Warner Announces Six 3D Blu-ray Titles for General Release
Posted September 16, 2010 04:25 AM by Juan Calonge
Alleviating the scarcity of 3D Blu-ray titles at retail, Warner Home Video has announced that on November 16 it will release six 3D BDs unfettered by exclusive hardware bundles: Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (WHV's first 3D day-and-date title), Clash of the Titans, The Polar Express, and the IMAX documentaries Deep Sea (previously Sony-exclusive), Space Station (previously bundled with LG hardware overseas) and Under the Sea (previously LG-exclusive).
"This is an exciting time in the industry and we are thrilled to be a part of this evolution in home entertainment," said Dorinda Marticorena, SVP of worldwide marketing and high-def. "As sales of Blu-ray 3D hardware increase during the holidays, we wanted to ensure that consumers have access to a diverse selection of 3D content, not attached to an exclusive bundle, which will showcase the amazing possibilities of this brilliant new format – and this is just the beginning.
All these 3D Blu-ray releases will include 2D BD versions of the films. Clash and Cats & Dogs 2 will come in BD/DVD/Digital Copy combo packs. The latter will include as a bonus "Coyote Falls," a new Looney Tunes short - animated in 3D.
It's too bad that I'm not a huge fan of any of those. The documentaries sound nice, but Cat's and Dogs and Clash of The Titans??? yeesh. WB doesn't have much of a roster as far as catalogue 3D films go. I do hope this move will encourage the other studios(Paramount, Universal, Fox and Disney) to release their titles to the general public. I'd LOVE to buy a copy of Coraline in BD3D without paying sellers on EBay $60.
BTW about the $45 thing, that's MSRP. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs had a high MSRP, but I thought the $25 I paid for it was fair.
Yes! I knew I could count on Warner. These ahold be about $25-30 at retail. I think that's a fair price. I'll definately be picking up Polar Express. I already have Clash of the Titans from Germany.
I would love to have Warner release Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D!
@ bluflu
My thoughts exactly. Thank God for Warner leading the way. Hopefully the other studios will follow suit quickly. I think it will be 3D BD's only hope.
While I can't really disagree with anything they wrote (they're offering non-exclusive releases that cover a good bit of the entertainment spectrum and will showcase some things you can do in 3D), it'd be really cool if they put out things people actually wanted at prices people actually wanted. Maybe Warner Home Video doesn't have a big selection of good titles with 3D versions. Equally probable is that they want to release some stuff but nothing that they expect to sell lots of units on when the market is there...
Maybe this is their "DTS" test from back in the day on DVD... Remember the Lethal Weapon, Twister & Interview with the Vampire releases on DVD, and then nothing with DTS for years?
Curious Journey to the Center of the Earth isn't included. While it wasn't exactly a great movie it was a Native 3D production and would look alot better then a substandard conversion like Clash of the Titans
$45 dollars is just suggested reatail price it will be lot lower when amazon puts it on there sight. wallmart has polar express on there web sight right now for 26.96 dollars for pre order. so dont panic.
At least Warner is doing it right and not making exclusives, they know how to get the market going (if it ever does we don't know). This, plus their announcement of lower priced catalog titles starting early next year is the way to go now.
As for the films I saw Clash of the Titans in 3D and it was awful, hardly any 3D, what a last minute rush job. But I would buy Polar Express in a minute!
Too bad most of the 3D films have been animated. They could go into their catalog and take Dial M for Murder, the Hitchcock classic, and issue that in 3D and Kiss Me Kate, then there is Paramount with Friday the 13th part 3, and other studio titles like "Comin At Ya" Jaws 3, and other 1950's films. Universal could do Creature from the Black Lagoon. All of these were 3D (and there were more).
Here is a list of 3D films that could be released:
Yea Warners! They were at the forefront of DVD; supported both HD-DVD and Blu-ray (even though Blu-ray had to suffer alittle when 25GB disc use forced them to use Dolby 640); and now they lead once again with slowly opening the gates for 3D. Hope other Studios start to follow soon. Oh, and I hope my PS3 will play these things!
I've really come to enjoy POLAR EXPRESS over the years, and in theaters I felt the 3D made it a much better film (can't say that about too many 3D films). The current 3D BD for POLAR EXPRESS leaves a lot to be desired, so I have high hopes that the new release is a major upgrade.
Suddenly, I have to start pricing 3D projectors!!!
I keep reading that Warner is releasing some non exclusive 3D titles soon, however, has anyone not noticed that Disney is also releasing A Christmas Carol in 3D as well, and it's also non-exclusive? I loved A Christmas Carol in 3D and Disney has had a great track record as far as releasing its films in the best possible pq/aq, so I say the more, the merrier...
Pretty good news, but not the $45 price tag per movie!! I'll wait until they get decreased in price on Amazon.com. I'm so glad to hear Polar Express is getting a 3D blu-ray release!! I love the regular blu-ray and i'll surely love watching it in 3D!!
Awesome news Warner. Are you going to let me trade in my Polar Express 2D BD and Polar Express Anaglyph 3D BD for this REAL 3D BD? This will be my first TRIPLE DIP in the history of anything.
Your first triple dip? You must be new to this hobby. Check out all the versions of T2 I've bought. Keep in mind I skipped 3-4 editions.
VHS
VHS: Special Edition
Widescreen Laserdisc
Laserdisc Special Edition
Laserdisc Ultimate Box Set
DVD "Ultimate" set
DVD Extreme Edition
Blu-ray
Lifesize Terminator Head Skynet Edition (pretty much the most badassed collectible I've ever owned!)
I have yet to pick up Polar Express, so I'll probably keep an eye on this one and grab it when it's at a price I like. I'm still on the fence with 3D, but if I'm going to get Polar Express, it might as well be this one. It's good to see WB making this move. I have no doubt it is because of the outcry from everyone about the packaged exclusives.
@ fettastic: Bravo! So you like buying the same movie repeatedly. You wanna cookie?
I think I only have T2 in two forms, the EE T2 dvd, and the Blu-ray SteelBook. The movie I have bought several times over though is 300: Best Buy's dvd Exclusive w/ the helmet, Limited Collector's Set dvd (big gold box), R1 dvd SteelBook, R2 Spain dvd SteelBook, the initial blu-ray release (gave that one to my brother), German Blu-ray SteelBook, and the Blu-ray Digibook. I'm done with that movie (unless of course they do a killer 3D version).
When can I pre-order these on Amazon??? I am sure the price will be lower than the "list price" Thank you Warner for the new list or releases; I hope the others will follow soon. The holidays are coming!!!!
