Wednesday, December 14, 2011

2011 Gift Guide - The Year's Best DVDs and Blu-Rays

Despite all the streaming that's been going on, the year 2011 still came up with an astounding list of DVDs and Blu-Rays for those that still believe in owning a physical library of movies. As always, I have assembled my top ten list, plus a whole host of runners up, the purpose of which is twofold: to celebrate the greatness of cinema, and to provide gift suggestions for those with a cinephile in their circle of friends. But enough of my babbling. Bring on the list.
    1. The Complete Jean Vigo (Criterion Collection)
    Vigo's work is still regarded as amongst the finest ever created in the history of cinema, and yet this is the first full collection of his work available in the U.S. -- on DVD or Blu-Ray. Criterion's single-disc set (running less than 3 hours) lacks some of the extras from the previously available European set, but the films themselves are what really counts, and you'll never see their equal anywhere.

    2. Buster Keaton: Short Films Collection - 1920-1923 (Kino)
    Before this Keaton's short films were scattered throughout a bunch of discs and difficult to access. Now they're all in one place -- and on Blu-Ray no less -- and their greatness can finally be appreciated as the equal to any of Keaton's features (most of which, by the way, Kino also re-issued in 2011).

    3. Senso (Criterion Collection)
    Luchino Visconti's long out-of-print costume drama is far more than just a costume drama; it's the culmination of all his talents, a movie with visual passion to match its grandeur.

    4. Blow Out (Criterion Collection)
    Brian De Palma has long struggled to find the same acceptance that his 1970s colleagues earned, but now that the Criterion Collection has given this, one of his best films, the deluxe treatment, perhaps the reappraisal can begin.


    5. Park Row (MGM)
    Possibly Samuel Fuller's masterpiece, MGM released this as part of its bare-bones, vault-cleaning efforts, and the DVD itself isn't spectacular, but having this movie finally available is a major event.


    6. Island of Lost Souls (Criterion Collection)
    As a horror fan, I've read about this movie for years, and in 2011 I was finally able to see it: on a Criterion Blu-Ray, no less. It's every bit as good as I'd heard.


    7. Blue Velvet (MGM)
    David Lynch's film sometimes seems a product of the 1980s, but seeing it again in such a luminous transfer confirms that it is, indeed, a film for the ages. The most amazing bonus is an ample collection of deleted footage, newly found and transferred to high-def.


    8. Radley Metzger's Erotica Psychedelica (Cult Epics)
    A definitive collection of erotica, from an unsung master. The Lickerish Quartet, especially, is a double-edged work of art. The best bonus: a CD of soundtrack music from that film, plus the other two: Camille 2000 and Score.


    9. Histoire(s) du Cinema (Olive Films)
    A long unavailable, four-and-a-half-hour "documentary" from Jean-Luc Godard, a career high if I ever saw one. It's a miracle it arrived at all, but it's also a miracle if you can watch it without scratching your head, getting lost, or perhaps even getting a bit angry. It's a cranky film, but forever brilliant, and if you give it a chance you'll find snatches of clarity that can blow your mind.


    10. The Clowns (Raro Video)
    A bizarre, but crucial, mid-career turning point for Federico Fellini, and also a gentle, intimate portrait of something remarkably simple: the director's love for clowns.

    5 Worthy Runners Up:


    Citizen Kane (Warner Home Video) - Loses points for its awful handling of The Magnificent Ambersons, as well as the weak, DVD-only extras like The Battle Over Citizen Kane, but the movie itself never looked so magnificent.

    Hereafter (Warner Home Video) - I still receive puzzled admiration and chiding for my choice for the best movie of 2010, but I stand by it. I've seen it three times, the third on this glorious Blu-Ray, and it does not fail to move me.

    Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man (Raro Video) - I heard about this movie from director Edgar Wright, who was introduced to it by Quentin Tarantino, and it lives up to the hype; truly jaw-dropping.

    Mimic: Director's Cut (Lionsgate) - Guillermo Del Toro is given a chance to right a career wrong, and not only improves a pretty good "B" picture, but also comes up with another great DVD/Blu-Ray release.

    Two Weeks in Another Town (Warner Archive) - This late Vincente Minnelli movie is overcooked in many ways, but remains one of the most passionate, bizarre, and oddly romantic movies about the movie business.

    Honorable Mentions:
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