blu-ray

Rocky is one of those cultural institutions that’s inescapably referenced, parodied and otherwise appreciated at every turn. If you’ve never seen Rocky, you’re wrong. You’re probably seen enough of it, in bits and pieces dispersed through the rest of the world, to know exactly what it’s all about. After surviving a run of six movies over 30 years, it all must mean something.

To be perfectly honest, my own interest in Rocky was only sparked in 2006 with the release of The Meat action figure, and my interest in boxing went as deep as trying to defeat Soda Popinski in Mike Tyson’s Punch Out! Still, we all love a good movie about a person beating the odds to become something special and live their dreams. It’s like Scarface, but with much less cocaine and naked weirdness. I think that any film that’s earned an Academy Award for Best Picture is worth owning in the best possible format.

Of course, after the highly rated Rocky, the films suffer a steady decline in ratings points until the relatively successful comeback of ‘Rocky Balboa’ in 2006, but it’s more about watching the odyssey of a single man over a span of 30 years than embracing a flawless cinematic experience. With Stallone expressing no interest in pursuing a Rocky 7 at this point (despite online interviews which were garbled by BabelFish suggesting otherwise), this is very likely the definitive collection for the entire saga, and in the best available format.

We’ll worry about what format comes next when it actually happens, but reports from this set pretty definitively state that the earlier films were simply shot on older technology that never anticipated the crystalline clarity that we have today. In short, grainy films are grainy. It can be a big part of the atmosphere and the charm, and to remaster things to the point where they no longer resemble the actual master is an exercise in pointlessness, and to a large degree, artlessness.

The Blu-Ray set includes seven discs in a great little shiny slipcase. Each disc obviously contains one complete film, with a seventh disc set aside for a bunch of extra features : the usual Making Of and Behind The Scenes stuff, a game, trailers, commentary from Stallone himself, interviews, and tributes to both James Crabe (director of photography, originally on the 2006 DVD ‘Definitive’ edition of Rocky) and Burgess Meredith (Mickey, also available on the same DVD). There’s no scene guide in this package, so be sure to retain the slipcase for all of this information. Ignore the Amazon reviews for this also – they display low ratings only because Amazon lowered the price on the item after said reviewers purchased it and have nothing to do with the product itself. I think that the intellectual leap it will take to get humanity to use Amazon product reviews properly is akin to what it took to invent the wheel. Seriously, people.

In a severely limited Blu-Ray collection, or any DVD collection, this is an essential part to have around. Godfather, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Rocky – these are the essential collections of movies that should exist in any collection. Snag it for around 50 bucks, which is a stellar price for a full epic in superior fidelity.

There aren’t a lot of films that really need to be in a Blu-Ray format. Classics, things with amazing cinematography, things that can be considered art, things with a considerable attention to detail. These are the things that benefit from an intense amount of clarity – and for the love of god, nothing with Vince Vaughn or Sarah Jessica Parker ever needs to be seen with any modicum of clarity. I intentionally poke myself in the eye if I accidentally see them on TV. It’s for my own survival.

I’m still being sold on the merits of Blu-Ray over my handsome DVD collection, and while the DVD medium will likely be hanging around for at least another decade, I’m slowly collecting things that really deserve to be seen in excruciating clarity. The list is small, and the films of Pixar figure heavily into this list. In fact, the only three Blu-Rays that I own are Disney films.

Disney and Pixar recently released Monsters Inc. and Up on Blu-Ray for the first time. Both films also have DVD editions which were published, so every type of physical modern media is covered. But this is what I absolutely love about Disney’s DVD releases, and how friendly they are to collectors who are as uncertain of new media forms as I am : the Blu-Ray editions of both films also include DVD copies in the same case, as well as a digital disc for use on an iPod or other small-screen device. You’re covered in every possible aspect. I only need one, but it’s good to be covered on all fronts.

Which is really unprecedented. What’s even more incredible about collecting these is that these 4-disc sets are set to retail around  $40 each, but can often be purchased brand new for $20 or under, which is effectively the same price as buying one new DVD anyhow. The choice is made for you. This is the ultimate in collector friendliness.

While the Blu-Ray discs include a huge array of extra bonus features, the packaging fails to describe precisely what’s included on the single DVD disc as extras. Rest assured that everything that’s described as being on the first Blu-Ray disc is included on the DVD also. In the case of Monsters Inc., all of the original bonuses are listed as included.

So, this blog isn’t to deliver film critiques, but rather comment on the collectability of various items throughout history and make you aware of their existence, and these things may just happen to be films. Allow me to digress for one moment into a small film critique : Up is probably one of the most beautiful films I’ve ever seen. It’s heartbreaking, uplifting, moving, hilarious, and such a visceral experience that I fully expect it to win multiple awards whenever they give out those things. As someone who has had a hard time coping with a lot of loss at once, this film was exactly what I needed to get back on my feet. It’s a PG film, but the depth is amazing. That’s all I’m going to say about that.

In terms of collecting movies, Pixar fulfills every criteria I described in the first paragraph. They’re worth having in the best possible format. There’s a real stigma against cartoons that should be lifted here, because while animated, they’re not ‘cartoons’. They’re films. They explore the fantastic in an innovative way, but they’re definitely films – in the best possible way.