In addition to the usual music releases, there are also two Blu-rays out this week that have me all kinds of excited. I have been obsessed with Disney since I can remember being obsessed with anything. I still think they are one of the most brilliant studios in the world. They somehow manage to get you when you are super young and then you are a fan for life...at least that is how it worked on me! I am obsessed with Disneyland and all things Disney. I love the old movies but the best period was really the 90s. The "Disney Renaissance" started in 1989 with The Little Mermaid; next was the Rescuers Down Under in 1990; Aladdin came out in 1992, and The Lion King in 1994. The best of these and the first to be released on Blu-ray is Beauty & the Beast from 1991. The movies continued with Pocahontas in 1995, the Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1996, Hercules in 1997, Mulan in 1998 and Tarzan in 1999. Some of the older classics have also been released on Blu-ray -- Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, & Pinocchio -- but Beauty & the Beast is the first of the newer films to be come out. Beauty & the Beast is also the first animated film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Some of you may remember the 80's television show Beauty & the Beast starring Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman. I found myself sort of freaked out by this show but also intrigued. I was not a loyal fan of the show but I imagine there must have been somebody out there who watched every episode. I did catch a couple of them. They sort of stayed with me forever. The show might have ruined the image of Beauty & the Beast for some but Disney reinvented it and brought it back to life in 1991. The movie starred the voices of Angela Lansbury, Jerry Orbach, and Jo Anne Worley. The music was by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman; Menken composed the music and Ashman wrote the lyrics. They worked their magic together on Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, & The Little Mermaid and then Howard Ashman passed away in 1991. The documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty covers this period of Disney. I have heard great things about this film and didn't get a chance to see it in the theater but it is out on DVD on November 30th. Beauty & the Beast is still one of my favorites and it looks amazing on Blu-ray! But of course it does! Hopefully the Little Mermaid and Aladdin will have Blu-ray release dates right around the corner. The Disney Diamond Edition includes the DVD and the Blu-ray, in total three versions of the film, plus audio commentary and a sing along mode! There are some extra documentaries on there as well. It is fun to relive these movies all over again when they get rereleased on a new format, almost like seeing the movie for the first time.







Buy Beauty & the Beast (Disney Diamond Edition) on Blu-ray








The other Blu-ray out this week is the Grindhouse Collector's Edition. We have been waiting for this since the movies first came out in the theater. Both Planet Terror by Robert Rodriguez and Death Proof by Quentin Tarantino are now together like they were originally released in the theater with the trailers in between. I love these movies and have been excited for a while for this release. I have not seen the trailers since I saw the movies in the theater. Overall, the movies did not do as well as expected in the theater but I loved them and loved the whole idea behind them. I blogged about the movie here way back in April 2007. I have not picked up my copy of the Blu-ray yet but I am sure it looks fantastic, right?

Here is a list of all the Blu-ray only extras on this Blu-ray Collector's Edition...

* Robert Rodriguez's 10-Minute Cooking School
* The Makeup Effects of Planet Terror
* The Hot Rods of Death Proof
* From Texas to Tennessee: The Production Design of Death Proof
*Trailers
* Extended Werewolf Women of The SS Trailer
* View Extended Cut Of Werewolf Women of the SS Trailer with Commentary by Director Rob Zombie
* The Making Of Werewolf Women of the SS Trailer
* Extended Don't Trailer
* View Extended Cut Of Don't Trailer with Commentary by Director Edgar Wright
* The Making of Don't Trailer
* Don't Storyboard/Trailer Comparison
* View Don't Storyboard/Trailer Comparison with Commentary by Director Edgar Wright
* Don't Storyboards Still Gallery
* Don't Poster
* The Making of Thanksgiving Trailer
* New York Times Talk with Quention Tarantino and Lynn Hirschberg at Comic Con 2006 Featuring the Directors and Cast of Grindhouse
* Grindhouse Trailer Contest Winner Hobo With A Shotgun






Buy Grindhouse Collector's Edition on Blu-ray








also out 9/28...






Crush by Abe Vigoda










Halycon Digest by Deerhunter











Ring by Glasser










Invented by Jimmy Eat World











Matador at 21 Box Set











Music of DC Comics











Everything In Between by No Age











History of Modern by OMD











King Night By Salem











Telephantasm by Soundgarden











Inevitable Past is the Future Forgotten by Three Mile Pilot











Public Strain by Women











Le Noise by Neil Young






also out 10/5...






Buy the Ticket Take the Ride by Black Ryder











Bubblegum by Clinic











Wreckorder by Fran Healy











Surfing the Void by The Klaxons











Doo-Wops & Hooligans by Bruno Mars











Waves by Tamaryn











Mixed Race by Tricky











1000 Years by The Corin Tucker Band