Woodford, NSW, Australia

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases
1. Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy (Open City/ Paisan/Germany Year Zero), Roberto Rossellini, 1945-47, Criterion; R1
2. 3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg (Underworld 1927/The Last Command 1928/The Docks of New York 1928), Josef von Sternberg, Criterion; R1
3. Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics II (Human Desire/ Pushover/ Nightfall/ The Brothers Rico/ City of Fear), Fritz Lang, Richard Quine, Phil Karlson, Jacques Tourneur, Irving Lerner, 1953-59, Sony; R1
4. Spawn of the North (Henry Hathaway, 1938) Universal Backlot, R1
5. The Long Haul (Ken Hughes, 1957) Columbia Archive, R1
6. Madam Satan (Cecil B De Mille, 1930) Warner Bros Archive; R1
7. Gunman's Walk  (Phil Karlson, 1958) Sidonis R2 France PAL
8. Stranded (Frank Borzage, 1935) Warner Bros Archive, R1
9. La Signora di Tutti (Max Ophuls, 1934) Masters of Cinema/Eureka, R2
10. Icons of Suspense Collection: Hammer Films (Stop Me Before I Kill/Cash on Demand/ Never Take Candy from a Stranger/ The Snorkel/ The Damned), 1957-1962, Sony R1
 

Comments: I'd love to see the Sternbergs go to Blu-Ray; seeing Human Desire after 20 years or so revealed a work that even topped its illustrious predecessor La Bete Humaine (Renoir) and for me is easily one of Lang's top 5 films; The Long Haul was a major discovery-a dark, noirish film with great Scottish locations by the underrated genre director Ken Hughes; Never Take Candy from a Stranger, largely unseen for decades, was another beaut Hammer discovery in the Icons of Suspense box. A good year for box sets and, much as I'm reluctant to endorse the DVD-Rs on demand, Warners and Columbia are rolling out some absolute gems.

Blu-Ray
1. Make Way for Tomorrow (Leo McCarey 1937), Masters of Cinema/Eureka; RB
2. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955) Criterion; RA
3. Metropolis - Reconstructed and Restored (Fritz Lang, 1927) Masters of Cinema/Eureka; RB
4. Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (Jacques Demy, 1966) Arte; R ALL
5. Psycho (50th Anniversary Edition) (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) Universal; R ALL
6. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (Albert Lewin, 1951) Kino; R ALL
7. Wake in Fright (Ted Kotcheff, 1971) National Film&Sound Archive Australia/Madman R ALL
8. Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (Frank Tashlin, 1957) Masters of Cinema/Eureka, RB
9. Late Spring (Ozu Yasujiro, 1949) BFI, RB
10. French Can Can (Jean Renoir, 1955) Gaumont; R ALL
 

Comments: This has been my first year collecting Blu-Ray. I'm impressed by and delighted with the technological leap forward on most transfers, but there have been a couple of major disappointments, notably some RB Chaplins (Park Circus) and especially Peeping Tom-like everyone else has pointed out already, the transfer is a shocker and I hope someone will remedy it.

Sacramento, CA, USA

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2010

1. The Visitor (Giulio Paradisi, 1979) Code Red; R0

2. The Mafu Cage (Karen Arthur, 1978) Scorpion Releasing; R1

3. Terror at the Opera (Dario Argento, 1987) Arrow; R0 PAL 

4. The Man Who Lies (Alain Robbe-Grillet, 1968) Ripley’s Home Video; R2 PAL 

5. Icons of Suspense Collection: Hammer Films (Stop Me Before I Kill/Cash on Demand/ Never Take Candy from a Stranger/ The Snorkel/ The Damned), 1957-1962, Sony; R1

6. A Lizard In A Woman's Skin (Lucio Fulci, 1971)  Optimum; R2 PAL 

7. Scream (Byron Quisenberry, 1981) Shriek Show; R1

8. Behind Convent Walls (Walerian Borowczyk, 1978) Cult Epics; R1

9. Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl (Manoel de Oliveira, 2009) Cinema Guild; R1

10. Video Nasties (Jake West and Marc Morris, 2009) Nucleus Films; R 0 PAL

Comments:  After three years, Code Red finally put out their release of The Visitor.  Not only did it trump the previous English-friendly import for picture quality, it got the full special edition treatment as only Code Red could do it with dual commentary tracks from the lead actresses as well as interviews with the cast and crew.  Cult Epics originally released Tinto Brass’ THE VOYEUR in 2008 in separate English producer’s cut and Italian director’s cut versions.  Their 2010 edition features a restored English cut (although the English versions have been much shorter than the original Italian version, a complete English dub was found in the vaults) along with the Italian track and English subs.  Manoel de Oliveira’s still alive and kicking with Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl, which is offered up by the intriguing new Cinema Guild in a progressive transfer (with a promo for De Oliveira’s next film and some worthy extras).  At last, another Walerian Borowcyzk title from Cult Epics, and its progressive, features the French and Italian dubs and English subs (and the English dub) as well as an interview with cinematographer Luciano Tovoli.  Sony finally put Hammer’s THESE ARE THE DAMNED out on a set with some of Hammer’s lesser-known thrillers.  Too arty for its exploitation-oriented theatrical and video releases, Karen Arthur’s masterful The Mafu Cage has been given the special edition treatment with two commentaries and lead actor, director, and crew interviews from Scorpion Releasing.  Since it was announced by one company (then canceled for low pre-orders) and then unexpectedly picked up by another company, Byron Quisenberry’s Scream was a satisfying DVD release.  While it is by no means a remotely good film, there’s a sort of masochistic satisfaction in seeing this oddly atmospheric sub-slasher get a high-bitrate, dual-layer anamorphic transfer with audio commentary when the major companies dump their genre fare out mostly on single-layer discs with no extras (Universal can’t even scrounge up trailers for their horror discs).  The transfer of Arrow’s Terror at the Opera had nothing new over the existing editions but Arrow’s 2010 edition gave us the uncut version with both English dubs and the Italian dub with English subtitles as well as a reconstruction of the more streamlined cut prepared by Orion Pictures for the aborted US theatrical release.  Although Media Blasters/Shriek Show had chain of title for A Lizard In A Woman's Skin, the rights holder was apparently less than helpful with print elements so Shriek Show had to make due with an MGM-supplied print of the American version (MGM acquired the AIP library through Orion but do not possess home video rights for this title) and its two R1 DVDs (and an R2 Italian release) made various patch-up attempts to restore the full picture.  This year, however, Studio Canal provided the UK company Optimum with a beautiful negative-sourced transfer that was further augmented with footage from other versions to make the most complete release available.  Ripley’s Home Video followed-up their non-English-friendly HD-mastered DVDs of Eden and After and Trans_Europe-Express from last year with a nice transfer of The Man Who Lies, one of my favorite Robbe-Grillets.  Nucleus Films gave us the fantastic documentary Video Nasties in a stunning limited edition 3-disc package with almost seven hours of extras.  In addition to the documentary, Nucleus gave us a second DVD with trailers (some painstakingly reconstructed) of all of the films on the Video Nasties list, all with contextual introductions by genre authorities ranging from the cheeky to the profound.  A third disc featured even more trailers for titles that were dropped from the list, all with contextual introductions. 

There’s a new rule this year that we can’t list top ten DVDs if there is a Blu-ray edition available so I’ll just give a shout out to the Blu’s I’ve seen on DVD and assume that the HD versions are significant improvements over their SD counterparts: Criterion’s Antichrist, Black Narcissus, Cronos and House, Blue Underground and Arrow’s competing editions of City of the Living Dead, Cult Epics’ Score, and Synapse Films’ Vampire Circus!

