If you haven’t already, give a listen to Wade and Tim’s DigiGods Holiday Special and Gift Guide Podcast, which covers most of what’s aggregated here — but not all! Streaming is still on the rise, but collectors persist, and for those with the shelf-space the season’s offerings are tantalizing. Give a look for last minute gift suggestions for the discerning cinephile….  

The CineGods

 

Best 4k UHD Blu-rays

Last year it was the complete Game of Thrones dominating the 4k UHD conversation — this year it’s the Middle-Earth 31-Disc Collector’s Edition which combines both theatrical and extended editions of all three Hobbit and all three Lord of the Rings films in one massive, essential collector’s set, complete with Movies Anywhere codes for digital locker access. No matter which online locker you use, however, it’s never going to look as beautiful as the 4k UHD Blu-ray discs on a state-of-the-art 4k television. Those who purchased the previous stand-alone 4k sets have less of a reason to upgrade — this set adds a beautiful collectible box as well as a 64-page booklet and travel poster art cards — but few films will show off your home theater system better or provide as many hours of lasting home theater enjoyment. 

This is also the season that The Criterion Collection finally embraced 4k — a momentous move as Criterion was also a cautionary late adopter of Blu-ray. While some have questioned whether 4k will have an enduring market presence in the era of streaming, Criterion has typically been the barometer for collectors. The fact that they are now fully on board bodes well and should give collector’s a chance to exhale. The first four Criterion 4k UHD releases are also very telling: David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr., Uncut Gems, Menace II Society and Citizen Kane. The quartet show a determination by Criterion to cover their demographic bases — something for contemporary indie film lovers, something for post-2000 cinephiles, something for 90s era cinephiles and something for classic film buffs. Menace II Society, Uncut Gems and Mulholland Dr.  are, of course, director approved 4k transfers and beyond spectacular. Menace, Kane and Gems are new to Criterion while Mulholland Dr. is getting a facelift from its previous and very impressive 2015 Criterion Blu-ray release. A full suite of Criterion extras on all three (the company’s “film school in a box” philosophy) with Kane amply upping the ante with three audio commentaries (including Peter Bogdanovich and Roger Ebert), countless interviews and video essays a rarely seen Orson Welles silent short, television appearances, radio plays and a rare 1991 BBC documentary The Complete Citizen Kane. As for audio, Menace II Society easily takes the crown with a 7.1 DTS-HD surround track that blows the doors off of most contemporary mixes. All also come with regular Blu-ray as well.

An earlier adopter of 4k than Criterion, Arrow continues to make inroads into the collector space with its own timely and extras-laden 4k UHD releases like David Lynch’s Dune and Tremors, both of which come in beautiful boxed sets with booklets and stellar transfers boasting top tier HDR mastering. Arrow’s art house line, Arrow Academy, has also entered the fray with an especially beautiful 4k release of the Oscar-winning Cinema Paradiso which is only marred by the fact that the original 3-hour cut of the film is included as a Blu-ray extra. At some stage fans will demand a 4k release of the original cut as well, but for now we can be grateful for what we have. 

The most welcome Disney 4k UHD release of the season is none other than Robert Zemeckis’ landmark Who Framed Roger Rabbit from 1988, also with a Movies Anywhere code for digital locker access. Disney films typically benefit more from such digital locker access given the higher adoption rate for family films, but collectors will revel in the disc as well — which boasts an absolutely dazzling 4k transfer with HDR that especially pops on the animated characters, giving them a more lifelike three-dimensionality than was even possible on film. Arguably one of the great film noirs of all time as well as one of the great visual effects and mixed-media triumphs of the modern era, Who Framed Roger Rabbit features most of its extras on a separate Blu-ray bonus disc, but they’re solid just the same — deleted scenes, featurettes and a full suite of Roger Rabbit animated shorts. 

