Every Tuesday I take a look at obscure and/or classic television programs, specials, miniseries or made-for-TV movies being released on DVD or Blu-ray. For the record I consider anything broadcast prior to 1980 to be classic or else there wouldn’t be much to discuss. The releases referred to in these posts are encoded for Region 1 use in the United States and Canada.
Last month, Visual Entertainment Inc. released The Invisible Man – The Complete Series on DVD, although finding the set appears to be a bit difficult. Amazon is only offering it used, Best Buy has it back ordered and Barnes & Noble seems to have it back ordered as well. All three websites are displaying old cover art as well. Today, VEI is releasing the series on Blu-ray. Originally scheduled to come out on May 1st alongside the DVD, the set was first delayed to May 29th before finally settling on June 19th — today. According to a review at the Home Theater Forum, the aspect ratio for the Blu-ray release has been cropped from the original 4×3 to 16×9, despite the fact that the show was never intended to be seen in that aspect ratio. The DVD episodes are presented in their original aspect ratio, however. Furthermore, the pilot episode is distorted and all 13 episodes have been crammed onto one disc. See this review at DVD Beaver for screen captures from the Blu-ray.
The take away from this, I suppose, is that fans of the series should avoid the Blu-ray and try to find the DVD set if they want to see the series.
