New to Blu: TV > March 20-26

SEAL Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden is a made-for-TV variation on Oscar-nominee Zero Dark Thirty.

It was meant to have come out a couple of months ago but has just been rescheduled for Wednesday.

From the producers of The Hurt Locker and Into the Blue director John Stockwell, it lands on Blu-ray in two versions: the 90-minute broadcast and a director’s cut, Code Name Geronimo, that’s 10 minutes longer.

“Despite coming with a 1080p AVC/MPEG-4 transfer, SEAL Team Six only manages to deliver an occasionally sharp picture that captures fine detail and textures, while also recreating accurate depth in very important scenes that are depicted in low light.”

“There are many excellent, near reference-grade moments in SEAL Team Six that reveal very crisp and supremely well-defined Afghani terrains, sharp military uniform lines, and facial textures.

“On the other hand, the HD video appears ridiculously glossy and flat, inorganic and very smooth.”

“The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix here is strong with good use of surround channels which come into their own in the two big shoot-out sequences in the film.”

One of the SEALS, Anson Mount, also stars in the second and final season of  the iron horse drama, Hell on Wheels, which goes on sale here ahead of the US and UK.

Another series being released on Blu-ray hard on the heels of its SoHo broadcast is Bourne babe spy drama Hunted.

Fans will be disappointed that “beyond the decent HD transfer, the Blu-ray offers 12 minutes of ho-hum deleted scenes that add little to an already decent show”.

However, the release “especially captures the atmospheric world created by cinematographers Balazs Bolygo and Stephan Pehrsson.

“With Bolygo’s previous experience on Spooks and Pehrsson’s on Doctor Who it’s no surprise that Hunted looks glorious in hi-def and captures all the bloodshed no matter where it is – from stunning highrise buildings to claustrophobic secret rooms.

“You are always in the middle of the action.”