Blu-ray Notes | datastream.irregulara.org

Blu-ray Notes

Some recent Blu-ray tidbits:

AACS (Blu-ray DRM scheme/consortium) has reduced it’s licensing fees, offering relief to potential producers of small-run/micro-indie titles. Per-disc licensing fees for small, first-time runs (1000-2000) are around $1/disc. Still kinda steep, but we’ll see if it helps. With replication running an additional $2-2.50 a disc, and the complexity/expense of authoring (BD-J), BD still seems out of reach for micro/art projects.

Sonic has introduced BD-J Converter, a Windows-only plugin for Flash that supposedly converts “interactive animations” authored in Flash to BD-J. From the description(s), it doesn’t sound as useful as it would seem.

Sony also announced “movieIQ” a BD-live feature that grabs movie info from the Gracenote database. Uh… wasn’t this supposed to be one of the main features of BD-live in the first place? A little late to the game, this. Gizmodo:

Honestly, when Sony announced in 2006 that BD-Live would bring interactive, online content to Blu-ray players, this, I think, is was most people expected from the start.

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5 July 2009 : in Blu Ray : 1 Comment

By on 5 July 2009 at 1:33 PM

001- Hunger
Acclaimed visual artist Steve McQueen makes his feature film debut with this gripping drama (and Independent Spirit Award Best Foreign Film contender) that depicts the events surrounding a hunger strike staged by a group of IRA prisoners during their 1981 incarceration in Britain's Prison Maze. Led by IRA volunteer-poet Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender), […]
002- Revanche
In a ragged section of Vienna, hardened ex-con Alex (Johannes Krisch) works as an assistant in a brothel, where he falls for Ukrainian hooker Tamara (Irina Potapenko). They hope for escape, but their plans unexpectedly intersect with the lives of a rural cop (Andreas Lust) and his seemingly content wife (Ursula Strauss). Austrian Director Götz Spielmann […]
003- La Terre
Emile Zola's landmark novel about family greed, brutality and deceit is transferred powerfully to the silent screen. Pere Fouan divides his land equitably between his two conniving sons, but his generosity is rewarded with treachery. The sons hatch an insidious plot against their father, and when neighbor Françoise (Germaine Rouer) uncovers their plans, […]
004- The Hurt Locker
Kathryn Bigelow directs this gripping drama (nominated for three Golden Globes) following one of the U.S. Army's elite EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) teams operating in the ferocious war zone of Iraq. As the squad identifies and dismantles improvised explosive devices and other bombs, they must also contend with the frayed nerves and internal conflic […]
005- Hype
Yes, it's all about the hype when you view this fascinating disc devoted to Seattle's underground scene. Includes rare concert footage, debut performances, interviews and the first-ever live performance of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." In addition, you'll view film footage by such bands as Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Melvins, […]
006- Half-Cocked / Radiation
It's a night of music and misadventure in these two indie road films. In the comedy Half-Cocked, Rhoda and her friends unexpectedly form a punk band after stealing a van loaded with music equipment and wind up on a cross-country tour, while the drama Radiation follows unlucky music promoter Unai as he hits the highway to escape his problems, leaving a b […]
007- Winter Light
The second of writer-director Ingmar Bergman's trilogy of faith, a suicidal fisherman goes to local priest Tomas Ericsson in search of guidance, but the pastor is equally absorbed in despair, overcome with anger, apathy and doubt. Ericsson's severe hopelessness fuels a growing divide between himself, his mistress, his parishioners -- and God -- in […]
008- The Silence
Three passengers travel through a foreign country on the brink of war. Taking ill, Esther checks into a hotel room, with her sister Anna and Anna's son, Johan, occupying the adjoining suite. Still unable to travel the next day, Esther gives Johan a list of helpful translations for their journey and stays behind. Part of Ingmar Bergman's trilogy of […]
009- Through a Glass Darkly
