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"No one can see every release during the entire calendar year - so we hope our lists can introduce and expose some of the many lauded Blu-rays and DVDs that surfaced during 2016. Hopefully you will find a few unique surprises. We don't discriminate based on regional limitations or broadcast standards. Expanding the borders of your digital entertainment horizons has always been the primary goal of this website. We always appreciate your suggestions and contributions."

DVDBeaver

 

DVDBeaver are proud to announce our voting results for Blu-ray and DVD of the Year - 2016. I would like to give a very appreciative thank you to those 86 individuals who participated (we published the complete results of 25 balloters below, but everyone's votes were counted in the totals!). This poll would not exist without the film aficionados who support world cinema and the DVDBeaver website. Thank you! We have done our best to help expose some of the important, and often clandestine, neglected digital packages, in both BD and SD, that surfaced in the 2016 calendar year.

 

Firstly, as a technical point on the vote tallying. It was done as previous years but we had a few releases that were virtually duplicates in 2016 - either intentionally through co-operative US/UK transfers or happenstance. So for these - as opposed to voting for one over the other (and dividing the vote) - since the disparity was non-existent or negligible (covers, release dates etc.) - we did not differentiate for titles like, example, BFI (UK) and  Mondo Macabro (US) Blu-rays of José Ramón Larraz Symptoms.  Another would be the Kino/ BFI 5-disc packages of Pioneers of African American Cinema. We found no reason to divide the vote between the Flicker Alley and Arrow versions of Too Late for Tears or both of their Woman on the Run Blu-rays. This would obviously be true of the Criterion Blu-rays now available in the UK (although coded region 'B') or the region FREE Arrow sets available in both US and UK with only minor packaging and labeling variance. This was not true, however, because of the significant differences in Criterion and Arrow's Dekalog sets or between Carlotta's Out 1 as compared to Arrow's The Jacques Rivette Collection, despite there being some strong similarities. It seems fairly self-evident although, I suppose, some could make a case against our specific decisions.

 

A thank you to two Roberts!: Robert Furmanek - Golden Age 3-D Consultant (3-D Film Archive) has done some incredible work bringing desirable, nostalgic, funky and barely-seen 3-D films to Blu-ray, in 2016 and previous years. His work is very much appreciated! Robert Fischer's Fiction Factory has produced valued extras on many discs throughout the years and we hope it continues for many more! Thank you!

 

Acknowledgment, as always, to reviewers Eric Cotenas and Gregory Meshman who continue to churn out valuable disc information for the digital consumer. And input from Peter, Leonard, Michael B., Michael C. and others in our FB Group. Thanks everyone!
 

The UK output was overwhelming this past year. Truly the biggest standout is Arrow. In addition to expanding into region 'A'  - the impressive number of multi-film boxset packages they produced in 2016 is astounding and most are incredibly extensive and represent many serious filmophile's deepest fantasies. These include The Human Condition Trilogy, Dekalog and Other TV Works, The Jacques Rivette Collection, American Horror Project Vol 1, the 17-disc The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast, Three Films by Paolo & Vittorio Taviani, Giallos Killer Dames: Two Gothic Chillers by Emilio P. Miraglia, Death Walks Twice: Two Films by Luciano Ercoli, and Edgar Allan Poe's Black Cats: Two Adaptations by Sergio Martino & Lucio Fulci, Woody Allen boxes; Woody Allen: Six Films - 1971-1978 and Woody Allen: Six Films - 1979-1985 with Woody Allen: Seven Films - 1986-1991 on the way in 2017!, Nikkatsu Diamond Guys Vol 1, and Nikkatsu Diamond Guys Vol. 2, plus more Japanese cinema with Outlaw: Gangster VIP Collection, Battles Without Honor and Humanity and Female Prisoner Scorpion - The Complete Collection, pioneering compilations of director's works like David Cronenberg's Early Works, and  The Early Works of Rainer Werner Fassbinder. "Bravo Arrow" seems a huge understatement. As my son would say; "Unreal". 

 

Also encouraging out of the UK are the new label "Indicator" (Powerhouse Films) with their region FREE, limited editions starting out with stellar Blu-rays of Brian De Palma's Body Double, John Carpenter's Christine, 10 Rillington Place, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, To Sir, With Love and Happy Birthday to Me with a full-slate coming in 2017 (John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars and Vampires, Richard Fleischer's The New Centurions, Sidney Lumet's The Anderson Tapes, Otto Preminger's Bunny Lake Is Missing, Hal Ashby's The Last Detail, Orson Welles' The Lady From Shanghai, John Huston's Fat City, Blake Edwards' Experiment in Terror and more!) So satisfying - fans are very fortunate.

 

What else is going on in the UK? Yes, Criterion packages are being released in Region 'B' (UK)!!; Grey Gardens, Capra's It Happened One Night, Howard Hawks' Only Angels Have Wings, Polanski's The Tragedy of Macbeth, the wonderful Harold Lloyd film Speedy, Tootsie, Nicholas Ray's dark In a Lonely Place, Michelangelo Antonioni's L'Avventura, Stuart Cooper's Overlord, 1941's Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Film Noir staple Gilda, Burroughs: The Movie, Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Arthur Hiller's hilarious The In-Laws, D. A. Pennebaker's Don't Look Back, the incredible The Samurai Trilogy, Jacques Tourneur's iconic Cat People, Jan Troell's masterpiece The Emigrants/The New Land, Truffaut's Day for Night, Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams, PTA's Punch-Drunk Love, Noah Baumbach's The Squid and the Whale and Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums, and already listed for early 2017; Marcel Camus' Black Orpheus, Howard Hawks' His Girl Friday , Polankski's Cul-De-Sac, and Michael Curtiz's Mildred Pierce with many more upcoming! And also in the UK BFI had another stellar year, Masters of Cinema (2 picks in our top 10!) with continued fabulous content of desirable films, Second Run is doing Blu-rays (as well as niche content DVDs), Studio Canal, Artificial Eye, Signal One, Screenbound, Network, 88 Films, Third Window - and more.       

 

We remain niche but I can't help feel we are both solid with our fan-base as well as attracting new converts. Owning an easily accessible digital library, of the best films ever made, in the best possible transfers is a quest of perfection many Cinephiles strive for and continue to achieve. Classic, nostalgic, vintage, or world cinema - has never had such accessibility, ever, in digital consumer history. North America has Criterion continuing to lead the way with help from Twilight Time, Kino Lorber, Olive Films (and their improved 'Signature'  releases), Flicker Alley, now Arrow too, Shout! Factory, Film Movement, Warner Archive, Milestone, Cinelicious Pics, Synapse, Severin, Grindhouse Releasing, Cinema Guild, Cult Epics, Oscilloscope, Vinegar Syndrome, Cohen Media, Strand Releasing, Film Detective and others.

 

DVD? Well, it was the toss of a coin to reduce DVD to a TOP 5 this year. Most balloters included zero picks, a handful did a full ten and many chose only 2 or 3. Only 12 DVD selections made it into the top 100, in 2016, and it, generally, remains accessed by Noir and Pre-Code fans and those with extremely eclectic, adventurous world cinema, Indie and documentary leanings. It's slowing but still has value for those seeking vintage or modern films that they can't see, or want to revisit, in alternative, as opposed to lesser (TV) venues. I still like DVD and bought probably 35+ editions in the last year, I'm just bothered by the price of some of the major studious MoD releases. It certainly seems like a discourtesy towards the loyal fans who are purchasing them...  

 

Thank you also to Negar who did the above banner!     

 

25 Selected Balloters (click name to access votes):

 

 Sean Axmaker       Billy Bang         Richard Burt        Simón Cherpitel      Darrick Conley

 

 Eric Cotenas        Rossa Crowe      Gregory Elich     L. Ross Fenstermaker      Stuart Galbraith   

 Jeff Heinrich        Peter Henné       Benedict Keeler      Adam Lemke      Gregory Meshman      

Leonard Norwitz    George Papamargaritis    Jonathan Rosenbaum    Bill Rout    James-Masaki Ryan

Schwarkkve      Per-Olaf Strandberg      (taikohediyoshi) Michael Connors       

Gary Tooze         James White         

The Totals (click to access)

TOP 100 Discs of the Year

THE TOP TEN Blu-rays OF 2016

THE TOP TEN DVDs OF 2016

 TOP LABELS        Best Cover Design

     'Black' and Blu (Film Noir on 2016 Blu-ray)      Notable Rant and Praise

 

 

Sean Axmaker
Seattle, WA, USA
http://parallax-view.org

 

Top Blu-ray Releases of 2016
1. Out 1 (13-Disc) [Blu-ray] (Jacques Rivette, 1971) Carlotta Films (BEAVER REVIEW)
2. Chimes at Midnight [Blu-ray] (Orson Welles, 1965) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
3. Wim Wenders: The Road Trilogy [Blu-ray] (Alice in the Cities - 1974, Wrong Move - 1975, Kings of the Road - 1976) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
4. Raising Cain [Blu-ray] (Brian De Palma, 1992) Shout! Factory (BEAVER REVIEW)
5. McCabe & Mrs. Miller [Blu-ray] (Robert Altman, 1971) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
6. Moby Dick (John Huston, 1956) Twilight Time (BEAVER REVIEW)
7. One-Eyed Jacks [Blu-ray] (Marlon Brando, 1961) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
8. The Gang's All Here (Busby Berkeley, 1943) Twilight Time (BEAVER REVIEW)
9. In a Lonely Place [Blu-ray] (Nicholas Ray, 1950) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
10. Mad Max: Fury Road Black and Chrome Edition (George Miller, 2015/2016) Warner

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2016
1. No Home Movie (Chantal Akerman, 2015) Icarus, R1
2. Forbidden Hollywood Collection Volume 10 (Guilty Hands, The Mouthpiece, Secrets of the French Police, The Match King, Ever in My Heart) - Warner Archive Collection
 

Billy Bang

1. Dekalog [Blu-ray] (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1988) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
(I rarely ever double dip on US and UK releases but I did for this one. The only reason Criterion gets the vote is because the UK Arrow arrived a month later and still remains unwatched!)
2. Wim Wenders: The Road Trilogy [Blu-ray] (Alice in the Cities - 1974, Wrong Move - 1975, Kings of the Road - 1976) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
(Just because these films have been easily available for years is not enough reason for DVDBeavers not to acknowledge this beautifully curated package from Criterion)
3. La Chienne [Blu-ray] (Jean Renoir, 1931) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
(Renoir releases on Blu Ray by Criterion- just the thought of films yet to come makes me impatient!)
4. Blood Simple [Blu-ray] (Ethan Coen and Ethan Coen, 1984) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
(A film I have watched many times, but never in such a beautiful print. I was amazed and it has gone up in my estimation a 100 notches!)
5. Jane B. Par Agnčs V. / Kung-Fu Master! [Blu-ray] (Agnes Varda, 1988) Cinelicious Pics (BEAVER REVIEW)
(Last year they gave us Gangs of Wasseypur. This year this delicious double bill. They are living up to their name!)
6. Muriel, or The Time of Return [Blu-ray] (Alain Resnais, 1963) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
(The narrative is elliptical and fractured. Thank god Criterion were entrusted with this one and provided us with such a beautiful print).
7. The Shop on the High Street (Shop on Main Street) [Blu-ray] (Ján Kadár, Elmar Klos, 1965) Region FREE UK Second Run (BEAVER REVIEW)
(Second Run get into Blu Ray! Hooray!!!)
8. Buster Keaton: The Shorts Collection 1917-1923 (5 Discs) [Blu-ray] Kino (BEAVER REVIEW)
(Am I glad I waited for this stupendous Blu Ray version!)
9. Woman in the Dunes [Blu-ray] (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1964) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
(Had never seen a Teshigara film before. What a revelation!)
10. Inside Llewyn Davis [Blu-ray] (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, 2013) Criterion Collection (BEAVER REVIEW)
(Gets my vote for the best supplements in a disc- if there is one!)
11. The American Friend [Blu-ray] (Wim Wenders, 1977) Criterion Collection (BEAVER REVIEW)
12. Only Angels Have Wings [Blu-ray] (Howard Hawks, 1939) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
(With 'His Girl Friday' soon to come, we can only hope for 'Bringing Up Baby' on Criterion too)

Sorry Gary, could not stick to 10!

DVD
1. The Seasons in Quincy- Tilda Swinton & Others 2016. Icarus Films
(The writer John Berger turned 90 this year. This is a tribute by Swinton, Colin Macabe and others. One copy for sale on Amazon UK which I bought. Plenty on offer though from Amazon US however).

Not particular rants this year. Bought all the Artificial Eye Blu Ray Tarkovsky's. Yet to see Stalker and Nostalgia both of which came with poor reviews on DVDBeaver. So I expect to rant about it next year when I finally get to see them!

Wish List- Criterion are probably sitting on more Satyajit Ray releases- but none came in 2016 sadly. Also when is someone going to get serious about releasing all those marvellous films Mikio Naruse made in the 1950's- not just the 6 released in the UK so far.
 

Richard Burt

Professor of English and Increasingly Advanced Loser Studies

 

1. Play On! Shakespeare In Silent Film [Blu-ray] RB UK BFI
2. Napoleon [Blu-ray] (Abel Gance, 1927) RB UK BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)
3. The Man from Laramie [Blu-ray] (Anthony Mann, 1955) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)
4. Death by Hanging [Blu-ray] (Nagisa Oshima, 1968) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
5. Chimes at Midnight [Blu-ray] (Orson Welles, 1965) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
6. Francofonia [Blu-ray] (Aleksandr Sokurov, 2015) Music Box Films
7. The Tribe [Blu-ray] (Miroslav Slaboshpitsky, 2014) Cinedigm
8. The Manchurian Candidate [Blu-ray] (John Frankenheimer, 1962) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
9. Woman on the Run [Blu-ray] (Norman Foster, 1950) RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
10. Shooting Stars [Blu-ray] (Anthony Asquith, A.V. Bramble, 1928) RB UK BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2016
1. Forbidden Hollywood Collection Volume 10 (Guilty Hands, The Mouthpiece, Secrets of the French Police, The Match King, Ever in My Heart) - Warner Archive Collection
2. Night Will Fall (Richard Thopre, 1937) Warner Archive Collection (BEAVER REVIEW)

Blu-rays I wish I could have included but didn’t because I already had listed my top 10:

 The Revenant [UHD 4K] (Alejandro Ińárritu, 2015) 20th Century Fox, All
 Wim Wenders: The Road Trilogy [Blu-ray] (Alice in the Cities - 1974, Wrong Move - 1975, Kings of the Road - 1976) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
 Too Late for Tears [Blu-ray] (Byron Haskin, 1949) RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
 Destiny [Blu-ray] (Fritz Lang, 1921) Kino (BEAVER REVIEW)
 .... one of our aircraft is missing [Blu-ray] (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1942) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)
 The Shallows [Blu-ray] (Jaume Collet-Serra, 2016) Sony Pictures
 Private Property [Blu-ray] (Leslie Stevens, 1960) Cinelicious Pics (BEAVER REVIEW)
 De Palma [Blu-ray] (Noah Baumbach, Jake Paltrow, 2015) Lionsgate
 The Immortal Story [Blu-ray] (Orson Welles, 1968) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
 The Ox-Bow Incident [Blu-ray] (William A. Wellman, 1943) RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
 

Simón Cherpitel
photographer / designer / writer / cinemacom.com
 

1. The New World [Blu-ray] (Terrence Malick, 2005) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
------- sound & image combine for infinite re-watching like a poetic epic is eternally re-readable & treasured in slightly varying versions -- Malick has become the eminent visual & audio artist of contemporary times, completely unique -- it should be noted that The Tree of Life although only a year old just missed being in the top 100 of Sight & Sound's 2012 poll.

