DVD Talk: December 2014 Archives

This week the DVD Savant has a number of new reviews and articles including: The Long Hair of Death - Barbara Steele has a dual role as both victim and vengeful specter in Antonio Margheriti's medieval murder soap opera, with a little supernatural thrown in to add spice; The Fortune - A pair of dimwits get themselves into a mangle-a-twah with a dizzy heiress, and when it looks like she's giving away her money they decide that the logical next step is murder; and Artists and Models - Frank Tashlin's brand of comic-book surrealism gets its first full workout in this Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis film revolving around romantic mix-ups in the comic book business. Read all this and more in this week's DVD Savant.

Though a lot of people have been predicting the demise of physical home video media, 2014 saw a lot of great new releases proving that both DVD and Blu-ray have some life left in them. Recently the DVD Talk review panel looked back on the past 12 months and after a lot of arguing, pleading, and some gnashing of teeth, selected the best-of-the-best, the 10 discs that we'd most want to have on our shelves. The result is a diverse group too: from a film starring a pop band to a TV show featuring Academy Award nominated costars (and one of them even took home the Oscar), to art-house films, classic horror flicks and movies that had their theatrical release this past year, we have included a little bit of everything on the list. Whether you're a fan of old TV or live for recent Hollywood releases, there is something for every taste included. Read on to see which films and collections made it to DVD Talk's Top 10 Releases of 2014.

Some great DVD and Blu-ray reviews have been added to the the DVD Talk Review Database recently including: Tootsie: Criterion Collection - Breezy and funny while also being deeper than your average romantic comedy, 1982's Tootsie is just as enjoyable today as it ever was; and Yentl: Limited Edition - the film works on many levels and wouldn't be nearly as focused and unique without Barbra Streisand's direct supervision in just about every department; and The Falcon and the Snowman - a worthy piece of work from director John Schlesinger, a solid spy thriller that still feels relevant. Other recent reviews include: The Long Hair of Death, The Young Mr. Pitt, and Jingle Bell Rocks!. Visit the DVD Talk Review Database for all the latest reviews including an entire section devoted to reviews of DVDs out this week.

Before you head off to the cinema this weekend, check out DVD Talk's reviews of the latest releases including: Into the Woods - Hollywood takes its semi-annual stab at reviving the movie musical with the latest from Rob Marshall (Chicago), an adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's much-beloved grown-up take on fairy tales; The Imitation Game - this biopic of the famous inventor is full of twists and turns that have all the surprise of a wartime thriller; and Selma - a feature about the man behind the civil rights movement manages to dodge many of the biopic clichÃ©s, allowing for a deeply impactful picture about equality, race, leadership, and courage. Other recent films include: Wild, The Babadook, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I, Keep On Keepin' On, Big Hero 6, Interstellar, The Theory of Everything, Laggies, Force Majeure, Birdman, Fury, Dracula Untold, Gone Girl, Harmontown, A Walk Among the Tombstones, and The Maze Runner. . Check out these, and more, in DVDTalk's Theatrical Review section.

Some great TV shows have made their way onto DVD this week including: Doctor Who: Season 8 - may hit a few bumps in the road along the way to its big finish but by the time it gets there these twelve episodes make for some great entertainment; Secret Agent aka Danger Man: The Complete Series - a fun experience and is a wonderful addition to the spy genre thanks in large part to Patrick McGoohan who delivers an excellent performance with great charisma; and Kroll Show: Seasons One & Two - give this show a chance... there are a ton of great performers and routines in these two seasons of this terrific sketch comedy show. Other shows recently reviewed include: 2014 World Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation - All Good Things..., and Cartoon Network: Holiday Collection. Want more? Check out all of the TV on DVD reviews in the DVD Talk database.

There all here -- twenty favorites this time, each with Savant's squirrely rationalizations for why they're great. Actually, they are great, and 2014 was so good to collectors that a shorter list would not have sufficed. For the first time they're almost all Blu-rays, with a couple of Region B titles elbowing onto the list. Criterion ends up with the most winners -- not necessarily their most prestigious releases, but the most exotic and desirable. Savant notices that his favorite titles are decades old. The newest 'winner' is a documentary from just last year... about events that happened in 1931. This the fourteenth go-round for this DVD Savant tradition... a holiday look-back at the year in collector's discs. Read all this and more in this week's DVD Savant.

