A gem from Akira Kurosawa along with several Criterion Collection releases mark this week’s Blu-ray arrivals.

Valentine’s Day has come and gone—did you watch any of our 15 favorite romance flicks on Blu-ray?—and we’re getting into the winter doldrums. Without a theme for Hollywood studios to latch onto this week, the Blu-ray releases are a tad weak.

However, the true movie buff will be delighted, because in has stepped the Criterion Collection to offer a handful of releases while the big boys take a break. With titles like Hunger and Revanche, we’re not saying these will be name films that you’re going to run out and buy … but Criterion has become well known for its phenomenal restoration process of audio and video and great packaging to accompany its Blu-ray releases. Plus it’s willing to go on a limb and give you movies you’ve never heard of but chances are will be thought-provoking and leave you on the edge of your seat.

And if you have any doubt about the Blu-ray authoring, just look for Academy Award nominee The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which many have hailed as reference-quality Blu-ray material.

Anyway, it looks like the story of an Irishman’s hunger strike, Hunger, could be a winning Criterion pick this week.

Speaking of lavish-looking movies, famed Japanese director Akira Kurosawa was known for stunning epics and this week we get to see the high-definition treatment of his 1985 film Ran, released by Lionsgate. Expect the usual sweeping vistas and attention to details.

Also, if you’ve missed it in an earlier release version, there’s a 20th Anniversary edition of GoodFellas on its way to shelves this week. We’re never real fond of double-dip releases, but you can’t really go wrong with GoodFellas. If it’s more gun action you’re looking for, check out the Dirty Harry Collection that arrives this week as well.

Here’s the complete release schedule for the week of February 16, courtesy of Blu-ray.com:

Black Dynamite
Cabin Fever
Claymore: The Complete Series
Coco Before Chanel
A Concert by the Lake
Contempt
Dirty Harry Collection
Freeway Killer
GoodFellas (20th Anniversary Edition)
Halo Legends
Herioc Age: The Complete Series
Hunger
The Ladykillers
Law Abiding Citizen
Lola Montes
Ran
Revanche
Women in Trouble

by Arlen Schweiger

http://www.electronichouse.com/article/top_10_blu-ray_releases_for_february_16/

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