Comments: It was a great year, there were so many great releases I had a very hard time nailing them down to ten. I tried to include as much diversity in my list as I could, trying to reflect my taste as best as possible. It isn’t really a ‘best of list’ purely in terms of DVD quality per se, but more a mixture of viewing pleasure, discoveries, personal treasures and important historical releases. And yeah, I did leave out the Rohmer set… don’t ask me why. Furthermore I want to put a word in for the amazing ‘Star Spangled To Death’ by Ken Jacobs which is available through his website.

Comments: With such an abundance of quality releases during 2006, choosing the final 10 is bound to reflect this week's preferences which could just as easily be modified next week, depending on mood: box sets and collections from WB, Fox, and Universal all contributed greatly to the general adrenalin rush, particularly The Astaire/Rogers Ultimate Collectors Edition, Film Noir 3, The 3-disc Maltese Falcon, both Clark Gable sets (WB and Fox), The Jayne Mansfield Tashlins, Betty Grable Vol 1 (with Alice Faye in the pipeline!!), various Dietrich Collections, many others. Other greatly prized acquisitions include Rediscovering Jacques Feyder (though it would be great to have a Rediscovering Jean Gremillon as a sequel!); Robert Webb's western sleeper The Proud Ones, with the estimable Robert Ryan; Fuller's Merrill's Marauders (R2, France) and The Saga of Gosta Berling (maybe the release of the Stillers will inspire some Sjostroms for the 2007 calendar).

Comments: A solid year. At first I thought it was going to be a problem coming up with ten new releases. But overall, a solid list. Also glad to see movies like Reds and The Conformist get released on DVD (only been able to catch on TCM). Now looking forward to Salo coming out in '07. Hopefully, Criterion will continue to re-release other discs in more definitive sets.

Daryl Chin
Brooklyn, NY
Daryl Chin is an artist and writer living in Brooklyn, New York who has been on the board of directors of NewFest and Apparatus Produtions, co-founded the Asian-American International Film Festival, and began his career as Managing Editor of Film Culture Magazine in 1976-77.

1. Star Spangled to Death (Ken Jacobs, 2004) starspangledtodeath.com; R0
2. John Wayne - John Ford Film Collection (John Ford, Various, 10 Discs) Warner; R1
3. Max Ophüls’ Films x4 (Madame De..., Le Plaisir, The Reckless Moment, Letter from an Unknown Woman) Second Sight; R2 PAL
4a. Mikio Naruse Vol. 1 [Repast 1951/Sound of the Mountain 1954/Flowing 1956] MoC; R2
4b. Toni (Jean Renoir, 1935) MoC; R0 PAL
5. Winter Soldier (Winter Collective, 1972) Milliarium Zero; R0
6. The Other Cinema Collection [15 discs, including Tribulation 99 1991/Sonic Outlaws 1995/Spectres of the Spectrum 1999/Sins of the Fleshapoids 1967/Anxious Animation] The Other Cinema; R0
7. Marlene Dietrich: The Glamour Collection (Josef von Sternberg, 1930, 35; Rene Clair, 1941; Mitchell Leisen, 1947) Universal; R1
8. The Complete Mr. Arkadin (Orson Welles, 1955, 3 Discs) Criterion; R1
9. Wanda (Barbara Loden, 1970) Parlour Pictures; R1
10. El Doctor, Joy Street & Asparagus (Suzan Pitt, 1979-2006) First Run Features; R1

Comments: This was one of the richest years yet for DVD releases, from every end of the spectrum, from "budget" releases (such as The Glamour Collections of Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard and Mae West) to massive releases (such as Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films, courtesy The Criterion Collection). Essential Arthouse was so overwhelming that it was impossible to process. Nevertheless, I tried to highlight some of the "essential" works of cinema which finally made their way to DVD this year (such as titles by John Ford, Max Ophüls and Mikio Naruse), as well as notable independent works on small labels or on self-distributed labels (cf. Wanda and Star Spangled to Death). I felt that the three-volume set of Mr. Arkadin was exemplary as an example of how the DVD format can be used as an educational medium to highlight the variations in release prints. This year, there was so much released on DVD that any list can only be the tip of the iceberg, but more, much more remains. Nevertheless, I've tried to highlight independent and experimental cinema as much as I can.

Comments: For me this was a great year because a number of titles I'd been hanging out for finally saw release (Satantango, The Spirit of the Beehive, Funeral Parade of Roses), and also it was the year that Australian Region 4 DVDs houses started to really step up and produce work that was competitive on the world stage. On the down side, low resolution of NTSC continues to be a limiting factor on enjoyment, especially with the great number of essential titles released on NTSC in great transfers, but still limited by those 480 lines of vertical resolution. And no resolution of the HD wars in sight.

