Cinema Retro has just received this press release from Warner Home Video about one of the most prestigious DVD releases of 2009.
Burbank,
Calif. June 9, 2009 – It is difficult to imagine a motion picture more magical
and more wonderful than Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's
wonderful The Wizard of Oz. Over the last seven decades, the film has
indelibly woven itself into America’s cultural
consciousness: Is there anyone who doesn’t
immediately think of the film upon hearing the words, “Dorothy,†“Toto,â€
“Emerald City,†“Ruby Slippers†and “Yellow Brick Road†-- or the lines to the song
“Over the Rainbow?â€
Now, the
colorful characters and unforgettable songs of Oz come alive
as never before when Warner Home Video brings this cinematic treasure into the
digital age with the September 29 Blu-ray
release of The Wizard of Oz 70th
Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s
Edition. The commemorative
edition contains nearly 4 hours of all-new and never-before-available bonus
features and is housed in numbered
collectible packaging, and will be available for a limited time only for
$69.92 SRP
(DVD) and $84.99 SRP
(Blu-ray
Hi-Def).
In order to bring all the visual splendor of The
Wizard of Oz to the Hi-Def world of Blu-ray Disc, the film has been
entirely remastered, with each of the original Technicolor camera negatives
scanned using 8K resolution. From this scan, a final ‘capture’ master was
created in 4K, yielding twice the resolution seen in the master
utilized for the film's previous DVD release.
Working in ‘full film Resolution’, extreme care was
taken to ensure that all of the image fidelity contained in the original
negatives was properly captured for this new presentation. The sounds of Oz
will come alive on Blu-ray disc utilizing the full audio spectrum capabilities
available through Dolby TrueHD audio. The net result is one of unprecedented
quality that is sure to make The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary
Edition a benchmark in the history of the Blu-ray format.
Actor/producer Michael Douglas is the recipient of the 35th annual American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award. The Oscar-winner has a penchant for playing a wide range of characters from larger-than-life heroes to outright cads. He reflects on his life and career in an interview with Variety. Click here to read. (The ceremony will be telecast by TV Land on July 19).Â