Can the crisp sound and picture of Blu-ray enhance films already blessed with a fair share of critical acclaim? We’re about to find out as we take a gander at four early Miramax titles (back when the cutting-edge Weinstein Bros. were running things!) including "Amélie," "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," "Chocolat" and "Bridget Jones’s Diary" now out on Blu-ray from Lionsgate.

Title: "Amélie"

Grade: 5

Cast: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Rating: R

Runtime: 122 minutes

Release Company: Lionsgate

Website: www.miramax.com

The Flick:...

The Hurt Locker stole the show at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards on Sunday night - scooping six trophies including Best Film and Best Director for Kathryn Bigelow. The war thriller also won prizes for original screenplay, cinematography, editing, and sound during the ceremony at London's Royal Opera House.

Accepting her award for Best Director, Bigelow said, "What an honor, especially to be in this room filled with so many incredibly talented people that I've admired and been inspired by for decades."

Colin Firth saw off Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), Ge...

Usually the shorter cuts come out to play mid-May, when the weather makes long-mane maintenance unbearable in most parts of the country. Celebrities follow the trends of the seasons and some begrudgingly chop a little length to look fresh for the paparazzi. Others rock their short 'dos year-round. A certain mother of multiples brought a lot of attention to what can go wrong when creative license is taken too far with shorter hair. As one who's recently lopped off inches upon inches of perfectly good hair, here's a quick rundown of the current reigning sexy short-haired celebrities that may ...

Actress Audrey Tautou has replaced Nicole Kidman as the face of French perfume Chanel No.5 after portraying legendary designer Coco Chanel in a big screen biopic.

Tautou has re-teamed with her Amelie director Jean-Pierre Jeunet to film a two minute advertisement for the top fragrance brand, which will debut next month.

Her new role as spokesmodel coincides with the upcoming release of her movie Coco avant Chanel, which documents the rise of the fashion icon from cabaret singer to design guru - but a representative for Chanel Number 5 insists the two are unconnected.

...

Tom Hanks is a rare movie star in that he is a top leading man without topping anyone's most beautiful list. Rather he established, and maintained, his stardom by fusing a "boy next door" image with undeniable talent.

He is equally at home with romantic comedies and dramatic war epics; however, he seems reticent to play the meanie. More than most, he can fit into a role without exhibiting a "Tom Hanks" persona. He has even delivered a number of memorable performances on "Saturday Night Live," a venue that allows true talent to reveal itself. (And on the flip side, it emphasizes those ...

Jean (Gad Elmaleh), a shy young bartender, is mistaken for a millionaire by a beautiful, scheming opportunist named Irene (Audrey Tautou).

When Irene discovers his true identity, she abandons him, only to find that a love-struck Jean has no intention of letting her get away. Jean's comical attempts to gain her affections gradually evolve into setting himself up as a gigolo at a luxury hotel, until Irene finally starts to warm to her persistent, persuasive suitor.

Against the wildly atmospheric backdrop of the south of France, Pierre Salvadori (Apres Vous) directs this sexy an...

Happy Birthday to "The Da Vinci Code" actress Audrey Tautou (1978), The Number 23 actress Rhona Mitra (1976), "The Practice" actress Jessica Capshaw (1976), Colombian singer Juanes (1972), Carolina Hurricane Rod Brind'Amour (1970), "Munich" actor Eric Bana (1968), "X-Files" actress Gillian Anderson (1968), football and baseball star Deion Sanders (1967), Canadian hockey star Brett Hull (1964), notorious singer/actress Whitney Houston (1963), Movie/TV actress Melanie Griffith (1957), actor Sam Elliott (1944), baseball player Tommie Agee (1942; d. 2001), and "Jaws" actor Robert Shaw (1927; d....

Happy Birthday to "The Da Vinci Code" actress Audrey Tautou (1978), English actress Rhona Mitra (1976), "The Practice" actress Jessica Capshaw (1976), Colombian singer Juanes (1972), Carolina Hurricane Rod Brind'Amour (1970), "Munich" actor Eric Bana (1968), "X-Files" actress Gillian Anderson (1968), football and baseball star Deion Sanders (1967), Canadian hockey star Brett Hull (1964), notorious singer/actress Whitney Houston (1963), Movie/TV actress Melanie Griffith (1957), actor Sam Elliott (1944), baseball player Tommie Agee (1942; d. 2001), and "Jaws" actor Robert Shaw (1927; d. 1978)...