Michael Den Boer
10kbullets.com
Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2010
1. The Visitor (Giulio Paradisi, 1979) Code Red ; R1
2. Love Exposure (Shion Sono, 2008) Third Window; UK R2 PAL
3. Girly (aka Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly) (Freddie Francis, 1970) Scorpion; R0
4. Icons of Suspense Collection: Hammer Films (Stop Me Before I Kill/Cash on Demand/ Never Take Candy from a Stranger/ The Snorkel/ The Damned), 1957-1962, Sony; R1
5. So Sweet, So Dead (Roberto Bianchi Montero, 1972) Camera Obscura; Germany R2 PAL
6. The Law (La Loi) (Jules Dassin, 1959) Oscilloscope; R0
7. Dillinger Is Dead (Marco Ferreri, 1969) Criterion Collection; R1
8. Eclipse Series 21-Oshimas Outlaw Sixties - (Pleasures of the Flesh, Violence at Noon, Sing a Song of Sex, Double Suicide and Three Resurrected Drunkards) Criterion; R1
9. Horror High (35th Anniversary Edition) (Larry N. Stouffer, 1974) Code Red; R0
10. Stranger on the Third Floor (Boris Ingster, 1940) Warner Archive; R0
 

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku, 2000) Arrow Video R'ALL' 
2. Score (Radley Metzger, 1972) Cult Epics R'ALL' 
3. Apocalypse Now (3-disc) (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979) Lionsgate; R ALL
4. Vivre sa vie (Jean-Luc Godard, 1962) Criterion R'A' 
5. City of the Living Dead (Lucio Fulci, 1980) Blue Underground R'ALL' 
6. The African Queen (John Huston, 1951) Paramount R'ALL' 
7. M (Fritz Lang, 1931) Criterion; R'A'
8. Fallen Angels (Wong Kar-Wai, 1997) Kino R'ALL' 
9. Kamikaze Girls (Tetsuya Nakashima, 2004) Third Window R'B'
10. Broken Embraces (Pedro Almodovar, 2009) Sony R'A' 

Ben Ewing

New Haven, CT, USA

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2010
1. Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy (Open City/ Paisan/Germany Year Zero), Roberto Rossellini, 1945-47, Criterion; R1
2. 3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg (Underworld 1927/The Last Command 1928/The Docks of New York 1928), Josef von Sternberg, Criterion; R1
3. Letters from Fontainhas: Three Films by Pedro Costa (Ossos, In Vanda’s Room, Colossal Youth, Pedro Costa, 1997/2000/2006) Criterion; R1
4. Eclipse Series 21-Oshimas Outlaw Sixties - (Pleasures of the Flesh, Violence at Noon, Sing a Song of Sex, Double Suicide and Three Resurrected Drunkards) Criterion; R1
5. There’s Always Tomorrow (Douglas Sirk, 1956) Masters of Cinema; R2 PAL
6. La Signora Di Tutti (Max Ophuls, 1934) Masters of Cinema; R2 PAL
7. Sous Le Soleil de Satan (Maurice Pialat, 1987) Masters of Cinema; R2 PAL
8. Three Films By Jean-Marie Straub and Daniele Huillet (1968/1998/2004) New Wave Films; R2 PAL
9. The Frantisek Vlacil Collection - (Frantisek Vlacil 67-70) Second Run; R0 PAL
10. Presenting Sacha Guitry (The Story of a Cheat, The Pearls of the Crown, Desire and Quadrille - Sacha Guitry, 1936-1938) Eclipse; R1
 

Comments: It’s a shame that Criterion didn’t release the top three DVD sets here on Blu-ray, but they’re terrific collections nonetheless. The Eclipse series continues its exciting run. The Allan King Eclipse release just narrowly missed inclusion here.
 

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984) Criterion; RA
2. Mystery Train (Jim Jarmusch, 1989) Criterion; RA
3. Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin, 1936) Criterion; RA
4. City Girl (F.W. Murnau, 1930) Masters of Cinema; R ALL
5. Bigger Than Life (Nicholas Ray, 1956) Criterion; RA
6. Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami, 1990) Criterion Collection; RA
7. Vivre Sa Vie (Jean-Luc Godard, 1962) Criterion Collection; RA
8. The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick, 1998) Criterion; RA
9. Lola Montes (Max Ophuls, 1955) Criterion; RA
10. Make Way for Tomorrow (Leo McCarey, 1937) Masters of Cinema; RB
 

Comments: I had a hard time choosing among the many great Blu-ray releases this year—and weighing my enthusiasm for the films against the strengths of the various packages—so I decided to give significant weight to whether a release filled a void where no DVD/Blu-ray, or only a significantly lesser quality and/or out of print one, previously existed. This meant that I excluded some terrific releases such as Breathless, Days Of Heaven, Red Desert, and the Ozu BFIs, not for lack of quality but because they merely upgraded format without offering much else new.

Thomas Friedman

Tallahassee, Florida, USA

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. Apocalypse Now (3-disc) (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979) Lionsgate; R ALL
2. The Magician (Ingmar Bergman, 1958), Criterion; RA
3. Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954), Criterion; RA
4. Yojimbo/Sanjuro (Akira Kurosawa, 1961/1963) Criterion; RA
5. The Leopard, (Luchino Visconti, 1963) Criterion; RA
6. Tora, Tora, Tora (Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku, Toshio Masuda, 1970) Fox-UK; R All
7. The Sound of Music (Robert Wise, 1965) Fox; R ALL
8. The African Queen (John Huston, 1951) R'ALL' Paramount
9. Black Narcissus (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1947) Criterion; RA
10a. Bridge on the River Kwai, (David Lean, 1957) Sony; R All
10b. Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 1957) Criterion; RA
 

Comments: What a fascinating, difficult year. It was the year of great Directors, with a capital "D." Coppola, Bergman, Kurosawa, Visconti, Wise, Huston, Powell & Pressburger, Lean and Kubrick; gosh! Making a cut was exhausting as Potemkin, Stagecoach, Steamboat Bill, Charade, Moulin Rouge and a number of others had to be eliminated for some minor reason or another; the best I could do was eleven titles. The best of the year is "Apocalypse Now, Full Disclosure Edition." It's a stupendous movie coupled with a superb remastering and outstanding supplements; a great achievement in every way. A couple of years ago, I would have never believed the studios would spend the huge sums needed to remaster and issue these classics in high definition for what I imagine must be a limited audience. I often think of the Akira Kurasawa quote, “It is wonderful to create,” and am thankful we can all share these treasures and that they have been preserved for future generations.

Stuart Galbraith IV

Kyoto, Japan

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2010
1. Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965 (Henry Hampton, 1987) PBS; R1
2. The Ultimate Goldbergs (various, 1949-56) Shout! Factory; R1
3. Thriller - The Complete Series (various, 1960-62) Image; R1
4. Leave It to Beaver - The Complete Series (various, 1957-63) Shout! Factory; R1
5. Ellery Queen Mysteries (various, 1975-76) Entertainment One; R1
6. Icons of Suspense Collection: Hammer Films (Stop Me Before I Kill/Cash on Demand/ Never Take Candy from a Stranger/ The Snorkel/ The Damned), 1957-1962, Sony; R1
7. Buster Keaton - Lost Keaton - Sixteen Comedy Shorts, 1934-1937 (various, 1934-37) Kino; R1
8. Film Noir Classics Collection 5 (Cornered, Deadline at Dawn, Desperate, Backfirem, Armored Car Robbery, Dial 1119, The Phenix City Story, Crime in the Streets) 45-56, Warner; R1
9. The Professional (Georges Lautner, 1981) Lions Gate; R1
10. Crack in the World (Andrew Marton, 1965) Olive Films; R1
 

Comments: DVD, dead? Hardly. The market is obviously shifting away from retail and rental to online, DVD-Rs, sub-licensing, etc., but just look at this list - a beguiling mix of historically significant and cult television series, obscure and long unavailable features, a heretofore hard-to-see collection of two-reel comedies, and a pair of this reviewer's personal favorites of 2010. Long live DVD!
 

