Once again it’s time to list my top DVD/Blu-rays of the year. I tried to cut down on my home video purchases–and I still bought way too much stuff, despite the fact I skipped a number of discs. The biggest culprit for taking my money was Kino. That company has been regularly releasing cult movies on Blu-ray with new extras and commentaries, and they’ve got a bunch of enticing things already lined up for next year. I do have to say that other than the top two on my list, most of what I spent my hard-earned money on slotted more in the “very good” category instead of “excellent”.
1. THE THING-1982 version (Blu-ray) from Shout Factory
John Carpenter’s controversial remake gets more extras than you can shake a shape-shifter at, and the movie looks and sounds fantastic. Shout Factory is to be commended for going all out on their releases–that’s something very few companies do anymore.
2. DESTINY (Blu-ray) from Kino
Fritz Lang’s legendary silent fantasy classic receives outstanding treatment from Kino. I wrote a full post on it in September.
3. CARNIVAL OF SOULS (Blu-ray) from Criterion
I always wind up having at least one Criterion release on one of these lists. Herk Harvey’s low budget masterpiece is one of the creepiest movies ever made. I wrote a full post on it in July.
4. SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON (Blu-ray) from Warner Archive
This release made the list for one reason–it looks absolutely spectacular. If it had any new extras at all, it would have most certainly ranked higher. I wrote a post on it in June.
5. THE VIKINGS (Blu-ray) from Kino
I could have placed several other Kino releases at #5….I chose THE VIKINGS because it’s such a great film, and the visual quality on the disc is magnificent. I wrote about it back in March.
