Blu-ray Round Up Volume 2!

Welcome to the second Blu-ray round up! I'm really excited to bring these latest catalog releases to you guys. We're going to be taking a look at four blu-rays this time. Three that have just been released and one that will available on May 19. We have a dark thriller/drama, a teen comedy, a musical, and a dance sort of coming of age drama.

So without further delay, here are our reviews of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and The Machinist.






Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Written and Directed by: John Hughes
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, Alan Ruck, Jennifer Grey, Jeffrey Jones, Edie McClurg, and Ben Stein

Blu-ray specs:
1080p High Definition
English 5.1 DOLBY TrueHD
French 2.0 Dolby Surround, Spanish Mono
English/English SDH, French, Spanish, and Portuguese Subtitles

Bonus Features: Getting the Class Together: The Cast of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Making of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Who Is Ferris Bueller?, The World According to Ben Stein, Vintage Ferris Bueller: The Lost Tapes, Class Album

It is certainly one of my favorite movies from the 80's. Who didn't want to be Ferris? Even to this day this movie has a special place in my heart. This is simply one of the greatest films of the decade and certainly one of my favorite John Hughes movies. It made Matthew Broderick a household name and has become a pop culture icon.

The film features the single best performance Jennifer Grey has ever done. She plays this part so perfectly that I almost forget she is acting at all.

The film if possible, is even better on blu-ray. It gives those of us who missed the chance at seeing this at a theater the chance to see the film as crystal clear and sharp as if it was on the big screen.

The problem with this release is that it doesn't offer anything new. It's just the hi-def version of the most recent "Bueller...Bueller... Edition" release on DVD.

The storage capacity for blu-ray would have certainly allowed for a lot more features if you ask me. Maybe a gag reel, deleted scenes, something more than what we got. They could easily have tagged the short lived Ferris Bueller TV series onto this set and made it a complete collectors edition with all things Ferris! Also missing is any commentary tracks for the film.

As for the features we do get, they're not much to write home about. It's basically a lot of behind the scenes stuff and interviews. Nothing too terribly interesting and if you've bought the previous release of this film than these are features you already have.

The film certainly deserves more in a blu-ray release that it has been given. But, in the absences of a better supplemented release, certainly pick up this version and check out Ferris Bueller's Day Off in it's 1080p High Definition glory.


Grease
Written by: Bronte Woodard
Adaptation by: Allan Carr
based on the musical by: Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey
Directed by: Randal Kleiser
Starring: Olivia Newton-John, John Travolta, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway, DiDi Conn, with Eve Arden, Sid Caeser, and Frankie Avalon.

Blu-ray Specs:
1080p High Definition
English 5.1 DOLBY TrueHD
French 2.0 Dolby Surround, Spanish Mono
English/English SDH, French, Spanish, and Portuguese Subtitles

Bonus Features: Rydell Sing-Along, 11 Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes, DVD Launch Party, Grease Memories from John and Olivia, The Moves Behind The Music, Thunder Roadsters, Theatrical Trailer

Ah Grease. The perfect musical. "Summer Lovin', "We Go Together," You're The One That I Want." The list goes on and on. Perfection. Who doesn't love Grease? It's a cultural icon and more than thirty years after its original release it's just as fresh as it ever was.

Especially, on blu-ray. The picture here is fantastic. I wouldn't expect a film thirty plus years old could look as pristine as this one does. It's gorgeous and bright. The colors explode off the screen.

The sound is mind blowing as well. The songs sound amazing and everything seems as though the film was released yesterday.

I'm not sure I could ask for a better transfer for this film. It's almost like seeing it for the first time.

That said, this release seems to have the same problem as the previously discussed Ferris Bueller. It's just a rehash of the previous DVD release, "The Rockin' Rydell Edition"

I can't understand why they wouldn't take advantage of a great format like blu-ray and release a comprehensive Grease set? Why not jam this thing full of new features instead of just slapping the old stuff on a pretty new disc. Sure the film looks and sounds beautiful but the supplements are stale. Give us something fresh to justify dropping the cash on a new version.

I can only guess that there are plans for a better edition to be released in the future. It just seems to me that Grease is getting much the same treatment now that it got back when it was first released in theaters. Just a sort of throwaway film. This is a pop culture monster. Give the fans something to get excited about!