While 4k UHD technology is technically a Sony innovation, it’s Warner Bros. who continue to most passionately support the format for both new and catalog titles alike. This season’s offerings include Lin-Manuel Miranda’s splashy musical adaptation In the Heights as well as The Shawshank Redemption, Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, Francis Coppola’s The Outsiders: The Complete Novel (also including the theatrical cut) and a long-awaited assemblage of all four of George Miller’s Mad Max films in the Mad Max Anthology. For rights reasons, there’s a separate VUDU-only code for the original Mad Max versus a Movies Anywhere code for the latter three to which Warners has full rights, but it’s a minor annoyance to have all four films available on tap. The disc transfers, meanwhile, are uneven only insofar as they reflect the different periods during which the films were made. Mad Max itself looks better than a 1970s era Oz-sploitation film has any right to. But to have the full series together for the first time and in 4k is a true holiday gift. Finally, there is Zack Snyder’s Justice League which blew up on HBO Max earlier in 2021. As a result, it’s the one Warner 4k release that does not have a Movies Anywhere version. This 4k UHD release is disc only, and specifically aimed at cinephiles. What they get, however, is one of the most remarkable 4k transfers in existence with a Dolby Atmos audio mix guaranteed to max out even the most aggressive home system. Protect the sub-woofers…

Among other indie labels, Kino has also shown a growing commitment to 4k UHD, spanning a full suite of catalog genres with excellent releases of Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs, the immortal Leone/Eastwood classic The Good the Bad and the Ugly, Jonathan Demme’s Oscar-winning The Silence of the Lambs and Philip Kaufman’s excellent 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Double-dip decisions are a bit complicated for Spaceballs and Silence of the Lambs as the former was previously released on Blu-ray om 2009 as part of a Mel Brooks boxed set and Silence received a superlative Criterion Blu-ray release three years ago which collectors won’t want to give up — but the 4k double-dip on both is definitely worthwhile. Extras include a Mel Brooks commentary on Spaceballs which is easily as funny as the movie itself, excellent featurette and historical documentary material on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, as well as excellent Tim Lucas commentaries on both The Silence of the Lambs and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. It’s the Kaufman Body Snatchers remake, however, that really piles on the bonus material with two excellent commentaries — one by Kaufman and another by film historian Steve Haberman — plus extensive featurette material and interviews with Brooke Adams, screenwriter W.D. Richter and composer Denny Zeitlin, among others. All four films hail from the MGM library, which has been known of late for their preservation work, but you really wouldn’t know it from these transfers which give each title a welcome 4k facelift.

Paramount still isn’t a Movies Anywhere partner (what’s taking so long?) but their 4k UHD offerings still come with a code redeemable at a single added retailer (we recommend VUDU). Paramount’s highest priority 4k boxed sets this year remain the Star Trek Original 4-Movie Collection boxed set and the Indiana Jones 4-Movie Collection. Both sets come with a full suite of prior extras and a fun fold-out map for the Indiana Jones box. Completists may hesitate — the Star Trek box stops short of including the final two entries in the original series and the Indiana Jones set obviously won’t include the forthcoming 5th installment — but for those who can’t wait, the payoff is well worth it. Excellent transfers and mixes across the board. Other Paramount 4k offerings for the season include A Quiet Place Part II, The Wolf of Wall Street, the original The Addams Family, beautiful steelboks of Almost Famous and Top Gun and the immortal Eddie Murphy classic, Beverly Hills Cop, which comes loaded with valuable extras including a commentary from director Martin Brest. The two steelbooks make a particularly attractive holiday treat — with 30th anniversary material on Top Gun in anticipation of the forthcoming Maverick sequel in 2022 and a second disc for Almost Famous with the longer “bootleg” cut also in 4k!

Universal’s 4k commitment may not be as strong as other studios, but their Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection represents beautifully with sparkling black-and-white transfers of the original Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and The Wolf Man. These have all been released previously — many times — usually with a host of second-tier Universal genre titles rounding out the set. This is the first time any of them have been on 4k, and the first time Universal have isolated the four key films minus the also-rans. The Invisible Man might have been a welcome fifth, but its omission is not seriously missed. Also of note is Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds in 4k for the very first time, a full-throttle rush of style, blood and color to compliment the growing body of Tarantino already on 4k. Finally, as a holiday bonus, there’s a collector’s edition of Krampus: The Naughty Cut from both Universal and Shout! Factory — it’s not anyone’s finest hour, but in the small field of Christmas horror films it’s as reliable as any. Extras occupy a second Blu-ray only disc. 

