Unlucky For Some; The Best of 2007 December 30, 2007
Posted by John Hodson in : DVD News & Info , trackbackBlimey.
Was that 2007 that just caromed by, slamming into two walls and cracking the ceiling before disappearing with a whooshing and a popping noise up the chimney?
Whoosh!
POP!
Blimey. And strangely, how very like 2006…
As much as I hold in contempt those that are slaves to convention and feel the desperate, pitiful need to come up with an end of year list of what they consider to be the best DVD releases of the year, I feel an overwhelming compulsion (and a pitiful need). To come up with a list of what I feel constitutes the best DVD releases of the year. With certain constraints and caveats, of course.
2007 was the year that I finally reined in my spending on those little shiny discs, thus I still have several releases that could have made it to this ’best of 2007′ in my wish list rather than on my shelves; no Performance, no O Lucky Man!, no Deliverance, no Laurence Olivier Collection, no Jazz Singer. Quite alot of ‘no’, in fact. Similarly, I caught up with several titles - chief among them Universal’s delightful Cecil B. DeMille Collection and Film First’s superb Humphrey Jennings Collection - that would easily have made it had they been released ‘07. I waited for the sales; common sense prevails. Well, mostly.
I’ve also mulled over this list for a little while now, cut and pasted titles several times as I recalled that, yes, they were released this last year, and yes, so and so should be listed rather than such and such. That’s the fluid nature of these highly subjective ’best of’ lists. Subject to mood shifts; hence it differs slightly to an earlier version I compiled for a DVD forum. No doubt, should I think about it again in an hour (and I will), I’ll be tempted to come back and revise it. I promise to resist the urge. Honest.
It’s also not a top ten; as usual, I’ve cheated and included 13 releases. So shoot me for tempting fate. In order to actually make the top 13, I’ve considered a ‘best mix’ of the standard of the transfer, the quality of the extras, overall presentation (menus, packaging, etc.) and the quality of the entertainment on offer. Thus, in no particular order:
Ford at Fox (U.S.); bravo Fox for having the vision, 
and the cojones, to even think of marketing such a risky proposition and then to come up with the goods - a truly lovely collection, even though, despite the premise, it does not actually represent the whole of Ford’s output while at the studio. Sumptuous presentation, some excellent extra features, the coffee table book and the full sized theatrical programmes are the icing on a very rich cake; I’m still stunned by the latest restoration of Drums Along The Mohawk.
Blade Runner; The Ultimate Collectors Edition (U.K.); and bravo to Warners - and Ridley Scott - for coming up with a collection that is one of the few to deserve the epithet ‘Ultimate’. A set that contains possibly everything one could imagine, and at a bargain bucket price to boot. ‘The Final Cut’ is a triumph, an absolute triumph.
Nosferatu (U.K.); Eureka’s MoC release is without doubt the best yet of Murnau’s seminal horror classic. Much moaning about the cropping of head and feet during the coffin rising scene, but it’s nit-picking compared to the quality of the transfer and the extras contained within. Superb.
The Tyrone Power Collection (U.S.); despite the flaws, another very worthy effort from the increasingly impressive Fox, and a terrific showcase for Hollywood’s ‘Last Idol’, with, for me, Prince of Foxes the standout film. The isolated scores were a very nice touch in a year when Fox decided to take Warner on at their own game, and, at the very least, proved their equal. The box set can be currently had for the price of a budget Chablis and a fish supper. Or, put another way, the price of one Criterion. Bargain.
Ace in The Hole (U.S.); what more can one say about one of the best films ever made, authored by one of the true giants of 20th century cinema? A mostly dazzling transfer (Criterion’s irritating window-boxing policy notwithstanding), excellent extras and a thrilling testosterone charged performance from Kirk Douglas. Now bring on Lonely Are The Brave.
The Tony Hancock Collection (U.K.); from 2 | Entertain, all that survives of the tragic comic genius that was ‘The Lad Himself’ on BBC television, including the revealing and slightly heartbreaking ‘Face to Face’, in one box. For sheer nostalgia, and ignoring the irritating flaws, one of my TV sets of the year.
The Prisoner 40th Anniversary SE (U.K.); the third U.K. incarnation of Patrick McGoohan’s cult series on DVD and by far the best yet. Naturally, holes have been picked, some minor mistakes highlighted on various internet fora, and the 5.1 soundtracks, besides being utterly superfluous, are God-awful. But otherwise this comes close to Prisoner nirvana with transfers that are quite stunning, added to intelligent and thoughtful extra features, including Andrew Pixley’s ‘last word’ on the production in book form. A flash of sheer brilliance - thank you Network.
Warners Film Noir Collection Vol. 4 (U.S.); Warners are now well into the swing of this line right now; Vol. 4 represented excellent value for money, with the usual standard of transfers and nice extras. Included in one of the commentaries, the following exchange with Audrey Trotter: “We know that these movies were not called film noir at the time; what did you call them?” “We called them B movies”… Made me smile.
