The first thing to know is this: The Target-exclusive BD version of this film has the Blu-ray 3D on one disc like the wide release BD3D SKU, but it also has the Blu-ray 2D version all on its own disc.  The only feature on the disc with the 2D film is the short promo for The Mission Continues.  That’s it.  Which in theory could mean the movie has more data space – more room for the A/V data to breathe – on the disc.

Another thing that’s quickly become apparent to me after watching the Target-exclusive features is... the folks at Bad Robot clearly crafted a pretty nice overall batch of bonus content for this film.  If all this content, plus the regular-release content, the Best Buy-exclusive features and the iTunes commentary had all been contained in one multi-disc Blu-ray special edition, it would have been pretty great.  Here’s what’s on the Target disc that the rest of us aren’t getting:

6 exclusive featurettes:  The Voyage Begins... Again (2:28), Rebuilding the Enterprise (5:31), Vengeance Is Coming (4:28), Mr. Spock and Mr. Spock (4:08), Kirk and Spock (5:36) and Visual Affection (9:03)

And surprise! – 3 trailers: Announcement, Teaser and Trailer 2

To make matters worse, after watching the above, it’s also apparent to me that Paramount Home Entertainment’s marketing people essentially cherry-picked the best of the content for their retail exclusives.  Seriously, this stuff is pretty great.  Rebuilding the Enterprise is a fun look at the construction of the Enterprise sets, with up-close looks at more detail than we ever get to see on screen in the film itself.  Vengeance Is Coming is a terrific piece on how those sets were “redressed” for use as the Vengeance interiors – and you get to see those up close too.  Mr. Spock and Mr. Spock is a wonderful piece on Leonard Nimoy’s return.  It’s great nice content.  Too bad most fans won’t get to see it.

What a shame that the studio effectively ruined the fan experience of all this!  If Paramount does revisit this title – which they absolutely should – it’s not going to be enough just to gather all this material back into one SKU.  They’re going to need to create some additional exclusive content just for fans.  How about deleted scenes and an elaborate production design gallery for not only Star Trek Into Darkness but also Star Trek (2009) – show fans the props, the sets, the design sketches for all the various starships up close in HD.  The studio will also need to make damn sure that anyone who buys any version of the current Star Trek Into Darkness Blu-ray gets a hefty discount on a proper special edition.  Anyway... seeing the Target content just makes a frustrating situation even more so.  I’m hoping to get my hands on the Canadian Best Buy bonus disc too, so I expect it will only get worse.

Anyway...

In other news today, Anchor Bay Films has set Ambushed! for release on Blu-ray Combo and DVD on 11/12.

Anchor Bay Entertainment and RADiUS-TWC have set the film Lovelace for Blu-ray and DVD release on 11/5.  The film is based on the life of infamous Deep Throat adult star Linda Lovelace.  It stars Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard and Hank Azaria.

20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Animation have set Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness – The Scorpion Sting and Monsters vs. Aliens: Cloning Around for DVD only release on 10/15.

And Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment has set Home for Christmas: A Golden Christmas 3, Come Dance with Me, Hitched for the Holidays and Merry In-Laws all for DVD only release on 10/15 as well.

Here’s a look at the BD cover art for Lovelace, DreamWorks Animation’s Turbo (street date TBA but available for pre-order on Amazon) and Disney’s The Lone Ranger (also TBA but available for pre-order)...

Stay tuned...

- Bill Hunt