Blu Ray Players Blog

The Music Man [Blu-ray]

The Music Man was one of the last great movie musicals from any studio, and it proved to be that rarest of events: a Broadway show that was measurably improved by its transition to the screen. Robert Preston made his musical debut–both live and on film–as “Professor” Harold Hill, the upbeat charlatan who promises to teach a small-town boys band by the “think system.” But it’s the part Preston was born to play and the one for which he will always be best remembered. Composer Meredith Willson based The Music Man on his own small-town Midwestern boyhood, circa 1912, a quasi-mythical place where the old-maid librarian looks and sings like Shirley Jones. The boy himself is an adorable Ron Howard, lisp-singing “Gary, Indiana.” Willson’s entire score, featuring a combination of what are now standards, such as “Goodnight My Someone” and “Till There Was You” and show-specific numbers (”Trouble,” “76 Trombones”), is never less than infectious. This dazzling special edition is also as bright and sunny as any 4th of July in Iowa could ever hope to be. –Robert Windeler

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Music Man
When this movie first came out I went to see it with one of my daughters. She has since passed awaay so it brings back so many plesant memories. I also love the music and the characters. It is a wonderful movie for people of all ages wish they made more loke them.

5 Stars Music Man - CD
This is a classic…a favorite of a 50ish son and a gift for him. So, I got a copy for myself too. We’d just seen a production of “Music Man Jr.” and it brought back to mind our pleasure in the wonderful work.

5 Stars The Music Man
Thoroughly enjoyable DVD, with excellent color and excellent quality. I love the music in this musical. Robert Preston does an incredible job as the con man who comes to town to start a boy’s band. The “76 Trombones” number is lots of fun. And it’s fun to see Ron Howard as a little boy. Great musical.

3 Stars Not my favorite musical
It’s possible I’m operating from a subconscious prejudice with regard to this movie (my parents went to see the original Broadway version and walked out before the end of the first act), but I really couldn’t bring myself to enjoy it as much as I probably should have. Playwright/composer Meredith Willson (who grew up in Mason City, IA, in the first two decades of the 20th Century, and played with John Philip Sousa’s band) was clearly writing what he knew, and with more than 40 songs–twice or more what most musicals boast–plus several lively dance numbers, it may be the finest of the late MGM examples. In the year 1912, a man (Robert Preston) who calls himself Prof. Harold Hill (”bandleaders are always called ‘Professor’”) comes to River City, IA, and soon persuades the citizens that the presence of a new pool table in their town (quite different, he insists, from a billiard table) is the first step on a slippery slope that will ruin their “innocent” sons and daughters, leading to “horse race gambling” and dancing to “shameless” ragtime music. His solution? “River City needs a boys’ band”–for which he is conveniently prepared to order instruments, uniforms, and manuals. What the audience knows and the Iowans don’t is that Hill (not his real name) is a con artist who can’t read a note (although, to be fair, the instruments and uniforms do arrive as advertised). His chief opposition is town librarian Marian Paroo (Shirley Jones), who thinks he’s a “masher” or worse, so of course he has to try to romance and distract her. But as he waits for the band equipment to arrive, he finds himself growing genuinely attached to her, her little brother Winthrop (Ronny Howard), and the town itself. He even does his bit to improve the place: by persuading the members of the School Board (the Buffalo Bills), who’ve been feuding for 20 years, to sing together in barbershop-quartet fashion, he defuses their rivalries; he engineers what may be the reformation of the local “wild kid,” Tommy Djilas (Timmy Everett), and furthers his courtship of Zaneeta Shinn (Susan Luckey), daughter of the mayor (Paul Ford), who happens to own the pool table and so distrusts Hill, and his wife (Hermione Gingold), whom Hill recruits to the band’s “dance committee.”