Saturday Night Fever
Written by: Norman Wexler
Based on the magazine article by: Nik Cohn (Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night)
Directed by: John Badham
Starring: John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Fran Drescher, Barry Miller, Joseph Cali, and Paul Pape

Blu-ray Specs:
1080p High Definition
English 5.1 DOLBY TrueHD
French 2.0 Dolby Surround, Spanish Mono
English/English SDH, French, Spanish, and Portuguese Subtitles

Bonus Features: Commentary by Director John Badham, Catching The Fever (A 30 Year Legacy, Making Soundtrack History, Platforms & Polyester, Deejay's & Disco, and Spotlight on Travolta), Back to Bay Ridge, Dance like John Travolta and John Cassese, Fever Challeng!, 70's Discopedia, and Deleted Scenes

I had never seen Saturday Night Fever before and to be honest had always figured it was just a throwaway cornball dance movie. That probably doesn't make me the most noble of movie fans but for some reason I had it stuck in my head that this movie wasn't worth the time to watch it.

I couldn't be happier to be wrong. Saturday Night Fever is a great film. My enjoyment of it may have something to do with my desire to educate myself in films from decades I am not really well versed in. I'm a child of the 80's and as a cinephile, I'm ashamed to say that most of my movie knowledge is from that decade and on. I have been trying my hardest to see more older films and classics (thankfully, this gig I have makes it easier to do so).

Anyway, that said, Saturday Night Fever is a prime example of the great film that came out of the 70's. John Travolta's Oscar nomination for his role as Tony Manero was well deserved. This is a great character and he is extremely relatable. A guy who wants to make himself a better life and get out of the poverty he lives in is something anyone can really relate to. I don't know about using disco dancing to do so but hey, whatever works.

The Blu-ray looks incredible. This movie is 32 years old and it looks clear as you could ever want. I'm shocking how well of a transfer we have here. Both in terms of picture and sound. I use the phrase a lot but it really looks like it was made yesterday.

The special features are pretty interesting for the most part. Deleted scenes are always great to have. I like to see what filmmakers have to sacrifice to get a film under a certain run time or to keep the pacing. There are several little featurettes about the making of the film. I found myself creeped out by the Dance Like Travolta feature though. John Cassese just set me on edge for some reason.

I'm glad I finally got over my snobbery and watched Saturday Night Fever. It turned out to be an extremely enjoyable film with some fantastic (oscar nominated) music. I would suggest anyone give it a shot, especially with the gorgeous looking picture on Blu-ray!

The Machinist
Written by: Scott Kosar
Directed by: Brad Anderson
Starring: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Michael Ironside

Blu-ray Specs:
1080p High Definition
English 5.1 DOLBY TrueHD
French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
English/English SDH, French, Spanish, and Portuguese Subtitles

Bonus Features: Audio Commentary by Director Brad Anderson, Manifesting The Machinist, The Machinist: Hiding in Plain Sight, The Machinist: Breaking The Rules, Deleted Scenes, Theatrical Trailer

The Machinst is a dark dramatic thriller about an industrial worker who feels he is going insane after not having slept for a year and his decent into paranoia and conspiracy. This is a small independent film that has achieved cult-like status mainly from the deeply effecting direction and story to the extremely dedicated performance of Christian Bale. Bale lost 63 pounds for this film, turning himself into a gaunt shadow of his former self (and making his physique in Batman Begins even that more impressive).

It is a dark, moody, and almost disturbing film that for me eliminated any doubts as to the abilities of its star. Christian Bale is incredibly in this film. His performance is a revelation.

We have a wildly original script from Scott Kosar with expert direction from Brad Anderson and it all adds up to a great film. A film made even better on Blu-ray. If it was hard to look at Christian Bale in this movie before wait till you see it in crystal clear 1080P high def. You'll find yourself extremely immersed in the madness (or lack there off) in the characters life.

As for features, we get an audio commentary and a few featurettes, two of which are presented in HD. We also have deleted scenes and a theatrical trailer. You'll learn a lot about the movie with these features but I would like a bit more. I'm finding myself wanting more features about the subject matter in the movies I'm watching. Just more to teach me about the ailments or events a character is experiencing.

Beyond that, it's a great release for The Machinist. The film is presented perfectly with pristine picture and incredible sound. It makes this cult film worth watching over and over, assuming you don't start going a little mad yourself.

That's it for this round up. We'll have another one up next month! In the meantime, check out the films we reviewed this time. They're all worth your time and money and only serve to make these four great films even better.

Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off are all available on Blu-ray now.

The Machinist will be available on May 19.