While 2020 has been an absolute horror show in most respects, there have been countless releases on 4K UHD, Blu-Ray and DVD that have come along to brighten our days a bit. We know it can be overwhelming trying to find that perfect gift for a loved one, so this year we decided to take the stress out of shopping by providing a helpful list of some of our favorite movies and television shows that dropped in 2020. We approached this list assuming that everyone has some of the bigger new releases, so no Bird of Prey or The Invisible Man here, but instead we focused on highlighting the hidden gems of the year that might have slipped by your radar. Without further ado, we present the 2020 GVN Holiday Gift Guide…
Out Of This World
The Captains Collection
For the Star Trek fan who has everything…
Captain Kirk himself William Shatner takes an in-depth look at the creation, evolution and legacy of Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek in this collection of four documentaries. This set offers fascinating interviews with Sir Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew, Scott Bakula and his own Kirk counterpart, Chris Pine, as well as documentaries on the the troubled beginnings of Star Trek: The Next Generation and the passionate fans that continue to support the franchise. The Star Trek fan in your life probably already owns all of the shows and movies, but this set might prove to be the hidden gem they did not know they were missing.
A review of the Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Flash Gordon (4K UHD or Blu-Ray)
For those who like their space operas campy (or if you really love Queen)…
This cult favorite space opera from celebrated director Mike Hodges (Get Carter, Black Rainbow) where Flash is “King of the Impossible” was given a gorgeous new 4K restoration thanks to Arrow Video earlier this year. With endlessly repeatable dialogue, inimitable camp style, the sonic stylings of Queen and a delightful band of characters and actors (including Max von Sydow, Ornella Muti and Brian Blessed), Flash Gordon is the perfect gift for fun-loving sci-fi fans.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Three Fantastic Journeys By Karel Zeman
For Wes Anderson fans craving something a little whimsical…
Czech filmmaker Karel Zeman pioneered breathtaking combinations of live action and animation techniques that inspired the likes of Terry Gilliam (Monty Python) and Wes Anderson in the years following World War II. This collections presents three of Zeman’s most enchanting fantasies—a boys’ adventure into the mists of prehistory, a Jules Verne–derived flight of fancy, and an exotic eighteenth-century tall tale—all of them treasure chests of wondrous sights, tactile textures, and headlong yarn-spinning that helped put Czechoslovak cinema on the international map.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Pitch Black (4K UHD or Blu-Ray)
For those who love Vin Diesel even when he is not talking about “family”…
Vin Diesel first made a splash in this sci-fi/horror sleeper hit from 2000 which birthed one of his most popular characters, the visually gifted antihero Riddick. Arrow Video has released a lavishly produced new set featuring a 4K restoration of both the Theatrical and Director’s Cut of the film along with more extras than you could ever want. As a bonus, this features the high definition debut of the animated film The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury, which connects Pitch Black to The Chronicles of Riddick.
A review of the 4K release can be found here.
Total Recall (4K UHD)
For the sci-fi fan in your life who thinks two boobs are too few…
Paul Verhoeven’s sci-fi classic gets a lavish upgrade in the form of a 4K restoration from a scan of the original 35mm negative along with a slew of special features. Join Arnold Schwarzenegger on this mind-bender that loosely adapts a Philip K. Dick short story filled with dark humor and violence. And, yes, a three-boobed woman.
For more information about this release, please check out the details here.
The War of the Worlds (1953)
For those who want to check out one of the most notable invasion tales of all time…
Long before the Spielberg remake (which also received an impressive upgrade this year), there was the original 1953 film that ranks as one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time. In the expert hands of genre specialists George Pal and Byron Haskin, H. G. Wells’s end-of-civilization classic receives a chilling Cold War–era update, complete with hallucinatory Technicolor and visionary, Oscar-winning special effects. Emblazoned with iconographic images of 1950s science fiction, The War of the Worlds is both an influential triumph of visual imagination and a still-disquieting document of the wonder and terror of the atomic age.
This year the Criterion Collection gave this iconic film a much-needed upgrade in the form of a 4K digital restoration along with numerous fascinating special features that should tickle the brain of any hardcore sci-fi fan.
A review of the Blu-Ray release can be found here.
The Wizard
For the old-school video game fans in your life…
This ode to video games starring the one and only Fred Savage (The Wonder Years) received a loaded new Blu-Ray from Shout! Factory this year featuring a new 4K transfer and all the special features you could ever want for this film. For the music fans amongst us, a young Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley) costars in this one in a role that inspired a million childhood crushes. This movie was not a critical favorite, but the cult following it has inspired since its release in 1989 has only grown in number. Sometime you need to indulge in nostalgia, and The Wizard is the perfect movie in which to do so.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Fact > Fiction
Dolly: The Ultimate Collection
For those who need a cup of ambition…
There are precious few things in this world that provide as much comfort and joy as international superstar (Saint) Dolly Parton. It is my firm belief that every family has one member who believes just this, and this new set from Time Life will be a dream come true for them. This 19-Disc set features 35 hours of content highlighting the spectacular career of the Queen of Country. The set includes Dolly’s Variety Shows from the ’70s & ’80s, The Porter Wagoner Show, her unforgettable Live From London concert, the authorized documentary Dolly Parton: Here I Am, as well as an exclusive new interview with the legend herself, and so much more.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America
For those who missed out on going to Bonnaroo this year…
Each episode of this six-part documentary series focuses on a groundbreaking song pivotal to the evolution of American music and culture. Artists, their collaborators, and other influential musical and cultural figures deconstruct compositions, revisit the impact the song had on them personally, and dissect the socio-economic and cultural conditions that inspired the landmark work and gave voice to a generation. Some of the songs featured in the series include Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks,” Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright,” Run-D.M.C.’s “Rock Box,” Queen Latifah’s “Ladies First,” and more. Even if you happen not to be a fan of this music, the historical context that it is put in is endlessly fascinating.
A review of the Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Salesman
For those who want “The Office,” but in real life…
This radically influential portrait of American dreams and disillusionment from Direct Cinema pioneers David Maysles, Albert Maysles, and Charlotte Zwerin captures, with indelible humanity, the worlds of four dogged door-to-door Bible salesmen as they travel from Boston to Florida on a seemingly futile quest to sell luxury editions of the Good Book to working-class Catholics. The way in which the film is able to break down the barriers between dealmaking bravado and soul-wrenching despair offers something that is equal parts hilarious and poignant.
