DVD and Blu-ray of the Year 2012

"No one can see every release during the entire calendar year - so we hope our lists can introduce and expose some of the many lauded DVDs and Blu-rays that surfaced during 2012. You may find some unique surprises. We don't discriminate based on regional limitations or broadcast standards. Expanding the borders of your digital entertainment horizons has always been the primary goal of this website. We always appreciate your suggestions and contributions."

DVDBeaver

DVDBeaver are proud to announce our voting results for DVD and Blu-ray of the Year - 2012. We've done our best to help expose some of the important, and often clandestine, digital packages that surfaced in the last 12 months.

It is easy to see what a strong year this was by looking at the titles that received less than 15 votes. There are some fabulous digital editions to investigate - that didn't even make Top 65 releases of the year! The SD-DVD format continues to survive and thrive in a niche market of desirable made-for-demand discs with other large studios (Fox, MGM, etc.) following Warner's lead. Blu-ray is here to stay and patient fans were pleased to see more-clandestine films, and important directors, reach 1080P status. Big thanks ALL journalists, historians, producers and aficionados who participated and, as always, to our friend Adam Lemke for his stalwart efforts in tabulating the Poll results - both in organization, formatting and tallying.

The Totals (click to access)

TOP 65 in Total

THE TOP TEN DVDs OF 2012

THE TOP TEN Blu-rays OF 2012

TITLES WITH LESS THAN 15 VOTES (alphabetic)

TOP LABELS Best Cover Design

Best Audio Commentary Notable Rant and Praise

NOTE: Legend:

'' indicates that this is a region-free disc

'' is a clickable link to the DVDBeaver review

'' is a clickable purchase link to Amazon

'' is a clickable purchase link to YesAsia

'' is a clickable purchase link to The Warner Archive

'' is the purchase link to TCM

TOP SELECTIONS IN ORDER - Discs with 15 or more votes:

1. The Passion of Joan of Arc Masters of Cinema; Region B 111 votes
2. Eclipse Series 34: Jean Gremillon During the Occupation Criterion 86 votes
3. The Devils BFI PAL 79 votes
4. Lonesome Criterion 77 votes
5. Die Nibelungen Masters of Cinema; Region B 57 votes
6. Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection Universal 53 votes
7. Double Indemnity Masters of Cinema; Region B 50 votes
8. Lawrence of Arabia Sony 46 votes
9. Park Row Masters of Cinema PAL 44 votes
10. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp ITV; Region B 43 votes
11. Eclipse Series 37: When Horror Came to Shochiku Criterion 42 votes
12. David Lean Directs Noel Coward Criterion 38 votes
13. Mon Oncle BFI; Region B 34 votes
14. Polish Cinema Classics Second Run PAL 34 votes
15. Rosemary's Baby Criterion 32 votes
16. Eclipse Series 32: Pearls of the Czech New Wave Criterion 31 votes
17. Margaret: Theatrical and Extended Cut 20th Century Fox 30 votes
18. The Student Comedies (The Ozu Collection) BFI PAL 29 votes
19. The Turin Horse Cinema Guild 29 votes
20. Johnny Guitar Olive 28 votes
21. Outcast of the Islands Studio Canal PAL 28 votes
22. Wings Paramount 27 votes
23. Heaven's Gate Criterion 26 votes
24. Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection Universal 25 votes
25. Anatomy of a Murder Criterion 24 votes
26. Letter Never Sent Criterion 24 votes
27. Ghost Stories for Christmas BFI PAL 22 votes
28. Mizoguchi Collection Artificial Eye; Region B 22 votes
29. Westward the Women Warner 22 votes
30. Casa de Lava Second Run PAL 21 votes
31. Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics Vol. 3 (TCM Vault, 1945-1957) TCM 21 votes
32. The Gold Rush Criterion 21 votes
33. My Son John Olive 20 votes
34. La Grande Illusion Studio Canal; Region B 19 votes
35. Les Vampires Kino 19 votes
36. Les Visiteurs du Soir Criterion 19 votes
37. The Kid with a Bike Artificial Eye; Region B 19 votes
38. The Monster and the Girl Universal 19 votes
40. Weekend Criterion 19 votes
41. Zombie Flesh Eaters Arrow; Region B 19 votes
42. Classic Bergman - 5 Disc Set Artificial Eye; Region B 18 votes
43. Cleopatra Masters of Cinema; Region B 18 votes
44. On The Bowery - The Films of Lionel Rogosin, Vol. 1 Milestone 18 votes
45. Twilight's Last Gleaming Olive 18 votes
46. Accatone Masters of Cinema; Region B 17 votes
47. Chariots of Fire Warner 17 votes
48. Mother Joan of the Angels Second Run PAL 17 votes
49. The Boogens Olive 17 votes
50. The Gospel According to Matthew Masters of Cinema; Region B 17 votes
51. The Hanging Tree Warner 17 votes
52. The Uninvited Exposure 17 votes
53. The Verdict Warner 17 votes
54. A Woman Under the Influence BFI; Region B 16 votes
55. Confidence Second Run PAL 16 votes
56. Eclipse Series 36: Three Wicked Melodramas from Gainsborough Pictures Criterion 16 votes
57. Ed Wood Touchstone 16 votes
58. Fairy Tales: Early Colour Stencil films from Pathe BFI PAL 16 votes
59. Spiders Kino 16 votes
60. Take Shelter Sony 16 votes
61. The Big Trail 20th Century Fox 16 votes
62. Three Stooges Ultimate Collection (various, 1934-1959) Sony 16 votes
63. Ramrod Olive 15 votes
64. Rosetta Criterion 15 votes
65. Three Melodramas (Yasujiro Ozu, 1933-1957) BFI 15 votes

