HD DVD Releases for February 26, 2008
by Pravin on February 26th, 2008 in movies.
As the second week of big name releases in several weeks, this week would have been so much greater under different circumstances in the format war. While last week brought out only two titles, including the Oscar-nominated American Gangster, this week has over half a dozen movies.
The most notable title in the list is Beowulf, the Robert Zemeckis film, famous for being a really neat 3D experience in IMAX, and its “nude” shot of Angelina Jolie. I put that word in quotes because it’s just a computer generated version. There’s a review coming in the next day or two, so I’ll have more to say then.
This week also brings the latest installment in the Freedom series from Bandai Visual. They’re also putting out a box set of the first three episodes, which includes a toy vehicle. If you’ve followed this blog, then you know that I’ve always got a review of Freedom episodes as they come out, so keep your eyes open for that this week as well.
Starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford has quite the long title, and is Warner’s contribution to the notable titles for the week. The release slate is rounded out by a few opera and classical discs, and a rare martial arts flick.
 Beowulf (2007)Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Crispin Glover, Anjelina Jolie Rated PG-13 |
 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck Directed by Andrew Dominik Rated R |
 The Brave One (2007)Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard Directed by Neil Jordan Rated R |
 Vivaldi - The Four Seasons - Acoustic Reality ExperienceNot rated |
 Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2 ResurrectionMahler, Skb, Boulez Not Rated |
 Cecilia & Bryn at Glyndebourne: Arias & Duets (1999)Cecilia Bartoli, Bryn Terfel Not Rated |
 Rain in the Mountains (2006)Steve Piere, Audrey Seymour Directed by Joel Metlen, Christine Sullivan Unrated |
 Freedom 4Daisuke Namikawa, Directed by Shuhei Morita Not Rated Freedom 1-3 Set with Vehicle Figure at dot-anime.us |
| Dragon Tiger Gate (2006) Chen Kuan-Tai, Yuen Wah Unrated |
February 26th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Some solid releases. Too bad “Gladiator” won’t be coming to HD-DVD anymore, although we still have American Gangster and I am Legend. Good to see HD-DVD still has some life left!
February 26th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
I’ll also add I just watched Beowulf tonight, and was very impressed. Rented it from Blockbuster, but I’m sorry I didn’t buy it. Cool story, and the picture is stunning. The 3D style also looks more real than any other movie (”nude” angelina jolie isn’t too bad on the eyes either!). The audio was also something else, I had to turn down my subwoofer because it was pushed to the limit. It got a perfect 5 stars on highdefdigest for picture and sound, so this is one you’ll want to see.
February 27th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
And the beat goes on for a while anyway. I just picked up Beowulf and plan to watch it tonight. American Gangster is on my list as well as Jesse James. As long as titles are out there and being released there is a good opportunity to build a fine high def library of films that can be enjoyed for years to come. I am also planning to buy another player at the low prices out there as a back up for when my original player finally fails. Maybe one of those $50 HD DVD drives for the Xbox 360.