Blu-ray Importing: July 2011 Buying Guide

Since last months 'Guide to Buying Blu-rays from Overseas' the Australian dollar has continued its meteoric rise against the green back, exceeding parity and hovering between $1.05 and $1.09. This week the Aussie battler even hit an all time high against the British Pound, the Euro and the U.S. Dollar. It's a spectacular situation for Aussie importers and definitely time to hit up the likes of Amazon to revel in releases normally denied to Australian fans.

So let's jump into the latest instalment of this epic series, covering some of the later titles released only to import, but safe from the horrors of region coding.

The Blues Brothers

2

Studio: Universal Home Entertainment

Country of Origin: United States

Purchase: Amazon.com

Region: A, B, C

"We're on a mission from God".

Whilst The Blues Brothers was generally panned upon release in 1981, it has well and truly become a cult classic which has only grown in stature with every passing year. Its excesses will never be repeated and I can't imagine a big budget studio film featuring an almost exclusively rhythm and blues music as the soundtrack being produced again.

With a whip sharp script and a somewhat silly premise executed perfectly, The Blues Brothers is a classic and its Blu-ray release has been eagerly awaited for some time. Whilst the video transfer is a little bit disappointing, arguably reflecting the grungy and grimy look the film has always had and the head scratching decision to include a lossy DTS Audio track, this is still a 'must have' release.

Jumanji

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Country of Origin: United States

Purchase: Amazon.com