A review of the Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Scorsese Shorts
For those who did not turn on Scorsese after learning his stance on comic book movies…
To be fair, not all of the shorts from a pioneering Martin Scorsese are documentary in nature, but even those that are not speak to something truthful in America at the time. Spanning the years from Scorsese’s time at NYU in the mid-1960s to the late ’70s, when he was emerging as one of the era’s most electrifying talents, Scorsese Shorts centers on the intimate home movie Italianamerican—a loving snapshot of the director’s parents—and American Boy, a freewheeling portrait of the larger-than-life raconteur Steven Prince. Also included are The Big Shave, a daringly visceral response to America’s involvement in Vietnam, and the bracing student films What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? and It’s Not Just You, Murray! Touching on many of Scorsese’s key themes—Italian American identity, family, his beloved New York City—these are hilarious, candid, and illuminating works from the preeminent American filmmaker of our time.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Town Bloody Hall
For those who want to dismantle the patriarchy from their bloody couch…
On April 30, 1971, a standing-room-only crowd of New York’s intellectual elite packed the city’s Town Hall theater to see Norman Mailer—fresh from the controversy over his essay “The Prisoner of Sex” and the backlash it received from leaders of the women’s movement—tangle with a panel of four prominent female thinkers and activists: Jacqueline Ceballos, Germaine Greer, Jill Johnston, and Diana Trilling. Part intellectual death match, part three-ring circus, the event was captured with crackling, fly-on-the-wall immediacy by the documentary great D. A. Pennebaker and a small crew, with Chris Hegedus later condensing the three-hour affair into this briskly entertaining snapshot of a singular cultural moment. The night in question may have been nearly fifty years ago, but the arguments in play are just as relevant as ever.
A review of the Blu-Ray release can be found here.
This Is A Time For Action
Clint Eastwood Classics
For 90s dads who only watched AMC on the weekends…
Few individuals have had as prolific of a career as the one and only Clint Eastwood. Throughout that career, Eastwood has tackled various types of films both in front of and behind the camera. Thankfully for his fans, the good folks over at Kino Classics have seen it fit to give some of his earliest works gorgeous new Special Editions this year including High Plains Drifter, The Beguiled, Joe Kidd, The Eiger Sanction, Play Misty for Me and Two Mules for Sister Sara. Stacked with new special features, and even new 2K masters in some cases, these releases will hit the sweet spots for Eastwood fans.
A review of The Eiger Sanction Blu-Ray release can be found here.
A review of The Beguiled Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Leon: The Professional (4K UHD Steelbook)
For those who need to be reminded that Natalie Portman has always been a badass…
Perhaps best known as the movie that brought the incredible Natalie Portman (V For Vendetta) into our lives, Leon: The Professional is a go-for-broke thriller about a professional assassin whose work becomes dangerously personal. When his next-door neighbors are murdered, Léon (Jean Reno) becomes the unwilling guardian of the family’s sole survivor – 12-year-old Mathilda. But Mathilda doesn’t just want protection; she wants revenge. Training her in the deadly tricks of his trade, Léon helps her track the psychotic agent (Gary Oldman) who murdered her family.
In addition to the film looking and sounding incredible in its 4K UHD Blu-Ray presentation, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released this one in a stunning new Steelbook packaging that will be a big hit with collectors.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Mad Max (4K UHD or Blu-Ray)
For those who do not realize “Fury Road” was a sequel…
From George Miller, the acclaimed director of The Road Warrior, The Witches of Eastwick and Mad Max: Fury Road, comes this post-apocalyptic masterpiece starring screen legend Mel Gibson (Lethal Weapon, Braveheart). In the ravaged near-future, a savage motorcycle gang rules the road. Terrorizing innocent civilians while tearing up the streets, the ruthless gang laughs in the face of a police force hell-bent on stopping them. But they underestimate one officer: Max (Gibson). Mad Max: Fury Road wowed audiences when it debuted half a decade ago, but this original entry into the franchise shows how innovate director George Miller was even back in 1979. The budget might be a fraction of Fury Road, but it offers just as many thrills.
Kino Classics has released this landmark film in both a stunning new 4K UHD and Blu-Ray presentations along with some new special features and snazzy packaging that should look nice under the Christmas tree.
A review of the Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Sukiyaki Western Django
For those who worship at the altar of Quentin Tarantino…
Famed Japanese auteur Takashi Miike, best known for cult classics Audition, Ichi the Killer and The City of Lost Souls, redefines the spaghetti Western with Sukiyaki Western Django, an epic tale of blood, lust and greed starring Hideaki Ito, Yusuke Iseya, Kaori Momoi and Quentin Tarantino. Two clans battle for a legendary treasure hidden in a desolate mountain town. One day, a lone gunman, burdened with deep emotional scars but blessed with incredible shooting skills, drifts into town. Two clans try to woo the lone gunman to their sides, but he has ulterior motives. Dirty tricks, betrayal, desire and love collide as the situation erupts into a final, explosive showdown.
With the Kill Bill showcasing Tarantino’s take on traditionally Japanese content, director Takashi Miike decided to complement him by bringing Japan to the Old West. This film is an insanely fun time in a way that should be all too familiar to Tarantino fans. You know someone who has worn out their Kill Bill Blu-Rays, so show them you have been paying attention by giving them something new to dig into.
A review of the Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Their Finest Hour: 5 British WWII Classics
For 70s dads who just wanted some peace and quiet…
THEIR FINEST HOUR brings together five digitally restored British WWII classics for the first time on Blu-ray. Titles include the Ealing Studios-produced, Graham Greene adaptation Went the Day Well? (1942) along with Michael Anderson’s Oscar-nominated The Dam Busters (1955), as well as three box-office hits starring John Mills – The Colditz Story (1955), Dunkirk (1958) and Ice Cold In Alex (1958). When it comes to WWII content, Americans do not traditionally jump to British stories as their first choice, but these five tales offer an incredibly interesting look at the war that is as engrossing as anything that has been released in recent years.
In addition to the films being great, Film Movement Classics have shined these up to look quite lovely while including some historical special features that should hypnotize those who get sucked into the History Channel on the weekends.
A review of the Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Laughter Is The Best Medicine
Drop Dead Gorgeous
For those who know that beauty is pain, y’know?…
In 1999, there was a black comedy with an incredible cast that was released that is not talked about nearly enough. If you have seen it, you love it. If you have not, you will love it when you do. Drop Dead Gorgeous stars Kirsten Dunst, Ellen Barkin, Brittany Murphy, Allison Janney, Denise Richards, Kirstie Alley, and Amy Adams in her film debut. It follows the contestants in a beauty pageant called the Sarah Rose Cosmetics Mount Rose American Teen Princess Pageant, held in the small fictional town of Mount Rose, Minnesota, in which various contestants die in suspicious ways.
The good folks over at Warner Archive have given this film a fantastic new Blu-Ray that is worth a place in any film fan’s collection.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Ealing Studios Comedy Collection
For the Anglophile in your life who also loves classic comedies…
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Mallrats
For those who do not seem visibly puzzled by the term “Askewniverse”…
Following the smash success of his first feature, Clerks, Kevin Smith returned with Mallrats. Spawning a raft of characters and in-jokes that Smith would carry throughout his career, the film continued the one-of-a-kind comedic world known as the View Askewniverse. Simultaneously dumped by their girlfriends, comic book obsessive Brodie (Jason Lee) and best friend TS (Jeremy London) plan to ease the pain of their losses by taking take a trip to the local mall. Featuring a cast including Jeremy London, Jason Lee, Shannen Doherty, Joey Lauren Adams and Ben Affleck, Mallrats celebrates its 25th Anniversary in this limited edition set boasting a brand new restoration and hours of bonus content.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Pretty In Pink
For those who have strong feelings on Blane vs. Duckie…
Teen sensations Molly Ringwald (Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club) and Andrew McCarthy (St. Elmo’s Fire) drew rave reviews for their starring performances in this timeless love story. Andie (Ringwald) is a high school girl from the other side of town. Blane (McCarthy) is the wealthy heartthrob who asks her to the prom. But as fast as their romance builds, its threatened by the painful reality of peer pressure. The film also stars Jon Cryer, James Spader, Harry Dean Stanton, and Annie Potts and features a phenomenal new wave soundtrack, including the title track by the Psychedelic Furs.
Are you really living your best life if you do not have a soft spot for John Hughes? This teen classic written by Hughes and directed by Howard Deutch finally made its Blu-Ray debut earlier this year with a stunning 4K restoration. If you know someone still rocking this on DVD, do them a favor and upgrade them with the 5-star presentation.
A review of the Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Saint Frances
For those struggling with “adulting”…
Flailing thirty-four-year-old Bridget (Kelly O’Sullivan) finally catches a break when she meets a nice guy and lands a much-needed job nannying six-year-old Frances (played by a scene-stealing Ramona Edith-Williams). But an unwanted pregnancy introduces an unexpected complication. To make matters worse, she clashes with the obstinate Frances and struggles to navigate a growing tension between Frances’s moms. Amidst her tempestuous personal relationships, a reluctant friendship with Frances emerges, and Bridget contends with the inevitable joys and shit-shows of becoming a part of someone else’s family.
Saint Frances is one of the absolute best films to come out of 2020, and it will provide great joy to anyone looking for something honest and heartwarming.
A review of the DVD release can be found here.
Victor and Victoria
For the musical fan you want to impress with a deep cut…
While many fans may be familiar with the 1982 film Victor/Victoria starring Julie Andrews, they may be surprised to learn of the original German film from 1933 that packs a punch of its own.
In this dazzling musical romance, a young woman (Renate Müller), unable to find work as a music hall singer, partners with a down-and-out thespian (Hermann Thimig) to revamp her act. Pretending to be a man performing in drag, Victoria becomes the toast of the international stage. But she soon finds that her playful bending of genders enmeshes her personal and professional life in a tangle of unexpected complications. Produced in the final days of the Weimar Republic, Victor and Victoria received limited exposure in the United States, and is today best known by Blake Edwards’ 1982 remake and the 1995 Broadway production. Viewers will be delighted to discover that the original is every bit as charming and outrageous, reminiscent of the sly sex comedies of Ernst Lubitsch and Billy Wilder.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
So Dramatic
Howard’s End
For those who find great comfort in the past…
One of Merchant Ivory’s undisputed masterpieces, this adaptation of E.M. Forster’s classic 1910 novel is a saga of class relations and changing times in Edwardian England. Margaret Schlegel (Emma Thompson) and her sister Helen (Helena Bonham Carter) become involved with two couples: a wealthy, conservative industrialist (Anthony Hopkins) and his wife (Vanessa Redgrave), and a working-class man (Samuel West) and his mistress (Niccola Duffet). The interwoven fates and misfortunes of these three families and the diverging trajectories of the two sisters’ lives are connected to the ownership of Howards End, a beloved country home. A compelling, brilliantly acted study of one woman’s struggle to maintain her ideals and integrity in the face of Edwardian society’s moribund conformist values.
This Academy Award winning film was given a 4K restoration and an impressive array of special features that should please anyone with a soft spot for period pieces.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
The Lost Weekend
For the Oscar-obsessive in your life…
From Billy Wilder, the legendary director of Double Indemnity, Sunset Blvd.,comes this classic drama starring screen great Ray Milland (X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes). An uncompromising look at the devastating effects of alcoholism, The Lost Weekend was almost never released because of the poor reaction by preview audiences unaccustomed to such stark realism from Hollywood. It has since gone on to be regarded as one of the all-time great dramas in movie history, featuring Milland’s haunting portrayal of a would-be writer’s dissatisfaction with life that leads to a self-destructive three-day binge. Filled with riveting imagery, this masterpiece, co-starring Jane Wyman (All That Heaven Allows), won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director (Wilder), Best Actor (Milland) and Best Screenplay (Charles Brackett and Wilder), and was nominated for Best Cinematography (John F. Seitz), Best Editing (Doane Harrison) and Best Score (Miklós Rózsa).
This new Blu-Ray from Kino Classics features a brand new 4K remaster and an Audio Commentary by Film Historian Joseph McBride that is sure to please classic film lovers.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
The Maya Deren Collection
For those who interested in “experimental” filmmaking…
Maya Deren is one of the most important American experimental filmmakers of all time and Kino Classics and Re:Voir have provided new 2K restorations of her essential work. Along with being a filmmaker, Deren was a choreographer, dancer, film theorist, poet, lecturer and photographer, and she brings all of these disciplines together in her dreamlike and ecstatic films. Through these eight films you will be taken on a journey unlike any other as she seeks to push the limits of avant-garde film. This new set also includes new special features such as commentary tracks that put her work into a greater historical context.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Mystery of the Wax Museum
For the classic horror fan you really want to impress…
Filmed in the early Two-Color Technicolor® process, The Mystery of the Wax Museum was considered a lost film for decades, until a well-worn print was discovered nearly 50 years ago. Thanks to the meticulous new restoration presented on this disc, the film can now be experienced as intended.
Bodies are mysteriously disappearing all over town, and a new wax museum has just opened. Is there a connection? But of course! In this horror classic, Fay Wray (King Kong) stars as the intended next victim of a mad wax sculptor obsessed with her resemblance to one of his prior creations. Glenda Farrell plays a quintessential wisecracking newspaper reporter, and noted actor Lionel Atwill is the deranged artist who loses his studio to a fire set by his partner.
With this glorious new presentation and some really compelling special features, this disc is a treat for horror fans of any age.
A review of the Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Requiem For A Dream (4K UHD)
For those think addiction narratives are even better in eye-popping clarity…
Celebrating its 20th anniversary with a 4K Ultra HD release, Requiem for a Dream is a hypnotic film about four people pursuing their visions of happiness. Even as everything begins to fall apart, they refuse to let go, plummeting with their dreams into a nightmarish, gut-wrenching freefall.
From Academy Award®-nominated director Darren Aronofsky (2010, Best Director, Black Swan), the critically acclaimed film stars Academy Award® winners Ellen Burstyn (1974, Best Actress, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore), Jared Leto (2013, Best Supporting Actor, Dallas Buyers Club), and Jennifer Connelly (2001, Best Supporting Actress, A Beautiful Mind), as well as Marlon Wayans (Scary Movie franchise, On the Rocks).
Remastered for the first time in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos — and packed with brand-new bonus material this 20th Anniversary Director’s Cut package is the ultimate way to experience the film
A review of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Selena
For those who want to learn about an overwhelming talent…
Selena is the vibrant story of the Grammy®-winning singer whose life ended at its creative peak. Coined the “Queen of Tejano music,” Selena Quintanilla-Perez was a once-in-a-lifetime talent whose music continues to speak to millions around the world. Pulsating with Selena’s voice on the soundtrack, the film is bracingly authentic. In the title role, Jennifer Lopez powerfully captures the warmth and electricity of a beloved entertainer. Edward James Olmos, Jon Seda and others also shine in this loving depiction of a star that we lost too soon.
This fan-favorite was finally released on Blu-Ray this year courtesy of the Warner Archive with both the Theatrical Version and an Extended Edition that was often shown on television. No matter your preference, this is a disc that looks and sounds amazing.
A review of the Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Wildlife
For those who want to experience one of the strongest domestic dramas in recent years…
The directorial debut of actor Paul Dano reveals a filmmaking talent of remarkable intelligence and restraint. Adapted by Dano and Zoe Kazan from the novel by Richard Ford, this meticulously crafted portrait of the American nuclear family in crisis charts the rift that forms within a 1960s Montana household when the father and breadwinner (Jake Gyllenhaal) abruptly departs to fight the forest fires raging nearby, leaving his restless wife (Carey Mulligan, in a performance of fearless emotional honesty) and teenage son (Ed Oxenbould) to pick up the pieces. A deeply human look at a woman’s wayward journey toward self-fulfillment in the pre-women’s-liberation era and a sensitively observed, child’s-eye coming-of-age tale, Wildlife poignantly illuminates the complex ways in which families function, fall apart, and find their way.
This film was a critical favorite on the festival circuit in 2018, and the folks over at the Criterion Collection decided this was a film that needed a proper physical release with engaging special features, much to the delight of film fans. This is an incredible film that will not disappoint any fan of independent cinema.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
The Golden Age of Television
30 Rock: The Complete Series
For the who live and die by Liz Lemon…
Tune in with 30 Rock The Complete Series – including every hilarious episode from this multi-award-winning hit series. From Executive Producer Lorne Michaels (Saturday Night Live) and created by and starring Emmy® and Golden Globe® winner Tina Fey, paired up with fellow Emmy® and Golden Globe® winner Alec Baldwin, as quirky TV writer Liz Lemon and conservative company executive Jack Donaghy, bound together by chaos, charisma and employment contracts! Together Jack and Liz preside over the everyday mayhem at a late-night variety show with no help from Liz’s loose cannon stars Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) and Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski) and hapless NBC page Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer).
30 Rock was one of the most consistently hilarious comedies on television for seven seasons, and owning this set from Mill Creek Entertainment means never having to sweat whether or not this amazing show is going to be on your preferred streaming services. Plus, there are hours and hours of special features that you will not find anywhere else.
A review of the Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Buck Rogers In The 25th Century: The Complete Collection
For when you finishing binging The Mandalorian…
Kino Classics brings every moment of this cult-favorite 80s sci-fi series to Blu-Ray in a truly excellent box set filled with special features that should please anyone craving some cheesy science fiction in their life.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Dispatches From Elsewhere: Season 1
For the person in your life who loves a good puzzle…
Four ordinary people feel there’s something missing in their lives, but can’t quite put their finger on what it is, are brought together by chance – or perhaps it’s by design – when they stumble onto a puzzle hiding just behind the veil of everyday life. As they begin to accept the mysterious “Dispatches from Elsewhere” challenges, they come to find that the mystery winds deeper than they imagined, and their eyes are opened to a world of possibility and magic.
Hailing from the mind of creator/actor Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Dispatches from Elsewhere stars Segel alongside Eve Lindley, Andre “3000” Benjamim and Academy Award winner Sally Field. This show aired on AMC in early 2020 and became something of an underground favorite for many. The show is filled with interesting twist and turns, but most of all it provides characters in which you become invested. Now you can own one of the new gems of the year in a great Blu-Ray presentation.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (Blu-Ray + DVD Steelbook)
For those who are still preaching the gospel of Breaking Bad…
EL CAMINO: A BREAKING BAD MOVIE reunites fans with Jesse Pinkman (Emmy® Award-winner Aaron Paul). In the wake of his dramatic escape from captivity, Jesse must come to terms with his past in order to forge some kind of future. This riveting thriller was written and directed by Vince Gilligan, the creator of Breaking Bad.
Fans have been nursing the loss of their beloved Breaking Bad with the equally classic Better Call Saul the past several years, but they received a real thrill when it was announced that Vince Gilligan was getting the gang back together for a follow-up film. Fans will be glad to finally own this on a physical format that comes with some cool special features and a really lovely Steelbook packaging.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection (4K UHD)
For those who don’t hold a grudge against Benioff and Weiss…
Based on the best-selling novel series by George R.R. Martin, Game of Thrones has earned a total of 161 Emmy® nominations and 59 wins, which are the most nominations and wins of any Comedy or Drama series in Emmy history. The Cultural Phenomenon also stands as HBO’s most-viewed program ever, with the final season averaging a record-setting 44 million viewers in the U.S.
For eight seasons, Game of Thrones provided some of the most exciting storytelling in either television or movies. There was nothing quite like the thrill of waiting week to week to catch a new episode in which nearly anything could happen. No matter which side of the fence you land on regarding the ending of the show, this show remains one of the greatest achievements of our time. Now fans are able to own every single moment in eye-popping 4K UHD clarity with Dolby Atmos sound. There is truly nothing like it.
A review of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Humans: The Complete Series
For those who think AI is better than people…
This years saw the Blu-ray Collection debut of the uncut UK edition of AMC’s thrilling sci-fi drama HUMANS: COMPLETE COLLECTION. The BAFTA-Award nominated series is set in the near future where humanoid “synths” have been created to help busy families simplify their lives. But will these perfect servants stay compliant forever? Humans has a great ensemble cast including Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians), Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd) and Tom Goodman-Hill (Cheat, The Imitation Game) and features fantastic guest stars, such as Oscar® winner William Hurt (Body Heat, Kiss of the Spider Woman), Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix Trilogy, Wisting) and Letitia Wright (Black Panther). On top of all of this, the collection has over 2.5 hours of bonus material.
For three seasons Humans offered up an intriguing take on classic sci-fi ideas that largely went under-the-radar in the United States. Now is the time to rectify that mistake with this impressive collection. Get it, watch it, and spread the word…
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Mission: Impossible – The Complete Original Series
For those who appreciate a well-crafted disguise…
Mission Impossible: The Original TV Series follows the Impossible Missions Forces (IMF) is a government agency of extraordinary spies assigned to do the most dangerous espionage missions. Each episode starts with the famous tape-recorded message detailing the upcoming, exciting mission, from overthrowing corrupt leaders to exploiting dangerous crime lords. The IMF crew consists of the leader, first Daniel Briggs then later Jim Phelps, and spies with different areas of expertise, from disguise experts to electronics technician. The series starred Steven Hill, Peter Graves, Barbara Bain, Greg Morris and Peter Lupus.
Whether you are approaching this show as a fan of the movie franchise or a devotee of the original series, this collection should provide hours of entertainment. This massive set feature the entire seven season run of the show (1966-1973) in a 46-disc box set for the first time in beautiful high definition.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Wonder Woman: The Complete Series
For those who don’t want the party to stop after Wonder Woman 1984…
Save the world? That’s a man’s job. Then along comes star-spangled Wonder Woman with her bullet-deflecting bracelets and golden lariat to set everyone straight. With Lynda Carter staring as the title character, Season One features adventures in Wonder Woman’s original World War II era, while Seasons Two and Three whoosh forward to the disco-loving ‘70s. Times change. The need to smash evil, calamity and injustice does not.
The Wonder Woman series starred Lynda Carter in the title role as both Wonder Woman and her alter ego, Diana Prince, Lyle Waggoner as Steve Trevor, and Debra Winger as Wonder Girl/Drusilla. The Wonder Woman: The Complete Collection Blu-ray box set comes complete with all 59 episodes, plus the treasured pilot movie, newly remastered for the first time across 10 discs. We love Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, but this is the version that won the hearts of countless fans previously. Thankfully, we can love them both equally!
A review of the Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Life, Animated
Bugs Bunny: 80th Anniversary Collection
For those who know what’s up, doc…
Bugs Bunny, one of animation’s most recognizable characters, first hopped onto the screen in 1940 and he’s been a pop-culture icon ever since. More than eight generations have enjoyed the timeless antics of the carrot-munching wise guy who always outsmarts his rivals. Cartoons, movies, TV, comics, music, sports and more – this wascally wabbit has done it all. Clever pranks and one-liners are here, along with interviews with today’s most renowned animators, historians and superstars. Enjoy the full range of his silly and smart-alecky personality with 60 theatrical shorts restored and remastered to the original 4X3 aspect ratio on Blu-ray for the first time. It’s just what the doctor – er, doc – ordered.
The gorgeous collector’s set includes a Digital Copy of 60 original theatrical shorts, a new documentary, 10 episodes of the Looney Tunes Cartoons – the new HBO Max series produced by Warner Bros. Animation – and an introductory letter from animation historian Jerry Beck.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Josie & The Pussycats: The Complete Series
For animation fans who need something groovy in their lives…
Josie and the Pussycats have reunited for an exclusive engagement! Their claws and fangs emerged to bust the meanest dudes – without messing up their hair and makeup for their next big sold-out concert. Josie, from the legendary Archie Comics, is here to put on an unforgettable show! So put on those Saturday Pussycat pajamas, grab some cereal, call your friends and rock out to this 2-DISC COMPLETE SERIES COLLECTION!
Those who only know Josie and the Pussycats from Riverdale are in for a real treat with this new set from Warner Archive. This complete 16-episode run has been completely remastered and is sure to provide copious amounts of fun that will have you laughing and tapping your foot constantly.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Legion of Super Heroes: The Complete Series
For the DC fan who thinks they own everything…
Do you remember this gem that ran from 2006-2008? One thousand years from now, the legendary Man of Steel inspires a group of emerging young heroes from the 31st century to band together and defend the newly formed United Planets. That is, if they don’t kill each other first. In Season One, Legionnaires Bouncing Boy (Michael Cornacchia), Brainiac 5 (Adam Wylie), Saturn Girl (Kari Wahlgren) and Lightning Lad (Andy Milder) travel back in time to convince an awkward teen named Clark Kent (Yuri Lowenthal) to join their Legion of Superheroes and battle their archnemeses, the Fatal Five. The insecure teen is, in turn, inspired by his new friends and, with their help, begins his journey to become the galaxy’s greatest hero. Catching up two years later, Season Two presents Superman and the Legion with an even greater challenge: Kell-El, the Superman of the 41st century!
Legion of Super Heroes: The Complete Series includes all 26 episodes of the show in gorgeous 16×9 across three discs along with a selection of interesting special features. This show truly is a lot of fun, and the underground nature of the series should make it a delightful surprise under the Christmas tree of DC fans.
A review of the Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Space Ghost & Dino Boy: The Complete Series
For those who are tired of the same old superheroes…
Showcasing the episodes in the three-segment form as they originally aired, these stellar retro hits soar through space and time to deliver justice! First, intergalactic policeman Space Ghost navigates the cosmos in his tricked-out spaceship, The Phantom Cruiser, battling villains like Brak and Zorak in his legendary suit and powerful wristbands. Then, Dino Boy teams with caveman Ugh and dinosaur Bronty to go primeval on the ancient menaces of their primitive home. And finally, Space Ghost flies again with more extraterrestrial adventures and thrilling takedowns. This dynamite compilation also features the dynamic six-part Space Ghost episode “The Council of Doom.” It’s cosmic entertainment for all!
You may be thinking, wasn’t this guy a talk show host on Adult Swim? That is correct, but long before that Space Ghost was a classic Hanna-Barbera production in the 1960s that provided a lot of action-packed fun. Warner Archive continues to be a savior for animation fans as they provide 20 episodes of the series stunningly remastered on Blu-Ray.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Tex Avery Screwball Classics
For those who want their classic animation with a little attitude…
There were several masters of animation during Hollywood’s golden era. Of the top two geniuses, one created elaborate fairy tales and ornate feature-length fantasias — the other guy was Tex Avery. He just wanted to make you laugh. Having already been integrally involved in the development of Porky Pig, Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny for Warner Bros., Avery moved to MGM in 1941 to create a set of comedy masterpieces that defined a new slapstick style for animation, inspiring cartoonists, comedians and filmmakers for decades to come. Avery’s unit at Metro Goldwyn Mayer was all about breaking the fourth wall, shattering expectations and making audiences fall down with laughter. His one-shot masterpieces, including Bad Luck Blackie, Red Hot Riding Hood and Symphony in Slang, have proven themselves pure gold. And continuing characters like Droopy, Screwball Squirrel and George & Junior — not to mention Spike, Red and The Wolf – remain unforgettable comic personas among the top rank of cartoondom.
This year Warner Archive made classic animation fans cry tears of joy when they released Volume One and Volume Two of the Tex Avery Screwball Classics which boasted these classic shorts beautifully restored to their fully Technicolor glory. These sets should be considered essential to any self-respecting animation fan.
A review of the Volume One Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Weathering With You (4K UHD Collector’s Edition)
For those who want to show an anime fan they can weather anything…
With a spot on the list of top-grossing anime film of all time, Makoto Shinkai’s (Your Name) magnificent animated film Weathering With You is one that is worth checking out for casual anime fans and enthusiasts alike. The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if to suggest his future. He lives his days in isolation, but finally finds work as a writer for a mysterious occult magazine. Then one day, Hodaka meets Hina on a busy street corner. This bright and strong-willed girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky.
This charming tale has been given the film an elaborate Collector’s Edition from Shout! Factory that includes the ability to watch the film in eye-popping 4K UHD, an exclusive feature-length documentary “The Making Of Weathering With You,” as well as the film’s soundtrack on CD, a 104-page perfect bound book and much more. If you are going to purchase this film for someone you love, you might as well go all-out, right?
A review of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray Collector’s Edition release can be found here.
Open Yourself Up To The World
Alejandro Jodorowsky: 4K Restoration Collection
For those who are ready for things to get real weird….
Best known for his avant-garde films El Topo (1970) and The Holy Mountain (1973), he has been venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts for his work which is filled with violently surreal images and a hybrid blend of mysticism and religious provocation. At the age of 91, Jodorowsky is as relevant as he’s ever been. In addition to completing Psychomagic, A Healing Art, he supervised the color correction of the 4K restorations of his essential films using the original 35mm elements, with vibrant results. This deluxe box set includes The Maestro’s films Psychomagic, A Healing Art, Fando y Lis, El Topo, and The Holy Mountain, each meticulously restored in 4K on Blu-ray, along with new bonus features and CD soundtracks of the latter two titles.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
The Complete Films Of Agnes Varda
For those who need a crash-course on one of the all-time great French directors…
A founder of the French New Wave who became an international art-house icon, Agnès Varda was a fiercely independent, restlessly curious visionary whose work was at once personal and passionately committed to the world around her. In an abundant career in which she never stopped expanding the notion of what a movie can be, Varda forged a unique cinematic vocabulary that frequently blurs the boundaries between narrative and documentary, and entwines loving portraits of her friends, her family, and her own inner world with a social consciousness that was closely attuned to the 1960s counterculture, the women’s liberation movement, the plight of the poor and socially marginalized, and the ecology of our planet.
Bringing together all thirty-nine of her features, shorts, and documentaries for the first time, this fifteen-Blu-ray box set also contains extensive special features- many created by Varda herself- including introductions to the films, interviews with and tributes from family and friends, once-banned and unfinished works, behind-the-scenes footage, archival programs, and more. When you view this like a film school in disc form, you really cannot beat the bang for your buck!
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
And Then We Danced
For those who want to experience beauty but are too tired to dance…
Serving as Sweden’s official submission to the International Feature Film category of this year’s Academy Awards, And Then We Danced is a stunning portrait of self-discovery. A passionate tale of love and liberation set amidst the conservative confines of modern Georgian society, And Then We Danced follows Merab, a devoted dancer who has been training for years for a spot in the National Georgian Ensemble. The arrival of the talented and rebellious Irakli throws Merab off balance, sparking an intense rivalry and a forbidden desire.
Music Box Films has proven time and time again to be one of the most exciting distributors of independent film we have, and this release is no different. You will not regret picking up this incredible film for any serious cinephile.
A review of the Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Beanpole
For those who find beauty in devastating emotional moments…
Like the previous film, Beanpole was chosen as Russia’s official submission to the International Feature Film category of this year’s Academy Awards. In post-WWII Leningrad, two women, Iya and Masha (astonishing newcomers Viktoria Miroshnichenko and Vasilisa Perelygina), intensely bonded after fighting side by side as anti-aircraft gunners, attempt to readjust to a haunted world. As the film begins, Iya, long and slender and towering over everyone—hence the film’s title—works as a nurse in a shell-shocked hospital, presiding over traumatized soldiers. A shocking accident brings them closer and also seals their fates. The 28-year-old Russian director Kantemir Balagov won Un Certain Regard’s Best Director prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for this richly burnished, occasionally harrowing rendering of the persistent scars of war.
This has been a banner year for international features, and this transfixing film ranks among the best that cinema has to offer. It just hurts so good.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Corpus Christi
For those who believe in second chances…
Not only was Corpus Christi chosen as Poland’s official submission to the International Feature Film category of this year’s Academy Awards, it secured the nomination! While a little juggernaut known as Parasite may have prevented it from winning, that takes nothing away from this powerful tale.
After spending years in a Warsaw prison for a violent crime, 20-year-old Daniel is released and sent to a remote village to work as a manual laborer. The job is designed to keep the ex-con busy, but Daniel has a higher calling. Over the course of his incarceration he has found Christ, and aspires to join the clergy – but his criminal record means no seminary will accept him. When Daniel arrives in town, one quick lie allows him to be mistaken for the town’s new priest, and he sets about leading his newfound flock. Though he has no training, his passion and charisma inspire the community. At the same time, his unconventional sermons and unpriestly behavior raise suspicions among some of the townsfolk – even more so as he edges towards a dark secret that the community hasn’t revealed in the confessional booth.
A review of the Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (4K UHD Steelbook)
For the member of your family who needs an easy entry point into world cinema…
It’s been 20 years since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon broke out as a huge international success both critically and financially. The film garnered 10 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Director for Ang Lee. Set against 19th-century China’s breathtaking landscape, two master warriors (Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh) are faced with their greatest challenge when the treasured Green Destiny sword is stolen. A young aristocrat (Zhang Ziyi) prepares for an arranged marriage, but soon reveals her superior fighting talents and her deeply romantic past. As each warrior battles for justice, they come face to face with their worst enemy – and the inescapable, enduring power of love.
In addition to the 5-star 4K UHD Blu-Ray presentation, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released this one in a gorgeous new Steelbook packaging to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Essential Fellini / Fellini’s Casanova
For those who want to see a cinephile weep with joy…
Joining in the international celebration of Federico Fellini’s 100th birthday, the Criterion Collection released the Essential Fellini, a fifteen-Blu-ray box set that brings together fourteen of the director’s most imaginative and uncompromising works for the first time. Alongside new restorations of the theatrical features, the set also includes short and full-length documentaries about Fellini’s life and work, archival interviews with his friends and collaborators, commentaries on six of the films, video essays, the director’s 1968 short Toby Dammit, and much more.
Plus, make your set feel a bit more complete with new Blu-Ray of Fellini’s Casanova from the fine folks at Kino Classics, which was not included in the larger box set. All of these films should be considered essential for any student of cinema.
For more information about the Essential Fellini, please check out the details here.
For more information about Fellini’s Casanova, please check out the details here.
House of Hummingbird
For those who cannot get enough of “coming of age” tales…
While Parasite justifiably took most of the focus when it came to South Korean cinema in the past year, you would be remiss to pass up this fantastic, poignant drama from debut filmmaker Kim Bora. Set in the 1990s, 14-year-old Eun-hee moves through life like a hummingbird searching for a taste of sweetness wherever she may find it. Ignored by her parents and abused by her brother, she finds her escape by roaming the neighborhood with her best friend, going on adventures, exploring young love and experiencing everything that comes with growing up in a country on the brink of enormous change.
A review of the Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
For anyone who has ever ventured into #FilmTwitter…
If this film had been chosen as France’s official submission to the International Feature Film category of this year’s Academy Awards, we might have actually had a close race in the category.
Passion brews quietly between an artist and her subject, until together they create a space in which it can briefly flourish, in this sumptuous eighteenth-century romance from Céline Sciamma, one of contemporary French cinema’s most acclaimed auteurs. Summoned to an isolated seaside estate on a secret assignment, Marianne (Noémie Merlant) must find a way to paint a wedding portrait of Héloïse (Adèle Haenel), who is resisting chattel marriage, by furtively observing her. What unfolds in exquisite tension is an exchange of sustained gazes in which the two women come to know each other’s gestures, expressions, and bodies with rapturous intimacy, ultimately forging a subversive creative collaboration as well as a delirious romance. Charged with a yearning that almost transcends time and space, Portrait of a Lady on Fire mines the emotional and artistic possibilities that emerge when women can freely live together and see one another in a world without men.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
The Wild Goose Lake
For those who like their crime thrillers to have a brain…
This Chinese crime noir was a critical and festival favorite at Cannes, Toronto and the New York International Film Festival. Director Diao Yinan’s much anticipated follow-up to his breakthrough film Black Coal, Thin Ice, THE WILD GOOSE LAKE, is a noir crime thriller about a gangster on the run, wet in the nooks and crannies of densely populated Wuhan in central China. The elegantly down-and-dirty film follows the desperate attempts of small-time mob boss Zhou Zenong (the charismatic Hu Ge) to stay alive after he mistakenly kills a cop and a dead-or-alive reward is put on his head. Director Yinan proves his action bona fides in a series of stylized set pieces and violent shocks, simultaneously devising a romance between Zhou and a mysterious young woman (Gwei Lun-mei) who’s out to either help or betray him.
Not only is this film unceasingly cool from a visual standpoint, but the plot is densely layered in a way that keeps you riveted from start to finish. Film Movement once again offers one of the strongest international films of the year.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
The Bigger The Better
The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection (4K UHD)
For those who need convincing that classic films are worthwhile in 4K…
This year saw the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcok, have some of his most beloved films lovingly upgraded 4K UHD Blu-Ray. The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection contained four iconic films from the acclaimed director’s illustrious career including Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho and The Birds in stunning 4K resolution. Starring Hollywood favorites such as James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Tippi Hedren, Kim Novak and Rod Taylor, this essential collection features hours of bonus features as well as the original uncut version of Psycho for the first time ever.
With several of these films being over sixty years old, you may wonder what 4K UHD can bring to the table. Well, I’m here to tell you that level of clarity and overall stability of image is something at which to marvel. These films are an important part of any film collection, and this is the way they deserved to be viewed.
A review of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Back to the Future: The Ultimate Collection (4K UHD or Blu-Ray)
For those who do not need roads…
One of the greatest trilogies of all time celebrated its 35th anniversary in style. Back to the Future: The Ultimate Trilogy presented these films for the first time in glorious 4K UHD along with a bonus disc that comes with over an hour of brand-new content such as rare audition footage from Hollywood stars Ben Stiller, Kyra Sedgwick, Jon Cryer, Billy Zane, Peter DeLuise and C. Thomas Howell.
This set is a love letter to fans of the series that serves as a substantial upgrade even in terms of the standard Blu-Ray. These are a staple for many film lovers, so you might as well have the best looking, most comprehensive release on the market.
A review of the Blu-Ray release can be found here.
Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits
For the person in your life who took two karate lessons and gave up…
In the early 1970s, a kung-fu dynamo named Bruce Lee side-kicked his way onto the screen and straight into pop-culture immortality. With his magnetic screen presence, tightly coiled intensity, and superhuman martial-arts prowess, Lee was an icon who conquered both Hong Kong and Hollywood cinema and transformed the art of the action film in the process. This collection brings together the five films that define the Lee legend: furiously exciting fist-fliers propelled by his innovative choreography, unique martial-arts philosophy, and whirlwind fighting style. Though he completed only a handful of films while at the peak of his stardom before his untimely death at age thirty-two, Lee left behind a monumental legacy as both a consummate entertainer and a supremely disciplined artist who made Hong Kong action cinema a sensation the world over.