2. One-Eyed Jacks [Blu-ray] (Marlon Brando, 1961) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
------- VistaVision cinematography at last exquisitely rendered --- dramatically convoluted as i recall a critic of the era saying: "brutally gritty & lushly romantic as though it were jointly directed by John Huston & Raoul Walsh", maybe an apt description of Brando the person, God bless him.

3. Johnny Guitar [Blu-ray] (Olive Signature) (Nicholas Ray, 1954) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)
------- a Western alive in the memory as Vertigo, finally presented as nicely as I recall seeing in 1954, & at the Castro in SF in 1991.

4. Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street [Blu-ray] (Samuel Fuller, 1970) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)
------- Fuller's maybe most obscure & funny film enhanced by superb extras---a total treat.

5. Written on the Wind (Douglas Sirk, 1956) Elephant Films; ALL
------- the epitome of Sirk's colorful & crazily enthralling melodramas & the last of his top 6 to reach BD from France sans subs.

6. Comanche Station (Budd Boetticher, 1960) R0 Explosive Media (BEAVER REVIEW) (there's an identical FR edition, but extras not subbed)
------- visually beautiful, narratively spare, hopefully a harbinger of the other 4 top Scott/Boetticher collaborations coming soon on BD

7. Garden of Evil [Blu-ray] (Henry Hathaway, 1954) Twilight Time (BEAVER REVIEW)
------- "If the earth was made of gold, I guess men would die for a handful of dirt."

8. Barefoot Contessa [Blu-ray] (Joseph L Mankiewicz, 1954) Twilight Time
------- an imperfect transfer (numerous instances of out of register layers of one of final 3-strip Technicolor films) yet glorious Jack Cardiff cinematography enhancing a haunting story enhanced by some of the most engagingly literate dialogue Mankiewicz ever wrote.

9. Carnival of Souls [Blu-ray] (Herk Harvey, 1962) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
------- early independent low-budget art film inducing real terror (on first view) -- chancing to catch at 1962 Lawrence, KS premiere, i felt it the scariest film i'd ever seen besides Psycho -- & like Psycho, even though the fear fades with repeated viewings, Harvey's art remains.

10. (tie) Night and Fog [Blu-ray] (Alain Resnais, 1955) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
 Let There Be Light: John Huston's Wartime [Blu-ray] Olive Films
------- 2 extraordinarily touching documentaries receiving excellent transfers, both about the tragedy of WWII

A year of so many cinematic treasures that except for The New World, One Eyed Jacks & Johnny Guitar, i cited top personal favorites that are unlikely to appear on other lists…….. & here are the 10 critically embraced top all time classics (Sight & Sound 2012 poll) which will probably top the Beaver poll:

 Mirror [Blu-ray] (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1975) RB UK Curzons / Artificial Eye (BEAVER REVIEW)
 Stalker [Blu-ray] (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979) RB UK Curzons / Artificial Eye (BEAVER REVIEW)
 Dekalog and Other TV Works [Blu-ray] (Dekalog, Pedestrian Subway - 1973, First Love - 1974, Personnel - 1975, The Calm - 1976, Short Working Day - 1981, Krzysztof Kielowski: Still Alive - 2007) - RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
 A Brighter Summer Day [Blu-ray] (Edward Yang, 1991) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
 A Touch of Zen [Blu-ray] (King Hu, 1970) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)
 Wim Wenders: The Road Trilogy [Blu-ray] (Alice in the Cities - 1974, Wrong Move - 1975, Kings of the Road - 1976) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
 Out 1 (13-Disc) [Blu-ray] (Jacques Rivette, 1971) Carlotta Films (BEAVER REVIEW)
 Edvard Munch [Blu-ray] (Peter Watkins, 1974) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)
 The Exterminating Angel [Blu-ray] (Luis Buńuel, 1962) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
 Rocco and His Brothers [Blu-ray] (Luchino Visconti, 1960) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)
 Moby Dick (John Huston, 1956) Twilight Time (BEAVER REVIEW)
------- deserves a spot among the 10 above

8 Super Westerns (in critical order):

 McCabe & Mrs. Miller [Blu-ray] (Robert Altman, 1971) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
 The Man from Laramie [Blu-ray] (Anthony Mann, 1955) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)
 High Noon [Blu-ray] (Olive Signature) (Fred Zinnemann, 1952) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)
 She Wore a Yellow Ribbon [Blu-ray] (John Ford, 1949) Warner Archive (BEAVER REVIEW)
 The Ox-Bow Incident [Blu-ray] (William A. Wellman, 1943) RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
 The Hired Hand [Blu-ray] (Peter Fonda, 1971)  RB UK Arrow
 The Shootist [Blu-ray] (Don Siegel, 1976) Pidax; RB
 The Last Wagon [Blu-ray] (Delmer Daves, 1956) Koch; RB

15 Noirs with one in color (in no particular order):

Ed. NOTE: Gregory has compiled a list of 40 Noirs that came out on Blu-ray this year HERE, near the bottom of this page.

3 from Orson:

 Macbeth (Orson Welles, 1948) Olive Signature (BEAVER REVIEW)
 Chimes at Midnight [Blu-ray] (Orson Welles, 1965) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
------- finally super transfers AND English subs!!! of Welles Shakespeare
 The Immortal Story [Blu-ray] (Orson Welles, 1968) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
------- "awkward yet exquisite" = well said

12 more great releases:

 Cat People [Blu-ray] (Jacques Tourneur, 1942) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
 The Southerner [Blu-ray] (Jean Renoir, 1945) Kino Lorber (BEAVER REVIEW)
 Ran (restored in 4K) [Blu-ray] (Akira Kurosawa, 1985) RB UK Studiocanal (BEAVER REVIEW)
Black Stallion (Carroll Ballard, 1979) Criterion; RA (came out in 2015)
 The Enemy Below [Blu-ray] (Dick Powell, 1957) Kino Lorber (BEAVER REVIEW)
 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof [Blu-ray] (Richard Brooks, 1958) Warner Archive
 They Were Expendable [Blu-ray] (John Ford, 1945) Warner Archive
 Patterns [Blu-ray] (Fielder Cook, 1956) Film Detective (BEAVER REVIEW)
 The Flight of the Phoenix [Blu-ray] (Robert Aldrich, 1965) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)
 Fixed Bayonets! [Blu-ray] (Samuel Fuller, 1951) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)

 The Vikings [Blu-ray] (Richard Fleischer, 1958) Kino Lorber
------- a great fun adventure like they can't make anymore

 Frankenstein - Complete Legacy Collection [Blu-ray] (Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, The Ghost of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein) Universal
------- the most mindlessly entertaining set of the year (after the complete series 4 of The Avengers)

New films nearly always produce superior BD transfers, but so very few are worth seeing once let alone again.
These 4 are the only keepers from 2016:

 The Assassin [Blu-ray] (Hsiao-Hsien Hou, 2015) Well Go USA (BEAVER REVIEW)
------- a quiet, meditative exquisitely rendered ninja movie by the Taiwan cinema master
Knight of Cups [Blu-ray] (Terrence Malick, 2015) RB UK Studio Canal (BEAVER REVIEW)
------- another audio/visual symphony or intermezzo from today's finest cinema poet
 Sicario 4K UHD [Blu-ray] (Denis Villeneuve, 2015) Lionsgate
------- one of the most enthralling though brutal thrillers of recent years
Hell or High Water (David MacKenzie, 2016) Lionsgate; RA
------- another good story from "Sicario" writer Taylor Sheridan, plus Jeff Bridges plus unusually layered content within a thriller

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2016

1. Lizzie (Hugo Haas, 1957) Warner Archive
------- Kirk Douglas produced & took Fox to court to allow his earlier release of this more dramatically interesting & satisfying multiple-personality tale adapted from Shirley Jackson's little known, perhaps precognitive novel The Bird's Nest, published in 1954 simultaneous with the real-life 3 Faces of Eve saga, but sans the latter's idiot husband & with Richard Boone instead of Lee J Cobb & Eleanor Parker equaling Joanne Woodward's Oscar winning portrayal

So many great BD's with personal addiction growing that concept of watching DVDs instead is sorta like it once was where one would always choose going out to a theatre movie over seeing anything on TV

Biggest BD disappointment:

 The Pride and the Passion [Blu-ray] (Stanley Kramer, 1957) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)
------- original VistaVision image, Antheil score combined to create an epic of courage & determination that was & is widely maligned for inconsequential reasons, & in this Olive edition the image is terribly truncated top & sides negating the visual gain in detail

2nd biggest (& also from Olive, off-setting their splendid new Signature work):
 Villa Rides [Blu-ray] (Buzz Kulik, 1968) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)
------- bad transfer with perceptible vertical corduroy-like lines, gaining only slightly in detail

Worst Waste of Talent in a Reasonable Transfer:
 Candy [Blu-ray] (Christian Maquand, 1968) Kino Lorber (BEAVER REVIEW)
------- Had never seen, only heard about, & how could it not be somehow worth seeing with such super talents?---plus recently finding "Myra Breckenridge" more interesting than i'd assumed---but this was the most abysmal movie watched this year: forced, unfunny, tedious & boring….never has so much talent been so wantonly wasted with so little result.

Darrick Conley

 

1. Lone Wolf and Cub [Blu-ray] (Kenji Misumi 1972-74) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
2. Hellraiser Trilogy The Scarlet Box Limited Edition [Blu-ray] - RA Arrow
3. Deep Red [4k Remaster] (orig. Director's Cut only - no book) [Blu-ray] (Dario Argento, 1975) RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
4. Pieces [Blu-ray] (Juan Piquer Simón, 1982) Grindhouse Releasing (BEAVER REVIEW)
5. Body Double [Blu-ray] (Brian De Palma, 1984) RB Indicator UK (BEAVER REVIEW)
6. Christine [Blu-ray] (John Carpenter, 1983) RB Indicator UK (BEAVER REVIEW)
7. The Exorcist III [Blu-ray] (Collector's Edition) (William Peter Blatty, 1990) Shout! Factory
8. The Thing [Blu-ray] (John Carpenter, 1982) Shout! Factory (BEAVER REVIEW)
9. Death Wish II - Special Edition [Blu-ray] (Michael Winner, 1982) Shout! Factory
10. Dolemite [Blu-ray] (D'Urville Martin, 1975) Vinegar Syndrome (BEAVER REVIEW)

 

Eric Cotenas

CineVentures Blog

Sacramento, CA, USA


1. Horse Money [Blu-ray] (Pedro Costa, 2014) R0 UK Second Run (BEAVER REVIEW)
2. Symptoms [Blu-ray] (José Ramón Larraz, 1974) BFI / Mondo Macabro (BEAVER REVIEW)
3. Cemetery of Splendor [Blu-ray] (Apichatpong Weerasethakul. 2015) Strand Releasing (BEAVER REVIEW)
4. Doctor Butcher M.D. / Zombie Holocaust [Blu-ray] (Marino Girolami, 1980) Severin (BEAVER REVIEW)
5. The Quiet Earth [Blu-ray] (Geoff Murphy, 1985) Film Movement; Region ALL (BEAVER REVIEW)
6. Taboo [Blu-ray] (Kirdy Stevens, 1980) Vinegar Syndrome
7. American Horror Project Vol 1 [Blu-ray] - Malatesta's Carnival of Blood (Christopher Speeth, 1973), The Witch Who Came from the Sea (Matt Cimber, 1976), The Premonition (Robert Allen Schnitzer, 1976) - Arrow US (BEAVER REVIEW)
8. Count Dracula's Great Love [Blu-ray] (Javier Aguirre, 1972) Vinegar Syndrome
9. The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast [Blu-ray] (17-Disc Limited Edition Box Set) - Arrow Video US (BEAVER REVIEW)
10. Ugly, Dirty and Bad [Blu-ray] (Ettore Scola, 1976) Film Movement

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2016

1. It's All So Quiet (Nanouk Leopold, 2013) Big World Pictures; Region 1 (BEAVER REVIEW)
2. Stuff and Dough (Cristi Puiu, 2001) R0 UK Second Run (BEAVER REVIEW)
3. Nights with Theodore (Sébastien Betbeder, 2012) Film Movement; Region 1 (BEAVER REVIEW)
4. Breathe (Mélanie Laurent, 2014) Film Movement; Region 1 (BEAVER REVIEW)
5. Father's Chair (Luciano Moura, 2012) Simply Media; Region 2 PAL (BEAVER REVIEW)
6. The Weather Station (Johnny O'Reilly, 2010) Simply Media; Region 2 PAL (BEAVER REVIEW)
7. Medousa (George Lazopoulos, 1988) Mondo Macabro; Region 0 (BEAVER REVIEW)
8. Those People (Joey Kuhn, 2016) Wolfe Video; Region 1 (BEAVER REVIEW)
9. Summer of Sangaile (Alante Kavaite, 2015) Strand Releasing; Region 1 (BEAVER REVIEW)
10. Marshland (Alberto Rodríguez, 2014) Strand Releasing; Region 1 (BEAVER REVIEW)

 

Rossa Crowe

Silver Blue Snow Blog


Top 10 Blu-ray 2016
1) Dekalog and Other TV Works [Blu-ray] (Dekalog, Pedestrian Subway - 1973, First Love - 1974, Personnel - 1975, The Calm - 1976, Short Working Day - 1981, Krzysztof Kielowski: Still Alive - 2007) - RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
2) Napoleon [Blu-ray] (Abel Gance, 1927) RB UK BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)
3) A Brighter Summer Day [Blu-ray] (Edward Yang, 1991) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
4) Man with a Movie Camera (and other works by Dziga Vertov) (1929) [Blu-ray] - RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)
5) A Touch of Zen [Blu-ray] (King Hu, 1970) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)
6) In a Lonely Place [Blu-ray] (Nicholas Ray, 1950) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
7) Early Murnau - Five Films [Blu-ray] (Schloß Vogelöd, Phantom, Der Letzte Mann, The Grand Duke's Finances, Tartuffe - F.W. Murnau) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)
8) The Human Condition Trilogy [Blu-ray] - RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
9) Buster Keaton: The Shorts Collection 1917-1923 (5 Discs) [Blu-ray] (BEAVER REVIEW)
10) Too Late for Tears [Blu-ray] (Byron Haskin, 1949) RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
 

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews!

