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Outstanding
Achievements in DVD for 2004
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to Editors' Top 10 Choices
 BEST
DVD - OVERALL |
  |
The
Ultimate Matrix Collection
(Warner Bros.)
In a year when repackaged, cash-in "ultimate"
editions of previously released movies became the norm rather
than the exception, Warner's 10-disc Ultimate
Matrix Collection showed us all the right way to
upgrade. First, the films look and sound better than ever,
particularly the original Matrix.
Each film gets its own Revisited
bonus disc to explore all the "how'd-they-do-that"
stuff, plus Disc Nine (The Burly Man
Chronicles) provides enough behind-the-scenes info to
satisfy tech-heads everywhere. Best of all, The
Ultimate Matrix Collection explores the ideas behind
the ideas, with insightful commentaries and the set's terrific
Disc Eight (The Roots of the Matrix).
The Ultimate Matrix Collection
isn't the be-all and end-all of special edition DVDs, but it's
an ideal example of an upgraded package that doesn't rip off the
consumer. Perhaps its single greatest achievement: With a
collection this good, you're even willing to give Reloaded
and Revolutions another
shot. A nifty trick indeed. |
THE RUNNERS-UP
We'd be highly remiss if we didn't acknowledge
The
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Special Extended
DVD Edition, the capper to what is arguably the
most satisfying series of DVDs the format has yet produced. And
while we here at The Bits
are basically over the whole "extended director's cut"
trip, Guillermo Del Toro's
Hellboy:
Director's Cut made a swell movie and a good
DVD even better. Released early in 2004, and kind of overlooked
by the end of the year, the 3-disc
Panic
Room: Special Edition is just about as good as
a special edition can get. We were also duly impressed by Fox's
2-disc
Master
and Commander: The Far Side of the World - Collector's Edition,
another often overlooked, early 2004 release. About the only
other DVD this year to deserve to use the word "ultimate"
was Anchor Bay's zombieriffic
Dawn
of the Dead: Ultimate Edition. Criterion
continues to impress us each month as well and, for our money,
their best release of 2004 was Jean Renoir's
Rules
of the Game. And, oh yeah... apparently the
Star
Wars Trilogy was released this year. Those are
all good and well worth your time. |
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| BEST
DVD - SPECIAL EDITION (TIE) |
 |
Panic
Room: Special Edition
(Sony/Columbia TriStar)
Spider-Man
2: Widescreen Special Edition
(Sony/Columbia TriStar)
A good special edition DVD should not only answer any questions
you might have about a film, it should do it in a way that's
both entertaining and engaging. These two DVD releases fit the
bill and then some. A few of us here might even suggest that
producer David Prior's two discs of bonus features on the Panic
Room: Special Edition are more entertaining that
David Fincher's film itself on Disc One. But fans of Fincher
won't be disappointed when the movie is given a platter all its
own to stretch its video and audio quality legs. As for the Spider-Man
2: Widescreen Special Edition, none of us would have
complained if Sony had gone the 3-disc route here too, instead
of releasing a separate Superbit version simultaneously. But for
an informative and in-depth look at the making of the movie,
this 2-disc special edition produced by Charles de Lauzirika
can't be beat. Panic Room
and Spider-Man 2 are to
special edition DVDs what Jerry Lee Lewis was to Rock &
Roll: all killer, no filler. |
THE RUNNERS-UP
Once again, you won't find a special edition more comprehensive
than
The
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Special Extended
DVD Edition. The only reason it isn't in the
winner's circle is that it's part and parcel of a series begun
three years ago. From its origins as a short student film to its
revamped director's cut, just about everything you need to know
about George Lucas's first film is covered in the wonderful
THX
1138: The George Lucas Director's Cut - Special Edition.
Criterion thankfully revisited one of their earliest DVD
releases with stellar results in the 2-disc edition of Fritz
Lang's
M.
Other important classic and contemporary films getting
comprehensive treatment in The Criterion Collection were Gillo
Pontecorvo's
The
Battle of Algiers and Richard Linklater's
Slacker.
