Sony will be releasing the much anticipated Men in Black on June 17th, 2008. This ‘Smith and Jones’ title is expected to be one of the BD-Live releases from Sony and was part of the BD-Live demonstration at the Sony booth at CES 2008. This title will have the Sony catalog retail price of $28.95, and you can pre-order it at Amazon for $19.95.

Perhaps due to the surprising success of the recent Over America release, we see that Over Alaska and Washington the Beautiful will be released June 10th. Retail for these will be a very friendly $19.99, at Amazon for $13.95.

Lastly we note another Opus Arte release, Die Fledermaus will be released May 27, 2008. Retail will be $45.98, at Amazon for $31.95.

Today we see another ‘catch up’ title announced from Opus Arte.

Die Zauberflote will be released on Blu-ray April 29th, 2008. This is the 2003 BBC version featuring the Royal Opera Chorus Orchestra. The retail price will be $45.98 - Amazon has it for pre-order at $32.15.

Opus Arte has announced a March arrival for their debut Blu-ray title, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’

They’ve earmarked March 25 for ‘Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ on Blu-ray, which follows the HD DVD version (first released in the US last November).

Specs for the Blu-ray include 1080i video and uncompressed PCM audio in both 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo. Extras are consistent with the HD DVD release, with a Cast Gallery the only bonus feature.

Suggested retail for the Blu-ray has been set at $39.99.

Art house distributor Opus Arte has announced plans to release its first Blu-ray titles beginning this March. Previously exclusive to HD DVD, Opus Arte now says that in a move to broaden it’s “long term commitment” to high-definition releases, the company will be adding Blu-ray to the mix.

Moving forward, the distributor plans to release “as least” two new titles per month on HD DVD and Blu-ray, and the first title is planned to be A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream (which is a current HD DVD release).

Interesting to see another smaller player adding Blu-ray to the mix.