 

Gregory Elich

1. Pioneers of African American Cinema [Blu-ray] (features, shorts, fragments and extras on 5 discs) Kino Lorber / BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)
2. Taviani Brothers Collection [Blu-ray] (Padre Padrone, The Night Of The Shooting Stars, Kaos) Cohen Media
3. The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection (The Cocoanuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, Duck Soup) [Blu-ray] (1929-1933) Universal Studios
4. Underground [Blu-ray] (Emir Kusturica, 1995) RB UK BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)
5. Napoleon [Blu-ray] (Abel Gance, 1927) RB UK BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)
6. The Human Condition Trilogy [Blu-ray] - RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
7. Sangue Del Mio Sangue (Marco Bellocchio, 2015), 01 Distribution
8. Buster Keaton: The Shorts Collection 1917-1923 (5 Discs) [Blu-ray] (BEAVER REVIEW)
9. Bicycle Thieves [Blu-ray] (Vittorio De Sica, 1948) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
10. L'inhumaine [Blu-ray] (Marcel L'Herbier, 1924) Flicker Alley (BEAVER REVIEW)

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2016

1. Papusza (Joanna Kos-Krauze and Krzysztof Krauze, 2013), New Wave, region 2 (PAL)
2. No Tomorrow (Lee Ji Seung, 2016), FNC, region 3
3. Next to Her (Asaf Korman , 2014), Saffron Hill, region 2 (PAL)
4. The Salvation Hunters (Josef von Sternberg, 1925), Edition Filmmuseum, region 0 (PAL)
5. The Liar (Kim Dong Myung , 2014), H&C, region 3
6. The Wait (L'Attesa) Piero Messina, 2015, Studio Canal, region 2 (PAL)
7. Spirits' Homecoming (Jo Jung Rae, 2015), KD Media, region 3
8. Der Student von Prag (Hanns Heinz Ewers, 1913), Edition Filmmuseum, region 0 (PAL)
9. Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet (Lee Joon Ik, 2015), Art Service, region 3
10. The Lesson (Kristina Grozeva , 2014), New Wave, region 2 (PAL)
 

L. Ross Fenstermaker

 

1. Dekalog and Other TV Works [Blu-ray] (Dekalog, Pedestrian Subway - 1973, First Love - 1974, Personnel - 1975, The Calm - 1976, Short Working Day - 1981, Krzysztof Kielowski: Still Alive - 2007) - RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
2. Deep Red [4k Remaster] (orig. Director's Cut only - no book) [Blu-ray] (Dario Argento, 1975) RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
3. Phenomena (Collector’s Edition Steelbook) (Dario Argento, 1985) Synapse
4. Tenebrae [Blu-ray] (Dario Argento, 1982) Synapse (BEAVER REVIEW)
5. The Brood (David Cronenberg, 1979) Wicked-Vision Media; ALL (BEAVER REVIEW)
6. The Neon Demon (Mediabook) (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2016) Koch Media; RB
7. Raising Cain [Blu-ray] (Brian De Palma, 1992) Shout! Factory (BEAVER REVIEW)
8. Carrie [Blu-ray] (Collector's Edition) (Brian De Palma, 1976) Shout! Factory (BEAVER REVIEW)
9. Killer Dames: Two Gothic Chillers by Emilio P. Miraglia [Blu-ray] (The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave, The Red Queen Kills Seven Times) RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)  (BEAVER REVIEW)
10. Night of the Living Dead (Tom Savini, 1990) Umbrella Entertainment

 

Rants and Raves

 

Arrow’s Dekalog release is the clear winner by far. They were able to present it in the original 25fps, and they gave each episode plenty of room (Criterion’s version doesn’t even make my top 10 because they crammed 10 episodes onto 2 discs). The addition of the television works makes it a must-own. The packaging is very nice – perhaps a little dull, but appropriate. I like the thin cases they used.

My vote for worst of the year goes to Shout Factory’s Dead Ringers, offering two transfers that are both problematic. Their new 1.66:1 scan has incorrect framing compared to the Cronenberg-approved Criterion DVD, and it’s missing some blue filters. The older 1.78:1 scan is closer to the correct framing, but still not quite there, and it appears to suffer from significant edge enhancement. Both transfers are quite wobbly at times. Such a disappointment, as this film deserves so much better.

Best packaging I would give to Koch Media’s The Neon Demon mediabook. It’s a standard mediabook, but I think it’s beautiful in its simplicity. A very special shout-out to Synapse Films for fixing some of the problems with the Wild Side transfer of Tenebrae and for including three versions of Phenomena, as well as soundtrack CDs for both. I’m not a huge fan of steelbooks, so I wouldn’t nominate them for best packaging, but they are very nice packages in terms of all that was included.
 

Stuart Galbraith IV

Kyoto, Japan

 

1. Chimes at Midnight [Blu-ray] (Orson Welles, 1965) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
2. Cinerama's Russian Adventure [Blu-ray] (Boris Dolin, Roman Karmen, et.al 1966) Flicker Alley (BEAVER REVIEW)
3. It Came From Outer Space [Blu-ray] (Jack Arnold, 1953) R0 Universal UK (BEAVER REVIEW)
4. .... one of our aircraft is missing [Blu-ray] (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1942) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)
5. Only Angels Have Wings [Blu-ray] (Howard Hawks, 1939) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
6. One-Eyed Jacks [Blu-ray] (Marlon Brando, 1961) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
7. The In-Laws [Blu-ray] (Arthur Hiller, 1979) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
8. A Mighty Wind [Blu-ray] (Christopher Guest, 2003) Warner Archive
9. The Iron Giant: Signature Edition [Blu-ray] (Brad Bird, 1999) Warner Home Video
10. Try and Get Me! [Blu-ray] (Cy Endfield, 1950) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)

DVD
 1. Lou Grant: Seasons 1-3 (Various, 1977-1980) Shout! Factory; R1

Rants and Raves:
Who’d have thought so many titles, big and small, long unavailable in their original form, would be so beautifully restored, from big important titles like CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT and ONE-EYED JACKS, to beguiling obscurities like CINERAMA’S RUSSIAN ADVENTURE and ‘50s 3-D titles like IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE?

 

Jeff Heinrich

http://jeffheinrich.com/

 

1. Dekalog and Other TV Works [Blu-ray] (Dekalog, Pedestrian Subway - 1973, First Love - 1974, Personnel - 1975, The Calm - 1976, Short Working Day - 1981, Krzysztof Kielowski: Still Alive - 2007) - RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
2. Underground [Blu-ray] (Emir Kusturica, 1995) RB UK BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)
3. The Emigrants/The New Land [Blu-ray] (Jan Troell, 1971, 1972) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
4. Man with a Movie Camera (and other works by Dziga Vertov) (1929) [Blu-ray] - RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)
5. Rocco and His Brothers [Blu-ray] (Luchino Visconti, 1960) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)
6. Remember [Blu-ray] (Atom Egoyan, 2015) Lionsgate (BEAVER REVIEW)
7. I Could Go On Singing (Ronald Neame, 1963), Twilight Time
8. Gilda [Blu-ray] (Charles Vidor, 1946) Criterion UK (BEAVER REVIEW)
9. Brooklyn [Blu-ray] (John Crowley, 2015) 20th Century Fox
10. Barcelona [Blu-ray] (Whit Stillman, 1994) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

+ 10 runners-up: 10 Rillington Place (Twilight Time), Spotlight (Universal), Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words (Criterion, RA), The Lobster (Mongrel Media), Café Society (Lionsgate), The Executioner (Criterion), Buster Keaton: Complete Short Films, 1917-23 (Eureka! Masters of Cinema), Kes (Eureka! Masters of Cinema), La chienne (Criterion), The Lady in the Van (Sony).

Top 10 DVDs:
1. Monolog for a Taxi Driver / Spring Takes Time (Günter Stahnke, 1962 / 1965), DEFA Film Library, R0
2. Berlin Around the Corner (Gerhard Klein, 1957), DEFA Film Library, R0
3. Something Different / A Bagful Of Fleas - Two Films By Vera Chytilova - R2 UK Second Run (BEAVER REVIEW)
4. Escape from the ‘Liberty’ Cinema (Wojciech Marczewski, 1990), Second Run, R0
5. People of the Mountains (Emberek a havason) (István Szöts, 1942) R2 UK Second Run (BEAVER REVIEW)
6. Résistance (Miguel Courtois / David Delrieux / Alain Goldman, 2014), Eureka! Entertainment, R2
7. Talent Has Hunger (Josh Aronson, 2016), First Run Features, R0
8. Stuff and Dough (Cristi Puiu, 2001) R0 UK Second Run (BEAVER REVIEW)
9. Les ętres chers (Anne Émond, 2015), Les Films Séville, R1
10. Montréal la blanche (Bachir Bensaddek, 2016), K-Films Amérique, R1

Raves:
• Kieślowski: It was great to see some neglected Krzysztof Kieślowski titles finally come out on Blu-ray this year, especially the essential Dekalog series (in boxsets from Arrow and Criterion) and Blind Chance (Criterion again).
• Booklets: Kudos to Second Run and Twilight Time for continuing to produce, on limited budgets, very informative booklets that add to the pleasure of discovering a previously unseen film (e.g. Stuff and Dough and I Can Go On Singing).
• Web-based info: Other small distributors such as First Run Features and the DEFA Film Library offer background material that can be read for free on their websites, like the full press kit for Talent Has Hunger and press notes for Berlin Around the Corner.
• Collectors’ editions: Canada’s Mongrel Media went the extra distance with its limited edition Blu-ray digipack of that one-of-a-kind movie The Lobster, complete with a selection of animal postcards (I got the dog, whatever that means).
• Animation: Congrats to the Karel Zeman Museum in Prague for its English-friendly R0 Blu-ray of Invention for Destruction (aka The Fabulous World of Jules Verne). I missed it in last year’s poll (it was released just before the Christmas deadline).
Wishes:
• Fingers crossed that in 2017 we’ll see more Věra Chytilová. My wish: Chytilová versus Forman: Consciousness of Continuity, a 1981 Belgian TV documentary that follows Chytilová to England to meet Czech expat confrčre Milos Forman on the set of Ragtime.
• And speaking of Prague ... Philip Kaufman’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being last came out on DVD a decade ago, spread over two discs, rich with extras but sourced from a poor print. Let’s all encourage Warner Bros., if they still have the rights, to restore it on BD in 2017.
Peeves:
• Colourization: Do we really need another colourized Blu-ray of It’s a Wonderful Life? Paramount thinks so. It issued the original Frank Capra B&W classic on BD in 2009 with a colourized version, and did it again this year for the 70th anniversary edition.
• Omissions: For its 40th anniversary Blu-ray of Taxi Driver, Sony didn’t include the previous BD’s interactive script-to-screen feature nor the old DVD’s map of NYC locations. Disney dropped the 3D version of Beauty and the Beast off its new BD, too.

• Euphemisms: In her essay for Criterion’s Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words, feminist film scholar Jeanine Basinger lauded the Swedish superstar for “maintaining forward motion in her relationships, renewing the privilege of love as she needed to.” They used to call that infidelity.

Peter Henné

 

1. Out 1 (13-Disc) [Blu-ray] (Jacques Rivette, 1971) Carlotta Films (BEAVER REVIEW)
2. La Chienne [Blu-ray] (Jean Renoir, 1931) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
3. The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum [Blu-ray] (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1939) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
4. Death by Hanging [Blu-ray] (Nagisa Oshima, 1968) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
5. Only Angels Have Wings [Blu-ray] (Howard Hawks, 1939) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
6. Muriel, or The Time of Return [Blu-ray] (Alain Resnais, 1963) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
7. Chimes at Midnight [Blu-ray] (Orson Welles, 1965) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
8. Figures in a Landscape [Blu-ray] (Joseph Losey, 1972) Kino Lorber (BEAVER REVIEW)
9. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon [Blu-ray] (John Ford, 1949) Warner Archive (BEAVER REVIEW)
10. It Came From Outer Space [Blu-ray] (Jack Arnold, 1953) R0 Universal UK (BEAVER REVIEW)

DVD:

1. No Home Movie (Chantal Akerman, 2015) Icarus, R1

 

Benedict Keeler

 

1. A Touch of Zen [Blu-ray] (King Hu, 1970) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)

2. To Live and Die in L.A. [Blu-ray] (William Friedkin, 1985) Arrow Video UK (BEAVER REVIEW)

3. Paths of Glory [Blu-ray] (Stanley Kubrick, 1957) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)

4. Donnie Darko - 4K restoration [Blu-ray] (Richard Kelly, 2001) RB UK Arrow Video

5. The Panic in Needle Park [Blu-ray] (Jerry Schatzberg, 1971) RB UK Signal One (BEAVER REVIEW)

6. Waking Life [Blu-ray] (Richard Linklater, 2001) RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)

7. Ran (restored in 4K) [Blu-ray] (Akira Kurosawa, 1985) RB UK Studiocanal (BEAVER REVIEW)

8. Cat People [Blu-ray] (Jacques Tourneur, 1942) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

9. Body Double [Blu-ray] (Brian De Palma, 1984) RB Indicator UK (BEAVER REVIEW)

10. Hana-Bi (Takeshi Kitano, 1997) RB UK Third Window

 

Top DVD Releases of 2016

 

People of the Mountains (Emberek a havason) (István Szöts, 1942) R2 UK Second Run (BEAVER REVIEW)

 

Rants and raves

 

Another stellar year for the UK market, and I haven't even caught up with several of the best releases - namely the somewhat overwhelming Arrow box sets (The Human Condition, Dekalog, Rivette), and some key BFI titles (Napoleon, Underground, ). Not just Arrow and BFI knocking it out of the park though - Eureka have had an excellent year, and look to continue it in the new year (with a recent Sony deal spicing things up); Signal One go from strength to strength with some of their best titles so far (The Panic in Needle Park, The Seven-Ups, Kiss of Death etc); Criterion have arrived on our shores and have delivered some much-needed catalogue titles to us, as well as plenty of titles brand new to the collection; Second Run have started to release a few Blu-ray titles, as well as building on their excellent DVD repertoire; and newcomers Powerhouse have not only kicked things off with a string of exciting titles, but every release so far boasts an outstanding transfer, is jam-packed with extras, and features impeccable design too.

 

Plenty to look forward to in the new year too - Eureka delivering a list of titles as diverse as Fright Night, Drunken Master, A Man for All Seasons, Der müde Tod, Death in the Garden, Rintaro's Metropolis, and a Buster Keaton features box set; BFI with names such as Erice, Burnett, Chaplin, Jordan, Brocka, Scorsese and Clouzot; Powerhouse's Indicator label pushing the boat out even more with titles such as The Last Detail, Fat City, The Lady from Shanghai, The Big Heat, Bunny Lake is Missing, Hardcore, The New Centurions, See No Evil, Mickey One, The Anderson Tapes, Experiment in Terror, Mysterious Island; Arrow kicking off the new year with Peckinpah, De Palma, Miike, Visconti, Petri, and no doubt blowing everyone out of the water with ambitious selections and outstanding editions; and Criterion starting to secure their footing in the UK a little more, starting with promise of the Lone Wolf & Cub box set ported over here in March.

 

Yet again, your efforts are very much appreciated, Gary. What would we do without you? May 2017 be another great year for home video, not just here in the UK but globally!
 

