A few weeks ago I received what was thought to be the last HD-DVD release.  In September 2009, director Gary Ugarek announced that he intended to release his latest film Deadlands 2: Trapped (2008) as a 500 piece limited edition HD-DVD.  This caused quite a stir amongst HD format aficionados who thought this would be the last official HD-DVD release.  As the release was touted as being 'limited' a number of people decided to pre-order the HD-DVD in order to secure a copy.  Over the course of the year the release faced a number of difficulties, the most problematic being the difficulty in finding a plant to replicate the HD-DVD.  This led to the release being a burned HD-DVD-R rather than a pressed HD-DVD.  Surprisingly, this led a number of people to withdraw their pre-orders presumably because the release lacked the authenticity of a 'genuine' release.  I had completely forgot about the release until I received a shipping confirmation from Anthem Pictures.

The package is very nicely presented, coming with a certificate of authenticity that states that I have number 186 out of the 500.  Also included was a printed flyer for the film.  I haven't had a chance to check the disc out yet, I haven't bought it for the film but purely out of curiosity for it being the last HD-DVD release.  Despite the long wait I find this idea to be a novel one for independent film makers, using an all but obsolete format that has a decent following.  It is therefore not surprising that the makers of an independent documentary called Smokers (Michael Bilinski, 2010) have chosen to follow a similar path.  The only difference is that it will a factory pressed HD-DVD.  Perhaps this will be the last official HD-DVD release?

The Smokers HD-DVD can be ordered from here.