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Must See HDTV (September 30th - October 6th)
As we begin to experience the post-Breaking Bad era, there are a few other options to check out on TV this week, including the start of Major League Baseball playoff games. That said, the series finale was good enough that we wouldn't argue if you just kept replaying it every night this week. It's fall premiere season, so new shows continue to arrive including CBS' We Are Men and The Millers as well as NBC's Ironside, Welcome to the Family and Sean Saves the World. Low Winter Sun wraps up its premiere season, along with finales for Hell on Wheels and The Bridge. Blu-ray and videogame highlights include NBA 2K14 for current-gen systems, The Wizard of Oz 75th Anniversary Edition and This Is the End. The biggest name that's not on our list? GTA V's online features, which will debut tomorrow. Look after the break for our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and gaming.
The Wizard of Oz celebrates 75th Anniversary this fall with IMAX, Blu-ray 3D releases
While many remember the moment Dorothy stepped out into the Technicolor land of Oz, Warner is aiming to make that moment even grander with a 75th anniversary Wizard of Oz re-release this fall. The plans call for a week-long IMAX 3D run (similar to recent releases like Jurassic Park and the Oz HD screening back in '09) beginning September 20th, and a Blu-ray releases hitting shelves October 1st. Digitally remastered and scanned in 8K before being rotoscoped and converted for 3D from the original Technicolor negative, Warner called it a long and complex project which it would not release until "perfect." The Blu-ray set will come in several versions, with the five disc 75th Anniversary set including Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD and Ultraviolet versions plus a making of documentary and other special features. That one is currently priced at $73.99 on Amazon, and a 2-disc Blu-ray 3D combo pack goes for $26.99, with Blu-ray and DVD versions also planned. Check after the break for a press release with all the details, plus a video clip of that colorized first step and a documentary from the last time it was remastered, scanned in merely 4K resolution.
NASA films dark side of the moon, finds no evidence of Brain Damage (video)
Take a moment to Breathe, because this one's kind of heady. NASA has just published a new video of the Dark Side of the Moon and, contrary to popular belief, it's not really all that dark. (We'd probably describe it as a subdued gray, if we had to, but feel free to go with Any Colour You Like.) Compiled into a 30-second video clip, this footage provides a cursory glimpse of the moon's hind parts (its "B-Side," if you will), panning over the rock from north to south, in all its crater-y glory. It's all part of an initiative from NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL), which presumably spent a lot of Time and Money to build its twin spacecraft, nicknamed Ebb and Flow. On January 19th, the lab sent the pair up to that Great Gig in the Sky, as part of the GRAIL MoonKAM mission -- a "progressive" educational outreach program geared toward middle school students. Ebb was charged with filmic duties, and did a remarkable job of shooting On the Run with its MoonKAM camera, returning high res footage to NASA's engineers, and giving both Us and Them something to think about during the next lunar Eclipse. See the video (along with its eerily sync-able counterpart) after the break, and if you've got any questions about it, please don't hesitate to Speak to Me.
Off to see the Wizard? Netflix streaming the classic in HD today only
Just in case you haven't already grabbed the remastered Blu-ray, Netflix is streaming The Wizard of Oz today only (until 9 a.m EST. Sunday, October 4,) in HD for subscribers with the proper hardware to play it. Even those who haven't signed up yet can view it via PC, though with a few less pixels. We checked it out already via Xbox 360 and while it is remarkably clear -- and probably better looking than you've seen it in the past on VHS or dodgy OTA broadcast, it's still the same movie, though the difference becomes more dramatic once reaching the colorized land of Oz.
Blu-ray releases on September 28th 2009
You know we can't help it so here we go -- we're off to see the Wizard on Blu-ray this week as one of the all time classics is released in HD, but other than that there isn't much to get excited about. Sure if you like TV shows you might be interested in the latest seasons of The Unit or How I Met Your Mother and like usual there are plenty of other catalogs to help complete your collection, but most can keep waiting for the Summer blockbusters to open their wallets. The Wizard Of Oz (Warner) Superman Batman: Public Enemies (Warner) Away We Go (Universal) The Dark Crystal (Sony) Facing The Giants (Sony) Fireproof (Sony) Labyrinth (Sony) How I Met Your Mother: Season 4 (Fox) The Unit: Season 4 (Fox) Snakes on a Plane (New Line) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) (New Line) The Girlfriend Experience (Magnolia) Lies And Illusions (Anchor Bay) Management (Image) Monsters vs. Aliens (DreamWorks) Bad Boy Bubby (Blue Underground) The New York Ripper (Blue Underground) Screwballs (Severin) Eagles Over London (Severin) Streets Of Blood (Anchor Bay) The Universe: The Complete Season Three (A&E) Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer (Dark Sky) Yellowstone: Battle For Life (BBC)
Netflix taking everyone to Oz for free via streaming, subscribers go in HD
As if we weren't already hyped that The Wizard of Oz is returning to theaters in celebration of its Blu-ray release, Netflix is putting a little something extra -- and free -- on it. Anyone in the U.S. will be able to stream the classic online via PC (trailer embedded after the break) at Netflix.com/wizardofoz from 9 a.m. October 3 for 24 hours, while subscribers can pull the stream down in high definition on any compatible device. No interruptions, no cost, no hassle. Prefer the group watch experience with an actual physical group of people? The company is also putting on a free concert and outdoor showing in NYC's Central Park September 29. With the options of on disc, streaming, in a theater or even outside it's hard to think of more ways to see a movie than this one, which would you pick?
The Wizard of Oz HD comes back to theaters September 23
Ahead of its remastered 70th Anniversary Blu-ray release, The Wizard of Oz is returning to the big screen in high definition. September 23 at 7 p.m. over 400 theaters will be showing the remastered version for the first time, plus the "To Oz! The Making of a Classic" featurette. If you go, take someone who thinks old films can't benefit from high definition.
