Culver City, Calif. (Sept. 22, 2010) – Just in time for the holidays, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment announces the debut of the Blu-ray Essentials Collection, a selection of 12 of the most captivating action-adventure films on high definition Blu-ray™. The perfect complement to a new Blu-ray Disc player, these titles were selected for their superior picture and sound quality, critical acclaim, and genre appeal to create a collection designed to maximize the home theater experience. Each sold separately, the films in the initial collection are Air Force One, Bad Boys, Black Hawk Down, Casino Royale, The Da Vinci Code: Two-Disc Edition, The Fifth Element: Remastered Edition, Ghost Rider: Extended Cut, Hancock, Snatch and Spider-Man 3: Two Disc Edition. Also in the collection, Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 will be available for the first time as individual Blu-ray titles. The entire collection will be available on Nov. 16, 2010 at newly-reduced prices ranging from $19.95 to $24.95.
Air Force One
The fate of the nation rests on the courage of one man. Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman and Glenn Close star in two-time Academy Award®-nominee (1982, Best Director, Best Writing, Das Boot) Wolfgang Petersen’s gripping thriller, presented with full high-def picture and sound on Blu-ray™. When a steadfast U.S. President who has just told the world he will not negotiate with terrorists is hijacked aboard Air Force One by Russian neo-nationalists, the President is faced with a nearly impossible decision – give in to terrorist demands or sacrifice not only the country’s dignity, but the lives of his wife and daughter.
The picture is Rated R for violence.
Bad Boys
From director Michael Bay (Transformers, Armageddon) and writers Michael Barrie & Jim Mulholland and Doug Richardson, comes a thrill ride of explosive action from beginning to end, now fully-remastered for Blu-ray™! One hundred million dollars worth of confiscated drugs has just been jacked from police custody. Once the career bust of Detectives Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence), the missing drugs now threaten to shut down the Narcotics Division of the Miami Police Department. When the drug investigation turns deadly, the murderers kidnap the only witness, a beautiful police informant (Téa Leoni) and close friend of the boys. Fast cars, a gorgeous woman and nonstop action – all presented with full high-def picture and sound – make Bad Boys a guaranteed good time!
The picture is Rated R for intense violent action and pervasive strong language.
Black Hawk Down
From acclaimed director Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Hannibal), renowned producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Pearl Harbor, Armageddon) and screenplay by Ken Nolan, comes a gripping true story about bravery, camaraderie and the complex reality of war. Black Hawk Down stars an exceptional cast including Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbor), Ewan McGregor (Moulin Rouge!), Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan), Eric Bana (Munich), William Fichtner (The Perfect Storm), Ewen Bremner (Snatch), and Sam Shepard (All The Pretty Horses).
In 1993, an elite group of American Rangers and Delta Force soldiers are sent to Somalia on a critical mission to capture a violent warlord whose corrupt regime has led to the starvation of hundreds of thousands of Somalis. When the mission goes quickly and terribly wrong, the men find themselves outnumbered and literally fighting for their lives. Experience this riveting real-life adventure with full high-def picture and sound on Blu-ray™.
The picture is Rated R for intense, realistic, graphic war violence, and for language.
Casino Royale
Casino Royale introduces James Bond (Daniel Craig) before he holds his license to kill. But Bond is no less dangerous, and with two professional assassinations in quick succession, he is elevated to “00” status. “M” (Judi Dench), head of the British Secret Service, sends the newly-promoted 007 on his first mission that takes him to Madagascar, the Bahamas and eventually leads him to Montenegro to face Le Chiffre, a ruthless financier under threat from his terrorist clientele, who is attempting to restore his funds in a high-stakes poker game at the Casino Royale. “M” places Bond under the watchful eye of the Treasury official Vesper Lynd (Eva Green). At first skeptical of what value Vesper can provide, Bond’s interest in her deepens as they brave danger together. Le Chiffre’s cunning and cruelty come to bear on them both in a way Bond could never imagine, and he learns his most important lesson: Trust no one.
The picture is Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action, a scene of torture, sexual content and nudity.
Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown’s international bestseller comes alive in the film The Da Vinci Code, directed by Ron Howard with a screenplay by Akiva Goldsman. Join symbologist Robert Langdon (Academy Award® winner Tom Hanks, 1993 Best Actor, Philadelphia, and 1994 Best Actor, Forrest Gump) and cryptologist Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou) in their heart- racing quest to solve a bizarre murder mystery that will take them
from France to England – and behind the veil of a mysterious ancient society, where they discover a secret protected since the time of Christ. With first-rate performances by Sir Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina and Jean Reno, critics have called The Da Vinci Code “involving” and “intriguing,” “a first rate thriller.” Experience all the mystery and secrets with full high-def picture and sound on Blu-ray™!
