the corrupt King Hrothgar, as well as John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman and Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mother. Neil Gaiman (the graphic novel MIRRORMASK, SANDMAN) & Roger Avary (PULP FICTION) have adapted the legend to the screen.
The performance capture CG and vfx were by Sony Pictures Imageworks.
"Details, details, details" seemed to be the mantra, according to Visual Effects Supervisor Jerome Chen, who also worked on THE POLAR EXPRESS. And Chen really didn't appreciate the full extent of this until first viewing BEOWULF in 3-D. "I have come to realize that this should be the native format that audiences should experience," Chen suggests. "Bob's [Zemeckis] movies are always instinctively 3-D and, like James Cameron, he understands the stereoscopic aesthetic, because he likes objects to come up to the camera and he likes to break the screen plane and come out toward the viewer. And what's fascinating to me is that you get to look around at things and we have an incredible amount of detail in BEOWULF, both geometric and textural in our models and the clothes and the faces. I had forgotten how much stuff the artists had put in there.
"In terms of stats, there are probably only 800 shots in the whole film. Bob likes to have very long 'concept shots.' He likes to connect the story into one long camera move and show all the different perspectives. However, it not only makes for incredibly long shots but it also complicates things as you pan from one side of an environment to another. You have to light two directions and then you have longer rendering times. And in Bob's case, you always have some other effects element that has to be incorporated," Chen said.
Special Features:
Disc 1:
--In The Volume -- feature-length picture-in-picture track, including motion capture performance, animatics and storyboards
--Web Enabled Features (tbd)
--BEOWULF Profiler
--Scene Sharing
Disc 2:
--A Hero's Journey: The Making of BEOWULF (HD)
--A Hero's Journey: The Making of BEOWULF Interactive Version with Optional Pop Up Trivia and Additional Featurettes (HD)
--The Journey Continues (HD)
--The Volume (HD)
--"T" Pose (HD)
--What is the E.O.G.? (HD)
--Lay of the Land (HD)
--Givin' Props (HD)
--Scanners (HD)
--Stunts and Rigs (HD)
--Plan of Attack (HD)
--Fight Me (HD)
--Baby It's Cold Outside (HD)
--Beasts of Burden: Designing the Creatures of BEOWULF (HD)
--The Origins of BEOWULF (HD)
--Creating the Ultimate BEOWULF (HD)
--The Art of BEOWULF (HD)
--A Conversation with Robert Zemeckis (HD)
--Deleted Scenes (HD)
--Theatrical Trailer (HD)
DARK CITY Director's Cut On DVD And Blu-ray
From New Line comes the critically-acclaimed triumph from visionary director Alex Proyas (I ROBOT THE CROW) is back with a brand new directors cut featuring enhanced picture and sound never-before-seen footage and three commentary tracks that take you deeper than ever before into the world of one of sci-fi's most exciting and revered tales.
When John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) wakes with no memory at the scene of a grisly murder he soon finds himself hunted by the police a woman claiming to be his wife and a mysterious group of pale men who seem to control everything and everyone in the city. Starring Rufus Sewell (THE ILLUSIONIST) Jennifer Connelly (A BEAUTIFUL MIND) William Hurt (A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE) and Kiefer Sutherland (24).
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