Top 10 DVDs of 2009
by Brian Eggert
12/22/2009
Whether you’re in need of a last-minute gift idea or looking to spend some green on yourself, this list of Deep Focus Review’s Top 10 DVDs of 2009 should supply a few ideas. The selections include everything from timeless classics to arthouse favorites, from top-notch animation to postermodern masterpieces, so there’s something for everyone (regardless of your chosen format, Blu-ray or DVD). Help support this site by clicking the Amazon.com links provided, or head over to Deep Pockets to place your order. Happy holidays, and happy shopping!
10. M. Butterfly (1993)
Though devoid of extensive features or even a high-def transfer, this DVD edition of David Cronenberg’s M. Butterfly just barely makes the list by satisfying a long-absent entry on my personal home video wishlist. Made in 1993, the film, adapted by David Henry Hwang from his play, was the last entry in Cronenberg’s career not available on DVD. Warner Bros. released the film as part of their “Director’s Series” and supplied the Cronenberg’s fans with an incredible drama, somewhat tame when compared to his other work (Eastern Promises, The Fly). You won’t get director’s commentary or behind-the-scenes features, which are standard on most DVDs nowadays; what you will get is a wonderful, under-seen film.
9. Inglourious Basterds (2009) 2-Disc Limited Edition
One of 2009’s very best and most fun films, Inglourious Basterds is Quentin Tarantino’s ode to cinema like no other. Using WWII war pictures as a metaphor to represent the inherent catharsis of movie-going, Tarantino also shows his diversity, making a genuinely suspenseful scenario (thanks to the breakthrough performance to Christopher Waltz). Though it’s Tarantino’s most successful film financially (Brad Pitt’s presence didn’t hurt), the result proves to be a piece of postmodern brilliance, pointedly less “commercial” than his other work in terms of story. Expect to hear more about it come Oscar season. On this 2-disc limited edition release, Tarantino fans get extended and alternate scenes, a routable discussion (between the director, star Brad Pitt, and critic Elvis Mitchell), and an added full feature—Nation’s Pride, the faux black-and-white picture shown for Hitler in the film’s moviehouse sequence. Order Inglourious Basterds (2-Disc Special Edition on Blu-ray
8. Magnificent Obsession (1954) The Criterion Collection
Douglas Sirk’s colorful and soapy melodrama Magnificent Obsession joined the director’s other releases, All that Heaven Allows and Written on the Wind, in The Criterion Collection’s library this year. The film marked the first partnership of many between Sirk and actor Rock Hudson, who together remain one of the all-time great ongoing actor-director partnerships. This 2-disc release is packed with features, including the 1935 version of the film by John M. Stahl. There’s also a rare 82-minute interview with Sirk in UFA to Hollywood: Douglas Sirk Remembers, as well as interviews with filmmakers Allison Anders and Kathryn Bigelow. Though there was no Blu-ray edition available, the film was shot in Technicolor, and Criterion’s beautiful transfer makes every color burst with life.
7. Homicide (1991) The Criterion Collection
Another film that spent far too long on the absent-from-DVD list, Criterion’s release of David Mamet’s masterful existential drama Homicide gives the film an audience it never had. Upon its release in 1991, Mamet was known primarily for his Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Glengarry Glen Ross. And despite his accomplished pictures (House of Games, Things Change) that came before this film, Mamet would not be recognized as a pivotal filmmaker until years later. Homicide demonstrates how Mamet was in full control of his craft all along, recognized or not. This director-approved special edition contains Mamet’s commentary, making-of features, and even (curiously) a hilarious blooper reel.
6. North by Northwest (1959) 50th Anniversary Edition
The VistaVision photography in Alfred Hitchcock’s virtuoso wrong-man thriller looks astonishing in Blu-ray. Even in standard format, this 50th Anniversary Edition has a wonderful transfer from Warner Bros., who may have slipped in their treatment of vault classics with their questionable handling of the Warner Bros. Archive, but they still maintain careful consideration for their benchmark catalog titles like North by Northwest. This 2-disc set contains commentary by screenwriter Ernest Lehman, a new documentary called The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style, the doc Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North by Northwest from the 2000 home video release, and a video profile of star Cary Grant. Of course, the real reason to pick up this disc is for Hitchcock’s incredible, unbelievable, and completely engaging yarn—easily one of the greatest motion pictures ever made. Order North by Northwest (50th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Book) on Blu-ray
5. The Human Condition (1959) The Criterion Collection
Director Masaki Kobayashi’s humanism finds its most expansive, self-indulgent home in the nine-and-a-half-hour long feature The Human Condition. Broken into three parts, the extensive picture is a major achievement from the director of Harakiri and Samurai Rebellion, and a massive 4-disc set from The Criterion Collection. Included in the thick, digipack edition (which looks glorious on a collector’s shelf, by the way) is a video interview with Kobayashi conducted by fellow Japanese director Masahiro Shinoda, an interview with star Tatsuya Nakadai, and thoughtful video appreciation. This is one of the most staggering productions in Japanese film history, and one of Criterion’s best packages.