Comments: I've spent part of the year exploring classic Indian cinema. Most people know only Satyajit Ray if they know any names at all, but he's only one of several world-class directors that country has produced. Unfortunately, the DVDs released so far are horrible, with MoC/Eureka's Abhijan being perhaps the only classic Indian film on DVD in a decent edition. My wish is that they, Criterion's new label, or someone else, will see fit to release not only more Ray, but also the films of Guru Dutt, Bimal Roy, and some of the Raj Kapoors, in better quality DVDs.

Comments: Not a 10-best list, but a list of significant films released for the first time on DVD and a pair of special editions that repay study. Retour de Flamme 05 merits inclusion for a 1908 stop-motion version of A Trip to the Moon, a hand-tinted 1912 Cyrano de Bergerac with sound on disc, and a newly discovered early John Ford western, By Indian Post (1919), lacking the first reel. 

Comments: Louis Malle Collection - Vol. 1 is listed solely for its inclusion of Le Feu Follet. Also, this is the second year that an edition of Saraband has made my list (the former list including the best edition available, the latter list including the best edition available for English-speaking audiences). If one is ever in a cinematic slump, then one only needs to watch the films on this list in order to be reminded of the power of cinema. From Sátántangó to Keane, this list includes films -- presented rather nicely on the DVD format -- that foster insight into the human psyche on the part of the viewer. According to Roethke, “In a dark time, the eye begins to see.” How true. Enjoy. (P.S. “Best Contemporary releases” that were made slightly before 2004 include Bergman’s Saraband (Sony R1; MK2 R2), as well as Gallo’s The Brown Bunny (Sony R1; Kinétique R2).

Comments: While my list seems to indicate a preference for Criterion’s products, I think that Criterion as a whole is (slightly) over-praised. Criterion releases many stand-out DVDs, but Warner Bros. releases hundreds of catalog titles each year with decent video and audio as well as low, low prices. Comparatively speaking, Warner offers consumers the most bang for the buck. Just missing my Top Ten is the ERA release of Raise the Red Lantern, which is bare-bones but has high-quality video and audio--essential for one of the greatest movies ever made.

Comments: I was happier with DVD releases this year than what came out in theaters. Some long awaited titles finally made it to DVD and quite a few of them were films I had only heard about and finally was able to experience.

Comments: Exciting year. Filled in many vacuums, films that have been longed for and hunted for ages. My vote went to titles we haven’t had before like (Lombard) rather than (Dietrich) which were available in other regions. Missing from above Shoeshine, Seven Men from Now, Bellissima, L’armee des Ombres, Herzog docs, Red Desert, The Double Life of Veronique, Criterion’s Mr. Arkadinn, À nos amours, Children are Watching, Hands Over City and Rohmer’s Six Moral Tales, Ginger and Fred, Funeral Parade of Roses, Harlan County, the 2 John Ford boxes from Warners, The Nun's Story. It has been a great year.

Comments: As I posted on this list last year, to me the strong point of DVD is its affordability and accessibility, leading me to get excited about films that I can enjoy again and again in my own home (preferably with subtitles, but sometimes without.) I believe this list reflects this, and shines a somewhat dimmer light on contextual material and ideal video representation (though those companies that aspire to such heights of quality have my utmost respect.) Some other discs that deserve mentioning are Fantoma's R1 Red Angel (Masumura), TOHO's R2 Yukoku AKA Patriotism (Mishima), Criterion's R1 The Spirit of the Beehive (Erice), and MoC's R2 Funeral Parade of Roses (Matsumoto) and Fantastic Planet (LaLoux).

Comments: My selection nods as much to important films it is a treasure to have available on DVD as to quality transfers. I’ve sneaked in some other outstanding releases by putting them into other categories. It’s been promising to see companies delving into more interesting areas of the cinema tradition. And I won’t get my Naruse box set in time for this year’s poll.

Comments: Nothing can beat Criterion/Droessler/Bartemes’s painstaking reconstruction of ‘Mr. Arkadin’; everyone involved has delivered a major entry of Welles’s cinema back to the world, where it belongs and in close to the form in which it was conceived. Were it not for ‘Arkadin,’ the Luc Moullet box from BlaqOut (Region 0, NTSC, English subs) would have taken my top spot. And yet another earth-shattering major-masterwork rarities release: the appearance of ‘Duelle’ and ‘Noroît’ on DVD overloads the synapses — although both films come unsubbed. The Rohmer ‘Six Moral Tales’ (and much more) collection is the finest Criterion box set since ‘John Cassavetes: Five Films,’ and arrived packed with even more films ; as if that weren’t enough, the new Rohmer interviews are to die for. Three quick notes (1) I’d like to bring attention to the French book+DVD ‘Jean-Luc Godard: Documents’ as possibly THE major, major cinephile event of 2006 — the magnitude of the scholarship and arcana contained in this volume CANNOT BE STRESSED ENOUGH! (2) Regarding Tag Gallagher’s video essays on the Second Sight Ophuls’s discs I will quote Brad Stevens : “This is film criticism of the highest order.” (3) I have refrained from “officially” voting for The Masters of Cinema Series releases due to all the usual full-disclosure reasons, but I’ll use this space to tender the opinion that ‘Buster Keaton: The Complete Short Films 1917-1923’ is possibly not only the best release by MoC to date, but the best release of 2006, period.

