While 2009’s theatrical releases proved to be the weakest rolled out from Hollywood since the beginning of the decade, the dizzying array of Blu-ray releases were anything but. With the Criterion Company increasing their output and the studios giving some of their most popular recent films the HD red carpet treatment, it did not take much persuasion for some to stay out of the theater and at home to get their cinematic dollar’s worth. For myself, ten prime examples of this are as follows.
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Wings of Desire: Criterion Collection I have owned Wim Wenders’ fantasy drama in many a format (VHS, Laserdisc, DVD) over the past twenty years, yet none have come close to capturing the true beauty of this German masterpiece the way Criterion has. With a knockout transfer and a great selection of supplemental materials (next up: Paris, Texas) to back it up, one can only hope that Criterion and Wenders continue what is shaping up to be a beautiful partnership. |
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Up Easily the best American film of 2009, Disney/Pixar’s latest gives fans everything they could want with this release; including the hilarious new short Dug’s New Adventure. A tip of the hat should also go to Pixar’s other Blu-ray releases from 2009, A Bug’s Life and Monsters Inc. |
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Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series Despite the rather cumbersome packaging it came in, Universal’s release of the entire broadcast run of the super-serious update of the camp 1978 sci-fi series is a fan’s dream come true. The transfers are rock solid as are the hours upon hours of supplemental material, even if the latter didn’t include the ten part ‘Face of the Enemy’ mini-episodes shown on the web during the fourth season mid-break. |
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Star Trek J.J. Abrams successfully brought the Star Trek franchise back from the dead with this terrifically entertaining movie that traces the origins of the Enterprise crew (albeit from an alternate point of view). After dropping the ball on most of their Blu-ray releases for the first batch of Trek films, Paramount woke up and put their best foot forward with this release. |
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The 400 Blows: Criterion Collection Francois Truffaut’s classic French coming-of-age drama is finally given its due respect on home video thanks to the folks at Criterion. While the Blu-ray edition doesn’t offer anything new in regards to supplemental material, the transfer alone is worth the purchase. |
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Dr. Strangelove Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 black comedy will never fade in regards to its cinematic brilliance. Thanks to lunatics like Kim Jong Ill and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the film seems even more relevant today than it did 45 years ago. Sony’s anniversary edition offers a terrific look at fictional and factual events. |
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North By Northwest Alfred Hitchock comes to the American high-def market via Warner’s terrific 50th Anniversary edition, with enough quality extras to rival even the best Criterion editions. Here’s hoping Universal is working on their Hitchcock treasures for Blu-ray release. |
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The Wizard of Oz Celebrating its 70th anniversary, the 1939 classic has never looked or sounded better on home video. Whether you purchased the super-deluxe box set or the 3-disc edition sans goodies such as a watch and book, this edition has everything one could possibly want from the film. That is until the inevitable 75th Anniversary edition. |
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District 9 Neil Blomkamp’s dizzying, wholly entertaining science-fiction drama gets a stellar Blu-ray release chock full of bonus materials (even if it doesn’t have the original short film this movie was based on) and a playable demo of God of War III, even if the game has nothing to do with either cat food-eating aliens or South Africa. |
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The Elephant Man David Lynch’s 1980 based-on-fact drama, and my personal favorite of his work thus far, was released in Europe this fall as part of the ‘Studio Canal Collection.’ The region-free disc offers a sharp black-and-white 1080p transfer and a generous amount of supplemental material, all of which will no doubt make their way to a domestic release, possibly via Paramount, soon enough. I hope. |
And the worst Blu-ray Disc of 2009 honor goes to…
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Gladiator: Sapphire Series This selection was not due to a lack of extras. The two-disc edition has more than enough bonus bits on Ridley Scott’s Oscar winner to take down the Roman Empire twice. No, it was the absolutely atrocious picture transfer that Paramount used (I could care less it is the only one Universal gave them). Chock full of edge enhancement and DNR’d to death, Paramount sticking by this transfer is one giant ‘F you’ to the scores of consumers, including myself, who purchased this disc back in September. |
My runners up are Paramount’s Star Trek III, IV, V and VI.
-Shawn Fitzgerald
