Unlike science-fiction, high definition doesn't really add a lot to the comedy genre (unless it's something like Galaxy Quest), though it does allow us to hear fart jokes in crystal clear DTS and watch Jim Carrey mug in 1080p. Blu-ray can also offer us bigger, better special features, new extended/unrated cuts and if nothing else it gives us a reason to rediscover some classic funnies that for the last few years have been at the bottom of our closets in the form of DVDs (Ugh!).

Here we shall be celebrating the heroes of comedy and seeing just how good their Blu-ray catalogue is - will the amount of films available make us laugh or cry? We kick off with:

Dan Aykroyd

This popular Saturday Night Live star survived 1941 - Steven Spielberg's biggest flop - by starring in and co-writing one of the most popular comedies of all time, The Blues Brothers...but since neither of those films are out yet on Blu-ray the next best thing is Ghostbusters. It's fair to say this 1984 hit directed by Ivan Reitman was one of the most eagerly anticipated comedies to make it to Blu-ray and while the much-desired cast commentary never transpired and the new extras were all pretty 'meh', the new transfer of the film itself makes it worth the double-dip. Yes, there's grain but what do you expect from a 25 year-old film? The exclusive BR extras are: Slimer Mode PIP with new cast and crew interviews, a Resurrecting Ecto-1 featurette and an Ecto-1 Gallery (the other extras are the same as the DVD).

Since Grosse Pointe Blank, The Blues Brothers and even Ivan Reitman's flaccid Ghostbusters retread Evolution aren't available, the only other Aykroyd films currently on Blu-ray are 50 First Dates and War Inc; the disappointing (unofficial) sequel to Grosse Pointe Blank.

Laugh or Cry? Cry

Bill Murray

Aykroyd's SNL partner in crime fares slightly better. As well as Ghostbusters you can currently see Murray in HD in Groundhog Day, City of Ember, Wild Things, The Lost City and Get Smart. The 15th Anniversary Edition of Groundhog Day was scheduled for UK release in February 2010 but that date keeps getting pushed back so just import the region free American disc, which is out now. It comes with a vibrant Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track, solid image transfer and extras that include a Harold Ramis interview, director's commentary, 24 minute making of, Trivia PIP and a featurette on marmots. Strangely enough City of Ember - a visually stunning but limply-plotted family movie with Murray as the greedy mayor of an underground city - is only on Blu-ray in the UK and just to piss of the yanks it's region B locked. As well as DTS audio the extras include short featurettes on set design, special effects and making a scene.

The only other Bill Murray comedy out now is Get Smart in which he has little more than a cameo alongside Steve Carrell. Since A) it's not very funny and B) comes with a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 track, probably best to give it a miss. Sadly a lot of Murray's funniest movies - The Life Aquatic, Rushmore, Caddyshack, Scrooged - are unavailable, though on the plus side Fantastic Mr Fox is set for release on March 1st, 2010 as a triple-play edition (Blu-ray, DVD & a digital copy). There are 7 making of featurettes on the disc: The Look of Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Cast, From Script To Screen, The Puppet Makers, Still Life (Puppet Animation), Bill & His Badger, The World of Roald Dahl and A Beginner's Guide to Whackbat.

Laugh or Cry? Cry

Judd Apatow

Going back to Steve Carrell one will immediately think of current hero of comedy Judd Apatow, primarily due to their collaboration on The 40 Year Old Virgin, which Apatow wrote and directed, and Anchorman, which he produced. Indeed, as a producer, the former stand up racks up an amazing amount of comedy hits over just the past few years: Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Pineapple Express, Step Brothers, Talledega Nights, Funny People and Knocked Up to name but a few. He's had a few stinkers too, like Kicking and Screaming, Year One and the atrocious Walk Hard (Hey let's make fun of Johnny Cash's dead brother!) but we'll ignore those. And unlike Aykroyd or Murray you can find most of his films on Blu-ray with oodles of extras.

That said, Apatow's first successful production, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy, is oddly M.I.A despite being available on DVD along with its patchwork sequel Wake Up Ron Burgandy. Conversely The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up have been around for a while on Blu-ray and are now on the cheap. Virgin comes with the choice of theatrical or unrated cuts of the movie, DTS-HD 5.1 MA and extras such as director/cast commentaries, deleted scenes, line-o-rama, video diaries and gag reel. Knocked Up also comes in an unrated version and DTS-HD MA but has even more extras on offer, such as 24 minutes of deleted scenes, 38 minutes of gag reels, Finding Ben Stone featurette and plenty of unscripted raw footage.

Laugh or Cry? Laugh