Lastly, Bond fans can round out their 4k Daniel Craig saga with MGM’s excellent No Time to Die while Sony dips into the library with 4k releases of 1961’s The Guns of Navarone, starring Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn and David Niven, as well as a 35th anniversary steelbook of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth. Owners of the 30th anniversary Labyrinth will have no reason to upgrade, but the steelbook packaging is nice. Both Sony titles feature Movies Anywhere codes. The Bond film may be redeemed elsewhere — again, we recommend VUDU.  

 

Breathtaking Boxes and Crazy Collections

We don’t typically recommend import releases or releases which aren’t available from American retailers, but we’re making an exception this year for an obvious reason — Collaborations: The Cinema of Zhang Yimou and Gong Li is too historic to ignore. Kudos to Australian boutique house [Imprint], a division of Via Vision, for putting this amazing set together. The beautiful boxed set boasts individual Blu-ray keepcases for the eight major collaborations between legendary Chinese auteur Zhang Yimou and his great leading lady and one-time romantic partner Gong Li: Red Sorghum, the Oscar-nominated Ju Dou and Raise the Red Lantern, The Story of Liu Ju, To Live, Shanghai Triad, Curse of the Golden Flower and Coming Home. There’s one collaboration missing here, but it’s an early effort both artists are eager to forget and we will not highlight it here. It should be noted that all but the latter three films are presently out of print in the United States and have never even been on Blu-ray. Some of the DVDs go for outrageous amounts on ebay. Don’t be suckered… order this set from [Imprint] — it’ll take a few weeks, but it’s worth the wait. This boxed set is a treasure and one of the most significant releases in years. Extras aren’t copious — mostly featurettes and interviews where available — but film historian Tony Rayns weighs in on each film with superlative observations that tie the set and the collaboration of these two remarkable and influential artists together.

While we’re still on the subject of Chinese cinema it’s also worth a shout-out to Criterion for their boxed set releases of World of Wong Kar Wai and Once Upon a Time in China: The Complete Films. Both represent a further ongoing commitment by Criterion not just to Asian cinema or even Hong Kong cinema, but to celebrate and preserve the legacy of the Hong Kong New Wave of the 1990s. The Wong Kar Wai set is, of course, not comprehensive — notably missing is his epic swordplay classic Ashes of Time, either the original or the director’s cut. But beautiful digital restorations of Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love, As Tears Go By, Days of Being Wild and 2046 — many of them modestly altered (as is Wong’s habit) from their previous release versions — are included. Extras are predictably copious (including interviews, alternate endings, deleted scenes and more) all nicely jammed into a beautiful custom box. The Once Upon a Time set is, however, complete despite the apparent omission of Once Upon a Time in China and America, the only non-Golden Harvest production of the series, albeit the one which saw Jet Li return to the lead role of Wong Fei-hong after turning it over to Vincent Zhao for the fourth and fifth installments of the original series. As it turns out, that final Jet Li installment is included… as an extra. One would presume something contractual being the culprit. Nonetheless, it’s a beautiful set boating 4k restorations of all the films and 5.1 DTS-HD audio which resurrects the series’ classic theme music to a rousing degree guaranteed to enthrall even longtime jaded fans. Never before seen footage, deleted scenes and a spectacular 2004 documentary on the real Wong Fei-hong are highlights among the voluminous hours of bonus material. 

