OK, I am not talking about recommending a movie you like or about the quality of the image or the audio.
I’ve been told that there are a lot of features on Blu-Ray that allow valued added material an even greater breadth and depth than DVDs allow (for size and programmatic reason). Interactive features; complex linking, streaming, and navigation; embedded material that builds on or complements the feature title or other extras. That’s what I’m interested in.
For example, a friend told me that the “Neil Young Archives” box set is spectacular in this fashion–that the melding of interactive timelines with archive materials, audio and video links, and other bonuses is what really brings that release to life.
So, if I were to purchase some gold-standard Blu-Ray discs that are fantastic examples of the use of the format in this particular capacity, what should I get?
I haven’t seen it myself but the Maximum Movie Mode in Watchmen would appear to be along the lines of what you want. Scroll down to the extras section of this DVD Talk reviewfor a description. Their forum would be a good place to ask for more examples as well.
Thanks for the link; I’ll check it out (and Watchmen, too).
Anyone else?
Band of Brothers is fantastic. It has an interactive field guide at the bottom that gives random facts about what you’re watching. It includes bios of the men onscreen, definitions of the military terms they’re using, translation of German speech, maps of where they are, actual newsreel footage of the events depicted, and general production notes. My girlfriend had never seen it before I showed it to her on Blu-Ray and she said that she couldn’t imagine it without it.
Not sure if this is what you’re looking for, but the transfer of * The Searchers*–from the original VistaVision negative–is the best transfer of any movie that I have seen, including recent films. You can see every grain of sand in the desert; in the lamplit interior of the cabin, you can see the woodgrain on the far wall. And the blue of the sky–wow.
The Blu version of The Dark Knight is the only one that changes aspect ratios like the theater version.
Pan’s Labyrinth has a great commentary that has video, drawings, alternate views on scenes, other assorted breakdowns. It REALLY makes the movie and shows just how much Guillermo Del Toro put into his masterpiece.
I will agree that the movie is great on Blu-Ray, but I really hope and think that it is not Del Toros’ masterpiece. I think/hope he has many more great films in him…
“Head Cleaner.”
That shit is off the HOOK.