Inside this month's newsletter: Win an Oppo Blu-ray player, interviews with Bruce Campbell and Sara Karloff, new releases, reviews and much more!

MEET THE INDUSTRY INSIDERS

Here on Home Theater Forum we are very proud of our Industry Insiders Areawhere members can interact with industry professionals who have prominent roles in producing, directing, restoring and reporting on many of the films and DVD/Blu-ray products that we watch, enjoy and purchase.

We invite you to spend some time with any one of our Industry Insiders to ask questions about projects past and present.

(Photos top to bottom, left to right)

Robert Harris is the industry's leading film historian and restorationist.  He is probably our most accessible Industry Insider, always demonstrating a willingness to share his expert opinion of the latest Blu-ray and DVD transfers.

Robert Meyer Burnett is both a film and DVD producer. He has worked on some of the most renowned Laserdisc and DVD Special Editions that include the Fantasia Anthology, The Emporer's New Groove, Snow White, Tron, The Fellowship of the Ring, and the Two Towers.

Bill Hunt is one of the most recognizable names in the online community.  As editor of the online newsletter, The Digital Bits, Bill dishes out the latest news and rumors pertaining to DVD and Blu-ray releases.

David Prior is one of the leading creators of special edition DVDs including Fight Club, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Die Hard, Planet of the Apes and Transformers. 

Van Ling is a freelance DVD/Blu-ray producer, visual effects supervisor, consultant and digital artist whose film credits include The Abyss, Terminator 2, Twister, Starship Troopers, Doctor Doolittle and Titanic. He has also been the force behind the innovative menu systems on all six Star Wars films on DVD.

Charles de Lauzirika is likely one of the busiest DVD and Blu-ray producers in Hollywood. Charles has created award-winning documentaries and supplemental content for such releases as the 5-disc Blade Runner Ultimate Collector's Edition, 9-disc Allen Quadrilogy and the 3-disc editions of Gladiator and Black Hawk Down.

Torsten Kaiser is our newest Industry Insider, joining us just this past month.  Torsten Kaiser's profession and field of expertise is the restoration and preservation of film in picture and sound; especially film classics. Among the film classics he and his company have restored were "M",  McLINTOCK!, MY NAME IS NOBODY and the first two "DOLLAR" Films with Clint Eastwood, as well as Otto Preminger's THE CARDINAL, THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM and ADVISE AND CONSENT.

Just a reminder that there are some additional rules that apply to the Industry Insiders Area.  They are listed in all of the forums there.

BOX OFFICE WEEKEND

While new releases The Last Exorcism and Takers took the top two spots this week, The Expendables is still going strong at number three, and Inception moved up to number 7.  Piranha 3D is in the number 10 spot and the re-release ofAvatar comes in at number 12.  Join our members as they review and discuss The Expendables and other current theatrical films in our movies area.

OTHER FORUM AREAS

Home Theater Forum isn’t just about hardware and software.  We have some other great discussion areas.  Check out the After Hours Lounge to find or start a conversation about pretty much anything (no political or religious discussion please).

The Bargains and Deals forum is where you can find or report the latest great deals and it’s also home to our very ownWeekly Roundup by Mike Frezon and Patrick Sun.  Every Saturday night around 9PM PT/12AM ET they post the lowest prices for all the upcoming weeks’ releases and any special advertised sales along with official HTF reviews.  See that new release at the right price?  There are even links to Amazon to make it easy for you to pick up a great movie at a great price and help support HTF at the same time.  Don’t buy any new releases before you check it out!

See HTF members in real life!  Use our National and Local Home Theater Forum Meets area to link up with fellow HTFmembers.  Regardless if you want to host an event, checkout someone else’s theater to get pointers, listen to some speakers you are thinking about, see a calibrated display, meet some fellow members at the local Cineplex for that new blockbuster, or just hang out with some great folks, this is the place to set it up.  Seattle, WA and Denver, CO meets are currently scheduled or in the planning stages.  If you are in either of those areas and want to participate or want to start your own local meet head on over to the Meets area.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT......TM

Robert A. Harris is a film historian and preservationist who specializes in restoring the large-format widescreen films of the 1950s.

If you are looking for the bold, unfiltered truth about the transfer quality of the latest releases look no further.  This month Robert takes a look at the new Steve Carell/Tina Fey comedy, Date Night, Raymond De Felitta’s latest City Island,  Kenneth Branaugh’s Hamlet and even takes the time toKick-Ass, all on Blu-ray.

INTERVIEWS WITH SARA KARLOFF AND BRUCE CAMPBELL

	On August 31, 2010, Image Entertainment will be releasing a complete DVD series set of Thriller, the acclaimed horror anthology series hosted by Boris Karloff that aired on the NBC network from 1960 until 1962.  Timothy Ewanyshyn had the honor of interviewing Boris Karloff’s daughter, Sara Karloff regarding her father's career on stage, television and film.  You can read that interview here and look for Timothy's full review to be posted in the next few weeks.
	Also on August 31st, Evil Dead is making its Blu-ray debut.  Timothy spent some time interviewing Bruce Campbell this month talking about the upcoming release and lots of other topics.  From projects like Evil Dead, Brisco County Jr, and Burn Notice to Lawrence Welk, and Lavender Farming this interview has it covered.  You can read that interview here and Timothy's full review here.

