New to Blu: April 22-28

Russell Crowe’s Anzac-themed The Water Diviner is the timeliest of this week’s Blu-ray releases.

It looks and sounds divine in 1080p but comes up short in the extras department, with only a making-of supplement that the star and director narrates.

The Fall of the Roman Empire suffers an even worse fate, with none of the extras that distinguished its international release on Blu-ray.

The week’s other classic re-issue, the 50th anniversary edition of The Sound of Music, coincides with the release of the Annie re-make.

“Annie features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track is strong but not quite perfect, often fluctuating between aggressively active and mildly reserved.

“Music occasionally lacks the fullness and richness and vitality it deserves, playing with a hint of reservation or shyness.”

“Annie delivers a magnificent, highly detailed, crystal clear, and wonderfully sharp 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode.

“Shot with Sony’s digital CineAlta cameras, you really shouldn’t expect anything less from a new film. While I’m a lover of grainy celluloid, I certainly can’t complain about video qualities like this.”

“Horrible Bosses 2 was shot digitally using Arri Alexa equipment and gets a pretty decent transfer onto Blu-ray by Warners. The image is pretty detailed throughout, and black levels are overall pretty good and consistent.”

“The image isn’t exactly razor sharp, except along edges where ringing sometimes creeps in, but it is satisfying, with bright primaries and suitably deep blacks.”

“On Any Sunday: The Next Chapter arrives on Blu-ray with a striking, eye-popping 1080p transfer that’s as finely tuned as the precision machines that are the film’s focus. Details are delightfully lifelike, incredibly intricate, and infinitely clear.”

Also new are Men, Women and Children, The Collected Works of Hayao Miyazaki Box Set, Spirited Away and Batman vs Robin, which is the best-selling newcomer on disc in the US.