“I think Blu-ray is just a better format,” Stringer said. “Our partners are with Blu-ray Disc because, first of all, we have greater security, which Fox is particularly good at. Disney thinks it’s a better picture. And the sheer amount of bandwidth on the disc gives directors and beyond all kinds of future opportunity, including director’s cuts and who knows what 3-D capabilities will be down the road.

“I think that’s why Steven Spielberg held out his own product from going to HD DVD,” he added. “Ultimately, if you’re passionate about movies, which these DVD collectors are, Blu-ray is the best answer. I think that is true, and we see that in the blogging environment.

“It isn’t the cheaper format, but it is the better format,” Stringer said.

Via Blu-ray.com.

AnimeOnDVD.com had a Q&A with Bandai Visual Japan regarding their high-definition releases. BVJ started releasing on both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD, but with Blu-ray carrying the market 9:1 in Japan, recent releases have been exclusively on BD, even for their US releases. It looks like Blu-ray will be the future for Bandai. Via Blu-ray.com.

Toei Animation Ltd. is also getting into high-def releases, with a limited edition release of the animated feature CLANNAD on Blu-ray Disc. While BD has been outselling HD DVD 2:1 in the US, making it an ongoing war, in Japan Blu-ray is pummeling HD DVD 9:1, with studios dropping HD DVD due to the imbalance. It doesn’t look like the war will be prolonged in Japan. Also via Blu-ray.com.

Both the Blu-ray Disc(TM) and the DVD are packed with bonus features, including an exclusive interview with Spielberg created specifically for this release, and a Retrospective Documentary. Available only with the high-definition Blu-ray Disc(TM) release are additional bonus features including all-new “Storyboard-to-Scene Comparisons,” the original 1977 “Watch The Skies” featurette and an original theatrical preview. Also unique to the Blu-ray High-Def(TM) release is a technology know as “seamless branching,” whereby all three versions of the film are included on one 50GB Blu-ray Disc(TM), but footage used in all three films can included on the disc only once. Clips are “branched” together in real time as viewers select which version — Original Theatrical, Special Edition or Collector’s Edition/Definitive Director’s Cut — they wish to view.

The Blu-ray Disc(TM) release of Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition marks the first classic Spielberg film ever to be released on a pre-recorded high definition disc format. Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition is available on Blu-ray High-Def(TM) for $49.95 or DVD for $39.95.

Mine already arrived from Amazon and I’m definitely looking forward to watching it in high-def.

The full press release:

Nov 15, 2007 06:03 ET

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Celebrates the 30th Anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind

’30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition’ Debuts on DVD & Blu-ray Disc(TM)

CULVER CITY, Calif., Nov. 15 /PRNewswire/ — Today marks the 30th anniversary of the original theatrical release of Steven Spielberg’s landmark sci-fi masterpiece Close Encounters of the Third Kind. In recognition of the anniversary, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition, a special edition multi-disc box set available on standard DVD and, for the first time ever, in high-definition on Blu-ray Disc(TM). In stores now, this release marks the first time all three versions of the film will be available for home viewing.

The Original Theatrical version of Close Encounters of the Third Kind premiered November 15, 1977 at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City. Starring Richard Dreyfuss as an electrical lineman who experiences a life-changing “close encounter” while investigating a mysterious power-outage, the film soon became a box office hit around the world, but the Original Theatrical version was never available on the home entertainment market.

Spielberg released a re-edited Special Edition theatrically and on VHS in 1980 wherein the director deleted several smaller scenes and added other sequences, including scenes of Dreyfuss inside the alien mother ship at the end of the film.

In 1998, the Collector’s Edition was released on home video with a limited theatrical run and serves as Spielberg’s definitive director’s cut. In this version, he made a number of subtle changes to the film and, most notably, restored the original ending as seen in 1977.

More information on Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition

Both the Blu-ray Disc(TM) and the DVD are packed with bonus features, including an exclusive interview with Spielberg created specifically for this release, and a Retrospective Documentary. Available only with the high-definition Blu-ray Disc(TM) release are additional bonus features including all-new “Storyboard-to-Scene Comparisons,” the original 1977 “Watch The Skies” featurette and an original theatrical preview. Also unique to the Blu-ray High-Def(TM) release is a technology know as “seamless branching,” whereby all three versions of the film are included on one 50GB Blu-ray Disc(TM), but footage used in all three films can included on the disc only once. Clips are “branched” together in real time as viewers select which version — Original Theatrical, Special Edition or Collector’s Edition/Definitive Director’s Cut — they wish to view.

The Blu-ray Disc(TM) release of Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition marks the first classic Spielberg film ever to be released on a pre-recorded high definition disc format. Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition is available on Blu-ray High-Def(TM) for $49.95 or DVD for $39.95.

Source: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

CONTACT: Lily De Smedt, +1-310-526-5590, ldesmedt@gcigroup.com, or
Kristin Farrell, +1-310-526-5531, kfarrell@gcigroup.com, both of GCI Group for
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Web site: http://www.sonypictures.com/