THE WINNERS - DVD

First Place with 86 pts – Eclipse Series 34: Jean Gremillon During the Occupation - Though little known outside of France, Jean Grémillon was a consummate filmmaker from his country’s golden age. A classical violinist who turned to directing, he went on to make almost fifty films—from documentaries to avant-garde works to melodramas with major stars—in a thirty-year career. Three of his richest came during a dire period in French history: Remorques, starring Jean Gabin, was begun in 1939 but finished and released after Germany invaded France, and Lumière d’été and Le ciel est à vous were produced during the occupation. These character-driven dramas, the first two cowritten by legendary screenwriter Jacques Prévert, are humane, entertaining, and technically brilliant, and prove Grémillon to be one of cinema’s true hidden masters.

Second Place with 79pts – In seventeenth-century France, a promiscuous and divisive local priest, Urbain Grandier (Oliver Reed), uses his powers to protect the city of Loudun from destruction at the hands of the establishment. Soon he stands accused of the demonic possession of Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave), whose erotic obsession with him fuels the hysterical fervour that sweeps through the convent. With its bold and brilliant direction by Ken Russell, magnificent performances by Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave, exquisite Derek Jarman sets and sublimely dissonant score by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, The Devils stands as a profound and sincere commentary on religious hysteria, political persecution and the corrupt marriage of church and state.

Third Place with 44 pts – Iconic American filmmaker Samuel Fuller began his career as a tabloid reporter, and thrillingly drew on those skills and experiences in his extraordinary labour-of-love Park Row. An exhilarating tribute to the ideals of the free press and noble popular journalism, this two-fisted tale of battles on and off the printed page in 1880s New York is a major American rediscovery. Packing more dynamite into eight reels than most directors unleash over a career, Fuller's self-financed Park Row is a passionate, idiosyncratic work of gritty myth-making.

Fourth Place with 42 pts – Following years of a certain radioactive rubber beast’s domination of the box office, many Japanese studios tried to replicate the formula with their own brands of monster movies. One of the most fascinating dives into that fiendish deep end was the short-lived one from Shochiku, a studio better known for its elegant dramas by the likes of Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujiro Ozu. In 1967 and 1968, the company created four certifiably batty, low-budget fantasies, tales haunted by watery ghosts, plagued by angry insects, and stalked by aliens—including one in the form of a giant chicken-lizard. Shochiku’s outrageous and oozy horror period shows a studio leaping into the unknown, even if only for one brief, bloody moment.

Fifth Place with 34 pts – Second Run's 4-DVD set comprises four remarkable films from some of Polish cinemas most vital and provocative talents. It includes Eroica (1958), Night Train (1959), Innocent Sorcerers (1960) and Goodbye, See You Tomorrow (1960).

