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DVD Shopping Bag: 100th Anniversary of Universal Studios
What it means in DVDs and Blu-rays By
Robert T. Trate
January 30, 2012
The New Universal Logo
© Universal Studios/Comcast
There comes a time when you just have to sit and watch that movie. Perhaps you missed it in the theater. It was always on TV, but for some reason you never got to see it from the beginning. My personal favorite is having a job where you have to watch genre based movies all the time and have little time for anything else. I know, pity the guy who has to watch horror, sci-fi, and superhero movies every week. Well, I bent the rules a tad this week and popped in Universal’s new 50th Anniversary Collector's Series Edition Blu-ray ofTo Kill a Mockingbird.
Now if you need some genre based tie ins for this title, how about these fun facts: Superman’s favorite book is Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”. This is fitting if you have ever watched the movie or read the book. With this in mind, I had this strange feeling that in a different time and place Gregory Peck would have made a great Superman/ Clark Kent. Another genre tie in is that Brock Peters, who plays Tom Robinson, is a Star Trek veteran. He was Admiral Cartwright in two different Trek movies and played Joseph Sisko on Deep Space Nine. I’ll mention that he was also the original Lucius Fox on the animated Batman series. My final six degrees tie in will be that Robert Duvall, who plays Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird, was also THX 1138 in THX 1138.
I am not here to justify my watching a non genre title on the company’s time. What I am here to tell you is that Universal’s release of To Kill a Mockingbird sets a precedent for their other titles slated to be released this year. The special features are identical to the 2005 Legacy DVD Edition of To Kill a Mockingbird,yet this Blu-ray transfer is breathtaking. It looks as if this film was shot only yesterday with the latest technology. The opening title sequence by Stephen Frankfurt is so real I felt as if I could reach up and pull the items down off the screen. The entire film is beautiful to watch and really gets me excited for the other titles slated for this year.
If you read this column on a weekly basis, as you should, you’ve noticed a few older Universal titles have already returned. Some, again, to DVD and a few have gotten their first Blu-ray release. Others have been rehashed with the new Universal 100th Anniversary logo on the box. Be ready as not all these titles or individual releases will be created equal. To Kill a Mockingbird alone has three different releases today. Universal promises that 13 of their landmark titles will get a complete restoration. Get ready as the likes of Jaws, Frankenstein, and of course E.T. (which will be celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year) will finally get Blu-rays. Universal has announced 8 of the tiles so far. Hopefully the likes of Dracula and Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds will be in that remaining five.
Check the DVD Shopping Bag every week for their releases. Be on the look out for my reviews of these landmark titles in the coming year as well.
Top 5 Picks of the Week:
1. To Kill a Mockingbird 50th Anniversary Edition Collector's Series [Blu-ray Book + DVD + Digital Copy]
2. Drive (+ UltraViolet Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]
3. Das Boot (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray]
4. Star Trek: The Next Generation - Next Level [Blu-ray]
5. Dead Hooker in a Trunk
ACTION / ADVENTURE / KUNG FU/ THRILLERS / WESTERNS
The Double [Blu-ray] Starring Richard Gere, Topher Grace, Martin Sheen and Stephen Moyer
The Double Starring Richard Gere, Topher Grace, Martin Sheen and Stephen Moyer
Drive (+ UltraViolet Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] Starring Ryan Gosling and Bryan Cranston
Drive Starring Ryan Gosling and Christina Hendricks
Fernando Di Leo crime collection [Blu-ray] Starring Jack Palance, Henry Silva, Barbara Bouchet
Hunted By Night Starring Jencarlos Canela, Juan C. Bofill, Sonya Smith and Al Galvez
One Piece: Collection Four Starring Colleen Clinkenbeard, Eric Vale, Christopher R. Sabat
