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High-Def Digest Holiday Gift Guide 2010: The Best Blu-rays of the Year
Wed Nov 24, 2010 at 01:22 PM ETTags: HDD Holiday Gift Guide, Holiday Guide 2010, Drew Taylor, Industry Trends, High-Def Retailing (all tags)
by Drew Taylor
Has another year of HD releases really flown by already? Just about! I guess now is as good a time as any to look back on the year that was and pick out the highlights. And yes, while there are still a handful of big releases headed our way before the year is out ('Inception,' 'Fantasia/Fantasia 2000,' and 'Cronos,' to name a few), I'm trying to help you with your holiday shopping, so I have to draw the line at today's day and date.
2010 was really the year Blu-ray came into its own. There are a ton of viewers who now have Blu-ray players, and subsequently, the number of discs (and the quality of those discs, for the most part) have skyrocketed. With titles like 'Avatar' and 'Toy Story 3' leading the charge, Blu-ray became a format that everyone, not just film geeks like ourselves, could lovingly embrace.
So, lets get started, shall we? I now present the top ten Blu-rays of 2010. (One more caveat: I did a list earlier this year and none of those titles are also on this one.)
1.) Roger Corman's Cult Classics (Shout Factory)
One of the reasons I'm crowning this small collection of genre favorites (among them: 'Starcrash,' 'Humanoids from the Deep,' and Joe Dante's 'Piranha') as the top Blu-ray release of the year is because they were such a surprise. Initially, '
2.) The Thin Red Line (Criterion Collection)
In my review, I said this disc contained the single greatest live-action Blu-ray transfer that I had ever seen. I'm going to reiterate that here and now: this really is the most striking live action transfer I've ever seen. And, you know what? That might have been enough to at least chart on my end-of-the-year list, but the disc as a whole is so beautiful – the audio is just as wonderful as the video, and the collection of extras, which sheds significant light on the film without ever demystifying it (for instance we just get a handful of deleted scenes, when we all know that hours of footage was shaved away), were indispensible. Malick's lyrical tone poem, ostensibly about the Pacific conflict during World War II, remains one of the most haunting and gorgeously rendered war films of all time; a stunning, staggering piece of work. The movie is more than 10 years old, which is plenty of time for the film to be worn and torn (this is a preemptive rebuttal to those who will undoubtedly say that it probably wasn't that hard to clean up). For Criterion to bring it to high definition in such a lavish package is worthy of praise.
3.) The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Fox)
Yes, I know, as of this writing I haven't finished my review of this beauty yet, but take my word for it: it's phenomenal. First of all, the movie has never looked or (more importantly) sounded this good. Ever. But more than that, the 'Rocky Horror' Blu-ray represents the seemingly boundless potential for Blu-ray. It maximizes the viewers' experience by offering something that only Blu-ray could: a mix-and-match of audio features, including a vintage recording by the fan club and an all-new, "shadowbox" broadcast, with actors chosen by various 'Rocky Horror' weekly screenings from around the world. (This is documented in an hour-long documentary that plays like a particularly deranged episode of 'American Idol.') The fact that you can watch the film with multiple audio/video tracks while importing all of the extras from the previous special edition DVD makes this 'Horror' truly heavenly.
4.) The Twilight Zone: Seasons 1 and 2 (Image)
A funny thing happened while I was compiling this list, at almost the eleventh hour: a package arrived that contained the second season of 'The Twilight Zone' on Blu-ray. Skeptical of its high definition worthiness, I popped in the first disc, and was utterly blown away. It was eerie, in a specifically 'Twilight Zone'-y way, how good the old series looked on Blu-ray, with its black-and-white richness taking on a kind of velveteen texture. It was absolutely marvelous. And the extras? Oh the extras! Matthew Weiner, creator of AMC's 'Mad Men,' sits in for a commentary track discussing the episode in which William Shatner becomes obsessed with a fortune telling machine in a small town diner. Is there any better way to spend a Friday night? With these new sets, Image really gave it their all, and it shows. 'The Twilight Zone' not only warrants this kind of lavish high-definition attention; it demands it. As far as I'm concerned, these are the TV-on-Blu-ray releases of the year.
