New to Blu: January 21-27

Fury unleashes a Blu-ray blitzkreig of top titles this week that includes The Boxtrolls, The Maze Runner and the final season of Boardwalk Empire. 

“Fury, photographed on film and presented on Blu-ray in a ‘Mastered in 4K’ 1080p presentation, looks stunning.

“Aside from a shot or two in which black levels struggle with depth and accuracy, the image is striking, even considering its primarily bleak, cold, gray-dominant appearance.”

“Sony Home Entertainment has whipped up some nice extras.

“The touted ‘fifty minutes of deleted scenes’ include a lot of alternate takes on scenes, so if they were interpolated into the movie, it would end up being maybe thirty minutes longer.

“Three entertaining featurettes are nicely produced.”

“As we’d expect from a Laika stop-motion production, the boxtrolls roam the dark streets and alleys of Blu-ray with a magnificent, first-rate 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode that will have viewers believing in this fantasy world.

“Presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, the presentation is razor sharp with excellent detailing in every scene, even those with a thick, hovering fog, of which there are several.”

“Universal’s DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track isn’t necessarily going to drop jaws like its video presentation or Laika’s stop-motion animation, but it does a magnificent job of immersing viewers in the underground world of the Boxtrolls and the hectic streets just above their heads, be it the angry crowds.”

The Maze Runner’s theatrical 2.40:1 aspect ratio “is faithfully delivered in a 1080p transfer using the AVC codec.”

“The dystopian actioner makes a mad dash for Blu-ray with a top-notch 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode that astounds with lots of details and rich clarity.”

“Sharpness is outstanding except in moments where the necessities of CGI require things to be a tiny bit soft to better blend the real and the computerised.”

“Surround effects are plentiful and robust with the front stage doing more than its fair share. An outstanding audio presentation.”

“Boardwalk Empire’s fifth Blu-ray release features another strong 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation, albeit one that exhibits a bit more crush and ringing than previous seasons.

“The uptick isn’t exactly distracting, but it is noticeable, particularly in terms of the edge halos that haunt the gangsters’ dark frames during starkly lit scenes.

“Otherwise, all is as it should be … A solid set, with a strong video presentation, first class DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, and a decent collection of extras, including four commentaries. ”

Also new are:

• Wolf Cop
• Spike Island
• Detention of the Dead
• Cheek to Cheek Live.