RECENTLY ANNOUNCED

Here are a few titles recently announced to Blu-ray and/or DVD this week with links to discussions on them:

The complete Star Wars Saga will come to Blu-ray Disc with a worldwide release in Fall 2011. The Star Wars Blu-ray Box Set will feature all six live-action Star Wars feature films utilizing the highest possible picture and audio presentation, along with extensive special features - including documentaries, vintage behind-the-scenes moments, interviews, retrospectives and never-before-seen footage from the Lucasfilm archives.  You can join in on the discussion with our membershere.

The Twilight Zone Season 2 on Blu-ray	Bridge On The River Kwai on Blu-ray	Moulin Rouge on Blu-ray

CONTESTS - WIN AN OPPO BLU-RAY PLAYER

The Oppo BDP-83 Back to School Contest runs through Sunday September 5th.  To enter give us your best back to school story.  It could be about you, your kids, kindergarten or college or any grade in-between.  If it’s about back to school we want to hear about it.  Winner will be a randomly chosen from all entries.

SOFTWARE REVIEWS

We have lots of DVD and Blu-ray reviews this month.  From Fox and MGM Matt Hough reviews  the following Blu-rays:Marmaduke, Date Night, The Jone$es, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Bull Durham and  from Disney, The Last Song.

From Warner, Cameron Yee checks out the Blu-ray digibook release of Hamlet starring Kenneth Branagh as well as the popular catalog comedies, National Lampoon's Vacation and National Lampoon's European Vacation.  Ken McAlinden reviews their latest action film release of The Losers and What’s Up Doc?, both on Blu-ray.

From Vivendi Leo Kerr has his take on the Australian film, The Diplomat; the first title released exclusively on the Blu-ray/DVD Combo (flipper) disc, and Soundtracker on DVD from IndiePix Films. 

Kino International just released 2010 Oscar nominee Ajami on Blu-ray reviewed by Michael Reuben who also reviews New Video’s Yoo-Hoo, Mrs Goldberg on DVD.  It is the fascinating story of Gertrude Berg, the most famous woman in America you’ve never heard of.   He also reviews The Red Riding Trilogy and The Good, The Band, The Weird from MPI Home Video and Summit Entertainment’s latest thriller from Roman Polanski The Ghost Writer on DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo. 

Looking for cult classics?  Look no further than Shout Factory! Todd Erwin reviews Roger Corman's Piranha andHumanoids from the Deep on Blu-ray.  From Image Entertainment, he reviews Time Bandits and Skellig: The Owl Man.   

Neil Middlemiss gives us his review of Road To Perdition and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, both on Blu-ray from Paramount Home Video

Tim Ewanyshyn reviews the latest Super Hero film, Kick-Ass and a film with a different kind of hero: Evil Dead, released for the first time on Blu-ray from Anchor Bay.  He also reviews How to Make Love to a Woman from E1 Entertainment.

Rich Gallager reviews the Australian film noir import The Square and Harry Brown, both from Sony.

The latest HTF reviews of TV on DVD and Blu-ray include:

Be sure to check out our official Blu-ray and DVD archive filled with thousands of reviewed titles.

TV SHOWS ON DVD

Home Theater Forum is the official chat forum for our friends (Gord and Dave) over at TVSHOWSONDVD.COM. We are honored to have their readers participating in discussions within our forum. Here are some of the latest TVSHOWSONDVD discussions in progress:

Classic TV Release Date Thread
Unreleased SciFi Series on DVD?
Most disappointed with 2009/2010?
What do you think will happen next with the Saturday Night Live season sets?
The top 5 stalled shows you want to see completed

SUPPORT HTF WHEN YOU SHOP

When you click on a link on HTF to Amazon, Newegg, or to a variety of other retailers and make a purchase, you're supporting HTF. We now have a dedicated display of all our affiliate stores.

There are over 70 on-line retailers including some for our members overseas. Check it out next time you are planning on making a purchase -- It's an easy way to help us keep HTF going and growing.

HARDWARE REVIEWS AND DISCUSSION

Here are the latest discussions happening in our various Hardware forums. If you think you can add to the dialogue by offering advice we always welcome such participation.

Question on 7.1 Speaker Placement
4K budget for Speakers
Audio rack for college student
Home Theater in a box...worth it?
Recommend me a replacement for my Samsung 1400

COMING SOON - NEXT STOP 2010 CEDIA

Home Theater Forum will be rolling into Atlanta the week of September 20th for Cedia 2010 where we will be bringing you video podcasts of the latest happenings in Home Theater hardware and electronics..

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