For many years now, Arrow has deliberately gone toe to toe with Criterion for holiday season boxed sets, and 2021 is no different with Giallo Essentials and Giallo Essentials Volume 2 helping sate the holiday bloodlust of those too discerning to be sated by Krampus. Other grindhouse offerings include the transatlantic 1960 curio Mill of the Stone Women and the 1989 American release Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge. More conventional enjoyment can be had courtesy of the memorable 80s cult hit, My Stepmother is an Alien starring Kim Basinger and Dan Aykroyd — a welcome re-issue of the film with a wonderful new audio commentary and a new interview with director Richard Benjamin. Arrow has also been a heavy promoter of classic Japanese cinema — of both the art house and exploitation variety — and they remain so with both The Daimajin Trilogy as well as Survivor Ballads: Three Films by Shohei Imamura. The latter is essential for serious cinephiles as it includes all three of Imamura’s 80s classics — Black Rain, Zegen and the Cannes Film Festival-winning The Ballad of Narayama. Beautiful transfers of all three films are included along with new introductions by, once again, the great Tony Rayns. Jasper Sharp, however, furnishes the excellent commentaries. The Daimajin Trilogy, conversely, serves a more pop-culture market with its legendary monster lore set in 16th century feudal Japan. Made in the 1960s, the trilogy blends Japanese monster and ghost lore with the western Golem legend to manufacture a cult saga which is only just beginning to be rediscovered again outside Japan.

Film Movement continues to be one of the stronger art house libraries in home entertainment and on the heels of Lee Isaac Chung’s Academy Award-nominated Minari, they have assembled three of his earlier films — Munyurangabo, Abigail Harm and Lucky Life — together in the set The Early Films of Lee Isaac Chung.Fans of Minari will not be disappointed, especially with Amanda Plummer’s wonderful performance in the title role of Abigail Harm. 

Image and Corinth Films, meanwhile, are releasing an affordable twofer of their two Sergei Eisenstein titles on DVD, October and Alexander Nevsky, in a double-feature set Two Films by Sergei Eisenstein. No substantial extras and the titles do beg for a Blu-ray set, but for the time being it’s better than nothing. 

The Sherlock Holmes Vault Collection, from The Film Detective is probably best reserved for serious Holmes cinephiles as it resurrects four of the more obscure Holmes films, pre-dating even the popular series starring Basil Rathbone. The four 30s era titles here — The Fatal Hour, The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes and Silver Blaze all starring Arthur Wontner and A Study in Scarlet starring Reginald Owen — are often and largely forgotten, making this compilation somewhat historic. It’s hard to imagine any of them receiving attention if released individually. Excellent commentary tracks on all four. Smart move by Film Detective. 

Time/Life is always in the mix at holiday time and this year’s The Ultimate Richard Pryor Collection – Uncensored is one of their most impressive ever. More than 26 hours on 13 discs, this monumental tribute to one of the great American entertainers and stand-up comedians of all time includes all four Pryor concert films as well as television appearances, episodes of The Richard Pryor Show, his 1977 television special, his lone directing effort Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling and much more. 

For those looking for more traditional movie star compilation sets, Paramount and Mill Creek have just the ticket. Mill Creek’s Rita Hayworth – The Ultimate Collection and The Randolph Scott Collection feature 12-films apiece in affordable Blu-ray sets. Scott’s films are, of course, all westerns including Santa Fe, Decision at Sundown and A Lawless Street, co-starring Angela Lansbury. The Hayworth set features a broader collection of classics, including You’ll Never Get Rich, with Fred Astaire, The Lady from Shanghai with Orson Welles, Pal Joey with Frank Sinatra and Fire Down Below with Robert Mitchum. A special treat is Down to Earth, the little known inspiration for Xanadu. From Paramount there’s The Audrey Hepburn 7-Movie Collection, Jerry Lewis Twenty Film Collection, John Wayne 14-Movie Collection and 10 Best Pictures: The Essential Collection. All are affordably priced and offer premium selections for their compilations including memorable classics like My Fair Lady, Roman Holiday, The Nutty Professor, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Forrest Gump, The English Patient, The Godfather, Terms of Endearment and Titanic. 