5.) Alien Anthology (Fox)
The 'Alien' box set is something you could quite literally get lost in for hours on end. The number of supplements and alternate versions of the films (each entry has two iterations) seems almost limitless. The franchise itself is a fabled and fascinating rollercoaster ride: from the haunted house thrills of Ridley Scott's original 'Alien' to the hellzapoppin' James Cameron-helmed sequel 'Aliens,' to David Fincher's atmospherically gloomy 'Alien 3,' to the bizarre horror-comedy of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's 'Alien: Resurrection.' Each film has a lot going for it, and seeing them all so pristinely presented, with optimized picture and sound, is a joy. But it's the small pleasures that stick out: the uncut version of the 'Alien 3' documentary that was left out of the DVD box set from a few years ago. Hearing stories of how David Fincher more or less left the film shortly before its completion is the kind of kicky, insider stuff that geeks absolutely eat up. (It's also nice that they cleaned up the audio on the vastly superior work print cut of 'Alien 3.') I'd also like to thank this anthology for truly opening my eyes to the hideousness of 'Alien Resurrection,' a film I had previously had a weird sense of affection for. Somehow, in high definition, it showed me that the emperor really wasn't wearing any clothes.
6.) Grindhouse (Vivendi)
Yes, there was some minor kvetching about the disappointing lack of a true HD sound mix on this disc, but really, it shouldn't be that a big deal since the movie is supposed to sound like a grungy drive-in double-feature. The Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino dual movie showcase, an expert bit of sleazy homage, bombed spectacularly in 2007, only to be released on DVD and Blu-ray as separate, elongated films later that year. It had never been released on home video intact. And now it has! As a Blu-ray-exclusive, no less! Woo! It was a big kick to watch the whole 'Grindhouse' experience as it was intended, but what really makes this two-disc set so special are the extras, particularly the complete, hour-long New York Times Talk with the two directors, plus all the attention lavished on the phony trailers that bridge the two films. You have to love the perpetually impish Eli Roth, director of the 'Thanksgiving' trailer, saying "I've got a naked girl jumping on a trampoline and I'm only going to do one take?"
7.) Scott Pilgrim vs the World (Universal)
Potentially the greatest non-animated new movie-on-Blu-ray release of the year, 'Scott Pilgrim' combined peerless audio and video quality with a wealth of informative extras that, instead of removing the mystery, enriched the film and made you appreciate it even more. (A lot of people worked really, really hard on this thing.) The fact that the movie was mostly passed over by critics and audiences makes you even more thankful: they could have dumped this on Blu-ray without a single commentary (this disc has four!) Mercifully, that didn't happen. And 'Scott Pilgrim' remains one of the most re-watchable movies of the year.
8.) Psycho (Universal)
This Halloween-timed treat was a true delight: 'Psycho' had never looked or sounded so beautiful. The sound, for which they went back and optimized the mono track for multiple channels, is a true triumph; it doesn't seem the least bit tinny or phony (think back to that DVD release of 'Jaws' that had people up in arms). This includes all the goodies from the previous 'Psycho' DVD releases, plus a bit more, and while there was some consternation in relation to the aspect ratio, it seems that this presentation closes that book forever: Hitchcock shot the movie so it could be seen in a widescreen format and for television.
9.) The 'Back to the Future' (Universal) and 'Toy Story' Trilogies (Disney)
Two of cinema's greatest trilogies finally made it to high definition, and they did so spectacularly: 'Back to the Future' featured a wonderful host of bonus features that followed the evolution of the franchise, providing wonderful context for the Michael J. Fox-starring series. (The movies looked and sounded brilliant, too.) For 'Toy Story,' Disney and Pixar brought their usual sense of perfection to these discs, which are unparalleled visually or aurally, and arrived with a whole bunch of great features. In particular, seeing 'Toy Story 3' "flat," as it were, makes you realize what an unnecessary gimmick the current 3-D trend really is. After all, we didn't need a three-dimensional DeLorean headed towards us to really wow, right?
