Sunday, August 28, 2016

Blu Wiener-Dog

Okay, I guess it exists!  There was just one week's delay, and now Solondz's latest film, Wiener-Dog, is available on both DVD and blu-ray, as MOD DV-Rs and BD-Rs, direct from Amazon.  The blu is a single-layer disc with no special features or anything, but you are given the option of a 5.1 or Stereo mix.  The back of the case lists Closed Captions, too, but they don't seem to actually be on here.  The UPC symbol is also layered over the description, though; so clearly the artwork was a rush job.  But how does it look?  Pretty good!  Wanna see a couple screenshots?
The picture is slightly letterboxed to 1.85:1 and looks great in HD.  Unfortunately, as a BD-R, however, the playback was completely borked on my PC's blu-ray drive and even my Seiki.  But it worked alright in my Pioneer player.  Again, region free collectors might want to hold out for a properly pressed disc from another region.  Unfortunately, it's looking like Canada and the UK are only getting DVDs, so Germany's the only blu option so far (of course, more regions may still announce releases in the coming months... I'd be surprised if nothing came out in Australia, for instance).  I've been able to find a release date for that one now, though: November 29.  But for now at least, this is what we get.  And aside from BD-R playback drama, this is pretty satisfying.

Of course, you can also watch it streamed from Amazon now, if that's your bag.  Look at all the 1-star reviews it's getting from people expecting a happy family film about a puppy - yikes!  But hey, it's here.  We've finally got Wiener-Dog.  I haven't even had a chance to watch it yet; my copy just arrived an hour ago, but I can't wait.  =) 

Update 8/31/16: I imagine hearing this from the guy who runs toddsolondz.com carries roughly the same degree of integrity as your mother telling you that you're handsome, but I've just watched Wiener-Dog and thought it was great!

Now, I just wonder what's happening with Petersburg Carousel...

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Wiener Dog on DVD and Blu-Ray... Next Week?!

It would seem so!  Amazon has pre-orders for Wiener Dog up now on both DVD and blu-ray, with a release date of August 23rd.  And considering Amazon isn't just the seller but the film's own distributor, they should know.

...On the other, just a week away from release, and they just have a poster up as the image rather than a proper cover isn't a promising sign.  The seasoned DVD collector in me tells me to expect delays.  But who knows?  Hopefully not.  And hey, I'm just happy to see that this is getting a physical release at all, and not just going the "streaming exclusive" route.

Excited by this discovery, I searched around and saw that Amazon.ca has an Oct 11th release date, UK has December 5th, and Germany has pre-orders up but no specified date yet. The bad news is that the US release is going to be a BD-R (as in a made-on-demand burned disc as opposed to a pressed, manufactured blu-ray), so it may be worth holding out for one of these foreign releases, as those are coming from Mongrel Media, Spirit Entertainment Limited (never heard of them...) and GmbH, respectively.