The picture is Rated PG-13 for disturbing images, violence, some nudity, thematic material, brief drug references and sexual content.
The Fifth Element
New York cab driver Korben Dallas didn’t mean to be a hero, but he just picked up the kind of fare that only comes along every five thousand years: a perfect beauty, a perfect being, a perfect weapon. Now together, they must save the world. Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman and Milla Jovovich star in acclaimed director Luc Besson’s outrageous sci-fi adventure. Experience this extravagantly styled tale of good against evil set in an unbelievable twenty-third century world, with full high-def picture and sound on Blu-ray™!
The picture is Rated PG-13 for intense sci-fi violence, some sexuality and brief nudity.
Ghost Rider
Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) was only a teenaged stunt biker when he sold his soul to the devil (Peter Fonda). Years later, Johnny is a world-renowned daredevil by day, but at night, he becomes the Ghost Rider of Marvel Comics legend. The devil’s bounty hunter, he is charged with finding evil souls on earth and bringing them to hell. But when a twist of fate brings Johnny’s long-lost love (Eva Mendes) back into his life, Johnny realizes he just might have a second chance at happiness – if he can beat the devil and win back his soul. To do so he’ll have to defeat Blackheart (Wes Bentley), the devil’s nemesis and wayward son, whose plot to take over his father’s realm will bring hell on earth – unless Ghost Rider can stop him. Experience this thrilling adventure with full high-def picture and sound on Blu-ray™!
The picture is Rated PG-13 for horror violence and disturbing images.
Hancock
Academy Award®-nominee Will Smith (2006, Best Actor, The Pursuit of Happyness) stars in this action-packed comedy, presented with full high-def picture and sound on Blu-ray™! Hancock is a sarcastic, hard-living and misunderstood superhero who has fallen out of favor with the public. When he grudgingly agrees to an extreme makeover from idealistic publicist Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman, Juno), his life and reputation rise from the ashes and all seems right again – until he meets a woman (Academy Award® winner Charlize Theron, 2003 Best Actress, Monster) with similar powers to his and the key to his secret past.
The picture is Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language.
Snatch
Guy Ritchie, writer/director of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, delivers another awe-inspiring directorial masterpiece, Snatch – presented with full high-def picture and sound on Blu-ray™! An edgy and hilarious film about a diamond heist gone wrong, a colorful Irish gypsy-turned-prize fighter…and a very temperamental dog. In the heart of gangland, two novice unlicensed boxing promoters, Turkish (Jason Statham) and Tommy (Stephen Graham), get roped into organizing a rigged bare-knuckle fight with local kingpin/villain and fellow boxing promoter Brick Top (Alan Ford). But all goes wrong when wildcard Irish gypsy boxer One Punch Mickey O’Neil (Brad Pitt) starts playing by his own rules, and the duo find themselves heading for a whole lot of trouble. Meanwhile, Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) and his stolen 86-carat diamond have gone missing in London. Head honcho Avi (Dennis Farina) hires local legend Bullet Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones) to find them, launching everyone into a spiral of double-crossing vendettas and events, most of them illegal.
The picture is Rated R for strong violence, language and some nudity.
Spider-Man 1
Average teenager Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is transformed into an extraordinary super-hero after he is accidentally bitten by a genetically altered spider. When his beloved uncle is murdered during a robbery, young Peter vows to avenge his death. Adopting the name Spider-Man, Peter uses his new powers to battle the evil Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and to win the affections of his beautiful classmate Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst). Experience all the web-slinging action with full high-def picture and sound on Blu-ray™!
The picture is Rated PG-13 for stylized violence and action.
Spider-Man 2
Swing into the action with Spider-Man 2 in full high-def picture and sound on Blu-ray™! When being Spider-Man becomes too much for Peter Parker to handle, he makes a drastic decision to hang up his Spider-Man suit and stop being a crime-fighter. But a new enemy has arisen. A brilliant scientist has been accidentally transformed into a raging monster known as Doc Ock. With super-intelligent robot tentacles welded to his spine, he’s become an unstoppable criminal. When Doc Ock kidnaps MJ to get to Spider-Man, Peter Parker must again take up the mask of the hero, and he does it with a vengeance.
The picture is Rated PG-13 for stylized action violence.
Spider-Man 3
Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) finally has the girl of his dreams, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), and New York City is in the throes of Spider-mania! But when a strange alien symbiote turns Spider-Man’s suit black, his darkest demons come to light–changing Spider-Man inside as well as out. Spider-Man is in for the fight of his life against a lethal mix of villains – the deadly Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), Venom (Topher Grace), and the New Goblin (James Franco) – as well as the enemy within himself. Experience this blockbuster adventure with full high-def picture and sound on Blu-ray™!
The picture is Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence.