Interviews

Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List is the latest high profile classic to be digitally restored by Hollywood giant Universal. Hot on the heels of the studio’s acclaimed 2012 centenary Blu-ray restorations, this 20th anniversary release makes its HD bow courtesy of the cutting-edge mastering techniques, although offered a few unique challenges all its own.

With Charlie’s Angels and Terminator Salvation on his resume, McG certainly knows hand to handle action movies – and his latest flick, This Means War, has just hit Blu-ray in the UK promising more of the same. Starring Tom Hardy and Chris Pine as rival CIA operatives fighting over the same woman, it’s perfect popcorn fodder. Just how we like it...

With its reputation confirmed by its CGI character-creation work on the Lord of the Rings movies and Avatar, New Zealand facility Weta Digital seemed the ideal choice to create the myriad simians for Rise of the Planet of the Apes. But how did Joe Letteri, senior visual effects supervisor and a director of the company, tackle the challenge of creating convincing characters?

While many wait for the 3D conversions of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and Titanic (well, maybe not...) to hit cinemas next year, Disney has wasted no time in serving up its own slice of stereoscopic nostalgia in the form of The Lion King 3D. And cinema-goers have lapped it up, with US box office receipts hitting $90m in five weeks.

Automotive action blockbuster Fast & Furious 5 explodes onto Blu-ray and DVD in the UK on September 5, following a spectacular cinema run that saw it become the highest-grossing entry in the franchise in just 15 days!

It's common knowledge that the studios are still struggling when it comes to generating interest - and significant sales - for catalogue titles on Blu-ray. All of which made the news that UK-based FremantleMedia was spending a 'sizeable' amount of money remastering the BAFTA award-winning 1973 documentary series The World at War for a Blu-ray release later this year all the more surprising. So HCC paid a visit to London-based restoration and disc-authoring facility Eyeframe to find out more about this mammoth undertaking.