In for Sixth Place with 31 points - Of all the cinematic New Waves that broke over the world in the 1960s, the one in Czechoslovakia was among the most fruitful, fascinating, and radical. With a wicked sense of humor and a healthy streak of surrealism, a group of fearless directors—including eventual Oscar winners Miloš Forman and Ján Kadár—began to use film to speak out about the hypocrisy and absurdity of the Communist state. A defining work was the 1966 omnibus film Pearls of the Deep, which introduced five of the movement’s essential voices: Věra Chytilová, Jaromil Jireš, Jiří Menzel, Jan Němec, and Evald Schorm. This series presents that title, along with five other crucial works that followed close on its heels, one from each of those filmmakers—some dazzlingly experimental, some arrestingly realistic, all singular expressions from a remarkable time and place.

7th Place: Master Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu (Tokyo Story) has been revered for his unique and poetic style. This 2-disc set brings together all of his surviving early student-genre comedies for the first time - DAYS OF YOUTH (Wakaki Hi)1929, I FLUNKED, BUT... (Rakudai Wa Shita Keredo) 1930, THE LADY AND THE BEARD (Shukujo to Hige) 1931 and WHERE NOW ARE THE DREAMS OF YOUTH? (Sieshun No Yume Ima Izuko)1932..

8th Place with 28 pts – Trevor Howard was always good at portraying insufferable blowhards and irredeemable bastards, but he excels himself as Peter Willems in this adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s second novel, a tumultuous tale of a late-19th Century trader who escapes scandal and infamy in Singapore to take up equally disruptive residence on a small Malayan island ‘belonging’ to sea captain Lingard (Ralph Richardson).

In Ninth with 22 pts – Broadcast in the dying hours of Christmas Eve, the BBC's A Ghost Story for Christmas series was a fixture of the seasonal schedules throughout the 1970s. For ten years viewers were chilled and terrified by atmospheric literary adaptations as well as sinister contemporary tales. More recently the series was revived, to critical acclaim. With three suitably spooky episodes derived from the pen of the master of English ghost story MR James.

Tenth Place with 22 pts – They are rugged pioneers, Indian fighters and brave trailblazers who tame the wild west. These are the women of the great frontier - that's right - the women! Based on historical record, this wagon-train saga details a 2,000-mile journey from Chicago to California. The men seek gold; the women seek men. Both strike pay dirt! Buck Wyatt (Robert Taylor) is a tough, experienced scout who leads a wagon train comprised of two ex-show girls (Denise Darcel and Julie Bishop), a hearty widow (Hope Emerson) and fifteen men who act as guides. When one of the men disobeys Buck's orders not to fraternize with the ladies, Buck shoots him, causing the others to desert. Instead of turning back, the determined women insist on going on, learning to ride, shoot and drive mules. Although treacherous terrain and a deadly ambush lay ahead, these tough ladies are filled with the American frontier spirit, and nothing will stop them!

BLU-RAYs OF THE YEAR

First Place with 111 pts – One of the most emotional film experiences of any era, Carl Theodor Dreyer's 1928 The Passion of Joan of Arc is a miracle of the cinema, an enigmatic and profoundly moving work that merges the worlds of the viewer and of saintly Joan herself into one shared experience of hushed delirium. Dreyer's film charts the final days of Joan of Arc as she undergoes the degradation that accompanies her trial for charges of heresy - through her imprisonment and execution at the stake. The portrayal of Joan by Renée Maria Falconetti is frequently heralded as the all-time finest performance in the history of film, and Dreyer's unusual and virtuosic method, in seeming to render the very soul of his actress, vaulted the director decisively into the ranks of the art form's supreme geniuses.

Second Place with 77pts – A buried treasure from Hollywood’s golden age, Lonesome is the creation of a little-known but audacious and one-of-a-kind filmmaker, Paul Fejos (also an explorer, anthropologist, and doctor!). While under contract at Universal, Fejos pulled out all the stops for this lovely, largely silent New York City symphony set in antic Coney Island during the Fourth of July weekend, employing color tinting, superimposition effects, experimental editing, and a roving camera (plus three dialogue scenes, added to satisfy the new craze for talkies). For years, Lonesome has been a rare treat for festival and cinematheque audiences, but it’s only now coming to home video. Rarer still are the two other Fejos films from his Universal years included in this release: The Last Performance and a reconstruction of the previously incomplete sound version of Broadway, in its time the most expensive film ever produced by the studio.

