Australian Blu-ray Importing: July 2012 Buying Guide

Since last time we looked at the 'Guide to Buying Blu-rays from Overseas' last month, the Australian dollar has clawed back some points and continues to hover around parity with the US dollar. Additionally, the soft European market has also ensured it remains very strong against the pound. With studios starting to open their catalogues to much anticipated titles, coupled with deep discounting in overseas markets, it's still never been better to import Blu-ray releases.

Let's jump into the latest instalment of the series, covering some of the later titles released overseas, but safe for Australian region coding.

As Good As It Gets

2

Studio: Sony Home Entertainment / Screen Archives Entertainment

Country of Origin: United States

Purchase: Screenarchives.com

Region: A, B, C

The 1997 drama As Good As It Gets plays Jack Nicholson as the misanthropic, obsessive compulsive novelist Melvin Udall which sees his finely formed routines challenged when waitress Carol (Helen Hunt) is unable to consistently serve his food at the diner he habitually attends.

Nominated for a best picture Oscar, and winning for best actor (Nicholson) and actress (Hunt), the film features some fine performances across the board, with a razor sharp script and direction which refuses to follow conventions.

The transfer is in great condition with a very filmic presentation. Whilst no one is going to note the improvements in lossless audio, it's still good to have received a lossless DTS HD Master Audio track. Whilst the disc is light on for extra features, fans of the film will nonetheless want to jump in quick before the disc becomes out of print. Independent distributor Twilight Time has secured a three year exclusive right to the film from holder Sony Pictures Entertainment for a short run of just 3,000 copies.

Jules Verne's Journey To The Center Of The Earth

Studio: Twentieth Century Fox / Screen Archives Entertainment

Country of Origin: United States

Purchase: Screenarchives.com

Region: A, B, C