New to Blu: March 8 – 14

In a week that plumbs new depths for obscure new Blu-ray releases, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk appears to be the most significant.

“Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk looks terrific on Blu-ray,”said Blu-ray. com. “The movie is packed with intimate, up-close, finely revealing facial features that show every pore, pimple, line, mark, scar, tear, hair, and everything else with incredibly precise definition.”

Director And Lee shot Billy Lynn in the higher frame rate of 120 frames per second and “somewhat recreated for the 60fps rate of the 4K Ultra HD version”, which isn’t being released here (the Blu-ray transfer is 24fps).

Observed High-Def Digest of the US release: “While there’s nothing technically wrong with the video presentation here – aside from a bit of aliasing that exists in all of the available home video versions of this title – the image really pales in comparison to both the other versions that are available on the 4K Ultra HD release of this movie, which contains both a 4K/60fps rendering of the movie and a separate 1080p 3D version.” (In NZ, the 3D version is being bundled with the Blu-ray disc.)

“Lee’s attempt to find a hyper-realistic approach really pays off in the audio department, as the DTS-HD 5.1 surround mix uses all channels to put us into the action, may it be an intense battle scene, or a sequence that shows the characters casually strolling through the stadium,” DVD Talk said.

“This is vibrant and incredibly detailed sound work, and the transfer captures it perfectly.”

The rest of the week’s newcomers are limited to The Wannabe, Shimoneta: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn’t Exist, Fairy Tail Collection 22 (eps 253-265) and Snow White with the Red Hair – Complete Season 1.