Comments: The DeMille set is overpriced and the transfers only reasonable, yet the selections define DeMille’s decadence and wild, no-holds-barred filmmaking on big budgets. I found all the films in the collection fascinating. This year’s Rivette releases, including Paris nous appartient, were hugely welcome; and in the light of Sátántangó, perhaps we’ll get to see the full-length Out 1 in the not-too-distant future. The Humphrey Bogart - The Signature Collection Vol. 2 is hugely satisfying with its offerings of minor treasures like Passage To Marseille and Across the Pacific, along with the generous inclusion of the two earlier versions of The Maltese Falcon.

Comments: I confess that I have yet to view The Complete Arkadin Set, MoC’s Mikio Naruse set and a dozen other fantastic releases that I’m sure could have made this list if only time permitted me a chance to view them. Although my list doesn’t reflect it, this year was most impressive for the number of high quality cult/horror releases that are often neglected by dedicated cinephiles. Companies like NoShame, CasaNegra, Blue Underground, and Synapse films are changing the way I look at cinema with every release. Running this poll has illuminated the existence of so many titles that I can’t wait to get my hands on, it promises to be a great year indeed, here’s hoping each of you will find some treasures as well!  

Comments: What an embarrassment of riches this year. Almost impossible to narrow down the top 10 to actually 10, thus I cheated and threw in two collections.

Comments: Honorable mentions must go to A Nos Amours (Maurice Pialat, Criterion), Sátántangó (Bela Tarr) and Gueule d’amour (Jean Gremillon). Bravo Italiani for releasing The Silence Between Two Thoughts. It's all the more moving due to the ravaged print. I’ve not paid so much attention to re-releases. Both previous Gaumont DVD releases, Maurice Pialat L’Integrale volumes 1 and 2, steal much of the thunder of the new Criterion, but it does provide a grand introduction to the English-Only world. I really did try to avoid the Rivette hat trick. What a year it’s been! It makes dream releases of Gremillon’s La Petite Lise, Rivette’s Out 1, and both Straub / Huillet’s Not Reconciled and Othon much more tenable. Where are the Kira Muratova films?

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago, Illinois

1. Coffret 6 Films de Luc Moullet (Luc Moullet, Various, 4 Discs) Blaqout; R2 PAL
2. Stephen Dwoskin: 14 Films (Stephen Dwoskin, Various) RenardFilms; R0 PAL
3. Onde Jaz O Teu Sorrioso? (Pedro Costa, 2001) Assirio & Alvim; R2 PAL
4. A Canterbury Tale (Powell & Pressburger, 1944) Criterion; R1
5. Martin Arnold: The Cineseizure (Martin Arnold, Various) Index/Re:Voir; R0 PAL
6. The Red and the White (Miklós Jancsó, 1967) Second Run; R0 PAL
7. The Complete Buster Keaton Short Films (Various, 4 Discs) MoC; R2 PAL
8. Michael Brault Oeuvres 1958-1974 (Brault, 15 Films, 5 Discs) National Film Board of Canada; R1
9. Paris nous appartient (Jacques Rivette, 1960) bfi; R2 PAL
10. Lubitsch in Berlin - The Oyster Princess/I Don’t Want to Be a Man (Ernst Lubitsch, 1919) Kino; R1

Comments: Every new film ends up as DVD, so I didn't vote for the following films (even though they are in my TOP TEN for the 2006 films on DVD): Allen’s Match Point, Jarmusch’s Broken Flowers, Wenders’ Don't Come Knocking, Reygadas’ Battle In Heaven, and Haneke’s Cache

Comments: 2006 was a great another great year for film enthusiasts. Some honorable mentions in all genres outside my official top ten are: Martino’s weird giallo/crime/comedy Suspected Death of a Minor from Sazuma, Sokurov’s The Sun from Artificial eye, Bergman’s Autumn Sonata from SF Film (vastly superior to the CC release), Sam Peckinpah’s Legendary Westerns Collection from Warner, Bertolucci’s The Conformist from Paramount, The Danish releases of Tran’s The Scent of Green Papaya and Fellini’s The City of Women, BFI’s Godzilla disc and Tartan’s release of the Hillcoat/Cave collaboration The Proposition. And yes, I liked Singer’s Superman Returns a lot. The Danish Images of the Middle East Box from Electric Parc is definitely worth a watch as well.

