Criterion makes the best DVDs and Blu-rays.  Their transfers are impeccable and their special features are fascinating.  When you pay the $35-$40 for a Criterion Collection movie, you’re paying a premium but you’re getting your money’s worth.  But wouldn’t it be great if you could just pay half that?

You can do that right now.  Barnes & Noble is having a special sale where ALL Criterion Collection movies that are currently in print are 50% off their list price (which is what they normally sell for).  You probably won’t find another sale like this for probably at least a year so if you’ve been waiting to buy a particular Criterion DVD or Blu-ray, now’s the time.  Click here and get yours (but preferably do it after I get mine; I don’t need you taking the last copy of The Seventh Seal on Blu-ray).

David Fincher’s masterpiece Fight Club got released on Blu-ray today.  And in the spirit of Fight Club, Fincher created a special gag for the 10th Anniversary Blu-ray edition.  Since many of you are going to buy the Blu-ray and experience the gag for yourself, I’m going to post what it is and how it came together after the jump so I don’t ruin the experience.  But for those that want to know about it now, hit the jump:

Warner Bros. has announced a DVD to Blu-ray upgrade program.  While the list doesn’t include all their titles, it’s at least a start.  According to WB, the process to upgrade is simple.  Consumers select the titles they want to upgrade on DVD2Blu.com, mail in their standard DVDs with pre-paid postage and a short time later receive copies of the same film on Blu-ray Disc.  If you mail in one DVD, it’s $7.95 plus shipping.  If you order more than $25, you’ll receive free shipping.

While some people haven’t been converted to Blu-ray, I’m all in.  I think the picture quality is amazing on Blu-ray and I definitely see a difference between DVD and the HD format.  All I can say is, if you have an 1080p TV, the format is absolutely worth the investment.  For a complete list of what WB is willing to upgrade and the full press release, hit the jump:

There’s always more to give and while we should all definitely be giving around this time of year*, we have five news stories than we didn’t have time to craft into a bigger article but still though they were worth a read.  After the jump you can find out what’s coming up on Parks and Recreation, where you can HBO’s John Adams on Blu-ray for less than $30, and Edgar Wright’s loving tribute to actor Edward Woodward who passed away today at the age of 79.

Talk about Fight Club.  Without people talking about the 1999 film, it would’ve fallen into obscurity instead of being one of the most celebrated films of the last twenty years.  People still talk about it, people still misunderstand it (if you tried to start a real fight club, you’re one of those people), people quote it, and if you live in New York or Los Angeles, you can celebrate the film’s 10^th anniversary and its debut on Blu-ray by seeing it Tuesday at midnight for free.  Space Monkeys of New York, click here.  Space Monkeys of Los Angeles, click here.  And this time, try not to talk about Fight Club because you don’t want other people to get tickets before you do.

Fight Club: 10^th Anniversary Blu-ray Edition hits stores this Tuesday, November 17^th.

As I said last week, with the holiday’s approaching and everyone trying to save money, we’re keeping our eyes open for “geek gifts”.  And thanks to Amazon, if you haven’t already pre-ordered Up on Blu-ray, they have a great deal that ends tomorrow.  If you buy Up for $19.99, you can get a second Disney Blu-ray for an additional $10 dollars.  Since the retail price for the four disc Blu-ray of Up is over $40 dollars, this is a great deal as you get two Blu-ray movies for $30 dollars with free shipping and no sales tax (depending where you live).  While the list of choices is limited, they do have the Blu-ray’s of Bolt, Snow White, and Cars. Click here to check it out.

However, the best part of the deal for the Pixar fanatics out there is getting Up and Monsters, Inc. (both directed by Pete Docter) together for $32.98.  That’s basically getting the 4-Disc Blu-ray of Up AND the 4-Disc Blu-ray of Monsters, Inc. for $16.49 each.  You’re not going to beat that deal.  Either way, this is one of the must-own movies of the year so head over to buy Up with whichever deal you prefer.  Remember, Up will be available to own starting tomorrow so pre-order today because these deals ain’t gonna last.

Part of what makes Criterion Collection films so valuable, aside from the company’s commitment to the best transfers and special features, is that some times a title will go out of print which makes the film more valuable, both in price and in lording your copy over people that didn’t get one.

“The Third Man” was one of the first Blu-ray titles released when Criterion began their foray into the format on December 18, 2008.  Now “The Third Man” is the first title of the Blu-ray line to go out of print which means the only ones left are those that have already been shipped to retailers.  If you want to get one, now’s the time as the price will most likely rise among eBay and Amazon sellers in the coming months.  I just picked up my copy online from Barnes & Noble for $34.55 (including shipping) which, after searching online, was the best deal I could find.  [Thanks to Blu-ray.com for the heads-up]

“Star Trek” should have a very nice Tuesday, November 17^th when the DVD and Blu-ray of the film hit stores.  But which store will get your space bucks?  With such a major release, a variety of retailers are offering extra incentives to get you to buy your copy of “Star Trek” at their store.  So not only do you have the choice between the 1-Disc, 2-Disc Digital Copy Edition, or the 3-Disc Blu-ray + Digital Copy edition,  you have the choice of which retailer will give you the best bonus.  Which path will you choose?  Hit the jump for your options.

