Back when I first posted that Paramount would be releasing 'Patriot Games' and 'Sum of All Fears' on Blu-ray, I was flooded with questions about whether or not they would also be releasing the other two films in the now canceled 'Jack Ryan Collection'. Word from the studio has finally come down, and Paramount Home Entertainment has revealed that they will also bring 'The Hunt for Red October' and 'Clear and Present Danger' to Blu-ray on July 29th, the same date as the previously announced Jack Ryan films.
As with the previously announced titles, no technical specs have been announced at this time. Extra features will be light, but that will be infinitely more than those found on the HD DVD versions of these releases. More information about these releases is expected soon.
I remember when they were promoting Blu-Ray discs to hold a number of extra features, due to the large size of the discs, and now, just about every Blu-Ray movie is "light on extra features". Sure, the 1080p resolution is amazing, but if they are going to pull more people into the high definition arena, they need to include the special features. I have spoken to a number of people who are standard DVD fans and the majority of them have told me they dont want to make the switch because most Blu-Ray's are lacking the extras they want.
In case anyone didn't know, most of these titles look really bad (On HD DVD). Sum of All Fears and Clear and Present Danger had HEAVY of DNR applied. Patriot Games also has DNR, but not as bad as the first two. Luckily The Hunt for Red October, the best movie in the bunch, has no DNR or other filtering, looking pretty good overall.
If these mirror the DVD's then there aren't many supplements to put on the discs. Take a look...
Hunt for Red October - Commentary, Documentary and Trailer.
Patriot Games - Documentary and Trailer.
Clear and Present Danger - Documentary and Trailer.
Sum of All Fears - (2) Commentaries, (2) Documentaries and Trailer.
Bring them on, baby! I can't wait for The Hunt for Red October the most because of the incomparable Sean Connery, and I'll definitely get Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger because Harrison Ford is the best Jack Ryan of all time! I'll get The Sum of All Fears just for Morgan Freeman because I don't like Ben Affleck at all!
Good news. I'm mostly just interested in 2 of them but I was resigned to buying the whole package if need be. So, I'm glad they decided to split up the package and offer each of them as singles.
I plan on getting all four. Man, with all of the great releases being put out on BR, I feel like I'm in Vegas and having to keep adding money to the line. "Put my $80 on hard four!!"
I saw the DVD in the 2 for $10 bin today at Walmart but held out. What timing! Glad I didn't buy. Can't wait until this and Patriot Games releases July 29th! Great news!
I always thought that Alec Baldwin actually played the part that was in the book better than Harrison Ford. I'm a big fan of Ford but felt Baldwin better matched Clancy's Jack Ryan.
GREAT NEWS, however from what is being said they have no plans to release the box set, and keep them individually. I hope they end up releasing one or having a BOGO or B2G1 sale because I can't see myself spending $80 on all four...
The Hunt blows the other 3 films out of the water (no pun intended). And I don't understand why everyone has a hard-on for Ford as Ryan. He plays Ryan no differently than any other character he has ever played. I thought Baldwin's Ryan was a more realistic portrayal of the character. If the transfers are the same as the HD DVD versions, prepare to be disappointed as they are pretty average at best. Hopefully, Paramount will do new transfers, but I doubt it.
Red October will be making it's way into my collection. As bdrex said, I love Harrison Ford but I thought Alec Baldwin actually made a better Jack Ryan. Man... I feel dirty after typing that.
I agree with those who say Alec Baldwin did the best job of portraying Jack Ryan as he was originally depicted in the novels. Jack Ryan was always a reluctant hero, stiff and awkward about it, kind of hesitant to fight, and especially to kill. The only time he had murder in his eyes was at the end of Patriot Games (the novel) when the Irish terrorist had nearly killed his family and his paternal instincts took over. Harrison Ford made him too heroic and Ben Affleck made him too whiny. I still enjoyed all four movies, though, and hope they get around to making Debt of Honor and Executive Orders (unlikely, post-9/11, since they'd have to show an airliner crashing into the Capitol, killing the president and almost all of Congress, and then a war against a unified Iran and Iraq).