Gary Tooze

Toronto, Canada

1. Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films (Various, 1922-73, 50 Discs) Criterion; R1 – although stripped of any Criterion supplements, this is easily the greatest DVD collection ever put together. With towering film inclusions such as L'avventura, Ikiru, Pandora's Box, The Rules Of The Game, Seven Samurai, The Seventh Seal, The Spirit Of The Beehive, La Strada, Ugetsu, Umberto D. etc. etc. it handily eclipses any package ever released in the short history of DVD.
2. Late Spring (Yasujiro Ozu, 1949) Criterion; R1. Even with windowboxing, Criterion’s digital restoration transfer is beyond the most ambitious desires of many patient cineophiles.
3. Mikio Naruse Vol. 1 [Repast 1951/Sound of the Mountain 1954/Flowing 1956] MoC; R2. Valuable cinema delivered with MoC’s usual care and elegance.
4. Black Narcissus (Powell and Pressburger, 1947) Warner Home Vidéo; R2 PAL FR. Even superior to Network’s 2005 release, it staggers the imagination to believe this film was made in the 40’s.
5. The Passenger (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1975) Sony; R1 – an imperfect DVD release, but the film's past ‘captivity’ and two included commentaries escalate its importance on my list.
6. The Savage Innocents (Ray, 1959) MoC; R0 PAL. Another imperfect image, but the entire package exudes the passion put into it. Possibly Ray’s most defining and unforgettable film.

7. Double Indemnity [Universal Legacy Series] (Billy Wilder, 1944) Universal; R1– where would my list be without a representative from the Film Noir style? Definitive DVD package of an essential film. Fabulous extras.
8. The Fountainhead (King Vidor, 1949) Warner; R1 – making its first appearance on digital – in sterling form - a film that I love for its deviant uniqueness (and unexpected sexual themes).
9. A Canterbury Tale (Powell & Pressburger, 1944) Criterion; R1. Another improved transfer - narrative cinema approaching the lyrical ideal.
10. The Lover’s of the Arctic Circle (Medem, 1998) Home Vision; R1. Finally a good release of a favorite film showing vastly improved video quality. Unfortunately Home Vision, as we knew them, are no longer with us and this final selection is my minor way of saluting their diligent and important work. Absent but not forgotten.

Comments: I tried to spread the wealth attempting not to let any one production company (Criterion) dominate my list, ditto for director and era. There is so much to choose from and so many I have omitted. My final selections are simply personal favorites.
In my opinion this was the year for improved transfers of important cinema to DVD. Many that I have chosen had been previously released on digital disc, but the above listed 2006 editions are the definitive for a combination of cinema value, availability, video quality and supplements. I’ve left out so many – Criterion’s Rohmer Box, Seven Samurai, Viridania, Playtime, Pandora’s Box, Double Life… and many more from them. MOC’s Twenty-Four Eyes, Kwaidan, Assassination, Toni, Shoeshine etc should be more recognized. Second Run's The Cremator and The Red and the White. Further omissions – Sátántangó, The Conformist, The World (“Shi Jie”) and The New World, Region 1 boxsets - Wayne/Ford, Bette Davis 2, Busby Berkley, Tough Guys etc., massive Region 2 boxsets – Bergman, Dietrich, Hammer Horror - classic television diversions: Perry Mason, Mission Impossible, Get Smart (yes it is available) etc. – it goes on an on. There has never been a more rewarding time to be a film fan. Cineophiles should, respectfully, feel immensely fortunate. 

Comments: Well, there are DVDs and there are DVDs. Ira Cohen’s “Invasion of the Thunderbolt Pagoda” is the next best thing to Kenneth Anger’s masterpieces and/or Cammel/Roeg’s “Performance”. Those will be the best DVDs of 2007. Ira gets my congratulations for seeing his film released on DVD first. It’s beautiful. Soundtrack by Angus Maclise, R.I.P. Nothing else especially matters, except Ford getting the Criterion treatment. Can we pray that The Sun Shines Bright is treated similarly (or better?). Ophuls’ Le Plaisir may not be the best DVD of 2006, but it may be the best movie released on DVD in 2006.

Ross Wilbanks
Charlotte, North Carolina
1. Faust (F.W. Murnau, 1926) MoC; R0 PAL
Other great releases from MOC: Buster Keaton: The Complete Short Films: 1917-1923, Prisoner of Shark Island, The Savage Innocents, Funeral Parade of Roses
2. Star Spangled to Death (Ken Jacobs, 2004) starspangledtodeath.com; R0
3. Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967) Criterion; R1
Other great releases from Criterion: Mr. Arkadin, Pandora’s Box, Late Spring, Viridania, A Canterbury Tale, Young Mr. Lincoln, Tales of Hoffman, Hands Over the City, Sweetie
4. Winter Soldier (Winter Collective, 1972) Milliarium Zero; R0
5. Su Friedrich Collection Volumes 1-5 (Su Friedrich, mid 70’s to present) Outcast; R0
Other great filmmaker collections enjoyed: Jean Painleve (Les Documents Cinematographiques), Jospeh Cornell (Voyager Foundation), Oskar Fischenger(Center for Visual Music), Jean Luc Godard (ECM, the DVD as a part of the Documents book), Norman MacLaren (NFB)
6. Coffret 6 Films de Luc Moullet (Luc Moullet, Various, 4 Discs) Blaqout; R2 PAL
Two excellent collections also from Blaq Out: Raoul Ruiz & Jean Paul Civeyrac
7. Phantom (F.W. Murnau, 1922) Flicker Alley; R1

