10 Must Have Blu-Ray Discs

10 February 2010 by Charles Hamel, 7 Comments

Since I have acquired a Playstation 3 during the Christmas season, Blu-Ray DVD’s have become more of interest to me lately. I have always been a big film buff but have never experienced the magic of Blu-Ray, until watching the Transformers movie on Blu-Ray and surround sound. All I can say was that it was Amazing.

I have decided to add the subject of Blu-Ray Movies to my website and composed this post on the 10 must have blu-ray discs.

Lets start our countdown with 10 and work our way to number one.

Curse of the Black Pearl

#10 Pirates of the Caribbean “The Curse of the Black Pearl”

The first and in my opinion the best of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies is an early on Blu-ray Disc that set the bar for the quality of transfers and excellent audio. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl is a must have title due to the clarity and sharpness of the image and the theater quality uncompressed PCM audio that begs you to crank up your 5.1 surround system.

In a ideal setup this movie is stunning to watch, with vistas and visuals that are as clear as they are breathtaking. The audio representation is also top notch — cannons roars, the pirates yelling and cursing as if they are all in the room with you not to mention the haunting score that envelopes you.

The best thing is that the movie is fun to watch and is the best of the series, introducing us to Jack Sparrow/Will Turner/Elizabeth Swann, and making us all wish we were seafaring pirates (anti-hero versions like Jack Sparrow and not mean, dirty ones like Barbossa).

There is a second Blu-ray filled with extras (most displayed in 480i unfortunately) such as games and activities, a movie showcase, a backstage special, a “making of” feature and a blooper reel.

The 10th top 10 must have Blu-Ray Discs.

underworld

#9 Underworld “Unrated”

I really enjoyed Underworld although it is not a great movie, it is good fun and is very watchable multiple times as the action and storyline lend it to a fun night of entertainment especially with the extras.

Underworld is a story about a war between vampires and werewolves, but the deeper message is one of a forbidden love, honor, and revenge. Kate Beckinsale is a surprising action hero in this film and really makes you believe she is an almost unstoppable immortal vampire.

The real star of the show in this package though is the video representation of this film on Blu-ray, presented in a stunning AVC encoding format (it was filmed in Super-35 and scanned in 2K resolution to digital format, then cleaned up).

The surreal blue-tinged lighting effects and incredibly crisp visuals are a treat to the eyes and the audio is full, rich, and well balanced. It is presented in uncompressed PCM 5.1 format. Underworld Unrated is an amazing Blu-ray that is still a demonstration quality title for the format.

The movie comes in at number nine in our list of 10 must have blu-ray discs.

The Fifth Element

#8 The Fifth Element (Remastered)

At the time of it’s original release, The Fifth Element was a groundbreaking film with an original take on a futuristic society that is on the brink of destruction from a malevolent entity.

The movie was a full helping of eye candy with over-the-top action and acting, and it’s still a great ride and very enjoyable to watch to this day. This remastered version is a high quality encoding from the masters and it shows in nearly every scene.

Fine details in faces, clothes, and backgrounds are very sharp and evident, black and white levels are superb, and the film grain is reproduced exactly. I would venture to say that this home version in many ways looks better than it did in the theaters years ago due to advanced displays in the home.

The audio is presented in two formats, Dolby TrueHD and uncompressed PCM 5.1 formats, both versions offer immersive and dynamic sound that will blow you away.

If you want to demo your Blu-ray setup to someone, load this in the tray and skip to the opera scene to see and hear what high definition is truly like.

Number 8 in the 10 must have blu-ray discs.

SunshineMoviePoster2_000

#7 Sunshine

Sunshine is a fairly unknown movie with a plot premise of a Sun that is decaying with a group of scientists and astronauts that need to reignite it with a bomb the size of Manhattan.

While this could have been another Day after Tomorrow the movie is very dialogue and character driven, which completely overshadows and overtakes the premise.