Fans of classic British comedy have two excellent Blu-ray sets from Film Movement from which to choose: Alastair Sim’s School for Laughter and Ealing Studios Comedy Collection. Sim is always popular at holiday time thanks to his immortal performance as Scrooge in the classic A Christmas Carol, but his comedy roles from the 40s through the 60s are equally as memorable. The four featured here are The Belles of St. Trinian’s, School for Scoundrels, Laughter in Paradise and Hue and Cry directed by the great Charles Crichton (A Fish Called Wanda). The set also includes hours of bonus material and a souvenir booklet. The Ealing collection is likewise impressive with Whisky Galore, Passport to Pimlico, The Titfield Thunderbolt and The Maggie — four of the best British comedies of the 1940s and 1950s. Wonderful extras here, too, including home movie footage courtesy of Ti
tfield Thunderbolt cinematographer Douglas Slocombe, who would go on to photograph none other than Raiders of the Lost Ark.  

Despite the popularity of 3D CGI animation, stop motion continues to have a home at Laika Studios who have now released Laika Studios special editions through Shout! Factory of their four most popular titles, The Boxtrolls, Paranorman, Kubo and the Two Strings and, of course, the beloved Coraline. All are newly restored with beautiful picture and audio on Blu-ray plus featurettes, test footage, storyboards, and essay booklets. 

Looking for bargain-priced old school trilogies? Look no further! Shout! Factory’s Shout Select line has cleverly chosen for its volume 123 (get it?) The Oh, God! Collection, featuring all three of the memorable George Burns films made between 1977 and 1984. In a clever twist, film critic and theologian Dr. Donna Bowman was recruited to furnish commentaries — smart and insightful to a one. The first film also includes the classic original commentary by Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart, Jerry Weintraub and Teri Garr. If that’s not quite right, then turn your sights to Paramount’s 35th anniversary Blu-ray release of The “Crocodile” Dundee Trilogy, starring Paul Hogan in the role that made him world famous. The second and especially third installments are widely derided, but it’s affordably priced, so why not? They’re thin on extras, but the original film still holds up.

Finally, Mill Creek continues to release smartly-curated bargain double-features on Blu-ray: Miami Vice and The Kingdom, The Adjustment Bureau and The Good Shepherd, My Girl and My Girl 2, Meet Joe Black and Wimbledon and Dilemma and The Break-Up. A little something for everyone.    

 

Merry Musicals

Whether it’s a trend or a blip, 2021 was quite a year for musicals, so we thought it a good opportunity to shed some light on some classic (and not so classic) musicals now on Blu-ray, all suitable gifts for musical film buffs. The Fabulous Dorseys gets the special edition treatment from The Film Detective with this beautiful 4k archival transfer from the original elements of this little-seen 1947 film in which both Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey star as themselves. A new “big band” documentary and Jennifer Churchill commentary fill in the historical blanks. Mill Creek, meanwhile, has the 20th anniversary edition of Josie and the Pussycats, the live-action adaptation of the classic animated television show. Increasingly a cult classic, the film stars Rachael Leigh Cook, Tara Reid and Rosario Dawson along with Parker Posey and boasts one of the best soundtracks of the past 20 years. Between his Oscars for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Amadeus, Milos Forman teamed with choreographer Twyla Tharp for a musical adaptation of the hit stage musical Hair. It’s still considered a curiosity, but Olive Films have spruced up this release with a great suite of contextual extras including a commentary by Treat Williams and assistant director Michael Housman, numerous featurettes and an essay. Lastly, Warner Archive continue to mine both the Warner and MGM libraries for top tier musical classics, and this quartet is solid gold: Annie Get Your Gun, Ziegfeld Follies, Lullaby of Broadway and Broadway Melody of 1940. There’s a wealth of history wrapped up in all four of these, particularly Annie Get Your Gun, which originally to have starred Judy Garland, but ended up boosting Betty Hutton. Extras include Garland outtakes. Lullaby of Broadway, of course, is all Doris Day’s affair and she sizzles from beginning to end. The popular Broadway Melody franchise came to an end with its fourth and final film in 1940, and though the films had little in common apart from musical themes and common titles, the final one was a classic with Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell bringing the star power. Extras here include a wonderful documentary on Cole Porter hosted by Ann Miller. Finally, 1946’s Ziegfeld Follies, directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring his wife Judy Garland along with nearly everyone else in Hollywood (Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Esther Williams, Cyd Charisse and countless others) remains a lovely, memorable artifact of the day — here lovingly mastered and transferred to DVD in sparkling Technicolor hues.      

