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USHE Press Release: Apollo 13 (15th Anniversary Edition) (Blu-ray)

post #1 of 40
2/3/10 at 12:09pm
Thread Starter 



WINNER OF TWO ACADEMY AWARDS®

AND NOMINATED FOR NINE OSCARS® INCLUDING BEST PICTURE

APOLLO 13

15TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

APRIL 13, 2010

AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME ON BLU-RAY™ HI-DEF

FROM UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT

“FROM LIFT-OFF TO SPLASHDOWN,

APOLLO 13 GIVES ONE HELL OF A RIDE.”

– TIME MAGAZINE

OVERVIEW: To commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the historic space mission and the 15th Anniversary of the

Academy Award®-winning film, Apollo 13 is now available to own on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def for the first time on April 13,

2010, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. From Academy Award®-winning director Ron Howard (The Da

Vinci Code, A Beautiful Mind) and based on the dramatic events surrounding the real-life Apollo mission, this

breathtaking story of survival, determination and hope stars Academy Award®-winner Tom Hanks (Angels & Demons,

Forrest Gump), Bill Paxton (“Big Love,” U-571), Kevin Bacon (Frost/Nixon, Mystic River), Gary Sinise (“CSI: NY,” The

Green Mile) and Ed Harris (Appaloosa, Gone Baby Gone).

BONUS FEATURES EXCLUSIVE TO BLU-RAYTM HI-DEF: Unleash the power of your HDTV with perfect picture

and purest digital sound.

• BD-LIVE™: Access the BD-Live™ Center through your Internet-connected player to get even more content,

watch the latest trailers and more!

o MY SCENES: Bookmark your favorite scenes from the movie then share with your BD-Live™

buddies!

• U-CONTROLTM: Universal’s exclusive signature feature puts the viewer just one click away from going

deeper into the making of the film without ever leaving the movie.

o THE APOLLO ERA: Learn about the other big events from the year of this historic mission—

without stopping the movie.

o TECH-SPLANATIONS: Enjoy entertaining explanations of the science and technology of the

Apollo 13 missions.

• pocket BLU™: USHE’s groundbreaking pocket BLU app uses iPhone™ and iPod® touch Wi-Fi

connections to work seamlessly with a network-connected Blu-rayTM player and offers advanced features

such as:

o Advanced Remote Control: A sleek, elegant new way to operate your Blu-ray™ player. Users

can navigate through menus, playback and BD-Live™ functions with ease.

o Video Timeline: By turning the phone to landscape mode, users will bring up the video timeline,

allowing them to instantly access any point in the movie. (iPhone™ and iPod® touch only)

o Mobile-To-Go: Users can unlock a selection of exclusive bonus content with their Blu-ray™ discs

to save to their device or to stream from anywhere there is a cellular or Wi-Fi network, enabling

them to enjoy exclusive content on the go, anytime, anywhere.

o Browse Titles: Users will have access to a complete list of pocket BLU™-enabled titles available

and coming to Blu-ray™ Hi-Def. They can view free previews and see what additional content is

available to unlock on their device.

o Pop-Up Keyboard: Enter data into a Blu-ray™ player with this easy and intuitive keyboard that

will facilitate such Blu-ray™ features as chatting with friends and sending messages.

And coming soon, Universal will be releasing pocket BLU™ for Blackberry and Android smart phones.

• social BLU™: Connect with friends on your favorite social networks to share information about your favorite

movies, enjoy Blu-ray™ community features and more!

• ADDITIONAL BONUS FEATURES INCLUDE:

o FEATURE COMMENTARY: Feature commentary with director Ron Howard, Apollo 13

commander Jim Lovell and his wife Marilyn.

o LUCKY 13: THE ASTRONAUT’S STORY: A “Dateline” television piece recounting the events of

the mission.

o LOST MOON: THE TRIUMPH OF APOLLO 13: The making of the film including behind-thescenes

footage and interviews.

o CONQUERING SPACE: THE MOON AND BEYOND: A recap of the last 45 years in space.

