By Peter Covino

Entertainment Editor

The biggest animated film of the year (and probably a best picture nominee as well) Up is now  available in Blu-ray and DVD.

Disney/Pixar continues to go where no other animation studio would dare follow. And with Up, the studio raises the bar further still in creating an animated feature that is more adult in nature than anything that has preceded it.

While almost every other major American animation release continues to focus on happy hippos and cross-eyed zebras and the like, Up draws blood, literally. I can’t remember bloody wounds in any other Disney film, but characters are bloodied on more than one occasion in this film that centers on Paradise Lost and found again.

If you saw it in theaters earlier this year, you will fall in love all over again with that old grumpy guy Carl (Edward Asner),  lonely boy Russell, dog Dug and a large bird named Kevin.

If you missed it the first time out, now is your chance to get in on this perfect holiday film.
The optimal choice, of course, is Blu-ray. The four-disc set will require pretty much a whole day of viewing, but what else have you got to do tomorrow?

The film, with all of those multi-colored balloons and panoramic views, is a natural for the Blu-ray format. Both the Blu-ray edition and standard DVD also include a digital copy for the laptop,  iPhone or similar device.
There are lots of bonus features included on both the Blu-ray feature disc (disc 1) and a second disc devoted exclusively to extra material.

The first disc includes Partly Cloudy, the animated short that was shown with  Up when it was released earlier this year.  The disc also includes the documentary Out There, a location trip to South America with the crew that includes some of the area Carl and Russell explore with their floating house.
The disc also includes the Cine Explore option that gives access to director commentary and multiple pop-up screens.

Disc two is full of documentaries on the making of the film as well as a geography game, alternate scene of Carl’s marriage to his true-love Ellie; screen saver option and a character montage.
Disc three is the standard DVD version of the film.
Not reviewed, but also now available for the holidays from Disney/Pixar, is a new Blu-ray release (combo pack gift set) of Cars. The limited edition set includes the Blu-ray, standard DVD, bonus features and two die-cast cars.
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Film noir just might be the best film genre ever. Sure, directors try to make film noir in the 21st century, but film noir is more than a style, it also is a time period, and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has just released a five-disc set:  Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics Volume I.
Restored and digitally re-mastered, the set features four films available on DVD for the first time The Sniper, 5 Against the House, Murder By Contract and The Lineup as well as the Glenn Ford revenge classic The Big Heat.

And almost every film features an introduction by directors such as Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann and Christopher Nolan.

It’s hard to pick a favorite on the set. I had never seen any of these films and they are all markedly different.
The Sniper (1952) is remarkable for its early portrayal of a psychopath who kills randomly and without motive. San Francisco, a favorite setting for film noir, also co-stars here, along with Adolphe Menjou, Arthur Franz and Marie Windsor.
The Big Heat (1953) —  German Expressionist (ex-pressionist cinema heavily influenced film noir) Fritz Lang directed this high impact drama starring Glenn Ford as a happily married family man and detective who goes rogue after his wife is killed by the mob. He sacrifices everything to get even. This is loaded with film noir appeal — Ford’s isolation, a femme fatale or two
and more. The film also stars Gloria Grahame and Carolyn Jones.

5 Against the House (1955) features Reno, Nevada, for at least some of its setting, as four Korean war vets, now all in college, become involved in a plot to rob a casino. This one has some good dialogue as well as Kim Novak and  Guy Madison and Brian Keith as a really disturbed war veteran.

Murder by Contract (1958) — TV’s Ben Casey (Vince Edwards) wants to be a hit with his mob associates and does his job well as he is a hired assassin. No target is a problem until he finds out his latest is a woman.
San Francisco returns in The Lineup (1958), a double narrative film directed by Don Siegel. The tale of dope smuggling includes murder, another hit man (Eli Wallach) and chase scenes through the city.
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Rome wasn’t built in a day and the Blu-ray of this fine HBO series sure took its time getting here as well.
This has been one of the more anticipated Blu-ray titles and, it’s just in time for the holidays.

This is the complete series (seasons 1 and 2) and it also marks the first time both seasons are available in a combined standard DVD package as well.

Shakespeare gave us the downfall of Julius Caesar, but HBO’s multi-Emmy Award winning series knocked down all the walls and took us into the bedroom of Marc Antony and Cleopatra.

Rome: The Complete Series features all 22 episodes, which begins just before Caesar becomes the main man in the empire and continues with his death and leadership of his nephew Octavian and his conflict with Antony  in season two.
Both seasons include two of the series most popular characters Lucius Vorenus  (Kevin McKidd) and Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson).
Along with great battle scenes, dialogue and lots of sexuality, Rome also boasted one of the most imposing sets ever built — for movies or television.

Blu-ray was probably just a twinkle in some developers eye when season one of this show first went into production, but these sumptuous sets must have been built with something other than a standard DVD set in mind. The look of this series is epic, in every sense of the word.

Both Blu-ray and standard versions are nicely packaged, and includes audio commentaries from cast and crew on 13 of the episodes; background features on the history of Rome and some of its most famous citizens; behind-the-scenes features and on the production.

The Blu-ray set also includes  All Roads Lead to Rome, an in-depth, interactive on-line screen guide to the series and Bloodlines, an interactive guide that highlights connections be-tween the soldiers, senate and families of Rome.

Rome is one of the more pricier sets available for the holidays (the Blu-ray lists for $139.99) but if you don’t mind waiting a bit for delivery, you can find it on sale online at Amazon or Overstock.com. (Amazon was the cheaper of the two earlier this week and it includes free shipping).
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If  you need less drama in your life and more happy times, Mama Mia! just might put you in a singing mood.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment has just released the two-disc special edition and Blu-ray of the popular movie featuring songs and more songs by ABBA.

If you missed this the first time around, and love ABBA, this is the edition to get.  The set includes the music CD soundtrack and a 32-page collectible book so you can sing along with Meryl Streep, Julie Waters and Pierce Brosnan.

Both standard DVD and the Blu-ray version feature on-screen lyrics as well for 22 musical numbers.

Who needs karaoke when you have Mamma Mia?

And the Greek countryside looks just great on the Blu-ray disc too.

Bonus features in both versions include deleted scenes and outtakes; a deleted musical number;  feature commentary with director Phyllida Lloyd; the music video Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!; and the feature, A Look Inside Mamma Mia! The Movie and more.