Lionsgate is pulling a Disney and opening its theoretical “vault” to bring audiences some old stand-bys on new Blu-Rays. With Amelie, Chocolat, Bridget Jones’ Diary, and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas all planned as part of the rampant release, it’s looking like Lionsgate is targeting its female market. I know that last example seems like a stretch, but do you really think that many men showed up for the knee jerkily emotional Boy in the Striped Pajamas release? Didn’t think so.
To give you time to prepare for a throwback night of chick flick fun (and one tear-jerker), the titles won’t be released until July 19. Honestly though, if you already have the DVD copies at your disposal, I wouldn’t bother waiting for your night of fun. Lionsgate isn’t offering any new extras with any of the discs, and a couple of them, including Amelie, will even offer several fewer features than prior DVD releases.
The biggest problem with these Lionsgate releases is they are too fresh. Hell, Boy in the Striped Pajamas came out in 2008. Nothing really needs to be done to any of the titles to make them look particularly clearer on HD television. Sure, there might be some touch-up that could be done to brighten 2000’s Chocolat, but, there’s no way the touch-ups would be noticeable, not like when Disney re-did Bambi or George Lucas worked on the elder Star Wars films. It will be nice for those people who hadn’t had a chance to buy the titles in the past and have now upgraded to newer technology to be able to finally get copies of the films. Otherwise, without touch-ups or new special features, I'm having trouble figuring out who the audience will be. Even if you have an affinity for Amelie and her garden gnome, this isn’t looking like the time to update.