Third Place with 57pts – Perhaps the most stately of Fritz Lang’s two-part epics, the five-hour Die Nibelungen [The Nibelungen] is a courageous and hallucinatory work, a film in which every single shot might alone endure as an exemplar of visual art. Its extraordinary set-pieces, archetypal themes, and unrestrained ambition have proven an inspiration for nearly every fantasy cycle that has emerged on-screen since – from Star Wars to The Lord of the Rings.

Fourth Place with 53pts – From the era of silent movies through present day, Universal Pictures has been regarded as the home of the monsters. Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection showcases 8 of the most iconic monsters in motion picture history including Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, Phantom of the Opera and Creature From the Black Lagoon. Starring Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, Jr., Claude Rains and Elsa Lanchester in the roles that they made famous, these original films set the standard for a new horror genre with revolutionary makeup, mood-altering cinematography and groundbreaking special effects.

Fifth Place with 50 pts – Double Indemnity is the dazzling, quintessential film noir whose enormous popular success and seven Oscar nominations catapulted Billy Wilder (Some Like It Hot, Sunset Boulevard, The Apartment) into the very top tier of Hollywood’s writer-directors. Adapted from a novella by James M. Cain (The Postman Always Rings Twice), co-written by Wilder and Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep, The Long Goodbye), Double Indemnity remains the hardest-boiled of delectations.

Sixth Place with 46 pts – Winner of seven Academy Awards®, including Best Picture of 1962, Lawrence of Arabia stands as one of the most timeless and essential motion picture masterpieces. The greatest achievement of its legendary, Oscar-winning director David Lean (1962, Lawrence of Arabia; 1957, The Bridge on the River Kwai), the film stars Peter O’Toole – in his career-making performance – as T.E. Lawrence, the audacious World War I British army officer who heroically united rival Arab desert tribes and led them to war against the mighty Turkish Empire.

Seventh Place with 43 pts - It's almost impossible to define this 1943 masterpiece by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It was ostensibly based on a cartoon series that satirized the British military class, yet its attitude toward the main character is one of affection, respect, and sometimes awe; it was intended as a propaganda film, yet Churchill wanted to suppress it; it has the romantic sweep of a grand love story, yet none of the romantic relationships it presents is truly fulfilled, and the film's most lasting bond is one between the British colonel (Roger Livesey) and his Prussian counterpart (Anton Walbrook).

Eighth Place with 38 pts - In the 1940s, the wit of playwright Noël Coward and the craft of filmmaker David Lean melded harmoniously in one of cinema’s greatest writer-director collaborations. With the wartime military drama sensation In Which We Serve, Coward and Lean (along with producing partners Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan) embarked on a series of literate, socially engaged, and enormously entertaining pictures that ranged from domestic epic (This Happy Breed) to whimsical comedy (Blithe Spirit) to poignant romance (Brief Encounter). These films created a lasting testament to Coward’s artistic legacy and introduced Lean’s visionary talents to the world.

Ninth Place with 34 pts – Five years after his first appearance, Jacques Tati's M. Hulot returns with Mon Oncle, a film set along the dividing line between Paris' past and its future. Aligned (as is the film) with the former, Hulot lives in a colorful, overpopulated Parisian neighborhood and, lacking employment, spends his days waiting to pick up his adoring nephew from school, and subsequently escorting him to his parents' ultra-modern house. Filled with gadgets, some turned on only to impress the neighbors, the house seems designed specifically to frustrate Hulot, who unwittingly disrupts its operations at every opportunity.

Tenth Place with 32 pts – Horrifying and darkly comic, Rosemary’s Baby was Roman Polanski’s Hollywood debut. This wildly entertaining nightmare, faithfully adapted from Ira Levin’s best seller, stars a revelatory Mia Farrow as a young mother-to-be who grows increasingly suspicious that her overfriendly elderly neighbors (played by Sidney Blackmer and an Oscar-winning Ruth Gordon) and self-involved husband (John Cassavetes) are hatching a satanic plot against her and her baby. In the decades of occult cinema that Polanski’s ungodly masterpiece has spawned, it has never been outdone for sheer psychological terror.

