Blu-ray

Sexy. Thrilling. Frantic. Dangerous. These are the type of words used to describe Formula One racing in the 1970s. They're hardly the sort of words that immediately spring to mind when you think of the films of Ron Howard (More like: Safe. Pair. Of. Hands), however, which is why we worried when he was attached to this film about the legendary rivalry between F1 drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda.

Salt feels like a film out of time. Brimming with Cold War antagonism, it’s a movie that might have found a place in the 1980s, but which feels weirdly out of touch with the world today. That said the film does have a couple of aces up its sleeves, which help make it at least a watchable curiosity.

During one of the behind-the-scenes featurettes included on this Blu-ray platter, director Ron Fricke describes his latest film as a 'non-verbal guided meditation on the cycle of birth, death and re-birth'. While this might sound terribly pretentious, the truth is that Samsara is one of the most striking hi-def experiences around. Shot entirely in 70mm, scanned in 8K and mastered at 4K, the detail and colour fidelity in the disc's AVC 2.40:1 1080p imagery is unparalleled. The accompanying DTS-HD MA 7.1 soundtrack also impresses with its rich tones and wide staging.

The food items filling the shelves of Shopwell's supermarket spend their days singing the praises of their 'gods' and eagerly awaiting the moment when they too will be swept up by one of them, put in a basket and taken off to the 'Great Beyond'.

Saw: The Final Chapter brings the curtain down on the popular horror franchise, desperately trying to tie-up all of the loose ends left over from the previous six films while also providing yet more outlandish traps that end up spraying the screen with blood and gore. This time out the focus is on a Jigsaw survivor, who finds himself playing the game all over again, while a witness comes forward with information that could finally bring the killer to justice.

If the 1980s were truly the decade of excess, then no film better encapsulates that than Scarface. With a script by Oliver Stone, direction by Brian De Palma and a barnstorming central performance by Al Pacino, this loose remake of Howard Hawks’ acclaimed 1930s gangster film is anything but subtle as it plays out the almost Shakespearean tragedy of Tony Montana, a small-time hood from Cuba who arrives in Florida with dreams of making it big, only to end up self-destructing under the weight of his ego, a mountain of cocaine and some rather odd feelings for his sister. Great stuff.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a tough film to pin down. Adapted from Bryan Lee O’Malley’s six volume comic book series and directed by Edgar ‘Shaun of the Dead’ Wright, it’s an anarchic love letter to pop culture, cool music and… well… love.