Blood Diamond June 5th

[McBain]

Press release:

A Bloody Jewel in High Def!

BLOOD DIAMOND

"One of the best movies of the year"

- Richard Roeper, EBERT & ROEPER

The Five Time Academy Award(r) Nominee Debuts in High Definition June 5 on Blu-ray Disc from Warner Home Video

Also Debuting For the First Time Ever July 3 on HD-DVD The First WHV High Definition Title to Include New Web-Enabled Features

Burbank, California (April 18, 2007) - June 5 marks Warner Home Video's high definition debut of the heart-pounding adventure Blood Diamond on Blu-ray Disc, a must-have for Blu-ray Disc collectors. Blood Diamond has been nominated for five Academy Awards(r) including Best Actor (DiCaprio) and Best Supporting Actor (Hounsou). Also bursting with extras, the HD DVD will debut July 3 and includes commentary by director Edward Zwick, featurettes and production diaries.

The HD DVD of Blood Diamond will be the first HD DVD to include web-enabled extras which allows viewers to use their players to offer opinions in WHV's online polls and to view other exciting special features such as maps of conflict pertaining to war-torn areas in Africa.

The HD DVD version of Blood Diamond will also contain the In-Movie Experience (IME), an exclusive interactive feature that allows viewers to enjoy new ways of accessing interviews and other material while the movie is running. In addition, for the first time WHV will include the new Focus Points feature that takes the viewer to exciting in-depth featurettes and production diaries. The IME for Blood Diamond allows viewers to embark on an epic journey with director Edward Zwick, charting the emotional and filmmaking challenges of Blood Diamond.

Acclaimed filmmaker Edward Zwick (Last Samurai, Glory) directs this thrilling epic about the human cost of the diamond trade set in war-torn Sierra Leone. The film which was touted as "undeniably gripping" (David Ansen, Newsweek), stars three-time Academy Award(r) nominee Leonardo DiCaprio (The Departed, The Aviator, Gangs of New York), two-time Academy Award nominee Djimon Hounsou (Constantine, Gladiator, In America) and Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly (Little Children, A Beautiful Mind). The HD DVD and Blu-ray Discs will be available for $28.99 SRP. Order due date is May 1.

Blood Diamond is a powerful film that takes you on an unforgettable journey through harsh, yet astonishingly beautiful West Africa. Nominated as one of the best films of 2006 by the National Board of Review, Djimon Hounsou won Best Supporting Actor from the National Board of Review, and the Screen Actors Guild honored the film with Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role (Djimon Hounsou).

An ex-mercenary turned smuggler (Leonard DiCaprio). A Mende fisherman (Djimon Hounsou). Amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone, these men join for two desperate missions: recovering a rare pink diamond of immense value and rescuing the fisherman's son, conscripted as a child soldier into the brutal rebel forces ripping a swath of torture and bloodshed across the alternately beautiful and ravaged countryside. Directed by Edward Zwick (Glory, The Last Samurai), this urgent, intensely moving adventure shapes gripping human stories and heart-pounding action into a modern epic of profound impact.

Special Features:

Behind the Story

* Focus Points: Featurettes and Production Diaries

* Commentary by Director Edward Zwick

* Blood on the Stone: Follow a Diamond's Path from the Ground to the Store

* Becoming Archer: Profiling Leonardo DiCaprio

* Journalism on the Front Line: Jennifer Connelly on Women Journalists at War

* Inside the Siege of Freetown: Edward Zwick on One of the Movie's Pivotal Sequences

* Nas Shine on 'Em Music Video

* Theatrical Trailer

Warner Home Video Blu-ray Discs offer resolution six times higher than standard definition DVDs, as well as extraordinarily vibrant contrast and color and beautifully crisp sound. The new formats also provide a higher level of interactivity, with instant access to extra features via a seamless menu-bar where viewers can enjoy features without leaving or interrupting the film.

With operations in 90 international territories, Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video's film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.

[nhaase]

I thought the movie was a bit cliched (can't put the accent in), but the visuals should be outstanding in HD, I might pick it up, I'll at least rent it.

[shockin330i]

BR before hd-dud? Nice!

[nhaase]

Originally Posted by shockin330i

BR before hd-dud? Nice!

That is awesome! Warners is finally showing BD some love.

[dialog_gvf]

Throwing us rabid types a bone, you think?

The Matrix: WE HATE YOU WARNER
Happy Feet: WE HATE YOU WARNER

Blood Diamond: Awww, you guuuys.

So, if they can release this without the IME: ????

[Blackraven]

BD on BD (Blood Diamond on Blu-ray Disc)

Before HD-DUD release? Cool

[cueman98]

yes we're getting it before hd-dud, but THEY get more F*king content.

