Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Fight Club 10th Anniversary Edition
(20th Century Fox)
Jack’s Extraordinary Set of Extras starts with a gag splash screen for a Drew Barrymore movie and doesn’t let up. A ton of terrific commentaries, deleted and extended scenes, and extras are ported over from the previous DVD set. But it also includes several new pieces, such as a bizarre 10-minute “Flogging Fight Club” featurette with an apparently drunk Mel Gibson on a horse (I’m not kidding!). Hours of family fun!

Gone with the Wind 70th Anniversary Collector’s Edition
(Warner Brothers)
Gone with the Wind is one of the most gloriously overstuffed movies in history. To celebrate it, Warner has jam-packed the Blu-ray with a full-length commentary and more than eight hours of documentaries, featurettes, vintage footage, and even a movie about David O. Selznick. The deluxe Collector’s Edition boxed set also comes with an additional six-hour documentary about MGM Studios, a book, soundtrack CD, and more.

Zodiac Director’s Cut
(Paramount)
The extras on this twodisc set are an excellent starter kit for an obsessive disorder, centered on the never-captured San Francisco Bay area serial killer. The standout extras include two documentaries (at 101 and 42 minutes respectively, and presented in HD) about the Zodiac mystery and its prime suspect. This superb and riveting material could stand on its own for purchase, but its inclusion in this two-disc set means Zodiac will be a fixture in this category for years to come.

Blade Runner 5-Disc Complete Collector’s Edition
(Warner Brothers)
What does it say when a three-hour-plus documentary is just one of the supplements on this ambitious five-disc set? The stars of this set are the five separate cuts of the film, which include the legendary but rarely seen Workprint cut. Of course, that’s just the beginning. An additional 30-minute documentary on the multiple cuts of the movie and the making of the (current) final cut rock. More Blu-ray than Blu-ray, Mr. Deckard.

Sleeping Beauty 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition
(Disney)
Sleeping Beauty is crammed with features and supplements, and Disney also throws in a remastered DVD for the kids’ room or portable player. It also includes a multitude of other featurettes, including the all-new “Picture Perfect: The Making of Sleeping Beauty,” “Four Artists Paint One Tree,” and a cute reconstruction of the original Sleeping Beauty walkthrough attraction at Disneyland. In other words, your home theater just became the happiest place on earth.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
(Criterion Collection)
David Fincher teamed with Criterion for this release, which marked the first day-and-date release handled by the special edition gurus. You get one of the best feature commentaries recorded with the director, and a three-part documentary that covers the entire film from pre-production to premiere. Few films give you the inside look this Blu-ray offers. You also get an intriguing essay on the film and the best technical-specs layout yet for a Blu-ray release.

The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary Collector’s Edition
(Warner Brothers)
The limited-edition set includes promotional materials, a 52-page book, and a collectable 70th Anniversary watch. Disc-based extras run over 16 hours and include never-before-seen footage, a sing-along track, a documentary on director Victor Fleming, interviews with seven of the original Munchkins, and an exclusive DVD documentary “MGM: When the Lion Roars.” Pay close attention to that man behind the curtain.

Any Pixar Title
(Disney)
Pixar produces some of the best-animated movies around. As if that weren’t enough of an achievement, the studio also raises the bar with the breadth and depth of its supplemental content. Pixar Blu-rays are loaded to the gills with documentaries, featurettes, fun short films, and innovative interactive features. No matter which title is your favorite, you can look forward to hours of informative extras about every aspect of making an animated film.

Sin City
(Buena Vista)
Robert Rodriguez loves making movies, and he loves talking about how he makes them. He also loves making tacos and talking about how he does that. Hence the 10-Minute Cooking School on Sin City tacos. The interviews with Frank Miller and guest director Quentin Tarantino are excellent, and the 15-minute film school is an entertaining education whether you plan to make movies or not. It also includes a hyperspeed version of the entire feature in green screen, and so much more. Explosive stuff. And tasty.

Star Trek (2009)
(Paramount)
Star Trek’s reboot is loaded with some of the most comprehensive and entertaining making-of material you’ll ever see. Gag reels can be great or awful, but when you’ve got Kirk and Spock doing dialogue in Lucky Charms–bad Irish accents, plus Simon Pegg, you’re cooking with plasma gas. The cast and crew interviews demonstrate that this movie rules because the people who made it are wicked smart and love and respect the lore. As Spock would say, fascinating.