New to Blu: May 18-24

Kiwis can get a taste of True Blood: The Complete Third Season two weeks earlier than American fans of the flamboyant vampire saga – and for a recommended retail price that’s much lower.

The five-disc set goes on sale today for $72 whereas the US RRP is $US80.

Only one advance review so far has been posted in the US, where Blu-ray.com said it “earns yet another striking high definition presentation”.

Extras include a picture-in-picture track and “post mortem” short for each episode, six commentaries, character perspectives, anatomy of a werewolf attack scene, and an interactive guide to the creatures of Bon Temps.

Also new is a TV series that hasn’t screened here (and again is selling for much less than in the US: $51 versus $US80).

Treme: The Complete First Season is from the creator of The Wire, David Simon, and dramatises life in New Orleans six months after Hurricane Katrina. (HBO has just renewed it for a third season, even though ratings for season two are down sharply on the first.)

The cast includes John Goodman and Oscar-winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter, which is due on Blu next week).

But as the New York Post warned in its five-star review of the premiere: “Treme is like Cajun food — it’s spicy, it’s weird and it’s good, but it takes a while to appreciate.”

Blu-ray reviewers were keenly appreciative of the HD video and audio. DVD Verdict awarded the latter a top score of 100 and rated the former 95.

It called Treme’s music “tremendously important” and described the lossless audio as “powerful, immersive … The show’s sound design is actually more complex than the HD television broadcasts indicated; further drawing the viewer into this carefully-detailed world.”

Blu-rayDefinition praised the transfer for its “excellent, film-like quality … There’s also no sign of the artifacts typical of the broadcasts of this series (or any series, for that matter).”

Warner Bros Video completes its high-end HD hat-trick this week with the acclaimed US re-make of the Swedish vampire thriller, Let Me In, starring The Road’s Kodi Smit-McPhee and Kick-Ass’ Chloë Grace Moretz.

High-Def Digest said it boasts “a stylish, outstanding transfer that vampire fans everywhere will devour” while AVForums thought it accurate if not perfect: “Whilst it may not quite make for demo-quality showcasing, it’s still pretty damn good.”

The week’s only other Blu-ray newcomers are the 1988 high school black comedy, Heathers, and four-time Oscar-nominee Winter’s Bone, which was filmed with digital cameras.

DVD Beaver called the transfer “a solid presentation of this excellent film” while Home Theater Forum hailed it as “superb …

“This Blu-ray was clearly taken from the DI without an intervening analogue stage, and the key word is ‘clearly’. There isn’t a hint of noise or interference, and the image is stunningly detailed throughout the frame.”