Adam Lemke www.moviemiser.com

Syracuse, NY, USA

 

1. Dissent & Disruption: The Complete Alan Clarke at the BBC (Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set) RB UK BFI
2. A Brighter Summer Day [Blu-ray] (Edward Yang, 1991) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
3. American Horror Project Vol 1 [Blu-ray] - Malatesta's Carnival of Blood (Christopher Speeth, 1973), The Witch Who Came from the Sea (Matt Cimber, 1976), The Premonition (Robert Allen Schnitzer, 1976) - Arrow US (BEAVER REVIEW)
4. Belladonna of Sadness [Blu-ray] (Eiichi Yamamoto, 1973) Cinelicious Pics (BEAVER REVIEW)
5. The Mutilator [Blu-ray] (Buddy Cooper, John Douglass, 1985) US Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
6. Too Late for Tears [Blu-ray] (Byron Haskin, 1949) RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
7. Woman on the Run [Blu-ray] (Norman Foster, 1950) RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
8. Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street [Blu-ray] (Samuel Fuller, 1970) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)
9. Let There Be Light: John Huston's Wartime [Blu-ray] Olive Films
10. Death by Hanging [Blu-ray] (Nagisa Oshima, 1968) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2016
1. Eadweard Muybridge, Zoopraxographer (Thom Andersen, 1975) CinemaGuild; R1

 

Gregory, Meshman

Atlanta, GA USA

 

Top 10 Blu-ray Releases of 2016
 1. Man with a Movie Camera (and other works by Dziga Vertov) (1929) [Blu-ray] - RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)
2. Dekalog [Blu-ray] (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1988) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
3. The Human Condition Trilogy [Blu-ray] - RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
4. A Brighter Summer Day [Blu-ray] (Edward Yang, 1991) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
5. Too Late for Tears [Blu-ray] (Byron Haskin, 1949) / Woman on the Run [Blu-ray] (Norman Foster, 1950) Flicker Alley / UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)  (BEAVER REVIEW)
6. Pioneers of African American Cinema [Blu-ray] (features, shorts, fragments and extras on 5 discs) Kino Lorber / BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)
7. Tenebrae [Blu-ray] (Dario Argento, 1982) Synapse (BEAVER REVIEW)
8. It's Such a Beautiful Day (Don Hertzfeldt, 2012) Bitter Films
9. In a Lonely Place [Blu-ray] (Nicholas Ray, 1950) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
10. On Dangerous Ground [Blu-ray] (Nicholas Ray, 1951) Warner Archive (BEAVER REVIEW)

Top 5 SD-DVD Releases OF 2016

1. Forbidden Hollywood Collection Volume 10 (Guilty Hands, The Mouthpiece, Secrets of the French Police, The Match King, Ever in My Heart) - Warner Archive Collection
2. Edge of Doom (Mark Robson, 1950) Warner Archive (BEAVER REVIEW)
3. So Evil My Love (Lewis Allen, 1948) R2 UK Screenbound Pictures (BEAVER REVIEW)
4. Offbeat (Cliff Owen, 1961) R2 UK Network (BEAVER REVIEW)
5. A Fuller Life (Samantha Fuller, 2013) Chrisam Films

 

Leonard Norwitz
Top Blu-ray Releases of 2016

1. The New World [Blu-ray] (Terrence Malick, 2005) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
1. Dekalog [Blu-ray] (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1988) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
1. Planet Earth II (BBC, 2016); Warner
1. Mad Max: Fury Road Black and Chrome Edition (George Miller, 2015/2016) Warner
1. The Revenant [UHD 4K] (Alejandro Ińárritu, 2015) 20th Century Fox, All
1. The Ox-Bow Incident [Blu-ray] (William A. Wellman, 1943) RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
1. The Bridge Trilogy [Blu-ray] (Hans Rosenfeldt, 2011-2015) Arrow, RB
1. Napoleon [Blu-ray] (Abel Gance, 1927) RB UK BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)
1. Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams [Blu-ray] (Akira Kurosawa, 1990) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
1. The Lion in Winter [Blu-ray] (Anthony Harvey, 1968) StudioCanal, RB

2 Honorable Mentions:
a] Hell or High Water [Blu-ray] (David MacKenzie, 2016) Lionsgate; RA
b] The Importance of Being Earnest [Blu-ray] (Anthony Asquith, 1952) Network, RB

Rants and Raves section
Ongoing Rant: Considering how much HBO charges for its Blu-ray box sets, how come they can’t or won’t institute a memory function! Do they really expect we will watch an entire disc in one go at every sitting?

Raves: The above group of ten favorite Blu-rays published (more or less) in 2016 are of (more or less) equal wonderfulness, depending on which one I am watching at the moment. The impulse for including them on this list, however, comes from very different places:

The New World, because I couldn’t sit through the original theatre experience. The uncut version’s place at the top of my list is by way of an apology, though Criterion’s transfixing transfer requires none.

 Dekalog, because it is perhaps the most thought-provoking piece of television cinema ever produced. While I prefer Arrow’s color rendering, Criterion gets the speed correct, which is much more important, since the former can be adjusted if necessary, and who the hell knows what it’s supposed to look like anyhow!

 Planet Earth II is simply the most drop-dead gorgeous, jaw-dropping, eye-boggling piece of natural history photography ever produced. If you thought the original PLANET EARTH was something, well, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. And let’s hear it for Sir David A, who, at 90, can still form articulate, inspiring speech.

 Mad Max: Fury Road Black and Chrome Edition, because it took some balls to put this out there. The theatrical version was, in my opinion, the best film of the year. This version, however, is not black & white in the usual sense; it’s a high contrast translation from color - an effect very different from the long tone and noir cinema work of the 1940s and 50s. Even so, the film is a surprisingly different cinema experience, guiding our focus to narrative and character more than design.

 The Revenant comes to us in both 4K (UHD) and 1080p. Fox packages both versions in the same way as many Blu-rays (with DVD) included, and for much the same reason: to entice potential buyers of the new format without the necessity of double-dipping. While I’m still not entirely convinced by the film’s narrative, it’s difficult not to be seduced by Ińárritu’s visuals: still, where the term “breathtaking” applies for a change, and - as with BIRDMAN and CHILDREN OF MEN - in motion.

 The Ox-Bow Incident makes for an interesting comparison to the Black & Chrome of the MAD MAX film. Again, high contrast lighting, but this time with action that takes place largely at night, where deep shadow gives way to the “dark side.” In its way, we might think of Wellman’s parable about the inevitability of human behavior as an exercise in film noir as applied to the American western cowboy movie. There’s a true grit to the images photographed by Arthur C. Miller that doesn’t seem to apply to color films of the genre until, perhaps Sergio Leone.

By the way, this might be a good place to pause for moment to tip our hats to Arrow’s superior cover art - on The Ox-Bow Incident, we have Vladimir Zimakov to thank. In recent months, no studio on this side of the pond comes close.

Arrow is on something of a streak on my list: Next up is the Swedish/ Danish television series The Bridge (or more properly: Bron/Broen). This is the original series that spawned both the American version (same title), and a France/England version (The Tunnel). As expected, the original is the best of the lot, not least due to its lead actress, Sofia Helin, and her ability to portray a competent, if socially difficult, professional with Asperger’s (which, by the way, is never named as such in the series, however obvious it is to the audience.) But The Bridge is much more than a character study of a successful, defective person, it’s also a riveting police procedural and socio/political commentary on what ails us. This year Arrow gathered all three 10-episode seasons into one box set, now on amazon.co.uk at a ridiculously low price.

If there is one movie from the “silent film” era that cries out for high definition widescreen, it’s Abel Gance’s epic story of the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. I first saw Napoleon in 1980 as Francis Coppola envisioned it: in a large theater with a full symphony orchestra – and a not too shabby score by his father. The current Blu-ray uses a score composed by Carl Davis in 2000, which itself was revised from one he completed about the same time as Coppola. The main justification for widescreen is that the film’s finale expands to about a 4:1 aspect ratio – the result of a three projector process reminiscent of Cinerama.

 Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams – often titled as such, suggesting, probably not wrongly, that the dreams are his – is one of those movies, once seen on film or in high resolution, that cannot easily be tolerated in less. Criterion nails it pretty well in my opinion: color, contrast and brightness levels just as I want them, with a high resolution soundtrack to match. For those who enjoy some of the sequences, but not others (pacé, Akira), God gave us remotes and chapter stops. Sigh.

The Lion in Winter, has been missing in action on Blu-ray far too long – unlike Hiroshi Inagaki’s CHUSHINGURA, Wong Kar Wai’s 2046, William Wyler’s DODSWORTH, and so many others, that still are. The StudioCanal transfer from Eastmancolor (egads!), currently available in a knockout Region-B locked transfer, looking something like it must have to its first audiences in 1968, is a marvel.

Rants and Raves:
Ongoing rant: why not PCM instead of Dolby audio?

Rave:
I don’t remember how my Internet linkages led me to INSPECTOR MONTALBANO, but there it is. Not only are there no regrets for purchasing the entire 13-disc set without first sampling a single episode, but each season renews my fondness for this unlikely police drama. In a time where crime stories saturate the virtual and real worlds, where the darker the crime, the better for sales, along comes IINSPECTOR MONTALBANO, shot along the southeast coast of Sicily, where the sun shines all day, the Mediterranean invites the good inspector for his daily morning swim, and everyone enjoys good food. I mean, really enjoys good food. They talk about, prepare it, eat it, and seek out the best places to eat. These people truly exist on the plus side of life’s equation. Sprinkle in a little mafia activity in the background now and then, a twist of physical comedy, stir in some romance (and not just for the inspector) – with some nudity and a little off-screen sex, bake with large heapings of inexplicable murders in the style of Agatha Christie, and you have: INSPECTOR MONTALBANO. Heading the cast is one of Italy’s best television and film actors, Luca Zingaretti, who lends these 100-minute stand-alone, vaguely continuous episodes just the right balance of intelligence, wit and sex appeal. Montalbano and his loyal squad of investigators, a host of suspects and witnesses (far less operatic that the excellent Poirot series), burnished ancient Sicilian countryside and at least one knockout beauty per episode guarantee some of the best entertainment on television. All this with nary a car chase or a shot fired. The video quality is variable, though never less than good despite some edge enhancement. Subtitles are very good, in easy to read white lettering.
 

George Papamargaritis

1. Napoleon [Blu-ray] (Abel Gance, 1927) RB UK BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)
2. Dekalog and Other TV Works [Blu-ray] (Dekalog, Pedestrian Subway - 1973, First Love - 1974, Personnel - 1975, The Calm - 1976, Short Working Day - 1981, Krzysztof Kielowski: Still Alive - 2007) - RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
3. Dissent & Disruption: The Complete Alan Clarke at the BBC (Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set) RB UK BFI
4. The Jacques Rivette Collection [Blu-ray] - RB UK Arrow Academy (BEAVER REVIEW)
5. A Brighter Summer Day [Blu-ray] (Edward Yang, 1991) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
6. Masterpieces of Polish Cinema Volumes 2-3 (DI Factory)
7. Johnny Guitar [Blu-ray] (Olive Signature) (Nicholas Ray, 1954) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)
8. The Emigrants/The New Land [Blu-ray] (Jan Troell, 1971, 1972) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
9. The Thing [Blu-ray] (John Carpenter, 1982) Shout! Factory (BEAVER REVIEW)
10. Death by Hanging [Blu-ray] (Nagisa Oshima, 1968) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

Best Company: Arrow
Best Commentary: Any of the commentaries that Adrian Martin did for the BFI or MoC

 

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago, Illinois, USA

 

1. Early Murnau - Five Films [Blu-ray] (Schloß Vogelöd, Phantom, Der Letzte Mann, The Grand Duke's Finances, Tartuffe - F.W. Murnau) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)
2. Muriel, or The Time of Return [Blu-ray] (Alain Resnais, 1963) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
3. I Want to Live! [Blu-ray] (Robert Wise, 1958) Twilight Time (BEAVER REVIEW)
4. Electra, My Love [Blu-ray] (Miklós Jancsó,1974) RB UK Second Run (BEAVER REVIEW)
5. The Driller Killer [Blu-ray] (Abel Ferrara, 1979) Arrow Video UK (BEAVER REVIEW)
6. His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940) + The Front Page (Lewis Milestone, 1931) (Criterion, RA, US)

(Ed. NOTE Not coming out until 2017!)
7. Napoleon [Blu-ray] (Abel Gance, 1927) RB UK BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)
8. The Magic Box: The Films of Shirely Clarke. 1927-1986: Project Shirley Volume 4 [Blu-ray] - Milestone FIlms (BEAVER REVIEW)
9. Son of Saul [Blu-ray] (László Nemes, 2015) Sony (BEAVER REVIEW)
10. Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street [Blu-ray] (Samuel Fuller, 1970) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2016

1. Coffret Nico Papatakis (1963-2004) (Gaumont Vidéo, PAL, France)
2. Les Saisons (Marcel Hanoun, 1968-72) (RE:VOIR, PAL, France)
3. Tricked (Paul Verhoeven, 2012) (Kino Lorber, US)
4. Something Different / A Bagful Of Fleas - Two Films By Vera Chytilova - R2 UK Second Run (BEAVER REVIEW)
5. The Iron Ministry (J.P. Sniadecki, 2014) (Icarus Films, US)
6. Miklós Jancsó Collection (1963-1987) (Clavis Films, PAL, France)
7. The Forgotten Space (Allan Sekula & Noël Burch, 2010) (Icarus Films, US)
8. Eadweard Muybridge, Zoopraxographer (Thom Andersen, 1975) CinemaGuild; R1
9. O Rio Do Ouro + Se Eu Fosse Ladrăo…Roubava (Paulo Rocha, 1998 & 2012) (Midas Filmes, PAL, Portugal)
10. Informe General I & Informe General II (Pere Portabella, 1976 & 2016) (Films59/Cameo, PAL, Spain)

Rants and Raves section:

Many of the best audio commentaries were those by Adrian Martin (on numerous releases) and Michael Anderegg (on separate releases of Orson Welles’ Macbeth on Olive and Welles’ Chimes at Midnight on Criterion)
 

Bill Rout
 

1. Napoleon [Blu-ray] (Abel Gance, 1927) RB UK BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)
2. One-Eyed Jacks [Blu-ray] (Marlon Brando, 1961) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

3. Our Little Sister [Blu-ray] (Hirokazu Koreeda, 2015) RB UK Artificial Eye (BEAVER REVIEW)

4. Try and Get Me! [Blu-ray] (Cy Endfield, 1950) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)

5. Yami shibai: Japanese Ghost Stories [Blu-ray] (Seasons 1 + 2) Section 23 (BEAVER REVIEW)

6. The Quiet Man (Olive Signature) [Blu-ray] (John Ford, 1952) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)

7. Chimes at Midnight [Blu-ray] (Orson Welles, 1965) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

8. The Chase  [Blu-ray] (Arthur Ripley, 1946) Kino (BEAVER REVIEW)

9. La fin du jour (aka The End of the Day) [Blu-ray] (Julien Duvivier, 1939) - RB Fr Pathé (with English subtitles)

10. The Boy and The Beast (Mamoru Hosoda, 2015) Funimation; RA

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2016

1. Heart of a Dog (Laurie Anderson, 2015) Dogwoof; R2 UK (PAL) Ed. NOTE: Ineligible as on Criterion Blu-ray (BEAVER REVIEW)

2. Forbidden Hollywood Collection Volume 10 (Guilty Hands, The Mouthpiece, Secrets of the French Police, The Match King, Ever in My Heart) - Warner Archive Collection

Rants and Raves section

1. Tag Gallagher's video, "Don't You Remember It, Seanin?" for the Olive Signature edition of The Quiet Man is reason enough to buy this edition above all others.
2. Colin McCabe's introductions on the Studiocanal Godard: The Essential Collection set, not on my 2016 ballot, are of unique historico-cultural value.
3. So many superior Blu editions of older titles! This must be The Year Of The Compelling Upgrade.
 