Other joys from small labels: Red Psalm (Clavis), Resistances (Lo Wave), Dietmar Brehm (Index), Edvard Munch (Doriane), David Holzman's Diary (Second Run), India Song (Benoit Jacob), Duelle/Noroit (Les Films de ma Vie), Class Relations/Moses and Aaron (Kinokuniya), Gueule d’amour (Rene Chateau), Inside/Out (Cinema Parallel), The Peach Girl (SF Silent Film Festival), The Joy of Life (Frameline), The Wonderfully Strange and Surreal Animation of Suzan Pitt (First Run Features), Sins of the Fleshapoids (Other Cinema)
8. Route One USA (Robert Kramer, 1989) Éditions Montparnasse; R2 PAL
9. Celine and Julie Go Boating (Jacques Rivette, 1974) bfi; R2 PAL
Thanks to the BFI for: Paris Belongs to Us, Master of the House, Gertrud, Ordet, Day of Wrath and all the great short films that accompany them, Chris Welsby, Army of Shadows
10. Sátántangó (Béla Tarr, 1994) Artificial Eye; R2 PAL

Comments: I didn’t have time to get to see any of the Stephen Dwoskin or Michael Brault sets but one guesses they are worth checking out. I can’t believe I couldn’t fit in the Second Sight set of four releases by director Max Ophüls’ Films x4 (Madame De..., Le Plaisir, The Reckless Moment, Letter from an Unknown Woman) Second Sight; R2 PAL

Comments: Some obvious omissions here, as many of my purchasing this year have been catching up with output from the last two years - also too late a release in the year for me to have a proper look at Naruse. Best week of the year was the w/c July 17th. Warner Noir III, Tough Guys Collection & The Passenger in the same 7 days - just how are we supposed to cope with that?

Nick Zegarac

Windsor On. Canada
1. The Ultimate James Bond Collection - Vol. 1 – 4 (Various, 1962-2005) MGM; R1
MGM’s original less-than-stellar transfers have been replaced with pristine Lowry Digital clean ups and a mountain of extras that truly take the viewer to Bond and beyond. No point in beating around the bush – these sets are a MUST HAVE!!!
2. The Fountainhead (King Vidor, 1949) Warner; R1
Based on Ayn Rand’s monumental novel of rugged individualism, the film (long neglected and overlooked) is a distinct and unique classic that celebrates the strength of belief in one’s self against almost insurmountable collective adversity. The Warner DVD is cheap on extras but the transfer is glorious.
3. The Rodgers & Hammerstein Collection [remastered] (Various, 1945-1967) 20th Century Fox; R1
Fox has at long last remedied the gross oversight of not presenting these films at their utmost quality and perfection by offering the best of Broadway’s most celebrated composers in one deluxe box set. The extras are nice but the real reason to cheer is the digital clean ups that make even the most problematic of prints from previous transfers shine as they probably did on opening night. A must have!
4. The Searchers [Ultimate Collector’s Edition] (John Ford, 1956) Warner; R1
Ford’s mammoth opus magnum about the crumbling illusion of the old west and a man struggling to find his place in a burgeoning new world remains an epic for all time. Warner’s new 2-disc edition rectifies the color fidelity of the original VistaVision presentation. Monument Valley in glorious Technicolor – WOW!
5. Marie Antoinette (W.S. Van Dyke II, 1938) Warner; R1
Opulent, lavish and gargantuan beyond all expectation, Irving Thalberg’s interpretation of the doomed French monarch rises head and shoulders above anything Hollywood had previously done. Today, the film is a classic example of studio film making at its most spell-bindingly satisfying and with Norma Shearer in the lead – this epic is truly one that continues to never disappoint!
6. Kings Row (Sam Wood, 1942) Warner; R1
The patina of sinister manipulation and sadistic self-destruction in this brooding and powerful classic about small town bigotry and deceptions behind all those courtly lace curtains has lost none of their power. The story is just as shocking, bold and ultimately satisfying as it was in 1942 – and just as universal in spirit and theme as one might expect.
7. The Towering Inferno [SE] (Irwin Allen & John Guillermin, 1974) 20th Century Fox; R1
The good people at Fox worked overtime to give this much beloved disaster classic all the bells and whistles this time around. A stunning anamorphic transfer, a ton of extras combined with a deluxe collectors packaging augment the all star cast and stunning chills and thrills. Special effects continue to hold up under close scrutiny. Burn baby, burn! This one will ignite your player!
8. Down Argentine Way (Irving Cummings, 1940) 20th Century Fox; R1
The frothiest Fox musical of the decade continues to be a delightful romp through backlot South America. Betty Grable, Don Ameche and Carmen Miranda do their thing and it doesn’t seem to date for a moment. Songs are abundant and charming. Fox’s transfer is eye-popping in glorious restored Technicolor. Beautiful – simply and perfectly.
9. The Maltese Falcon [SE] (John Huston, 1941) Warner; R1
Often copied but never duplicated, Huston’s inimitable hard boiled detective thriller is given a magnificent restoration and deluxe 2 disc presentation via Warner’s usual stellar commitment to the classics. Bogie, Greenstreet, Lorre and Astor never looked better. The film holds up like few of any vintage can or do. This one is still ‘the stuff that dreams are made of!’
10. Best Foot Forward [Amazon Exclusive] (Edward Buzzell, 1943) Warner; R1
If you’ve never heard of this one before you need to. It’s Lucille Ball’s greatest glamour gal flick. She plays herself en route to date a cadet at Winsocki military academy. The laughs are plentiful and the music is first rate – given the lavish orchestrations and star power that MGM in its heyday was well known for. Buckle down and shop Amazon for this exclusive release. It is a must have for musical/comedy film fans.