10.) House (Criterion)
Yes, I have gone on record about the bonkers-brilliance of this 1977 Japanese gem, but I truly believe 'House' deserves to be on the list for containing the single most heart-tugging moment ever captured on a supplemental feature for a movie in which a young schoolgirl gets eaten by mattresses. In the accompanying documentary, Nobuhiko Obayashi says, tearfully, that the movie was an ode to his own childhood friends, all of whom were killed in the nuclear attacks that ended World War II. It makes you look at this very silly movie in a very serious new way.
So what'd I forget? What'd I get wrong? Sound off in the message boards (I know you will, you cheeky monkeys!) Last time around, somebody erroneously posted me as a kind of 'Monopoly'-esque tycoon, surrounded by studio money, implying that my choices had been paid off (little did they know that I bought almost all of the titles on the last list). Let's see what else you have this time! Extra points for creative Photoshop skills!
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by Aaron Peck
Wed Nov 24, 2010 at 01:21 PM ETTags: HDD Holiday Gift Guide, Holiday Guide 2010, Aaron Peck, Industry Trends, High-Def Retailing (all tags)
by Aaron Peck
It can be difficult to define the word "classic" when you're talking about Blu-ray releases. They don't always have to be old movies, although age helps when you're discussing a film. But heck, it doesn't even have to be a film. The term "classic" can be applied to TV shows that we remember fondly. In my mind, a classic is a production that sticks around through the ages. Something that transcends time and remains beloved by many. If a piece of entertainment can be remembered fondly and hold up long after its release, it has entered into the realm of a truly classic title.
Below is a list of the top ten classic releases on Blu-ray. Keep in mind that, yes, everyone will have a different list, different rankings, and different opinions. In my opinion this list represents a wide variety of classics that can now be savored in high definition. They range from movies that can be found on AFI's Top 100 Films of All-Time list, to one truly timeless television show.
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10. 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' (Warner Home Entertainment, Mel Stuart, 1971)
This is just one of those films that I can watch over and over without ever getting bored with it. Maybe that's why the film has survived in the minds and hearts of Americans ever since its debut in theaters in 1971. Gene Wilder is hilarious as always. I swear everyday I find myself, at least once, singing one of those catchy Oompa Loompa tunes. Our very own M. Enois Duarte gave the movie four and a half stars when he reviewed it here. He began his review with a sentence that I think encapsulates the movie perfectly, but also defines classic movies. "When you consider the sheer volume of films produced each year, very few truly ingrain themselves in our cultural consciousness." Isn't that the definition of classic? 'Willy Wonka,' ever since the 70s, has been ingrained into our culture and loved by millions. What'smore, the Blu-ray is dynamite!
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9. 'Snow White' (Disney, David Hand, 1937)
The movie that made animation a viable medium for the film industry. The movie that thrust the Disney name and Walt Disney himself into the mainstream of American popular culture. Basically one of the most celebrated animated film ever created. Its Blu-ray debut was nothing short of astounding, making this classic animated feature film look like it was animated just yesterday. You can't deny the impact 'Snow White' had on the world of cinema. Its undeniable influence has given birth to each and every animated film we've seen since then. Yes, 'Snow White' has been loved for years by throngs of fans, and that makes it a classic, but it's the only movie on here that essentially invented an entirely new medium for telling stories.
