A number of new releases today from studios big and small…

Baby Mama has been freshly listed by Universal Studios, scheduled for a September 9th, 2008 release. Retail for this comedy release will be $39.98, only $25.95 at Amazon.

Universal Studios will also be releasing Strangers on Blu-ray Disc on October 21st, 2008. Retail again will be $39.98, the Amazon price is $27.95.

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The US box sets of the James Bond movies have been listed today - where the UK gets a single box, here we will get a pair of box sets.

MGM is releasing James Bond Blu-ray Collection Three-Pack, Vol. 1 and James Bond Blu-ray Collection Three-Pack, Vol.2 with a retail price set at $89.98, saving roughly $15 per box over the individual pricing. Pre-order at Amazon for only $62.95 per box.

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Following the pre-order listings in the UK, Amazon.com has now listed the six eagerly anticipated James Bond movies in the Blu-ray format.

While it is not listed yet, we can expect a release date of October 21st, 2008. Each of the titles, Dr. No (James Bond), From Russia with Love (James Bond), Thunderball (James Bond), Live and Let Die (James Bond), For Your Eyes Only (James Bond) and Die Another Day (James Bond) carries a $23.95 price tag at Amazon, which is pretty good for MGM titles. Retail is $34.98.

Still it would be nice to see a box set with a reduced overall price. Well keep you posted if one shows up.

A small follow up to yesterday’s James Bond dates for the UK.

There is also a James Bond Blu-Ray Collection Vol.1 box set planned by MGM Entertainment for release on October 20th, representing good savings over the individual purchases. No doubt the best way to purchase these for collectors like myself.

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Bond is back, this time in High Definition! MGM Entertainment has listed Dr. No, From Russia With Love , Thunderball, Live And Let Die, For Your Eyes Only and Die Another Day for release on October 20th, 2008. No doubt we will see US listing for these movies soon.

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A number of new interesting titles have shown up at Amazon UK.

As per usual it seems, Sony has a whole bunch of releases listed, a number of which have not been announced for the US yet. These titles include Freedomland, Mona Lisa Smile, 21 and Maid In Manhattan from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on September 8th, 2008 and John Mayer - Where the Light Is from SonyBMG on June 30th, 2008.

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We read over at Hollywood in Hi Def that MGM will release six 007 movies on Blu-ray to coincide with the theatrical release of The Quantum of Solace in November. Bond is the longest-running and most popular film franchise ever.

The classic Bond titles are a mix of the Bond actors, with Sean Connery in Dr No, From Russia With Love, Thunderball, Roger Moore in Live and Let Die and For Your Eyes Only, and Pierce Brosnan in Die Another Day. These will be presented for the first time on high-definition disc from MGM. The Sony release of Casino Royale is one of the best-selling Blu-ray titles to date.

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We have quite a number of import titles to report this weekend so we will start with the UK and save other titles for future posts.

2 Entertain Video has made my day with the announcement of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks - Fire Walk With Me on September 15th, 2008. While it is far from the best Lynch film, at least it is a start. I get the feeling that we will increasingly be looking to foreign releases to get ‘art house’ American films on Blu-ray Disc. From what I can see, 2 Entertain has always coded for all regions so far, so let’s hope they maintain that trend.

2 Entertains has a few more releases coming on September 15th, including Ganges, Wild China and Earth - The Power Of The Planet.

Sony is up to their old tricks again with announcements for the UK that have no US equivalent release. Due to territorial differences, Sony does not always own the distribution rights for a US release. Steven Soderbergh’s Erin Brockovich is scheduled for release on September 1st, 2008. This is a Universal Pictures title in the USA.

The Tom Cruise ‘chick flick’ Jerry Maguire will also be released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on September 1st, 2008 - again with no US release date. Other catalogue releases from Sony in the UK include Rollerball (remake), Half Past Dead, XXX 2 - The Next Level and Maximum Risk on August 25th, 2008.

Other releases of note in the UK: Stargate - Continuum from MGM Entertainment on August 18th, 2008 - a trio from Optimum Home Entertainment - Basic Instinct from on September 15th, 2008, Evil Dead 2 - Dead By Dawn on September 22nd, 2008, and Persepolis on August 18th, 2008 - and The Eye from Lions Gate Home Entertainment on September 8th, 2008.

It is an epic day for TV shows on Blu-ray. No less than three TV Box Sets have been listed.

Firefly has been listed with no release date, only a retail price of $89.98 and an Amazon price of only $62.95.

Grey’s Anatomy: The Complete Fourth Season will be released by Touchstone / Disney on September 9th, 2008. The retail price will be $96.99, pre-order at Amazon for $66.95.

Touchstone / Disney also has the release Lost: The Complete Fourth Season for December 9th, 2008. Retail has also been set at $96.99, and again bargain hunters will find it at Amazon for only $66.95

The Season 4 discs have relatively few episodes due to the writer’s strike but word is that they will pack them with extras to make up for the short fall.

One I have been waiting for - Warner Home Video is planning to release Dark City Director’s Cut on July 29th, 2008. Retail will be $28.99, the Amazon price - only $19.95.

Earth: The Biography has been freshly listed by BBC Video, scheduled for a July 22nd, 2008 release. Retail has been set at $39.99, you will find it at Amazon for only $27.95.

MGM has announced their second war themed title, A Bridge Too Far for Blu-ray on June 3th, 2008. Retail will be $39.98, only $27.95 at Amazon.

Lastly there seems to be no end of the Girls Gone Wild releases. Girls Gone Wild: Sex in Sin City will be released by Mantra Films on July 8th, 2008. The retail price is $24.95, you can pre-order it at Amazon for only $16.95.

The Man Room is reporting a somewhat surprising (to me at least) revelation that Universal is planning to use the DTS-HD Master Audio lossless codec on their upcoming Blu-ray releases.

With their HD DVD releases Universal appeared to either settle for Dolby Digital Plus or go lossless with Dolby TrueHD audio soundtracks, which makes a move to DTS-HD Master Audio a move from the Dolby camp to the DTS camp.

Apparently all three Mummy films will include DTS-HD Master Lossless Audio, and the plan moving forward is for DTS-HD Master Lossless to become the Blu-ray standard at the studio. It is great to see that Universal is upping the ante with their Blu-ray releases, perhaps in an effort to get HD DVD 0wners to re-buy the Blu-ray versions of their titles. Hopefully they will be looking to upgrade the video bitrate also, especially on titles that were perhaps limited by the capacity of the HD DVD format.

DTS-HD Master Audio has also been religiously used by Fox and MGM, as well as Warner owned New Line Cinema for Blu-ray releases.