Due on Blu: Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Great Migrations

November 2, 2010 0 Comments

On the eve of Sky starting one HD series in SD and ending another, Madman Entertainment has confirmed both titles will be out on Blu-ray for Christmas.

The two-disc Great Migrations, which premieres 7.30pm Sunday on National Geographic Channel, will sell for $55 from December 2.

Although NatGeo is one of the many channels Sky is reluctant to upgrade to HD, Great Migrations was shot entirely in HD using such breakthrough technologies as Crittercam, Phantom HD Cam and Starlight Cam.

They were specifically developed for the series and helped it to notch up a slew of world firsts, including bull elephants scouting migrations routes and the rediscovery of the epic kob migration in Sudan.

Meanwhile, as Spartacus: Blood and Sand nears its first-season finale on The Box, on November 14, Madman is preparing to release the 13 episodes as they should have screened here originally.

As well as HD transfers, the December 2, four-disc, $82 set will include rare production footage exploring the series’ visual effects, production and costume design shorts, cast-and-crew interviews and commentaries, enhanced digital effects for several episodes and, as a Blu-Ray exclusive, four Directors’ Cut Extended Episodes that were deemed “too risqué” even for pay-TV.