Product Description

Columbia Pictures Spider-Man 1-3 (Blu-ray)"Spider-Man" - Averageteenager Peter Parker is transformed into an extraordinary super hero after he is accidentally bitten by a radioactive spider. When his beloved uncleis savagely murdered during a robbery, young Peter vows to use his powers to avenge his death. Deeming himself "Spider-Man ," he sets about ridding the streets of crime, bringing him into conflict with malevolent super-villain "Green Goblin." "Spider-Man 2" - the latest installment in the blockbuster "Spider-Man" series, based on the classic Marvel Comics hero, Tobey Maguire returns as the mild-mannered Peter Parker, who is juggling the delicatebalance of his dual life as college student and asuperhuman crime fighter. Peter's life becomes even more complicated when he confronts a new nemesis, the brilliant Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) whohas been reincarnated as the maniacal and multi-tentacled "Doc Ock." When Doc Ock kidnaps MJ (Kirsten Dunst), "Spider-Man" must swing back into action as the adventure reaches new heights of unprecedented excitement. "Spider-Man 3" - Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) finally has the girl of his dreams, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), and New York City is in the throes of Spider-mania! But when a strange alien symbiote turns Spider-Man's suit black,his darkest demons come to light changing Spider-Man inside as well as out. Spider-Man is in for the fight of his life against a lethal mix of villains - the deadly Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), Venom (Topher Grace), and the New Goblin (James Franco) - as well as the enemy within himself.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2674 in DVD
• Brand: SONY PICTURES HOME ENT
• Released on: 2007-10-30
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Box set, Color, Dolby, Subtitled
• Original language: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 4
• Dimensions: 3.00 pounds
• Running time: 396 minutes

Amazon.com
Spider-Man 3
How does Spider-Man 3 follow on the heels of its predecessor, which was widely considered the best superhero movie ever? For starters, you pick up the loose threads from that movie, then add some key elements of the Spidey comic-book mythos (including fan-favorite villain Venom), the black costume, and the characters of Gwen Stacy and her police-captain father. In the beginning, things have never looked better for Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire): He's doing well in school; his alter ego, Spider-Man, is loved and respected around New York City. And his girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), has just taken a starring role in a Broadway musical. But nothing good can last for Spidey. Mary Jane's career quickly goes downhill; she's bothered by Peter's attractive new classmate, Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard); and the new Daily Bugle photographer, Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), is trying to steal his thunder. Enter a new villain, the Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), who can transform his body into various forms and shapes of sand and who may be connected to Peter's past in an unexpected way. There's also the son of an old villain, Harry Osborne (James Franco), who unmasked Spidey in the previous movie and still has revenge on his mind. And a new black costume seems to boost Spidey's powers, but transforms mild-mannered Peter into a mean and obnoxious boor (Maguire has some fun here).

If that sounds like a lot to pack into one 140-minute movie, it is. While director Sam Raimi keeps things flowing, assisted on the screenplay by his brother Ivan and Alvin Sargent, there's a little too much going on, and it's inevitable that one of the villains (there are three or four, depending on how you count) gets significantly short-changed. Still, the cast is excellent, the effects are fantastic, and the action is fast and furious. Even if Spider-Man 3 isn't the match of Spider-Man 2, it's a worthy addition to the megamillion-dollar franchise. --David Horiuchi

Spider-Man 2
More than a few critics hailed Spider-Man 2 as "the best superhero movie ever," and there's no compelling reason to argue--thanks to a bigger budget, better special effects, and a dynamic, character-driven plot, it's a notch above Spider-Man in terms of emotional depth and rich comic-book sensibility. Ordinary People Oscar-winner Alvin Sargent received screenplay credit, and celebrated author and comic-book expert Michael Chabon worked on the story, but it's director Sam Raimi's affinity for the material that brings Spidey 2 to vivid life. When a fusion experiment goes terribly wrong, a brilliant physicist (Alfred Molina) is turned into Spidey's newest nemesis, the deranged, mechanically tentacled "Doctor Octopus," obsessed with completing his experiment and killing Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) in the process. Even more compelling is Peter Parker's urgent dilemma: continue his burdensome, lonely life of crime-fighting as Spider-Man, or pursue love and happiness with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst)? Molina's outstanding as a tragic villain controlled by his own invention, and the action sequences are nothing less than breathtaking, but the real success of Spider-Man 2 is its sense of priorities. With all of Hollywood's biggest and best toys at his disposal, Raimi and his writers stay true to the Marvel mythology, honoring Spider-Man creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and setting the bar impressively high for the challenge of Spider-Man 31. --Jeff Shannon

DVD Features:

The first commentary track is by director Sam Raimi and a self-deprecating Tobey Maguire speaking in tandem, and producer (and Marvel CEO) Avi Arad and coproducer Grant Curtis speaking in tandem. They discuss a number of topics, including Raimi's memory of his excitement over Richard Donner's Superman and how the character of Black Cat had to be dropped from the film. The second commentary is by six members of the Oscar-nominated effects team, and one of their primary focuses is how Doc Ock's arms were achieved by a combination of puppetry and CGI.

