Yesterday, I saw a cool piece of news regarding Jurassic Park video games being made by Telltale Games, the creators of the new Monkey Island episodes as well as the critically acclaimed Sam and Max series. Even though I’ve already expressed my love for this, I can’t overstate how giddy it made me to read that. The idea of playing an old school adventure game in the world of Jurassic Park has a definite draw for me.
Needless to say, all this nostalgia made me want to watch the movie again. But then I remembered… it’s not out on Blu-ray yet. I’ve never really considered myself much of an audio or videophile, but lately I’ve become obsessed with Blu-ray. The switch happened when our new TV arrived, and now I’ve been hording whatever Blu-ray I can get a hold of, like some kind of technology pack rat keen on depriving the world of its disc-ish goods.
It’s like a disease more than anything. I’m not so bad that I can’t watch DVDs anymore, but everytime I do watch them all I can think about is that sweet 1080p resolution and how I’m not getting it. Maybe that does make me kind of a technology whore, but I don’t care. Unfortunately, not everything is available in this awesome format that showers me with its pixels. Now that I’ve been adding to my collection, here are the movies that have to be on Blu-ray soon before I start driving to these companies and slapping people responsible for the holdup.
Jurassic Park
Did you ever have that “sick day” movie? The one where, when you were home sick from school, you would watch it over and over all day? No? Well if you do and it’s not Jurassic Park, you might want to rethink your life. Seriously, I remember just playing and rewinding this thing all day when I was a kid, to the point where I could quote every single one of its memorable lines during each viewing. Trust me, nobody’s encouraged people to “hold on to your butts” more than me. Minus Mr. Jackson, of course.
Rumors have the JP Blu-ray coming out later this year. Life finds a way…
Aliens
Sure, I’d like the whole trilogy (no, I am not acknowledging the fourth movie), but the second one stands as my easy favorite, even though Alien is incredible as well. I’d love to see the James Cameron Director’s Cut version of Aliens in high definition. To me, it’s easily one of the greatest sci-fi action movies of all time. There’s lots of subtext in the movie, and really, how can you not root to see that last fight between Ripley and the Queen in HD? Also, speaking of the Director’s Cut- if you’ve never watched the movie with James Cameron’s commentary, go do so. It really is a treat.
The Incredibles
The Incredibles easily doubles as both my favorite super hero movie as well as my favorite Pixar movie, just barely above The Dark Knight and Up, respectively. I remember seeing this in college and being blown away by the superhero group action. Why nobody else has done super powered fights and sequences as well in this many years is still beyond me, but on top of that, the film managed to deliver a great story of a family in crisis and reparation.
Pixar has slowly but surely been adding Blu-rays of its lineup (yet there’s still no Finding Nemo to be seen) to store shelves, so hopefully this one gets the next upgrade.
Indiana Jones Series
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade probably ranks in my top 10 favorite movies. Essentially, the whole idea behind my novel Seven Sons is that it is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade but in a fantasy/steampunk setting, and they are performing a heist instead of hunting the Holy Grail. Obviously, it’s not going to be that derivative, but that’s the elevator pitch I use for it when describing it to friends.
Also, I sing the Indiana Jones them every time I’m in a warthog in Halo. Is that weird?
Star Wars IV-VI
Yes, just the later trilogy. I’m not saying I would never buy the prequels for the right price, but these old classics need almost no explanation. Empire Strikes Back is just a masterful space epic, and I can only hope to create a story and characters quite so endearing one day.
Princess Mononoke
This is probably my favorite anime movie of all time, just ahead of Grave of the Fireflies and Akira. Miyazaki films are gorgeous to look at, and I can’t wait to do it in 1080p. What’s pretty remarkable about this movie is that both the English and Japanese audio tracks are fun to listen to, which isn’t always the case. I actually love the dub. I could give a whole thing about how we studied this movie back and forth in my “Writing About Japanese Animation” college course, but I’ll just say that it rules and leave it at that. Anything with huge wolves and giant explosions wins in my book.
Iron Giant
Even as I make this list, I’m surprised that so many animated films ended up on it, but this is by far my favorite animated movie of all time. Brad Bird also directed the Incredibles, so it’s no shock that this movie is so touching. Something about it makes me want to be a kid again, and I still get a little teary at the Iron Giant’s “Superman” bellow as he flies upward near the end of the story. Man, I need to go watch this right now, Blu-ray be damned!
E.T.
Even if I was surprised about all the animated films I want on Blu-ray, I’m not surprised at all by the number of Steven Spielberg titles that dot it. Yes, it’s E.T., the accidental re-telling of the story of Christ by a super talented Jewish filmmaker. Whoops? If you don’t believe me, observe…
Anyway, I still remember waking up early the day that E.T. came out on VHS, anxiously awaiting my mom to return with it. She brought back both the movie and Shipley’s Donuts (which, if you ever come by Texas, you simply must try) so it was a day to remember for sure. None of that has anything to do with the movie, but it’s awesome all the same.
Back to the Future
Even though the DVD transfers are probably the best that I’ve seen, I would die for a Blu-ray set of the trilogy. The first Back to the Future is in my top 10 films of all time, and stands next to Ghostbusters as one of the best sci-fi comedy flicks. Recently, the image of the Lone Pine/Twin Pine Mall has been making its pass around the Internet, but this is something Daniel Miller showed me some time ago after watching the movie. It’s attention to continuity is astounding, and I can’t think of a better example of a time travel story, even to this day.
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Anyway, that’s my list of movies that ought to be on Blu-ray. What’s yours? Who’s made the jump already?
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