James-Masaki Ryan

1. Aimless Bullet (Yu Hyeon-mok, 1961) Korean Film Archive/Blue Kino South Korea (R-ALL)
2. Bande a Part [Blu-ray] (Jean-Luc Godard, 1964) RB UK BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)
3. Boyhood [Blu-ray] (Richard Linklater, 2014) Criterion Collection (BEAVER REVIEW)
4. Dissent & Disruption: The Complete Alan Clarke at the BBC (Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set) RB UK BFI
5. Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams [Blu-ray] (Akira Kurosawa, 1990) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
6. Man with a Movie Camera (and other works by Dziga Vertov) (1929) [Blu-ray] - RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)
7. The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection (The Cocoanuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, Duck Soup) [Blu-ray] (1929-1933) Universal Studios
8. Pioneers of African American Cinema [Blu-ray] (features, shorts, fragments and extras on 5 discs) Kino Lorber / BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)
9. Straight Outta Compton (F Gary Gray, 2015) Universal US/UK (R-ALL) - for including both versions of the film.
10. The Thing [Blu-ray] (John Carpenter, 1982) Shout! Factory (BEAVER REVIEW)

 

Schwarkkve
Here are the discs that I feel qualify for a spot on this year’s list of Top Blu-ray releases along with my reasons for their selection. One can’t see everything of course, but all of these editions I own and have watched. Choices are influenced by 1) personal preferences, 2) disc availability, and 3) the size of my wallet. There is no Top DVD list, as this year I’ve purchased no mainstream DVD releases.

 Chimes at Midnight [Blu-ray] (Orson Welles, 1965) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW) – Having this film available in general release, much less in a package like this one, would have seemed impossible not so very long ago. Criterion gives us a wonderfully restored transfer with impressive extras. Mandatory.

 Fantomas [Blu-ray] (Louis Feuillade, 1913) Kino Lorber (BEAVER REVIEW) – The landmark film is over 100 years old and looking incredible for its age. This 4k restoration is a testament to the technical excellence of prime lenses and nitrate film stock, allowing us to witness, in great detail, the beauty, invention and energy involved in this pioneering work of filmmaking. The extras in this edition are also excellent, and David Kalat’s informative commentary is exemplary.

The New World [Blu-ray] (Terrence Malick, 2005) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW) – The definitive edition of this title in all of its various incarnations, featuring a striking 4k restoration of the 172-minute extended cut along with plenty of the usual Criterion supplements. An epic package worthy of this epic film.

 Paris Belongs to Us [Blu-ray] (Jacques Rivette, 1960) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW) – A revelation. The essence of New Wave sensibility. Like discovering Breathless, or The 400 Blows for the first time. From the first shot of this, his first feature, Rivette seems confident and secure in his vision. He masterfully deploys his resources with an ambitious, youthful enthusiasm, exploring what feels like the unlimited possibilities of cinema.

 A Taste of Honey [Blu-ray] (Tony Richardson, 1961) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW) – The film itself looks amazing and the extras, featuring reminiscences by Rita Tushingham and Murray Melvin, are informative, nostalgic and affecting. They created a setting that enhanced my appreciation of the film even more. Great job, Criterion. I can’t help but hope that the long distance runner isn’t far behind?

Muriel, or The Time of Return [Blu-ray] (Alain Resnais, 1963) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW) – Yet another excellent Criterion package. A neglected masterwork combining Left Bank aestheticism and operatic New Wave flourishes, this unique movie completes the early Resnais’ hat trick of 3 excellent, technically differing, stylistically diverse variations on the themes of time and memory and human perception, produced one right after another.

 Mysterious Object at Noon [Blu-ray] (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2000) Region FREE UK Second Run (BEAVER REVIEW) – Although far from a showcase disc (due to limitations in the original source material), MOaN is presented in a director-approved High-Definition restoration from the best possible elements with some nice supplementary material. The film is truly one-of-a-kind, and terms like unique, experimental, mesmerizing, and surrealist just don’t do it justice. To be sure, Mysterious Object at Noon is all of those things and more. It is basic, undiluted, pure cinema- something to be experienced directly.

Our Little Sister [Blu-ray] (Hirokazu Koreeda, 2015) RB UK Artificial Eye (BEAVER REVIEW) – A beautiful edition of an underrated, subtle and delicately nuanced film that is at once an homage and an original contemporary heir to the domestic dramas of Ozu (with, perhaps, a bit of darker influence from Naruse).

The Olive Signature series (High Noon, Johnny Guitar, and The Quiet Man) Olive Films (all RA) –Previously released by this company in very solid but spartan editions, these important and desirable collectors items received a substantial upgrade, from nicer packaging to expanded supplements and doubled bitrates. These are genuine improvements. The films are so much more visually rich and intense than their previous incarnations (sharper, with more contrast and deeper color saturation) that any potential reservation about “double dipping” becomes a nonissue.

 The Jungle Book [Blu-ray] (Jon Favreau, 2016) Walt Disney Studios – A live action remake (ho–hum) of a second tier Disney “classic” (meh) that isn’t really “live” because it employs extensive CGI (uh-oh). Against all (my) expectations, Disney, notorious for plundering the world’s catalogue of fairytales and folklore, finally manages to capture some of the essential qualities of the fable and to apply it to their standard family-friendly fare creating a darker, much more primal ambiance- an expressionistic, dreamlike, mythical reality using hyper realistic mise-en-scčne almost wholly generated by computers. The results, featuring naturalistic talking animals in a photo-realistic setting, albeit with romanticized picture book compositions, is so effective that it can accommodate even the usual Disney shtick- inevitable speech anachronisms, the insufferable “cuteness” of small furry supporting characters, the obligatory “Bare Necessities” and “I Wan’na Be Like You,” and the kid-next-door Little League Mowgli. Furthermore, Disney is able to realize their most genuinely menacing villain in a long time. Shere Khan’s initial appearance at the watering hole is one of the most frightening moments in all of children’s film.

Honorable mention:

 Frankenstein - Complete Legacy Collection [Blu-ray] (Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, The Ghost of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein) Universal / The Wolf Man - Complete Legacy Collection [Blu-ray] (The Wolf Man, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Werewolf of London, She-Wolf of London) Universal - These Universal classics, in generally excellent Blu-ray editions, were long overdue. Hopefully, releases of the other Legacy Collections featuring Dracula, the Mummy and the Creature from the Black Lagoon will follow in the near future.

 Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe [Blu-ray] (Harry Keller, Franklin Adreon, Fred C. Brannon, 1953) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW) – Classic fare from the Republic serial unit (Fred C. Brannon, Franklin Adreon, Ronald Davison, Roy Wade, Cliff Bell, the Lydecker brothers, et al.), of particular interest because of its contested status as an actual serial, having been made-for-television as a limited series, with a 12 episode arc and no cliffhanger endings. More importantly, historically, it is a tentative attempt by the last major producer of B movies to explore possible opportunities for exploiting their product in the rival medium that was threatening to expropriate their subject matter and their audience. Here Brandon, Adreon and the others, who had honed their skills over a decade of working together, apply their streamline, nothing wasted, action oriented, minimalist production methods to the half hour television series format. They tinker with the serial form- recounting their narrative in complete and independent, but related, installments, and moving the cliffhanger ending to the middle of each episode before the commercial break, while retaining their usual technics of employing a vast library of stock footage and emphasizing action sequences supported by concise, to-the-point exposition that keeps things moving. The result is a superior television production of its kind, created by a cohesive group of talented veteran craftsmen at a time when B pictures were on the wane and the serial chapter play in particular was on the verge of extinction. Unfortunately, the materials used here are not technically outstanding, and the package itself, while important for its content, offers no extras (commentaries, printed booklet or other informational supplements). In a year of memorable Blu-ray editions, this just doesn’t qualify as a top ten release. That being said, Olive Films deserves recognition once again, not just for their prestigious forays into Criterion territory via their excellent Signature series, but their consistently solid and affordable (if usually bare bones) releases of movies that otherwise would be overlooked and unavailable.

Per-Olof Strandberg

Helsinki, Finland

 

1. Three Films by Paolo & Vittorio Taviani [Blu-ray] [Padre Padrone, The Night of the Shooting Stars, Kaos] - RB UK Arrow Academy
2. Dekalog and Other TV Works [Blu-ray] (Dekalog, Pedestrian Subway - 1973, First Love - 1974, Personnel - 1975, The Calm - 1976, Short Working Day - 1981, Krzysztof Kielowski: Still Alive - 2007) - RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)
3. The New World [Blu-ray] (Terrence Malick, 2005) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
4. Knight of Cups [Blu-ray] (Terrence Malick, 2015) RB UK Studio Canal (BEAVER REVIEW)
5. Early Murnau - Five Films [Blu-ray] (Schloß Vogelöd, Phantom, Der Letzte Mann, The Grand Duke's Finances, Tartuffe - F.W. Murnau) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)
6. Clouds of Sils Maria [Blu-ray] (Olivier Assayas, 2014) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
7. Things to Come [Blu-ray] (Mia Hansen-Lřve, 2016) RB UK Curzon Artificial Eye
8. The American Friend [Blu-ray] (Wim Wenders, 1977) Criterion Collection (BEAVER REVIEW)
9. Land of Mine (Under sandet) Martin Zandvliet 2015 Atlantic RB
10. Valkoinen peura (The White Reindeer) Erik Blomberg 1952 VL Media RB

There’s so many good films from 2016 that I don’t yet own, or haven’t had time to see. Arrow’s 19 Woody Allen film collection (2016-17) need to be mentioned, Artificial Eye’s Andrei Rublev. From Second Run Miklos Jancso’s Electra, My Love, and from Mondo Macabre Miklos Jancso’s Private Vices, Public Virtues. Criterion’s Wim Wenders box. Probably also the Swedish set (Njuta Film) films from Lucile Hadzihalilovic (Evolution / Innocence + shorts) could have been in the top ten, if not the Finnish mail screw up the delivery. So this is only a list of Blu-Rays that meant to something to me in 2016, and I would change some of it at a later date…

taikohediyoshi (Michael Connors)
 

Top Blu-ray Releases of 2016

1. Early Murnau - Five Films [Blu-ray] (Schloß Vogelöd, Phantom, Der Letzte Mann, The Grand Duke's Finances, Tartuffe - F.W. Murnau) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)
2. Napoleon [Blu-ray] (Abel Gance, 1927) RB UK BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)
3. Come and See, [Elim Klimov] IVC, Ltd.(Japan) --no English subtitles
4. [Early Summer], [Ozu Yasujiro] [Shochiku Home Video] RA
5. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon [Blu-ray] (John Ford, 1949) Warner Archive (BEAVER REVIEW)
6. [The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum], [Mizoguchi Kenji] 松竹 [Shochiku], RA (BEAVER REVIEW)
7. The Assassin, [Hou Hsiao Hsien] 松竹 [Shochiku], RA [Japanese Blu- ray has the longer cut] No English subtitles
8. Coming Home [Zhang Yimou] Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, RA (BEAVER REVIEW)
9. Only Yesterday, [Isao Takahata] Universal Studios Home Entertainment, All—First US release
10. Mustang [Blu-ray] (Deniz Gamze Ergüven, 2015) Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (BEAVER REVIEW)
11. The Emigrants/The New Land [Blu-ray] (Jan Troell, 1971, 1972) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
12. Spectre, [Sam Mendes] 20th Century Fox
13. Buster Keaton: The Shorts Collection 1917-1923 (5 Discs) [Blu-ray] Kino (BEAVER REVIEW)
14. King And Country [Royal Shakespeare Company] Opus Arte, ALL [Contains Shakespeare’s Richard II, Henry IV parts 1 & 2, and Henry V]
15. Atlantic City [Blu-ray] (Louis Malle, 1980) RB FR Gaumont

16. L'inhumaine [Blu-ray] (Marcel L'Herbier, 1924) Flicker Alley (BEAVER REVIEW)

Top SD-DVD Releases OF 2016
1. Globe 400Th Anniversary Edition [various], [Shakespeare’s plays recorded at the Globe in London] NTSC

2. Frederick Wiseman - Intégrale Vol. 2 : 1980-1994 - R2 FR Blaq Out

It was a great year for HV. I take some credit for alerting you to a few of the year’s best releases--The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum—Coming Home—Mustang--Early Summer—Malle’s Atlantic City—Come and See. There were some misses too—IVC’s [Japan] release of She Wore a Yellow Ribbon was barely watchable, but it looks like it got Warner Archive off the dime, and that release is one of the best of the year.

The release of the year was Masters of Cinema’s Early Murnau - Five Films which included Schloß Vogelöd, Phantom, Der Letzte Mann, The Grand Duke's Finances, and Tartuffe. In Der Letzte Mann the subjective “Entfesselte Kamera” revolutionized cinema for in that film the subjective replaced the older objective camera techniques. Cinema has never looked back.

Then came BFI’s Napoleon [dir: Abel Gance]. There are so many ideas, so many techniques pioneered. It’s impossible to take it all in with one viewing. It’s great cinema, and like Intolerance it will continue to inspire me to watch it again and again.

BFI also had another great release with Women in Love which did not make my top 18, but it just barely—and I would not begrudge any one who list the film as one of the top releases.

In 2015-16 Gaumont [France] put out the Malle films it owns with either an English soundtrack [Atlantic City] or with English subtitles. Pathé also released a bunch of Alain Delon’s features during that time, again with English subtitles. The Wiseman boxes even with the forced subtitles with boxes 1 & 2, [from what I have seen, subtitles are removable in box 3] were so interesting, so watchable.

There were so many good films, so many important films released in 2016.
 

Gary Tooze

Toronto, Canada

 

Like last year, I don't feel my input in the poll is essential. I'm compromised by doing the poll tallies - with the ability to tinker and re-jigger as I am influenced, or reminded, by other's selections. I am excessively focused on Noir (as evidenced by my choices.) It seems redundant for me to mimic the general consensus extolling releases like Arrow's Dekalog and The Human Condition or an impressive lineup of Criterion editions, of which, I fully endorse all platitudes expressed. My preference would be to mention discs that I didn't necessarily review or that I felt were unjustly neglected - not garnering enough deserved votes. It's only my opinion, so here are some of my less-predictable choices, in no order: 

 

Hell or High Water (David MacKenzie, 2916) Lionsgate; RA - Great film dealing with macho male relationships and is very close to Noir. Chris Pine, Jeff Bridges. I strongly recommend seeing it.

The Witch (Robert Eggers, 2015) Lionsgate - Brilliant. Great film experience. Don't miss this.

Better Call Saul: Season 2 - I really enjoyed this - it has another anti-hero, Noir, element to it

Bone Tomahawk [Blu-ray] (S. Craig Zahler, 2015) Image Entertainment - gun-wrenchingly intense and suspenseful. WOW. Kurt Russell fans should LOVE!

Gilda [Blu-ray] (Charles Vidor, 1946) Criterion UK (BEAVER REVIEW) - One of my all-time favorite Noirs, in the best Home Theatre digital edition - by a wide margin. Deserves more love. I give it love.

Dark Passage [Blu-ray] (Delmer Daves, 1947) Warner Archive (BEAVER REVIEW) - Another Noir that I can't seem to get enough of. I love the simplicity, then the complexities - and it has Bogie and Bacall. Perhaps my most re-watched release of the year. #87? What the hell?
Woman on the Run [Blu-ray] (Norman Foster, 1950) Arrow / Flicker Alley (BEAVER REVIEW) - While I love both Noirs I lean to this over Too Late for Tears probably because of Eddie Muller. I was just surprised the latter was ahead of it in this year's poll.
Johnny Guitar [Blu-ray] (Olive Signature) (Nicholas Ray, 1954) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW) - Only a personal opinion but the new Signature transfer really connected with me. I've seen the film a dozen times but it has never impacted me as it did in this 2016 Olive release... and I'm really not that crazy about Crawford! So.... yeah. 

The Quiet Earth [Blu-ray] (Geoff Murphy, 1985) Film Movement; Region ALL (BEAVER REVIEW) - I've always been a big 'Apocalypse' guy. This is very entertaining - almost a 'chamber piece'. Hopefully some will be as pleasantly intrigued as I was.