One of the most beloved films of the last decade finally got its
anniversary due with
The
Shawshank Redemption - Deluxe Limited Edition.
This was unfortunately a VERY limited release, but the 2-disc
The
Shawshank Redemption: Special Edition version
(sans the collector's book and soundtrack CD) is still
available. And one of the most beloved films of... aw, screw it:
The
Clerks
X: 10th Anniversary Collector's Edition proved
that Kevin Smith still knows what fans want on DVD. |
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| BEST
DVD - STANDARD EDITION |
 |
American
Splendor
(HBO)
The film version of Harvey Pekar's
beloved comic was one of the best pictures of 2003 and the DVD,
while not stuffed to the gills, gave us a nice taste of
everything we wanted. It's a small, quiet film that's perfectly
suited to home viewing. And how appropriate that instead of a
bunch of little featurettes on the disc, we get a nifty
miniature comic book by Pekar himself (illustrated by Gary Dumm)
called "My Movie Year". Like Harvey says, ordinary
life is pretty complex stuff. American
Splendor is proof that ordinary DVDs can be pretty
complex too. |
THE RUNNERS-UP
It didn't come with a comic book, but there was still plenty to
love about Sofia Coppola's well-observed character study
Lost
in Translation.
City
of God was one of those great foreign films
that comes along every so often and blows every American movie
right out of the water. After years of anticipation, we finally
got a chance to see Wolfgang Petersen's
Das
Boot: The Original Uncut Version. We could have
done without the whole American Idol
bonus but overlooking that,
Shrek
2 was a witty and highly enjoyable follow-up
(although its DVD extras were mostly geared to kids, thus its
inclusion in the Standard
category). And God knows we tried not to enjoy it, but the 2004
remake of
Dawn
of the Dead (the Unrated
Director's Cut of course) managed to win us over
anyway. |
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| BEST
DVD - CLASSIC RELEASE |
 |
Gone
with the Wind: Four-Disc Collector's Edition
(Warner Bros.)
We've been consistently impressed by
Warner's special edition treatment of their classic film
library, but the 4-disc Gone with the
Wind topped even their best previous efforts. The
film itself has been presented in jaw-dropping clarity (thanks
to a new Ultra-Resolution transfer that provides a distinct
improvement over the previously available single-disc release).
Two full discs of bonus material give the kind of in-depth look
behind-the-scenes we've come to expect from contemporary films,
never mind one that's celebrating its 65th anniversary. The
centerpiece of the extras is the 1989 documentary The
Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind which, in just
over two hours, thoroughly documents the process of putting
together the film (including casting, financing, direction,
special effects and publicity), as well as its premiere and
subsequent reissues. All four discs are contained in attractive
slipcase packaging, complete with a 20-page reproduction of the
film's original souvenir program. This is easily the classic
release of the year. |
THE RUNNERS-UP
Warner Home Video was busy this year. Fans of classic musicals
got one of their most wanted titles with the release of
Meet
Me in St. Louis: Special Edition. They also got
the sampler plate of their dreams in the comprehensive 4-disc
That's
Entertainment!: The Complete Collection. But if
you like your classics a little darker, the studio obliged with
its
Film
Noir Classic Collection. The Fox Studio
Classics line hit a high point with the long-awaited release of
The
Grapes of Wrath. Criterion's 2-disc edition of
Jean Renoir's masterpiece
The
Rules of the Game proves that they're still at
the top of the DVD game. Federico Fellini's
La
Dolce Vita certainly deserves to be in the
Criterion Collection, and Koch Lorber's two-disc DVD almost
makes you think it is. There's no such thing as too much of a
good thing, as is evidenced by MGM's
The
Good, the Bad & the Ugly: 2-Disc Special Edition
Collector's Set. Disney's line of Walt
Disney Treasures tins is a hit with collectors and
On
the Front Lines might just be its high point.
And swimming in under the radar is the Milestone Collection's
fascinating
White
Thunder, the story of the worst disaster in
filmmaking history. |
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| BEST
DVD - BOXED SET (TIE) |
 |
The
Ultimate Matrix Collection
(Warner Bros.)
The
Yakuza Papers: Battles Without Honor & Humanity
(Home Vision)
When the winner of our Best
DVD - Overall category is a boxed set, it would be a
wee bit hypocritical to not give it this award as well. But we
also lost a lot of time poring over Home Vision's beautifully
designed, 6-disc box set of The
Yakuza Papers: Battles Without Honor & Humanity...
the Japanese equivalent of The
Godfather Trilogy. Its five hard-boiled Japanese
classics, directed by the late Kinji Fukasaku, were released for
the first time on disc with a bonus 6th disc of interviews and
reflections from the likes of William Friedkin and Fukasaku's
son, Kenta Fukasaku. The movies are also available on their own
individually, but why would you want to go that route? Once you
start The Yakuza Papers,
you won't be able to stop. |
THE RUNNERS-UP
Image's
More
Treasures from American Film Archives: 1894-1931
is an aptly named follow up to the original box set - a real
treasure trove of rare and priceless material from film's
earliest beginnings, compulsively watchable and endlessly
fascinating. Two heavyweight filmmakers also received the box
set treatment this year: Warner reached into the vaults to
create the
Martin
Scorsese Collection, while MGM's
Ingmar
Bergman Collection gathers five of the
director's best along with a bonus disc of supplemental
material. The
Star
Wars Trilogy was certainly the most anticipated
box of the year and fulfilled many (if not all) of the wishes
fans had been harboring since they first bought a DVD player.
And we can finally watch a beautifully restored digital version
of One Froggy Evening
whenever we want to, thanks to the
Looney
Tunes: Golden Collection - Volume 2. |
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| BEST
DVD - PSYCHOTRONIC |
 |
Dawn
of the Dead: Ultimate Edition
(Anchor Bay)
Here's an Ultimate
Edition you can feel confident isn't going to be
replaced by a Super-Ultimate Edition
down the road. You want zombies? Anchor Bay's got 'em right here
in a beautiful treatment of George Romero's original 1978
masterpiece. You get not one, not two, but three versions of the
film itself, each with audio commentaries by the likes of Romero
and Tom Savini. A brand-new documentary on the making of the
film is included, along with Roy Frumkes' original documentary
Document of the Dead. You
get home movies, commercials, trailers, poster art, and more
image galleries than you can shake a machete at. This is one
seriously comprehensive package. If you ever feel the need to
buy another version of Dawn of the
Dead after this one, your family might want to
consider staging an intervention. |
THE RUNNERS-UP
"One of us! One of us!" Warner Home Video unleashed
one of the most disturbing films ever made with their nifty
release of Tod Browning's
Freaks.
Criterion salutes the new flesh with their double-disc edition
of David Cronenberg's
Videodrome.
After at least one false start, Tim Burton's best film finally
saw the light of day as the
Ed
Wood: Special Edition. And just to prove that
cult movies don't have to be all blood, guts and cross-dressing
(although we certainly enjoy 'em when they are), Fantoma
polished off Francis Coppola's maligned musical
One
from the Heart and revealed a small, imperfect
gem of filmmaking. |
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| BEST
DVD - VIDEO (NEW FILM) (TIE) |
|
Master
and Commander: The Far Side of the World - Collector's Edition
(20th Century Fox)
The
Ultimate Matrix Collection
(Warner Bros.)
Fox's double disc collector's edition of
Peter Weir's Master and Commander:
The Far Side of the World does a painterly job with
the film's appropriately dark, atmosphere visuals. There are
images here you'll want to freeze, frame and hang on your wall.
The original 1999 Matrix
isn't old enough to qualify for consideration in the Best
Video - Restoration category. Even so, Warner's The
Ultimate Matrix Collection improved its look
substantially with a stunning new HD transfer, making all three
films in the series look almost as if they were all shot
simultaneously. Both DVDs (all four films) are absolutely
reference-worthy demo material for your video display. |
THE RUNNERS-UP
Sony's Superbit line gives a great digital transfer the room to
breathe on DVD, and nowhere is that more evident than on the
Spider-Man
2: Superbit Edition. That lush red Spidey suit
never looked better. And New Line wrapped up the trilogy in high
style with an absolutely gorgeous presentation of
The
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Special Extended
DVD Edition. With a few notable exceptions,
we're pleased to say that the video quality of DVD releases was
consistently better across the board in 2004. |
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| BEST
DVD - VIDEO (RESTORATION) (TIE) |
 |
Star
Wars Trilogy (Widescreen)
(20th Century Fox)
Meet
Me in St. Louis: Special Edition
(Warner Bros.)
While some don't care for the new digital
changes made to these films, you won't find a restoration more
meticulous than the one done on George Lucas's Star
Wars Trilogy. All three films look better than anyone
has ever seen them thanks to the clean-up efforts of THX and
Lowry Digital, revealing subtle details and colors that were
always there but impossible to appreciate until now. This is
nothing less than the very best picture quality this format has
to offer. Period. And Warner's Ultra-Resolution process
continues to impress us, giving classic Technicolor movies the
ability to dazzle your eyes with lush colors and razor-sharp
detail. The original three-strip elements of Meet
Me in St. Louis were badly in need of restoration and
thankfully received it this year, resulting the stunning image
presented on this new 2-disc DVD release. Warner's great
Hollywood musicals seem even more vibrant and alive than ever
thanks to their outstanding preservation work. |
THE RUNNERS-UP
Also no slouch in the Ultra-Resolution department is Warner's
Gone
with the Wind: Four-Disc Collector's Edition.
The film probably looks better now than it did back when the
very first print was screened in theaters in 1939. Meanwhile,
George Lucas lavished almost as much attention on the
restoration work for the
THX
1138: The George Lucas Director's Cut - Special Edition.
And classic animation from two different generations was given
bright new sparkle on DVD with Disney's
Aladdin:
Platinum Edition and Warner's
Looney
Tunes: Golden Collection - Volume 2. |
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| BEST
DVD - SOUND (TIE) |
|
The
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Special Extended
DVD Edition
(New Line)
Master
and Commander: The Far Side of the World - Collector's Edition
(20th Century Fox)
Here's your big audio dynamite: Pop
either of these films in your DVD player and crank your home
theater surround sound up to 11. When CalTech calls with a
seismic alert, don't say we didn't warn you. The
Return of the King's audio mix will turn your living
room into ground zero in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. When
those big stone chunks come crashing over the walls of Minas
Tirith, you'll feel it in your chest. And if you like your sonic
warfare of the more nautical variety, you'll love the
wonderfully immersive mix on Master
and Commander. The cannon fire will make you duck
sure, but it's the little things that thrill here - the creaking
of the HMS Surprise's timbers, the groaning of its rigging. Each
of these DVDs offers both Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound
options, and each blew us away with outstanding dynamic range,
lively mixing and subtle atmospheric effects. |
THE RUNNERS-UP
While we didn't agree with all of Lucasfilm's "creative
changes", we were basically blown away by the re-mixed
Star
Wars Trilogy. A more recent sci-fi trilogy was
given a skillful sonic boost in
The
Ultimate Matrix Collection. Disney continues to
do justice to their animated classics with the outstanding home
theater mix on their
Aladdin:
Platinum Edition. We think you'll be blown away
by the sound of screaming F-14s (and Kenny Loggins' "Danger
Zone") with the DTS track on Paramount's
Top
Gun: Special Collector's Edition. And to
complete your Kenny Loggins experience, you'll be very surprised
by how good Paramount's
Footloose:
Special Collector's Edition sounds on DVD. Just
try to listen to its highly immersive music mix without your
feet starting to move of their own volition. |
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| BEST
DVD - "MAKING OF" FEATURETTE OR DOCUMENTARY (TIE) |
|
A
Legacy of Filmmakers
THX
1138: The George Lucas Director's Cut - Special Edition
(Warner Bros.)
Making the Amazing
Spider-Man
2: Widescreen Special Edition
(Sony/Columbia TriStar)
Too often these days, "making of"
documentaries are little more than thinly-constructed pieces of
studio puffery. But the best of them, like Charles de
Lauzirika's comprehensive Making the
Amazing from Spider-Man 2,
are worthy films in their own right. This outstanding
feature-length documentary takes you inside the production every
step of the way, answering questions you didn't even know you
had about the making of the Spider sequel. And if you're a film
history buff, no doc this year was more engaging than Gary
Leva's wonderful A Legacy of
Filmmakers from Warner's THX
1138, with its fascinating look at the early days of
Francis Ford Coppola's legendary American Zoetrope studios.
These are the kind of DVD extras we live for here at The
Bits. Heck, forget the films! We could watch nothing
but documentaries like these all day. |
THE RUNNERS-UP
Speaking of Coppola, The Dream
Studio from Fantoma's
One
from the Heart DVD continues where THX's
A Legacy of Filmmakers
leaves off, showing you the heights Zoetrope hit... and the
studio's eventual free-fall back to reality. The two make a
great double bill. It was pretty tough not to be impressed with
the
Star
Wars Trilogy's extensive Empire
of Dreams, which featured plenty of never-before-seen
material straight from the Lucasfilm archives. Danger
Zone and the 'fly-on-the-wall' Tricks
of the Trade are absolutely recommended viewing (from
Paramount's 2-disc
Top
Gun: Special Collector's Edition and Warner's
Matchstick
Men respectively). The
Appendices continued to please on New Line's
The
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Special Extended
DVD Edition, wrapping up our three year long
look at the making of the Rings
trilogy nicely. And no joke - The
Snowball Effect from the
Clerks
X: 10th Anniversary Edition is almost as
entertaining as Kevin Smith's movie and proves that a film
doesn't have to cost a zillion dollars to warrant a terrific
in-depth documentary on its making. All in all, 2004 was a truly
great year for films on the making of films. |
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| BEST
DVD - PACKAGING |
 |
Freaks
and Geeks: The Complete Series - Limited Yearbook Edition
(Shout! Factory)
This category was absolutely no contest.
The Yearbook Edition of
the much-loved series Freaks &
Geeks is just that - an intricately detailed,
hardbound yearbook from William McKinley High School. It's 80
glossy pages contain not only the set's discs, but also
behind-the-scenes photos, essays, articles and in-character
inscriptions, all done by the show's cast and crew (including
series creator Paul Feig) under the supervision of DVD producer
Richard Williams. This DVD package is one of the best we've seen
this or ANY year, taking attention to detail to a whole new
level. The Yearbook Edition
is only available
via
the show's official website (although you can get
the
series in standard packaging at Amazon and all your
regular DVD retailers). |
THE RUNNERS-UP
Anybody can do a slipcase, it's what's inside that counts. And
the Betamax-inspired packaging concealed inside Criterion's
Videodrome
had us grinning from ear to ear. Criterion also earned high
marks for their very cool clear blue design on Jean Renoir's
The
Rules of the Game. Universal's classic
Monster
Legacy Collection put a handsome spin on some
of the most famous faces in feardom. Sometimes simple is
better... we loved the glossy simplicity of Warner's
The
Ultimate Matrix Collection more than the tiered
limited edition. The gun-metal black box that held Home Vision's
The
Yakuza Papers: Battles Without Honor & Humanity
was darkly appropriate. Sometimes we're suckers for a 3-D
lenticular cover, so Blue Underground's
The
Final Countdown: Limited Edition was perfectly
suited to the vanishing Nimitz cheese-fest. Also noteworthy here
is the
Japanese
limited edition packaging for Fox's Alien Quadrilogy,
which featured the set's 9 discs encased in a plastic recreation
of the signature creature's noggin. Nice. |
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