Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is releasing a blu-ray version of the very first film ever released in CinemaScope: The Robe.

An over-the-top biblical epic, the 1953 film was chiefly notable for its use of the wide-screen format and the thrilling theater experience it offered. One of the advertising lines was "the modern entertainment miracle you can see without glasses," differentiating it from the 3-D movies that turned their audences into instant nerds.

The film didn't really make full use of the impressive, if short-lived, CinemaScope technology. Most of it was filmed on sets, without the scope and majesty of great outdoor scenes. I'm sure the quality of this special edition is superb. It's presented in the CinemaScope 2.55:1 aspect ratio, and there's loads of special features, including an intro by Martin Scorcese, and some fo those great vintage Movietone trailers. They're releasing it in time for Easter, just like the original.

The problem is, even though it won Richard Burton his first nomination for Best Actor (he lost) and a Best Picture nod (didn't win), the movie's just not very good. If it's a bibilical epic you're looking for, stick with Ben Hur.

Before he welcomed us to Fantasy Island, before he sold us "rich Corinthian leather," even before he was the deliciously hammy villain Khan in the second Star Trek movie, Ricardo Montalban was a classic movie actor who paved the way for Latin stars to come.

The Mexican-born Montalban has died of congestive heart failure at the age of 88. A reliable player of "brown" roles in his early studio days at MGM, playing Indians, Latinos and Pacific Islanders, stardom eluded him until his later TV and film career. Unlike his countryman Anthony Quinn, Montalban never received a showcase starring role in his early career, but his chiseled features and graceful, muscular build assured him of steady work as a Latin-lover type for MGM.

The always-reliable Turner Classic Movies has scheduled a tribute for January 23rd.

Montalban in Hollywood in 2004, by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Turner Classic Movies always does an elegant, touching video tribute to the folks we lost in 2008 -- actors, writers, producers, cameramen, all the people whose time and talents made classic movie magic during their careers.

For my money, TCM's tribute is usually better than the montage done at the Oscars each year, although that's always moving as well. It will be fascinating to see how the Academy deals with the two giants of the industry who passed away in 2008 - Paul Newman and Charlton Heston.

Here's a great weekend getaway idea. Get your Kim Novak/Jimmy Stewart on, grab a copy of Vertigo, and head to San Francisco for a tour of the sites immortalized in the movie.

A lot of critics think this dreamy, almost surreal story of obsession is Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece. I've never been quite willing to go that far, but it is a great film.

And it's a love poem to the City by the Bay, with key scenes taking place at gorgeous locations and landmarks all around its steep streets and hilly vistas. After more than 50 years, some of the locations are gone, but the landmarks remain in one of our most beautiful, mysterious cities. California travel guide Betsy Malloy has an itinerary.

The Palace of Fine Arts, a key Vertigo location. By Justin Sullivan/Getty Images