I don't think Spielberg controls this title which might be a reason why Sony is able to release it on BRD. Remember, this is being released the same day on SD DVD too.
YESSSS!!! Great news. I kind of had a feeling that we might be getting this Spielberg film earlier than any of the others. Doesn't seem like he has much involvment with Sony, so they don't have to walk on eggshells as far as the two properties they hold of his are concerned. Even better news- all three cuts of the film. First time since the Criterion LD we'll be seeing that- 'cept no four disc changes this time.
I was thinking we might have been in line to get Jaws this year after all- until I read of Spielbergs dissatisfaction with Paramount over how they have been handling the Dreamworks films. Prior to that I would have thought- hey, he bolted so the studio probably feels no compunction about using properties they own outright as they see fit- but now I'm thinking, SS might be regreting splitting from Universal, They suspect as much, and if they play their cards right, they maybe can woo Dreamworks back when the contract is up for renewal next year. Not sure if Universal wants them back, but I'm guessing after Dreamgirls and Transformers, it wouldn't look like a bad idea. So even though they own Jaws (and some others) outright, and may have been planning on kicking them out sooner than expected- that could all be on hold now.
just musing though.
still- sweet news about CE3K. $50 msrp = $35 from Amazon, and maybe $28 if DD has another sale at that time. I can hang with those prices on this one.
As far as the movie goes, I used to own a 35mm print of this. It was such a wonderful experience seeing this in a real theater with some friends back in the laserdisc days when you could watch a high quality version with no flipping . Sadly, it was a mono print. It's long gone, I no longer collect film (what's the point?) but this is one of my favorite films. Having all three versions on this is a great selling point. Maybe now I can get rid of that ancient Criterion CAV!
As far as BR goes, I was completely format neutral since last year. REAL neutral, not this "internet neutral" where they bash one side and claim neutrality. However, in the last few weeks I've seen a MASSIVE push towards Blu-Ray. A killer app like this almost seals the deal on HD-DVD's fate. Unless some killer app comes out on HD-DVD (like Back to the Future, but it's Amblin), I can't see HD-DVD catching up now. I hate to say it but as much as I'm trying, my feeling is that by the end of this year, HD-DVD is going to get crushed.
Is this officially announced? I note the David Bishop quote in the article but I wonder if that's just because it's written by industry insider and HMR publisher and editorial director Thomas K. Arnold.
Thanks much for that BusinessWeek link, Paul Scott.