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8. '2001: A Space Odyssey' (Warner Home Entertainment, Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
I've only actually watched Oprah once voluntarily in my entire life. It was the special during which Oprah was invited into Roger Ebert's home. We got to see his massive library of books and movies. We got to see his amazing, retro-themed screening room. Most importantly though, Ebert gave a few recommendations of movies he thought every single movie collection should have. '2001: A Space Odyssey' was on that very short list, which also included 'Citizen Kane.' That's some pretty good company to be in. On another note: We need 'Citizen Kane' on Blu-ray, pronto!
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7. 'Seven Samurai' (Criterion, Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
When the venerable Nate Boss reviewed the 'Seven Samurai' Criterion Edition he started off his review wanting to avoid the trap of spewing hyperbole about how great the movie is. Instead, he went on to discuss the fact that just about every outlet out there, from IMDb.com to Rotten Tomatoes, views it as one of the best films of all time. He's right. It would be easy to slip into a tirade of hyperbole and call 'Seven Samurai' "one of the most amazing, fascinating movies ever made by one of the best directors there has ever been." However, we're above that here.
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6. 'North by Northwest' (Warner Home Entertainment, Alfred Hitchcock, 1956)
Personally, I'm a fan of the digibooks that Warner Brothers puts out for special movies. I think they look great on a shelf and nicely present famed movies from the past. The 'North by Northwest' digibook is one of my absolute favorites. What a movie! It's one of those classics that you've seen a hundred times, but as soon as you re-watch it for the 101st time you catch something new that Hitchcock hid deep down in the movie. I'll never get sick of watching 'North by Northwest' in high-def. When David Krauss reviewed it for this site he gave it top marks in both the audio and video categories. It's safe to say this is the best looking, most accurate presentation you're going to get for this, one of the most famous thrillers in cinematic history.
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5. 'The Wizard of Oz' (Warner Home Entertainment, Victor Fleming, 1939)
If ever there was a movie that deserved a gigantic special release for its 70th Anniversary this is it. 'The Wizard of Oz' has lived on in our collective minds since 1939. Now that's an achievement. In a business like Hollywood, most films don't last a few weeks, let alone the better part of a century. I'm flabbergasted that a movie this old has made it this long, gathering new fans with each generation. With near perfect marks in every category, this is a perfect presentation for a movie that will quite possibly live on forever.
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4. 'Casablanca' (Warner Home Entertainment, Michael Curtiz, 1942)
'Casablanca' was one of the first major classic titles I can recall getting a Blu-ray release. After seeing what Blu-ray could do for a movie from 1942 I was stricken with an undying love for all things HD. As for defining this movie as a classic, I think Peter Bracke's review of the set for High-Def Digest does it justice: "'Casablanca' is more than a classic. It's an institution. It contains so many famous lines, characters and scenes that even those who have never seen it feel like they have by sheer osmosis; it is that ingrained in our shared cinematic consciousness."
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3. 'Gone with the Wind' (Warner Home Entertainment, Victor Fleming, 1939)
Another movie from the 30s that has permeated the collective souls of film fans everywhere. It's one of those movies that's not only beloved by followers of cinema, but also regular everyday people who wouldn't consider themselves all that knowledgeable or aware of cinematic happenings. It's a movie that transcends fandom and has become a film that just about everyone needs to see. It was one of the first sweeping epics that have now become commonplace in today's cinema, but it's memory lives on forever through Blu-ray with perfect video and near-perfect audio.
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2. 'The Godfather Collection' (Paramount Home Entertainment, Francis Ford Coppola, 1972, 1974, & 1990)
'The Godfather' and its first sequel are considered by many to be two of the finest moments in cinematic history. The 'Godfather' trilogy is a modern day classic. I say modern, because it hasn't lived since the 30s. It burst onto the scene some 30 or so years later in the 70s with an enthralling tale about the inner workings of organized crime. Like 'Casablanca,' even if you haven't seen 'The Godfather,' you may feel like you have. Even though many people, including myself, consider the third chapter in the trilogy to be a disappointment, I find myself always thinking about the trilogy as a whole. The third movie may not reach the bar set by the first two, but they're so amazing that they bolster the third one easily.
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1. 'Twilight Zone: Season 1' (Image Entertainment, Rod Serling [Creator], 1959)
No, I'm not throwing this in at number one just so you'll revisit my amazingly thorough review and say, "Wow, that was amazingly thorough." In the world of Blu-ray, TV seasons usually come up short. Most of them seem rushed, haphazardly thrown together in order to squeeze out a few bucks. If they don't sell, the remaining seasons are thrown by the wayside, leaving customers and fans in the lurch. Image Entertainment, however, is a class act. They took a show, beloved by many, and created such an astounding and comprehensive Blu-ray package that I found myself almost lost in its maze of special features. It's a complete and perfect tribute to Rod Serling's television masterpiece. This is the only TV show that found its way onto this list, but it's fitting that it finds itself at number one. Image Entertainment took a classic television series, gave it a stellar audio and video presentation, loaded it with tons of extras and essentially said, "Here, someone still loves the fans. We do!"
There you have it. My list of the finest classic titles on Blu-ray, with a classic TV show bumping its way up into the top spot. Like I said, the term classic isn't just reserved for films. What are some of the movies or TV shows I left out that you would demand be put on this list?
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High-Def Digest Holiday Gift Guide 2010: Best Action Blu-rays of the Year
Wed Nov 24, 2010 at 01:20 PM ETTags: HDD Holiday Gift Guide, Holiday Guide 2010, Aaron Peck, Industry Trends (all tags)
by Aaron Peck
Looking over this list, 2010 has been a pretty great year for balls-to-the-wall action films on Blu-ray. We can look over the year, particularly the summer months, and notice that we had kind of a lackluster box office year in terms of quality movies. The summer seemed filled with remakes, redoes, and sequels, but if we just focus on the action genre, there are more than enough Blu-rays you can pick up to stuff the stocking of even the most hardcore action fan in your family.
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Kick-Ass (Lionsgate, Matthew Vaughn, 2010)
Nate Boss doesn't hand out four and a half star ratings for films too often, so you know when he does that it's got to be good. 'Kick-Ass' features a world where people, no matter what their lot in life, can become superheroes by choice. Chloe Moretz as Hit-Girl, shows off her butt-kicking action moves even though she's not yet old enough to drive. 'Kick-Ass' is full of action and gory enough to earn it its R rating. This is a movie for those people who like their plots darkly comedic and their action extra bloody.
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The A-Team (20th Century Fox, Joe Carnahan, 2010)
On December 14th we'll finally get the Blu-ray release for this summer's remake of the 80s TV favorite 'The A-Team.' When I saw the movie in theaters I thought to myself, 'This is really predictable, silly, and weighed down with cookie-cutter bad guys, but WOW is it ever fun!' Any movie that has a tank free falling through the air, with the only way to control it being to actually fly the tank by shooting rounds out of its gun is a movie I will wholeheartedly back. Most of the movie is just so outrageous that when it comes to action this is probably the most nonsensical of the bunch. In the end, it's fun and that's all you can ask from Hannibal and his rag-tag group of miscreants.
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The Losers (Warner Brothers, Sylvain White, 2010)
I know that when I reviewed 'The Losers' for the site I gave it a paltry two and a half stars out of five, and I still feel that way. The movie lacks the fun of the 'A-Team' without making up for it in different areas. However, I know that 'The Losers' has its fan base and I certainly respect that. It's a fairly good looking (albeit extremely oversaturated) Blu-ray, with some decent audio thrown into the mix. If you're looking for a turn-your-brain-off-and-roll-with-it kind of movie, then you've come to the right place.
