New to Blu: April 20-26

Tron fans can see double this week when both the original Tron and Tron: Legacy bow on Blu-ray.

Both can be bought separately or in a combo pack; there’s also a Blu-ray 3D of Legacy.

Not surprisingly, Legacy scored higher marks for its HD transfer than its 1982 predecessor.

As Blu-ray.com, which rated it 4/5, observed: “Tron — twenty-nine-years old and counting — will never look as polished, pristine or striking as its 2010 sequel.

“Between its budget constraints, production challenges, black-box sets, ground-floor visual effects techniques, and the inherent anomalies that haunt its source, the ‘Original Classic’ seems bound and determined to flaunt its age, regardless of how much tender, loving care Disney affords it.

“Honestly though, I’m quite pleased with the results.”

AVForums agreed, rating the transfer 8/10: “Now there have been lots of fan murmurs about the tinkering that Simon Lisberger has done for this director-approved transfer, but as a relatively fresh viewer I really can’t see what all the fuss is about …

“Detail is very good indeed … Colours are excellent … People may feel that Tron’s blacks are overwhelming, but I think they actually work well for the movie.

“In fact, I find it very difficult to fault the work done for this release. It will never, ever, be demo quality, but Tron ’82 looks pretty special nonetheless.”

DVD Movie Guide awarded Tron: Legacy an A grade (“sharpness was consistently tight and distinctive … and the image suffered from no edge haloes, artifacts or other distractions”) while The Cinema Laser hailed the transfer as “demonstration quality … utterly gorgeous”.

Also new this week are the action romp, RED, the latest in the Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (and the first with halfway decent extras), and the indie thriller, The Disappearance of Alice Creed.

Two terrific ‘toons that are HD must-haves, The Incredibles and A Bug’s Life, head a classic back catalogue slate that includes The Who’s Tommy and Mel Brooks’ To Be Or Not to Be.

Both Disney sensations earned five-star raves for their HD audio and video specs from High-Def Digest.

It dubbed The Incredibles “a dazzling extravaganza of sights and a resplendent assortment of brilliant colours” and A Bug’s Life, “perfection”.

Frustratingly, while The Incredibles was released only this month in the US, A Bug’s Life went on sale there two years ago. Incredible!