The Ten Best Multi-Platter DVDs of 2003

1. Alien Quadrilogy (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 20009847).  There has never been a DVD collection before that was so comprehensive and ambitious.  Each of the four Alien films is included in the nine-platter set twice, in both the original theatrical version and in a version that restores scenes not part of that original release.  Each is accompanied by a second platter with more than 3 hours of extra features, and each has a commentary track.  Additionally, the ninth platter has more special features about different aspects of the series that couldn’t be fit into the other discs.  All four sci-fi features have impressive picture and sound transfers.  Finally, by bundling the two hits, Alien and Aliens, with the more artistic but less popular Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, the collection encourages fans to appreciate the thrills and stimulations that the latter two films have to offer. 

2.  The Lord of the Rings The Two Towers Special Extended DVD Edition (New Line Home Entertainment, N6504).  The DVD’s format and ambition are a duplication of the last year’s outstanding The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring Special Extended DVD Edition, and one can’t really ask for anything more than that.  The Extended Edition adds more than 40 minutes of dramatic content to the film, fleshing out characters, explaining transitions and simply allowing viewers to savor the magnificent imaginary world created by the film all the longer.  The movie appears on two platters and is accompanied by four worthwhile commentary tracks featuring various members of the cast and crew.  The DVD then has two additional platters, which hold close to six hours of enlightening supplementary materials.

3.  Black Hawk Down Deluxe Edition (Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment).  Ridley Scott’s superb 2001 feature about an American military action in Africa that goes awry is based upon a true incident, and the three-platter set is as much a documentary about that incident as it is an analysis of the complex production of the film.  There are three commentary tracks, featuring filmmakers, historians and military personnel who were involved in the original incident, and there are extensive documentaries and other features that also look at the creation of the film and the history it is depicting.  Hence, with all of its other fine attributes, the DVD serves as well as a fitting memorial to the soldiers who were killed.

4.  The Shield The Complete First Season (Fox, 2005717).  2003 was the year that boxed sets of television programs became commonplace, and it was also a time when television was going through a second ‘Golden Age,’ thanks to the relaxed restrictions of cable broadcasting, much as movies themselves went through a second Golden Age in the Sixties when they were finally freed from the Production Code.  The thirteen-episode collection represents the best of both events.  The show is an edgy, utterly involving drama about tainted Los Angeles cops, and the DVD accompanies those episodes with a consistently informative commentary track, a tantalizing collection of deleted scenes, and a number of documentaries and other special features.  The stereo surround soundtrack is awesome, too.

5. Straw Dogs (Criterion Collection, CC1584D).  Sam Peckinpah’s 1971 thriller about a couple protecting their home, which is also a devious satire about marriage, appeared previously on DVD, but Criterion’s presentation not only supplies an improved picture and sound transfer, it also restores several brief subliminal cuts that were removed from the film’s American theatrical release and subsequent home video releases.  There is also a fine documentary about Peckinpah and some great behind-the-scenes footage.

6. The Who The Kids Are Alright Special Edition (Pioneer, 12103).  The exciting 1971 compilation documentary about the British rock group, The Who, has been meticulously restored for the DVD release, with an incredibly fresh-looking picture and powerhouse DTS surround soundtrack.  Additionally, the film’s director, Jeff Stein, a diehard fan of the group, supplies a commentary track, while documentaries on the second platter include interviews with the band members and other extensive background information.

7. Finding Nemo (Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 30078).  The wildly funny and successful 2003 computer-animated feature is presented in two ways on two platters.  One, ostensibly for grownups, provides a letterboxed version of the film with a commentary track and other production information.  The other, designed more for kids, has a computer-adjusted full screen version of the film accompanied by cartoon shorts and other entertaining extras.  On both, the picture and the sound are fabulous.

8. The Adventures of Robin Hood (Warner Home Video, 65131).  One of the most colorful and enjoyable movies ever made, the 1938 production, starring Errol Flynn, has been transferred to DVD with a gorgeous fidelity and is accompanied by a commentary track, an elaborate documentary about the Technicolor process, behind-the-scenes footage and outtakes, and a dozen more merry extras.

9.  The Rolling Stones Four Flicks (TGA Entertainment).  Three concerts, from three different types of venues (an outdoor stadium, an arena, and an intimate concert hall), are presented on three separate platters, and each looks and sounds spectacular, with elaborate behind-the-scenes and supporting materials, along with a fourth platter about the band, the concert tour and related topics.

10.  Once upon a Time in America (Warner Home Video, 20026).  The artistic importance of Sergio Leone’s outstanding gangster epic is secured with the 225-minute film’s superb picture and sound transfers, along with a testimonial commentary track and retrospective documentary that explain why the film is masterpiece and why it took so long for the critical establishment to recognize it as such.

