MUMBAI: Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) announced its upcoming slate of releases on HD DVD for the first quarter of 2008. A compelling array of action-adventure, drama and family fare, PHE’s lineup of HD DVDs tries to further expand the format’s offerings for a broader consumer audience.

Released on 8 January, PHE’s first HD DVD title of the year is David Fincher’s director’s cut of the mesmerizing drama Zodiac, which has been cited on over 200 critics’ lists as one of the top 10 films of 2007. The HD DVD includes over three hours of in-depth bonus materials including a multi-part exploration of the making of the film, the facts of the real-life attacks and more.

On 26 February 26, PHE will debut the director’s cut of Robert Zemeckis’ visually stunning cinematic experience, Beowulf. Director and screenwriter Sean Penn’s widely praised adaptation of the inspirational true story Into The Wild arrives 4 March with behind-the-scenes material that takes viewers deeper inside the enthralling, real-life story, characters and experience, along with the compelling drama Things We Lost In The Fire, which features phenomenal performances by Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro, as well as a discussion of the film and deleted scenes.

DreamWorks Animation’s funniest new animated hit Bee Movie buzzes onto HD DVD on 11 March loaded with exclusive content, including web-enabled downloadable features such as The World of Bees and a Build-A Bee Avatar, a picture-in-picture storyboard reel, customizable menus, Barry’s trivia track and much more.

‘The Jack Ryan Collection’ will arrive on HD DVD featuring four explosive thrillers including The Hunt for Red October, Clear and Present Danger, Patriot Games and The Sum of All Fears.

In addition, the highly-anticipated film The Kite Runner, based on the international best-selling novel, also will debut on HD DVD in the first quarter.