THE WINNERS

Comments: A new trend amongst film fans has been gaining prominence - impatient whining about classic cinema not yet released on digital has given way to excessive choices of availability - our problem is no longer 'why can't I watch' but instead 'what shall I watch'. Criterion's new sub-label - Eclipse - will only intensify this happy problem. 

Our TOP 10 of the Year for 2006 has a listing of directors that would make any cineophile swoon - Romer, Tarr, Kieslowski, Antonioni, Kurosawa, Naruse, Ophuls, Bertolucci, Welles and Ozu. One has to consider that if The Masters of Cinema release of Naruse Vol. 1 had come a few weeks earlier - and hence reached more voters - would it have eclipsed all and been recognized as number 1? It is quite probable. Still, there can be few complaints of the quality of cinema that region-free viewers can potentially be exposed to. Another grand year in the blossoming history of DVD! I'll say it again - "This is the best time in history to be a film fan!"

11. 50.5pts - Sam Peckinpah’s Legendary Westerns Collection (Various, 4 Discs) Warner; R1
12.47pts - Pandora’s Box (G.W. Pabst, 1929) Criterion; R1
13.44.5pts - Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967) Criterion; R1
14.40.5pts - 3 Films by Louis Malle (Louis Malle, 1971-87, 4 Discs) Criterion; R1
15.39.5pts - Celine and Julie Go Boating (Jacques Rivette, 1974) bfi; R2 PAL
16.36.5pts - The Busby Berkeley Collection (Various, 1933-35, 6 Discs) Warner; R1
17.35pts - A Canterbury Tale (Powell & Pressburger, 1944) Criterion; R1
18.33.5pts - Faust (F.W. Murnau, 1926) MoC; R0 PAL
19.32pts - Coffret 6 Films de Luc Moullet (Luc Moullet, Various, 4 Discs) Blaqout; R2 PAL
20.32.5pts - Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (Russ Meyer, 1970) 20th Century Fox; R1

