OTHER TECH

8. The Passion of the Christ

Matters of faith and inherent controversy aside, there's no denying the box office power and home video draw of Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ. I would question the motives of anyone excited by the prospect of seeing a man beaten and crucified to death in HD, but I imagine The Passion of the Christ's audience wouldn't be nabbing a Blu-ray copy for the heightened level of detail. They would, however, be responding to a vacuum in the BD market. Christian moviegoers and church groups have been the key to recent box office upsets (Mel's Passion is the top-grossing R-rated film of all time and made $600 million worldwide) and would presumably scoop up a Blu-ray release in a heartbeat. Looking at the film's overwhelming success on DVD, a BD edition would not only turn quite a profit, but appeal to a demographic that isn't in a rush to nab a Blu-ray player and a copy of Crank.

However, Fox probably hasn't given serious consideration to releasing The Passion of the Christ on Blu-ray for the same reason I considered leaving it off this list: Since most church attendees have DVD players, DVD sales were predictably strong. However, there's no solid data on whether a proportional amount of these consumers have any interest in Blu-ray or already own a BD player. It's the sort of game-changer that has the potential to increase BD market share, but could just as easily go unnoticed since I imagine deacons and choir members don't invest as readily in their home theaters. Don't misunderstand: I remain convinced that a Blu-ray edition of The Passion of the Christ would sell by the thousands while convincing hordes of Christian HDTV owners to upgrade from DVD (particularly if it were released before Easter). I just recognize that it would be a risky gimmick that might not pay off.

7. Back to the Future Trilogy

Is there any child of the '70s or '80s who didn't hang off a clock tower with Doc Brown? Rocket down the street with Marty in a DeLorean? Cheer when George punched Biff? The Back to the Future films have proven themselves capable of earning a wide array of fans - young and old, male and female - as well as a sizeable chunk of box office (nearly $1 billion worldwide) and home video cash (millions more).

Before it was finally released on DVD in 2002, fans had been clamoring for Universal to release the trilogy. Once again, those same fans (now Blu-ray devotees) are begging the studio to release the Back to the Future films in high definition.

Beyond the Mummy series and Bourne trilogy, Universal has been rather hesitant to roll out heavy-hitters like the Back to the Future trilogy on either high-def format. When the studio was heavily invested in HD DVD, the majority of their efforts went into releasing as many titles as possible and, as a result, they didn't prioritize costly remasters or multi-film releases. Even so, the most likely reason we haven't seen Doc and Marty in 1080p is that Universal only recently switched its focus to Blu-ray. Its reps are more than aware of demand for the trilogy, and the studio is one of the more attentive BD production houses when it comes to fan requests. It knows Blu-ray owners want the Back to the Future trilogy and, more importantly, understand it would bring more than a few DVD holdouts to the high-def party.

6. Gone with the Wind

A '30s classic might not seem like the sort of must-have title that would bring newcomers into the Blu-ray fold, but Gone with the Wind would garner widespread excitement and attention from wives, mothers, daughters, and grandmothers who grew up watching Scarlett and Rhett fall in love. Warner's 2004 4-disc über DVD release has since become a consistent top-seller on Amazon and one of its most popular holiday gift sets. Apparently, when men scratch their heads at Christmas and Valentine's Day, they resort to Gone with the Wind. If it were given a beautifully remastered transfer, an avalanche of BD exclusive features, and a restored lossless audio track, your wife would be much more likely to give you the green light on a new Blu-ray player.

Now in its third year on the market, it's crucial for Blu-ray to pursue those who've yet to show interest in the format. More often than not, the promise of improved audio or video isn't enough to entice a casual consumer. They have to see something they haven't seen before. Warner has made great strides this year in with its vast catalog canon, including titles like The Adventures of Robin Hood, Cool Hand Luke, and How the West Was Won, but they've yet to invest much time or effort into releases that would cater to female consumers. I imagine that next year, the studio will start courting the other members of their primary consumers' household.

5. Finding Nemo

If you're not a parent, you might be asking yourself: Finding Nemo? Pixar's story of a lost clownfish not only happens to be the studio's highest-grossing production, it smashed 2003 DVD records, dominated the holiday sales charts, and continues to be one of the top-selling animated films on the market. Based on the BD quality of Cars and Ratatouille, Finding Nemo would also look absolutely gorgeous in high definition and be a jaw-dropping reference entry in Disney's library. Moreover, it's the sort of title that has the potential to win over a seemingly impenetrable demographic: grandparents. Believe me, if I can convince my stubborn sixty-year-old parents to buy a Blu-ray player and an HDTV simply by sitting them down to watch Cars with my three-year-old in Circuit City, Finding Nemo could help bridge a stifling generation gap and attract an unlikely group of power-spenders to the table.

So if a BD release of Finding Nemo is such a no-brainer, where is it? Disney is historically savvy when it comes to releasing their animated properties onto the market. More than any other studio, they work to build buzz and anticipation rather than haphazardly flooding the shelves with their products. If a studio releases several titles at once, buyers have to pick and choose based on what they can afford in any given week (which, lately, doesn't amount to much). So, instead of forcing buyers to choose between titles like Wall-E, Sleeping Beauty, and Finding Nemo, Disney spreads its releases to ensure fans can buy Sleeping Beauty now, look forward to Wall-E next month, and get excited about Finding Nemo in the near future. The studio's business model not only increases sales for each individual title, it produces momentum from month to month and gives consumers something to get excited about. Look for Finding Nemo, along with other Pixar classics like Toy Story, to earn a release in 2009.