Sunshine is a movie that needed to be on Blu-ray — the transfer quality of this film is nothing short of striking. Both interior and exterior (space) shots are dead on with white and black levels that are perfectly balanced.

The audio on this disc is perhaps even stronger than the visuals, presented in both core DTS 5.1 and DTS HD MA formats (for the handful of people with receivers that can process the format). The sound submerges you as you watch and experience what is happening.

The audio is both subtle and heavy but always discernible, surround effects/audio are present almost throughout the movie and are incredibly effective. Sunshine is one of the first 1.1 format Blu-rays to market and utilizes the PiP feature for the extra features as well as some advanced sound mixing. This is a great movie in presentation and content with tons of extras to keep fans busy.

A definite must have for number 7 in the 10 must have blu-ray discs.

Troy

#6 Troy (Directors Cut)

Troy was a movie that was originally made to be a monstrous box office hit theatrically and critically but it failed to deliver due to the studio mandated cuts that changed this amazing R-rated film to a PG-13 release that, instead of drawing a larger audience, lost the audience it needed.

Wolfgang Peterson presents to us the way the movie was originally intended to be seen in this amazing Blu-ray release that has the cut he wanted featuring more blood, battles, and back-story to actually make you understand and love this film.

Troy, of course, is the story of Helen, the beauty who launched a thousand ships and the battle for the walls of Troy by the conqueror Agamemnon. Achilles is the action star of the film and is the central focus in this version of the tale.

Troy is a reference quality transfer, meaning it is a stunning example of what high definition movies should look like on the format. Color levels, fine detail, film grain, every aspect is crisp and almost three-dimensional. It helps that the cinematography, locales, and costume designs are top notch; the movie simply looks fantastic.

The audio is presented in uncompressed PCM 5.1 format and a Dolby Digital track; hopefully your receiver can handle the lossless format because the surround experience and general sound experience here is phenomenal and needs to be experienced as cleanly as possible. There are a number of short featurettes that go behind the scenes and are appreciated in the fact that they are all presented in 1080p. While Troy is definitely not true to the literature it borrows from it is a great movie and is a top notch Blu-ray to own coming in at number 6 on our 10 must have blu-ray discs.

MATRIX

#5 Matrix

It may be hard now to isolate The Matrix from its two lesser sequels (not to mention all the spoofs, parodies and knockoffs that have come along since), but this original mind-bending film was the very definition of cool when it came out back in 1999.

Yes, you read that right. It’s been a full decade since we first learned the answer to the question: “What is the Matrix?” In that time the film has become a bona fide classic, and with good reason. No one (not even the Wachowski brothers themselves) has been able to match its pop-culture resonance or its balance between ambitious style and engaging storytelling.

What’s nice about this edition is that you can pretend those films don’t exist and enjoy the original on its own merits. Overly ambitious sequels aside, The Matrix still holds up as an action-packed thrill ride, even if you can see every bend and loop in the track ahead.

The once groundbreaking special effects and camera tricks – like the infamous “bullet time” sequences and the freeze-frame 360-degree maneuvers – may not seem as original or startling now as they were a decade ago, but they still fit within the context of the film. It’s refreshing to see that the Wachowski brothers’ confident and distinctive visual style hasn’t lost any of its panache after all this time. And that lobby shootout is still just as awesome as ever.

A big 10 must have blu-ray discs.

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#4 Spider-Man the High Definition Trilogy

I have decided to throw in the whole Spiderman trilogy here as the Spider-Man entry to the list as it is a fantastic bundle and really showcases the evolution of the series. The original Spider-Man was a great movie and pulled us into the fantastical world of the webslinger and his discovery of his powers and epic first battles.

Spider-Man 2 showed us a more mature but troubled character and is the best movie of the series with Dr. Octopus nearly stealing the show. Spider-Man 3 ended the current trilogy with a good movie; it is the worst of the three, but still very good.