Of course the high point of the film is Preston recreating his original stage role; at 44 he still had a lot of zip, and his flamboyant style perfectly suits the con-artist character he plays. Jones’s soaring soprano is another plus, and it’s intriguing to see how, even with Queen Victoria 11 years in her grave, the small towns of America still lived heavily by Victorian codes, with an almost paranoid concentration on appearances and respectability. The costumes are wonderful and the library set particularly is charming. And yet somehow I just don’t seem to like this movie as much as I do Seven Brides for Seven Brothers or Meet Me In St. Louis (Two-Disc Special Edition). Maybe it just seems to be trying too hard (having been made well after either of them, in a day when, as Jones points out in her introduction, the studios just “weren’t making the big flashy musicals any more” and perhaps had forgotten how to do it right).

5 Stars Amazing film
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RG8KPXTO2KQZB I ramble and even cough a little, but I’ll tell you all about some of the wonderful points to this movie, which I only just got for Christmas, after it was on my lists for a year or so.

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The Machinist [Blu-ray]

Genre: Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 19-MAY-2009
Media Type: Blu-RayAs a bleak and chilling mood piece, The Machinist gets under your skin and stays there. Christian Bale threw himself into the title role with such devotion that he shed an alarming 63 pounds to play Trevor Reznik (talk about “starving artist”!), a factory worker who hasn’t slept in a year. He’s haunted by some mysterious occurrence that turned him into a paranoid husk, sleepwalking a fine line between harsh reality and nightmare fantasy–a state of mind that leaves him looking disturbingly gaunt and skeletal in appearance. (It’s no exaggeration to say that Bale resembles a Holocaust survivor from vintage Nazi-camp liberation newsreels.) In a cinematic territory far removed from his 1998 romantic comedy Next Stop Wonderland, director Brad Anderson orchestrates a grimy, nocturnal world of washed-out blues and grays, as Trevor struggles to assemble the clues of his psychological conundrum. With a friendly hooker (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and airport waitress (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón) as his only stable links to sanity, Trevor reaches critical mass and seems ready to implode just as The Machinist reveals its secrets. For those who don’t mind a trip to hell with a theremin-laced soundtrack, The Machinist seems primed for long-term status as a cult thriller on the edge. –Jeff Shannon

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars What happens when you take the wrong path
This is a story of a man whose life is deteriorating. Even his body is showing the effects of deterioration. Christian Bale lost a lot of weight for this role and the director took good advantage of this, using lighting to highlight every bone in his ribcage. Nicely done, although probably not good for Bale’s health!

The color scheme in this movie lends a hand in illustrating how bleak this man’s world has become. All the scenery around him is in bland gray tones. The only things in vivid color are the things he needs to pay attention to — like the red car that keeps popping up out of nowhere, the red route 66 sign, the blue car that hits him.

But instead of paying attention to these signs, he instead chooses to see them as a threat…becoming paranoid with each encounter, thus driving away the people who care for him and driving himself crazy in the process.

The lighting in this movie also lent a hand in illustrating mood. I perceived the lighting to be too harsh — especially at the machinery and at the airport — and likened this to the sensation of being asleep and suddenly having the lights turned on. The blinding light shocks you awake…just like every time he tries to sleep, something keeps him staying awake.

And for good reason.

This is a strange movie that I don’t see appealing to a wide audience. I know there were some parts that still confuse me, but overall, I still liked it. I enjoyed Christian Bale’s performance as well as the overall mood of the film. There’s a good lesson in here that shows what happens when you take the wrong path…and what happens when you stay there.

4 Stars No One Ever Died of Insomnia
I had forgotten how good this movie was until my wife and I watched it again the other night. The story follows Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale), a machinist (natch) who hasn’t slept for a year. He also apparently hasn’t eaten, as Reznik looks like he spent some serious time in a concentration camp (Taking method acting perhaps a step too far, Bale actually lost a dangerous amount of weight to play the role). We follow Reznik’s life as he moves from his job to his apartment, to the hooker (Jennifer Jason Lee) he visits, to the airport diner where his favorite waitress Marie (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón) works. As the film progresses, Reznik’s world begins to degenerate into a surreal paranoia, beginning when a co-worker (Michael Ironside) loses an arm in a machine Reznik accidentally activates after being distracted by a another co-worker, Ivan, whose existence is repeatedly denied by the other characters in the film. As Reznik searches for clues to this mystery, the answers threaten to shatter his perception of reality.

