This past Monday night, the Warner Home Video crew and Strut Entertainment swung into the 514 area code with a load of upcoming titles to show off, good munchables, copious drinks and some sweet swag for us press types. The RocknRolla-themed party also featured the airbrush-tattoos of Toronto-based artist Fritz Branschat’s Skin FX. And if there’s still any doubt that Montréal is all about style, local design house Wildcard MTL Love were there showing off the rockin’ tees that so many of Hollywood’s glitterati are wearing these days.
So, what’s coming down the pipe? Well, Warner’s Chris Lewchuck and Dyan Easton announced the imminent release of the Guy Ritchie action vehicle for which the party was themed — And by the way, it’s great to see the king of stylish British crime movies getting back into form after the tactical and artistic mistake that was Swept Away and the equally depressing Revolver. Look for it on Blu-ray and DVD very, very soon. Also on the table are David Schwimmer’s Little Britain USA (out now), The Sydney Poitier Collection, and a two-disc special edition of the Wonder Woman movie.
Sports buffs will be interested in the New England Patriots 10 Greatest Games and NFL Raiders 3 Greatest Games Super Bowl Victories boxed sets, as well as the first Blu-ray release of Oliver Stone’s Any Given Sunday.
On the TV side, there’s Scooby Doo, Where are You! Volume 1, the 10th season of ER and the second season of ’80s comedy Night Court, as well as a little taste of the cartoon Network and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series, to name just a few.
Aside from RocknRolla, the biggest news is the appearance on Blu-ray of Milos Foreman’s great 1985 film, Amadeus and the release of The Matrix on Blu-ray outside the boxed set that’s been, until now, the only way for high-def fans to get their hands on it.
On the deocumentary side, there is a ton of National Geographic stuff on the way, as well as too many cool docs to name here. All in all, Q1 2009 is going to be very exciting for fans of good movies and TV.