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. The Complete Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927) Kino; R ALL
2. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955) Criterion; RA
3. The Sound of Music (Robert Wise, 1965) Fox; R ALL
4. The Leopard, (Luchino Visconti, 1963) Criterion; RA
5. Black Orpheus (Marcel Camus, 1959) Criterion; RA
6. City Girl (F.W. Murnau, 1930) Masters of Cinema; R ALL
7. The Secret of the Grain (Abdel Kechiche, 2007) Criterion; RA
8. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (Albert Lewin, 1951) Kino; R ALL
9. Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954), Criterion; RA
10. White Christmas (Michael Curtiz, 1954) Paramount; R ALL

Comments: 2010 is the year that labels finally ramped-up their classic library titles, with gorgeous transfers of several big negative titles especially. Normally I'd limit Criterion to one or two titles in order to point to the good work of smaller boutique labels, but this year Criterion really did an outstanding job; indeed, few would object to an all-Criterion Top Ten. Both lists carefully considered not just the quality of the film and its transfer but also their use of the format's capabilities, the quality and extent of new extra features, and the thought and imagination that went into the entire package.   

Jonathan Glover

Washington DC

USA

Top SD-DVD Releaaes:

1. Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy (Open City/ Paisan/Germany Year Zero), Criterion; R1

2. 3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg (Underworld 1927/The Last Command 1928/The Docks of New York 1928), Josef von Sternberg, Criterion; R1

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. By Brakhage: An Anthology (Stan Brakhage, 1954-2001) Criterion; R A
2. Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954), Criterion; RA
3. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955) Criterion; RA
4. House (Nubuhiko Obayashi, 1977) Criterion; RA
5. The Complete Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927) Kino; R ALL
6. Psycho (50th Anniversary Edition) (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) Universal; R ALL
7. Apocalypse Now (3-disc) (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979) Lionsgate; R ALL
8. Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami, 1990) Criterion Collection; RA

Christiane Habich
Leipzig, Germany
Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2010
1. Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors (Sergei Parajanov, 1964) Artificial Eye R2 PAL
2. Sweetgrass (Ilisa Barabsh, Lucien Castaing-Taylor, 2009) Cinema Guild; R1
3. There’s Always Tomorrow (Douglas Sirk, 1956) Masters of Cinema; R2 PAL
4. The Beaches of Agnes (Agnes Varda, 2008); Artificial Eye; R2, PAL
5. Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy (Open City/ Paisan/Germany Year Zero), Roberto Rossellini, 1945-47, Criterion; R1
6. 3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg (Underworld 1927/The Last Command 1928/The Docks of New York 1928), Josef von Sternberg, Criterion; R1
7. Cleo from 5 to 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962); Artificial Eye; R2 PAL
8. Das Fieber steigt in El Pao (Luis Bunuel, 1959); Kinowelt; R2, PAL
9. La Signora Di Tutti (Max Ophuls, 1934) Masters of Cinema; R2 PAL
10. The Formative Years – Arsenal Edition (Heinz Emigholz, 1972-1975), Filmgalerie 451; R0
 

Top Blu-ray Releases
1.The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955) Criterion; RA
2. Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (Jacques Demy, 1966) Arte; R ALL
3. The Leopard, (Luchino Visconti, 1963) BFI RB
4. Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925); Kino International; R ALL
5. F.W. Murnau Boxset – Sunrise and City Girl (F.W. Murnau, 1927 & 1930), Carlotta, R ALL
6. Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939) Criterion; RA
7. Metropolis - Reconstructed and Restored (Fritz Lang, 1927) Masters of Cinema/Eureka; RB
8. Belle de Jour (Luis Bunuel, 1967), Studio Canal; RB
9. 8 1/2 (Federico Fellini, 1963) Criterion; RA
10.Les Maudits (René Clement, 1947) Gaumont; Region B

David Hare

Sydney, Australia

Peter Hoskin

The Spectator, www.spectator.co.uk

London, UK

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2010

1. 3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg (Underworld 1927/The Last Command 1928/The Docks of New York 1928), Josef von Sternberg, Criterion; R1  
2. The Frantisek Vlacil Collection - (Frantisek Vlacil 67-70) Second Run; R0 PAL
3. Shadows of Progress (Anderson, Brenton, Krish et al, 1951-1977) BFI; R2 PAL
4. The Queen of Spades (Thorold Dickinson, 1949) Optimum Home Entertainment; R2 PAL
5. Elia Kazan Collection (Elia, Kazan, 1945-1963) 20th Century Fox; R1
6. Film Noir Classics Collection 5 (Cornered, Deadline at Dawn, Desperate, Backfirem, Armored Car Robbery, Dial 1119, The Phenix City Story, Crime in the Streets) 45-56, Warner; R1
7. Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy (Open City/ Paisan/Germany Year Zero), Roberto Rossellini, 1945-47, Criterion; R1
8. Presenting Sacha Guitry (The Story of a Cheat, The Pearls of the Crown, Desire and Quadrille - Sacha Guitry, 1936-1938) Eclipse; R1
9. Matinee (Joe Dante, 1993) Universal; R1
10. The Last Wagon (Delmer Daves, 1956) Optimum Home Entertainment; R2 PAL

Comments: A cheat’s list, stuffed with multi-film box sets. But, then again, I could barely ignore the good value of Second Run’s Frantisek Vlacil Collection, nor the Elia Kazan Collection which contains his masterpiece, Wild River. Aside from that, it’s been a good one for Criterion. The Guitry set was probably the discovery of the year for me. And the von Sternbergs are my favourite release in any format.

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955) Criterion; R A
2. Metropolis - Reconstructed and Restored (Fritz Lang, 1927) Masters of Cinema/Eureka; R B
3. Fantasia (Luske, Sharpsteen et al, 1940) Walt Disney; R ALL
4. M (Fritz Lang, 1931) Masters of Cinema; R B
5. City Girl (F.W. Murnau, 1930) Masters of Cinema; R ALL
6. Mad Men: Season 3 (Weiner, Abraham et al, 2009) Lionsgate; R ALL
7. America Lost & Found-BBS Story Collection (Head, Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Drive, He Said, A Safe Place, The Last Picture Show, The King of Marvin Gardens) Criterion; R A
8. By Brakhage: An Anthology (Stan Brakhage, 1954-2001) Criterion; R A
9. Les Vacances de M. Hulot (Jacques Tati, 1953) BFI; R B
10. The War of the Worlds (Steven Spielberg, 2005) Paramount; R ALL

Comments: Many of the Blu-rays on this list are, to these eyes and ears, among the finest home video packages ever released. The Night of the Hunter, M, Metropolis, Fantasia – this is what can happen when classic cinema meets blue laser. Special praise must be reserved for Masters of Cinema, who are surpassing just about everyone else when it comes to putting out older films in Hi-Def. A pity that I couldn’t find space for their Make Way for Tomorrow, nor the BFI’s Edge of the World. I was also tempted to include the Region B release of Adventureland, one of most surprising and kaleidoscopic comedies of the last decade.

Bruce Kimmel
California
Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2010
Comments: I have to say, with only a few exceptions, I stopped buying DVDs. I’ve simply been spoiled and other than a couple of rarer Lang titles, and stuff like that, I don’t think I bought more than six DVDs.

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. Les Yeux Sans Visage Georges Franju, Gaumont, R ALL
2. Peeping Tom Michael Powell, Optimum; R B
3. City Girl (F.W. Murnau, 1930) Masters of Cinema; R ALL
4. French Cancan (Jean Renoir, 1955) Gaumont; R ALL
5. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955) Criterion; RA
6. White Christmas (Michael Curtiz, 1954) Paramount; R ALL
7. Metropolis - Reconstructed and Restored (Fritz Lang, 1927) Masters of Cinema/Eureka; RB
8. Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (Jacques Demy, 1966) Arte; R ALL
9. The Ghost Writer Roman Polanski, Summit, R A
10. Inception Christopher Nolan, Warner Bros., R ALL
 

Comments: A great year for classics on blu-ray. Those of us who were berating the studios last year and loudly proclaiming that, like DVD, until they got off their behind’s and went to catalog the format would never take off – this year they heeded the call and guess what – the format took off. I could have listed ten more films easily, but my list contains transfers that I thought were a) astonishing, and b) improved drastically on what’s been available before. Several on my list took my breath away, especially as I’d given up hope on several titles of ever seeing them look as they should. I included Inception on the list even though I don’t really care for it as a film – but the transfer is reference quality and fantastic. No matter what some “experts” said, the White Christmas transfer is utterly fantastic and a perfect representation of what IB Technicolor looked like back in the 1950s – glorious and the sharpest transfer of a Vista Vision film ever done. The same goes for French Can Can. And to finally have Les Demoiselles de Rochefort restored by people who actually know what they’re doing (rather than Ms. Varda, who did the awful previous “restoration”) is a miracle – so great to finally see Mr. Demy’s classic looking shiny and sharp and colorful and like it was shot yesterday.