In this final chapter we have Peter facing a crisis on many fronts, his friends turn from him, new villains arise in Venom and the Sandman, and he needs to battle his dark side in the form of the black suit.

I don’t believe anyone could have done the series better justice then Sam Raimi as the director and the great cast and effects teams he led. The trilogy is truly a sight to watch in the Blu-ray format; the first film is presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio while the subsequent two are framed in 2.40:1 and all look amazing.

In almost every aspect of the movies the detail, color, and depth of image are represented in a way that needs to be seen to be believed. Sony should be commended for the care they took in these transfers and they are a high water mark for action films to emulate. Audio is presented in many ways, English: PCM 5.1 English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 and Portuguese:

Dolby Digital 5.1; all language tracks are mixed amazingly well and sound stunning. The mixing is truly the high point of the audio, sound levels are just right, and the channel usage is bang on across the board. Any of these films are a must have on Blu-ray, but the Trilogy edition is the true star. While there are minimal extras considering the trilogy aspect, the ones they have are relevant and entertaining.

Number 4 in the 10 must have blu-ray discs.

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#3 2001 A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey is a groundbreaking masterpiece in films and is a classic sci-fi movie. The movie centers around two astronauts on a mission to Jupiter and their AI-driven computer HAL who controls the ship.

The movie is complex, interesting, and a true treat to watch as the astronauts discover something is wrong with HAL and try to survive the journey. This movie is Stanley Kubrick at his best and features his signature amazing cinematography and beautifully used cinematic score.

The movie has been restored to a pristine state on Blu-ray and since it was originally filmed on 70mm in the 2.2:1 aspect ratio it is perfectly suited to this high definition format. Every color, detail, and light level is crisp and spot on.

This disc is true reference grade for the movie and needs to be owned by any fan. On the audio front it is presented in uncompressed PCM as well as Dolby Digital 5.1; while it sounds amazing, the mixing is front heavy so there is not a large amount of surround exposure; regardless, this movie sounds great.

Finally on the extras front the disc is loaded with documentaries, making of entries, and a great commentary by the two principle actors. All of these features are great and they add a huge amount of depth to the movie. 2001:

A Space Odyssey is a true classic and thanks to the great care given to this Blu-ray package it is truly one of the Blu-rays you MUST own, and is number 3 on the 10 must have blu-ray discs.

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#2 Blade Runner (Ultimate Collectors Edition)

Blade Runner is a powerful movie that speaks for itself and the fact that in the past 25 years many imitators have tried to replicate the look and tone of the picture.

Blade Runner is the story of Dekkard, a specialized police officer, called a blade runner, who hunts replicants (artificial humans) who have rebelled. The hero is not perfect — he has failings and often is at a loss in a situation; he is a real person who we can all relate to and in fact the movie sheds doubts on his very humanity.

The villains are not really good or evil, they are a group of people for whom time is running out and they are trying to find a way to not only stay alive but prove in fact that they are alive and deserve to live.

The movie is genre-defining and now 25 years later the faux future looks almost real with giant animated billboards, congested dirty streets, and people seemingly on the edge of despair.

The version we will focus on is the new version of the film, the amazing Blade Runner: The Final Cut. The video presentation of this version of Blade Runner is nothing short of spectacular. Ridley Scott has an insert and an introduction that explains this was a revolutionary 4K scan of the 35mm master and it shows. The black levels, the optical shots, and the color levels (especially the neons and the billboards) are amazing and true to life. This is a dark film (not a single bright-as-day scene aside from interior lights) and thankfully the levels are perfect and make this look like a recent film and not one that is over 25 years old. Audio is breathtaking with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 versions to choose from and the audio really takes advantage of the formats. Directional audio is abundant and bass is utilized to amazing effect, the sound levels are always great and the background noise is presented in a way that convinces you that this is truly a crowded and busy place Dekkard lives in.

