Top 10 Best Blu-ray Movies 2008 For Sound & Picture Quality

You will recognize many Hollywood blockbusters on this list like the much-anticipated superhero movie Batman The Dark Knight and the much-loved animated movie Wall-E as well as some lesser known movies, each of which is noteworthy in its own way and which may also grab your interest. (They have mine!)

The previous Sound and Vision Magazine list came out in the summer of 2008 and was discussed at Top 10 Blu-ray Movies For Best Picture and Sound Quality. It covered really the first half of 2008 and, as you are aware, much has changed since that time and somewhere in the area of 1,300 movies are available now on blu-ray disc so it is definitely time for a new list!

What else will you find on this page? Well, after the list you will find a brief discussion of each movie including links to some great blu-ray movie reviews by experts and by individuals that are not experts, like myself. You will also find some fantastic quotes about the movies and links to Amazon, where you can purchase a movie, if you are so inclined.

I hope this page gives you some great movie ideas and I wish you much exciting blu-ray viewing!

Photo courtesy of Creations du Net.

I have not seen Wall-E yet but it is high on my list to see. The fact that it is ranked the best blu-ray movie of 2008 means I should see it soon! It is, along with nine other Disney movies, discussed on my page Disney Blu-ray Movies. Its position there was as one of the best selling Disney blu-ray movies on Amazon.

Click here to buy Wall-E -- The Three-Disc Special Edition from Amazon
List Price: $40.99
Amazon Sale Price: $23.49
You Save: $17.50

The Dark Knight was a star in our 'home theatre.' Believe it or not, I enjoyed it more than I did when I saw it at the theatre and I was thrilled to read Sound & Vision's The Dark Knight Blu-ray Review called, 'Unstoppable Force. Blu Object' because they agreed with me! For our opinion, read The Little Family's Batman: The Dark Knight Blu-ray Review.

Click here to order The Dark Knight Digital Copy and Blu-ray package from Amazon.com as shown above. for $16.99 U.S. Canadians can order the blu-ray and digital package from Amazon.ca for $21.99 by clicking right here.

Click here to order The Dark Knight: Limited Edition with Batpod digital copy and BD live blu-ray for $44.99.

I highly recommend the Amazon Customer Reviews for this movie. I think they are great -- there are many of them -- and they come from a wide variety of individuals. Most importantly, Iron Man scores 486 5-star reviews and they include wording like, "great use of special effects is good to dazzle your friends," "Iron Man could well replace Superman in the Big Three of comic book superheroes in the movies along with Spider-Man and Batman" and "the 2-Disc ultimate edition delivers!"

Click here to order
Iron Man
the ultimate two-disc edition + BD live blu-ray
from Amazon.
List Price: $39.99
Amazon Sale Price: $19.49
You Save: $20.50

Bakara is a 1993 film that has been fully restored. This movie was filmed in 24 countries and is a world tour that shares the human condition, the sights and the sounds, in a new way -- without plot, speaking or narration and with time-lapse photography. I have not seen it nor had I heard of it until I saw it on Sound and Vision Magazine's list. Now that I have spent some time researching it, I would say that it definitely sounds like an interesting film, perfect for the blu-ray format.

Once again, I'd highly recommend the Amazon Customer Reviews because of writing like:

"This new transfer is AMAZING, and is exactly what the first DVD release should have been... PRISTINE video (very few artifacts, little or no pixelation), and IMMACULATE audio (crisp, clean, and great presence without sounding "over-processed")." (P. Kowalsky)

and

"I firmly believe ALL PEOPLE should view this film at least once in their lifetime--free from all external encumbrances--this film requires your undivided attention. All of a sudden, the world becomes a much smaller planet--one in which we all live in our own way and one in which every living being is important. If you are prone to cry at beauty--have a box of tissues handy. If you are not prone to cry at films, have a box of tissues handy anyway. You will probably need them. This is a very moving film. I was particularly impressed with the burning oil field scene because of the intense feeling the film created." (jazzylady2)

With reviews like that, Baraka is definitely on my list of must sees!