 

Christmas Cornucopia

 

Eat your heart out Hallmark and Lifetime. Imagicomm Entertainment has the seasonal holiday romance formula down. They just relocate the story! And the series is undeniably popular. They’re all pretty much the same, but isn’t that the point? Take your pick: Christmas in the Rockies, Christmas in the Pines, Christmas on the Coast, Christmas in the Wilds, Christmas in the Smokies.

On the animated front for kids, Classic Media have finally re-released The Original Christmas Specials Collection in a limited edition steelbook which is better suited to take the annual abuse kids will throw at it. It’s the same core five Rankin-Bass films they’ve released previously — Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, Frosty the Snowman, The Little Dummer Boy and Cricket on the Hearth — though the subpar but still beloved Frosty Returns and Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol, which have occasionally been included in these sets, should also be released separately. PBS Kids, meanwhile, has their own animated compilations of snow- and holiday-themed episodes from their many shows. Two sets — PBS Kids Christmas Collection and PBS Kids 20 Snowy Stories — cover just about every show imaginable. It’s hours of engagement for kids. 

But what would Christmas movies be without animals? Probably less bear-able with a lot more horse-ing around. We’ve got three to scratch that itch, and Bob the cat will only be too happy to oblige. In fact, Bob plays himself in A Gift from Bob, also starring Luke Treadaway. If that’s not enough, how about Jon Lovitz voicing Ace the horse in Ace and the Christmas Miracle? Better yet — would you believe Jerry O’Connell, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Rob Schneider, Dolph Lundgren, Danny Trejo and Malcolm McDowell all in the same movie and playing second fiddle to a bunch of dogs? Then you’ll never believe Pups Alone. There’s really no point in elaborating on the plots here — you know the drill. Animals are a problem — until they make everything right. 

It’s a Wonderful Life gets a new reissue every year from Paramount, and while we cannot recommend anything more highly than last year’s 4k release, this year’s 75th anniversary Blu-ray is still a lovely set. Purists will hate the inclusion of a colorized version, but for those who don’t yet own the film, you can’t really go wrong. A digital locker code for VUDU is also included. What should have been included, but has to be bought separately, is the Virgil Films / Kino Lorber documentary The Real Bedford Falls,a brisk and very enjoyable half-hour of Seneca Falls, New York, which is posited as the inspiration for the fictitious town in the film. Lovely interviews with surviving cast members, Frank Capra’s granddaughter and film critic Leonard Maltin make the case — very persuasively.

Absent yet another formal telling of A Christmas Carol, how about Jackie Gleason’s Honeymooners Special: A Christmas Carol? Originally aired in 1977 with the original cast, this marked the second of the final four hourlong Honeymooners reunion specials, and it may be the best. Bonus features include the legendary and truly hilarious 1973 Women’s Lib skit.

Patricia Neal in The Homecoming was the television movie that launched the original run of The Waltons. That memorable story, drawn from show creator Earl Hamner’s own life, has now been remade as The Waltons’ Homecoming,and it remains as warm and resonant as the original.

While it’s technically a Thanksgiving movie, the overall holiday spirit still makes the new steelbook of Planes, Trains and Automobiles worth a recommendation. After all, it could be argued that John Candy’s character in the film and his Polka King in Home Alone are cut from the same cloth.  

