That’s one good looking box of Scarface my friend. Is the picture on the blu-ray (and extras) worth it? I’ve been thinking of re-buying Scarface for some time now.
Haven’t checked yet (busybusybusy) but word on the street is that the transfer is quite good considering Universal crammed everything (film, lossless soundtrack and extras including a big documentary) on a single disc. Not the best BluRay out there but still very good and far better than any of the DVD versions.
Unfortunately the 1932 version’s DVD does not seem to be very hot-looking, but as an exra for the curious it’s a nice addition.
Last month Warner Brothers released a Fiftieth Anniversary Limited Edition BluRay of the eh… epically epic “Ben Hur”. Why does a film which won its Oscars in 1959 get a 50th Anniversary edition in 2011? Must be something wrong with my calculator…
Never mind all that though, this is one hell of a beautiful set.
Look at the whole package:
Well… Limited Edition… Warners has high hopes:
The outside is a slipcase covering a box:
The box in all its glory:
Lovely embossing on the box:
The box emptied. Inside are the discholder with 3 BluRays (the film is on 2 discs and 1 disc is for the extras), there is a glossy hardcover production book, and a copy of the diary Charlton Heston kept during the making of the film.
All contents opened:
Close-up of the lovely and VERY sturdy discholder:
More embossing, this time on the Charlton Heston diary:
The diary is high quality, with more than 120 pages and some tickets and photos literally taped in as if it’s a real diary!
At the end of the diary are some family snapshots of the Hestons during their long stay in Italy for the shooting of the film. You even get to see some sketches made by Charlton Heston.
Finally, the hardcover production book:
It’s not as extensive as the diary but some of the behind-the-scenes snaps are awesome. And I would seriously love to own this particular storyboard picture:
One stellar set!
Thank you, Warner Brothers, for showing you still have some righteous pimping skills.
Am I the only one who still buys these ornate sets, by the way?
I’ve noticed this thread has turned into my personal gallery for the past year or so, with only a scant few contributions from other people. I will continue to shoot pics of my boxsets because I think it is fun to look at and valuable information for people who are wondering whether or not to buy such a box. The purpose is NOT to show off how wealthy and successful I am (because, seriously, this is not the most expensive of hobbies if you know where to shop…).
So if anyone else bought a nice-looking package recently, feel free to tell everyone about it!
Haha, it kinda looks like it Ard Vijn. Lately I’ve only bought the the Lord of the Rings extended blu-ray boxset. It’s nothing spectacular, but rather good looking so I guess I could post some pictures of it.
I feel as though much of my interest went down the kazoo ever since South Korea stopped churning out those sweet editions. In the past a swanky set might have even convinced me to pick some of them up even if I had no huge desire to see the movie itself. I miss those days!
Because you asked for it: the Jurassic Park Ultimate BluRay Edition.
Actually, an even bigger one exists which has a T-Rex statue but while I love ornate boxes I’m not too fond of busts and statues. Therefore,this was the edition I settled for.
And it looks like this:
Taking the slipcase off also removes the BBFC rating. Neat! And the box is a lovely deep red metallic.
Even the backside looks good:
Normally boxes contain lots of air or styrofoam. Not this one: it’s chock full of goodies.
All goodies taken out: we have postcards, lobby cards, a dino comparison chart, a sticker and a big poster.
All goodies unfolded. I especially like the postcards with samples of the design artwork. The discs contain JP I,II and III as well as digital copies (does ANYONE use those, by the way?).
The backside of the dino comparison chart doubles as a small booklet.
Because I was so impressed by Warner Brothers’ releases of “Ben Hur” and “The Wizard of Oz”, I checked to see if there were any other movies given such royal treatment by them. Lo and behold, there are!
Here is one of them: the 70th Anniversary Limited Edition of “Gone With the Wind”.
Removing the ugly slipcase:
The whole outer box is covered with velours, the velvet-y textile of choice for old cinema curtains.
Opening the box:
Taking out its, many, many contents: a hardcover book, a replica of the booklet given at the premiere, copies of choice production notes and letters (like the one gunning for Errol Flynn to be cast as Rhet), the soundtrack CD, the Blurays, and an envelope with art cards.