Lynn Lascaro
Long Beach, California
U.S.A.
Top 10 SD-DVD Releases of 2010
1. Thriller - The Complete Series (various, 1960-62) Image; R1
2. Summer and Smoke (Peter Glenville, 1961) Olive Films; R1
3. Fantomas: Five Film Collection (Louis Feuillade, 1913-14) Kino; R1
4. Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics II (Human Desire/ Pushover/ Nightfall/ The Brothers Rico/ City of Fear), Fritz Lang, Richard Quine, Phil Karlson, Jacques Tourneur, Irving Lerner, 1953-59, Sony; R1
5. Madam Satan (Cecil B. Demille, 1930) WB Archives; R0
6. Chaplin at Keystone (Various directors, 1914) Flicker Alley; R0
7. Fog Over Frisco (William Dieterle, 1934) WB Archives; R0
8. Plymouth Adventure (Clarence Brown, 1952) WB Archives; R0
9. Appointment With Danger (Lewis Allen, 1951) Olive Films; R1
10. The Cyclops ( Bert I.Gordon, 1957) WB Archives; R0
 

Comments: This year I discovered a use for double sided discs, Look at your reflection and pretend that ‘you’ are in the movie.

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. The Ghost Writer Roman Polanski, Summit, R A .
2. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955) Criterion; RA
3. Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 1957) Criterion; RA
4. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (Oshima Nagisa, 1983) Criterion; R A
5. Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson, 2009) 20th Century Fox; R A
6. To Live and Die in LA (William Friedkin, 1985} MGM; R ALL
7. The Double Life of Veronique (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1991) Artificial Eye; R ALL
8. Spirits of the Dead (Roger Vadim, Louis Malle, Fedrico Fellini, 1968) Arrow Video; R ALL
9. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Niels Arden Opley,2010, Music Box Films; RA
10. Battle Royale (Limited Edition) (Kinji Fukasaku, 2000) Arrow Video: R ALL
 

Comments: There are many lists; but this is my list. It’s not perfect; but these rang my bells. Some favorites were presented in a way I wouldn’t crow about; and I had to leave out some incredible films that I knew others would mention (Like Cronos and Metropolis). This is hard work ...puff puff.

Adam Lemke www.moviemiser.com

Syracuse, NY, USA

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases of 2010

1. Everyone Else (Maren Ade, 2009) Cinema Guild; R1
2. Love Exposure (Sion Sono, 2008) Third Window; R2 PAL
3. My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (Werner Herzog, 2009) First Look; R1
4. Brewster McCloud (Robert Altman, 1970) WB Archives; R0
5. Letters from Fontainhas: Three Films by Pedro Costa (Ossos, In Vanda’s Room, Colossal Youth, Pedro Costa, 1997/2000/2006) Criterion; R1
6. 3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg (Underworld 1927/The Last Command 1928/The Docks of New York 1928), Josef von Sternberg, Criterion; R1
7. Beeswax (Andrew Bujalski, 2009) Cinema Gulid; R1
8. Presenting Sacha Guitry (The Story of a Cheat, The Pearls of the Crown, Desire and Quadrille - Sacha Guitry, 1936-1938) Eclipse; R1
9. The Green Slime (Kinji Fukasaku, 1968) Warner Archive - R0
10. Lovely Rita (Jessica Hausner, 2001) Artificial Eye; R2 PAL

Blu-Ray
1. Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin, 1936) Criterion; RA
2. The African Queen (John Huston, 1951) Paramount; R ALL
3. Exit Through the Gift Shop (Banksy, 2010) Revolver; R ALL
4. Metropolis - Reconstructed and Restored (Fritz Lang, 1927) Masters of Cinema/Eureka; RB
5. The Loved Ones (Sean Byrne, 2009) Optimum; R B
6. M (Fritz Lang, 1931) Criterion; R'A'
7. Revanche (Götz Spielmann, 2008) Criterion; R A
8. Inferno (Dario Argento, 1980) Arrow; R ALL
9. Valhalla Rising (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2009) Momentum; R B
10. Yatterman (Takashi Miike, 2009) Panorama; R ALL
 

Comments: So many wonderful boxsets awaiting viewing, stacks of bizarre genre stuff overlooked in favor of stronger films – this list could have been 50 titles in each category. SD DVD has become the minor leagues where Labels are releasing riskier titles that will hopefully one day graduate to Blu-ray. Having just become a father, I expect a lot more home viewing in my future, which based on 2010, is not exactly a bad thing.

Tom Mahaffey

Troy, Michigan, USA

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2010
1. Lubitsch in Berlin (The Doll/The Oyster Princess/I Don't Want to be a Man/Sumurun/Anna Boleyn/The Wildcat) Masters of Cinema; R2 PAL
2. There’s Always Tomorrow (Douglas Sirk, 1956) Masters of Cinema; R2 PAL
3. A Nos Amours (Maurice Pailet, 1983) Mastersa of Cinema; R2 PAL
4. 3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg (Underworld 1927/The Last Command 1928/The Docks of New York 1928) Criterion; R1
5. Elia Kazan Collection (Elia, Kazan, 1945-1963) 20th Century Fox; R1
6. Madam Satan (Cecil B. Demille, 1930) WB Archives; R0
7. La Signora Di Tutti (Max Ophuls, 1934) Masters of Cinema; R2 PAL
8. Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1964) Park Circus; R2 PAL
9. Peacock (Michael Lander, 2010) Lion’s Gate; R1
10. Lorna’s Silence (Dardenne Brothers, 2008) Sony; R1
 

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. Lourdes (Jessica Hausner, 2009) RB Artificial Eye; R ALL
2. The Red Shoes (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1948) Criterion RA
3. Paranoiac (Freddie Francis, 1963) Eureka Video; RB
4. Antichrist (Lars Von Trier, 2009) Artificial Eye RB
5. Psycho (50th Anniversary Edition) (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) Universal; R ALL
6. America Lost & Found-BBS Story Collection (Head, Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Drive, He Said, A Safe Place, The Last Picture Show, The King of Marvin Gardens) Criterion; R A
7. A Serious Man (Coen Brothers, 2009) Universal RA
8. Revanche (Götz Spielmann, 2008) Criterion; R A
9.. Metropolis - Reconstructed and Restored (Fritz Lang, 1927) Masters of Cinema/Eureka; RB
10. City Girl (F.W. Murnau, 1930) Masters of Cinema; R ALL
 

Gregory, Meshman

Atlanta, GA USA

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2010
1. 3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg (Underworld 1927/The Last Command 1928/The Docks of New York 1928), Josef von Sternberg, Criterion; R1
2. Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy (Open City/ Paisan/Germany Year Zero), Roberto Rossellini, 1945-47, Criterion; R1
3. Chaplin at Keystone (Various directors, 1914) Flicker Alley; R0
4. Film Noir Classics Collection 5 (Cornered, Deadline at Dawn, Desperate, Backfirem, Armored Car Robbery, Dial 1119, The Phenix City Story, Crime in the Streets) 45-56, Warner; R1
5. Icons of Suspense Collection: Hammer Films (Stop Me Before I Kill/Cash on Demand/ Never Take Candy from a Stranger/ The Snorkel/ The Damned), 1957-1962, Sony R1
6. Kino Academia editions:
Engineer Prite's Project (Lev Kuleshov, 1918) Ruscico, ALL PAL
The Great Consoler (Lev Kuleshov 1933) HYPERKINO/Ruscicio; R0 PAL
Happiness (Aleksandr Medvedkin, 1935) Ruscico, ALL PAL
7. Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics II (Human Desire/ Pushover/ Nightfall/ The Brothers Rico/ City of Fear), Fritz Lang, Richard Quine, Phil Karlson, Jacques Tourneur, Irving Lerner, 1953-59, Sony; R1
8. Diamonds Of The Night (Jan Nemec, 1964) Second Run; R0 PAL
9. Deanna Durbin: The Music and Romance Collection (various, 1938-1948) Universal, R1
10. Stranger on the Third Floor (Boris Ingster, 1940) Warner Archive; R0
 