• D-BOX MOTION CONTROL™

SYNOPSIS: Less than a year after the world marveled at man’s first moon walk – and only three years after the

deadly Apollo 1 fire – the American public thought of the April 1970 Apollo 13 moon mission as just another “routine”

space flight. But soon, four words from Spacecraft Commander Jim Lovell would change all that: “Houston, we have

a problem.” Stranded 205,000 miles from home in a crippled spacecraft, Lovell, and two other astronauts, Jack

Swigert and Fred Haise, fought a desperate battle to survive while Mission Control’s heroic ground crew raced

against time – and long odds – to bring them home. Academy Award®-winner Ron Howard directs Tom Hanks,

Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris and Kathleen Quinlan in a riveting account of this breathtaking reallife

adventure.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION – BLU-RAY™ HI-DEF:

Street Date: April 13, 2010

Copyright: 2010 Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Selection Number: 61112003

Running Time: 2 Hours, 20 Minutes

Layers: BD-50

Picture Format: Widescreen

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Rating: Rated PG for language and emotional intensity

Languages/Subtitles: English SDH, French-Canadian, Castilian-Spanish, L.A. Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Finnish,

Norwegian, Portuguese, Italian, Bulgarian, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Romanian, Slovenian

Sound: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French-European DTS Surround 5.1, Castilian-Spanish DTS Surround

5.1, L.A.-Spanish DTS Surround 5.1, Italian DTS Surround 5.1, Czech DTS Surround 5.1, Hungarian DTS Surround

5.1

CAST AND FILMMAKERS

Cast: Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, Kathleen Quinlan, Mary Kate Schellhardt

Directed By: Ron Howard

Written By: Jim Lovell, Jeffrey Kluger (book), William Broyles Jr., Al Reinert (screenplay)

Executive Producers: Todd Hallowell

Produced By: Brian Grazer

Director of Photography: Dean Cundey

Production Designer: Michael Corenblith

Editor: Daniel Hanley, Mike Hill

Costume Design By: Rita Ryack

Music By: James Horner

Visual Effects: Robert Legato, Michael Kanfer, Leslie Ekker, Matt Sweeney

Casting By: Janet Hirshenson, Jane Jenkins


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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Apollo 13 15th Anniversary Edition [Blu-ray]
$11.97 at
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post #2 of 40
2/3/10 at 12:55pm
Excellent news!  This is a title I've been axiously waiting for ever since I switched to Blu-Ray.  This one never gets old, and it's one of only a handful of movies I'll happily upgrade and re-buy forever!
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post #3 of 40
2/3/10 at 1:26pm
Apollo 13 is one of my favorite movies, and I'm very excited to see it being release on Blu-ray.  It would be nice if they'd included the truncated Imax cut, too, as did the last DVD release, but overall, this seems like a promising release. 

How was the quality of the HD-DVD version?  Can we expect the same transfer to be re-used?
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post #4 of 40
2/3/10 at 1:49pm

Quote:
But soon, four words from Spacecraft Commander Jim Lovell would change all that: “Houston, we have a problem.”



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post #5 of 40
2/3/10 at 2:08pm
Heh, it took me a moment to figure out why you thought that was so funny.
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post #6 of 40
2/3/10 at 2:11pm
Don't you wonder how many people proofread this stuff before it gets released? 
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post #7 of 40
2/8/10 at 12:18am
I guess if I have the Collector's Edition DVD, the DTS Edition DVD and the 2-disc with the IMAX, it makes sense to get this too....might as well go for four!

That's a LOT of audio tracks. Are all Universal titles like this? Yikes.
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post #8 of 40
2/8/10 at 6:52pm
Now THAT is funny!  I just about choked reading that quote.


Quote:
But soon, four words from Spacecraft Commander Jim Lovell would change all that: “Houston, we have a problem.”



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post #9 of 40
2/9/10 at 9:44am
 This is going straight on the buy list, especially since it is not a "combo" disc.
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post #10 of 40
2/9/10 at 10:20am
We have...we've had...close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades, right?

Hey, at least they didn't use "could of" or "would of"

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joseph J.D View Post

Now THAT is funny!  I just about choked reading that quote.
 


