Rating: NNNNN
In this list, I take as a starting point that these are good movies, well presented, restored where necessary and in the proper aspect ratio. This knocks out VSC’s pan-and-scan special edition of Hardcore Logo. What puts a DVD on the list is the quality of the extras, with points for originality, obsessive absorption and relative rarity.
1 Fassbinder’s BRD TRILOGY (Criterion) This
deluxe historical four-disc set – the three late films about the history of post-war Germany: The Marriage Of Maria Braun, Veronika Voss and Lola –
capped a year of terrific Fassbinder issues. It includes
commentaries, new half-hour interviews with the three
stars, a feature-length biographical documentary
on the director, excellent booklet essays and, of
course, superb transfers in the proper and slightly
eccentric aspect ratios.
2 THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS: EXTENDED EDITION (New Line Platinum Edition) Even
more than The Fellowship Of The Ring, The Two Towers
gains from the newly integrated footage, which gives
greater emotional room to the characters, fills in
the narrative line and, peculiarly, makes its 220
minutes seem to move faster than the 180-minute theatrical
cut. Four complete commentaries and six hours’ worth
of documentary material are geek heaven – you suddenly
realize you’re watching a 25-minute documentary on
the sound mix, and it’s fascinating.
3 METROPOLIS (Kino) A
stunning restoration of the 1927 Fritz Lang silent
film that has been admired yet simulaneously abused
almost since its first release. Anyone remember
the early 80s issue with a Giorgio Moroder soundtrack?
Working from the best extant prints, camera-original
material and recently recovered footage, the Murnau
Institute found the longest available cut of the
film (which means the characters now have motivations)
and added a newly recorded 5.1 version of the score.
Extras include documentaries on the restoration
of
the image and slightly academic but useful commentary.
4 THREE COLORS: blue, white and red, THE EXCLUSIVE COLLECTION (Miramax/M2K) Foreign films rarely get this kind of deluxe treatment from mainstream distributors. Miramax has picked up and enhanced M2K’s magisterial French editions of these films, complete with scholarly commentary by listener-friendly Annette Insdorf, four of director Krzysztof Kieslowski’s student films, on-site coverage of Red at Cannes and interviews with stars Juliette Binoche (Blue), Julie Delpy (White) and Irene Jacob (Red), among others.
5 LOONEY TUNES GOLDEN COLLECTION (Warner
Home Video) Four
DVDs 56 classic Warner Brothers cartoons, from Hare
Trouble to Duck Dodgers In The 24 1/2th Century and
Foghorn Leghorn loaded with little goodies like
excerpts from the 50s black-and-white TV show, war
time cartoons done for the Department of Defense,
comments from Chuck Jones, Mel Blanc Jr., Leonard
Maltin in his animation historian mode – this is
just a great collection. The remarkable thing is
that these cartoons are 50 and 60 years old. We’ve
been watching them all our lives and they’re still
just flat-out funny.
6 FEAR
AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS (Criterion) This
tremendously faithful adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s
gonzo road novel may be what the French call un film
maudit, but it finds redemption in this two-disc
SE with commentaries by director Terry Gilliam, stars
Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro, producer Laila
Nabulsi and Thompson himself. Depp reads his correspondence
with Thompson on camera, Gilliam explains why he
burned his Writers Guild card, and a BBC documentary
covers Thompson and illustrator Ralph Steadman. This
is almost a devotional object – it’s easy to get
people together to do great DVDs for hits, but it’s
an achievement to get them to ante up for a flop.
6 THE WHO THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT (BMG
Video) One
of the greatest rock and roll documentaries ever,
beautifully restored by director Jeff Stein, The
Kids Are Alright is a priceless collection of classic
Who television clips from the 60s, interviews and
tremendous new (1978) live performances of Baba O’Riley
and Won’t Get Fooled Again. The second disc, oddly
dedicated to the task of restoring a film that had
been butchered in various television releases and
ruined in its VHS transfers, gives us a look at the
practicality of film restoration for the new medium.
7 BLACK HAWK DOWN: DELUXE EDITION (Columbia/TriStar) Ridley
Scott’s drama about the Battle of Mogadishu loses
some big-screen impact on all but the most humongous
home theatre systems. But this three-disc SE, including
a pair of documentaries from PBS and the History
Channel, provides the historical context the film
lacks, and the commentaries are excellent, particularly
the one by four participants in the battle. It would
be ranked higher if the making-of didn’t run longer
than the movie and didn’t include so many clips of
the actors paying tribute to the soldiers who fought
the battle.
8 THE ALIEN QUADRILOGY (Fox
Home Video) A
great fat doorstopper – nine discs, multiple cuts
of each film, commentaries, making-ofs, huge artwork
galleries – the Alien/s/3/Resurrection box would
rate higher if it weren’t so annoyingly packaged
and if I could dump my Alien 20th Anniversary DVD,
but I can’t because the new set doesn’t have the
alternate soundtracks from that disc. Still, it’s
great to have the theatrical cut of Aliens on DVD.
9 IN A LONELY PLACE (Columbia/TriStar) There
were superb Humphrey Bogart issues this year, including
Casablanca and The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre
in great two-disc editions from Warner, but I’ll
take
Nicholas Ray’s In A Lonely Place for restoring
Bogart’s darkest performance and Burnett Guffey’s
glittering
noir cinematography to the catalogue, along with
an odd bonus, an appreciation of the film’s vision
of L.A .by Curtis Hanson, writer/director of L.A.
Confidential.
10 THE SINGING DETECTIVE
(BBC Video) Dennis
Potter’s epic seven-hour musical fantasy mystery
mini-series has a commentary from director Jon
Amiel and never-seen-in-North-America documentary
material
with Potter. This may be the greatest mini-series
ever, if Potter’s Pennies From Heaven isn’t,
and these DVDs save us from having to comb the
darker
reaches of the cable guide on the off chance
of finding a rerun.
= Critics’ Pick
NNNNN = excellent, maintains big screen impact
NNNN = very good
NNN = worth a peek
NN = Mediocre
N = Bomb