Outrage: Way of the Yakuza Starring Takeshi Kitano and Ryo Kase
Outrage: Way of the Yakuza [Blu-ray] Starring Takeshi Kitano and Ryo Kase
Texas Killing Fields [Blu-ray] Starring Sam Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jessica Chastain
Texas Killing Fields Starring Sam Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jessica Chastain
ANIME
B Gata H Kei: Yamada's First Time Complete Series (Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo) Starring Scott Freeman, Atsushi Abe, Brittney Karbowski
B Gata H Kei: Yamada's First Time Complete Series (Blu-ray/DVD Combo) Starring Scott Freeman, Atsushi Abe, Brittney Karbowski
Ef: A Tale of Memories Complete Collection
ef ~ A Tale of Memories: Complete Collection [Blu-ray]
Phantom: Requiem For the Phantom (Blu-ray/DVD Combo) Starring Newton Pittman and Shay Moore
CLASSICS
Das Boot (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray] Starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann
To Kill a Mockingbird 50th Anniversary Edition [Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy] Starring Gregory Peck, Frank Overton and John Megna
To Kill a Mockingbird 50th Anniversary Edition Starring Gregory Peck, Frank Overton and John Megna
To Kill a Mockingbird 50th Anniversary Edition Collector's Series [Blu-ray Book + DVD + Digital Copy] Starring Gregory Peck, Frank Overton and John Megna
COMEDY AND LOVE Mania Style
Adaptation [Blu-ray] Starring Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper and Tilda Swinton
Nothing in Common [Blu-ray] Starring Tom Hanks, Jackie Gleason and Eva Marie Saint
HORROR
2 Headed Shark Attack [Blu-ray] Starring Carmen Electra, Brooke Hogan and Charlie O'Connell
2 Headed Shark Attack Starring Carmen Electra, Brooke Hogan and Charlie O'Connell
The Bunnyman Massacre Starring Cheryl Texiera, Matthew Albrecht, Alaina Gianci
Dead Hooker in a Trunk (2012)
Dream House Starring Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz
Dream House [Blu-ray] Starring Daniel Craig and Naomi Watts
Dr. Jekyll Vs. The Werewolf (1972) Starring Paul Naschy, Shirley Corrigan and Jack Taylor
Hell On Earth Starring Mary Corrine Miller, Peter Stickles Brett Fallon
Mommy's Little Monster Starring Todd Bridges
Night Train Murders [Blu-ray] Starring Flavio Bucci, Macha Meril, Enrico Maria Salerno
Roxsy Tyler's Carnival of Horror's ''A Leech Named Bassant'' Starring Roxsy Tyler, Johnnie13, John Charles Hunt
The Thing (2011) Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen
The Thing (2011) (Two-Disc Combo Pack: Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet) Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen
Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show Starring Giuseppe Soleri, Paolo Sassanelli and Laura Gigante
MODERN CLASSICS on BLU-RAY
Cold Mountain [Blu-ray] Starring Jude Law
The English Patient [Blu-ray] Starring Willem Dafoe and Ralph Fiennes
Shakespeare in Love [Blu-ray] Starring Geoffrey Rush, Tom Wilkinson and Steven O'Donnell
SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY
In Time [Blu-ray] Starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried
In Time Starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Three-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy)
TV LAND
Agatha Christie's Poirot: Series 1 [Blu-ray] Starring David Suchet, Philip Jackson and Hugh Frasier
Leave It To Beaver: 20 Timeless Classics Starring Jerry Mathers
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Next Level [Blu-ray]
BOX SETS
Best Picture Academy Award Winners: 5 Film Coll Starring Willem Dafoe and Ralph Fiennes
Best Picture Academy Award Winners: 5 Film Coll [Blu-ray] Starring Willem Dafoe and Ralph Fiennes
Transformers Limited Edition Collector's Trilogy (Seven-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Boxed Set: Transformers / Transformers 2 / Transformers 3 (+ Blu-ray 3D Version)) Starring Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson
Robert Trate writes three weekly columns for Mania: the DVD Shopping Bag, the Toy Maniac, and The Geek Life. Follow Robert on Twitter for his for Geek ramblings, Cosplay photos and film criticisms.
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the banner ad at the top and the article weren't planned by me (the columnist)