I just placed an order for the Samsung LE40B551 and the Foehn & Hirsch Blu-Ray Player, and God save me I’m so excited about going Blu I’ve waited long enough.  But the most important question is what first few Blu-rays should I buy so really show-off the new tech?  There’s quite a selection but could I get some personally reccommdations?  It’d be greatly appreciated,

Thanks!

Micahel

My first purchases when I got my Blu-Ray in November ‘09 = Copola’s Dracula (disappointing the transfer is awful), Fight Club, Wall*E, and Speed Racer.

Hunter Rose - June 15, 2010, 11:49am

My first purchases when I got my Blu-Ray in November ‘09 = Copola’s Dracula (disappointing the transfer is awful), Fight Club, Wall*E, and Speed Racer.

 
Thanks for the warning about Dracula. Speed Racer indeed gave my set a proper workout (and me almost an epileptic fit).

Baraka!

Siltem - June 16, 2010, 9:27am

Baraka!

Good choice, that’s still the sharpest BluRay out there!
 
But what are your tastes MC85 (or Micahel)? There are now so many titles that in each genre there are discs which are must-haves, as well as discs that must-be-avoided!
 
If you like action films, the last two James Bonds with Daniel Craig feature absolutely fantastic HD-transfers.
If you like anime, you might want to try the new Evangelion film, or “Ponyo” which is amazing.
 
Other discs which have blown me away:
 
“Blade Runner”
“Patlabor I”
“The Nightmare Before Christmas”
“Vexille”
“Red Cliff” (just make sure you get the long 5 hour version, also known as “Red Cliff 1 + 2” or “The Special Edition”)
“2001: A Space Odyssey”
“Wall-E” (or ANY Pixar movie, actually)
“Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence”
“The Good, The Bad, The Weird”
“Kingdom of Heaven” (amazing leap of quality from the already good DVD)
 
And I’m waiting for a better version of “Avatar” to appear before I buy it, but I borrowed the current barebones disc from a friend and… holy shit, the AV on that disc is awesome.

my first BRD was Fight Club. I was surprised of exellent quality

Avatar

The Criterion Edition of CHUNGKING EXPRESS.  Marvel at the beautiful film grain!

Baring that either Zodiac or Parika.

Kurt Halfyard - September 2, 2010, 4:37am

The Criterion Edition of CHUNGKING EXPRESS.  Marvel at the beautiful film grain!

Baring that either Zodiac or Parika.

Strange you should mention Chungking Express, when Peter M asked this same question, that was my suggestion!  Not the most obvious answer, but the image is amazing!

Fight Club was my first. And IMO Avatar and Coraline on Blu-ray is beats watching them in 3D at the theater. Chungking is must-have. The transfers on those Criterion editions are amazing. I’ll probably buy Speed Racer just for the hell of it now.

Also I rented Oldboy and the transfer is just awful. The wide shot where he’s holding on to the guy’s necktie on top of the roof looks just as blurry as on the DVD.

zombeaner - September 2, 2010, 7:15am

Kurt Halfyard - September 2, 2010, 4:37am

The Criterion Edition of CHUNGKING EXPRESS.  Marvel at the beautiful film grain!

Baring that either Zodiac or Parika.

Strange you should mention Chungking Express, when Peter M asked this same question, that was my suggestion!  Not the most obvious answer, but the image is amazing!

Well it is an obvious answer due to the high level of grain and the step-process cinematography from Christopher Doyle.  It’s not a co-incidence that that is the title that CRITERION launched into BLU-RAY with.

I agree with Criterion’s Chungking Express.
My first blu-ray was their edition of In the Realm of the Senses and it looked great.
Also the Vengeance Trilogy is a nice addition. I had waited to see Lady Vengeance until I could get a hold of the Fade to White version and the Tartan blu-ray looks amazing.