Finally the extras — wow, if you are lucky enough to get the Ultimate Edition (I was) there are physical extras, but on the discs there is an amazing amount of material. Unbelievably Blade Runner is a five-disc collection, yes five discs, and it can be found for under $30 at most retailers. On the discs we have four extra versions of the film (on top of the final cut) all restored to the best level they could (original, international, director’s cut, and work print); these are all different versions, some subtle and some pronounced changes.

We also have many commentaries, a making of documentary that runs over 200 minutes, a number of making of featurettes and a look at the versions from work print to final. This is a staggering amount of material and is, I believe, the high water mark for Blu-rays both from a movie restoration/quality level and the extras that were included. Blade Runner: Complete Collector’s Edition is the must have and every single person who owns a Blu-ray player needs to have this collection.

Coming in at number 2 on the 10 must have blu-ray discs.

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#1 Close Encounters of the Third Kind

This is my all time favorite movie and comes in a two-disc Blu-ray set which is the definitive homage to Steven Spielberg’s classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The movie centers around an everyman who sees a UFO and explores what would happen if real people were to have an encounter of the third kind (meeting the aliens).

It is a movie that explores the nature of the human race as well as our viewpoints toward others and the potential for life on other worlds. This package contains the never before on video theatrical release, the theatrical re-release special edition, and the 1997 director’s cut. The movie is groundbreaking (even today), heartwarming, and a true classic, science fiction at its best.

The video presentations in these versions are equally stunning, presented in 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The film grain from the original print is perfectly represented (thankfully they didn’t digitally clean it). The color levels, blacks, and flesh tones are spot on and this release demonstrates how older films can still look amazing if handled correctly.

The audio is very strong with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby TrueHD 5.1 versions on the discs. The sound mixing is excellent with deep bass reproduction and effective surround levels; in particular the communication scene at the end is truly wonderful to listen to.

Finally we see a large amount of very high quality extras from interviews with Spielberg to an immense behind the scenes photo gallery to a documentary on the film and its impact. One of the coolest extras is the ‘view from above’ feature which flashes icons on screen to tell you when a scene came from an alternate version of the film. It is a neat feature that fans will love as it ties in directly with the included fold-out map that shows the differences in the versions. The film is amazing as is the presentation and extras, this is a must have for any Blu-ray owner.

And there you have in this authors opinion of course the 10 must have blu-ray discs.

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Tags: 10 must have blu-ray discs, blu-ray, blue ray

7 Responses to “10 Must Have Blu-Ray Discs”

Joe Mamachin 10 February 2010 at 11:46 am #

You forgot about all the great Cheech and Chong DVDs like Up in Smoke, Nice Dreams etc. Get a Life Man!!!!
Charles Hamel 10 February 2010 at 6:54 pm #

As far as I can tell none of the Cheech and Chong movies have been scanned over into Blu-Ray, so it would be a bit impossible to make the 10 must have blu-ray discs list.

But good suggestion anyways. How are you enjoying the snow?
Joe Mamachin 11 February 2010 at 1:34 am #

Snow??? What snow? I live in Mexico, man! If I want some snow, I take a trip down to Peru.
Charles Hamel 11 February 2010 at 7:47 pm #

Yeah I guess you couldn’t build a SNOWMAN in Mexico huh… wink wink Better check your Internet company, IP’s don’t lie….
Janice 25 March 2010 at 12:16 pm #

out of 10 i have 6. not bad right?
social media marketing tampa 8 May 2010 at 8:45 pm #

Pirates of the Caribbean and Underworld sure is! Although i haven’t seen yet most of the movies on your list, i’ll go ahead and watch them one of these days as per you recommendation. Thanks man!
Blu Ray 30 June 2010 at 10:39 am #

There’s some good stuff on your list, but Troy? Seriously? That film was dreadful. I think the Directors Cut of Watchmen is a must too, and I’m busy looking out for the release of all those great old Italian horror movies from the 80s on Blu-ray. Suspiria is already out and that’s my pick of the Blu-ray discs.

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