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955) Criterion; RA
2. Metropolis - Reconstructed and Restored (Fritz Lang, 1927) Masters of Cinema/Eureka; RB
3. The Red Shoes (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1948) Criterion RA
4. Black Narcissus (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1947) Criterion; RA
5. Psycho (50th Anniversary Edition) (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) Universal; R ALL
6. Apocalypse Now (3-disc) (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979) Lionsgate; R ALL
7. The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941) Warner Home Video, R ALL
8. Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939) Criterion; RA
9. The African Queen (John Huston, 1951) Paramount; R ALL 
10. Make Way for Tomorrow (Leo McCarey 1937), Masters of Cinema/Eureka; RB

John Nelson
Frederick, MD, USA
Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2010
1. Lubitsch in Berlin (The Doll/The Oyster Princess/I Don't Want to be a Man/Sumurun/Anna Boleyn/The Wildcat) Masters of Cinema; R2 PAL
2. The Frantisek Vlacil Collection - (Frantisek Vlacil 67-70) Second Run; R0 PAL
3. Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy (Open City/ Paisan/Germany Year Zero), Roberto Rossellini, 1945-47, Criterion; R1
4. The Clouded Yellow (Ralph Thomas, 1950) Eureka; R2 PAL
5. Letters from Fontainhas: Three Films by Pedro Costa (Ossos, In Vanda’s Room, Colossal Youth, Pedro Costa, 1997/2000/2006) Criterion; R1
6. The Italian Straw Hat (René Clair, 1928) Flicker Alley; R0
7. Kapo (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1959) Criterion; R1
8. Shirin (Abbas Kiarostami, 2009) Cinema Guild; R1
9. Presenting Sacha Guitry (The Story of a Cheat, The Pearls of the Crown, Desire and Quadrille - Sacha Guitry, 1936-1938) Eclipse; R1
10. The Maid (Sebastián Silva, 2009) Artificial Eye; R0 PAL
 

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. Revanche (Götz Spielmann, 2008) Criterion; R A
2. Make Way for Tomorrow (Leo McCarey 1937), Masters of Cinema/Eureka; RB
3. The Secret in Their Eyes (Juan José Campanella, 2009) Sony RA
4. Charade (Stanley Donen, 1963) - Criterion; RA
5. Delicatessen (Marc Caro + Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1991) Lionsgate; R ALL
6. Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960) Criterion; RA
7. Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954), Criterion; RA
8. The Sound of Music (Robert Wise, 1965) Fox; R ALL
9. Winter’s Bone (Debra Granik, 2010) Roadside Attractions; RA
10. America Lost & Found-BBS Story Collection (Head, Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Drive, He Said, A Safe Place, The Last Picture Show, The King of Marvin Gardens) Criterion; R A
 

Comments: Narrowing down only to 10 titles has forced me not to include several that deserve to be mentioned here, including, for example, Paths of Glory, Katyń, Red Desert, The African Queen, etc..

Luc Pomerleau

Gatineau, Québec, Canada

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2010
1. 3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg (Underworld 1927/The Last Command 1928/The Docks of New York 1928), Josef von Sternberg, Criterion; R1
2. Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy (Open City/ Paisan/Germany Year Zero), Roberto Rossellini, 1945-47, Criterion; R1
3. La Signora Di Tutti (Max Ophuls, 1934) Masters of Cinema; R2 PAL
4. The Italian Straw Hat (René Clair, 1928) Flicker Alley; R0
5. The Queen of Spades (Thorold Dickinson, 1949) Optimum Home Entertainment; R2 PAL
6. Two Films by Yasujiro Ozu (The Only Son, There Was a Father) Criterion; R1
7. Wild Grass (Alain Resnais, 2009) Sony; R1
8. Masque of the Mandragora (Doctor Who episode directed by Rodney Bennett, 1976) Warner; R1
9. Alice in Wonderland (Norman Z. McLeod, 1933) Universal Studios; R0
10. Icons of Suspense Collection: Hammer Films (Stop Me Before I Kill/Cash on Demand/ Never Take Candy from a Stranger/ The Snorkel/ The Damned), 1957-1962, Sony R1
 

Comments: Great to rediscover von Sternberg outside of his Dietrich phase, in such sterling transfers. Will anyone think of issuing a boxset of other early Ophuls like Liebelei (Eclipse perhaps?). Clair's film seem to me an even more enjoyable romp than the most celebrated Le Million, just as Resnais brings us a breath of cinematic fresh air well while into his 80s. Nice to finally be able to savor Anton Walbrook and Edith Evans in a satisfying edition of the cult Queen of Spades. Are there other neglected Ozu masterpieces like the beautiful There Was a Father left to be discovered in R1? Mc Leod's Alice is more of a curiosity, an assemblage of hits and misses, but indispensable for any Lewis Carroll fan. Masque of the Mandragora is a truly enjoyable DW pseudo-historical from the Tom Baker era, before the star became uncontrollable and unwatchable. The Hammer set finally brings back Joseph Losey's only foray into science-fiction.
 

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. Lola Montès (Max Ophuls, 1955) Criterion; RA
2. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955) Criterion; RA
3. Metropolis - Reconstructed and Restored (Fritz Lang, 1927) Masters of Cinema/Eureka; RB
4.The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, 2009) Sony; R A
5. M (Fritz Lang, 1931) Masters of Cinema; R B
6. City Girl (F.W. Murnau, 1930) Masters of Cinema; R ALL
7. Legend of the Black Scorpion (Xiaogang Feng, 2006) Weinstein; R ALL
8. Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 1957) Criterion; RA
9. The Magician (Ingmar Bergman, 1958), Criterion; RA
10.Black Narcissus /The Red Shoes (Michael Powell + Emeric Pressburger, 1947/1948) Criterion Collection; RA
 

Comments: Lola Montès is dramatically flawed, but its visual splendor finds the perfect setting in 1080P. Two titles by Lang; M is the superior film, but the near-complete Metropolis is a true event, and the newly-found footage, while not totally redeeming some of the hackneyed elements, does make it a more satisfying experience than before. I'm usually not a fan of Asian fight movies, but Black Scorpion is visually magnificent and the script seemed more rewarding than in other similar fare. Nice to see a mainstream company like Sony giving such a lavish treatment to Hanneke's not-so-mainstream film. Night of the Hunter was almost worth buying solely for the footage of Laughton directing. Impossible to choose between the two Technicolor extravaganzas by Powell-Pressburger; campy and dated at times, but wonderful cinema. Bergman's Magician may well end up being one of my favorite titles from him, considering how all the technical and artistic components come together so effectively, just as in Kubrick's, an atypically affecting and emotionally crushing work from the director. The America Lost & Found boxset from Criterion did not make my list because it would deserve a category of its own considering the abundance of meaningful titles and relevant extras I have only barely started to sample.

