I've been quite anxious to read Luke's review, and so far, so good. I have to say that the Blu-Ray rant is, at least in my opinion, highly understandable. The fact is, as nice as Blu-Ray is, I have to admit that aside from the HD-quality picture, it's not really much more than a glorified DVD. If it were being treated as the laserdisc was (a lesser yet appreciable format for the diehard collectors), then it wouldn't be too big a deal. But to essentially guilt-trip people into getting it when it may not entirely be for them is a bit uncalled for, especially in this economic climate. And the fact that Disney have not let copies of the
Pinocchio DVD but have let the Blu-Ray go out is really quite shameful, as it's just more of the usual "apply some pressure".
I know that I'll get a whole load of "how dare you!" and "you need to get glasses to examine the eye-piercing quality!" comments from whatever I write about Blu-Ray at this point in time. The fact is, I would love to get a Blu-Ray player and a HD-TV and all that jazz in the future. I have seen Blu-Ray images in shops and showrooms and the picture quality is amazing. But the fact is, I'm still a student, and I can't afford such a thing at this point in time. By no means am I exceedingly poor, but I can't exactly go spending money on things which are essentially luxuries. If I worked and had a decent income, I would have bought a Blu-Ray player and a HDTV TV by now. The fact that some of the Disney classics are coming out on Blu-Ray and having quite a few incentives (well, the amazing picture quality and the visual commentaries...random people sending me messages during the movie isn't anything good in my opinion

) is really a kick in the teeth.
I'm no reyquilla, but anything that has "two disc" or "platinum edition" tempts me a bit, even if it means double dipping. Even though I used to have the old
Peter Pan DVD, I still went and indulged in the relatively mediocre Platinum Edition from a little while back. I also caved in and got the
Sleeping Beauty DVD, my excuse being that it was in German (since I'm studying French and German and just happened to be in Switzerland in the week that it came out - the German DVD is pretty much the same as the UK and US one), but I feel somewhat like I wasted my money because I know that there's a better thing out there (the Blu-Ray), and by the time that I actually get a Blu-Ray player, it'll be back in the vault. And obviously, since I love my film history and the bonus features are a big draw to double dipping, then getting the Blu-Ray is also a bit pointless, as the second disc would have to wait for two or three years before seeing the light of day. I really wanna get the new
Pinocchio release, as I've been wanting to see it get a good release for so long, but I don't know what to do about buying it.
As for the new films (
Bolt, Bedtime Stories etc), I don't see there being anything too bad about a slightly earlier release-date, especially since it's only two days. In England in the late 90s (and even as late as 2001 or so), most films got made available for rental two or three months before they got made available for sale. And I seem to remember a TV spot for the rental release of one of the
Austin Powers films, which said "available to rent on VHS and available to buy on DVD!" or something like that. Maybe I'd have to be in the States and see exactly how things are unfolding there, but to be honest, I wouldn't bother too much about it. As long as the studios do stop making Blu-Ray something to obsess so much over to those who don't really need it, then everything will be okay.