Tag: movie buffs

Better than Streaming: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within 4K Blu-ray coming out on November 16, 2021

Better than Streaming: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within 4K Blu-ray coming out on November 16, 2021

carlocarrasco

Welcome back, fellow geeks, film enthusiasts and Blu-ray/4K Blu-ray collectors!

All those who love the 2001 computer-generated movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within should be aware, and excited, that it will be released in a 4K Blu-ray combo on November 16, 2021. 4K Blu-ray collectors who have not seen the said movie will have their chances to add it to their collection and the good news is that it can be ordered online right now!

The 4K Blu-ray combo cover.

Posted below are key details of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within 4K Blu-ray combo from its Blu-ray.com page. Take note that as of this writing, it is not yet clear if the visuals will be native 4K or upscaled 4K.

Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

HDR: HDR10

Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio

TBA

Subtitles

None

Discs

4K Ultra HD

Blu-ray Disc

Two-disc set (2 BD)

Digital

Digital 4K

Digital copy included

Playback

4K Blu-ray: Region free

2K Blu-ray: Region A

Posted below are the special features and technical specs of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within 4K Blu-ray…

  • HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
  • BRAND NEW DOLBY ATMOS TRACK + original theatrical 5.1 audio
  • Original Special Features:
    • Two Feature-Length Commentaries
    • Interactive Documentary: The Making of Final Fantasy
    • Original Opening
    • Aki’s Dream Reconstruction
    • On the Set with Aki
    • Character Profiles
    • Vehicle Scale Comparisons
    • Compositing Builds
    • Joke Outtakes
    • The Gray Project
    • Theatrical Trailers

I first saw Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within on a Friday night at the local theater in July twenty-o-one. While social media was not yet common back in those days, the movie still was hyped a lot through the Internet and traditional media.

As for the theatrical experience, I found the movie to be not so engaging mainly due to the story’s pacing (note: it was directed by Final Fantasy series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and Motonori Sakakibara), the sentimental stuff within the script, the not-so-interesting characters and the lack of true connection between the vocal performances and the motion-captured moves of the digital characters. Being one of the first major movies to be fully made with computer-generated images (CGI) complete with digital human characters and the approach to achieving photo-realism, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was indeed a flashy and fancy looking picture but it really did not have much to appeal to me with regards to my interest in cinema and even with Final Fantasy games. The movie ended up being hollow for me personally.

For the newcomers reading this, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was a tremendous box office failure and it led to the closure of Square Pictures. Still the movie could find new life in 4K Blu-ray format and I know it has its own following of dedicated fans. Perhaps the fans of Ming-Na Wen, Alec Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, James Woods, Ving Rhames, Peri Gilpin and Steve Buscemi would be interested to experience the movie in 4K.

For more entries of my Better than Streaming series of articles, check out my pieces on The Beastmaster 4K Blu-ray, The Transformers: The Movie 4K Blu-ray, Mortal Kombat 2021 4K Blu-ray, Space Jam 4K Blu-ray, V: The Original Miniseries Blu-ray (read my retro review), V: The Final Battle Blu-ray, Highlander 4K Blu-ray, The Suicide Squad, Super Dimension Century Orguss Blu-ray, Unbreakable 4K Blu-ray, Injustice 4K Blu-ray, The Suicide Squad 4K Blu-ray and Terminator 2: Judgment Day 30th Anniversary 4K Blu-ray.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

If you wish to join a group of movie enthusiasts and talk about cinema, visit the Movie Fans Worldwide Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/322857711779576

Better than Streaming: Classic film Citizen Kane leads Criterion Collection’s first 4K Blu-ray titles!

Better than Streaming: Classic film Citizen Kane leads Criterion Collection’s first 4K Blu-ray titles!

carlocarrasco

Welcome back to this latest edition of the Better than Streaming series! If you are a very avid movie buff or if you are a collector of films released in physical media, notably on 4K Blu-ray, then you should be very delighted to hear the latest news that The Criterion Collection officially announced that it will soon release its first six films in 4K Blu-ray format! The most famous film among them is none than Citizen Kane (starring and directed by the late Orson Welles).

For the newcomers reading this, The Criterion Collection is well-known for publishing important classic and contemporary films from around the world in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements.

To put things in perspective about the company’s jump into 4K, posted below is the official announcement of The Criterion Collection and I encourage you 4K Blu-ray collectors to pay close attention. Some parts in boldface…

We’re thrilled to announce Criterion’s first 4K Ultra HD releases, a six-film slate that includes Citizen Kane, Menace II Society, The Piano, Mulholland Dr., The Red Shoes and A Hard Day’s Night. The first of these editions and their special features will be detailed in our November 2021 announcement next week, with others to follow in subsequent months.

The most dazzling debut in cinema history, Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane was Criterion’s first laserdisc release 37 years ago. It now rejoins the library after a long absence, making its first appearance in 4K Ultra HD along with Allen and Albert Hughes’s riveting breakthrough Menace II Society; Jane Campion’s Academy Award–winning The Piano, starring Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin in her breakout role; David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr., a tale of love and jealousy in the city of dreams; Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s singular Technicolor fantasia The Red Shoes; and Richard Lester’s timeless movie musical A Hard Day’s Night, which brought the Beatles’ revolutionary talent and irreverent humor to the big screen.

Each title will be available in a 4K UHD+Blu-ray combo pack including a 4K UHD disc of the feature film as well as the film and its special features on Blu-ray. Select films will be presented in Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos. Stay tuned for more details in our November announcement!

Wow! That’s really exciting news for Criterion collectors and film buffs! I personally have Citizen Kane on Blu-ray and have wondered when will it be released in 4K Blu-ray format. I never saw Menace II Society, Mulholland Dr., The Red Shoes and A Hard Day’s Night. The Piano is familiar to me given the fact that it became controversial here in the Philippines when the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) banned it only to be allowed to be screened as a result of then President Fidel V. Ramos overruling the regulators.

Going back to The Criterion Collection’s 4K Blu-ray lineup, unsurprisingly each title will come in 4K Blu-ray combos (4K Blu-ray disc, Blu-ray disc and additional stuff). The big question is this…will each of those titles’ have native 4K visuals for the 4K Blu-ray discs? As of this writing, the 4K Blu-ray page of Citizen Kane at Blu-ray.com does not indicate if the movie will be in native 4K or upscaled 4K. For me, upscaled 4K is unacceptable!

Let me ask you readers: Are you very excited or at least interested in the initial batch of 4K Blu-ray titles announced by The Criterion Collection? Are you excited to see Citizen Kane in 4K resolution?

For Citizen Kane trivia, here is a video by Minty Comedic Arts. Be warned of potential spoilers…

In ending this piece, here are some short clips and trailers for your enjoyment.

For more entries of my Better than Streaming series of articles, check out my pieces on The Beastmaster 4K Blu-ray, The Transformers: The Movie 4K Blu-ray, Mortal Kombat 2021 4K Blu-ray, Space Jam 4K Blu-ray, V: The Original Miniseries Blu-ray (read my retro review), V: The Final Battle Blu-ray, Highlander 4K Blu-ray and The Suicide Squad.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

If you wish to join a group of movie enthusiasts and talk about cinema, visit the Movie Fans Worldwide Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/322857711779576