Software Features

HCC's ultimate countdown of the 101 best Blu-ray discs around continues below. Click Part 1 for numbers 101-81, Part 2 for numbers 80-61, and Part 3 for numbers 60-41.

There's nothing like a good restoration to make you look at an old film with fresh eyes. Such is the case with Brian De Palma's underrated 1981 thriller, which looks more stylish and electrifying than we'd ever imagined it could.

Director Paul W.S. Anderson shows off his stereoscopic talents in this enjoyably daft zombiepocalypse sequel. Slow-motion, water-soaked fist-fights have never looked so good!

Gadgets, guns and girls are in constant supply in this deluxe boxset containing feature-packed platters for the first 22 Bond films (several making their Blu-ray debut) and an exclusive bonus disc hosting even more extras. It's just a shame that a handful of the restorations show signs of excessive digital manipulation (most notably GoldenEye).

This Blu-ray release of David Fincher's oddly prescient satire will leave you battered and bruised by its insanely powerful DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack. Indeed, so important is the film's acoustic design that the disc also contains an interactive extra with audio pro Ren Klyce that allows you to remix the sonics across four scenes.

When Ang Lee's award-winning film about a boy adrift on a lifeboat with only a tiger for company sailed onto Blu-ray last year it immediately set a new benchmark for 3D home cinema. Indeed, the level of visual artistry and spectacle on display means that this is certain to remain a key demo platter for the foreseeable future.

With its sparkling diamond of a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix and ridiculously opulent 1080p visuals, Baz Luhrmann's manic musical is now even more of a 'Spectacular Spectacular' than ever. A suitably lavish suite of extras (including a picture-in-picture mode) are also on hand to keep the party going.

One of the poster boys for stereoscopic Blu-ray, Joseph Kosinski's sci-fi mesmerises on a bigscreen. While Daft Punk's electro soundtrack plays its part, it's the brilliantly-realised game arena that sticks in the memory. The 3D here is consistently employed to add depth, scale and wonder to the remarkable set design. This is epic in every sense of the word.

This superior creature feature goes to show that so-called 'found footage' films don't have to be resolutely lo-fi in their AV aspirations. Befitting a film about a massive monster rampaging through New York, the Blu-ray's lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix is an absolute beast, transporting you into the heart of the ruined cityscape.

Another electrifying 3D showcase, with director Sam Raimi proving that the funny spex tech is tailor-made for fantasy escapades. Disney's 2.40:1 transfer is a riot of vivid colours, tactile textures and, above all, sheer immersion. The soundmix, which grows more expansive when we arrive in Oz, is no slouch either...

StudioCanal answered our prayers with this deluxe edition of the legendary British horror flick. In addition to immaculate hi-def restorations of both the new Final Cut and the original Theatrical Cut, it also includes a standard-def version of the Director's Cut and a cornucopia of bonus goodies – including the soundtrack CD!

The Masters of Cinema Blu-ray collection may have swelled to more than 80 titles in the past six years, but it's this early addition that stands proudest of all. The first silent film ever released on the format, Sunrise proved without a shadow of a doubt that any film, no matter how old, could be made to shine in high-definition.

The awe-inspiring Blu-ray platter for Guillermo del Toro's fantastic comic book sequel packs as large as punch as the film's stone-handed hero, thanks in large part to the disc's ferociously impactful and always engrossing DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix.

Peter Jackson's return to Middle-earth was always going to deliver some show-stopping visuals, but this five-disc release adds exhaustive bonus bits (nine hours' worth!) as well as a longer edit of the movie. The LFE channel seems weightier, too.

Heartwarming, witty and packed with thrilling set-pieces, this tale of a lonely droid is made even better by Ben Burtt's painstaking audio work. This oozes deliciously tactile Foley effects and impressive LFE, while Thomas Newman's original score practically sings from your speakers. There's a great selection of extras here, too.

Arguably the closest any studio has come yet to stealing Pixar's thunder, this riotously funny and supremely inventive CG 'toon is also a terrific flag-waver for 3D Blu-ray. Depth and dimensionality are perfectly rendered and put to brilliant effect throughout. And your junior cinema fans will love it, too.

A classic flick like this deserves the very best transfer possible, and Warner's restoration work (where it returned to the original negatives and polished them frame-by-frame) provides exactly that. Presented in the correct ultra-wide 2.76:1 aspect ratio, this BD delivers unbeatable cinematic spectacle.

The first of Disney's hand-drawn animated classics to be released on Blu-ray remains the pinnacle of the company's hi-def output. Released to celebrate the film's 50th anniversary, this disc looks and sounds utterly sensational courtesy of a pristine 2.55:1 encode and newly-created 7.1-channel soundtrack.

Warner Home Video celebrated the 70th anniversary of the legendary 1939 musical with this magical Blu-ray release. Across two hi-def platters fans can savour a gorgeous remaster of the movie with lossless 5.1 audio and a profusion of extras – including six earlier Oz adaptations.

A former victim of the 'Video Nasties' furore on these shores, this Italian splatter movie finally got the chance in 2012 to show off its true colours on Blu-ray. Restored at 2K from the original Techniscope negative, Arrow's hi-def platter reveals the artistry of the film as well as the eyeball-gouging horror.

While The Fellowship of the Ring's revised colour-grading upset some fans, as far as we're concerned the otherwise top-tier AV and plethora of extras contained in this epic release make this hi-def boxset the definitive edition of Peter Jackson's fantasy saga.