'King Kong' to Roar on Blu-ray this January

Trailing the HD DVD release by over two years, Universal has announced a late-January bow for Peter Jackson's big-budget remake of 'King Kong.'

One of HD DVD's flagship titles when it was first released on the format in late 2006, 'King Kong will see a belated Blu-ray release on January 20 in a special edition chock full of upgraded specs and bonus features.

Boasting both the theatrical and extended cuts of the film available via seamless branching (the HD DVD only included the theatrical version), tech specs will see a BD-50 dual-layer disc with 1080p video (2.35:1) and a English DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround track (also an upgrade over the HD DVD's Dolby Digital-Plus).

Extras carried over to the Blu-ray will see only a single audio commentary with Jackson and screenwriter/producer Philip Boyen (on the extended version only).

High-def exclusives include U-Control picture-in-picture on the extended cut, art galleries on both versions, and BD-Live-enabled My Scenes Sharing.

Suggested retail price for the Blu-ray has been set at $29.98.

You'll find the latest specs for 'King Kong (2005)' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under January 20.