21. 31pts - Elevator to the Gallows (Louis Malle, 1957) Criterion; R1
22.28.75pts - Preston Sturges - The Filmmaker Collection (Preston Sturges, 1940-44, 7 Discs) Universal; R1
23.28pts - Free Cinema: The Definitive Film Collection (Anderson, Tanner, etc., 1952-63, 3 Discs) bfi; R2
24.27.5pts - Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000) Criterion; R1
25.25pts - The Fountainhead (King Vidor, 1949) Warner; R1  
26.23.5pts - Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films (Various, 1922-73, 50 Discs) Criterion; R1
27.22pts - Star Spangled to Death (Ken Jacobs, 2004) starspangledtodeath.com; R0
28.21pts - Coffret Kenji Mizoguchi, Vol. 1, Coffret 5 DVD (Mizoguchi, Various) Film Sans Frontieres; R2 PAL
28.21pts - John Wayne - John Ford Film Collection (John Ford, Various, 10 Discs) Warner; R1
29.20pts - Duelle / Noroît Coffret - 2 DVD (Jacques Rivette, 1976) Aventi; R2 PAL
29.20pts - Oskar Fischinger: Ten Films (Oskar Fischinger, Various) Center for Visual Music; R0
29.20pts - Paris nous appartient (Jacques Rivette, 1960) bfi; R2 PAL
29.20pts - Woman in the Dunes (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1964) bfi; R2 PAL
33.19.5pts - Astaire & Rogers Ultimate Collector’s Edition (Various, 1933- 1949) Warner; R1
34.19pts - Double Indemnity [Universal Legacy Series] (Billy Wilder, 1944) Universal; R1
34.19pts - Phantom (F.W. Murnau, 1922) Flicker Alley; R1
36.18.5pts - L'Armée des ombres (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1969) bfi; R2 PAL
36.18.5pts - Winter Soldier (Winter Collective, 1972) Milliarium Zero; R0
38.18pts - Saraband (Ingmar Bergman, 2003) Sony; R1
39.17.5pts - Michael Brault Oeuvres 1958-1974 (Brault, 15 Films, 5 Discs) National Film Board of Canada; R1
40.15.5pts - The Spirit of the Beehive (Víctor Erice, 1973) Criterion; R1
41.15pts - Norman MacLaren: The Masters Edition (Norman McLaren, Various, 7 Discs) Home Vision; R1
42.14.5pts - The Red Desert (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1964) Madman, R4 PAL
42.14.5pts - The Savage Innocents (Ray, 1959) MoC; R0 PAL
44.14pts - Johan Van Der Keuken, Vol.1, Coffret 3 DVD (Various) Arte Vidéo; R2 PAL
44.14pts - Young Mr. Lincoln (John Ford, 1939) Criterion; R1
46.13pts - Astaire & Rogers Collection, Vol. 2 (Various, 6 Discs) Warner; R1
46.13pts - Kwaidan (Masaki Kobayashi, 1964) MoC; R2 PA
46.13pts - Twenty-Four Eyes (Keisuke Kinoshita, 1954) MoC; R2 PAL
46.13pts - The Virgin Spring (Ingmar Bergman, 1960) Criterion; R1
50.12pts -  Apocalypse Now - The Complete Dossier (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979) Paramount; R1
50.12pts - Coffret Jean-Paul Civeyrac 3 DVD [+DVD-Rom] (Various) Blaq Out; R0 PAL
50.12pts - Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol.3 (Various, 1947-52, 6 Discs) Warner; R1
50.12pts- Funeral Parade of Roses (Toshio Matsumoto, 1969) MoC; R2 PAL
50.12pts - Toni (Jean Renoir, 1935) MoC; R0 PAL
55.11pts - Jean-Luc Godard and Anne-Marie Miéville: Four Short Films (1993-2002) ECM Cinema; R0
55.11pts - Krzysztof Kieslowski Polish Documentaries (Kieslowski, Various, 2 Discs) Polish AP; R2 PAL
55.11pts - Tennessee Williams Film Collection (Various, 1951-64, 7 Discs) Warner; R1
55.11pts - Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? (Fassbinder, Fengler. 1970) Fantoma; R1
59.10.5pts - Kingdom of Heaven [Director’s Cut] (Ridley Scott, 2005, 4 Discs) 20th Century Fox; R1
59.10.5pts - The World (Jia Zhang Ke, 2004) Zeitgeist; R1 - 10pts - 2 vote - 1 mention
59.10.5pts - The Proposition (John Hillcoat, 2005) First Look Pictures; R1
62.10pts - Black Narcissus (Powell and Pressburger, 1947) Warner [France] Institut Lumiere; R2 PAL
62.10pts - A Distant Trumpet (Raoul Walsh, 1964) Warner; R2 PAL
62.10pts - La Double vie de Véronique - Édition spéciale (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1991) MK2; R2 PAL
62.10pts - The Ingmar Bergman Collection (Ingmar Bergman, Various, 30 Discs) Tartan; R2 PAL
62.10pts - Invasion of the Thunderbolt Pagoda (Ira Cohen, 1968) Arthur/Saturnalia/Bastet; R0
62.10pts - Johan Van Der Keuken,Vol. 2 Coffret 3 DVD (Various) Arte Vidéo; R2 PAL
62.10pts - The Maltese Falcon [SE] (John Huston, 1941) Warner; R1
62.10pts - The Marlon Brando Collection (Various, 1953-80, 6 Discs) Warner; R1
62.10pts - Nazarin (Luis Buñuel, 1958) Yume Pictures; R2 PAL
62.10pts - The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005) New Line; R1
62.10pts - Runin: Banished (Eiji Okuda, 2004) Taki Corporation; R2 [Japan] NTSC
62.10pts - The Ultimate James Bond Collection - Vol. 1 – 4 (Various, 1962-2005) MGM; R1
 

Best Production Design

Winner with 23% of the vote - Seven Samurai [remastered] (Akira Kurosawa, 1954, 3 Discs) Criterion; R1

Best Audio Commentary

Winner with 16% of the vote - “I don’t listen to commentaries”
 

Runner-up with 13% of the vote - Jonathan Rosenbaum and James Naremore on The Complete Mr. Arkadin (Orson Welles, 1962, 3 Discs) Criterion; R1
 

Best Budget Release

Winner with 32.5% of the vote - retail price $10.99 US - The Conformist (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970) Paramount; R1

Best Transfer

Winner with 12% of the vote - Seven Samurai [remastered] (Akira Kurosawa, 1954, 3 Discs) Criterion; R1
 

Runner-up with 10% of the vote - Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967) Criterion; R1
 

Best Box Set

Winner with 20% of the vote - Eric Rohmer’s Six Moral Tales (Eric Rohmer, Various, 6 Discs) Criterion; R1
 