Recently released from a mental institution, Karin is on holiday with her family. But their inability to give her love and support causes a mental breakdown that leads to a hallucinogenic episode during which Karin envisions God as a spider. Director Ingmar Bergman's experimental "chamber play", which won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film, is par […]
010- Schlock!: The Secret History of American Movies
Ray Greene directed this engrossing documentary that features clips of independent movies made in the pioneering era of the 1950s and '60s, along with interviews with the cinematic mavericks who made them (such as Sam Arkoff, Doris Wishman, Vampira, Roger Corman and Peter Bogdanovich). Includes rarely viewed clips by Wishman, David F. Friedman and Harry […]
011- Cockfighter
After an offhand boast costs him his best fighting cock -- and his chances at the Cockfighter of the Year award along with it -- Frank (Warren Oates) swears not to speak again until he has redeemed himself by winning that medal. But his fortunes continue to decline, and soon, he's lost much more, including his girlfriend. Monte Hellman directs this bloo […]
012- Dark City: Director's Cut
Alex Proyas directs this shadowy sci-fi masterpiece about a man (Rufus Sewell) who awakens to find himself accused of murder in a strange city. Now, he must untangle his jumbled memories while eluding both the police and a woman claiming to be his wife (Jennifer Connelly). This special edition director's cut boasts 11 minutes of new footage, plus commen […]
013- Alexandra
Nominated for a Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, this meditation on the effects of war from director Aleksandr Sokurov follows an elderly woman named Alexandra (Galina Vishnevskaya) as she travels to Chechnya to visit a grandson posted there. As seen through Alexandra's eyes, the barracks and its inhabitants reveal the staggering costs -- bo […]
014- Near Dark
In the dusty heart of the American southwest, innocent country boy Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) is handily seduced by a beautiful girl (Jenny Wright) into joining a pack of vicious drifters, which turns out to be no ordinary band of outlaws. Soon, Caleb is trapped in a nightmarish world of soulless evil and hellish mayhem that thrives on blood and absolute horror. […]
015- The Quiet Earth
After surviving the apocalypse, scientist Zac Hobson (Bruno Lawrence) faces a dangerous and uncertain new world in this thriller. The government researcher wakes up to find all human life on the planet completely destroyed. That is, until he encounters a lovely young woman (Alison Routledge) and a trucker (Pete Smith). Tension mounts as the survivors adapt t […]
016- Ace in the Hole
Fired from a number of big-city papers, reporter Charles Tatum (Kirk Douglas) tries to reestablish himself in New Mexico. When a local store owner is trapped in a cave-in, Tatum turns the victim's misfortune into a media frenzy to further his own career. A local sheriff agrees to help prolong the rescue efforts, thereby helping build up the story. This […]
017- Wide Awake
This disturbing Korean thriller centers on a little boy who -- due to a lack of sufficient anesthetic -- remains in a conscious but immobile state during open-heart surgery. Not surprisingly, he's severely traumatized by the torturous experience. Many years later, the now-grown man embarks on a homicidal tear in an attempt to exact revenge on the powers […]
018- Burnt Offerings
A vacationing family rents a sprawling mansion for the summer and soon discovers that all is not as it should be. Among other equally strange things, dead plants come back to life, and the swimming pool kills bathers -- which makes a quick dip out of the question. Stars Oliver Reed, Karen Black, Bette Davis and Burgess Meredith. […]
019- La Collectionneuse
The third of director Eric Rohmer's "Six Moral Tales" finds foxy and licentious Haydee (Haydee Politoff) bedding a different male each night on the French Riviera. When Haydee's moral well-being becomes the concern of self-absorbed Adrien (Patrick Bauchau) and his friend Daniel (Daniel Pommereulle) -- neither of whom will sleep with Hayde […]
020- L'Eclisse
Michelangelo Antonioni's trilogy ends with this haunting, starkly modern meditation on love. Tracing the trajectory of one relationship, L'Eclisse (aka The Eclipse) follows the exploits of a woman (Monica Vitti) who craves deep and abiding affection. Convinced that the man she's with (Francisco Rabal) can't give her what she needs, she le […]

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