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Top SD-DVD 2010
1. Earth (Alexander Dovzhenko, 1930), Mr. Bongo; R2 PAL
2. Georges Melies Encore: 26 Additional Rare and Original Films by the First Wizard of Cinema (Georges Melies et al., 1896-1911), Flicker Alley; R1
3. The Great Consoler (Lev Kuleshov 1933) HYPERKINO/Ruscicio; R0 PAL
4. Martin, El Gaucho/Way of a Gaucho (Jacques Tourneur, 1952),20TH Century-Fox/Impulse (Spain), #2, PAL
5. Make Way for Tomorrow (Leo McCarey, 1937) Criterion; R1
6. They’re a Weird Mob (Michael Powell, 1966), Roadshow Entertainment (Australia); R4 PAL
7. How to Live in the German Federal Republic (Harun Faroki, 1990), Facets Video; R0
8. Die Stille vor Bach (Pere Portabella, 2007), Sherlock (Spain) PAL
9. * People on Sunday (several directors, 1930), BFI; R2 PAL
10. The Italian Straw Hat (René Clair, 1928) Flicker Alley; R0
 

* Note included in poll tallies as it did not come out in 2010

Comments: The most outstanding region 1 box sets: 3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg, Presenting Sacha Guitry (Eclipse), & Douglas Sirk Filmmaker Collection (Universal)
 

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925); Kino International; R ALL
2. The World (Jia Zhang-ke, 2004) Masters of Cinema/Eureka; R ALL
3. The Leopard, (Luchino Visconti, 1963) Criterion; RA
4. Une femme mariée (Jean-Luc Godard. 1964), Masters of Cinema; R ALL
5. Lola Montes (Max Ophuls, 1955) Criterion; RA
6. Sherlock Jr. / Three Ages 1924, Buster Keaton Kino; R ALL
7. M (Fritz Lang, 1931) Criterion; RA
8. Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (Frank Tashlin, 1957) Masters of Cinema/Eureka, RB
9. Bigger Than Life (Nicholas Ray, 1956) Criterion; RA
10. Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984) Criterion; RA
 

Comments: The most outstanding Blu-Ray box set (by far): By Brakhage: An Anthology - volumes 1 + 2

Bill Routt

Balwyn, Victoria, Australia

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2010

1. Sammy Going South (Alexander Mackendrick, 1963) Optimum; R2 PAL
2. Make Way for Tomorrow (Leo McCarey, 1937) Criterion; R1
3. You and Me [Du und Ich] (Fritz Lang, 1938) Koch Media GmbH; R2 PAL
4. 3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg (Underworld 1927/The Last Command 1928/The Docks of New York 1928) Criterion; R1
5. Film Noir Classics Collection 5 (Cornered, Deadline at Dawn, Desperate, Backfirem, Armored Car Robbery, Dial 1119, The Phenix City Story, Crime in the Streets) 45-56, Warner; R1
6. Sherlock (various, 2010), BBC; R2 PAL
7. From Morn to Midnight (Karlheinz Martin, 1920), Edition Filmmuseum; R0 (PAL)
8. Hausu (Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1977), Masters of Cinema; R2 PAL
9. Georges Melies Encore: 26 Additional Rare and Original Films by the First Wizard of Cinema (Georges Melies et al., 1896-1911), Flicker Alley; R1
10. Bad Girls of Film Noir, Vol. 2 (various, 1946-1956), Sony; R1
 

Comments: Titles listed in approximate order of my positive feelings about having them. Sammy Going South (Alexander Mackendrick, 1963) is first because I have wanted to see it for such a long time and because it was a real revelation in such a fine edition. Make Way for Tomorrow, Sherlock and Hausu are on this list because the editions I purchased do not yet have a direct Blu counterpart.
 

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. Metropolis - Reconstructed and Restored (Fritz Lang, 1927) Masters of Cinema/Eureka; RB
2. Summer Hours (Olivier Assayas, 2008), Criterion; RA
3. Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939) Criterion; RA
4. Red Cliff, Part I & Part II - Special Edition (John Woo, 2008), Icon Home Entertainment; RB (AU)
6. Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson, 2009) 20th Century Fox; R A
7. Fantasia (Luske, Sharpsteen et al, 1940) Walt Disney; R ALL
8. The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008), Summit Entertainment; RA
9. The Railway Children (Lionel Jeffries, 1970), Optimum; RB
10. Arn: The Knight Templar (Peter Flinth, 2007), Eagle; RB (AU)
 

Comments: List order is, as for DVDs, an order approximating my pleasure in having them.

Per-Olof Strandberg

Helsinki, Finland

Top SD-DVD Releases

1. * The Beekeeper (Theo Angelopoulos, 1986) Artificial Eye; R2 PAL
2  * India Song (Marguerite Duras 1975) Atlantic Film R2 PAL
3. Chantal Akerman in the Seventies (Hôtel Monterey, Je, tu, il, elle, Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, News from Home, Les rendez- vous d’Anna) Criterion; R1
4. Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy (Open City/ Paisan/Germany Year Zero), Roberto Rossellini, 1945-47, Criterion; R1
5. Taking off (Milos Forman, 1971) Future Film; R2 PAL
6. Film Noir Classics Collection 5 (Cornered, Deadline at Dawn, Desperate, Backfirem, Armored Car Robbery, Dial 1119, The Phenix City Story, Crime in the Streets) 45-56, Warner; R1
7. Eclipse Series 21-Oshimas Outlaw Sixties - (Pleasures of the Flesh, Violence at Noon, Sing a Song of Sex, Double Suicide and Three Resurrected Drunkards) Criterion; R1
8. 3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg (Underworld 1927/The Last Command 1928/The Docks of New York 1928) Criterion; R1
 

Comments: *Both transfers are quite poor, especially The Beekeeper transfer does not do justice to the film.
 

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. Metropolis - Reconstructed and Restored (Fritz Lang, 1927) Masters of Cinema/Eureka; RB
2. Les Vacances de M. Hulot (Jacques Tati, 1953) BFI; RB
3. City Girl (F.W. Murnau, 1930) Masters of Cinema; R ALL
4. Lola Montes (Max Ophuls, 1955) Criterion; RA
5. Walkabout (Nicolas Roeg, 1971) Criterion; RA
6. Le Cercle Rouge (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1970) StudioCanal Collection – Optimum; RB
7. Man with No Name Trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars For a Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) Sergio Leone  MGM; R ALL
8. Sex & Lucia (Julio Medem, 2001) Palm; RA
9. The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967) StudioCanal; R A/B
10.Tous les Matins du Monde **) 1991 Alain Corneau Atlantic Film; R B

**) Interlaced transfer, but the film is excellent!
 

Comments: There's so many wonderful BD's this year: "M", the KINO Buster Keaton films, Dust in the Wind, The Leopard, Yojimbo. From France the Frank Borzage films, Renoir, Demy, Scola, Wajda, etc. The Swedish ATLANTIC FILM for two Peter Greenaway films in excellent quality.

Daniel Stuyck

Austin, TX, USA

1. Lubitsch in Berlin (The Doll/The Oyster Princess/I Don't Want to be a Man/Sumurun/Anna Boleyn/The Wildcat) Masters of Cinema; R2 PAL
2. Chaplin at Keystone (Various directors, 1914) Flicker Alley; R0
3. Che (Steven Soderbergh, 2008) Criterion, R1
4. Presenting Sacha Guitry (The Story of a Cheat, The Pearls of the Crown, Desire and Quadrille - Sacha Guitry, 1936-1938) Eclipse; R1
5. The Alain Resnais Collection (I Want to Go Home, Melo, Love Unto Death Life is a Bed of Roses) Artificial Eye; R2 PAL
6. The Portuguese Nun (Eugène Green, 2009) Bodega Films; R2 PAL
7. Eclipse Series 21-Oshimas Outlaw Sixties - (Pleasures of the Flesh, Violence at Noon, Sing a Song of Sex, Double Suicide and Three Resurrected Drunkards) Criterion; R1
8. Afterschool (Antonio Campos, 2008) MPI; R1
9. 24 City (Jia Zhang-ke, 2008) Cinema Guild; R1
10. Carlos (aka "Carlos the Jackal: Complete") Optimum; R2 PAL

Mikkel Leffers Svendstrup

Editor, Uncut.dk

Denmark

Top SD-DVD Releases OF 2010
1. The Mercenary (Sergio Corbucci, 1968) Koch Media; R2 PAL
2. Isolde (Jytte Rex, 1989) Another World Entertainment; R2 PAL
3. Cjamango (Edoardo Mulargia, 1967) Koch Media; R2 PAL
4. Thompson 1880 (Guido Zurli, 1966) Koch Media; R2 PAL
5. R (Michael Noer & Tobias Lindholm, 2010) Nordisk Film; R2 PAL
6. Yatterman (Takeshi Miike, 2009) ) Another World Entertainment; R2 PAL
7. Katie Tippel (Paul Verhoeven, 1975) ) Another World Entertainment/Trinity Films; R2 PAL
8. Diary of a Hooke (Paul Verhoeven, 1971) ) Another World Entertainment/Trinity Films; R2 PAL
 

Comments: 2010 has been the definitive “switch” year for me. I don’t buy DVD's anymore – unless it’s in the guilty pleasures category ☺ Off course there have been a couple of really exciting releases from Danish distributor Another World Entertainment and German spaghetti maestros Koch Media keeps on pushing the genre to DVD in great quality.
 