The principle actors in the film all are very convincing, especially Christian Bale, who looks seriously haunted in this picture. His Reznik is a walking bruise on the screen. John Sharian as Ivan, the mystery man with the disfigured hand is also a compelling screen presence. The visuals are dark and gritty, from the industrial machine shop Reznik spends his days to the cramped and grimy apartment he doesn’t sleep in. The action is slow developing, but it builds in intensity as the plot progresses and Reznik slips ever closer to the edge of endurance. This is a nice creepy psychological thriller, well worth watching.

5 Stars the incredible maniac bale
wow,

christian bale sure is extreme, going from big batman to that wreck in the machinist and back is very hard and unhealthy for your body, and no doubt your psychi as well.

the movie is a must see tour de force, pulling you in deeper the longer it runs, just a 5 star piece of movie

5 Stars The Machinist
Trevor Reznik, a quiet and reserved loner who works as a machinist, is wasting away from lack of food and sleep deprivation leaving him gaunt and fatigued. After a year of suffering from severe insomnia, he is involved in an accident at the workplace that leaves a co-worker seriously injured. What follows is a dark descent into paranoia, as Trevor’s downward spiral leaves him obsessed with finding out the meaning behind the strange and bizarre occurrences taking place around him. The Machinist is a gem, it’s Bale’s gripping, beyond-the-call-of-duty performance that makes this movie impressive.

5 Stars You must see this!
I can’t really think of anything catchy that will make you want to see this. All I can say is that you simply must see this!!!

Christian Bale gives, what I consider to be, his best performance ever. This movie is for movie buffs all the way. Watching this at points feels like a game of clue. You’re trying to put all the pieces together to make sense of whats going on. You’ll watch this more than once, and find metaphors and symbology and clues that you didn’t notice before… AND THEY ARE HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT! You will enjoy and appreciate that. The story itself is very well written, and almost flawless. The special features are pretty nice and informative, so even if you’ve never seen it, you’re in for a treat. If you haven’t seen this at all yet (like me), GET IT!

P.S, my only gripe is the menus. Its very hard to tell which one is highlighted.

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HDScape Sampler [Blu-ray]

HDScape Blu-ray discs transform your television and home theater system into breathtaking High Definition environments capturing the world’s most beautiful scenery by award-winning cinematographers with musical accompaniments and natural sounds.

The HDScape sampler features clips from beautiful, entertaining Blu-ray Disc programs such as Antarctica Dreaming, Exotic Saltwater Aquarium, Fireplace: Visions of Tranquility, HD Window: Hawaii, HD Window: The Great Southwest, Serenity: Southern Seas, and Visions of the Sea: Explorations.

HDScape: Advancing the Art of HD

HDScape is the leading producer of High Definition discs that turn your Plasma, LCD, CRT or DLP HDTV home theater system into a work of art.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Beautiful Scenes. A must buy for anyone going into Blu-ray.
Would recommend it to any who is just getting on the Blu-ray bandwagon. Great for checking out the new BD players.

4 Stars A great intro to the HDscape line of Blu-ray disks
I bought this when I first got my Blu-ray player. I didn’t want to invest good money in background disks that didn’t look good so I used this as a “test”. This DVD is just what it says it is — a “sampler” of the company’s products. Granted, it probably should be given away as a promo, but it’s actually very nice and keep me satisfied for months before I succumbed to temptation and bought the FULL version of ALL of them (great sale at the company website).

2 Stars Should be free
Anyone that got the chance to see or hear this first would not spend even this small amount.

4 Stars Beautiful samples from different blu ray discs
A lot of nice fishes, spectacular places….I think that it is a very good experience of high definition for 3 dollars.This blu ray disc was very cheap and you receive even more than what you have paid for.

2 Stars At least now I don’t have to buy the full versions…
This sampler is only good in that you will instantly realize there’s no point in buying the full versions of the HDscapes.