I never thought I’d be saying this, but I pity whoever has to review the DVD or Blu-ray of “Funny People”.  It’s not because it’s a bad film but because it’s a long one.  Now take the length of the film and then remember how loaded the DVDs are for Judd Apatow films.  Add that all together and whoever has to watch all of these feature–especially on the Blu-ray-will not see his family or friends for at least two weeks so that he can get his review online by the DVD/Blu-ray’s release date of November 24^th.

The special features for the DVD and Blu-ray of the movie have been announced and, as expected, there are more special features than you can handle because “Funny People” is really two movies smooshed together.  And because the film wasn’t long enough, there’s also an “unrated” version which adds seven minutes to the two and a half hour runtime.  Hit the jump to check out the full list of special features for the 1-Disc, 2-Disc, and Blu-ray editions of “Funny People”.

While we already knew that The Weinstein Company would be releasing “Inglourious Basterds” before the end of the year in order to circumvent the expense of sending out screener copies to critics (studios send out screeners at the end of the year for films they think can garner some awards buzz), today the specs have landed online and I’m impressed that we’re not getting a bare-bones DVD but a healthy amount of special features.

However, you won’t find any deleted scenes and since the version that hit theaters in August is different than what was screened at Cannes, it would be out of the question to assume we’ll be getting another edition sometime next year.  That being said, how long have be waiting for “Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair?”  I’m perfectly happy with the current cut of IB (just as I’m happy with both volumes of “Kill Bill”) and if I have to do a double dip, so be it because this DVD/Blu-Ray looks like it gets the job done.  Hit the jump for the full specs.

Today, we have an exclusive clip for a special feature from the upcoming Blu-ray/DVD for “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” .  The feature focuses on the filming of the action scene so I don’t understand how this feature doesn’t have a disc unto itself.  Either way, if you’re a fan of TF2, you’ll definitely want to hit the jump and check this out.  The DVD and Blu-ray for “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” hits shelves on October 20th.

Concert films often work best when they’re about one band. The Last Waltz and Stop Making Sense are great, because you can either like the artist or not, but it’s about their moment, that moment, when they record the show they’re doing. The problem with gig shows, like Monterey Pop, is that not all musicians are created equal. So they have to be about the moment, and the experience. My review after the jump.

Warner Bros. just sent out the sellsheet of the upcoming “Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut” and it confirms what we already heard: “The Ultimate Cut” has the “Tales of the Black Freighter” animated short film woven into the Director’s Cut.  This new cut will also have two new commentaries from Director Zach Snyder and Illustrator Dave Gibbons.  According to the sellsheet, the Ultimate Cut runs 3 hours and 35 minutes.

The sellsheet also mentions that there will be over two hours of bonus content including 4 featurettes and the “Watchmen” Video Journals. The set will also include the short feature “Under the Hood” which was previously available on the “Tales of the Black Freighter” disc, all 12 episodes of the “Watchmen” motion comic, and a digital copy of the theatrical feature.  The set will be available as either a 5-Disc Limited Edition DVD set ($43.87 SRP) or a 4-Disc Limited Edition Blu-Ray set ($59.99 SRP).  Hit the jump to get a full look at the box art.  “Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut” will be available to own on November 3^rd.

This is not a news article.  It is an order.  Best Buy has an early release-date deal for the Blu-Ray versions of “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz”.  They’re available everywhere else on September 22nd, but starting Tuesday they’ll be available at Best Buy and BestBuy.com.  They’re $19.99 each.  If you do not buy them in store or online immediately, your Blu-Ray player will be repossessed and given to someone who actually loves movies.  Your Blu-Ray player will belong to me.

Click here to buy the Blu-Ray of “Shaun of the Dead”.  Click here to buy the Blu-Ray of “Hot Fuzz”.  Do it now.

Paramount has just announced an October 20^th release date for the DVD/Blu-ray of Michael Bay’s “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”. While the film was beaten up by both critics and fans, the movie has already made over $820 million dollars at the worldwide box office. I think every filmmaker would take that kind of box office no matter what people say. Anyway, if you’re curious what extras are coming on the home video release, or just want to see the cover art, it’s after the jump:

Steve just gave me a call from the Warner Bros. “Watchmen” and “300″ Blu-Ray event (he says both films look amazing) and he spoke with a source at Warner Bros. who gave him a VERY interesting piece of news:

In a few weeks, Warner Bros. is planning to make an annoucement about their plans for a Blu-Ray release of BOTH the Theatrical and Extended Editions of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.  You may now begin cheering or cursing depending on whether or not you own a Blu-Ray player.

So what’s in a few weeks?  Why the wait?  Why not tell us NOW, dammit?!  Oh wait.  A few weeks.  It’s that Comic-Con?  Hmmm…

How much do you think this will cost?  Are these the films that will finally push you to get a Blu-Ray player?  Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!