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Knight & Day (20th Century Fox, James Mangold, 2010)
November 30th is when the Tom Cruise/Cameron Diaz comedic action movie 'Knight and Day' hits the format. Before setting foot into this movie I must admit I was less than excited to see a spy movie starring Diaz and Cruise. It stunk of one of those star vehicles where the two leads mail-in their roles, gather their paychecks, and leave the audience wondering why they just paid to see this. What I witnessed was perhaps the most under-appreciated movie of the summer. I've never been so surprised in a movie theater, walking in expecting on thing and getting the complete opposite. Cruise is downright hilarious in this, and it contains more than enough action and explosions to keep genre fans happy. For me this is a must own as we near the holiday shopping season.
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Predators (20th Century Fox, Nimród Antal, 2010)
'Predators' caught a lot of flack when it first hit theaters. Most people were less than impressed with what Antal and Robert Rodriguez came up with to continue on with this franchise. Maybe it's because of the ridiculous subplot of Topher Grace's character or the way Laurence Fishburne grates on every nerve as soon as he appears on screen. Those two aspects of the movie certainly lowered its overall effectiveness in my eyes, but in the end, this is a fun, moderately inventive re-imagining of the 'Predator' franchise. That and this disc received tip-top honors in the audio and video categories. If that's not enough to convince you to pick it up, then I don't know what is.
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Inception (Warner Brothers, Christopher Nolan, 2010)
December 7th cannot come fast enough. There's nothing more I want than to have 'Inception' on Blu-ray spinning in my PS3. I can't wait to once again gaze in wonder at the marvelous visuals produced by Nolan and his team. This is guaranteed to be a reference quality disc all around providing Warner doesn't screw it up somewhere. This is already must own on my holiday shopping list, and when it comes to action movies of 2010, 'Inception' reigns supreme.
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Salt (Sony, Phillip Noyce, 2010)
For the life of me I can't figure out why 'Salt' got such a bashing from the critics when it hit theaters. 'Salt' was an exciting thrill ride of an action movie with Hollywood's only bonafide action heroine. Angelina Jolie is the only woman in Hollywood that I believe could throw a punch and really do some damage to a tall muscled Russian henchman. I loved 'Salt' from beginning to end, and it even received a four star rating from Roger Ebert. If the negative reviews of pushed you away while it was in theaters, make sure to catch it on Blu-ray. It's worth it.
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The Expendables (Lionsgate, Sylvester Stallone, 2010)
It's impossible to talk action in the year 2010 and not at least mention Sly Stallone's send-up of the action movies of the 80s and early 90s. Gathering (almost) every action star from the four corners of the world, Stallone set out to make the most macho, manliest movie he could. Guns, explosions, muscles, girls, guns, more explosions. Us Bruce Willis fans wish that he would have had a bigger more action-packed part, but it's hard to argue with the film as a whole. This is going to be a stunning Blu-ray presentation, I just know it. Make sure to turn down your sound system a few notches, because when Stallone and Statham turn back around in the plane and start mowing down bad guys your neighbors may think something very wrong is going on in your house.
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From Paris with Love (Lionsgate, Pierre Morel, 2010)
Another action film that flew a little below the radar was 'From Paris with Love' starring a bald, but hilarious John Travolta as rogue agent Charlie Wax. I was very pleasantly surprised with this movie and how Morel and Luc Besson were able to create an intriguing tale filled with fun energetic action. Definitely worth a peek!
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Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Universal, Edgar Wright, 2010)
Take one look at some of the fight scenes that were choreographed for 'Scott Pilgrim' and tell me that this isn't an action movie. It's full of stunning action that at the same time harkens back to the video games of the past – pixilated glowing swords? Genius! 'Scott Pilgrim' is on my short list of best films of the year right up there with 'Inception' and 'Toy Story 3.' Come for Edgar Wright's uncanny ability to direct a movie full of heart and wit and stay for a butt-kicking Michael Cera who is totally believable in his role. Just a fantastic movie all around, and a perfect addition to anyone's action movie collection.
We've had a great year for action movies here in 2010, and now you know which ones to put on your list for Santa. If you have an action junkie in your family then hopefully we've pointed you in the right direction this holiday season.
We're looking forward to reading your own lists in the forums!
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