TITLES WITH LESS THAN 15 VOTES (Alphabetic)

20 Little Films - Viennale Trailers 1995-2012 (Viennale, PAL)

The 39 Steps Criterion
All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone, 1930) Universal
Almanac of Fall (Bela Tarr, 1984) UK Artificial Eye; R2 PAL

L'Amour d'une Femme (Gremillon, 1953) Gaumont a la demande,
Arrietty (Hiromasa Yonebayashi, 2010) UK Optimum; Region B
Bande A Part Gaumont; Region B
Barbara Pyramide Vidéo; Region B
Baron Blood (Mario Bava, 1972) Redemption Films/Kino Lorber
Belle de jour Criterion

The Big Heat Twilight Time
Billy Elliot (Stephen Daldry, 2000) Universal

The Black Panther (BFI)
Bond 50 (Various directors, 1966) MGM
Bonjour Tristesse Twilight Time
Born to be Bad Warner
Bowery Boys Collection, Volume 1 (various, 1947) Warner Archive
Brave Walt Disney
Brazil Criterion
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (Peckinpah, 1974), Koch; Region B

A Bullet for the General (Damiani, 1966), Blue Underground
Buster Keaton Ultimate Collection (Kino Lorber)
Bye Bye Birdie Twilight Time

The Cabin in the Woods Lionsgate
Casque D'Or (StudioCanal UK)
Casting a Glance and R+R (Edition Filmmuseum, PAL)
Check It Out: Season 1 & 2 - Cartoon Network
Chinatown Paramount

Le Cinema de Max Linder Editions Montparnasse; Region B
Circus World [as Le Plus Grand Cirque du Monde] (Henry Hathaway, 1964) Filmedia; Region B

The Color Out of Space (Huan Vin, 2010) Brink DVD,
Columbia Pictures Pre-Code Collection DVD TCM

The Conformist (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970) Arrow Video; Region B
Countess Perverse (Jess Franco, 1974) Mondo Macabro;
Crime Does Not Pay - The Complete Shorts Collection (various, 1935-1947) Warner
Cut to the Chase - The Charley Chase Comedy Collection Milestone
Daniele Huillet & Jean-Marie Straub, Volume 7 DVD Editions Montparnasse
Dark Crimes Film Noir Thrillers / The Glass Key / Phantom Lady / The Blue Dahlia TCM
Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse Masters of Cinema; Region B
Desperate Search (Joseph H. Lewis, 1958) Warner Archive
Dial M for Murder 2D + 3D (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954) Warner,
Doctor Who, Series 7.1 (Steven Moffat, 2012) BBC 2entertain;
Downton Abbey: Season 3 (Julian Fellowes, 2012) Universal
Driver X4: The Lost and Found Films of Sara Drive (filmswelike)
Eating Raoul Criterion
Eclipse Series 31: Three Popular Films by Jean-Pierre Gorin Criterion
Edgar Wallace Mysteries, Volume 1 (various, 1960-61) Network; R2 PAL
El Sur Verite cine
End of the Road (Aram Avakian, 1970) Warner;
Ernie Kovacs Collection VOL.2 Shout! Factory

The Erotic Films of Peter de Rome (de Rome, 1965-1972) BFI R2 PAL
ET Universal Pictures
Fallen Angels (Wong, 1995) Artificial Eye; Region B
Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight - Mr. Bongo PAL
Fascination (Jean Rollin, 1979) Redemption Films/Kino Lorger;
Fernando Di Leo Crime Collection Raro
Flame Over India (J. Lee Thompson, 1959) VCI
Floating Weeds Masters of Cinema; Region B
Forbidden Hollywood: Volume 4 Warner
Forbidden Hollywood: Volume 5 Warner
Fort Apache (John Ford, 1948) Warner;
Four Films with Asta Neilsen (Urban Gad et al., 1913, 1916) Editions Filmmuseum; PAL
Frank Capra: The Early Collection TCM
Fritz Lang: The Early Works DVD Kino
Game of Thrones: Season 1 - HBO
Gate of Hell Masters of Cinema; Region B
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Hawks/Jack Cole 1953) Fox
George Gently Series 4 (Nicholas Renton, 2011) Acorn; RA
Get a Life (Shout Factory)
Ghostkeeper (Jim Makichuk, 1982) Code Red Releasing;
Godzilla Criterion
Godzilla vs. Megalon MediaBlasters
Goodbye First Love Artificial Eye; Region B