Click here to buy Baraka on blu-ray from Amazon.
List Price: $34.98
Amazon Sale Price: $14.99
You Save: $19.99

A Passage To India was crafted from the novel by E.M. Forster and tells the tale of the British way of life and racism in colonial India in 1928. It was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won for won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (Peggy Ashcroft) and for Best Score (Maurice Jarre.) Director David Lean had previously created 'Bridge on the River Kwai' and 'Lawrence of Arabia.'

Click here to buy A Passage to India from Amazon.
List Price: $28.95
Amazon Sale Price: $17.49

The third man is a 1949 classic mystery thriller about a writer searching in post-war Vienna for information regarding the death of his old school friend. Amazon calls it a, " legendary tale of love, deception, and murder" and one Amazon Customer Review calls it, "One of the hundred best movies ever made." (Beveridge) This movie contains one of the most famous movie entrances in film history -- when Lime (played by Orson Wells) enters; a chilling expression of the predictability of evil.

Click here to buy The Third Man on blu-ray from Amazon.
From $38.99

Mad Men is a series about Madison Avenue advertising executives in the 1960s -- where women worked in offices as 'servants,' often not very well respected but content, more or less, with their role, at least for the time being.

Amazon says, that from the show is "an essential, utterly addictive television- watching experience. Beautifully filmed and masterfully written, the show manages to present the period honestly but with little nostalgia, and as soon as you get over the constant smoking, drinking and treatment of women as little more than "girls" who get coffee and answer the phone, the complexity of these characters will leave you completely captivated."

Click here to buy Mad Men - Season One from Amazon.
List Price: $49.99
Amazon Sale Price: $23.99
You Save: $26.00

Does The Godfather need an introduction? I don't think so but maybe this gift set does. This set contains The Godfather, The Godfather Part II and The Godfather Part III. Reviewers say that the blu-ray movies are technically good and that the bonuses are fantastic. I am not a Godfather fan but if you are, it sounds like this might be a set to own!

Click here to buy The Godfather
The Coppola Restoration Giftset from Amazon.
List Price: $124.99; Amazon Price: $50.99

Considered by some to be one of the best Bond movies, this 1962 movie harkens back to a time with less gadgets and explosions.

Amazon Customer Review:

"The picture quality of this old film is simply awesome. The color saturation, the "depth" and contrast are very film-like. I felt like I was discovering the film for the very first time. Watching it on my 60 inch display, it looked like I was seeing a brand new, fresh from the lab, film print in my own living room%u2026if you are a Connery James Bond fan, and own Blu Ray, this is a no-brainer. Highest possible recommendation..." -- by Nats. Click here to see more Amazon Customer Reviews.

Click here to buy Dr. No from Amazon.
$19.99

Click here to buy the James Bond blu-ray collection six-pack on blu-ray.
List Price: $179.96, Amazon Sale Price: $100.99

Interestingly, Lost: Season 3 was on Sound and Vision Magazine's previous list. Season 4 turned out to be a 13 show season rather than a 22 show season due to the writers' strike but this is still a great set with two discs worth of bonus features. Filled with beautiful Hawaiian scenery and sound, Amazon says that "Lost is simply the best-looking and sounding Blu-ray TV show around."

Click here to buy Lost: The Complete Fourth Season from Amazon.
List Price: $69.99
Amazon Sale Price: $48.99

If you are searching for blu-ray movies on the internet. You can use blue-ray movies, blue ray movies or blu ray movies but it is probably helpful to know the correct spelling -- that is without an 'e' and with a hyphen or 'blu-ray.' I am sure that once we are all familiar with blu-ray technology, we will spell it correctly and search for 'movies blu-ray' rather than 'movies blueray,' the latter which, is a top search term right now.

Now you have me wondering. Do you say VHS, videotape, VHS videotape or video cassette when you are talking about VHS videotapes when referring to this aging technology? There is a bit of history as well as a guide to caring for your tapes and collecting new ones at Rare VHS Tapes ~~ A Collector's Guide to Videotapes and yes, believe it or not, people are still collecting them!