I’ve become a bit obsessed with trying to find the right “screensaver” for my HD TV. Fireplaces and Aquariums are my favorite, so naturally I jumped at this sampler to see if maybe HDScape would be able to offer what I need. Unfortunately, they did not. These images aren’t even true HD and are poorly filmed. I wouldn’t have any of the samples playing during any occasion, as it’d make my expensive tv look cheap. Stay away!

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The African Queen [Blu-ray]

John Huston made better, more powerful films than The African Queen, but none so universally beloved, on first appearance and over the decades since. In this adaptation of the C.S. Forester novel, Humphrey Bogart (who would win the best-actor Oscar®) and Katharine Hepburn costar as an unlikely pair thrown together in German East Africa during the First World War. He’s the gin-soaked skipper of what we might call the title character, a none-too-reliable steam launch chugging along the backwaters of the “”Dark Continent.”" Hepburn’s a straitlaced Methodist missionary who, following the demise of her bachelor brother (Robert Morley) and the burning of their village by Kaiser Wilhelm’s troops, determines that the Queen should be used to attack the Königin Luise, a large German gunboat patrolling a lake downriver. It’s an absurd proposition. Then again, John Huston and the absurd were always on familiar terms.

It wasn’t until he got to the Congo that the director realized what a funny picture The African Queen was going to be, thanks to the odd coupling of Bogie and Kate: “”One brought out a vein of humor in the other, and this comic sense, which had been missing from the book and screenplay, grew out of our day-to-day shooting.”" Within the gunwales of a not-very-large boat, Huston managed to devise myriad ways to keep his two leading characters on separate visual planes even as circumstance and tender emotional urgency conspired to push them together. This was Huston’s first feature film in Technicolor, and the peerless Jack Cardiff (The Red Shoes) was there to shoot it. Unfortunately, neither of them could do anything about the process-screen technology needed for, and glaringly inadequate to, the sequence of Bogart and Hepburn shooting the rapids–just about the only lapse in an enchanting fairy tale for adults. The script is credited to Huston and James Agee; the uncredited Peter Viertel, summoned to the African locations to write some additional material, would later fictionalize the experience as White Hunter, Black Heart, a savage roman à clef. –Richard T. Jameson

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Stars Not Recommended
This DVD is for a European DVD player. I did not realize thiswhen I placed my order.

1 Stars no show
When I purchased this dvd I had no idea what region 2 was so therefore I cannot play the dvd. It wasn’t explained very good at all Now I’m stuck with it I blame myself half and the seller half NEVER heard of region 2

5 Stars Took You Long Enough!
Well the marketing geniuses at Paramount finally came up with idea of putting one of the finest films in history on DVD! I actually have no idea why this took so long and don’t care, nor do i care what the special features are. This gets 5 stars because it is not a bootleg or from another country. It’s 2010 and every classic has been put out on DVD except for this and “Song of the South” so I’m happy.

5 Stars REMASTERED MASTERPIECE - NOT ASIAN JUNK!!!
Just heard about this upcoming release when I heard an interview with Nicholas Meyer, the writer/director of all the best Star Trek Movies (i.e, Wrath of Khan)as well as the excellent “Seven Percent Solution”. He has produced a new remastered version of this CLASSIC — the last holdout on the American Film Institute’s List of the 100 Best Movies of All Time.

This is not the ASIAN crap-fest that I have purchased in the past. It was even previewed in all its remastered glory by the late Academy Award winning cinematographer Jack Cardiff, who actually shot the film on location in Africa with Bogart, Bacall, Huston and Hepburn. He gave it his blessing and it also includes his commentary. A making-of documentary is also included.

Paramount used an original print that was meticulously cleaned up frame-by-frame to create what is sure to be an awesome DVD release worthy of any collection. A special commemorative box set is also slated for release soon, so don’t be afraid of shooting the rapids on this release with Bogart and Hepburn. It may be a bumpy ride, but is sure to be an excellent experience, one which film afficianados have been awaiting for a very long time.

4 Stars African Queen DVD (Last minute gift)
The discription was confusing, I wasn’t sure if the DVD was made in Japan or the US. Couldn’t find a copy anywhere and needed to get one shipped for Christmas, so ordered it anyway. Delivery was fast and accurate. and the recipient seemed to be happy with it.

