Must-Have 'Exorcist' Blu-Ray Out October 5th

One of the greatest, most controversial films ever made gets the Blu-ray face lift in October, the perfect time of year for The Exorcist, don't you think?

Blu-ray.com has the details on the release and the cover art above, released in a two-disc digibook format. It includes a 40-page booklet, the original version and the more complete 2000 cut reissued as The Exorcist: The Version You Haven't Seen, both remastered from the original negatives. And as an added bonus, all of of the additional footage is well worth the sticker price, shedding light on a movie that, looking back on it, seems like an extreme improbability in 1973: A movie with this subject matter, even in the heady 1970s (the best decade for film, when push comes to shove) turning into a classic, high-grossing Best Picture nominee.

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Happy 35th Anniversary to 'Jaws'

Yesterday marked the 35th anniversary of the release of Jaws, and by extension, the 35th anniversary of the summer movie season. Jaws was not just the first summer blockbuster, but also the first film to be released nationwide at the same time. Prior to that, movies would slowly roll out from big cities to small towns, similar to the way indie films are released these days. So, the fact that it made so much money back in the 1970s is at least partially attributable to the fact that more people could see it, making it a national phenomenon, which would in turn spur more people to see it.

Lost in all the talk about this being the first summer blockbuster, particularly in board rooms throughout the greater Los Angeles area, is how good this movie truly is. Jaws is an undeniable classic, and outside of one Pixar movie so far, summer 2010 has no classics, or anything close. Keep your fingers crossed for Inception, I guess. Far from being just a summer entertainment, Jaws was nominated for four Oscars, winning in the sound, editing, and musical score categories, losing only Best Picture to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I always thought Robert Shaw received a nomination for his work as Quint, but that's not true. I think you can argue he should have been, and this classic speech, co-written by Shaw, is a good reason why.

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Happy 50th Anniversary, 'Psycho'

You might want to watch Psycho tonight. It's the 50th anniversary of Hitchcock's classic, the godfather of the modern horror film. It's a little dismissive to just give it credit in that department, because it set quite a few standards.

Alfred Hitchcock self-financed it, costing him about $800,000, because Paramount was understandably afraid of the content. Remember, this was 1959, 1960. The trick of killing off the heroine early was uncommon, as well. Then you have the physical elements of the film, from the shower scene to Bernard Herrmann's unmistakable score to Anthony Perkins' undoubtedly creepy portrayal of Norman Bates. Oh, and matricide. Not a lot of that popping up in the age of Pillow Talk. Some have said it was the first real psychoanalytic thriller, although it's easier to just put it in Hitchcockian context as his likely his last of many classics.

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'Cuckoo's Nest' Blu-ray Re-Release In September

There have only been three movies to capture Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, and Screenplay at the Academy Awards: It Happened One Night, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Silence of the Lambs. And a brand new Blu-ray for Cuckoo's Nest is due out on September 14th. Click to see the full cover.

According to DVD Active, the Blu-ray will retail for $50 and the DVD is going for $40, and will include a whole bunch of new stuff. A full-length documentary called Completely Cuckoo will feature director Miloš Forman, producers Michael Douglas and Saul Zaentz, some unearthed deleted scenes, playing cards, pre-production correspondence, some trivia, posters, and more.

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'Psycho' 50th Anniversary Blu-ray Details Announced

On June 16th, Psycho turns 50. The godfather of modern horror films is a tad dated, particularly because the Hays Code wouldn't let Alfred Hitchcock get deeper into the perversion of Norman Bates and because the psychological explanation at the end is pretty overwrought. Outside of that: Just about perfection, and it established the slasher genre, which still has yet to improve upon the example.

In honor of the big five-oh, Universal is releasing a "meticulously restored" 50th anniversary Blu-ray on October 19th that includes a new 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack in addition to the restored mono soundtrack. Blu-ray.com has all the specs on the new single-disc release, and we just stole them:

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