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/news/

GET BD-J WORKING ALREADY!!

[BTBuck1]

Originally Posted by cueman98

yes we're getting it before hd-dud, but THEY get more F*king content.

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/news/

GET BD-J WORKING ALREADY!!

Web based BS...and IME which is boring....

I just want great Picture and Sound. If you're gonna give me "Special-features" than make it special...make it fun and by god make it HD!!!!
Other wise i can take it or leave it.

[Ascended_Saiyan]

Originally Posted by cueman98

yes we're getting it before hd-dud, but THEY get more F*king content.

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/news/

GET BD-J WORKING ALREADY!!

Dude, BD-J IS working. PiP just isn't working for everyone, yet. Dragon's Lair has PiP. If they could do it, Warner Bros. sure as hell can do it.

[HDJK]

Finally! Lovely Jenny in HD

[degas]

I really don't care about IME and such, so I consider us the winners!

[krinkle]

So in the middle of the night a known HD-DVD troll visits the blu-ray forum at AVS and posts this information with the thread title:

"Blood Diamond on Blu-ray INFERIOR to HD-DVD version"

Seriously biased a bit? No mention that we get it over a month before HD-DVD?

Please visit the thread and click "report post" on the OP. Tell the mods you are a Blu-ray owner and feel that the thread title is inflammatory and innacurrate. Ask them to change the thread title to reflect that Blu-ray gets the movie over a month early.

If a few people start getting more active and aren't afraid to use the "report post" button over at AVS we can take the Blu-ray forum back!! It is important because many people visit AVS to get an "unbiased" view. Lets make sure they actually get one.

The site owners/mods are really nice people but they need to be prodded a bit to take action.

Please visit the link and report the OP:http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=836378

[krinkle]

Originally Posted by krinkle

So in the middle of the night a known HD-DVD troll visits the blu-ray forum at AVS and posts this information with the thread title:

"Blood Diamond on Blu-ray INFERIOR to HD-DVD version"

Seriously biased a bit? No mention that we get it over a month before HD-DVD?

Please visit the thread and click "report post" on the OP. Tell the mods you are a Blu-ray owner and feel that the thread title is inflammatory and innacurrate. Ask them to change the thread title to reflect that Blu-ray gets the movie over a month early.

If a few people start getting more active and aren't afraid to use the "report post" button over at AVS we can take the Blu-ray forum back!! It is important because many people visit AVS to get an "unbiased" view. Lets make sure they actually get one.

The site owners/mods are really nice people but they need to be prodded a bit to take action.

Please visit the link and report the OP:http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=836378

LOL Dr. Don just changed the thread title!! See the report button works. If you are over there and see the HD-DVD troll/FUD machine kick into high gear, use the report post button. The mods are very responsive, but they won't do anything unless it is reported.

[Jim L]

Does anyone know if this will have uncompressed LPCM?

If so, I'm there.

[HDJK]

Originally Posted by Jim L

Does anyone know if this will have uncompressed LPCM?

If so, I'm there.

It's supposed to be lossless, but no info on codec (DTHD or PCM).

[stevei]

It's interesting that Warner are releasing the BD version with reduced features compared to the HD, rather than releasing HD only for the time being as they've done with other movies. This is what many people on this forum have said they want them to do, if I've understood correctly, i.e. most of us are primarily interested in the movie rather than a specific type of interactivity.

One might infer that the BD sales figures have caused them to change their views about IME discs and they're keen to get money flowing in from BD sales.

[Ascended_Saiyan]

Originally Posted by krinkle

LOL Dr. Don just changed the thread title!! See the report button works. If you are over there and see the HD-DVD troll/FUD machine kick into high gear, use the report post button. The mods are very responsive, but they won't do anything unless it is reported.

If everything is the same on both except the extras, overall he would be technically correct about the BD version being inferior to the HD-DVD version.

However, if we are talking about the PQ and AQ (and we have LPCM), technically the HD-DVD version would be inferior.

[BLu-Balls]

Originally Posted by dialog_gvf

Throwing us rabid types a bone, you think?

The Matrix: WE HATE YOU WARNER
Happy Feet: WE HATE YOU WARNER

Blood Diamond: Awww, you guuuys.

So, if they can release this without the IME: ????

What was wrong with Happy Feet?

[MatrixS2000]

Originally Posted by HDJK

It's supposed to be lossless, but no info on codec (DTHD or PCM).

If this is true - I'm in...

AND I DON'T CARE ABOUT IME AND PiP - it's junk!

[Ascended_Saiyan]

Originally Posted by BLu-Balls

What was wrong with Happy Feet?

No LPCM audio track.