4. Up (2009) 4-Disc Combo Pack with Digital Copy, DVD, and Blu-ray versions
The complete inventory of features on Pixar’s release of Up is too long to list here, as the company always reserves a plethora of material for their home video releases. With this release, you get the film on both Blu-ray and DVD formats, a DisneyFile Digital Copy, and an extras disc. There’s no end to the games and features included, with making-of docs and visual designs shown from the conceptualization stages up. You get Partly Cloudy, the theatrical short that played with the feature, as well as Dug’s Special Mission, a new short detailing the origins of everyone’s favorite talking dog (“Hi there.”). But all of these features mean little when compared to the visual and emotional experience of a Pixar film in high-definition. There’s so much information compiled by Pixar computers, and it’s undeniably apparent that their films come alive on Blu-ray like no other. If you’re having trouble being convinced of Blu-ray’s superiority, check out this disc—or any Pixar Blu-ray for that matter—and you’ll quickly be converted.
3. The Seventh Seal (1957) The Criterion Collection
It’s easy to forget how powerful a film Ingmar Bergman made with his arthouse masterpiece The Seventh Seal. Having been copied and parodied so much in the fifty years since its release, it’s indisputably an iconic work, but its emotional influence is sometimes lost amid the references and scholarship. The Criterion Collection is taking bold steps to assure that film aficionados don’t forget its significance with this new special edition release, a 2-disc set containing an impressive assortment of extras. Introducing the film is Bergman himself in a video recorded in 2003. There’s commentary by Bergman scholar Peter Cowie, an interview with star Max von Sydow, a 1989 tribute by Woody Allen, and what may be the best feature of 2009, the 83-minute documentary Bergman Island by Marie Nyreröd. For those unfamiliar with the film and its director, this release will make you an expert, and for experts, it will more than solidify your appreciation of this masterwork. Order The Seventh Seal (Criterion Collection) on Blu-ray
2. Star Trek (Movies, Shows, Everything…)
Eleven stunning features, three revamped television series, endless hours of features, new Blu-ray transfers, and a partridge in a pear tree. Thanks to the release of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, Paramount went all-out on their Trek titles this year, revamping the previous ten features in separate Original Series and The Next Generation boxed sets, as well as putting out a great separate release for the new film. The boxed set films include: The Motion Picture (1979), The Wrath of Khan (1982), The Search for Spock (1984), The Voyage Home (1986), The Final Frontier (1989), The Undiscovered Country (1991), Generations (1994), First Contact (1996), Insurrection (1998), and Nemesis (2002). What’s more, the three seasons of the 1960s program have been remastered, both in the vintage form and the new upgraded versions, complete with new high-def computer effects in place of shoddy space models and other galactic phenomena. Trekkies, myself included, were in bliss with the lot. Here’s hoping next year, or shortly thereafter, Paramount puts The Next Generation and subsequent series on Blu-ray. For more, click here to visit Amazon.com's Star Trek Store
1. AK 100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa (The Criterion Collection)
The only thing better than nearly a dozen Star Trek films and three seasons of the television series on DVD and Blu-ray is virtually the entire career of Japanese master Akira Kurosawa in one impressive package. The Criterion Collection put together this linen-bound set in honor of Kurosawa’s would-be centenary, and it supplies collectors with an enormous display piece for the director’s oeuvre, and those not completely familiar with Kurosawa’s work the opportunity to obtain the lion's share of his films in one smart purchase. Retailing for under $300 (that’s around $12 a disc!) depending on where you shop, the set contains twenty-five Kurosawa films (only a handful of the director’s films are absent from the set), all sporting expert transfers and new subtitle translations. Though this set doesn’t include all the special features that would normally be incorporated by Criterion on individual releases, it does feature a 96-page book containing essays from Kurosawa scholars Stephen Prince and Donald Richie. Consider this a film class in a box, and a celebration of Japan’s greatest filmmaker.
The films include: Sanshiro Sugata (1943), The Most Beautiful (1944), The Men Who Tread on the Tigers Tail (1945), Sanshiro Sugata 2 (1945), No Regrets for Our Youth (1946), One Wonderful Sunday (1947), Drunken Angel (1948), Stray Dog (1949), Rashomon (1950), Scandal (1950), The Idiot (1951), Ikiru (1952), Seven Samurai (1954), I Live in Fear (1955), The Lower Depths (1957), Throne of Blood (1957), The Hidden Fortress (1958), The Bad Sleep Well (1960), Yojimbo (1961), Sanjuro (1962), High and Low (1963), Red Beard (1965), Dodes' Ka-Den (1970), Kagemusha (1980), and Madadayo (1993).
5 Must-Buy Blu-rays: