New to Blu: Movies > June 25-July 1

The pick of this week’s Blu-rays, in a crowded slate top-heavy with quality, is multi-Oscar nominee Nebraska.

“Nebraska is one of those rarest of Hollywood releases: a movie that has been shot digitally (on Arri Alexa cameras), but rendered and released in black and white.

“However, since the Arri Alexa doesn’t produce the grain that director Alexander Payne felt was essential to the look of his movie, cinematographer Phedon Paramichael actually filmed grain separately then had it added over the digital images shot by the Arri Alexa.

“The result is a movie that both has the sharpness of digital video, but still manages to keep the ‘warm’ look of film.”

“Paramount’s Blu-ray offers the film in stunning B&W image quality, with terrific contrast and detail.

“The sound is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 3.0 by design, which is appropriate and more than enough for this story.”

“The Rocket gets an impressive transfer to Blu-ray.

“It’s pristinely clean showcasing some hi-def detail and there are really no flaws with the rendering.”

“Fox’s Out of the Furnace features an excellent 2.40:1/1080p HD transfer.

“This is sharp-looking film, and captures the beauty of western Pennsylvania (stark or not) wonderfully.”

“Sharpness is pleasing but short of razor-edged quality, and contrast is sometimes inconsistently rendered, too.”

“The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix offers an excellent surround encode that brings action scenes like the street fights alive with full utilisation of the available channels.”

“Shot digitally on Arri Alexa cameras, 3 Days to Kill looks great on Blu-ray, with sharp details, well-balanced skin tones and contrast, deep black levels, and no hint of any compression issues or other glitches.”

“Since this is ostensibly a quasi-spy thriller, guess what? Yup, several scenes have been color graded to that cool blue that seems somehow inescapable these days, something that sucks just a bit of detail out of the image.”

“The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track handles the two big action set-pieces with intensity and bombast, squeezing the surround channels to life and letting the bullets fly.”

Lars Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac is out in two separate volumes — “the overwhelming majority of the film(s) looks exceptionally crisp and smooth, while colours are solid and very natural” —  while Blue is the Warmest Colour “looks fantastic on Blu-ray.

“The numerous close-ups boast outstanding depth and sharpness, making it extremely easy to see even tiny pores and facial hair. Even the darker footage from the nightclubs impresses with terrific clarity.”

Also new are:

• The Legend of Hercules (“a stunning 2.40:1/1080p HD transfer that makes the computer generated effects look a lot better than they have any business being”)
• The Last Days on Mars (“looks and sounds very good … a rock solid transfer”)
• Wolf Creek 2: Directors Cut (“the image is nearly flawless on all accounts”)
• Not Safe for Work
• Spiderhole
• Spud 2: The Madness Continues
• Razorback
• Q: The Winged Serpent
• Highlander 3: The Sorcerer
• The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension.