When a Blu-Ray disc is a poor transfer or just a crappy movie, it just isnÕt work the
money. Stick with your standard DVD.
IÕm B.C. and in this episode of Top 5 weÕre going to run down the Blu Ray discs that
make you glad you decided to buy yet another set of silver discs. These guys are worth
it, according to the savvy eyes of CNETÕs home video editors in NY and ranked by sales
figures from Amazon.com (as of this early August 2010.)
#5: Close Encounters. ItÕs been 30 years. Wow, that long? Means this is a bona fide
classic. And I need to start getting my prostate checked. Sorry. Anyway, this 30th
edition on BD includes all three Spielberg cuts, has been remastered within an inch of its
life and is going cheap, like $12. Just, please, donÕt make the sound your ringtone.
(SFX: Close Encounters sound)
Please. DonÕt. No.
#4: Escape from NY. This one was semi low-budget back in 1981 so, no, it doesnÕt
exactly max out the abilities of HD, but we like that it rescues tale of New York as a giant
supermax prison from the realm of mediocre DVD editions. And it may be coincidence
that the CNET editors who nominated it are based in our New York office, or theyÕre
trying to telegraph something to our HR dept.
#3 Life, from the BBC. An incredible HD look at the lengths living creatures go to to
evade death, procreate and obtain nourishment Ð sounds like a pretty good weekend.
Take our tip on this one: Get the original version narrated by Sir David Attenborough, not
the U.S. edition voiced by Oprah. No offense, O.
#2 HereÕs an old one: 2001: A Space Odyssey Ð shot in 1968. Yeah, I still donÕt really
understand it. But no matter, you can score this BD disc for under $10 and have a really
nice transfer with the downsides that it will absolutely kick your TVÕs ass, especially on
black levels, and youÕll probably run around at work the next day talking like HAL until
some says STOP IT.
BTW, if youÕre watching this episode and feeling like a loser for not having a Blu-Ray
deck yet, donÕt: In-Stat research tells us even out to 2013, Blu-Ray player sales are still
gonna lag some 10M units behind standard DVD players. About 18% of folks in the
U.S. say they would like a BD deck, but that cost still remains a hurdle both the player
and buying all those new discs like our #1 choice:
Avatar. This one needs no introduction. We actually are cool with the 2D version, SO
good is the visual quality. Perfectly formatted to fill an HDTV screen without bars or
weird ratio mashing, this disc is probably the one youÕll put to impress your friends with
your home theater if youÕre that dork. Just enjoy the movie.
Check out our CNET editorsÕ entire list of Top 40 Blu Ray discs, youÕll can find a link at
the Top 5 blog.
IÕm Brian Cooley. See you next time.
