The Chronicles of Narnia coming to Blu-Ray.

[MadonnasManOne]

For those of you who are into Blu-Ray, here is some news for you. TheDigitalBits.com is reporting that The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is coming to Blu-Ray, likely towards the end of the year.

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#narnbd

(EARLY UPDATE - 5/15/07 - 12:01 AM PDT)

Hey guys... we'll be back with more later this morning, but first we wanted to check in early with a quick bit of Disney release news. At a press event in Hollywood last night for the forthcoming Pirates high-def release, Buena Vista Home Entertainment president Bob Chapek revealed that his company has started production on the Blu-ray Disc release of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, likely due to hit stores in time for the holidays later this year. Additional titles are also in production, so look for more announcements in the coming weeks. We'll have details as they become available.

[darth_deetoo]

I'm curious as to whether it will be the theatrical or extended cut, or include both. I can't see myself bothering if it's just the theatrical cut, but would be tempted by the extended cut.

They also mention that there will be no animated classics on Blu Ray this year, which is not a huge shock. Hopefully 2008 will see the first one released. I'd love Sleeping Beauty to get a Blu Ray / Platinum release next year.

[Simba3]

No surprise here, I guess. Actually I'm glad I don't own a Blu-Ray player as of yet, because then I would have to purchase this film for the 3rd time.

[darth_deetoo]

Well, you wouldn't have to.

I'm trying to be quite selective in the Blu Ray's I purchase from now on. I bought a few initially to see what the format was like.

I have to say, that on my set up, it isn't that much of a quantum leap, and I suspect many will feel the same. I'm probably going to end up repurchasing my favourite films, the Disney classics, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, when they appear on Blu Ray. But for the most part, I'll stick with my DVD's.

I'm also not going to buy every single new disc on Blu Ray, it will be a case by case basis. I want Rocky Balboa and Dreamgirls, but the Blu Rays are going to be £23.99 over here in the UK. I can get the regular DVD's for £12.99 and £14.99 respectively. There's no Blu Ray exclusive features, and so for the amount of replay value I suspect I'll get from these, I can't justify paying out for the Blu Ray.

I think the Pirates films are worth getting though at the price, and I'm happy to upgrade to them.

I suspect in time, the price point of discs will come down, and we'll see more extra's being included.

The only other Blu Ray's I have pre-ordered at the moment are Ghost Rider (only £5 more than standard DVD and losing only 1 minor extra), and Chicken Little (I had a R1 version on DVD which won't play on my PS3).

I certainly don't think there's going to be the rush to go and replace everything that there was with DVD.

[kbehm29]

No surprise here, I guess. Actually I'm glad I don't own a Blu-Ray player as of yet, because then I would have to purchase this film for the 3rd time.

Try buying it for the 4th. On it's original release date, I first stopped at a store that wasn't selling the 2-disc version, so I picked up the single disc version. Then I regretted my decision and picked up the 2-disc version somewhere else that night. Then I bought the 4-disc version when it came out before Christmas. Now I'm going to buy it on Blu-ray as well. I should sell the single disc version on ebay. Then again - whenever anyone asks to borrow it...I always lend them the single version, and am able to keep the others safely in my collection.

Edited to say: I am not replacing my entire collection on Blu-ray either. However, I am buying every single DISNEY release on Blu-ray, regardless of if I have it already or not. I don't want to miss out this time like I did with Snow White. And - Dinosaur and Chicken Little look INCREDIBLE on Blu-ray. There's no chance I'm not going to pick up every high-def release they give me the opportunity to buy.
And I am buying all new releases on Blu-ray, if they're available in that format. Sure - it's $10-15 more.....but I have faith in Blu-ray and am willing to put my money where my mouth is....lol....or something like that.

[darth_deetoo]

I haven't watched the whole of Dinosaur yet, but from the clips I've viewed, I was actually a bit disappointed in places. There are some parts where the image is stunning, and is so sharp, but there are some bits in the background on some scenes where I noticed some pixellation, which I wouldn't have expected on a Blu Ray disc. This is the UK edition. They also didn't bother to bring over the commentary on the UK version either - but I do still have my R1 2 disc collectors edition.

I think my favourite Blu Ray's so far have been Open Season and Casino Royale - but I haven't got many yet.

I also intend to replace all the Disney Animated Classics as they're released. It's one of the reasons I wanted to adopt the format early, so I'd be ready when Disney starts reissuing them.

[MadonnasManOne]

Bumping this for Luke. Luke, I don't know if you saw this news, but, you might want to add this to the list of Blu-Ray titles coming this year.

[MadonnasManOne]

News from HighDefDigest.com:

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/ ... u-ray/1542

Disney Unveils Full Specs, Box Art for 'Narnia' Blu-ray

Disney has revealed new details for the highly-anticipated Blu-ray release of 'Chronicles of Narnia,' which will hit high-def this May as a two-disc set with hours of bonus features and exclusive content.

As we first reported last month, 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' will make its long-awaited Blu-ray debut on May 13 as one of the most eagerly-awaited next-gen releases of the year.

Full specs are now in, with Disney porting over all of the bonus features found on the previous two-disc DVD special edition of the film. Among the numerous extras are two audio commentaries (the first with the filmmakers, the second a cast track with the film's young stars), a seven-part "Creating Narnia" documentary ("Chronicles Of A Director," "The Children's Magical Journey," "Evolution Of An Epic," "From One Man's Mind," "Cinematic Storytellers," "Creating Creatures", "Anatomy of a Scene: The Melting River"), an additional three-part "Creatures, Lands & Legends" feature ("Legends In Time,""Creatures Of The World," the "Explore Narnia" Interactive 3-D Map), and a "Bloopers Of Narnia" gag reel.

Although the studio indicated in early press materials that 'Narnia' would include picture-in-picture content, no such feature has yet been announced for the Blu-ray. However, exclusive to the release will be the new "Battle For Narnia" interactive game, which will make full use of the format's BD-Java capabilities.

Disney has also confirmed that the Blu-ray will feature the 135-minute theatrical version of the film (not the 147-minute extended version made available as a separate DVD release), which will be presented on a BD-50 dual-layer disc in 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video and uncompressed PCM 5.1 Surround (48kHz/24-bit).

Finally, Disney has issued box art for 'Narnia':



As previously announced, the studio has set a suggested retail price of $34.98 for the Blu-ray.

[Disneykid]

Count me as one who's very disappointed that the BD's essentially the 2-Disc Collector's Edition rather than the 4-Disc Extended Edition. Unless Disney plans on bringing the latter to Blu-Ray, I guess I'm going to have to stick with my current copy and buy the rest of the series on BD. Sigh.

[Disney Lover]

Yeah I'm disappointed by this as well. Oh well. I may get it eventually but I won't be rushing out to get it.

[Matt]

I have yet to buy a ANY titles on Blu-ray. I have no use for it yet.

[Ugly Pig]

Count me as one who's very disappointed that the BD's essentially the 2-Disc Collector's Edition rather than the 4-Disc Extended Edition. Unless Disney plans on bringing the latter to Blu-Ray, I guess I'm going to have to stick with my current copy and buy the rest of the series on BD. Sigh.

Sure, it would have been better had they included the extras from the 4 disc set, but I for one am glad they use the theatrical cut of the actual movie. The extended edition was... not good.

[kbehm29]

Although I will be buying this because I'm a completist, probably on the day it's released to take advantage of any store discounts, I am disappointed. I had hoped that it would add ~something~ new, even if only new cover art. I wish it would inclusively cover all the features of all the other previously releases combined.

Disney recruiters: are you interested in hiring someone who could make decisions about DVD releases that would make the fans happy? I'm available.