 


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post #11 of 40
2/9/10 at 11:05am


Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlo Medina View Post

We have...we've had...close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades, right?

Hey, at least they didn't use "could of" or "would of"



Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Frezon View Post



But soon, four words from Spacecraft Commander Jim Lovell would change all that: “Houston, we have a problem.”


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post #12 of 40
2/9/10 at 11:12am
Fire the proofreading department!!!!! *










*Assuming they have one.







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post #13 of 40
2/9/10 at 11:24am
"We apologise again for the fault in the press release. Those
responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked
have been sacked." 
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post #14 of 40
2/10/10 at 11:10pm

Quote:
Originally Posted by AaronMK View Post

 This is going straight on the buy list, especially since it is not a "combo" disc.

Took the words right out of my ... typing hands!

Was a little concerned when I saw the title for this after looking into the PR thread for Traffic.  I certainly don't need yet another copy of this on DVD, so I would hate to have the BD potentially compromised by their flipper format...


And nice catch, indeed, Mike re: the PR typo.

_Man_
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post #15 of 40
2/11/10 at 2:17am


Quote:
Originally Posted by Man-Fai Wong View Post



Took the words right out of my ... typing hands!

Was a little concerned when I saw the title for this after looking into the PR thread for Traffic.  I certainly don't need yet another copy of this on DVD, so I would hate to have the BD potentially compromised by their flipper format...


And nice catch, indeed, Mike re: the PR typo.

_Man_
 
Explain to me how the BD is potentially compromised by the flipper format?





Crawdaddy

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post #16 of 40
2/11/10 at 7:11am

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Crawford View Post

Explain to me how the BD is potentially compromised by the flipper format?

Crawdaddy

 


Robert,

Didn't we already go thru this in the other couple threads on the subject?

I'm not claiming it'll *definitely* be compromised (to a practical degree).  But it is quite reasonable to think that any such combo flipper format has the potential to compromise the integrity of the BD side(among other issues that may only be a matter of personal pref or usage pattern).  And a few anecdotal examples that a handful of newly minted discs played fine on a handful of players doesn't prove anything other than that some discs work fine w/in a month or two of release -- that is not exactly a reliable test of the flipper format (or rather, the deployment of that format).  I don't personally buy these discs only to watch them once w/in the first few months of release, and I'm sure you and many others here don't either.

I'm also not saying that I will never be convinced that my concerns regarding the flipper combo-disc format can/will never be relieved.  I'm just not prepared to simply accept they're perfectly good and reliable at this point -- heck, I'm not even 100% sure that all BD-only discs will be perfectly good/reliable as it is given the issues we still see from time to time, but adding more complications on top of those issues isn't exactly the direction I'd want to see the (overall BD) format go.  Besides, it's not like we all really need the DVD side for more than a couple more years or so anyway, do we?  And in the cases of these older, popular catalog titles, most of us also already own the DVD, so there's really not much point to taking the extra risks, etc. w/ a combo flipper for that.

And yes, I'm not one to love the idea of being on the bleeding edge of tech most of the time.  That's partly why I remain very reluctant about the new flipper combo format (for now)...

_Man_
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post #17 of 40
2/11/10 at 2:41pm


Quote:
Originally Posted by Man-Fai Wong View Post




Robert,

Didn't we already go thru this in the other couple threads on the subject?


_Man_
 

Not with me.  Whether you buy these type of discs isn't of any concern of mine because that's your personal choice and business.  I just didn't quite understand your comment about flippers compromising the Blu-ray format. 





Crawdaddy
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post #18 of 40
2/11/10 at 3:23pm

Quote:
How was the quality of the HD-DVD version?  Can we expect the same transfer to be re-used?

Carl, I was very pleased with the HD-DVD version.  This was a pretty early release so admittedly I was more easily "blown away" by those releases, but I thought the color saturation was incredible on this title; coming from an NTSC format like DVD.  Particularly loved the costuming at the Lovell household early in the film, and the shots of Hanks during the recovery phase.

It has been awhile since I've viewed the HD-DVD but my guess is that it still holds up pretty well even this far into the lifespan of HD media.

- Walter.