There are some new titles coming out that might make it worth a trip to the video store this week. Check out these recent releases: Pride [review] - Containing an impressive cast of legendary British, who are yet to disappoint with anything resembling a bad performance, this film is a crowd-pleaser with a lot of heart; Intruders: Season 1 [review] - eight episodes of suspenseful television with enough interesting twists and solid acting that we can overlook some of the flaws in the show's character development; and Dark City (1950) [review] - but the film serves up genuine suspense, terrific style, and a fine professional debut from Charlton Heston. Other reviews of note include: Union Station [review], Appointment With Danger [review], and Hurry Sundown [review]. Be sure to check out our DVD Talk Review Database for all the latest reviews including an entire section devoted to reviews of DVDs out this week.

Some pretty cool discs are being released this week. Check out these new titles: Natural Born Killers: 20th Anniversary - a prophetic, brutally honest, daring, willfully insane and altogether masterful satire of America's obsession with violence and tabloid media... twenty years after its release the film is still culturally and artistically relevant; and Tales From The Crypt / Vault Of Horror - the first film in this double feature is marvelous, the single best example of Amicus's horror anthologies, and each film gets a near-perfect 1080p transfer; and Super Mario Bros. (Region B) - based on th popular video game, the film is so bizarre it was primed for cult status from the get-go. Other recent reviews include: The Long Goodbye, Thieves Like Us, and Sands of Iwo Jima. Visit the DVD Talk Review Database for all the latest reviews including an entire section devoted to reviews of DVDs out this week.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season Seven

Interested in the latest TV on DVD reviews? DVD Talk has you covered! This week's notable entries include: Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season Seven - this seventh and final season is still an entertaining and essential collection of enjoyable science fiction for the small screen and CBS' Blu-ray, as expected, meets or exceeds the quality reached on previous seasons; Justified: The Complete Fifth Season - this fifth season pays off in spades: the characters continue to be well developed, the villains are fun and unpredictable, and the dialogue and writing is second to none; and Drunk History: Seasons 1 and 2 - The simplicity of the show's premise and the ingenuity of its execution, abetted by a star-studded cast of comic ringers, make it irresistible. Other shows recently reviewed include: Sugarfoot: The Complete Fourth Season, Jeeves & Wooster: Complete Collection, and Salem: The Complete First Season. Want more? Check out all of the TV on DVD reviews in the DVD Talk database.

This week the DVD Savant has a number of new reviews and articles including: Olive Films' Four Noirs - Four stylish Paramount films noir now available separately in HD: Mail robberies, femme fatales, crooked gamblers, diamond smugglers and a clever kidnapping figure in tight-scripted crime dramas; Hickey and Boggs - Robert Culp's only directed film is a superior detective show, starring Culp and Bill Cosby as downbeat flatfoots who know that people only hire them for dirty work; and The Congress - Ari Folman (of Waltz with Bashir) pulls off a difficult existential science fiction movie adapted from ideas of Polish author Stanislaw Lem. Read all this and more in this week's DVD Savant.

Some great discs are being released this week. Check out these new movies: Morris County [review] - Writer / director Matthew Garrett has something to say, and while it's certainly a dark outlook that he's expounding, his voice is worth listening to... check this one out; and Lord Of Illusions [review] - the film attempts to mix supernatural macabre horror, existential thriller and neo-noir, eventually ending up as a bit of an atonal mess... still it is an entertaining product of the mid-90s and should at least fill horror fans with a bit of nostalgia. Be sure to check out our DVD Talk Review Database for all the latest reviews including an entire section devoted to reviews of DVDs out this week.

Our reviewers have been busy this week, filling the DVD Talk Review Database more great entries. Some new reviews of note include: Birdman of Alcatraz - beguiling like a magic act, one of those movies that's instantly compelling no matter where one starts watching it; and The Quatermass Xperiment aka The Creeping Unknown - a really well made mix of horror and sci-fi, a very tense film with some great effects work and a solid lead performance; and Night Must Fall - a startlingly off-putting psychological shocker, making the charmingly jumped-up killer terrifyingly opaque, while the victims are all too readable. Other recent reviews include: Flaming Star, The Good Guys - Season 1, and The Package. Visit the DVD Talk Review Database for all the latest reviews including an entire section devoted to reviews of DVDs out this week.

American Masters: Bing Crosby - Rediscovered

More TV shows have made their way on to DVD and Blu-ray, and DVD Talk has got them covered. Check out our reviews of the newest TV releases including: American Masters: Bing Crosby - Rediscovered - this show does a handy job of being comprehensive with Crosby's incredible life while explaining the essence of the man's appeal across so many entertainment media... one of the best episodes of PBS's American Masters; Bonanza: The Official Seventh Season, Volumes 1 & 2 - this season is often entertaining, and fans of the series won't be disappointed; and Bronco: The Complete Second Season - this second offering of Bronco delivers some hard-ridin', fist-flyin', hot lead-spittin' action, along with (mostly) well-executed, interesting stories. Other shows recently reviewed include: Barney Miller - The Complete Sixth Season, My Little Pony: The Complete Series, and Toriko: Collection Two. Want more? Check out all of the TV on DVD reviews in the DVD Talk database.

