The annual countdown of the year's best DVDs.
By Drew Morton
Army of Shadows: Criterion Collection
Every year features some wonderful releases from Criterion. Last year marked the release of the stellar Eric Rohmer’s Six Moral Tales and Orson Welles’s Mr. Arkadin. This year, of course, was no different. Unreleased in the United States for nearly forty years, Jean-Pierre Melville’s Resistance drama made a triumphant theatrical debut last winter when it was dubbed the best film of the year by critics at the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, New York Observer, Film Comment, Premiere, and Sight & Sound. Criterion has treated the film with the same appreciation of the critics by supplying the film with a restored two-disc special edition including commentary by French film historian Ginette Vincendeau (author of the stellar study Jean-Pierre Melville: An American in Paris) and a slew of interviews ranging from the production crew (cinematographer Pierre Lhomme and editor Francoise Bonnot) and cast members to actual Resistance fighters. Army of Shadows may have arrived forty years late, but in the hands of Criterion it has aged perfectly.
Blade Runner: Five-Disc Collector’s Edition
As with past years, Criterion has been facing some firm competition in the production of loaded DVDs from Warner Brothers. This year, Warners has pulled out all the stops with their pimped out release of Blade Runner, which has been on a short list of the “Most in Need of a Special Edition DVD” since its original was released in the late 90s. The film, available in three versions (a two-disc, a four-disc, and a five-disc…see DVDActive.com for the complete checklist of differences) featuring up to five cuts of the film (the five-disc release), seven commentary tracks (ranging from Ridley Scott, the screenwriters, the special effects team, and the Blade Runner scholar Paul Sammon), a feature length documentary on the making of the film (“Dangerous Days”), and a barrage of featurettes covering everything from the life of author Philip K. Dick and the adaptation of the novel to the film’s cutting edge use of graphic design. Clearly, this incarnation of Blade Runner is a milestone of the format.
Breathless: Criterion Collection
In long need of a re-release, Criterion has been double-backing lately to revise some of their own earlier releases (The Third Man, the Kurosawa samurai films) and films mishandled for DVD by other companies (most notably Fox Lorber and New Yorker Video). Picking up the slack of Fox Lorber on Jean-Luc Godard’s French New Wave classic, Criterion has supplied the film with a new transfer, archival interviews with Godard, stars Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg, and fellow director Jean-Pierre Melville (who, of course, makes a cameo in the film). The two-disc edition also features two video essays (I preferred Jonathan Rosenbaum’s “Breathless as Film Criticism”), a feature length making-of, Godard’s short film Charlotte et son Jules, and a substantial booklet featuring writings from Dudley Andrew and Godard and Truffaut’s original film treatments. The only thing missing? A commentary track… Fox Lorber’s treatment had a competent commentary track by David Sterritt.
Hot Fuzz: Three-Disc Special Edition
Probably the greatest comedy of the year, Universal treated Hot Fuzz to the special edition treatment last week. Featuring five commentary tracks from director Edgar Wright and the stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost to Quentin Tarantino, the three-disc set also features outtakes, a barrage of featurettes, Edgar Wright’s first cop film Dead Right, video blogs, and documentary covering the cast’s U.S. press tour.
The Jazz Singer: Three-Disc Special Edition
Another American film historian must-have, Warner’s release of restored and remastered The Jazz Singer. The film, which serves more as a historical document than great piece of film art, is given a wonderful assortment of special features that work to contextualize the film within Hollywood’s transition from silent to talkies. The main attraction? A disc of original Vitaphone shorts including George Burns and Gracie Allen’s “Lambchops.” The set also features re-productions of original press booklets and a documentary on the dawn of sound featuring UCLA’s own American film historian Jonathan Kuntz.
Jean Renoir: 3-Disc Collector’s Edition
Unlike most of the releases on this list, Lionsgate’s Jean Renoir set does not feature a truck load of bonus content. Instead, the set, a bargain at around twenty dollars, favors the inclusion of a massive amount of films, including the French master’s Whirlpool of Fate, Nana, Charleston Parade, The Little Match Girl, La Marseillaise, The Doctor’s Horrible Experiment, and The Elusive Corporal! While the set probably does not serve as a spring board into those unfamiliar with Renoir’s work, it provides the cinephile with an unsurpassed bargain. The sole extra? A excellent compilation of insightful interviews featuring Martin Scorsese, Alain Renoir, and UCLA professor Janet Bergstrom that help to contextualize the film’s within Renoir’s career.
The Stanley Kubrick Collection
Like Blade Runner, Warners abysmal DVD treatment of Stanley Kubrick films ranked amongst the biggest travesties of the medium. Five years after their second effort to give the films a proper treatment, Warners has finally delivered with their latest collection. Featuring re-mastered and letterboxed cuts of 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, and an un-censored Eyes Wide Shut, WB has provided commentary tracks on nearly every film (the exception being Eyes). The set also includes an assortment of extra features ranging from the documentary Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures, featurettes covering everything from the special effects of 2001, the cultural significance of Clockwork, and Kubrick’s unrealized projects to appease critics. The one flaw? The set lacks the earlier incarnation’s inclusion of Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, and Barry Lyndon. While Dr. Strangelove has since been re-visited with a new transfer and special edition treatment, Lolita and Lyndon only exist in their previous disappointing releases.
Pan’s Labyrinth: Two-Disc Collector’s Edition
One of the best films of last year has been given the royal DVD treatment. Guillermo Del Toro’s gothic adult fairy tale on the atrocities of war features commentary by the director and extensive coverage of the film’s production, focusing on the creation of many of the supernatural creatures seen in the film. Also included is a round-table discussion featuring Charlie Rose and the Three Amigos (Del Toro, Alfonso Cuaron, and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu) on 2006 and the rise of Mexican cinema.
The Sergio Leone Anthology
While Sergio Leone aficionados had previously been treated to the special treatment with the 2-disc releases of The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West, and Once Upon a Time in America a couple years back, MGM has double-backed and delivered a eight disc set focusing on the director’s spaghetti westerns. Featuring A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, and the previously un-released Duck You Sucker, MGM supplies each film with a new audio and video transfer, commentary track, and laundry list of featurettes on topics ranging from the reminiscences of Clint Eastwood to the reconstruction of several scenes in the films.
Twin Peaks: The Definitive Gold Box Edition
The history of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks on DVD has been fairly torturous for fans and curious parties. The first season, released by Artisan in 2002, was given the royal treatment: commentaries on every episode, Log Lady introductions, a featurette on how to speak like the man from another place, beautiful transfers (including DTS audio tracks!) and more. The one missing piece? The series pilot was not included due to rights problems. Cut to four years later, CBS had acquired the DVD rights to the show and released the complete second season. A little light on the extras but at least a few interviews was better than nothing. Now, six months after the release of the second season, CBS has backtracked and released the entire series including both the broadcast and international cuts of the pilot. The set also features deleted scenes, Log Lady intros, and a handful of featurettes. While missing the DTS audio treatment of the Artisan set, CBS brought Lynch in to supervise the remastering. Also missing are the commentaries from the Artisan release and, surprisingly, the interviews from the original release of the second season. (Note: Fire Walk With Me is not included in the set.)
2007 was another landmark year for the format and early 2008 already has some big titles on the horizon. My favorites? Criterion’s treatment of Pierrot le Fou, The Last Emperor, and the films of Agnes Varda and Paramount’s Zodiac: 2-Disc Director’s Cut!
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