The Biblical Blu-Ray Bonanza!

[Escapay]

March will see FOUR Biblical Epics coming to Blu-Ray, with three of them all in the same week!

The Bible...in the Beginning (1966) to be released March 22, 2011, SRP $29.99

The Ten Commandments (1956) Standard Blu-Ray to be released March 29, 2011, SRP $39.99

The Ten Commandments (1956) Limited Edition Gift Set to be released March 29, 2011, SRP $89.99

King of Kings (1961) to be released March 29, 2011, SRP $19.99

The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) to be released March 29, 2011 in Canada, SRP CDN$21.99

albert

[ajmrowland]

Where's the Prince of Egypt?

[Escapay]

No idea, but I'd upgrade to Blu on that one in a second.

Also of note, 2000's The Miracle Maker: The Story of Jesus comes out on March 8 in Blu-Ray/DVD Combo. I didn't list it as it's not really "epic" the way the other films are.

albert

[Mickeyfan1990]

Don't forget, Lionsgate will release Jonah: A Veggietales Movie on Blu-Ray/DVD Cobo Pack soon!

[disneyboy20022]

Don't forget, Lionsgate will release Jonah: A Veggietales Movie on Blu-Ray/DVD Cobo Pack soon!

You Mean on Madame Blu-berry/DVD combo pack

[Mickeyfan1990]

Ok. That was a good joke!

[my chicken is infected]

Why on EARTH does that movie need a 6-Disc Blu-Ray set? Are some of those discs DVD's or something? I'm completely confused here. o.O

[Disneykid]

Why on EARTH does that movie need a 6-Disc Blu-Ray set? Are some of those discs DVD's or something? I'm completely confused here. o.O

Yeah, three DVDs and three BDs (two discs on each format for the film itself, the third disc of each format for the original silent version and additional supplements).

I'm definitely nabbing The Ten Commandments (a perennial classic, and since I've shockingly never owned it in any form, I can finally watch it commercial free!), King of Kings (likely the first Jesus film I ever saw; it's like a stained glass window come to life), and The Miracle Maker (a very underrated and sophisticated film that I think presents Jesus in a way closer to my idea of Him than most other films).

I'm not a big fan of John Huston's The Bible. It's awfully slow moving, and it's almost too faithful to Scripture for us to invest in what's happening. You get the sense the filmmakers were walking on eggshells trying not to offend anyone, resulting in something too pious and not human enough. I'll probably pick it up since it has its moments. The Noah's Ark segment is fantastic and is probably the only portion with any life in it, though other parts like the creation are well shot.

I'm also not a big fan of The Greatest Story Ever Told. It's too concerned with its epic nature and vast locales to care about its characters. There's only, like, five shots in that film that feature actors closer than 50 feet away from the camera. I always feel so distant from the action when watching this. Like The Bible, I'll pick this up for the nice visuals, scattered moments of brilliance, and for completeness' sake since I collect Biblical films. However, since this isn't a favorite of mine, I think I'll wait till it's released in the U.S.

Now give us Jesus Christ Superstar, Jesus of Nazareth, The Prince of Egypt and The Nativity Story. Those are the Biblical films left I'm most eager to see in HD (other favorites of mine like The King of Kings and Lux Vide's series of Biblical TV films satisfy me on DVD).

[Escapay]

Why on EARTH does that movie need a 6-Disc Blu-Ray set? Are some of those discs DVD's or something? I'm completely confused here. o.O

Yeah, three DVDs and three BDs (two discs on each format for the film itself, the third disc of each format for the original silent version and additional supplements).

Also, the silent version is only on Disc 3 of the Blu-Ray (but if you have the 50th Anniversary Collection, it's on DVD there). Disc 3 in the gift set DVD is just the new documentary and photo gallery.

I'd have preferred if the discs were arranged as follows, with separate gift sets for Blu-Ray and DVD:

Discs 1 & 2: 1956 movie
--The Ten Commandments 1956
--Commentary with Katherine Orrison
--Isolated Score
--Photo Gallery

Disc 3: 1923 movie
--The Ten Commandments 1923
--Commentary with Katherine Orrison
--Hand-Tinted Parting of the Red Sea Footage (though it was done in two-strip Technicolor, I don't know why it's called hand-tinted)
--Photo Gallery

Disc 4: Special Features (including some of my own suggestions, which may necessitate an additional disc for the DVD version since the total amount here is 6.5 hours)
--The Ten Commandments: Making Miracles (75 minutes, HD)
--Premiere Newsreel (2 minutes, HD)
--Theatrical Trailers: 1959, 1966, 1972, 1989 (14 minutes, HD)
--Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic (2 hours, SD, from TCM)
--Private Screenings: Charlton Heston (1 hour, SD, from TCM)
--The Ten Commandments: The Laws of God (1 hour, SD, from History Channel)
--The Ten Commandments: The Laws of Man (1 hour, SD, from History Channel)
--YouTube's 10 Things I Hate About Commandments parody trailer (2 minutes, just for shits and giggles)

Discs 5 & 6: CD
--The Ten Commandments Complete Score

albert

[Mickeyfan1990]

Blu-Ray specs for The Miracle Maker and Jonah!:

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=5830

"Lionsgate Home Entertainment has announced that it will release two animated, biblically-themed titles on Blu-ray on March 8, in time for Easter: The Miracle Maker: The Story of Jesus and Jonah: A Veggietales Movie. Each of them will be presented in a BD/DVD combo pack. MSRP is $19.99.