The Da Vinci Code director Ron Howard used his film's star-studded world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last night to launch a scathing attack on the poor reviews the film has attracted from critics and Christians. Howard, who was joined on the red carpet by the film's stars Tom Hanks, Ian McKellen, Paul Bettany and French beauty Audrey Tautou, brushed aside suggestions the work is a slight on the Christian faith.

Howard fumed "This is supposed to be entertainment. It is not theology. It should not be misunderstood as such. My advice, since virtually no one has really seen the mo...

Film critics have savaged controversial movie The Da Vinci Code ahead of its world premiere on the opening day of the Cannes Film Festival. Director Ron Howard's adaptation of Dan Brown's bestselling novel - which stars Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou - has been described as "plodding" and a "dud" prior to its international release on Friday.

Hollywood Reporter reviewer Kirk Honeycutt describes Hanks' portrayal of symbologist Robert Langdon as "remote, even wooden", and he is just as tough on the film: "Da Vinci never rises to the level of a guilty pleasure. Too much guilt. Not enough ple...

Dan Brown's controversial best-selling novel about a powerful secret that's been kept under wraps for thousands of years comes to the screen in this suspense thriller from director Ron Howard. The stately silence of Paris' Louvre museum is broken when one of the gallery's leading curators is found dead on the grounds, with strange symbols carved into his body and left around the spot where he died.

Continue Reading Summary...

Cast and Crew:

Tom Hanks - (Robert Langdon)

Audrey Tautou - (Sophie Neveu)

Ian McKellen - (Sir Teabing)

Jean Reno - (Bezu Fache)

Alfred Molina - (B...

French actress Audrey Tatou almost missed the opportunity of starring in The Da Vinci Code because she was on holiday in Mexico at the time. Tatou, famous for her starring role in 2001's Amelie, refused to go to Los Angeles and screen test opposite Tom Hanks - as she felt too young to play the part of Sophie.

However, the French beauty found herself being chased by director Ron Howard, who was determined to have her in the film - even though other actresses were desperately trying to win the coveted role.

Tatou says, "I didn't refuse to see him. He was doing one day of casting w...

French actress Audrey Tautou felt so intimidated by media attention following the release of smash movie Amelie in 2001, she began to worry she'd chosen the wrong career. The private 27-year-old, who stars alongside Tom Hanks in The Da Vinci Code, likens the never-ending barrage of reporters and photographers to having a "tumor" that won't go away.

She says, "It was all so sudden and brutal. I remember being out in public after the film opened in France and it was like my life had changed. Everyone was looking at me, everyone wanted to talk to me. I would try to disguise myself with l...

Anglican Church leaders in Sydney, Australia, are attempting to educate cinemagoers when The Da Vinci Code is released later this month by screening their own mini-movie in cinemas. The 20-second clip will tell "the truth about Jesus", contradicting the Ron Howard film's suggestion that Jesus Christ has living descendants, and will be shown in 250 cinemas when The Da Vinci Code is released.

The Da Vinci Code, which stars Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou and was written by best-selling author Dan Brown, has sparked widespread concern among Christian leaders who are convinced it will "mislea...

The Da Vinci Code movie has been thrown into chaos after test audiences admitted they hated Tom Hanks' hairstyle. The normally short-haired actor grew his locks for the role of Robert Langdon in the adaptation of Dan Brown's best-selling novel, but viewers admitted to researchers they found his lank locks a major turn-off. A studio insider told The Sun newspaper: "Much of the talk is about the hair. But it's too late to fix it."

Hanks admitted to Japanese Prime Minister Junichro Koizumi earlier this month he had modelled his 'bowl cut' hairstyle on the world leader. On meeting Koizumi,...

Tom Hanks stripped naked in front of Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa during filming for new movie The Da Vinci Code because he had nowhere else to undress. The Oscar-winner had to make a costume change during a scene with co-star Audrey Tautou in the Louvre in Paris, France, and found nowhere to hide from the watching eyes of hundreds of priceless works of art dating back thousands of years.