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966) Moconabm (Russian); R ALL
2. Metropolis - Reconstructed and Restored (Fritz Lang, 1927) Masters of Cinema/Eureka; RB
3. Django (Sergio Corbucci, 1966) Blue Underground; RA
4. Alien Anthology (Scott, Fincher, Jeunet, 1979, 1986, 1992, 1997) SF Film/Fox; R ALL
5. The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, 2009) Artificial Eye; R B
6. The Leopard, (Luchino Visconti, 1963) Criterion; RA  
7. Armadillo (Janus Metz, 2010) Nordisk Film; RB
8. Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939) Criterion; RA
9. Psycho (50th Anniversary Edition) (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) Universal; R ALL
10. Profound Desires of the Gods (Shhei Imamura, 1968) MoC; RB
 

Comments: 2010 was a great year for Blu-ray. So many releases it’s almost impossible to nail down only 10. Other honorable mentions are: Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 1957) Criterion Collection; A, The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick, 1998) Criterion; RA, Seven (David Fincher, 1995) SF Film/New Line Cinema; ABC Martha (Erik Balling, 1967) Nordisk Film; B, Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu, 1953) BFI; B City Girl (F.W. Murnau, 1930) Eureka/MoC; B Moon (Ducan jones, 2009) Altlantic; B, Olsen Banden (Erik Balling, 1968) Nordisk Film; B Sunrise (F.W. Murnau, 1927) MoC; B Back to the Future Trilogy (Robert Zemeckis, 1985, 1989, 1990) Universal; ABC

Gary Tooze

Toronto, Canada

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2010
1) The Green Slime (Kinji Fukasaku, 1968) Warner Archive; R0
2) Kapo (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1959) Criterion; R1
3) The Frantisek Vlacil Collection - (Frantisek Vlacil 67-70) Second Run; R0 PAL
4) Appointment With Danger (Lewis Allen, 1951) Olive Films; R1
5) Two Films by Yasujiro Ozu (The Only Son, There Was a Father) Criterion; R1
6) Bad Girls of Film Noir, Vol. 1 (Two of a Kind, The Killer That Stalked New York, Bad For Each Other, The Glass Wall) Sony; R1
7) Icons of Suspense Collection: Hammer Films (Stop Me Before I Kill/Cash on Demand/ Never Take Candy from a Stranger/ The Snorkel/ The Damned), 1957-1962, Sony; R1
8) Film Noir Classics Collection 5 (Cornered, Deadline at Dawn, Desperate, Backfirem, Armored Car Robbery, Dial 1119, The Phenix City Story, Crime in the Streets) 45-56, Warner; R1
9) Eclipse Series 21-Oshimas Outlaw Sixties - (Pleasures of the Flesh, Violence at Noon, Sing a Song of Sex, Double Suicide and Three Resurrected Drunkards) Criterion; R1
10) Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics II (Human Desire/ Pushover/ Nightfall/ The Brothers Rico/ City of Fear), Fritz Lang, Richard Quine, Phil Karlson, Jacques Tourneur, Irving Lerner, 1953-59, Sony; R1
 

Comments: With classic Film Noir still largely ignored by the 1080P format - it frequently becomes the focus of my DVD enjoyment. Afterthoughts included La Loi, Warner Archive's A Stolen Life, Madam Satan, or Stranger on the Third Floor. Flicker Alley editions, like their wonderful Chaplin at Keystone, certainly deserved mention on my cramped list. I left off a number of excellent Criterion boxsets including 3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg , Letters from Fontainhas and Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy feeling they would be more than adequately represented.

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955) Criterion; RA
2. Metropolis - Reconstructed and Restored (Fritz Lang, 1927) Masters of Cinema/Eureka; RB
3. Lucky Star (Frank Borzage, 1929) Carlotta; R ALL
4. M (Fritz Lang, 1931) Masters of Cinema; RB
5. Black Narcissus (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1947) Criterion; RA

6. Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson, 2009) 20th Century Fox; R A
7. America Lost & Found-BBS Story Collection (Head, Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Drive, He Said, A Safe Place, The Last Picture Show, The King of Marvin Gardens) Criterion; R A
8. The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick, 1998) Criterion; RA
9. Psycho (50th Anniversary Edition) (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) Universal; R ALL
10. City Girl (F.W. Murnau, 1930) Masters of Cinema; R ALL
 

Comments: So many more I was forced to, unjustly, leave out like Studio Canal's Blu-ray of Melville's Le Cercle Rouge, The Maltese Falcon, Toy Story 3, Polanski The Ghost Writer, Miyazaki's Ponyo, Malick's Days Of Heaven, Powell and Pressburger's The Red Shoes, Edge of the World, Egoyan's Chloe, Nicholas Ray's Bigger Than Life, Tom Ford's masterful A Single Man, Chaplin's City Lights and Modern Times or even the Coen's A Serious Man (I thought this was great!). Engrossing TV like Breaking Bad was worthy of a mention. I've also been remiss in not including certain, very deserved, production companies like BFI and their Ozu's (Late Spring; Early Summer, Tokyo Story) and Blue Underground (like their Django or horror flicks)! I LOVE the direction Blu-ray is going with classic films being represented with rich grain and authentic film-like presentations. It just seems to be getting better.

Troy Weets

Fargo, North Dakota, USA

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2010

James White

Head of Technical, BFI (UK)

London, UK
Top 10 SD-DVD
1. World on a Wire (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1973) Second Sight; R2
2. Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics II (Human Desire/ Pushover/ Nightfall/ The Brothers Rico/ City of Fear), Fritz Lang, Richard Quine, Phil Karlson, Jacques Tourneur, Irving Lerner, 1953-59, Sony; R1
3. 3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg (Underworld 1927/The Last Command 1928/The Docks of New York 1928), Josef von Sternberg, Criterion; R1
4. Diamonds Of The Night (Jan Nemec, 1964) Second Run; R0 PAL
5. Hotel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie (Marcel Ophuls, 1988) Icarus Films; Region 1
6. Monte Walsh (William A. Fraker, 1970) Paramount; R1
7. The Queen of Spades (Thorold Dickinson, 1949) Optimum Home Entertainment; R2 PAL
8. Possession (Andrzej Zulawski, 1981) Second Sight; R2
9. Brewster McCloud (Robert Altman, 1970) WB Archives; R0
10. The Actuality Dramas of Allan King (Warrendale / A Married Couple / Come on Children / Dying at Grace / Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company) - Allan King, 1967-2004 - Criterion; R1
 

Comments: Gentlemen's protocol forbids me from including BFI titles in my top ten, but I feel very proud to have contributed to "Shadows of Progress", our 4-disc collection of Post-war British documentaries, a true labour of love for all involved.
 

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. America Lost & Found-BBS Story Collection (Head, Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Drive, He Said, A Safe Place, The Last Picture Show, The King of Marvin Gardens) Criterion; R A
2. M (Fritz Lang, 1931) Masters of Cinema; R B
3. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955) Criterion; RA
4. Fantasia (Luske, Sharpsteen et al, 1940) Walt Disney; R ALL
5. Profound Desires of the Gods (Shhei Imamura, 1968) MoC; RB
6. Apocalypse Now (3-disc) (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979) Lionsgate; R ALL
7. Le Cercle Rouge (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1970) StudioCanal Collection – Optimum; RB
8. Inferno (Dario Argento, 1980) Arrow; R ALL
9. Psycho (50th Anniversary Edition) (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) Universal; R ALL
10. The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick, 1998) Criterion; RA
 

Comments: A fantastic year for Blu-ray - it's very difficult to narrow my list down to just ten! But at the risk of bending the rules I'd also like to say that my own high point this year was working on our new Blu-ray edition of The Edge of the World  (Michael Powell, 1937), with titles from the Flipside and Adelphi series playing a close second. With the release of these weird and wonderful films, the history of British cinema is still being written.