Special features include:

The Miracle Maker: The Story of Jesus
Audio commentary with the producer and director
Making-of documentary
Storyboard to film comparison
Short animated Bible films from The Miracle Maker animator
Interactive games (on the DVD):
"It is Written": relating movie scenes to Bible scriptures
"Learning From Jesus": reinforcing messages conveyed in the movie


Jonah: A Veggietales Movie
Audio commentaries:
Creators Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki
Producer Ameake Owens and director of animation Marc Vulcano
Larry the Cucumber and Mr. Lunt
Behind the scenes:
Making the Movie
The Studio Process
Jonah and the Bible
Big Idea Tour with Phil Vischer
Scoring a Movie
Music videos:
Chris Rice, "Billy Joe McGuffrey"
Newsboys, "In the Belly of the Whale"
Superchic[k], "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything"
"Khalil's Answering Machine"
"Even Fishslappers Need a Second Chance" storybook
Extra Countertop scenes
Movie script, progression reel and score progression reel
Previews and concept art
"Jonah Was a Prophet" karaoke
Failed Khalil auditions
Two family fun activities, digital dailies, trivia, web links hidden easter eggs and more"

[Disneykid]

Short animated Bible films from The Miracle Maker animator

Oh my gosh...please let these be episodes from Testament: The Bible in Animation! The Miracle Maker was meant to be the series finale to it, but the creators felt they couldn't do the story justice in a single episode, hence the theatrical film. There are only 9 episodes in the series, so if they're presented in SD, they can fit quite easily.

[2099net]

Well, when I first read this thread, I was going to rant and rail about Fox not releasing a non-region A version of The Robe. Not that I particularly want to collect Biblical films, but I've already been duped into buying the US disc under (what turned out to be false) reports the disc was in-fact ABC.

And you'd think February/March with Easter upcoming would be a perfect time to release it overseas (just as it was released at this time in the US last year)

But I managed to hold my anger in check. Until now. Following Yammiguy's postings in another thread, I've managed to pick up a cheap player that can be region set and as long last I've managed to see The Robe.

Its a disc I've been longing to see mainly for the comparison of the two versions of the film (the "flat" Academy sized version is shown by Picture-In-Picture inside the widely distributed CinemaScope version). And from what I have seen of this feature, it does not disappoint. What else impresses me about the disc however is the other supplements - all are of a reasonable length, all are full 1080p and the Advertising section especially is comprehensive and fascinating.

Considering the introduction by Scorsese which stresses the cinematic importance of the film and how much time and effort (and therefore, money) have gone into the restoration, it's totally baffling that this is still limited to a US-only release. Buy why bother to try and understand the workings of overpaid studio mandarins, who spend so much time concerned about their properties being pirated, they don't realise their policies are actively encouraging people to "fiddle the system".

Take me, while I'm no friend of region locking, I can fully understand why films with different theatrical release windows worldwide are region locked. However - due to Fox's inexplicable reason for not releasing the Robe worldwide (a film, incidentaly where they hold worldwide distribution rights) I've now spent my money on a Region A player. And I'm going to want to justify the purchase of my player - so I'm going to import more region A discs. So in effect, while I understand locking titles with release windows, I'm no longer going to respect them, even though I was perfectly happy to do so before.

Well done Fox. You're your own worst enemy when it comes to losing distribution control of your properties. Remember Fox, before you complain - you drove me to it by withholding your films to a worldwide market.

[Disneykid]

Well, what do you know? I said that The Greatest Story Ever Told isn't enough of a priority for me to import the Canadian release and that I can wait for the U.S. one. Turns out we're getting it the same time they do.

So I guess I'll be picking it up afterall, especially for such a reasonable price. If nothing else, it ought to look gorgeous in HD. It's be nice if they could track down the missing 30 minutes of footage, but I'm not expecting a miracle (or should I given the subject matter? ).

Someone on Blu-ray.com e-mailed Lionsgate about Jesus of Nazareth, but there are apparently no plans to release that one in BD at the moment. Poo. I'm still hoping for Jesus Christ Superstar, The Prince of Egypt, and The Nativity Story sooner than later (Nativity had bonus materials compiled for its original DVD release that still haven't seen the light of day, so that'd make it even more valuable of a release).

[Mickeyfan1990]

The Miracle Maker: The Story of Jesus Blu-Ray Review:
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Mirac ... 56/#Review

Jonah: A Veggietales Movie Blu-Ray Review:
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Jonah-A-V ... 67/#Review

[jediliz]

oh darn....I invested in the Ten Commandments 3 or 4 Disc set a few years ago, either right before or right after Charleston Heston died. I may get the Blu Ray...but not right away....but some stores only have these movies out as seasonal....

And I definitely want jesus of Nazareth on Blu Ray......I only have it on VHS release and well....I don't have a VCR that I can trust anymore...so I haven't watched my tapes in a few years. I was thinking about the DVD release....just to hold me over.....since it may be a year or more before it comes to Blu...