While I have a couple that I think I could have lived without - specifically Evil Dead II and Day of the Dead. I didn't think ED II was much of an improvement, and I didn't even LIKE the way DotD looked in Hi-Def. But there are a few Blu-Rays that I think were worth the investment.
1. Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Yes, the original, for God's sake. I would have thought a low budget move such as this would be a waste on Blu-Ray, but it actually looks and sounds pretty out of sight. In fact, it sounded so good that once I even whipped my head around and wondered who was banging around outside. Not cute at 2 am when the P.Cash is at work and Mother is alone with three cats. And Leatherface kind of scared me all over again. I even had to remind myself at one point that I've met Gunnar Hansen and he was a pretty nice guy.
2. Halloween. Again, the original. I've said before that Halloween was a movie that I discovered 'later' in my life - I saw it when I was younger and I liked it, but it never was one of my all-time favorites. Not that I would never argue against its genius, I just don't think I really got to pay it the attention it deserved. On Blu-Ray, it's simply gorgeous. The colors of the trees are so vibrant (and maybe a little too green) that I kept forgetting it was supposed to be fall. No matter, it's positively lovely on Hi-Def. Mama says GET ONE.
3. American Werewolf in London. LOVE this movie. Reviewed it once here during my first 31 Days of Halloween. Out of the three, this is probably the movie I've watched the most times over the years - and I still noticed all kinds of cool details I never picked up on before. That, to me, is the mark of a great Blu-Ray.
Oh yeah, and they were all under 12 bucks. Loves it.
2 comments:
Good to know about these. It's hard to consider the huge DVD collection I've built only to think "Maybe all these should be replaced!" For me, it's usually the special features that lead to the upgrade. Some DVDs--like the recent Trick 'r Treat--save all the extras exclusively for the Blu Ray, which seems dirty but eh, what can you do? Of the few Blu Rays I own, the only one that really jumps out as being so worth the $ was Danny Boyle's Sunshine which looks absolutely incredible.
Thanks for letting me know about Sunshine - LOVED that movie; I'll have to put the Blu Ray on my wish list. I get a lot of tips on which Blu Rays to buy from Deadpit.com; I didn't consider buying Halloween or Texas Chainsaw until they raved about how great they looked. I've also heard good things about The Descent, and not so good things (from a couple of sources) about 28 Days Later. And I've also found with Amazon - if you wait long enough, you can get them for 12.99 or less. I also didn't mention Dawn of the Dead - because I think it deserves a review all of its own - but that one is pretty killer too. I saw cracks in the plaster that I never knew existed.
I'm also finding the reverse sometimes with the Blu-Rays, the special features on the DVDs aren't found on the new Blu-Rays - I suppose that's so they can release the 'Super Special Edition' later with all that stuff.
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