Blu-ray

More laboured and parochial than either funny or scary, Cockneys vs Zombies is less a film than a collection of punchlines desperately searching for a narrative to hang on to. While this Blu-ray release's AVC 2.40:1 1080p imagery is sharp, it can't do anything to compensate for the film's rather drab colour palette. Slightly more worthwhile is the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, which has plenty of fun with all of the gunshots – although even this feels rather limited in scope at times. Seven short behind-the-scenes featurettes, an instructional video and trailer make up the lacklustre extras.

What this introspective Antipodean drama about a mercenary hired to hunt and kill an extinct animal (the Tasmanian Tiger) lacks in immediate thrills, it more than makes up for with its gorgeously moody cinematography. So it's a good job that Artificial Eye's Blu-ray release features a rich, natural-looking AVC 2.40:1 1080p image. Matching this perfectly is a DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix that's adept at bringing life to the film's wild locations. While the chat-track and deleted scenes from the US disc have gone walkabout, the UK BD does include a Making of… and 16-minute interview.

Frank Henenlotter's gory skid row shocker about a young man and his monstrous Siamese twin doesn't seem like an obvious choice for a hi-def remaster. But we're pleasantly surprised by the fidelity of the AVC 1.33:1 1080p encode and how it helps reinforce the grain and grime of the original 16mm footage. The two bigger-budget sequels fare better in terms of AV, although the quality of the actual films dips with each instalment. A refreshingly frank 79-minute examination of the making of the trilogy is the pick of the set's copious extras.

Fans of Toshiya Fujita's blood-soaked 1973 tale of revenge and its equally entertaining 1974 sequel (Lady Snowblood: Blood Song of Vengeance) are in for a treat with this hi-def outing. The AVC 2.35:1 1080p encodes look extremely faithful to the source material and show no signs of overt digital manipulation. Likewise, the Japanese LPCM 2.0 audio for both is excellent, with both offering considerably more depth and range than I ever expected. Given that both films have been squeezed onto a single disc, it's hardly surprisingly that extras are limited to trailers and a 11min featurette.

Even director John 'The Plague of the Zombies' Gilling can find nothing new to do with the mummy genre in this third of Hammer's forays into the sub-genre. But, even if the film itself is a little bit of a yawn-fest, Hammer fans can at least take comfort in the fact that it certainly looks better than it has in decades thanks to this Blu-ray's beautifully restored AVC 1.66:1 1080p encode.

James Cameron's $200million disaster movie may lack a little polish in terms of storytelling and be responsible for unleashing My Heart Will Go On on the world, but in terms of sheer spectacle and scale there are first films that prove as satisfyingly epic. An entertaining film that has been transformed into a genuine cultural milestone.