13 June 2008

With the appeal of blu-ray still restricted by the dominance of naff Hollywood releases, any news of older favourites getting high-def upgrades is welcome, and when the films in question are from the back catalogue of Mr. John Carpenter it's news worth celebrating. Well get your party hats on because on 4th August 2008 Optimum are to release three of Carpenter's coolest early works on blu-ray disc.

The cult favourite Escape from New York is set in a future in which Manhattan has become a walled off prison in which America's deadliest criminals are housed. When the President crash lands within its walls and held hostage, former war hero turned criminal Snake Plissken is sent in to get him. He's not keen, but with two explosive charges planted in his neck, he has just twenty-four hours to complete his mission or get blown to smithereens. The disc will feature the following extras:

• Return to Escape from New York featurette (23 mins);
• New and exclusive John Carpenter interview (31 mins);
• 3 x original trailers;
• Snake's Crime (deleted original intro);
• Commentary.

The Fog was Carpenter's witty and stylish follow-up to Halloween, in which the seaside town of Antonio Bay is terrorised on his hundredth birthday by the ghosts of sailors killed by the town's founders. Some of the smartest dialogue you'll find in the whole of Carpenter's oeuvre and some Dean Cundey's most eye-catching cinematography join one of the director's most distinctive scores for a movie that craps all over that remake. The following features are on board:

• Tales From The Mist documentary (30 min);
• Teaser trailer;
• Trailer;
• Commentary with Carpenter and producer Debra Hill.

They Live was Carpenter's reaction to the Reagan years and one of his smartest and most enjoyable films. Pro wrestler Roddy Piper plays drifter Nada, who stumbles across a resistance movement to an alien invasion that is effecting gradual takeover through the world of commerce, mass media and advertising. Features one of the longest fist fights ever committed to film and a line about bubble gum that anyone who's seen the film will have repeatedly at least once. The extras here are:

• Making-of featurette (8 mins);
• Commentary.

All three discs will retail at £19.99.

UPDATE: The blu-ray and DVD of They Live has been pushed back to 22nd September.