Several classic films have been polished up for re-release on home video Tuesday. The Disney favorite Sleeping Beauty is the first Mouse House animated classic to be released on Blu-ray Disc, and four fantasy faves featuring stop-motion animation by vfx legend Ray Harryhausen make their Blu-ray debut as well. The four-disc collectible gift set offers 20 Million Miles to Earth, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, It Came From Beneath the Sea and Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers in high-definition for the first time.
Available on both Blu-ray and standard-definition DVD, the 1959 fairytale Sleeping Beauty has once again been digitally re-mastered for superior picture and sound quality in time for its 50th anniversary. Last reissued in 2003, the enduring tale of a doomed princess and her brave knight now comes with a never-before-seen alternate opening and a new documentary titled Picture Perfect: The Making of Sleeping Beauty. Other bonus materials include deleted songs, interactive games and a new ‘Once Upon a Dream’ music video performed by Hannah Montana’s Emily Osment. The Blu-ray edition also includes a behind-the-scenes tour with picture-in-picture commentary by Pixar’s John Lasseter, Disney animator Andreas Deja and film critic and historian Leonard Maltin. In addition, Walt Disney Imagineering’s Sleeping Beauty Castle Walk-through attraction, which has been closed for 30 years, has been digitally recreated in 3D. The two-Disc DVD set lists for $19.99, and the Blu-ray edition can be has for $34.99 or less.
The Ray Harryhausen Collection on Blu-ray from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment provides 578 minutes of good, old-fashioned sci-fi and fantasy matinee fun crawling with stop-motion monsters, mythical creatures and alien invaders. The set carries a suggested retail price of $107.95. Also debuting Tuesday is a stand-alone, 50th anniversary edition of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. Listing at $28.95 on Blu-ray and $19.95 on DVD, the disc features commentary by Ray Harryhausen, visual effects experts Phil Tippett and Randall William Cook, author Steven Smith and producer Arnold Kunert. Also included are a documentary and six featurettes.
Stop-motion fans can also pick up the Jack Frost Deluxe Edition on DVD. The 1979 Rankin & Bass holiday special features the voices of Buddy Hackett, Robert Morse and Larry Storch, as well as songs by Mel Torme, Al Jolson and others as it tells the tale of how brave winter elf Jack Frost became human. Extras include ‘Totally Cool Crafty Creations,’ a feature that teaches kids how to make their own holiday crafts, and ‘Snip’s Snowy Sing-a-long.’ The Warner Home Video release carries a suggested retail price of $19.98.