Daredevil: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray] Buena Vista (BEAVER REVIEW) - I'm quasi-surprised this made the list (even at #98) but I'm so glad at least 3 others appreciate its strong narrative as much as I did. I'm really into this - but realize it's not for everyone.

Woman in the Dunes [Blu-ray] (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1964) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW) - I think very highly of this mesmerizing film and it was one of my most wanted Blu-rays. It seemed to receive less fanfare than deserved, IMO.

The Panic in Needle Park [Blu-ray] (Jerry Schatzberg, 1971) RB UK Signal One (BEAVER REVIEW) - Great film, amazing release - should have been in the TOP 100, for sure.

Twilight Time deserve more love. From 2016:

Pretty Poison [Blu-ray] (Noel Black, 1968) Twilight Time (BEAVER REVIEW) - Anthony Perkins, Tuesday Weld - dark, subversive stuff in small town America. Two commentaries, isolated Johnny Mandel score -might have made my TOP 10!
Hardcore [Blu-ray] (Paul Schrader, 1979) Twilight Time (BEAVER REVIEW) - Impacting film, great performance, first time on BD... no mention.
Eye of the Needle [Blu-ray] (Richard Marquand, 1981) Twilight Time (BEAVER REVIEW) - Superior suspense thriller, darn good war film, great 1080P video and commentary. No mention.
Runaway Train [Blu-ray] (Andrei Konchalovsky, 1985) Twilight Time (BEAVER REVIEW) - Blazing actioner with commentary.
 I Want to Live! [Blu-ray] (Robert Wise, 1958) Twilight Time (BEAVER REVIEW)  - Jonathan had it as #3 and while I wouldn't have put it that high - it certainly deserved to make the TOP 100 ("No Dice!"). Great transfer, commentary...

 

DVD

Man on the Run (Lawrence Huntington, 1949) Media Target Distribution - Region 0 - PAL (BEAVER REVIEW) - Okay, it didn't come out in 2016 - but I'm the only one who has reviewed the DVD (according to DVDBasen) and it's a cracker of a thriller - heck, I'd like to watch it right now! Where the hell is that disc?

The Accused (William Dieterle, 1946) Universal 'Vault Series' (BEAVER REVIEW) - Loretta Young, Noir nail-biter. Didn't make the list. Nu'ff said.

Abandoned (Joseph M. Newman, 1949) Universal 'Vault Series' (BEAVER REVIEW) - Vintage Crime Drama - well done! - scratching the 'dark cinema' surface - didn't make the list. Go for it!

Kiss the Blood off My Hands (Norman Foster, 1948) Universal (BEAVER REVIEW) - in Made our TOP 50! Not as hokey as the cunningly exploitive title and has Joan Fontaine and Burt Lancaster. I loved it and so did others.

So Evil My Love (Lewis Allen, 1948) Universal 'Vault Series' (BEAVER REVIEW) Made our list (well, the Screenbound did) - Delicious period manipulation... I'd recommend the Universal, but neither are a deal!

The Sleeping City (George Sherman, 1950) Universal (BEAVER REVIEW) - Richard Conte, Coleen Gray - twists, turns, murder, love,... you don't own it?

 

James White
Head of Technical Services and Restoration,
Arrow Films and Video, UK

1. Dissent & Disruption: The Complete Alan Clarke at the BBC (Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set) RB UK BFI
2. Pioneers of African American Cinema [Blu-ray] (features, shorts, fragments and extras on 5 discs) Kino Lorber / BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)
3. Napoleon [Blu-ray] (Abel Gance, 1927) RB UK BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)
4. McCabe & Mrs. Miller [Blu-ray] (Robert Altman, 1971) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)
5. Private Vices, Public Virtues [Blu-ray] (Miklós Jancsó, 1976) Mondo Macabro (BEAVER REVIEW)
6. I Drink Your Blood (David Durston, 1970) Grindhouse Releasing, ALL
7. The Seven-Ups [Blu-ray] (Philip D'Antoni, 1973) RB UK Signal One (BEAVER REVIEW)
8. Axe/Kidnapped Coed (Frederick Friedel, 1974-76) Severin, RA
9. Private Property [Blu-ray] (Leslie Stevens, 1960) Cinelicious Pics (BEAVER REVIEW)
10. Blue Sunshine (Jeff Lieberman, 1978) Distribpix, RA

 

 

TOP SELECTIONS IN ORDER - Top 100 Voted Upon (minimum 3 separate votes required):

 

  Votes

           1.      Dekalog and Other TV Works [Blu-ray] (Dekalog, Pedestrian Subway - 1973, First Love - 1974, Personnel - 1975, The Calm - 1976, Short Working Day - 1981, Krzysztof Kielowski: Still Alive - 2007) - RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)

568

           2.      Napoleon [Blu-ray] (Abel Gance, 1927) RB UK BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)

  465

           3.      Chimes at Midnight [Blu-ray] (Orson Welles, 1965) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

  381

           4.      A Brighter Summer Day [Blu-ray] (Edward Yang, 1991) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

  261

           5.      Early Murnau - Five Films [Blu-ray] (Schloß Vogelöd, Phantom, Der Letzte Mann, The Grand Duke's Finances, Tartuffe - F.W. Murnau) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)

  236

           6.      Man with a Movie Camera (and other works by Dziga Vertov) (1929) [Blu-ray] - RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)

  196

           7.      Pioneers of African American Cinema [Blu-ray] (features, shorts, fragments and extras on 5 discs) Kino Lorber / BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)

  188

           8.      Dissent & Disruption: The Complete Alan Clarke at the BBC (Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set) RB UK BFI

  187

           8.      The New World [Blu-ray] (Terrence Malick, 2005) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

  187

           10.    The Human Condition Trilogy [Blu-ray] - RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)

  173

           11.    One-Eyed Jacks [Blu-ray] (Marlon Brando, 1961) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

  169

           12.    Johnny Guitar [Blu-ray] (Olive Signature) (Nicholas Ray, 1954) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)

  157

           13.    The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection (The Cocoanuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, Duck Soup) [Blu-ray] (1929-1933) Universal Studios

  153

           14.    Dekalog [Blu-ray] (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1988) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

  145

           15.    Rocco and His Brothers [Blu-ray] (Luchino Visconti, 1960) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)

  129

           16.    In a Lonely Place [Blu-ray] (Nicholas Ray, 1950) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

  121

           17.    The Thing [Blu-ray] (John Carpenter, 1982) Shout! Factory (BEAVER REVIEW)

    96

           17.    Out 1 (13-Disc) [Blu-ray] (Jacques Rivette, 1971) Carlotta Films (BEAVER REVIEW)

    96

           19.    Deep Red [4k Remaster] (orig. Director's Cut only - no book) [Blu-ray] (Dario Argento, 1975) RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)

    87

           19.    McCabe & Mrs. Miller [Blu-ray] (Robert Altman, 1971) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

    87

           21.    The Emigrants/The New Land [Blu-ray] (Jan Troell, 1971, 1972) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

    85

           21.    Muriel, or The Time of Return [Blu-ray] (Alain Resnais, 1963) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

    85

           21.    Only Angels Have Wings [Blu-ray] (Howard Hawks, 1939) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

    85

           21.    Taviani Brothers Collection [Blu-ray] (Padre Padrone, The Night Of The Shooting Stars, Kaos) Cohen Media

    85

           25.    Too Late for Tears [Blu-ray] (Byron Haskin, 1949) Arrow / Flicker Alley (BEAVER REVIEW)

    81

           26.    Belladonna of Sadness [Blu-ray] (Eiichi Yamamoto, 1973) Cinelicious Pics (BEAVER REVIEW)

    77

           26.    Underground [Blu-ray] (Emir Kusturica, 1995) RB UK BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)

    77

           26.    Wim Wenders: The Road Trilogy [Blu-ray] (Alice in the Cities - 1974, Wrong Move - 1975, Kings of the Road - 1976) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

    77

           29.    Forbidden Hollywood Collection Volume 10 (Guilty Hands, The Mouthpiece, Secrets of the French Police, The Match King, Ever in My Heart) - Warner Archive Collection

    76

           30.    The Immortal Story [Blu-ray] (Orson Welles, 1968) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

    75

           31.    Something Different / A Bagful Of Fleas - Two Films By Vera Chytilova - R2 UK Second Run (BEAVER REVIEW)

    74

           32.    Moby Dick (John Huston, 1956) Twilight Time (BEAVER REVIEW)

    73

           32.    Woman on the Run [Blu-ray] (Norman Foster, 1950) Arrow / Flicker Alley (BEAVER REVIEW)

    73

           34.    Stuff and Dough (Cristi Puiu, 2001) R0 UK Second Run (BEAVER REVIEW)

    70

           35.    Fantomas [Blu-ray] (Louis Feuillade, 1913) Kino Lorber (BEAVER REVIEW)

    67

           35.    American Horror Project Vol 1 [Blu-ray] - Malatesta's Carnival of Blood (Christopher Speeth, 1973), The Witch Who Came from the Sea (Matt Cimber, 1976), The Premonition (Robert Allen Schnitzer, 1976) - Arrow US (BEAVER REVIEW) 

    67

           37.    Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street [Blu-ray] (Samuel Fuller, 1970) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)

    65

           37.    Tenebrae [Blu-ray] (Dario Argento, 1982) Synapse (BEAVER REVIEW)

    65

           37.    The Magic Box: The Films of Shirely Clarke. 1927-1986: Project Shirley Volume 4 [Blu-ray] - Milestone FIlms (BEAVER REVIEW) 

    65

           40.    Death by Hanging [Blu-ray] (Nagisa Oshima, 1968) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

    63

           40.    Macbeth (Orson Welles, 1948) Olive Signature (BEAVER REVIEW)

    63

           40.    On Dangerous Ground [Blu-ray] (Nicholas Ray, 1951) Warner Archive (BEAVER REVIEW)

    63

           40.    Three Films by Paolo & Vittorio Taviani [Blu-ray] [Padre Padrone, The Night of the Shooting Stars, Kaos] - RB UK Arrow Academy

    63

           44.    Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams [Blu-ray] (Akira Kurosawa, 1990) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

    59

           44.    It Came From Outer Space [Blu-ray] (Jack Arnold, 1953) R0 Universal UK (BEAVER REVIEW)

    59

           46.    Edge of Doom (Mark Robson, 1950) Warner Archive (BEAVER REVIEW)

    58

           47.    Mad Max: Fury Road Black and Chrome Edition (George Miller, 2015/2016) Warner

    57

           47.    The Jacques Rivette Collection [Blu-ray] - RB UK Arrow Academy (BEAVER REVIEW)

    57

           47.    Kiss the Blood off My Hands (Norman Foster, 1948) Universal (BEAVER REVIEW)

    57

           47.    Knight of Cups [Blu-ray] (Terrence Malick, 2015) RB UK Studio Canal (BEAVER REVIEW)

    57

           47.    The Shop on the High Street (Shop on Main Street) [Blu-ray] (Ján Kadár, Elmar Klos, 1965) Region FREE UK Second Run (BEAVER REVIEW)

    57

           52.    Eadweard Muybridge, Zoopraxographer (Thom Andersen, 1975) CinemaGuild

    55

           52.    Private Property [Blu-ray] (Leslie Stevens, 1960) Cinelicious Pics (BEAVER REVIEW)

    55

           52.    So Evil My Love (Lewis Allen, 1948) R2 UK Screenbound Pictures (BEAVER REVIEW)

    55

           52.    Buster Keaton: The Shorts Collection 1917-1923 (5 Discs) [Blu-ray] Kino (BEAVER REVIEW)

    55

           52.    Our Little Sister [Blu-ray] (Hirokazu Koreeda, 2015) RB UK Artificial Eye (BEAVER REVIEW)

    55

           57.    The Chase  [Blu-ray] (Arthur Ripley, 1946) Kino (BEAVER REVIEW)

    53

           57.    Try and Get Me! [Blu-ray] (Cy Endfield, 1950) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)

    53

           57.    A Taste of Honey [Blu-ray] (Tony Richardson, 1961) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

    53

           57.    Gilda [Blu-ray] (Charles Vidor, 1946) Criterion UK (BEAVER REVIEW)

    53

           57.    Offbeat (Cliff Owen, 1961) R2 UK Network (BEAVER REVIEW)

    53

           62.    She Wore a Yellow Ribbon [Blu-ray] (John Ford, 1949) Warner Archive (BEAVER REVIEW)

    51

           62.    Carnival of Souls [Blu-ray] (Herk Harvey, 1962) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

    51

           62.    No Questions Asked (Harold F. Kress, 1951) Warner Archive (BEAVER REVIEW)

    48

           65.    Joshua Oppenheimer: Early Works (Joshua Oppenheimer, 1995-2003) R0 UK Second Run (BEAVER REVIEW)

    46

           65.    Symptoms [Blu-ray] (José Ramón Larraz, 1974) Mondo Macabro/ BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)

    46

           65.    A Touch of Zen [Blu-ray] (King Hu, 1970) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)

    46

           65.    Killer Dames: Two Gothic Chillers by Emilio P. Miraglia [Blu-ray] (The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave, The Red Queen Kills Seven Times) RB UK Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)  (BEAVER REVIEW)

    46

           69.    Trilogía de Guillermo del Toro [Blu-ray] (Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone, Pan’s Labyrinth) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

    44

           70.    Horse Money [Blu-ray] (Pedro Costa, 2014) R0 UK Second Run (BEAVER REVIEW)

    42

           70.    Body Double [Blu-ray] (Brian De Palma, 1984) RB Powerhouse Films UK (BEAVER REVIEW)

    42

           70.    The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast [Blu-ray] (17-Disc Limited Edition Box Set) - Arrow Video US (BEAVER REVIEW)

    42

           70.    10 Rillington Place [Blu-ray] (Richard Fleischer, 1971) Region FREE Indicator UK (BEAVER REVIEW)

    42

           70.    Punch-Drunk Love [Blu-ray] (Paul T. Anderson, 2002) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

    42

           75.    Kes [Blu-ray] (Ken Loach, 1969) RB UK Masters of Cinema (BEAVER REVIEW)

    41

           75.    L'inhumaine [Blu-ray] (Marcel L'Herbier, 1924) Flicker Alley (BEAVER REVIEW)

    41

           75.    The Sleeping City (George Sherman, 1950) Universal (BEAVER REVIEW)

    41

           78.    Gog 3-D [Blu-ray] (Herbert L. Strock, 1954) Kino Lorber (BEAVER REVIEW)

    40

           78.    Phenomena (Collector’s Edition Steelbook) (Dario Argento, 1985) Synapse

    40

           78.    High Noon [Blu-ray] (Olive Signature) (Fred Zinnemann, 1952) Olive Films (BEAVER REVIEW)

    40

           81.    The Ken Russell Collection: The Great Passions [Blu-ray] (Always on Sunday, Isadora: The Biggest Dancer in the World (1966), Dante's Inferno (1967) RB UK BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)

    37

           81.    Invasion of the Body Snatchers [Blu-ray] (Philip Kaufman, 1978) Shout! Factory (BEAVER REVIEW)

    37

           83.    Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb [Blu-ray] (Stanley Kubrick, 1964) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

    34

           83.    Cemetery of Splendor [Blu-ray] (Apichatpong Weerasethakul. 2015) Strand Releasing (BEAVER REVIEW)

    34

           83.    Death Walks Twice: Two Films by Luciano Ercoli (4-Disc Limited Edition Boxset) [Blu-ray + DVD] (includes Death Walks on High Heels and Death Walks at Midnight) - Arrow (BEAVER REVIEW)  (BEAVER REVIEW)

