New Release: War of the Worlds Blu-ray, plus others

Paramount Home Entertainment debuted DreamWorks/Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds and Saving Private Ryan on Blu-ray on June 1, 2010, and May 4, 2010, respectively.

War of the Worlds, the PG-13 adaptation of H.G. Wells‘ classic book, grossed $234 million in theaters back in 2005. In it, Cruise tries to keep his two estranged children (Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin) safe during an alien invasion. Lord of the Rings‘ Mirando Otto and Bull Durham‘s Tim Robbins also star.

The Blu-ray includes these special features:

• “Revisiting the Invasion” featurette
• “The H.G. Wells Legacy” featurette
• “Steven Spielberg and the Original War of the Worlds”
• “Characters: The Family Unit”
• Previsualization segments
• Production diaries
• “Designing the Enemy: Tripods and Aliens”
• “Scoring War of the Worlds”
• “We Are Not Alone”
• Galleries

Saving Private Ryan, starring Tom Hanks (Road to Perdition) grossed $216 million in theaters in 1998. The Blu-ray includes two featurettes.

Paramount also bowed two other action movies on Blu-ray on May 4:

K-19: The Widowmaker (2002), starring Harrison Ford (Star Wars) and Liam Neeson (The A-Team). Special features:

• Commentary by director Kathryn Bigelow (the helmer of Best Picture Oscar winner The Hurt Locker) and cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth
• Featurette: “The Making of K-19: The Widowmaker“
• Featurette: “Exploring the Craft: Make-Up Techniques”
• Featurette: “Breaching the Hull”
• Featurette: “It’s In the Details”

And Escape From L.A. (1996), starring Kurt Russell (Soldier) and Steve Buscemi (Saint John of Las Vegas). No special features.