Will Ferrell: Picture-in-Picture Fan!
December 27, 2007

If you liked Will Ferrell's "The Landlord" sketch, then you'll love its Criterion Edition, which is now posted on FunnyorDie.com. Who knew Web surfing during this slow week, when most studios shutter for the holidays, could be so productive? In the video, Ferrell and his comic partner Adam McKay are featured in a little box in the corner of the screen, hilariously commenting on their creation, while the main "Landlord" video plays in the larger screen. Ferrell and McKay poke fun at common director commentary pitfalls: they talk in bored monotones and make bold claims of filmmaking feats (i.e. the star is actually a $10 million animatronic baby). It's definitely silly, and not the same technology as high-definition picture-in-picture for Blu-ray and/or HD DVD. But it comes at a perfect time to usher in the studios' first Blu-ray picture-in-picture titles in January, including Lionsgate's War, Sony's Resident Evil: Extinction and Fox's Sunshine.
Criterion has yet to release one of its titles in high-definition, actually. To date, its distributor Image Entertainment has released mainly music-oriented and Discovery Networks-branded titles in both high-def formats. 
But since fans of high-brow Criterion are quality connoisseurs, I'd bet they'd  kill for the company to greenlight a release in either HD DVD or Blu-ray.

Posted by Susanne Ault on December 27, 2007 | Comments (0)