First let me say that this is one of the best low budget films ever made. It looks great on Blu-ray. Instead of buying it for $30 plus shipping from these Marketplace sellers, go to the bottom of this page and click on Amazon UK. I got my copy there for a little over $15 USD which even included shipping from England!

Since Once is only available in the US on DVD, I purchased the blu-ray through Amazon UK for less (including delivery) than most blu-ray and some DVD movies cost in the US. The package arrived at my home in about a week with standard delivery. It shipped through Royal Mail and was delivered by the US Postal Service.

Consistent with reviews I had read online before purchasing: the movie played flawlessly, but the extra features did not work. I was prepared for this outcome and am pleased to have the film in HD. As expected, the picture quality is clearly superior to the DVD version. I have seen some report their blu-ray unit is able to play the extra features. I have not seen reviews stating the movie does not work. I'm using a Sony BDP-S350 blu-ray player with up-to-date firmware.

Note: at the writing of this review a US version of the blu-ray is not available. If you purchase through any US reseller, it will be an imported version.

As for the film itself, the story is grounded and simple--yet remarkably interesting. The music is absolutely gripping. I typically hate musicals, but this is not your typical musical. This ultra-low budget film deserves the nearly perfect score it's tallied on the Rotten Tomatoes website. As a bonus for me, it was filmed in fantastic Dublin City where I have many fond memories from business trips.

Everything ok. The movie came fast and it's one of the best I've ever watched. Hollywood should look at this kind of film and redefine its concepts.

I loved this film when I first saw it on DVD, particularly because of the excellent music. I was initially disappointed by the stereo only soundtrack of the DVD, so when I heard of a Blu-ray release with DTS-MA audio, I was really looking forward to a high quality, full surround presentation. I received the Blu-ray, put it in the PS3, AND..... was again disappointed by 2 channel audio! The back of the disc is marked "Dolby Digital 5.1", "DTS Surround", and "DTS-HD Master Audio", but don't believe it. There are 3 audio tracks on the disc, 2 of which are director/cast commentaries, and all 3 audio tracks are DTS-MA 2 channel audio. Also, as indicated by the other reviews, I was unable to access any of the featurettes. On the plus side, the video quality is a big improvement over DVD.

Without a US release of Once on Blu-Ray, this region-free Blu-Ray from the UK is a good substitute. The picture quality is fantastic and the best reason to upgrade to the Blu-Ray from the DVD, or to buy the Blu-Ray over the DVD. As for the audio quality, I was a little disappointed that the Blu-Ray did not feature an upgraded audio mix from the stereo mix on the DVD; this is quite likely that the original theatrical release was only a stereo mix, but it would have been nice for a little upgrade in audio quality.

Some previous reviews noted that the additional content did not play for them on this UK release - I had no problems playing the bonus material. It is likely that the bonus material is in the PAL format used in Europe as opposed to NTSC used in the states, and if so then it is probably and issue with not all Blu-Ray players and/or HDTVs being compatible with that format.

As for price, definitely buy from one of the other sellers of NEW copies on Amazon - half the price for the same Blue-Ray.

I just received my Once Blu Ray in Utah, and the picture quality is incredible, byt the audio is even better. I LOVE THIS MOVIE, and having the blu ray completes my life. Thanks to those across the Atlantic who made this possible, and super affordable.

Blu-ray picture is clear and beautiful, much better than the theatre print I saw in 2007. Despite the improvement, film has not lost any of its naturalness; like we are evesdropping on real people. John Carney's decision to ask his musical talent, unproven as actors, to be the movie; that was a great call.