Hanks says, "In the hall of the Mona Lisa we kept our technical equipment. And I went there to undress and get dressed again. I even changed my clothes in front of a statue of Apollo, which was abou...

Author Dan Brown has been accused of plagiarism in The Da Vinci Code just days after he was cleared in London's High Court of similar allegations. Russian art historian Dr. Mikhail Anikin, a Leonardo Da Vinci expert, wants Brown to apologize and hand over half the money made from his book within the next month. If his demand is not met, Anikin claims he'll sue Brown in both Russia and the United States for all his "Da Vinci Code" earnings.

Anikin says his 2000 book "Leonardo Da Vinci: Theology In Paint" argues that the Mona Lisa was an allegory for the Christian Church. In 1998, Aniki...

The release of movie adaptation The Da Vinci Code is being challenged by a Christian group in Korea, who have branded the Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou film "an insult and defamation".

Based on Dan Brown's bestselling book, the story suggests Jesus Christ fathered a child, and has outraged the Christian Council of Korea (CCK) who fear it may rock people's faith in the Bible.

The group has applied to the film's distributor Sony Pictures for a provisional injunction to stop its release next month, according to Screen International.

(This news article provided by World Entertai...

Kirsten Dunst's new period movie Marie-Antoinette has been selected to compete at the coveted Cannes Film Festival in May. The Sofia Coppola-directed film, co-starring Jason Schwartzman, sees a 19-year-old Viennese girl became the queen of France in 1744 before being famously beheaded. "Marie-Antoinette" is one of the early contenders for the Cannes top prize - the Palme d'Or.

Director Ron Howard's long-awaited The Da Vinci Code, starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou will open the 59th Cannes Film Festival, which runs between May 17 and 28.

(This news article provided by World E...

French actress Audrey Tautou was so star struck when working with Tom Hanks in The Da Vinci Code she couldn't stop laughing. The beauty was overwhelmed on the set of her biggest movie yet and had to remind herself she really had been cast alongside the double Best Actor Oscar winner.

She says, "While I was being made up and sat there next to Tom, I laughed nervously. I really felt as if this was a joke - it didn't seem reasonable to be part of my life. I felt kind of out of place next to these people. It did take a while until I wasn't impressed any more."

(This news article pro...

Catholic group Opus Dei has called for "references that hurt Catholics" to be cut from the film adaptation of Dan Brown's hit novel The Da Vinci Code. The group, which formed in 1928, insists it will not request a boycott of the film, starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tatou, despite making their disapproval of the movie's message known.

In a statement it says, "The Da Vinci Code offers a deformed image of the Catholic Church," drawing particular attention to Brown's suggestion that Jesus Christ fathered a child.

Sony Pictures Entertainment spokesman Jim Kennedy defended the film, sayi...

The Da Vinci Code, directed by Ron Howard and produced by Brian Grazer and John Calley for Columbia Pictures and Imagine Entertainment, will open Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday May 17, 2006. The film will be presented Out of Competition.

The Da Vinci Code was adapted from Dan Brown's esoteric thriller with more than 30 million copies sold throughout the world. Top billing goes to Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou and Jean Reno with Paris's Louvre and Saint-Sulpice Church among the star sets of both the novel and film.

The Da Vinci Code will be released in French theatres on the same day...

Catholic group Opus Dei are urging film ratings boards to give controversial new movie The Da Vinci Code an adult rating because it fears children will believe the film's "lies" about Jesus fathering a child. The Ron Howard-directed film, starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou, is based on Dan Brown's bestselling novel about an alternative theory behind The Holy Grail.

Opus Dei insists younger audiences should not be exposed to the film's "insidious lies" about Catholicism. Spokesman Marc Carroggio says, "Any adult can distinguish reality from fiction. But you cannot expect a child to m...

Filmmaker Ron Howard says that the upcoming movie based on Dan Brown's mega-hit novel "The Da Vinci Code" will not soften the story's more controversial elements. There will be "no placating," he told Newsweek in its annual "Who's Next" issue, which names the up-and-comers in politics, business, science, sports and the arts that will make headlines in 2006.

"It would be ludicrous to take on this subject and then try to take the edges off. We're doing this movie because we like the book," Howard says.

Since "The Da Vinci Code" was published in 2003, the book has become a global in...