Seeing as how Christmas is first and foremost a religious holiday, it wouldn’t be right to let it slip without some faith-based recommendations, and the God’s Not Dead 4-Movie Collection more than qualifies. All four films from the most successful faith-based franchise in the world are featured here, including the Pandemic-era latest chapter, God’s Not Dead: We the People. The Jesus Music is a Blu-ray/DVD combo set (with digital copy) that tells the story of Christian music and features performances by some of the top artists in the field today: Amy Grant, Kirk Franklin and Michael W. Smith among them. Finally, there is always The Gospel Collection, featuring all four of the Lionsgate / Lumo Project word-for-word productions of the four Gospels. We can also recommend Jesus Christ: Movie Star, a new book by author Phil Hall which succinctly and smartly looks at the history of Jesus on film from the earliest days of the silent era right to the present day, including a handful of scandals along the way.      

 

Titillating Television

There’s something for everyone this season, starting with three new Ultraman series from Mill Creek (just how many there are total, we have no idea): Ultraman Gaia, Ultraman Tiga and Ultraman Dyna. We readily admit we can’t keep them straight, either, but fans apparently can and that’s all that matters.

Nickelodeon’s two complete sets for the season are a good deal more hip — The Ultimate Aang & Korra Blu-ray Collectionfeatures both the complete The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra together in a single Blu-ray set for the first time. Collectible art cards plus extensive inside looks at the “Avatarverse” through the eyes of its creators make this a truly special gift for fans. For younger Nick watchers there’s The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius – The Complete Series. While we can’t claim to be fans of the show, clearly a lot of children are. Bonus features include all three “Power Hour” crossover specials, storyboards and featurettes. 

Older kids (now adults) will probably prefer Hanna-Barbera’s “Classic Collection” release of Thunder The Barbarian: The Complete Series, a kind of precursor of sorts to Masters of the Universe, though with more of a classic Hanna-Barbera sensibility. There’s some debate as to who inspired whom — both emerge around 1981 — but we’re opting for Thundarr because he has a better name than He-Man. 

For the saner set, there’s The Snoopy Collection,a wonderful Blu-ray compilation of all four feature-length Peanuts movies — A Boy Named Charlie Brown, Snoopy Come Home, Race for Your Life Charlie Brown and Boys Voyage Charlie Brown (And Don’t Come Back!!). The latter two are making their Blu-ray debut here, and are definitely not up to the same level as the original two — but Snoopy makes even mediocre Peanuts enjoyable. 

Of course, we couldn’t exit animation without something superhero-themed. Superman: The Complete Animated Series isn’t quite on par with the original Fleischer material, but this 25th anniversary Blu-ray release of the series that rebooted the animated Superman for a new generation has an ample following all its own. Four individual episode commentaries and five featurettes make for a solid set of supplements. 

With so much going straight to streaming, complete DVD and Blu-ray sets of series aimed at adults are fewer and far between these days, but worth a mention here are Paramount’s releases of season 1, season 2 and season 3 of Yellowstone, Taylor Sheridan’s hit series which is about to spawn a much-awaited prequel, 1883. The three seasons come with Dutton Ranch decal art and hours upon hours upon hours upon hours of special features for anyone who can’t already get enough of the show itself. In fairness, it’s quite an impressive collection of behind-the-scenes material especially for anyone who wants a firsthand look at how the show is actually put together. Great material here, particularly on season 3.

Jada Pinkett Smith’s medical drama Hawthorne was sadly short-lived and should have received a bit more of a lifeline — but such is life in the era of streaming and the complete series now arrives on DVD in its full 30-episode run. Though not as successful as his Sex and the City, Darren Star’s Younger still managed to pump out more than 80 episodes, all of which are now also available in a complete series set from Paramount. Extras include bloopers, deleted scenes and more. 

It wouldn’t be a holiday season without Star Trek in some form, and while we’ve already recommended the 4k UHD movie set, it’s on television where Star Trek really has always found its home. Just about every second of every series is presently available to subscribers to Paramount+ — but given how few people seem to subscribing, DVD and Blu-ray is the next best answer. Star Trek Discovery: Seasons 1-3 is a solid Blu-ray set for fans of the latest series, which has hit a few speed bumps, but keeps on chugging along. While these three seasons are uneven — there’s a fair amount of good material and solid fan service as well. The eight hours of special features feel like overkill at times — it’s a bit hard to separate the wheat from the chaff — but fans will still eat it up. More to our liking is the 55th anniversary (if that’s even possible) steelbook set of Star Trek: The Original Series. There may be some fatigue setting in with fans who’ve purchased this series at least three times previously — and while the transfers are the same as previously, the steenboks do make a nice upgrade from the previous plastic “torpedo” packaging which now feels clunky and dated. And that’s not even addressing the endless hours of supplementary material and featurettes. With this set, there’s really no disappointing no matter how many times you’ve upgraded. 