A Canterbury Tale (U.S.); Criterion’s transfer, though again window-boxed, is gorgeous, and does true justice to this most gorgeous of films. Criterion have again shown that their extras are usually a step above the common-place big studio fare; it’s no accident that Humphrey Jennings Listen to Britain is included, both films’ eye-watering venerations the bedrock of these paeans to a wartime nation.
Bigger Than Life (U.K.); this BFI release was a very pleasant surprise, with the British Film Institute living up to the claim that they are the ‘British Criterion’. A beautiful transfer, excellent extras, nice packaging, plus James Mason and Nicholas Ray on top of their respective games. What more do you want?
Days of Heaven (U.S.); if ever a film deserved an almost flawless transfer then Malick’s visual tone-poem must surely have headed most cinephiles’ want lists for such. And Criterion has delivered. “It’s great fun to intellectualise Terry’s films…but it’s like a poem…” says Sam Shepherd in a interview filmed for the disc. “You can analyse it to death, but still it’s not going to get to what this poem is doing to your psyche, your body. You’re never going to solve that.” I may make that my credo.
The Early Hitchcock Collection (U.K.); a nine film collection from The Master, with Optimum / Studio Canal providing the mostly excellent transfers mixed with a smattering of interesting extras; space saving presentation, nice price too.
If…. (U.K.); one of British cinema’s most challenging, acerbic - and still hugely relevant - films from Lindsay Anderson. Paramount’s U.K. release more or less mirrored Criterion’s (except in price) with a near flawless transfer and probably the commentary track of the year.
Honourable mentions: Fox Horror Classics Collection (U.S.), Two-Lane Blacktop (U.S.), Under The Volcano (U.S.), The Robert Mitchum Signature Collection (U.S.), The Cowboys SCE (U.S.), The Ernest Hemingway Collection (U.S.), The Lady Vanishes (U.S.), The Third Man (U.S.), Hell Drivers (U.K.), Things To Come (U.K.), Zulu; 2-disc SE (U.K.).
So, goodbye and frankly good riddance to 2007. Strange year.
For months during ‘07, I unaccountably fretted and worried over the indisputable fact that what I write about film, what constitutes my opinion - my whole internet existence in fact - does not amount to a hill o’beans. I forgot (may the mighty Internet Gods forgive me), during a minor cybernetic hiatus, that this is my blog. It actually doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks of this drivel (though that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a little feedback - far from it). It matters least of all to anyone else (that’s you, gentle reader).
I’m supposed to be doing this for fun; if I can occasionally impart some kernel of information that proves useful to others, and if I can do it in a manner that entertains, all the better. But essentially I aim to please no-one save myself. Wash, rinse and repeat…
Resolutions? Not to take any of the above nonsense quite so seriously (note to self; re-read this post), to spend less (again), to spend less time on the interweb and to watch more films, to try not to fall for the honey trap that is HD DVD / BD. Easy peasy.
My 2008 DVD wishlist requires more thought than I will probably give it here. However, I’d welcome at last the Boetticher/Scott westerns (which were indeed mooted in the U.K.), Columbia’s remaining Hammer films (ditto), Warners to give us themed / signature box sets of; Westerns, Robert Taylor, John Garfield, and a Cinerama collection with a How The West Was Won UCE at it’s heart.
Paramount films I’d love to see via their deal with Criterion; The Parallax View, Looking For Mr Goodbar, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Three Days of The Condor. I’d also welcome a London Films / Korda Eclipse set (at the very least), and more Criterion Ealing, especially a properly restored The Titfield Thunderbolt. Plus, for Criterion to have a change of heart and release Huston’s astonishing The Dead.
I’d be delighted to see The Strawberry Blonde, The Big Sleep Ultimate Collectors Edition (I suspect it’s a possibility), a nice big fat SE of A Matter of Life and Death, Special Editions for The Night of the Hunter (in fact, more Laughton), Red River and Heaven’s Gate, and Wayne’s The Alamo restored to it’s roadshow length.
While we are shooting for the moon, let’s also have a Frank Borzage at Fox Collection, similar to the Ford set, plus, whoever holds the rights, get your fingers out and release The Rising of The Moon, Gideon’s Day (which still may come in the U.K. from Simply HE, via Sony), 7 Women, The Fugitive (I have no confidence at all in Universal U.K.’s recent release, however I’d be grateful for any information on the transfer). And please, please, please, someone - anyone - give The Quiet Man the respect it deserves. I’d also like to see a proper SE of Spielberg’s undervalued 1941, Northwest Passage, SEs of The King of Marvin Gardens and Five Easy Pieces. Last (for now), but hardly least, more pre-code from every studio.
Have a better 2008, everyone.
Comments»
A very happy new year to you, John. Thanks for the blogs which frequently keep me sane.
My own resolution - to actually watch some of the movies I have accumulated rather than simply stare longingly at them.
Thanks Mike; it’s appreciated and reciprocated of course
I have a cunning plan to walk towards the shelves blindfold, and let fate do the rest…