Australian Blu-ray Importing: January 2013 Buying Guide

Since last time we looked at the 'Guide to Buying Blu-rays from Overseas', the Australian dollar has continued to dance around parity with the US dollar based on strong commodity markets and soft U.S. economy. With studios starting to open their catalogues to much anticipated titles, coupled with deep discounting in overseas markets, it's still a really great time to import some rarer Blu-ray titles.

Let's jump into the latest instalment of the series and cover some recently released overseas titles that are wholly safe for Australian Blu-ray players.

Lawrence of Arabia: Collector's Edition

4

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Country of Origin: United States

Purchase: Amazon.com

Region: A, B, C

What's this you say? Lawrence of Arabia has just been released on Blu-ray in Australia? Well, no. At least, not like this it hasn't.

Fans of the classic David Lean epic will be most pleased with this lavish and beautifully oversized boxed set, reminiscent of Laserdisc boxsets of old. Under the hood is a beautifully printed coffee table book on the production of the film, a unique and numbered 70mm film cel, the Maurice Jarre CD score and the Blu-ray itself, including an exclusive third disc of extra features, including additional documentaries, an in-depth discussion on the restoration of the film, and a never before seen deleted scene, introduced by editor Anne Coates.

The new restoration of Lawrence of Arabia is a sight to behold, and Sony pictures should be congratulated for embarking on such a massive restoration, and going the extra mile for fans. The boxset is a limited edition and only available in the United States and United Kingdom, however it's slightly cheaper imported from Amazon in the US.

Watchmen: Ultimate Cut: Collectors Box

4

Studio: Warner Brothers Home Entertainment

Country of Origin: United States

Purchase: Amazon.com

Region: A, B, C