The Best Physical Media Releases of 2021 (1 Viewer)

[Randy Korstick]

The Andy Milligan set from Severin was pretty great for someone who is a fan of his... odd brand of movies. Just the fact that it even exists is kind of amazing and Severin really gave the movies the best presentation on all fronts.

The Christopher Lee Euro films box set by Severin was also excellent.

 

[titch]

The Christopher Lee Euro films box set by Severin was also excellent.

It's the boutique labels that are keeping physical media going. You won't find any of this stuff on streaming services.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

How do you dislike In The Mood for Love yet give it a best boxed set honor while we had Melvin Von Peebles and Bunuel outstanding collections issued? I’m guessing these are just based upon items personally purchased and these weren’t?
Also isnt the John Waters’ Mommie Dearest commentary ported over from an older DVD release?

I personally would add both Legend and Dune to the best boxed set category

 

[PianoPlayer]

The Little Rascals: The Classic Flix Restorations is definitely one of the best releases of the year on Blu-ray. Superb restoration work on these classic comedy shorts.

Three volumes released so far, with more coming throughout 2022.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

How do you dislike In The Mood for Love yet give it a best boxed set honor while we had Bruce Lee and Melvin Von Peebles outstanding collections issued? I’m guessing these are just based upon items personally purchased and these weren’t?
Also isnt the John Waters’ Mommie Dearest commentary ported over from an older DVD release?

I personally would add both Legend and Dune to the best boxed set category

Yeah, I ended up just passing on that set due to the alterations made, not just the color for In The Mood for Love.

_Man_

 

[Noel Aguirre]

Has Blood For Dracula been released yet? I’m seeing Jan 26 2022 on Amazon.

 

[TravisR]

Has Blood For Dracula been released yet? I’m seeing Jan 26 2022 on Amazon.

Severin started selling it on their site back in the summer. The January 26 date is the commercial release.

 

[RobertMG]

Surprised a lot more WB's stunning Technicolor restorations aren't make more lists.

 

[Robin9]

Surprised a lot more WB's stunning Technicolor restorations aren't make more lists.

I agree.

 

[titch]

How do you dislike In The Mood for Love yet give it a best boxed set honor while we had Melvin Von Peebles and Bunuel outstanding collections issued? I’m guessing these are just based upon items personally purchased and these weren’t?
Also isnt the John Waters’ Mommie Dearest commentary ported over from an older DVD release?

I personally would add both Legend and Dune to the best boxed set category

The Wong Kar Wai box set contains seven films, of which four are vast improvements on previous blu-ray releases. The packaging is also exquisite. One of my all-time favourite movies ever made, In The Mood For Love, was ruined for me (and quite a few others) by the director's inexplicable choice to completely shift the colour tone from red to green, for the entire movie. I do have both the Melvin von Peebles and Bunuel box-sets as well.

If Arrow's release of Dune had contained the feature-length documentary “The Sleeper Must Wake Up - Making of DUNE”, which they dropped, it would have been a fantastic bonus.

 

[titch]

Surprised a lot more WB's stunning Technicolor restorations aren't make more lists.

Which are your favourites?

 

[RobertMG]

Which are your favourites?

In The Good Old Summertime, Ivanhoe, Doctor X, On Moonlight Bay, Ziegfeld Follies, National Velvet. Hoping Mr F over at Warner's greenlights a restoration of Northwest Passage on Blu! The Warner Archive MOD is tons better than the TCM, Laserdisc and VHS ancient master but a Blu Ray release would be MOST WELCOME! One of MGM's Technicolor masterpieces one of Tracey's best performances could use the WB's love about now.

 

[titch]

In The Good Old Summertime, Ivanhoe, Doctor X, On Moonlight Bay, Ziegfeld Follies, National Velvet. Hoping Mr F over at Warner's greenlights a restoration of Northwest Passage on Blu! The Warner Archive MOD is tons better than the TCM, Laserdisc and VHS ancient master but a Blu Ray release would be MOST WELCOME! One of MGM's Technicolor masterpieces one of Tracey's best performances could use the WB's love about now.

National Velvet is absolutely gorgeous.

 

[dana martin]

Short answer, after five plus years of hearing that physical media is a dead format, and streaming is the way of the future. But after a cursory inventory I also realized just how may physical disc released this year that I had purchased and that number was a lot higher than I had thought. Anything that was physically released, even with its flaws; has a shot at belonging on this list. With possibly the exception of Mill Creek's release of I Dream of Jeannie, from the issues that I have read about.


Also, what needs to be taken into consideration is who or whom is releasing these wonderful disc, and break it down Major (Studios) and Minor (Boutique Labels), Independents (Kickstarter’s and such). In my opinion this was a banner year all around with different niches for every kind of taste to have its moment to shine. The Big 5 in my book “The Majors”

Kino Lorber - just the mass volume alone is hard to keep up with, but also the continuing Noir Sets, Star themed Box Sets, plus the inclusion of two complete Classic TV series, continued support of 3D format, and sales that are so hard to pass up.

Warner Archive Collection - RAH stated it, and pretty much everyone on this forum will attest to this statement, releases that look so good that it seems only a second nature. The return of George Feldstein and Co at the helm can only mean possibilities of more great things in the coming year.

Criterion Collection - really no explanation needed, how many wait for the sale at B&N to rave about what they have purchased should give an indication of where this sits in quality.

Arrow Video - giving the that “Criterion” level of attention to damn near almost any kind of genre and blowing it out of the water with Collectors Editions that are worthy of the title.

Paramount Presents - after sitting on the sidelines for almost the better part of a decade, with very few releases, Paramount finally realized that they had a film library worthy of a premier and stepped up to the plate and for the most part delivered. Not quite perfect, yet…. But the future looks brighter that it had looked.



Next Up the Minors (but there is absolutely nothing minor in their releases)

Shout! Factory - covering almost every genre, with special attention to fans of Carpenter and Hammer,

ClassicFlix - Hal Roach Studios live and breathe for a new generation of fans due to the restoration efforts of this company, The Little Rascals Restorations are a revelation

Severin – Surprises around every corner with massive, unexpected box sets, Lee Euro Collection and the first half of Morrissey/Warhol by releasing Blood of Dracula.

Vinegar Syndrome – Consistent with releases of the gambit of grindhouse sleaze, and beyond, curated into different collections, and one of the three that actually give the same effort to classic film erotica as any other film.

Command Video - The other that deals mainly in the classic erotica, but at a level of restoration and supplemental material including: outtakes, featurettes, trailers, slideshow, ephemera, a step above most normal releases.

Film Detective – stepped up to the plate and started delivering the goods, somehow made a deal with Wade Williams, so the possibilities for long sought titles could happen as long as the are released proper, I hope to see more in the future.

Disney Movie Club Exclusives – The last 3 of the original Animated features Black Cauldron, Make Mine Music and Melody Time, finally got physical blu ray releases, at times it seems that they want to distance themselves from their own past; damn shame…. Because it’s what built that company from its humble beginnings.

The Independents

3D Film Archive – if you are laughing your tuchus off this holiday season, it could be because they have delivered another great product, along with ClassicFlix and continuing to show the world not only 3D but the laughter that could be had from viewing Abbott and Costello.

Thunderbean, Cartoons on Film and Puppetoons - yes, I do love animation, thank God these people do as well; this is in the trenches and saving the classic world of hand drawn animation for future generations to see, share and enjoy.

And this list is short because it hasn’t mentioned Indicator or Imprint.

I personally can’t call a release of the year, because of the volume of titles that I would have to filter through, lets just say that I’m not sorry for a single purchase that I made, as I have a selection of beautiful presentations that will be bringing me years of entertainment to come and looking as close to filmlike as technologically possible on my budget.

As for what would be my release of the year…. What playing next in my player, is it till the next film is cued up, God I love this hobby, but I never thought it would turn my house into a miniature version of Blockbuster, I was wrong in that aspect.

 

[titch]

Short answer, after five plus years of hearing that physical media is a dead format, and streaming is the way of the future. But after a cursory inventory I also realized just how may physical disc released this year that I had purchased and that number was a lot higher than I had thought.

Yes - as Stephen Bjork wrote over on The Digital Bits, 2021 has been an absolute banner year for Blu-ray and UHD releases.

 

[titch]

Beaver has published the results of their annual poll. There really is an incredibly diverse and rich choice of cinema being published on physical media! I'm certainly looking forward to awaiting what will be released in 2022!

 

[BRAD1963]

---

1. Columbia Classics Volume 2 (Sony)
2. Fury (Warner Archive)
3. Ashes & Diamonds (Criterion)
4. Do the Right Thing 4k (Universal)
5. I Carry You with Me (Sony)
6. La Piscine (Criterion)
7. Secrets & Lies (Criterion)
8. The Clockmaker of St. Paul (Kino)
9. National Velvet (Warner Archive)
10. The Guns of Navarone 4k (Sony)

 

[sbjork]

Kat Ellinger's commentary track for Baise-Moi is the single best track out of the many dozens of tracks that I've listened to this year, but because of the nature of the film itself, far too few people have heard it. It's unlike any other track out there, including her own. But it's an important one because of what she does with it.

 

[titch]

Kat Ellinger's commentary track for Baise-Moi is the single best track out of the many dozens of tracks that I've listened to this year, but because of the nature of the film itself, far too few people have heard it. It's unlike any other track out there, including her own. But it's an important one because of what she does with it.

You wrote a great review of this over on The Digital Bits last summer. I hesitated about purchasing the film because of the very poor video quality - I simply can't watch very lo-rez films projected, e.g. Spike Lee's Bamboozled. I saw the film when it was originally released theatrically and can't remember how it looked on screen then. Nonetheless, I think I'll purchased this on your recommendation of the commentary and watch it on my PC.

 

[sbjork]

You wrote a great review of this over on The Digital Bits last summer. I hesitated about purchasing the film because of the very poor video quality - I simply can't watch very lo-rez films projected, e.g. Spike Lee's Bamboozled. I saw the film when it was originally released theatrically and can't remember how it looked on screen then. Nonetheless, I think I'll purchased this on your recommendation of the commentary and watch it on my PC.

Well, I did watch it upscaled to 4K on a 110" screen, and. . . yes, it wasn't pretty. Accurate to how it's always looked, but not pretty.

At this point of my life, I don't make lists anymore, but if I did, Kino's Baise-Moi would be in my own top ten based on the strength of its extras package (quality, not quantity). I'm sure that the only list it would make would be mine, so YMVV!