Ross Wilbanks

Charlotte, NC, USA

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2010

1. The Films of Pat O’Neill (1963-2009) Lookout Mountain; R0
2. Letters from Fontainhas: Three Films by Pedro Costa (Ossos, In Vanda’s Room, Colossal Youth, Pedro Costa, 1997/2000/2006) Criterion; R1
3. Eika Katappa & The Death of Maria Malibran (Werner Schroeter 1968-72) Editions Filmmuseum; R0 PAL
4. Chaplin at Keystone (Various directors, 1914) Flicker Alley; R0
5. 3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg (Underworld 1927/The Last Command 1928/The Docks of New York 1928), Josef von Sternberg, Criterion; R1
6. Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy (Open City/ Paisan/Germany Year Zero), Roberto Rossellini, 1945-47, Criterion; R1
7. Sestaja cast’ mira & Odinnadcatyj (Dziga Vertov 1926-28) Editions Filmmuseum; R0 PAL
8. Ice & Milestones (Robert Kramer 1969-75) Capricci; R2 PAL
9. The Great Consoler (Lev Kuleshov 1933) HYPERKINO/Ruscicio; R0 PAL
10. The Films of Bruce Baillie 2&3 (1962-1970) Canyon Cinema; R0
 

Comments: The first and last selections on this list are the (close to) completed works of 2 major film-makers over multiple DVDs. Excited over many Eclipse box sets this year: the discovery of Allan King, the peeks into Sacha Guitry and Nasiga Oshima among others. Thank you Criterion for continuing to put out DVDs. Enjoyed immensely (already!) the DVD put out by Masters of Cinema, La Signora di Tutti. The overall best release for me was By Brakhage: An Anthology 2 but I do not own the Blu-ray version and therefore could not put it on my list.

Nick Wrigley
England

Top 10 SD-DVD Releases OF 2010
1. 3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg (Underworld 1927/The Last Command 1928/The Docks of New York 1928), Josef von Sternberg, Criterion; R1
2. Letters from Fontainhas: Three Films by Pedro Costa (Ossos, In Vanda’s Room, Colossal Youth, Pedro Costa, 1997/2000/2006) Criterion; R1
3. The Frantisek Vlacil Collection - (Frantisek Vlacil 67-70) Second Run; R0 PAL
4. Make Way for Tomorrow (Leo McCarey, 1937) Criterion; R1
5. Shadows of Progress: Documentary films in post-war Britain 1951-1977 - BFI; R2 PAL
6. Secrets of Nature: Pioneering Natural History Films (Various directors, UK, 1922-33) BFI; R2 PAL
7. Morgiana (Juraj Herz, 1972) Second Run; R 0 PAL
8. Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy (Open City/ Paisan/Germany Year Zero), Roberto Rossellini, 1945-47, Criterion; R1
9. Chaplin at Keystone 1910s - BFI; R2 PAL
 

Comments: I wish all these releases had been on Blu-ray (especially the von Sternbergs), but I realise that's an unreasonable wish. Was very lucky to at least be able to release Make Way for Tomorrow on Blu-ray in the MoC Series.
 

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939) Criterion; RA
2. Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 1957) Criterion; RA
3. The Edge of the World (Michael Powell, UK, 1937) BFI; R ALL
4. Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu, 1953) BFI; RB
5. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955) Criterion; RA
6. Late Spring (Yasujiro Ozu, 1949) BFI; RB
7. Early Summer (Yasujiro Ozu, 1951) BFI; RB
8. The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, 2009) Artificial Eye; R B
9. Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami, 1990) Criterion Collection; RA
10. Enter The Void (Gaspar Noe, 2009) WildSide ; RB
 

Comments: December 27th update: I just saw The Maltese Falcon Blu-ray followed by The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Blu-ray and both looked astonishingly good. Going to watch The African Queen Blu-ray tonight. When I watch a DVD now I feel like I'm watching YouTube (and I realise that's a pretty sad 'graphics tart' thing to say, because DVDs look amazing on smaller TVs, but I'm looking forward to when 1080p is the norm. It's such a treat.) It's a whopping ten years now since I bought my first DVD player (August 2000 as part of an Apple G4 tower) and I've recently been looking back at everything: at ten years of Criterion obsession; ten years of following the BFI's label and watching it morph into the muscular powerhouse it is today; nearly 7 years of making MoC discs; and ongoing affection for labels such as Second Run, Artificial Eye, Flicker Alley, Carlotta, Ripleys, Cinema Guild, Project X, Mondo Vision, Blue Underground and a host of others who care about their own high standards. This has definitely been a glorious golden period. Obviously, none of these labels would be able to do the work they do if folk didn't buy their discs. I hope in another ten years there's still a decent business model in place for this sort of care and attention to flourish. If not, perhaps we'll all finally be able to find the time to listen to the commentary tracks we don't bother listening to today! -- It's time for the smaller labels to occupy the higher ground and offer something beautiful and physical that people want to own/collect (the majors aren't that arsed about catalogue titles on Blu-ray) and I can't wait to see what everyone turns out over the next few years.

Top Blu-ray Releases
1. The Red Shoes (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1948) Criterion RA . One of the all time artistic masterpieces of British cinema receives its justly deserved state of the art cornerstone audio/video presentation, packed with meaningful extras.
2. Black Narcissus (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1947) Criterion; RA . The other iconic film from The Archers is at last a sumptuous visual feast on home video. Haunting, compelling melodrama of the first order in a transfer that matches its status as a work of art.
3. The Ghost Writer Roman Polanski, Summit, R A . Heart pounding thriller with superb visuals and a compelling script - easily Polanski's best work since Chinatown!
4. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (John Huston 1948) Warner; R ALL . A magnificent no-brainer upgrade to Blu with exceptional image clarity that reawakens Huston's slumbering giant with renewed vigor.
5. Psycho (50th Anniversary Edition) (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) Universal; R ALL A breathtaking B&W transfer that perfectly illustrates for the collector first - why more B&W movies need to be seen on Blu and second, why after 50 years we still can't take a shower without at least hearing a hint of that eerie string music.
6. Bridge on the River Kwai, (David Lean, 1957) Sony; R All . A 'best foot forward' visual presentation of possibly the finest anti-war movie ever made. If there's only one thing any fan of Lean could wish for more that this it's a Blu version of Lean's other Sony masterpiece, Lawrence of Arabia with the same consideration afforded. This is a must have!
7. The Sound of Music (Robert Wise, 1965) Fox; R ALL . Still the happiest sound in all the world, only now fleshed out with so many extra features that one can gush and coo over this celebrated musical until next Christmas. All together now..."doe, a deer, a female deer..."
8. White Christmas (Michael Curtiz, 1954) Paramount; R ALL . "Sisters. Sisters. There were never such devoted sisters..." and there's never been a video presentation of this perennial holiday favourite as bold, brassy and classy as this. Paramount gets top marks for starting from scratch and giving us an early stocking stuffer in glorious 1080p brilliance.
9. Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin, 1936) Criterion; RA . One of the little tramp's best outings finally gets the respect it deserves. Not much in the way of new extras, but the transfer is well worth the repurchase.
10. Beauty and the Beast (Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise 1991) Disney R A . The tale as old as time is as good as new on Blu. Disney proves unequivocally why it continues to lead the pack in terms of consistent quality and providing a comprehensive collector's copy of some of their most celebrated animated movies. Now, if we could only convince the studio to do as much for their catalogue live action titles...hmmm!
 

Comments: Although the year's releases of classic movies on Blu-Ray were slender at best, there were undoubtedly more titles worth owning, thanks to each studio's commitment in doing their absolute best by their catalogue titles. 2010 was not a banner year by any stretch and 2011 looks about the same in terms of quantity - with golden oldies getting short shrift to the latest blockbuster no one will probably remember in six months time. But quality is what Blu is all about and this year, more than any other, Hollywood took notice of that fact. As such, there was much more to see in 1080p! My wish list is ever brimming with a backlog of catalogue titles from the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s to add to that list. Some will undoubtedly make the cut in the coming months. Many, regrettably will probably not. Oh well, this collector can still wish, can't he?