This amazing set includes The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, The Way of the Dragon, Enter the Dragon and Game of Death. This seven-disc Blu-ray box set is loaded with special features, including alternate versions of the films, interviews with Lee’s collaborators and admirers, documentaries about his life and philosophies, commentaries, promotional materials, and so much more!
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Friday the 13th Collection (Deluxe Edition)
For the person who is not happy with a film unless there’s a decapitation…
It can almost be said that Scream Factory won the year when they announced this epic set that had horror fans rocking back and forth from intense happiness. The 16-disc Friday the 13th Collection (Deluxe Edition) set is the definitive Blu-ray collection of one of the most influential horror franchises ever created and includes all 12 original films from Paramount Pictures and New Line Cinema.
The set includes the ultimate collection of new and existing extras. Along with a selection of new interviews, commentaries, and new transfers, are NEW Slashed Scenes – the long-awaited uncut gore footage from Friday The 13th Part 2, and much, much more. The set also includes two versions of the original film and Jason Goes to Hell along with the much-desired 3-D version of the third movie. The Friday The 13th Collection (Deluxe Edition) also contains 2 bonus discs which include over 5 hours of new content, a new collectible rigid slipcover with newly-commissioned art, a new 40-pg collectible essay booklet with archival still photography, and new 4K film transfers for Parts 1-4, with Part 3 in its original 3D presentation. Additionally, each film comes with a dedicated Blu-ray™ case featuring original theatrical artwork.
In terms of pure spectacle, it is hard to top this set. If you have a slasher fan in your life, they definitely want this on their shelf.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Hammer Films: The Ultimate Collection
For horror fans who appreciate a scrappy underdog…
For more than four decades, Hammer Films’ unique blend of horror, science fiction, thrills and comedy dominated countless drive-ins and movie theaters. Enjoy this massive collection from the darkest corners of the Hammer Imagination!
Featuring 20 Cult-Classics from the infamous Hammer Studios produced in the 50s, 60s and 70s available together for the first time in high-definition. In this collection you will find the likes of The Revenge of Frankenstein, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, The Gorgon, The Pirates of Blood River and many more. If you have even a passing interest in this period of time in horror and suspense films, this set serves as something of a teaching tool that unlocks a whole exciting world of cinema.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Rambo: The Complete Collection (4K UHD Steelbook)
For those who cackle in delight at a good throat-ripping…
Since its debut nearly four decades ago, the Rambo series starring Sylvester Stallone has become one of the most iconic action-movie franchises of all time. An ex-Green Beret haunted by memories of Vietnam, Rambo has battled small-town prejudice, freed POWs, rescued his commanding officer from the Soviets, and liberated missionaries in Myanmar. In his final mission, Rambo’s vengeance is unleashed after an old friend’s granddaughter is kidnapped in Mexico.
This definitive collector’s edition of the legendary series features five uniquely designed SteelBooks housing all five action-packed Rambo films including First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part II, Rambo III, Rambo, and Rambo: Last Blood. In terms of packaging, this is one of the most impressive sets I have seen in some time. If you are fan of this series, you not only get something lovely to display on your shelves, but you get the series is glorious 4K UHD and more special features than you know what to do with.
A review of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray Steelbook release can be found here.
Resident Evil: The Complete Collection (4K UHD)
For your nephew who has an Umbrella Corp. tattoo on his ankle…
Based on the popular video game series by Capcom, the Resident Evil franchise stars Milla Jovovich (The Fifth Element) as Alice, a superhuman security expert pitted against the sinister Umbrella Corporation as the world’s population is transformed into flesh-eating creatures by one of its most dangerous biological weapons.
The RESIDENT EVIL 4K ULTRA HD COLLECTION includes Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Apocalypse (both the original theatrical version and an extended cut), Resident Evil: Extinction, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Resident Evil: Retribution and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter as well as hours of bonus content across all six films, including rare archival featurettes that have been previously unavailable on disc. These are the types of films that you need to see in eyeball-melting 4K UHD, so get ready to crack your wallets open for this one.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Sophia Loren Award Collection
For those who swear they are watching these films for their artistic merit…
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Universal Horror Collection
For classic horror fans who know there is more to life than Dracula and Frankenstein…
Scream Factory has been steadily providing classic horror fans with mind-blowing releases throughout 2020 including Volume 4, Volume 5 and Volume 6 of the Universal Horror Collection series. As the company has delved into the archives of Universal, they have have provided such fascinating deep cuts as THE THING THAT COULDN’T DIE, THE SHADOW OF THE CAT, THE MONSTER AND THE GIRL, NIGHT MONSTER, HOUSE OF HORRORS and more. This is a company that treats their releases with the utmost care and respect, and you know you are going to get something special when you get one of these releases. Go forth towards any of these volumes with confidence.
For more information about this set, please check out the details here.
Streaming Means No Clutter
Film Movement Plus Subscription
For those who want some of the best of arthouse cinema at their fingertips…
Film Movement Plus brings films to North American audiences from around the world, including prizewinners from Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, Locarno, Sundance, SXSW and other major festivals. Stream the best of independent and world cinema, cult and arthouse classics, documentaries and short films anytime on any device with your subscription.
We love Netflix and Prime as much as the next person, but they often do not have enough to satisfy our independent soul. If you know someone who feels the same, this might be the perfect gift for them.
For more information about this service, please check out the details here.
OVID.tv Subscription
For cinephiles who are interested in discovering something off the beaten path…
OVID.tv providse North American viewers with access to thousands of documentaries, independent films, and notable works of international cinema, largely unavailable on any other platform.
OVID’s offerings fall into roughly three categories: a) powerful films addressing urgent political and social issues, such as climate change, and economic justice; b) in-depth selections of creative documentaries by world-famous directors; and c) cutting-edge arthouse feature and genre films by contemporary directors as well as established masters. And new films in all three areas are added to the OVID collection every two weeks.
This is a subscription service for those who really want to discover something unique that they can champion for others. The process of discovering something new is one of the most exciting parts of being a lover of film, and giving that gift to another would be incredible.
For more information about this service, please check out the details here.
Disclaimer: Some studios have supplied copies of these releases free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this post are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
