New to Blu: May 27-June 2

American Sniper’s Blu-ray transfer hits the bull’s-eye.

“Director Clint Eastwood shot American Sniper digitally, using Arri Alexa equipment, which results in a stunning and crystal-clear transfer by Warners to Blu-ray.

“The level of detail here is just fantastic, from every scuff and scratch on the military weaponry being used, to the wrinkles and creases on the soldiers’ faces themselves.”

“The image can go a touch flat and pasty in its most obviously digital moments, but generally the picture quality yields a fully realised image that captures every nuance with ease.”

“Warner use a robust Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio track at a whopping 3901 kbps. Effects are abundant and come at your from all corners of the home theater with sharp, piercing bullets, explosions and firefights.”

The rest of this week’s newcomers are direct-to-disc, save for an American Revolution miniseries that’s just aired on Sky Movies.

“Sons of Liberty director Kari Skogland and cinematographer George Steel play rather aggressively with things like colour grading, texture (some scenes are ‘distressed’ looking), and other bells and whistles, some of which tend to give the miniseries a somewhat soft ambience.

“Contrast is at times a bit anemic, leading to minimal murk in dimly lit sequences. Even in aggressively colour graded (or desaturated) sequences, detail is still often quite commendable, and close-ups can reveal excellent fine detail.”

Also new are: The Gambler (“not the peak of Blu-ray perfection, but this transfer gets the job done“), Starry Eyes (“detail is strong in close-ups, though wide shots are slightly soft”), Comet and Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts (“excellent for the most part”).