And, since Blu-ray brings a more visceral unrated cut of this summer's hit action thriller, World War Z is even less of a fantasy dream date with Pitt, who stars as devoted husband, father, and retired U.N. researcher Gerry Lane. The Lane clan is taken completely off guard when an exponentially growing horde of feral undead turn Philadelphia into an apocalyptic hellscape. In order to keep his family safe during what turns out to be an unprecedented pandemic, Lane agrees to once again work for the United Nations. Lane's impossible task: navigate a planet-wide cataclysm in search of clues to the origin of the disease rapidly turning humanity into one swarming, snapping mass of mindless killer carcasses.
While the bestselling source material by Max Brooks is an oral history of the fictitious zombie war compiling faux-interviews with survivors of the almost-apocalypse, World War Z goes instead for throat-grabbing immediacy.
Director Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace) oversees this, the biggest zombie movie attempted. In addition to Pitt, Forster's cast includes Mireille Enos (Gangster Squad) as Karin Lane, David Morse going hogwild as a CIA agent with unique insight on the plague, Fana Mokoena (Machine Gun Preacher) as Gerry's old friend and ally in the U.N., James Badge Dale (Iron Man 3) playing a battle-hardened soldier, and even newly minted Doctor Who Peter Capaldi as one of a group of doctors who become crucial to Gerry's journey.
World War Z arrives on Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, and DVD this Tuesday, September 17th.
The DVD edition is bare-bones, containing only the PG-13 theatrical version of the film. Both the 2D and 3D Blu-ray Combo-Pack, however, contain the theatrical cut and an unrated version that increases the intensity and violence of World War Z's zombie encounters, which now drip with blood splatters and suppurating ickiness.
The two-disc Blu-ray and three-disc 3D Combo Pack also feature the single-disc DVD. The Combo Pack also includes UltraViolet, which allows consumers to download and instantly stream the standard definition theatrical version of the film to a wide range of devices including computers, compatible tablets, smartphones, game consoles, Internet-connected TVs and Blu-ray players.
Purchasing World War Z on Blu-ray ensures that you get a top-notch high definition presentation of cinematographer Ben Seresin's widescreen 2.40:1 visuals capturing the staggering scale of a worldwide hysteria. Similarly, the DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack offers a wide range of sonic intensity, from the death-rattle breathing of a single up-close zombie to the humming horror of thousands of the undead hurling themselves against human armies.
With the Blu-ray Combo Pack, movie fans also get access to a variety of bonus features looking behind the scenes, all in HD. First up, there's "Origins," an eight-minute featurette in which star/producer Pitt and the filmmakers discuss translating the source material into a blockbuster. Then we have "Looking to Science," a seven-minute look at the zombie boom in popular culture, as well the plausibility of a real-life undead pandemic.
The real draw among the bonus material, though, is WWZ: Production, a four-part documentary chronicling the making of World War Z. Within WWZ: Production, "Outbreak" goes on set for the introductory Philadelphia action scene. "The Journey Begins" and "Behind the Wall," meanwhile, examine the visual and special effects of both the South Korea escape and Jerusalem siege sequences. Finally, "Camouflage" delves into the climactic confrontation between Gerry and the undead.
So pick up World War Z on Blu-ray this Tuesday, September 17th.
