New Release: Dune, Elizabeth, The Jackal and other movies on Blu-ray

Universal Studios Home Entertainment packed April 27, 2010, with a bunch of catalog movies on Blu-ray, each priced at $26.98. In alphabetical order:

Dune

Dune: Director David Lynch’s 1984 science-fiction film, starring Kyle MacLachlan (Showgirls), Max von Sydow (Minority Report), Linda Hunt (TV’s NCIS: Los Angeles) and Sting, carries these special features on Blu-ray:

• deleted scenes with an introduction by producer Raffaella De Laurentiis
• featurette “Designing Dune”
• featurette “Dune FX”
• featurette “Dune Models & Miniatures”
• featurette “Dune Wardrobe Design”
• D-BOX

Elizabeth: Starring the wonderful Cate Blanchett (Lord of the Rings), Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech) and Christopher Eccleston (Lennon Naked), this 1998 biography film has these extras:

• BD Live – Basic
• BD Live – My Scenes
• feature commentary with director Shekhar Kapur
• featurette “The Making of Elizabeth”
• Elizabeth featurette
• D-BOX

Elizabeth: The Golden Age: With more Blanchett and Rush, this 2007 drama offers these extras:

• BD Live – Basic
• BD Live – My Scenes
• deleted scenes
• featurette “The Reign Continues: Making Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
• featurette “Inside Elizabeth’s World”
• featurette “Commanding the Winds: Creating the Armada”
• featurette “Towers, Courts, and Cathedrals”
• feature commentary with director Shekhar Kapur

The following three movie are Blu-ray/DVD combo packs — with both Blu-ray and DVD on one disc — still priced at $26.98 each.

The Jackal: This thriller, starring Bruce Willis (Red), Richard Gere (Brooklyn’s Finest) and the always great Sidney Poitier (Sneakers), has BD-Live on the Blu-ray side of the disc and the following on the DVD side:

• featurette “The Making of The Jackal”
• feature commentary with director Michael Caton-Jones
• production notes
• cast and filmmakers featurette
• theatrical trailer

Out of Africa: The 25th Anniversary Edition of this 1985 drama film, starring Meryl Streep (It’s Complicated) and Robert Redford (All the President’s Men), has these extras on the Blu-ray side:

• deleted scenes
• featurette “A Song of Africa”
• theatrical trailer
• My Scenes
• feature commentary with director Sydney Pollack
• BD Live
• D-BOX

And these on the DVD side:

• featurette “A Song of Africa”
• feature commentary with director Sydney Pollack
• production notes
• cast and filmmakers featurette
• theatrical trailer

Traffic (read our review): Steven Soderbergh’s 2000 drug-trafficking drama, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago), Benicio Del Toro (The Wolfman) and Michael Douglas (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps), offers these extras:

• deleted scenes
• featurette “Inside Traffic“