Runner-up with 14.8% of the vote - Astaire & Rogers Ultimate Collector’s Edition (Various, 1933- 1949) Warner; R1
 

Runner-up with 13.5% of the vote - Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films (Various, 1922-73, 50 Discs) Criterion; R1  

Best Extras

Winner with 18.5% of the vote - The Complete Mr. Arkadin (Orson Welles, 1962, 3 Discs) Criterion; R1
 

Runner-up with 12% of the vote - Tag Gallagher video essays on Max Ophüls’ Films x4 (Madame De..., Le Plaisir, The Reckless Moment, Letter from an Unknown Woman) Second Sight; R2 PAL
 

Best Cult/Horror release

Winner with 16% of the vote - Hollywood’s Legends of Horror Collection (Various, 1932-39, 3 Discs) Warner; R1

Runner-up with 12% of the vote - Dust Devil - The Final Cut (Richard Stanley, 1992) Subversive Cinema; R1

Best TV on DVD

3-way-tie with 11% of the vote each -

Deadwood - The Complete Second Season (Various, 2004, 6 Discs) HBO; R1

 
Perry Mason - Season One, Vols. 1 & 2 (Jack Arnold and etc, 1957, 10 Discs) Paramount; R1

The Wire: Season 3 (David Simon, 2004) HBO; R1
 

Best Criterion Release (non-boxset)

Winner with 14% of the vote - Seven Samurai [remastered] (Akira Kurosawa, 1954, 3 Discs) Criterion; R1
 

Runner-up with 12% each - Late Spring (Yasujiro Ozu, 1949) Criterion; R1

The Complete Mr. Arkadin (Orson Welles, 1962, 3 Discs) Criterion; R1

Most improved re-release (title that was available in a lesser edition)

Winner with 36% of the vote Seven Samurai [remastered] (Akira Kurosawa, 1954, 3 Discs) Criterion; R1
 

Runner-up with 14% of the vote Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967) Criterion; R1

For your consideration… The Eric Rohmer’s Six Moral Tales (Eric Rohmer, Various, 6 Discs) Criterion; R1 over the old Fox Lorber’s was a probably the most dramatic improvement that we can think of.

Best Contemporary release (any film made in the last 2 years)

Winner with 10% of the vote A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, 2005) New Line; R1

Runner-up with 9% of the vote Caché (Michael Hanake, 2005) Sony; R1

For your consideration... Match Point, Brokeback Mountain, The New World and Kingdom of Heaven

Best New DVD Label

Winner with 17% of the vote - No Shame DVD  

Runner-up with 12% - CasaNegra DVD  

For your consideration... New Yorker offshoot - Project X - Oliver Groom's work is top notch!

Best DVD Label

Criterion - 54% of the vote 
Masters of Cinema - 23.5% of the vote  
Warner Home Video - 20% of the vote   

Discovery

Overwhelming Winner - Winter Soldier (Winter Collective, 1972) Milliarium Zero; R0

 
Runners-up (each getting a couple mentions):
Rediscover Jacques Feyder: French Film Master (Jacques Feyder, 3 Discs) HVE; R0
Saga of Gosta Berling / Sir Arne’s Treasure / Erotikon (Maurice Stiller, Various) Kino; R1
Roma Citta Libera (Marcello Pagliero, 1946) No Shame Films; R1

BAD BAD BAD (general but valid rants - in no order)

• Window boxing trend by Criterion

• TCM Archives - Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 1 (Waterloo Bridge 1931 / Baby Face / Red-Headed Woman) (1933) - Major disappointment – from mislabeled disks to complete lack of special features to too few included titles.

• Black Girl without color sequence in color (New Yorker video)

• The dissapointing transfer of Anthony Mann’s otherwise excellent The Naked Spur.

• The HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray format war aka Two High Definition formats

• Minimally improved reissues marketed as upgrades (double dip)

• Interlaced transfers still not uncommon

• Films with an OAR greater than 1.37:1 being released on DVD without anamorphic enhancement (e.g., Sátántangó; 1.66:1).

• Yellow subtitles.

• Forced piracy warnings et al.

• Security Snaps on cases (mainly on Paramount and Universal discs)

• Every single new horror or comedy movie coming out in an Unrated Edition.

• Olympia (Leni Riefenstahl, 1936-38) Pathfinder Home Entertainment; Region 1 USA

• Botched PAL to NTSC transfers continue.

• Hypocrital bluenoses who freak out at boobs ‘n bush on DVDBEAVER.

• “The Searchers” Transfer .

• Worst packaging for Hammer Film Noir Collection from VCI - 3 discs on the same spindle.

• Big studios keep repackaging same films over and over again without paying any attention to their back catalogue. It’s nice to see Paramount, Sony, Universal, MGM to get back in the game of releasing their classic films.

• Suzuki Seijun's Taisho Trilogy (KIMSTIM’s soft transfers, burnt in subs, high prices)

• The subtitles and audio on The Death of Mr. Lazerescu (Tartan; R1)