    34

           86.    La Chienne [Blu-ray] (Jean Renoir, 1931) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

    33

           87.    Dark Passage [Blu-ray] (Delmer Daves, 1947) Warner Archive (BEAVER REVIEW)

    32

           88.    The Assassin [Blu-ray] (Hsiao-Hsien Hou, 2015) Well Go USA (BEAVER REVIEW)

    31

           88.    Carrie [Blu-ray] (Collector's Edition) (Brian De Palma, 1976) Shout! Factory (BEAVER REVIEW)

    31

           88.    Woman in the Dunes [Blu-ray] (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1964) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

    31

           88.    Woody Allen: Six Films - 1979-1985 [Blu-ray] Manhattan (1979), Stardust Memories (1980), A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982), Zelig (1983), Broadway Danny Rose (1984) and The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) - RB UK Arrow Academy (BEAVER REVIEW)  (BEAVER REVIEW)  (BEAVER REVIEW)  (BEAVER REVIEW)  (BEAVER REVIEW)

    31

           88.    Cry of the City [Blu-ray] (Robert Siodmak, 1948) Kino Lorber (BEAVER REVIEW)

    31

           93.    The Quiet Earth [Blu-ray] (Geoff Murphy, 1985) Film Movement; Region ALL (BEAVER REVIEW)

    27

           93.    Blood Simple [Blu-ray] (Ethan Coen and Ethan Coen, 1984) Criterion (BEAVER REVIEW)

    27

           93.    Disparue (The Disappearance) (Charlotte Brändström, 2015) Arrow Films - R2 - PAL (BEAVER REVIEW)

    27

           93.    Cinerama's Russian Adventure [Blu-ray] (Boris Dolin, Roman Karmen, et.al 1966) Flicker Alley (BEAVER REVIEW)

    27

           97.    The Jungle Book [Blu-ray] (Jon Favreau, 2016) Walt Disney Studios

    25

           98.    Daredevil: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray] Buena Vista (BEAVER REVIEW)

    25

           99.    Culloden + The War Game [Blu-ray] (Peter Watkins) RB UK BFI (BEAVER REVIEW)

    19

           99.    The Big Sleep [Blu-ray] (Howard Hawks, 1946) Warner Archive (BEAVER REVIEW)

    19

 

THE WINNERS - DVD

 
 

First Place with 76 pts –  is Warner's Forbidden Hollywood Volume 10 - Remember to knock five times, as the Cinema Speakeasy is open again with a quintet of controversial pre-Code classics. Lionel Barrymore stars as a DA who commits the perfect crime in W.S. Van Dyke’s Guilty Hands, costarring Kay Francis. Next Warren William is crowned the pre-Code King with his breakout performance in James Flood & Elliott Nugent’s The Mouthpiece. Then Edward Sutherland spills the Secrets of the French Police as a Sűreté inspector (Frank Morgan) and a thief (John Warburton) scour the underworld for a waif (Gwili Andre), who may be the Princess Anastasia. Warren William follows with Howard Bretherton & William Keighley’s acclaimed biopic The Match King, with Glenda Farrell on hand to deliver the glam. Finally, “Babyface” Barbara Stanwyck sizzles as a spouse torn between love (Otto Kruger) and country in Archie Mayo’s Ever in My Heart, with Ralph Bellamy as “the other guy” (naturally!)

              

 

 

Second Place with 74 pts is Second Run's DVD of Something Different / A Bagful Of Fleas - Two Films By Vera Chytilova – The late, great Czech filmmaker Vera Chytilová (DAISIES, FRUIT OF PARADISE) was one of the Czech New Wave's most rebellious, irreverent and boundary-breaking talents. A vibrant innovator whose uncompromising vision in a decidedly male-run industry made her known as the First Lady of Czech Cinema.

These two terrific early works introduce themes evident across her career: a progressive female viewpoint in a world of double standards and predatory sexualisation dominated by men, the expectations and strictures of female gender roles, and a strong critique of contemporary society. Combining elements of cinema vérité and formalism, and spiked with anarchic humour, her films broke with both genre and ideology and charted a new path for Czechoslovak and Eastern European cinema.

.

           

 

 

Third Place with 70 pts is Cristi Puiu's Stuff And Dough The debut feature from Cristi Puiu (director of The Death of Mr. Lazarescu and the forthcoming Sieranevada) Stuff and Dough is an unnerving, verité -style thriller that reveals the lives of a group of young people living in a country still recovering from years of misrule and neglect. Part crime thriller, part comedy, part chase movie, part familial drama the conscious conflation of genres in this dryly funny, political, but deceptively simple road movie quietly reveals the state of contemporary Romanian life.

 

         

 

 

Fourth Place with 58 pts is Warner Archive's Edge of Doom – Martin Lynn (Farley Granger) has crossed his breaking point; Poor; stuck in a menial job and mourning his recently deceased; devoutly Catholic mother; the mentally fraying youth visits his local pastor to arrange a decent funeral for her and; in a frustrated rage; kills the cleric with a crucifix; On the run in a clouded haze; Martin slips into the night and anxiously watches as circumstances result in someone else being arrested for the crime; But the empathetic Father Roth (Dana Andrews); inquiring into the incident; sees something suspect in Martin – as well as a soul worth saving; The only crime drama produced by Samuel Goldwyn; this under-recognized film-noir thriller with a unique religious twist is powered by a searingly intense performance by Granger as a man undone by unforgiving forces closing in on him; Directed with clockwork urgency by Mark Robson; shot in shimmering black-and-white by Harry Stradling and named one of 1950’s 10-best films by the National Board of Review; Edge of Doom is a haunting vision of darkness not easily shaken.

   

             

 

     

 

 

Fifth Place with 57 pts is Universal 'Vault Series' 's Kiss the Blood Off My Hands– Joan Fontaine and Burt Lancaster star in Kiss the Blood off My Hands, a classic film noir about fate and love amongst the most unlikely individuals. Former P.O.W. Bill Saunders (Lancaster) is living in England and scarred with unstable and violent tendencies. After killing a man in a bar fight, he flees the scene and manages to find cover in the home of Nurse Jane Wharton (Fontaine) who agrees to take him in and believes his version of the story being an accident. Now in love, nurse Warton tries to secure Saunders a job delivering medical supplies after being released from prison after serving time for fighting with a police officer. Things take a turn, however, when a racketeer (Robert Newton) who witnessed Saunders’ murder threatens to turn him into the police unless he agrees to assist in a crime.

            

 

 

Tied For Sixth Place with 55 pts is Cinema Guild's Eadweard Muybridge, Zoopraxographer – A fascinating investigation into the work of photographer and cinema pioneer Eadweard Muybridge, Thom Andersen's much-lauded documentary incorporates a biographical over view of its subject with a re-animation of his historic sequential photographs.

Newly restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, Eadweard Muybridge, Zoopraxographer discusses his early experiments in landscape photography as well as providing background information on his subjects. Assisted by filmmaker Morgan Fisher, Andersen re-photographed and then animated more than 3,000 of Muybridge's sequential images, giving new life to the experiments.

Narrated by Dean Stockwell, Andersen's documentary is that rare feat of filmmaking as film criticism, an investigation into cinema s primordial years that connects the medium's invention to the broader history of Western representation.

 

 

 

Tied For Sixth Place with 55 pts is - So Evil My Love - Olivia Harwood (Ann Todd) is a missionary's widow who meets Mark Bellis (Ray Milland), a charming artist and rogue, on the ship taking them back to Victorian London. When Olivia opens a boarding house, Mark becomes her lodger, but then quickly graduates to become her lover. Soon Olivia falls completely under the spell of Mark and casts aside her religious scruples to fall in with Mark's ambitious and immoral schemes of theft and blackmail. But perhaps his schemes are too ambitious when he attempts to swindle their own friends, leaving Olivia to decide whether to completely fall in with the devil - or redeem herself by betraying the man she loves...

           

 

 

In Eighth Place with 53 pts is - Network's Offbeat - The Syndicate's William Sylvester heads the cast of this aptly titled early-Sixties suspense thriller featuring an MI5 man entrusted with a high-tension undercover assignment. Co-starring legendary Swedish siren Mai Zetterling and iconic character player John Meillon, Offbeat is a stylish, compelling drama made available here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements, in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio.

Equipped with the name and background of a former crook, an MI5 agent on undercover assignment for Scotland Yard coolly carries out a bank robbery to establish his criminal bona fides. His mission is to infiltrate the world of the new breed of criminals whose skillfully planned robberies outwit the Yard a mission fraught with intrigue and danger!

      

   

 

 

Ninth Place with 48 pts is Warner Archive's No Questions Asked – A get-rich-quick scheme leads to a killing in this hard-hitting noir starring Barry Sullivan, Arlene Dahl, George Murphy and Jean Hagen. When Ellen Sayburn (Dahl) trades him in for a husband who can keep her in mink, embittered insurance company attorney Steve Keiver (Sullivan) cooks up a racket that soon has him rolling in dough. Offering criminals a payoff in return for stolen goods, Keiver’s deal saves on claims and earns him large commissions. Things go awry, however, when Ellen’s decision to cut herself in ends in a double-cross, and Keiver finds himself a wanted man on the run for murder. A prime example of M-G-M’s tough post-war fare of the late ’40s and early ’50s, No Questions Asked was written by Sidney Sheldon, an Oscar-winning* screenwriter who would later create TV’s I Dream of Jeannie and pen a series of blockbuster novels including “The Other Side of Midnight” and “Bloodline.”

             

 

 

Tenth Place with 46 pts is Second Run's Joshua Oppenheimer: 12 Early Works - Joshua Oppenheimer is perhaps the most renowned of all contemporary documentary filmmakers. His multi award-winning films THE ACT OF KILLING (2012) and THE LOOK OF SILENCE (2014) have redefined how we perceive documentary. His films do not simply record or document facts, Oppenheimer s haunting and surreal films are artistic, playful, philosophical and often confrontational. Thy present profound and ardent meditations on the subjects at hand. Second Run are delighted to present for the first time anywhere on home video, the complete cycle of the early works of Joshua Oppenheimer, presenting a compelling body of work of one of contemporary cinemas leading voices.

.

           

BLU-RAYs OF THE YEAR
   
First Place with a whopping 568 pts is Arrow's Dekalog and Other TV Works – Krzysztof Kieslowski's Dekalog is one of the greatest achievements of the late twentieth century as much an intricate work of moral philosophy as it is a collection of psychologically riveting narratives. Each standalone story revolves around the consequences arising from a breach of one of the Ten Commandments, but this is no finger-wagging religious tract: Kieslowski was one of film history s keenest observers of human nature, and his troubled, vainglorious, self-deceiving, deeply flawed characters (many played by some of Poland's finest character actors) are all too universally recognizable.

Dekalog is merely the highlight of a box set that compiles virtually all of Kieslowski's television work, starting with his first professional short fiction film and continuing with four feature-length pieces that are in every way as probing and incisive as his better-known cinema films.

    

 

 

In Second Place with 465 pts is BFI's Napoleon - Marking a new chapter in the history of one of the world's greatest films, the release of Abel Gance's Napoleon is the culmination of a project spanning 50 years. Digitally restored by the BFI National Archive and Academy Award-winning film historian Kevin Brownlow, this cinematic triumph is available to experience on Blu-ray for the very first time

Originally conceived by Gance as the first of six films about Napoleon, this five-and-a-half-hour epic features full-scale historical creations of episodes from his personal and political life, that see Bonaparte overcome fierce rivals and political machinations to seal his imperial destiny.

Utilising a number of groundbreaking cinematic techniques, Napoleon is accompanied by Carl Davis monumental score (newly recorded in 7.1), and offers one of the most thrilling experiences in the entire history of film.

.

           

 

 
Third Place with 381 pts is Criterion's Chimes at Midnight - the crowning achievement of Orson Welles’s extraordinary cinematic career, Chimes at Midnight was the culmination of the filmmaker’s lifelong obsession with Shakespeare’s ultimate rapscallion, Sir John Falstaff. Usually a comic supporting figure, Falstaff—the loyal, often soused friend of King Henry IV’s wayward son Prince Hal—here becomes the focus: a robustly funny and ultimately tragic screen antihero played by Welles with looming, lumbering grace. Integrating elements from both Henry IV plays as well as Richard II, Henry V, and The Merry Wives of Windsor, Welles created a gritty and unorthodox Shakespeare film as a lament, he said, “for the death of Merrie England.” Poetic, philosophical, and visceral—with a kinetic centerpiece battle sequence that rivals anything in the director’s body of work—Chimes at Midnight is as monumental as the figure at its heart.

           

 

 

Fourth Place with  261 pts is Criterion's Blu-ray of Edward Yang's A Brighter Summer Day aka "Gu ling jie shao nian sha ren shi jian" – Among the most praised and sought-after titles in all contemporary film, this singular masterpiece of Taiwanese cinema, directed by Edward Yang, finally comes to home video in the United States. Set in the early sixties in Taiwan, A Brighter Summer Day is based on the true story of a crime that rocked the nation. A film of both sprawling scope and tender intimacy, this novelistic, patiently observed epic centers on the gradual, inexorable fall of a young teenager (Chen Chang, in his first role) from innocence to juvenile delinquency, and is set against a simmering backdrop of restless youth, rock and roll, and political turmoil. 

           

 

 

Fifth Place with 236 pts is Masters of Cinema's Early Murnau - Five Films [Blu-ray] (Schloß Vogelöd, Phantom, Der Letzte Mann, The Grand Duke's Finances, Tartuffe - F.W. Murnau). One of the most influential and revered figures in all of cinema, Friedrich Wilheim Murnau came to prominence in the first half of the 1920s with a diverse string of productions ranging from buoyant satire to swirling psychological drama. In the sinister mystery Schloß Vogelöd, terrible secrets from the past threaten a group of aristocrats' gathering at a country manor. In the delirious Phantom, an aspiring poet's chance encounter with a beautiful woman leads into obsession and deception. The delightful Die Finanzen des Großherzogs sees a rakish-but-impoverished duke setting out to rebuild his fortune via blissfully comic high adventure on the Mediterranean coast. In Der Letzte Mann, one of the undisputed masterpieces of the silent era, Emil Jannings gives an overwhelming performance as a hotel porter with dreams of a higher station in life, and was a stylistic breakthrough for both Murnau and cinema in general. Finally, the slyly satiric Tartuffe features Jannings as Moličre's iconic creation in a morality tale film-within-a-film as only Murnau could conceive.

             

 

 
Sixth Place with 196 pts is Masters of Cinema's Man with a Movie Camera (and other works by Dziga Vertov) (1929) -  Voted one of the ten best films ever made in the Sight & Sound 2012 poll, and the best documentary ever in a subsequent poll in 2014, Man With A Movie Camera (Chelovek's kinoapparatom) stands as one of cinema's most essential documents - a dazzling exploration of the possibilities of image-making as related to the everyday world around us.

The culmination of a decade of experiments to render ''the chaos of visual phenomena filling the universe'', Dziga Vertov's masterwork uses a staggering array of cinematic devices to capture the city at work and at play, as well as the machines that power it.

