The pickings don’t appear to be quite as slim as they were last month, but July is still looking like dog days of summer for Blu-ray releases.

Television buffs may be most pleased with the month’s release schedule, which includes complete seasons of acclaimed shows such as Mad Men, Pushing Daisies and Prison Break, and even the complete series of what many sci-fi fans—and non sci-fi fans—have dubbed one of the most important shows of our generation, Battlestar Galactica (hey, you’ve got an entire month to save up because it doesn’t come out until July 28).

Some musical high notes for the month cover a range of tastes, from classic heavy metal (Iron Maiden: Flight 666) to classic rock (Black Crowes: Warpaint Live) to jazz/R&B (Quincy Jones 75th Birthday Celebration) to name a few. Then there’s the classic mockumentary on England’s loudest rock band, as This Is Spinal Tap makes its much-anticipated Blu-ray debut, which is sure to bring new life to all the favorite lines and songs, like Hell Hole and (Tonight) I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight.

If you’ve got a CinemaScope setup to get the real theater feel on wide 2.35:1 and 2.40:1 aspect ratio movies, you may want to go for a couple of 1970s thrillers in their full original aspect ratio, The Deep and The Towering Inferno.

Here’s what we found as highlights for the month:

July 7
The Deep
Grumpy Old Men
Iron Maiden: Flight 666
Knowing
Push

July 14
The Black Crowes: Warpaint Live
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon / Curse of the Golden Flower / House of Flying Daggers Trilogy
Jose Feliciano: The Paris Concert
Mad Men: Season Two
Shark Week: The Great Bites Collection
The Towering Inferno
Wild Pacific

July 21
300: The Complete Experience
Coraline
Midnight Express
Prison Break: The Final Break
Pushing Daisies: The Complete Second Season
Quincy Jones: 75th Birthday Celebration Live at Montreux 2008
Watchmen Director’s Cut

July 28
12 Monkeys
Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series
The Fast and the Furious
This Is Spinal Tap

For the complete list of Blu-ray releases, head to Blu-ray.com.

About the Author:
Arlen Schweiger - Managing editor of Electronic House Magazine

Arlen contributes product news items to electronichouse.com along with his role on the print publication. Got a tip? Send it along!