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BLU-RAYWAS SUPPOSED
to be
somebody. When it debuted in
2006, it was hailed as the next-
generation optical disc format
for an HD world, destined to
supplant DVDs the way that
DVDs sent VHS tapes into the
slag heap of obsolescence (join-
ing Betamax tapes, audio casse es, eight-tracks and the Victor
Talking Machine). Compact and relatively affordable, Blu-ray
offeredanunrivaledviewingexperience. Andyet today it founders
—misunderstood and largely ignored by the public, and under
intensifying siege by Netflix, Vudu and the like.
That’s a shame because, unlike the clumsy LaserDisc, whose
extinction at the hands of the DVDwas well warranted, Blu-ray
is far superior to its competi-
tors. And don’t just take my
word for it. “Blu-ray really is
the truest form for viewing
a movie in your home, and
lets you watch films in a way
that perpetuates [a director’s]
vision,” Oscar-winning direc-
tor Oliver Stone tells me. In addition to new films, “studios are
continually remastering classics for Blu-ray,” he says, “because
it is simply the best format out there.”
In fact, modern-day restorations on Blu-ray are o en be er
than the theatrical versions, making them gold for film lovers.
“As li le as five to 10 years ago, youmight see a fourth-generation
print in theaters,” says Lee Kline, tech director at the Criterion
Am I Blu?
Amovie buff’s defense of an unappreciated
—and likely doomed—video format
BY TOM SAMILJAN
48
MAY 2012
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
ILLUSTRATION BY JUSTIN RENTERIA
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