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post #19 of 40
2/12/10 at 12:00am
Quote:
Explain to me how the BD is potentially compromised by the flipper format?

I'll echo _Man_'s sentiments about the durability being an issue for me.  The failure rates of DVD-18 and HD-DVD combos have left a bad taste in my mouth.  Maybe they finally know how manufacture these things, but only time will tell.  Personally, I'm glad Apollo 13 is going to have cover art, even the lackluster Universal variety.  Without it, the disc has a cheap feel that makes it look like it came straight out of a blank disc spindle.

Granted, for a title like Apollo 13, these wouldn't be a deal breaker.  Still, I feel better purchasing something with a more proven longevity.
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post #20 of 40
2/12/10 at 3:41am


Quote:
Originally Posted by AaronMK View Post

Quote:

I'll echo _Man_'s sentiments about the durability being an issue for me.  The failure rates of DVD-18 and HD-DVD combos have left a bad taste in my mouth. 

What exactly were the failure rates, does anyone really know? I personally haven't had a single DVD-18 or HD DVD combo fail. I have however had 3 blu-rays and several DVD-9s fail. But that is anecdotal. I have no idea what the actual percent of disc failure has been and I doubt anyone on this forum does.

Doug



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post #21 of 40
2/12/10 at 5:23am


Quote:
Originally Posted by Douglas Monce View Post




What exactly were the failure rates, does anyone really know? I personally haven't had a single DVD-18 or HD DVD combo fail. I have however had 3 blu-rays and several DVD-9s fail. But that is anecdotal. I have no idea what the actual percent of disc failure has been and I doubt anyone on this forum does.

Doug

 



 

 


I haven't experience any such failures either with my 5000 disc collection of DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray collection.




Crawdaddy
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post #22 of 40
2/12/10 at 6:03am
I, too, am utterly perplexed by this apparently ubiquitous notion that DVD-18s and combo discs have significant "failure rates."  I have well over a thousand DVDs, including a bunch of DVD-18s (mostly television box sets), and several DVD/HD-DVD combo discs, and never once have I experienced a playback issue related to a disc's manufacturing.  The way people revile these combos, you'd think that getting a working DVD is a crapshoot, but that hasn't been my experience at all.
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post #23 of 40
2/12/10 at 6:07am
Over the years, I've probably watched 3,000 discs or maybe even 4,000. Out of those, I've had three discs that would freeze up during play and all three were Universal DVD-18s. For the record, I tried the discs on multiple players and each disc would freeze up at the same point on all players. I'm not saying that all DVD-18s are bad (the replacement copies that I got all worked fine) but there was a problem. And while it's not a scientific study, it seems pretty telling that 99.999% of discs that I've watched all worked fine but the 0.001% that didn't work were all DVD-18s.

Having said that, I'm willing to give Universal the benefit of the doubt and assume that they worked out the problems and these Blu-ray flippers don't have the same problems.
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post #24 of 40
2/12/10 at 6:53am

Quote:
Originally Posted by Douglas Monce View Post

What exactly were the failure rates, does anyone really know?
 


Exact numbers are hard to find, but just about any discussion of the various formats of DVDs will concede that the production failure rate of DVD-18 was higher than for any other format of DVD (source). 

Quote:
Quote: "DVD-18 discs are still relatively uncommon due to limited production facilities and higher production failure rates caused by its manufacturing difficulty."
 

Of course, quality assurance testing should prevent a vast majority of these faulty discs to make it to market, but it does stand to reason that if more faulty discs are produced, then more faulty discs will fall through the QA cracks and make it to market.

All of these issues aside, the simple fact remains - I already have a DVD of Apollo 13.  I don't want or need another one, and unless the DVD/Blu-Ray flipper is exactly the same price as the Blu-Ray only, I won't buy it.
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post #25 of 40
2/12/10 at 7:05am


Quote:
Originally Posted by TravisR View Post

Over the years, I've probably watched 3,000 discs or maybe even 4,000. Out of those, I've had three discs that would freeze up during play and all three were Universal DVD-18s. For the record, I tried the discs on multiple players and each disc would freeze up at the same point on all players. I'm not saying that all DVD-18s are bad (the replacement copies that I got all worked fine) but there was a problem. And while it's not a scientific study, it seems pretty telling that 99.999% of discs that I've watched all worked fine but the 0.001% that didn't work were all DVD-18s.