Ordinarily, Star Trek would be where we leave off for television coverage, but the debut of I Dream of Jeannie: The Complete Series on Blu-ray is a momentous occasion. Previous releases of the series have had notable shortcomings — the original DVD release featured the first season colorized rather than in original black-and-white, with fancy “bottle” packaging which fans have long decried. Subsequent releases corrected that oversight, restoring the black-and-white first season but with substandard transfers and washed out colors. At long last, this is the Jeannie fans have long wanted, a beautiful, crisp series of transfers — black and white for the first season, color for the remaining four seasons. Fans of ‘60s sitcoms will not be disappointed. The era’s other classic shows now have a new standard to live up to. 

 

Books and More

While there’s a lot of great film and television material out there, sometimes the best stuff is in print and we can happily recommend several excellent new releases. The Unseen Photos of Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street is technically a companion book to the Blu-ray Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street, but it more than holds its own and may even be more meaningful to adults who grew up on the show. While the documentary is an absolutely first-rate piece of archival filmmaking, the book vintage photos and anecdotes offer a more meditative approach to reliving the era — time literally stands still. It’s beautiful and poetic in its own measured way. 

With the release of Nightmare Alley, the book Guillermo del Toro: The Iconic Filmmaker and His Work îs officially obsolete — but that doesn’t make it any less impressive or essential for del Toro fans.The unauthorized entry in the Iconic Filmmaker Series come in a beautiful slipcover and provides a first-rate overview of del Toro’s career to this point with rare photos and insightful analysis.

The incredible story of Tim League and the birth of the American Genre Film Archive is the subject of Warped & Faded, written by Lars Nilsen (and friends). Page after page of dazzlingly arranged artwork and vintage posters bring to life precisely how the original Alamo Drafthouse became ground zero for the resurrection of a grindhouse revolution no one could possibly have seen coming — and which, in hindsight, still doesn’t seem quite possible. A rollicking, rip-snorting ride.

We always like to plug the work of our colleagues, and our fellow Los Angeles Film Critics Association member Tim Grierson’s This is How You Make a Movie is a rare treat. This one-of-a-kind tour of filmmaking technique and theory by way of meticulous and keenly-thought-out examples. It’s a greater starter kit for aspiring 

filmmakers and a wonderful refresher for experienced ones. Also a pretty damn good guide to some of the greatest movies ever made and what you can learn from them. Bravo, Tim. 

Every production has a story — or ten — or twenty. Books about the making of such films are legion, and they’re always compelling. Midnight Cowboy, however, was a game-changer. The first — and to date, the only — X-rated film ever to win an Oscar for Best Picture, it also came on the heels of the first and only G-rated film (1968’s Oliver!). When it was released, it was the 1960s. When it landed its Oscar, it was the 1970s — and Hollywood would never be the same. Shooting Midnight Cowboy is the remarkable story of that moment, and author Glenn Frankel — one of our best film historians — brings it to life vividly and, at times, chillingly.

Finally, Jeffrey Spivak’s outstanding 2010 biography of Busby Berkeley, Buzz: The Life and Art of Busby Berkeley, has recei
ved its softcover release. If you missed it in 2010, don’t miss it now. The life of the great musical dance director — his many marriages, tumultuous relationship with his mother, the ups and downs of his career from Broadway to Hollywood and through the studio system — is as great a drama as there has ever been recorded about any filmmaker. It’s a drama that rivals the movies themselves — and it’s all true. A dazzling page-turner and one of the best-ever Hollywood biographies.  A must-read.   

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