  

The Ten Best Single-Platter DVDs

1.  Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (Dimension Home Video, 23996).  To hear him tell it, director Robert Rodriquez made the enjoyable fantasy adventure almost entirely by himself, using digital video techniques to take the actors and place them in virtual worlds.  For the DVD, in both the special features and on the commentary track, he explains with a captivating clarity exactly how it is done, leaving the viewer with the tantalizing notion that someday, very soon, everybody in America will be making feature-length motion pictures in their computer dens.

2.  Bloody Sunday (Paramount, 34129).  Like Black Hawk Down, Bloody Sunday is an astonishing re-creation of a true historical event, and so like Black Hawk Down, the DVD enhances your understanding not only of how the realistically staged film was conceived and produced, but what actually occurred during the event, a massacre of peaceful protesters in Northern Ireland in 1972.  Between the two commentary tracks and the background documentaries, not only is the creation of the film thoroughly documented, but a record of the incident, with testimony by living witnesses, is preserved and disseminated.

3.  Sunrise (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment).  One of the world’s greatest motion pictures is available from Fox for free.  That’s right, for free.  Fox gives away the DVD when you follow the instructions that appear in its series of Studio Classics releases.  The thing is, that is the only way you can obtain the F.W. Murnau masterpiece.  It isn’t available through retailers, which, if you think about it, is rather insulting.  True, the movie is sort of a silent film (made in 1927, it has a synchronized musical score with a few scattered sound effects), so it isn’t going to have anyone lining up overnight in front of a video store to obtain a copy, but the movie deserves more respect than serving as a loss-leading come on.  This is especially true of the outstanding DVD, which has a gorgeous picture transfer, a good commentary track, outstanding background materials such as the shooting script and outtake footage, and a terrific narrated montage re-creation of Murnau’s lost feature, The Four Devils.

4.  Chicago (Miramax Home Entertainment, 30700).  The 2002 Oscar-winner has a dazzling picture and sound transfer, a good commentary track by director Rob Marshall, a deleted musical number and other satisfying supplementary materials.

5.  Wings of Desire (MGM Home Entertainment, 1004704).  Wim Wenders’ magnificent 1987 fantasy about angels haunting Berlin has a beautiful picture transfer, an excellent commentary by Wenders, more than a half hour of deleted footage, and a superb retrospective documentary.

6.  All about Eve (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2006433).  Fox reissued the delightful 1950 Joseph Mankiewicz tale about duplicities among Broadway actresses, and the second time was a charm.  The black-and-white picture transfer is improved considerably over the earlier release and is accompanied by two commentary tracks and a retrospective documentary, telling not only the story of the Oscar-winning film’s production, but also providing a viable profile of Mankiewicz and his career.

7.  Rabbit-Proof Fence (Miramax Home Entertainment, 218090).  The exhilarating 2002 tale about three Australian children escaping the confines of state camp is based upon a true story, so again there is the doubled insight of the supplementary materials, which enhance one’s knowledge of how the film was made and what really happened to the individuals the characters are representing.  Additionally, the film was directed by Philip Noyce, whose commentaries are always enlightening, and there is an amazing 43-minute documentary about the cattle call casting of the film’s three young leads.

8.  Trouble in Paradise (Criterion Collection, CC1581D).  Ernest Lubitsch’s charming 1932 romantic comedy about a pair of jewel thieves has an aged but stable picture transfer and a delightful collection of extras.  Along with a passable commentary track by a film historian and a few other materials about the movie, there an amusing radio program featuring Lubitsch and Jack Benny, and a complete presentation of a 48-minute Lubitsch silent feature from 1917, The Merry Jail.

9.  Women in Love (MGM Home Entertainment, 1004345).  Ken Russell’s excellent 1969 adaptation of the D.H. Lawrence novel has an imperfect but serviceable picture transfer.  It also has two highly satisfying and analytical commentary tracks, one by Russell and one by producer/screenwriter (and later activist) Larry Kramer.

10.  Quest for Fire (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 20006840).  Jean-Jacques Annaud’s clever depiction of prehistoric humans is a wonderfully repeatable adventure that is well served by the DVD’s excellent picture transfer and nice 5.1-channel Dolby Digital sound mix.  There is a classic production documentary narrated by Orson Welles, and two good commentary tracks—one highly informative talk by Annaud about the film’s production and background, and one by cast members Rae Dawn Chong and Ron Perlman, who share some great anecdotes about the shoot and recall what task master Annaud could be.

- December 23, 2003

 

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