All contents opened, and it had to happen: finally a boxset which caused me to move furniture out of the way to be able to photograph it.
Cover of the booklet:
Inside detail of the booklet:
Detail of the hardcover book. Note the background decoration in different forms of black ink, only visible when light reflects on it!
That same decoration is found throughout the set, like here on the envelope which contains the art cards:
Last month Warner Brothers released a Fiftieth Anniversary Limited Edition BluRay of the eh… epically epic “Ben Hur”. Why does a film which won its Oscars in 1959 get a 50th Anniversary edition in 2011? Must be something wrong with my calculator…
Well, guess what: WB has a perfectly valid reason. I’ve learned (thanks, dvdbeaver.com) that this edition was originally planned to be released in 2009, but the 8k HD-transfer and digital reatoration took longer than expected.
When given the choice to release on schedule or finish the job properly, Warners chose the latter and with a two-year delay they have now released one of the finest BluRay transfers in existence. Wow.
Until someone alerted me of this special edition, I had never even heard of “Black Rock Shooter”. It’s a sixty-minute OVA which in January will become a full-fledged noitaminA series on Fuji TV. I generally like the noitaminA series very much and this edition looked WICKED.
On top of that it wasn’t excruciatingly expensive for a Japanese special edition BluRay and should the series (and manga, and videogame…) become very popular, this particular set may get through-the-roof expensive. And it’s HD-anime on BluRay. Regionfree and English-friendly.
What can I say? I got too curious to refuse its charms…
Anyway, here’s what it looks like: a big box with a plastic slipcase. Oo-er!
The print on the slipcase enhances the one on the box itself, burning eye and all. Very, very cool:
Opening the box. Damn, those Japanese sure know the art of pimpage…
All contents revealed: a 312-page storyboard “booklet” (at 312 pages I’d call that a BOOK!), a 30-page design booklet, two resin poseable statuettes, and several fliers for the videogame, screening times, etcetera.
All contents opened (except that storyboard book as I couldn’t keep it opened on the floor without breaking its spine, which I refuse to do).
A closer look at the storyboard booklet: yep, it qualifies as one.
A closer look at the design booklet, with production drawings and finished character art. Nice!
Finally, the two statuettes. I didn’t assemble them but both come with different limbs and hairdos, and have a wide selection of weapons available to them:
Been some time, but I do have some new ones to show. First, an “oldie” in Asian BluRay land: the Limited Edition BluRay boxset of Category III pics “Sex & Chopsticks I & II”.
Strange though: these are the only discs I own labeled “region AC” (and indeed they are: you get a warning screen when you have a B-only player). Yet this set is very English-friendly, with even the menus and booklet having been translated.
Here is the boxset, clad in luscious purple velours (like the “Gone With the Wind” LE):
Love the embossing, especially after the paper ribbon has been removed.
Opening the set: there are the two discs and a very explicit (for Category III) booklet containing many shots from the films, cataloged by actress, and with captions from the script in both English and Chinese.
All contents out of the box:I like the designs on the discs themselves,and the booklet has its own dustcover.
Close-up of the booklet. Trust me, these are the tamest two pages. I was really surprised with how much gusto they went for the nudes and the writhing with this one. They’re not just stills from the films either but also some tailor-made photographs.
Look at what I got for my birthday from some awesome friends…
This is the Special Edition boxset of the four RAMBO films, housed in an oversized hand-grenade.
RAMBO. Grenade. Need I say more?
Just like with busts, normally I wouldn’t shell out for something like this (no booklets or anything, just plastic and empty space) but the grenade seriously tickles my funnybone and to get this as a gift is bliss.
Besides, of the four films one is a bona-fide classic, two are guilty pleasures and one is hilariously bad. All transport me to different times in my life when watching them. They have been nicely transferred to HD and I’m very happy to own them.
Thank you, Kees and Henk Jan, thank you!
Here is what the set looks like, packaged:
Who cares about that though? Here is the GRENADE!!!
The grenade opened (or is that deactivated?):
All contents removed: four discs and a spindle.
But hey, who cares? They’re in a giant GRENADE!!!
My next post will be special. Nothing to see here, move along!
I only put this post up so we’ll skip to a new page (this one is already so picture-heavy that it crashes on occasion).
