Try as you might, there's just no stopping this Blu-ray thing. Slowly treading all over DVD's patch, almost every major movie has now been given the HD treatment. Emphasis on 'almost'.
For there are some great films which are still in limbo between good and amazing quality. True fact.
As Miramax launch a petition to get urban classic Paid In Full out on Blu-ray, we look at some other films which are still waiting for a fancy re-release.
(Images: All Star)
Paid In Full
Classic hip hop flick (the title comes from Eric B. and Rakim’s ground-breaking 1987 single) documenting the real-life exploits of drug dealers in Harlem. Features Wood Harris who went on to find fame as Avon Barksdale in The Wire.
Dream special feature: Eric B and Rakim go digging in the crates to demonstrate how to make a classic old school hip hop track
Rear Window
Arguably Alfred Hitchcock’s finest film. Starring James Stewart as the obsessive photographer LB ‘Jeff’ Jeffries who while recovering from an accident in his Greenwich Village apartment fixates on what he believes to be a murder in a flat opposite his. Grace Kelly is unsurprisingly delightful as Jeffries’s bewitching girlfriend.
Dream special feature: A hologram of James Stewart is interviewed by a hologram of Alfred Hitchcock in a Inside The Actor’s Studio-style.
Schindler's List
Steven’s Spielberg’s big Oscar winner – seven no less – is the harrowing story of Oskar Schindler’s attempts to save the lives of Jewish workers during World War II. A powerful and moving tour de force from Spielberg.
Dream special feature: The cast, including Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes are reassembled by Spielberg, 20 years on, to discuss the making of the film and its legacy.
The Great Escape
The definitive Sunday afternoon/holiday season World War II film. An all-star cast including Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Donald Pleasance, Richard Attenborough and James Garner, attempt to escape a German POW camp with differing results.
Dream special feature: How Steve McQueen’s thrilling motorbike chase was created – includes hitherto unseen footage from a camera that was attached to McQueen’s bike.
The Abyss
James Cameron’s grandiose thriller beneath the waves. After an American nuclear submarine sinks after an unexplained accident, a rescue operation is put in place only for NTIs (non-terrestrial intelligence – aliens to you and me) to complicate matters.
Dream special feature: A panel of eminent scientists discuss whether NTIs exist.
Team America: World Police
The makers of South Park poke fun at America’s self-appointed position as guardians of the free world. Inspired by cult Sixties TV show Thunderbirds, Team America: World Police is equal parts wry satire and hilarious romp. Marvellous.
Dream special feature: Trey Parker and Matt Stone quiz former US President George ‘Dubya’ Bush about his time in office.
True Lies
Arnie might be the archetypal action hero, but he does a nice line in humour too. These two skills are married perfectly in this James Cameron-helmed effort. Schwarzenegger plays Harry Tasker a covert agent for the US government; only his wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) thinks he’s a computer salesman. What will happen when the couple come together to take a walk on the wild side?
Dream special feature: Arnie and Jamie Lee take part in Mr & Mrs spoof quiz show.
The 'burbs
The American suburbs are the source of inspiration for this 1989 comedy horror movie starring Tom Hanks. Something scary is stirring in suburbia and Hanks’s Ray Peterson isn’t going to take it anymore.
Dream special feature: Tom Hanks is filmed spending a month in suburbia.
The Wicker Man
Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee and Britt Ekland star in this iconic horror film from 1973. Woodward plays a police officer who is horrified to uncover a web of Celtic Paganism on the remote Scottish island of Summerisle. An unforgettable experience. Just don’t confuse it with the 2006 remake.
Dream special feature: Christopher Lee reminisces about one of his most memorable roles.
The Jerk
Steve Martin’s first headline feature film and an unqualified success upon release in 1979. Martin stars as Navin Johnson, the titular jerk who stumbles through life via a series of spectacular mishaps. Crude, rude and raucously funny.
Dream special feature: Steve Martin returns to stand-up doing a show in the guise of Navin Johnson.
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