The Grapes of Wrath 20th Century Fox

The Half Naked Truth (Gregory LaCava, 1932) France Collection RKO PAL
Halloween II (Rick Rosenthal, 1981) Shout Factory; Region A
Halloween III (Tommy Lee Wallace, 1982) Shout Factory; Region A
Hammer House of Horror: The Complete Series (Various, 1980), Synapse Films;
Harold and Maude Criterion
Hawks and Sparrows DVD Masters of Cinema

A Hollis Frampton Odyssey Criterion
Hondo, (John Farrow, 1953) Paramount,
The House by the Cemetery (Lucio Fulci, 1981) Blue Underground and Arrow Video
House on Sorority Row (Mark Rosman, 1983) Scorpion Releasing;
Hugo (Martin Scorsese, 2011) Paramount,
Im Kwon Taek Collection Boxset Blue Kino
Island of Lost Souls Masters of Cinema; Region B
It Always Rains on Sunday Studio Canal
Jaws Universal
Jean-Luc Godard Politique - Coffret 13 films Gaumont

La Jetée / Sans Soleil Criterion
Kazan at Fox, Volume 1 and 2 (Elia Kazan, 1945-1960) Fox

The Killing, aka Forbrydelsen Arrow; Region B
The Lawless (Losey, 1950) Olive Films
Letter from an Unknown Woman Olive

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog Network
Lone Wolf and Cub Complete 6-Film Blu-ray Collection AnimEiGo

The Lost Weekend Masters of Cinema; Region B
The Loves Of Pharoah Alpha-Omega

The Magnificent Ambersons Warner
Man of the Story. Adoor Gopalakrishnan. 1995. Second Run PAL

A Man Vanishes (Shohei Imamura, Icarus, Region 1)
The Man from London (Bela Tarr, 2007) Zeitgeist

Martha Marcy May Marlene Sony
Melancholia (Lars von Trier, 2012) Artificial Eye; Region B

Mighty Aphrodite MiraMax

The Moment of Truth Criterion
Moonrise Kingdom Universal

The Most Dangerous Game / Gow, the Headhunter Flicker Alley;
Mundane History Second Run PAL
My Living Doll (Bill Kelsay, 1964-1965) MPI
My Pal Gus (1952) Robert Parrish Fox Cinema Archives R1
Mysteries of Lisbon (Raul Ruiz, MPI, Region A)
Night of the Bloody Apes (Rene Cardona, 1969) Nucleus Films; PAL
Night of the Devils (Giorgio Ferroni, 1972) Raro Video USA;
Nightbirds (BFI)
No Man of Her Own DVD Olive
Nobody Lives Forever DVD Warner
Numero Deux Olive
Oedipus Rex Masters of Cinema; Region B
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia Cinema Guild
One from the Heart (RA, Japan)
Pale Flower - Masahiro Shinoda, 1964, Criterion
Pattes Blanches (Gremillon, 1949) Gaumont a la Demande PAL
Peter Gunn - The Complete Series (Various, 1958-61) DVD Timeless Media
Pieges (Siodmak, 1939) Gaumont a la demande PAL (note: No subs)
Pier Paolo Pasolini's Trilogy of Life Criterion
Pigsty Masters of Cinema;
Plot of Fear DVD Raro

La Porte du diable (The Devil's Doorway) Wild Side Video PAL

La Promesse Criterion
Purple Noon Criterion

Le Quai des Brumes (Marcel Carne 1938) Studio Canal; Region B
Rags & Riches: The Mary Pickford Collection (1917-1926) Milestone;

The Rake's Progress (Stravinsky/Glyndebourne, 2011) Opus Arte;
Rashomon Criterion
Raymond Bernard: 3 Films (Raymond Bernard, 1924-30) Gaumont; R2 PAL
Repo Man Masters of Cinema; Region B
Ring-a-Ding Rhythm [aka It's Trad, Dad!] (Richard Lester, 1962) Sony Choice Classics;
Rock-a-Bye-Baby Olive
Roll Out the Barrel (BFI)
Ruggles of Red Gap Masters of Cinema; Region B
Rusalka (Dvorak/Bavarian State Opera, 2011) C Major/Kultur;
Sacco e Vanzetti (Montaldo, 1971), RHV; Region B
Sansho Dayu (Mizoguchi, 1954), Masters of Cinema; Region B

