By now we are all aware of how awesome movies look on Blu-ray, especially if you own a 1080p high definition television. I still own a VHS and a Laserdisc player and it’s still fun to go back and see how the quality changes from one format to another. When DVDs first came out the image and sound was incredible. I remember watching Long Kiss Goodnight and being so impressed with the action I thought nothing would ever come close to this. I thought this way for a long time until I caught a clip of Blazing Saddles on Blu-ray. The movie was over 2o years old, but it looks like it was made just last year. It looked so smooth I thought I was watching a home movie about the production of it. It was that clear.
Since Blu-ray has become more popular I have seen many movies make their way from one format to the other. Yes the visuals are improved, but all the cool special features that were on the DVD are not included. It’s weird because Blu-rays hold a lot more information than DVD. I guess they had to give up a few features to give it that crisp look, but I wanted those features transported over. These next six titles are ones that remain better on DVD then they do on Blu-ray.
Escape from New York. 1981
John Carpenter’s tale of a dystopian future about a city that becomes a prison and one man’s attempt to rescue the president was giving a good 25 anniversary edition DVD. None of the features were included on the Blu-ray. In fact it even comes with a DVD but doesn’t have any of the features that this one has.
The Special features included
* Audio commentary with Kurt Russell and John Carpenter.
* deleted opening sequence with optional commentary from Russell and Carpenter
* ”Return to Escape From New York” A brand new featurette about the making of the movie
* Making of the comic “Snake Plisken Chronicles”
* The actual preview comic of “Snake Plisken Chronicles
Robocop 1987
There are two versions of Paul Verhoeven’s brutal but funny science fiction film about a cop who comes back as a cyborg after he is killed. One is a Criterion edition DVD and the other is a 20th anniversary DVD. Neither of these features are on the Blu-ray. It doesn’t even have any trailers, it just has the uncut version and that’s it.
Criterion Edition.
* The Unrated Director’s cut
*Audio Commentary from Director Paul Verhoeven,Cowriter Edward Neumier, Executive Producer Jon Davison, and Robocop expert Paul M Sammon.
*Storyboard to film comparison
*Storyboards
*An illustrated essay on the making of Robocop
*Theatrical and Teaser Trailers
20th Aniversary DVD
Disc one.
*Theatrical Version.
*Audio Commentary by Verhoeven, Neumier, and Davison
* Flesh and Steel Documentary
* 2 Featurettes
* Storyboards with commentary by Phill Tippet.
* Deleted Scenes
* Photo Gallery
* Trailers and TV Spots.
Disc 2.
* The Unrated Director’s Cut.
* The villains of Robocop
* Special Effects
* Then and Now. Robocop creating a legend
The Thing. 1982
Another John Carpenter Classic about a group of scientists who have to battle a creature who can become anything it touches. The movie had a lot of groundbreaking practical effects at the time and the DVD covers that with some good features. None of it are on the Blu-ray.
Special Features
*Audio Commentary by John Carpenter and Kurt Russell
* 80 minute documentary
* Stop motion animation that was cut from the film
*Production background archives.
* Cast Production Photos
* Production art and storyboards
*Location Design
* The Blairmonster
*The Saucer
* Outtakes
*Post Production
*Theatrical Trailer
*Production Notes
Dawn of The Dead. 1978
When Zack Snyder’s remake came out in 2004. Anchor Bay released this ultimate edition gift set that included all three versions of this movie. Sadly The Blu-ray only included the theatrical version and a few of the special features.
Special Features.
Disc one.
*Theatrical Cut.
*Audio Commentary by the filmmakers George Romero, Tom Savini, and Chris Romero
*TV and Radio Spots.
*Poster and Advertising Gallery
*George Romero Bio
* Comic Book Preview
Disc two
*Extended Edition
*Audio Commentary by Producer Richard P. Rubenstien
*Monroeville Mall commercial
* Behind the scenes photo gallery
* Memorabilia gallery
* Production stills
Disc 3.
*European Version
*Audio Commentary by the 4 main actors: David Emgee, Gaylen Ross, Ken Foree, and Scott H. Reinger
* International Theatrical Trailers
* U.K. TV Spots
* International Lobby Card Gallery
* International Poster Gallery
* International Press book Gallery
* Home video and soundtrack artwork
* Dario Argento Bio
Disc 4
“Document Of The Dead” - A feature-length documentary made during the production of “Dawn of the Dead“.
“The Dead Will Walk” – A brand new documentary featuring new interviews with the cast and crew.
* A Tour of the Monroeville Mall with Ken Foree
*Onset home movies with zombie extra Robert Langer (The one on the escalator)
Silence Of The Lambs. 1991
The only horror( Yes, Horror) movie to win the Oscar for best picture in 1991. There were two really cool editions of this classic on DVD, but none of the features on either version were ported over to the Blu-ray.
Criterion Edition
*Audio Commentary by director Johnathan Demme, actors Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, screenwriter Ted Talley, and FBI Agent – John Douglas
* Seven Deleted Scenes
* Film to storyboard comparisons
* Storyboards
*FBI crime classification manual
* ”Voices of Death” – Actual word of mouth statements of actual serial killers
Special Edition
* A 60 minute documentary that looks back on the production of the film
* A ten minute featurette that was made at the same time of this movie
* Outtakes
* Phone Message by Hannibal Lecter
* Deleted Scenes
*Theatrical Trailers and TV Spots.
American Psycho. 2000
Mary Harron’s film version of Bret Easton Ellis satire of the American Male was not highly regarded when it first came out but has since become a classic. The Blu-ray does port over a lot of cool features from the DVD but it left out a really cool Documentary that discussed the book and the production of the movie
Killer Collectors Edition
*Audio Commentary with director Mary Harron
*Audio Commentary with Co Writer Guinevere Turner
*From Book to Screen
*The 80′s Downtown
*Deleted Scenes with optional commentary
*The pornography of killing – A video essay by Holly Willis
Written By The Vern
Yes Hello people. It is I The Vern. Lover of movies, women, and whiskey, but not in that particular order. Besides writing for this site. I help co host The As You Watch podcast and help contribute to the world of films wherever I can.
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