Thanks.

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An Evening with Il Divo: Live in Barcelona [Blu-ray]

1. On Tour (Documentary) 2. Overture (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 3. Somewhere (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 4. Unbreak My Heart (Regresa A Mi) (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 5. La Promesa (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 6. Angelina (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 7. Isabel (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 8. Bridge Over Troubled Water (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 9. She (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 10. Passera (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 11. Unchained Melody (Senza Catene) (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 12. Mama; Mama\ Instrumental Interlude (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 13. Nights In White Satin (Notte Di Luce(Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 14. The Winner Takes It All (Va Todo Al Ganador) (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 15. Without You (Desde El Dia Que Te Fuiste) (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 16. Pour Que Tu M’Aimes Encore (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 17. Everytime I Look At You (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 18. Hallelujah (Aleluya) (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 19. Adagio (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 20. La Vida Sin Amor (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 21. Caruso (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 22. The Power Of Love (La Fuerza Mayor) (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 23. My Way (A Mi Manera)(Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 24. Amazing Grace (Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1) 25. The Impossible Dream(Live In Barcelona - DTS HD Master Audio Surround 5.1)

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars WOW!!
Gosh, where do I start? It was wonderful! Since my husband and I saw Il Divo in concert last summer we were really looking forward to seeing this DVD which we ordered from Amazon.com. We were not disappointed in what we saw. It was basically the exact same concert we saw so for us it was like reliving the whole thing. We bought the Blu Ray version and I think we would have been just as happy with the regular DVD cut. It just didn’t seem Blu Ray quality to us as opposed to other Blu Ray discs we have seen. That does not, however, take away from the concert itsef. I would highly recommend this concert footage to anyone who is an Il Divo fan and if you are trying to convert someone to become an Il Divo fan here is your chance. It was nice to see the guys from different stage angles as opposed to where we were seated during the actual concert. They put their hearts and souls into every song they sing and it shows in the quality of their music. I can’t wait for them to come back to Houston again. In the mean time I will just watch this disc again and again when I need my Il Divo “fix”. Check it out - you won’t be disappointed!!

1 Stars Il schlocko suckos
This is God aweful schlock! I cannot beleive I bought this based on some idiot’s review in Amazon. I could not even stand to watch the whole sickening video.. Reminds me of Joel Osteen church service except that they are singing stuff that appeals to middle aged lonely women. the spanish singer is particularly revolting. He thinks he is a cross betwee billy ray cyrus and rudolf valetina but he really is closer to Pinky lee. these guys wouldn’t last 30 seconds on American idol Absolutely run from this purchase, unless of course you will buy my partly used copy! please email.

tigermaya

5 Stars Il Divo Heaven
The newest CD/DVD of the mega hit group IL DIVO is to die for. I saw them in concert in Portland Oregon and I have to say that though this DVD is fabulous, nothing beats seeing them live.

The sound and lighting were great and of course the men were terrific. You could tell at times though that they didn’t seem as quick on the lyrics, but I didn’t notice anything like that when I saw them in concert.

With old favorite such as My Way and Mama, but new renditions of old favorites such as A Bridge Over Troubled Water and the incomparable song The Impossible Dream, the newest edition of musical delights brought to us from IL DIVO will leave your heart pounding and you feet swinging on La Vida Sin Amor.

A great buy for an IL DIVO fan and I look forward to seeing them again and also purchasing anything that they put out.

5 Stars The singing is outstanding
This Il Divo DVD is outstanding. I really enjoyed it. The music is great and the dialog with the audience adds an extra personal feel to the DVD.

5 Stars Musica Excelente!!!! They are all very gifted.
Excelente, (SP.) Ausgezeichnet(Swiss) Excellent,(AM.) Excellent(FR.)

These four gentlemen are to Operatic Classical Music, as Michael Angelo is to Art….Superb and incomparable, an “International Phenomenon”. Their live performance is of equal quality as their “CD Recordings” a true testament to their God-given talent. John Ritter - Dallas, Tx.

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