SeamlessBranching
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Terminator: Salvation Blu-ray review roundup
It didn't crack the podium on our most anticipated Blu-ray poll behind current number one selling Star Trek, but Terminator: Salvation's feature-laden release December 1 has already made the review circuit and come away with some widely varying opinions. The good news is the picture doesn't disappoint, with a clear transfer and elaborate special effects, although BigPictureBigSound's reviewer found a few issues with a bluish matte line appearing at times, plus a few notes about compression and noise in clouds of dust and smoke also noted in other reviews. On the audio front, the DTS-HD MA soundtrack by all accounts is an impressive treatment, with the only "problem" that viewers might want to dial back slightly on the bass to avoid waking the neighbors. Of the extras included in the U.S. release of the film, the only real issue seems to be a lack of seamless branching, requiring viewers to forego the Director's Cut and its extra few minutes of Moon Bloodgood in order to walk through the flick in Maximum Movie mode with director McG and others showing how they pulled off many of the shots. The European edition released by Sony does feature seamless branching, although CNET UK and DVD Times both complained of slow loads and glitches on their players as a result, with the latter also finding some possible compression issues from being squeezed on one disc. Whatever your choice, check the reviews and make it soon as Warner is planning a one time only BD-Live community screening with the director answering questions via audio December 5.
Spielberg makes HD debut with Close Encounters of the Third Kind on Blu-ray
One of Steven Spielberg's classic films will finally make its HD debut, on Blu-ray, not HD DVD, when Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition is released simultaneously with the DVD November 13th. Sony Pictures announced this release puts the original 1977 theatrical version, re-edited 1980 special edition, and a special 1998 Director's Cut on one 50GB Blu-ray disc, using "seamless branching" technology and the power of BD-J -- using "the robust processing power available on second generation players" (it's been done on DVD before) -- to identify different versions of the film and select scenes accordingly. The 2-disc (special features on the second disc) Blu-ray release will get a couple of exclusive special features, including Storyboard-to-Scene Comparisons", the original 1977 featurette and theatrical preview. All that special carries an MSRP of $49.95 and should leave Blu-ray fans salivating, with HD DVD owners wondering when Universal will provide their HDTVs with E.T., Jaws and Jurassic Park.