The Saragossa Manuscript :Restored Edition (1965) Mr Bongo PAL
Satan's Slave (Norman Warren, 1976) Scorpion Releasing;
Secret Beyond the Door (Fritz Lang, 1948) Exposure Cinema; PAL
Shakespeare in Love (John Madden, 1998) Lionsgate,
Shame Momentum
Shiver of the Vampires (Jean Rollin, 1971) Redemption Films/Kino Lorber;

The Show (1927) Tod Browning Warner Archive
Show People (King Vidor, 1928) Warner Archive;
Show Them No Mercy! (1935) George Marshall Fox Cinema Archives R1
Singin' in the Rain Warner

The Skin I Live In (Pedro Almodovar, 2011) Sony
Slattery's Hurricane 20th Century Fox
Sokurov Early Masterworks Cinema Guild
Something to Live For Olive

The Spy In Black Spirit Entertainment PAL
Star Trek, TNG (Various, 1987-8) Paramount,
Strangers On A Train (Alfred Hitchcock, 1951) Warner

The Story of Film: An Odyssey DVD Network
Sunday Bloody Sunday Criterion

The Sweeney - The Complete Series 1 (various, 1975) Network; Region B
Theo Angelopoulos Vol. 2 Artificial Eye PAL
Theo Angelopoulos Vol. 3 Artificial Eye PAL
They Live Shout! Factory
Things to Come (William Cameron Menzies, 1936) Network; Region B
This is Cinerama Flicker
Three Strangers Warner
To Catch a Thief, (Alfred Hitchcock, 1955) Paramount,
To Kill a Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan, 1962) Universal
Too Late Blues Olive

Tout(e) Varda - Coffret 22 DVD

The Trial (Studio Canal) Region B
Trouble in Paradise Masters of Cinema
Tsar to Lenin DVD Mehring
Two-Lane Blacktop Masters of Cinema; Region B
United Red Army Kino
UPA: The Jolly Frolics Collection (1948 - 1959) Sony / TCM
Vitaphone Comedies Collection Vol 1 (various, 1930) Warner Archive;

The Way Ahead (Carol Reed, 1944) VCI Entertainment
We Can't Go Home Again Oscilloscope

The Whisperer in Darkness Microcinema
Windjammer: The Voyage of the Christian Radich (Louis de Rochemont III & Bill Colleran, 1958) Flicker Alley
Woody Allen: A Documentary Docurama
World on a Wire Criterion
Yellow Submarine Capitol

Label Results

Top 10 Labels
#1 - Criterion - 620pts
#2 - Eureka - Masters of Cinema - 428pts
#3 - BFI - 231pts
#4 - Olive Films - 155pts
#5 - Warner - 146pts
#6 - Universal - 135pts
#7 - Second Run - 101pts
#8 - Artificial Eye - 93pts
#9 - 20th Century Fox - 76pts
#10 - Kino - 63pts

Best Cover Designs:

Most Praised Audio Commentary

Michael Gondry -- Criterion's Being John Malkovich

Notable Rants and Praise

DVDBeaver-ites stated their unanimous distaste for the 1080P editions of Les Enfants du Paradis (on both sides of the pond) and Marnie (in the Blu-ray Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection.)

Many Film Fans still commented their displeasure with the price of Warner Archive releases although the variety and quality continues to improve from the initial offerings - and sales are frequent.

Raves -- Plenty of praise for Olive films - some considered them the breakout label of the year with releases like Johnny Guitar, My Son John, and Letter from an Unknown Woman. Other positive comments surfaced for smaller labels like Second Run, Cinema Guild, Flicker Alley, Icarus and the comprehensive horror packages of Blue Underground and Arrow Films.

Have a fabulous 2013!

Hit Counter

DONATIONS Keep DVDBeaver alive and advertisement free:

CLICK PayPal logo to donate!

Gary Tooze

Thank You!