Promising the finest
Corinthian Leather picture and sound, Paramount is launching its Sapphire Series, two disc high definition releases of some of its greatest films, starting with
Gladiator and
Braveheart September 1 followed by
Forrest Gump in November. That means a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track for
Braveheart and DTS-HD MA for
Gladiator, while both will have a slew of exclusive new extras. For
Gladiator that includes the ability to tag elements while watching the main disc, which will then automatically queue up more information once the second supplemental disc is loaded into the player, while
Braveheart's extras focus mostly on the history of the Scottish Rebellion with 3D models and interactive timelines. Paramount didn't mention how much viewers would be paying for these new feature packed editions but they both show a $39.99 MSRP / $27.99 preorder price on Amazon. The press release runs down the extras, though we suspect you'll have to be a pretty big fan (of which there should be plenty for these multiple Oscar winning flicks) to pay the premium over typical catalog releases instead of waiting for them to hit the bargain bin.
[Via
The HD Room]
posted Jun 23rd 2009 12:52PM
I can see it now ... Sapphire Series then Diamond series and then 15 Kt Princess cut Graded Diamond series ..
Even though this approach is definitely not promising as it will as Jon say treat these titles as some kind of luxury item.. all i can say is:
GLADIATOR IN FULL HD with HD AUDIO.. YEAH!!!
Next one.. HEAT!!!
its coming....
@Jon Yep. Disney is already replacing its "Platinum" series with a "Diamond" series with Snow White.
Regardless of what they call these though, I will be picking up Braveheart and Gladiator for sure. 'Bout time.
WHY ARE YOU A-HOLES ALLOWING SARA PALIN ADS??? UNFORGIVABLE.
Who appointed you Internet Censor?
FINALLY, been waiting for Gladiator.
Sounds nice for the obsessive movie watchers but how about offering cheaper versions with less extras? All I want is the movie itself in HD, I don't really care about the other crap. I'm getting kind of sick of how so many blu-ray movies are only offered with the same extras as the special edition DVDs (sometimes more) and they like to stick you with a special edition price. Just give me the movie itself at a reasonable price ($20).
Hmmm, 2 movies I might be pleased to buy.
(once the stupid launch price gets discounted down to something sane, hell we waited this long whats a little longer to save a third - half the price?)
I suspect I will be far from alone in this, it just goes to show how stupid this 'premium' BS is when the format is already being pitched at a premium.
Maybe this is their way of trying to recover some ground on those already shrinking on-line prices?
I reckon this will not work either.
Finally. I've been waiting for "Gladiator" for some time. Had hoped it would come out on HD DVD years ago, but this will do.
this is what they should be without having to pay extra...should be less if they want the format to thrive, let alone survive
YES Braveheart!
$27 is steep but ill pry still buy it. My guess is Best Buy will have it for the same price and I will use a coupon.
I'll wait till its $15 like all the other movies have eventually fallen to. While I wait, I just Netflix it if I want to watch it right now.
Waiting for bargin bin as well...cant say I watch either of these more then once a year.
Blu-ray is already viewed by many as the premium version over DVD. So now we have a premium version of the premium version?
Gladiator and Braveheart will be mine!
Where is Fight Club ??
In France and Germany.
The first rule of fight club is you don't talk about fight club :P
I didn't hate Gladiator but I don't quite get the love the movie receives. It has gaping plot holes and some of the cinematography especially of action is very badly done.
are you a woman? Its the only excuse you could possibly have for questioning the love affair with Gladiator.
No I just think Ridley Scott has a knack for screwing up movies with weak scripts, uninspired acting, overuse of lens filters and other camera trickery.
The initial battle between Romans and Goths is an example of something that could have been done a lot better. It was confusing and not in a good "fog of battle" kind of way. The blue filter over everything (Germany has blue snow), the extreme close ups and the fast cuts made sure it was incomprehensible in parts.
As I said I thought it was alright and actually own it on DVD, but to be honest it's not worth half the adulation it gets. It's too bad there aren't more directors like Paul Greengrass who know how to do action and fast cuts properly.
When looking at a lot of Blu-ray releases, we usually see the premium release, such as Pinocchio, How The West Was Won, and soon to come The Wizard of Oz.
It's great getting the premium treatment on a lot of Blu-ray releases.
$25 a title sucks when we can make $50 lol
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GLADIATOR IN FULL HD with HD AUDIO, ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!!!!
Wait, the movie itself plus a few extras fills up the entire Blu Ray disc? Why do we need 2 discs?
Awesomeness! Gladiator and Braveheart are two of my three favorite movies (Kingdom of Heaven with its stupid barebones Blu-ray release, being the other). $27 is a bit steep but hopefully Best Buy will have a decent first week discount. Considering my love of these movies, I'm willing to pay the premium.
Paramount... what busy little bees you've been.
Still waiting for Saving Private Ryan...
Yes, one of my all time favorites as well, it is awesome on DVD, be stunning in HD, those opening battle scenes with loseless audio will get the neighbors yelling!!
Where is the extended cut of Gladiator? It better be included or this "Saphire Edition" seems useless. Both movies also had tons of content and are great classic action movies in their own right.
I like the features, but wtf does it have to be a 'premium' thing and not just a new addition to blu-ray on the whole and stay at the already Premium price over DVD. I mean hell most people think BR is pointless upgrade as it is...and things like this kind or reaffirm this. IF they want BR to last they need to get the new releases down in price NOT UP!!