Packaging Vs. Content

Oh the every day troubles of a humble DVD collector..

These next few months see the release of some truly spectacular films on Blu-Ray and DVD. Two of my favourite films from last year are about to be released in fact, leaving me with the hard task of deciding just which versions to go for!

The first (which is released in the next few days) is 'No Country For Old Men', the fantastic return-to-form masterpiece from the Coen Brothers, my favourite filmmaking duo. This is a real slow burner, with a really bleak, yet tense atmosphere. Looking online for different versions I'm struggling over whether I should go for the Play.com exclusive art cards, or with the HMV special packaging..

No Country For Old Men Exclusive Art Cards (Play.com)
No Country For Old Men Special Packaging (HMV)

Even though it doesn't really matter, I think I have to take packaging over art cards most times. You may say that it's completely shallow to worry over these things but hey, I write a DVD blog, and there's also a very powerful argument for collecting these things as well.. *section of argument missing*


The second film is the devastatingly powerful oil epic 'There Will Be Blood', made by my favourite (singular) filmmaker - Paul Thomas Anderson.

This is out in early July, and yet again I'm faced with a tough decision. Do I go for the 2 disc collectors edition on DVD (which looks to have nicer artwork) or take my first bold step into Blu-Ray collecting? To be honest if any film can sway me over to Blu-Ray it will be this one. No Country actually has some stunning cinematography, but There Will Be Blood is absolutely breathtaking:


There will be Blood 2 Disc Collectors DVD (Amazon)
There will be Blood Blu-Ray (Amazon)

Who am I kidding? Why even consider this one? It would be an absolute crime not to see this in all it's Hi-Def Glory - There Will Be Blu-Ray!

(See previous brief reviews of No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood here)

Play.com New Site Launch Voucher

Play.com now have a NEW LOOK WEBSITE!
Also they are celebrating this fact with a £2 OFF Voucher code! cool.

Play.com have spent the past few months finding out exactly what their customers want from the website, and looking at ways they can improve its usability. The feedback was to “keep it simple, and keep it fun”, which is what they’ve done.

Areas of improvement have been:
- New quick search functionality
- New and improved shopping basket
- New navigation

Voucher code: NEWPLAY08 to get £2 off.

Code ends 25th May, is only available off of £20+ spend. Visit Play.com now.


To celebrate the release of P.S. I Love You on DVD, Play.com are giving one lucky winner a trip for two to New York! The winner and guest will win a 3 day stay in the vibrant city of New York. You can visit Central Park and the elegant Upper West Side, the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings, as well as doing some serious shopping on Fifth Avenue!
Competition closes - 26th May 2008
You can enter here

How Good is Blu-Ray?

Ladies and Gentlefolk,

Apologies for a lack of updates recently, but I've been somewhat busy lately doing all sorts of things. One thing I have been doing is falling in love with Blu-Ray discs, so I thought I'd tell you aaaaaall about it.

Now I think the price of Blu-Ray's at the moment is still rather high, as I mentioned in a previous post. But LoveFilm has come to the rescue in this case, because you can rent Blu-Ray discs along with all the other DVD's, and they're not charged at a higher rate. So I've basically abused this and have started adding more and more Blu-Ray discs to my rental queue.

So how good is Blu-Ray? Well.. very good in fact! I'm not usually one to go on and on about picture quality. If I watch a film I want to immerse myself in the story, and not sit and gawp at all da pwetty pictures. But in this case I think Blu-Ray helps to immerse you even more, as the images are so clear and crisp that they engage you that much more. It's especially effective if you can hook up a decent surround sound system, and have the TV to support it. Unfortunately my TV doesn't support 1080p, but even so I was seriously impressed. I chose particularly striking films to rent, and I wasn't let down - yep, I think I may just be turning into a convert.

Here's the reviews of the films I saw - Jesse James I was seeeriously impressed with, and 2001 blew my mind (in parts). Check it out:

The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
- BLU-RAY Version
I'm not sure a film has held my attention like this one did in quite some time. Simply put this is a breathtaking film - It's absolutely beautiful to look at (not just because I saw it in blu-ray) and the story and interplay between all the characters is absolutely gripping throughout, with a somber melancholic tone that always undulates beneath the surface. All of the supporting cast are perfect. Brad Pitt portrays Jesse James as a completely ruthless and mean son of a bitch, but you can see the demons that he suffers. He can't trust anyone, and his only friendships are kept through fear. It's Casey Affleck who holds the screen though. His portrayal of Robert Ford is perfect, as a bit of a dreamer and hero-worshipping weirdo, but with tones of sadness and repression in him as well. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on writer/director Andrew Dominik, as he surely has the makings of a fantastic career ahead of him. The story is gripping, the cinematography is stunning, the score is haunting and brooding - and it's simply essential cinema.
2001 - A Space Odyssey - BLU-RAY Version
Bold. Beautiful. Scary. Surreal. Confusing as hell..

I take it that you're not supposed to understand a lot of this film, but the mood and the visuals are simply astounding - so much so that I think the story becomes somewhat redundant, and it's much more of an experience than anything. Kubrick certainly knows how to make something visually arresting, and the score is incredible to match this. It may have been hard to sit through some parts of this film (like the intermissions and whatnot) but a lot of this film I'm sure will stay with me for a long while. If you want cinema to grab and challenge you, then I think this is the film for you.