DVD's only contain standard def video. This became the standard in 1948 to fill a nine-inch TV.
BlueRay takes advantage of 70+ years of technological advancement behind the HDTV standards.
Also: DVD sound is Dolby Digital which is a very good 6:1 compression. BluRay disks carry these sound tracks, but also many titles also carry un-compressed versions of the soundtracks. For most movies, you probably cannot tell the difference, but the un-compressed tracks do sound a bit better on major titles.