Having said that, I'm willing to give Universal the benefit of the doubt and assume that they worked out the problems and these Blu-ray flippers don't have the same problems.

Travis,

Do you remember the name of the titles that froze up on you?  If I have them in my collection, I'll try them this weekend.






Crawdaddy
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post #26 of 40
2/12/10 at 7:14am


Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason Charlton View Post


All of these issues aside, the simple fact remains - I already have a DVD of Apollo 13.  I don't want or need another one, and unless the DVD/Blu-Ray flipper is exactly the same price as the Blu-Ray only, I won't buy it.

 

The MSRP for Apollo 13 is 26.98 while many of the catalog titles having a MSRP of 29.99.  I think Lionsgate has been the cheapest with their catalog titles having a 19.99 MSRP, but most of the other studios have been around the 29.99 mark except for titles like The African Queen and such.
 

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post #27 of 40
2/12/10 at 8:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Crawford View Post

Travis,

Do you remember the name of the titles that froze up on you?  If I have them in my collection, I'll try them this weekend.






Crawdaddy
 


For me, it was Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season One, Dragnet: Season One and the extended cut of Dune. If you search DVD-18, you can probably find more titles that were effected (I think the SE of Casino had a number of reported problems). If I remember correctly, alot of the time the freezing would occur near the layer change.

Once again, my replacement copies worked fine so it's not like every copy was messed up.
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post #28 of 40
2/12/10 at 8:15am
 I'm not going to get into this Viet Nam of flipper discs, but I was looking in the press release for any info if they would include a DVD copy. I was specifically looking for it because my original DVD of Apollo 13 stopped being playable several years ago!

So I was hoping they'd do a Disney and include as a bonus, the film on DVD. I have been waiting to replace this movie when the BD came out. I'd like a standard DVD copy too because I still have DVD systems in other parts of the house. I forgot about the old DTS version of this film on DVD, I might have that buried in my cabinet!

Anyway, great news this film is finally coming out on Blu Ray!
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post #29 of 40
2/12/10 at 8:29am


Quote:
Originally Posted by Nelson Au View Post

 I'm not going to get into this Viet Nam of flipper discs

 

 Quote of the day!
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post #30 of 40
2/12/10 at 12:43pm


Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason Charlton View Post



Exact numbers are hard to find, but just about any discussion of the various formats of DVDs will concede that the production failure rate of DVD-18 was higher than for any other format of DVD (source). 


Of course, quality assurance testing should prevent a vast majority of these faulty discs to make it to market, but it does stand to reason that if more faulty discs are produced, then more faulty discs will fall through the QA cracks and make it to market.

All of these issues aside, the simple fact remains - I already have a DVD of Apollo 13.  I don't want or need another one, and unless the DVD/Blu-Ray flipper is exactly the same price as the Blu-Ray only, I won't buy it.

I'm sorry but who concedes a production failure rate, and who are you quoting there? Again all I hear are people complaining about flippers in general. I wonder how many have actually had a problem themselves, and how many have just heard about problems and have a general dislike of them because of it. Yes I understand that some people have had DVD-18s fail, but i have a hard time believing that people with huge DVD collections haven't had a few DVD-9s fail too. It seams disingenuous to suggest that DVD-9s never fail.

I understand wanting to have art on the disc, but I think this notion that flippers have a high rate of failure is vastly over blown. If I were to apply some of this logic to my own experience, blu-rays are far more unreliable than any other optical disc I own.

All that aside, if this blu-ray of Apollo 13 looks anything like the HD DVD, it will be quite an upgrade from the DVD and in my opinion would be worth picking up.

Doug



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Apollo 13 15th Anniversary Edition [Blu-ray]
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Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Blu-ray, DVD, Streaming Video and Digital Downloads › Blu-ray › USHE Press Release: Apollo 13 (15th Anniversary Edition) (Blu-ray)