             

 

 

Seventh Place with 188 pts is Kino and BFI's 5 Blu-ray set of Pioneers of African-American Cinema - Among the most fascinating chapters in film history is that of the so-called race films which flourished between the 1920s and 1940s. Unlike the black cast films produced within Hollywood studio system, these films not only starred African Americans but were also funded, written, produced, edited, distributed, and often exhibited by people of colour. Entrepreneurial filmmakers built an industry apart from the Hollywood establishment, cultivating visual and narrative styles that were uniquely their own. Previously circulated in poor-quality 16mm print, these digitally restored presentations allow modern audiences to witness the legacies of Oscar Micheaux, Spencer Williams, Zora Neale Hurston and James and Eloyce Gist with fresh eyes. These pioneers of African-American cinema were truly innovative.

       

 

 

 

Tied for Eighth Place with 187 pts is BFI's Dissent & Disruption: Alan Clarke at the BBC (1969 - 1989) (Ltd.Edition 13-disc Box Set: 11 x blu-ray + 2 x DVD). This long-overdue collection finally brings together all twenty-three of the surviving stand-alone BBC TV dramas that Alan Clarke directed between 1969 and 1989, including such neglected classics as To Encourage the Others, Horace, Penda’s Fen, Diane, Contact, Christine and Elephant, and also includes the first ever presentation of Clarkes’ original Director’s Cut of The Firm, assembled from his personal answer print, discovered in 2015.

 
 

 
Also tied for Eighth Place with 187 pts is Criterion's Blu-ray of Terrence Malick's The New World - This singular vision of early seventeenth-century America from Terrence Malick is a work of astounding elemental beauty, a poetic meditation on nature, violence, love, and civilization. It reimagines the apocryphal story of the meeting of British explorer John Smith (Colin Farrell) and Powhatan native Pocahontas (Q’orianka Kilcher, in a revelatory performance) as a romantic idyll between spiritual equals, then follows Pocahontas as she marries John Rolfe (Christian Bale) and moves to England. With production designer Jack Fisk’s raw re-creation of the Jamestown colony and Emmanuel Lubezki’s marvelous, naturally lit cinematography, The New World is a film of uncommon power and technical splendor, one that shows Malick at the height of his visual and philosophical powers. 

              

 

 
Tenth Place with 173 pts is Arrow's The Human Condition – One of the towering masterpieces of Japanese and world cinema, this three-part war epic has rarely been seen in the UK, at least partly because of its dauntingly gargantuan nine hour length. Director Masaki Kobayashi (Harakiri) was attracted to Junpei Gomikawa's source novel because he recognized himself in the character of the protagonist Kaji, an ardent pacifist who came of age during the aggressively militaristic 1930s and 40s.

Throughout, Kobayashi unflinchingly examines the psychological toll of appallingly complex decisions, where being morally right risks outcomes ranging from ostracism to savage beating to death. As Kaji, Tatsuya Nakadai (Sanjuro) is in virtually every scene, providing a rock-solid emotional anchor and a necessary one in Japan, where the film was hugely controversial for being openly critical of the nation's conduct during WWII. But it s this willingness to confront national taboos head-on that makes it such a lastingly powerful experience.

         

 

 

Label Results

 

Top Labels (total votes over 100)


#1 - Criterion (1550) 
#2 - Arrow Video (729)
#3 - BFI (385)
#4 - Warner (354)
#5 - Masters of Cinema (342)
#6 - Kino Lorber (289)

#7 - Olive (282)

#8 - Second Run (260)

#9 - Shout! Factory (120)

 

Once again Criterion just have so many strong releases, but congratulations should go to Olive (on the strength of their 'Signature' releases), Second Run (with Blu-ray releases) and Shout! Factory for cracking the top 10 this year. Honorable mention (in no order): Indicator / Powerhouse, Cinelicious Pics, Screenbound, Twilight Time, Synapse, Severin, Grindhouse Releasing, Cinema Guild, Artificial Eye, Signal One, Oscilloscope, Network, Vinegar Syndrome and Cohen Media...

Film Noir on Blu-ray

There was a time, not too long ago, James White and I were wondering what would be the first Noir to be transferred to Blu-ray. This past year, 2016, we had the following 'dark cinema' (and 'dark cinema-related') titles in this new format. In alphabetic order (thanks to Gregory for compiling!):


99 River Street (Phil Karlson, 1953) Kino Lorber

Appointment with Crime (John Harlow, 1946) Olive Films 
The Asphalt Jungle (John Huston, 1950) Criterion
The Big Heat (Reissue) (Fritz Lang, 1953) Twilight Time
The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks, 1946) Warner Archive
The Blue Dahlia (George Marshall, 1946) RB UK Arrow

The Blue Lamp (Basil Dearden, 1950) RB UK Studiocanal (not reviewed) 
Boomerang (Elia Kazan, 1947) Kino Lorber
The Captive City (Robert Wise, 1952) Kino Lorber
The Chase (Arthur Ripley, 1946) Kino
Cry of the City (Robert Siodmak, 1948) RA Kino Lorber / RB UK BFI
Dark Passage (Delmer Daves, 1947) Warner Archive
Deadline - U.S.A. (Richard Brooks, 1952) Kino Lorber
Gilda (Charles Vidor, 1946) RA Criterion / RB Criterion UK
The Glass Key (Stuart Heisler, 1942) RB UK Arrow / RB DE Koch Media
Hidden Fear (André De Toth, 1957) Kino Lorber
The House on 92nd Street (Henry Hathaway, 1945) Kino Lorber
I Confess (Alfred Hitchcock, 1953) Warner Archive
I Wake Up Screaming (H. Bruce Humberstone, 1941) Kino Lorber
I Want to Live! (Robert Wise, 1958) Twilight Time
In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, 1950) RA Criterion / RB Criterion UK
Kansas City Confidential (Phil Karlson, 1952) Film Detective (not reviewed)
Key Largo (John Huston, 1948) Warner Archive
A Kiss Before Dying (Gerd Oswald, 1956) Kino Lorber
Kiss of Death (Henry Hathaway, 1947) RB UK Signal One
The Lodger (John Brahm, 1944) Kino Lorber
Lured (Douglas Sirk, 1947) Cohen Media
M (Joseph Losey, 1951) RB FR Sidonis

The Manchurian Candidate (John Frankenheimer, 1962) Criterion

Nightmare Alley (Edmund Goulding, 1947) All Spain CineCom
Odds Against Tomorrow (Robert Wise, 1959) RB UK BFI
On Dangerous Ground (Nicholas Ray, 1951) Warner Archive

Pool of London (Basil Dearden, 1951) RB UK Studiocanal (not reviewed)

Private Property (Leslie Stevens, 1960) Cinelicious Pics
The Red House (Delmer Daves, 1947) Film Detective
Road House (Jean Negulesco, 1948) Kino Lorber
Shield for Murder (Howard W. Koch, Edmond O'Brien, 1954) Kino Lorber
Somewhere in the Night (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1946) RB Fr Rimini Editions
Sudden Fear (David Miller, 1952) Cohen
Suspicion (Alfred Hitchcock, 1941) Warner Archive
They Live by Night (Nicholas Ray, 1948) Region FREE JP IVC

To Have and Have Not (Howard Hawks, 1944) Warner Archive
Too Late for Tears (Byron Haskin, 1949) Flicker Alley / UK Arrow
Try and Get Me! (Cy Endfield, 1950) Olive Films
Where the Sidewalk Ends (Otto Preminger, 1950) Twilight Time
Woman on the Run (Norman Foster, 1950) Flicker Alley / UK Arrow
The Wrong Man (Alfred Hitchcock, 1956) Warner Archive

 

 

Best Cover Designs: Another year for unique, interesting and artistic covers! Arrow seem to be the fan favorites with Criterion, Masters of Cinema and Kino getting a a fair share of votes. So many excellent covers were chosen. It has becoming its own collectable art form! NOTE: In no order! (each received 2 or more votes!)

 

 

 

Notable Rants and Praise

 

DVDBeaver-ites are a discerning lot, but we also give praise where praise is due. It was a good year, in many respects, without the bugaboo of DNR-infestation as much as we have seen in the past. Still, the price of great transfers is eternal vigilance.  Here are short comments from a variety of balloters, in no order:

 

 

I don't know why such a renowned Company like Criterion seems totally lost with their Criterion UK releases. Unlike the UK based Arrow Film, that bring out the UK and US disc’s side By side, and region lock the disc’s for A/B to keep things simple, the Criterion continue to have their disc’s either A or B locked, even when they are released both in US and UK. In some cases the consumer seems also unsure if a title will be later released in UK or not. This gives space to the false rumors, and are not at all friendly to film buffs. Like in the case of Ivan’s Childhood, that was announced but later deleted, and now with Cul-de-sac, that was released by Screenbound Pictures some months ago in a box-set, and now a standalone release with the same date as a Criterion’s BD.

 

ED. NOTE: While I'm not privy to the back room dealings of these UK/Criterion releases, I'll suggest a possibility. Criterion may have nothing to do with the marketing of these UK Blu-ray editions. They are stated as being, ex. "Sony" and a deal may have been struck to allow Sony complete access to duplicate the Criterion package in exchange for the rights to certain future films to be brought to BD by Criterion. The reasoning behind maintaining a locked 'A' or 'B' region code may simply be to protect the pricing. If either offer them at a significant discount (ala B+N sales or big Sony sale in the UK), then if they were region FREE they might hurt to designated market. It's a possibility.

 

 

As a soundtrack lover and collector I applaud the latest move to include the soundtrack to a film when you purchase the Blu Ray; I think that this is a great idea and I love it. The soundtracks to Pieces and 10 Rillington Place are brilliant and I think that it is worth the extra money to have such things available.

 

 

Warners Archive for its Blu-Ray releases. Keep them coming. Wishes for 2017: The Lusty Men; The Shop Around the Corner; Petulia;

Twilight Time's Blu-Ray releases with their isolated music tracks

2016 was a wretched year in so many ways, but the Blu-Ray releases gave glimmers of hope.


 

Criterion's barebones "Story of the Last Chrysanthemums" release doesn't do the film justice.
 

 

1. Napoleon - Number one by a mile - and for those who do not reside in ‘Region B,’ important enough to require the purchase of a brand new ‘high end’ all-region modified Blu-ray player at a cost of roughly one to two thousand dollars.
2. Bicycle Thieves – The best result of the most important ‘film movement’ in the history of The Movies
3. The Shop on Main Street – The most impressive fictional narrative film that exists about ‘the Holocaust’ – and for those who live in the US, not something one can wait too much longer for Criterion to release on Blu-ray
4. The Marx Brothers ‘Silver Screen Collection’ – Praise be that Universal finally got around to this
5. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town – The second best film by the filmmaker best able to portray the true ‘American Dream’
Honorable Mention: Historically important, although narratively and cinematically less so
 

And one ‘rant’: If there were an award for the ‘Worst Blu-ray Release by a Highly Distinguished Releasing Entity,’ it should go in a two-way tie to Criterion and Criterion for their Blu-ray releases of ‘Valley of the Dolls’ and ‘Beyond the Valley of the Dolls’. There was no excuse for either of those two movies to be made in the first place, and there is certainly no excuse for prolonging their existence by inflicting them on an unsuspecting public by means of a Blu-ray disc release.
 

 

The two most consequential things that happened this year in physical media: (1) Criterion really stepped up their licensing of Classical Hollywood Studio Titles (soon I hope The Awful Truth will be released); and (2) for the first time in home video history we have commendable editions of Kitano Takeshi, greatest Japanese filmmaker of the 1990s.

I want to mention THREE DILIGENT, UNDERAPPRECIATED Blu-ray production houses who NEED OUR SUPPORT: Third Window, the wonderful UK outlet for Japanese movies who are doing superbly with limited resources; Film Detective by Phil Hopkins & co., doing the most conscientious editions of public domain titles (Patterns, The Terror - let's encourage them forward for the sake of D.O.A., Detour, Captain Kidd et al); and Film Movement, who appear to be just getting started.

Grateful to Universal for stepping up with the badly needed restoration of Cocoanuts etc. Dreams and Moby Dick were delightful surprises, probably the most underrated films of the last 75 years; shout out to Olive for subtitling and to Arrow for continuing excellence (Stardust Memories (RB) would be my #11); and to the BFI for Beat Girl (1959, RB), another lovely surprise, and Napoleon, which I haven't purchased yet.

SHAME SHAME SHAME on Cohen AND Mill Creek for their ass-backward policy of lossy audio; SHAME on Paramount (if they are to blame) for not upgrading It's A Wonderful Life (but thanks for releasing the unique and eye-popping end to the five-year mission); SHAME on BBC for their continuing nickel'n'dime refusal to put eligible catalog titles in HD, except when try to make tuppence on an upscale; SHAME on VCI for messing up City of the Dead and other titles.
 


 

Best year for publisher – BFI – For the extraordinary Alan Clarke & Abel Gance sets, all the terrific Ken Russell titles & the return of Flipside.
Best Commentary: Adrian Martin, Cry of the City (BFI)
Best Cover Art/Packaging: Criterion’s Trilogia de Guillermo del Toro
Best Newcomer: Powerhouse (UK)
Best New Development: Powerhouse & Criterion’s entry into the UK market + Arrow’s Academy range arrival in the US next year
Best Studio Catalogue Release: Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection
Worst Transfer: Stalker especially, but after an interminable delay, the Curzon AE Tarkovsky titles were quite problematic.
Biggest Home Media Gripes:
• The misplaced sense of self entitlement on social media around releases by the key publishers that don’t announce a title on their parochial wish list.
• Overly limited edition releases that force buyers hands for fear of exclusion or scalping.
• With some titles excepted, Criterion’s continued withdrawal from including significant printed material.

 


Dekalog set from Arrow is one of the best release of all time in my opinion!

 

Rants:
1. No Eclipse releases.
2. Criterion's Dr Strangelove release should have been so much more.
 

 

Hard to pick-up dvd-only releases, nowadays. That's why my top 3 is completely dedicated to Mustang Entertainment, an Italian label which recently resurfaced three forgotten classic from the Titanus library: Tornatore's Il camorrista in a new restoration made by Cineteca di Bologna and long-awaited Bolognini's La viaccia and Zurlini's Estate violenta. The bad news is they are confined to the Italian market, due to the lack of English subtitles.


 

Biggest Frustration: Warner Archive Collection's constant use of all upper-letter (and sometimes bright yellow and located higher than usual) subtitles.

 

 

As a reviewer my BIGGEST FRUSTRATION: Something negative has transpired recently with the new company distributing Arrow UK screeners. They aren't sending the appropriate product stating "Well, we only have a certain number...". Ex. I had to request The Human Condition Trilogy - is there a website that would more aptly review this particular title than DVDBeaver?!? - My request was met with "No more screeners left" or "We sent it already" (although it never arrived) yet there was only one review of the Blu-ray boxset, that I could find at the time, anywhere on the web! One! After some back-and-forth they claimed to have found one and sent it to me. I don't appreciate chasing these screeners down (I've never had to in the past - I used to be sent, pretty much, everything our niche would be keen on). I don't want to promote DVDBeaver to you, Arrow - after 15 years of doing this - and 1 million page views a month - but, if you want to sell more product, Arrow UK, I suggest getting screeners in the hands of review sites like DVDBeaver in a timely fashion without them hounding you to do so. Another example would be the 4K restored Blu-ray of Donnie Darko... I do not have a screener to review and I recall talking in email to the producer of that restoration (James White is even part of this poll!) yet no screener was forthcoming... I really don't have the time or energy to chase these down. I suggest the company now looking after sending out screeners is not doing their job in the best interests of Arrow, IMO... [/rant]

 

 

Have a fabulous 2017!

 




 

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