The centerpiece of the second disc is a massive two-hour documentary that can be viewed all at once or in 12 separate pieces. It covers the development of the story, the visual effects, costumes, stunts, and sound and music. Three shorter featurettes cover Peter Parker's struggle between his personal and hero lives, Doc Ock, and the women in Spider-Man's life, and what's interesting is how they discuss those topics not just in relation to the movies but to the comic books as well. (For example, Betty Brant and Gwen Stacy had a much greater impact in the comics.) There's a scene in which you can toggle among three different camera angles, and a gallery of 17 paintings Alex Ross created for the opening sequence. The sound and picture are spectacular, though only the Superbit edition has DTS. --David Horiuchi

Spider-Man

For devoted fans and nonfans alike, Spider-Man offers nothing less--and nothing more--than what you'd expect from a superhero blockbuster. Having proven his comic-book savvy with the original Darkman, director Sam Raimi brings ample energy and enthusiasm to Spidey's origin story, nicely establishing high-school nebbish Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) as a brainy outcast who reacts with appropriate euphoria--and well-tempered maturity--when a "super-spider" bite transforms him into the amazingly agile, web-shooting Spider-Man. That's all well and good, and so is Kirsten Dunst as Parker's girl-next-door sweetheart. Where Spider-Man falls short is in its hyperactive CGI action sequences, which play like a video game instead of the gravity-defying exploits of a flesh-and-blood superhero. Willem Dafoe is perfectly cast as Spidey's schizoid nemesis, the Green Goblin, and the movie's a lot of fun overall. It's no match for Superman and Batman in bringing a beloved character to the screen, but it places a respectable third. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

This is a review of the blu-ray set and not the movies...
...since the movies in the trilogy deserve their own reviews and have been done to death already. The low cost (even lower by $10 since I bought it) is what motivated me to buy this blu-ray disc set. I already have the special editions of all three Spiderman movies on DVD, so I wanted to see what blu-ray would bring to the home theater table, having recently bought a PS3. True, the picture quality is awesome and the audio certainly will blow you away. However, there are hardly any special features - only the third disc has any to speak of. This is an underwhelming effort, considering the massive amount of space availalble on blu-ray discs. Compare, for example, the featurettes and even mini-movies on "I Am Legend".

One thing I discovered about audio selection: if you choose PCM and your receiver is not capable of processing uncompressed signals (my Onkyo only does HDMI pass-through), all you'll get is simulated surround (e.g. Dolby ProLogic). So I ended up with 5.1 and although it may not be true HD, it's good enough for my 7.1 setup. But if you're an audiophile you would have known about this already.

My summary - HD picture quality: a strong 4 stars, audio quality and options: 4 stars, special features: a dismal 1 star - hence the overall 3 star rating. I guess for the price, this set is not too bad, but considering the wealth of possibilities for the Spiderman franchise, it fell short of my expectations.

The magic of blu ray
Anyone looking to purchase this trilogy is already a fan of the SPIDERMAN movies and wants to know how they stand up in the magic of blu ray. We all know that the original SPIDERMAN was an amzing film - a rare treat of exemplary action with superb acting for a change. Tobey Maguire and cast finally brought to the comic action movie acting ability that made the film believable. With Tobey Maguire was born Peter Parker/Spdiderman. We also know that with SPIDERMAN 2 the same cast and crew came together with a film that far surpassed the hugely succesful and critically acclaimed original to be the best in the trilogy. All that was good in the first was raised many notches. SPIDERMAN 3 was still a good film but certainly not a match for 1 and 2. Very enjoyable but a little lackluster in comparison.

Now for the blu ray test. All I can say is AMAZING. The source they are working from on the original is not as superb as the other two which makes the picture quality slightly grainy in its 1080p hd presentation. But this in no means is a bad thing. It is still a very vivid picture with blacks and colors strongly presented. You quickly get used to the slight grain and the film becomes the best presentation you will ever see of it. With SPIDERMAN 2 the caliber raises. All grain is gone and the picture remains crystal clear and vibrant throughout. All fight/action scenes are awesome and the entire film will leave you breathless. SPIDERMAN 3 has a picture of the great quality the same as the second film and it helps immensely to raise the quality of the film itself much higher for you will be in awe watching the richness and awe striking special effects.

With all three films the English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio is of the highest quality. Dialogue is strong and crisp with all speakers in strong, heavy use for action sequences and it seems even the smallest scenes manage to work the rear speakers which is rare. These three films are at their best here and perfectly made for the high standards of blu ray. You cannot imagine how great these films appear in blu ray till you actually see them for yourself. You will never be able to view them another way again.

I do agree that the only flaw with this set is the absence of substantial special features. They do provide the 2nd disc with SPIDERMAN 3 that is all features but do not have it for SPIDERMAN 1 or 2. Having all this would have made the set perfect. So it is not perfect but it still cannot make me lower my 5 star rating for the blu ray presentation of these films is exemplary.

If you are developing a blu ray library and love these films this SPIDERMAN HIGH DEF BLU RAY TRILOGY is a definite must. Highly recommended.

Awesome Blu Ray Movies
These movies never looked better on this High Definition Blu Ray Set. One thing I would like to have seen would have been a digital copy disc for these movies but I guess that was not in the cards. Overall Spiderman is one of the best comic movies that have been done. You won't be disappointed with this set.