This week the DVD Savant has a number of new reviews and articles including: The Quatermass Xperiment - prime sci-fi gold with a premise that birthed a hundred copycats and variations. Richard Wordsworth is Victor Carroon, the courageous first man into space who comes back infected with a gruesome, horrifying parasite; Mr. Smith Goes to Washington - Frank Capra's most successful movie is an audience grabber that shows a powerhouse cast (James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains) in top form; and Birdman of Alcatraz - Burt Lancaster and John Frankenheimer prove that less is more, in a more or less true story of the federal inmate who rehabilitated himself by raising birds and studying their diseases, all in a solitary prison cell. Read all this and more in this week's DVD Savant.

Some great discs are being released this week. Check out these new movies: Guardians of the Galaxy [review] - a fun sci-fi romp that most people are going to want to own; Safe [review - a truly affecting work thanks to director Todd Haynes' vision of a shell of a woman combating unknown forces threatening to destroy her, and Julianne Moore's skill at portraying that shell; and The Night Porter [review] - this is a bleak film, at times a fairly unpleasant and depressing watch, but so too it is bold in its depictions of the dark side of love and incredibly well made Other reviews of note include: Time Bandits [review], The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears [review], and The Jeffersons - The Complete Series: The Dee-Luxe Edition [review]. Be sure to check out our DVD Talk Review Database for all the latest reviews including an entire section devoted to reviews of DVDs out this week.

This week the DVD Talk Review Database has some great new entries, including a few discs you may have overlooked. Recent reviews include: Judgment at Nuremberg - Stanley Kramer's movie really is a great film... set long after the high profile Nazis have been sentenced, Chief Judge Dan Heywood (Spencer Tracy) arrives at Nuremberg to sit in judgment of Nazi judges, including Dr. Ernst Janning (Burt Lancaster), a revered legal and constitutional scholar many Germans believe shouldn't be on trial at all; Nymphomaniac: Extended Director's Cut Vol. 1 & 2 - a long and sometimes very messy blend of arthouse filmmaking and pornography, somehow it actually works quite well... even more so in the director's cut which fleshes out central characters in more satisfying ways; and When the Wind Blows - While the subject of nuclear war has served as the basis for countless speculative films, few have been as subtle and quietly devastating as this one. Other recent reviews include: The Hundred-Foot Journey, The Young Savages, and Sailor Moon Season 1 Part 1. Visit the DVD Talk Review Database for all the latest reviews including an entire section devoted to reviews of DVDs out this week.

Before you head off to the cinema this weekend, check out DVD Talk's reviews of the latest releases including: Wild - Reese Witherspoon mesmerizes in this incredibly effective film; The Babadook - boasting an expressionistic style, this film is eerie beyond relief... it is subtle, yet tremendously effective; and Rifftrax Live: Santa Claus - a hilarious evening - these Rifftrax Live events are always fun and they're made that much more enjoyable with a theater filled with others who enjoy their scatter-shot humor. Other recent films include: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I, Keep On Keepin' On, Big Hero 6, Interstellar, The Theory of Everything, John Wick, Laggies, John Wick, Laggies, Force Majeure, Birdman, Fury, Dracula Untold, Gone Girl, Harmontown, A Walk Among the Tombstones, and The Maze Runner. . Check out these, and more, in DVDTalk's Theatrical Review section.

TV on DVD remains very popular with more and more favorites being released. New TV reviews include: Mister Ed: The Complete Series - the show's winning charm, reliable performances, and anything-goes mentality make this an easy production to ride along with... it has also held up well over the years (aside from the dated gender dynamics and pop culture references), Mister Ed remains perfectly accessible family entertainment; Drunk History Seasons 1 and 2 - Starting life as a web series, Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner's Drunk History builds on a brilliantly simple concept: people who are drunk love to tell stories and they usually have trouble doing so. Focusing on that idea, have those drunks only tell historical stories... and then recreate those stories using the actual inebriated ramblings as the dialogue. The result is an ingenious and hilarious series; and Impractical Jokers: Season 2 - this hidden-camera prank show from a little-known comedy troupe was a surprise... the program's silly comedy drew a lot of laughs from the reviewer. Want more? Check out all of the TV on DVD reviews in the DVD Talk database.

This week the DVD Savant has a number of new reviews and articles including: The Day the Earth Caught Fire - One of the best science fiction pictures ever, this tale of apocalypse as an unforeseen result of atom testing was one of the first to come right out and say that governments are dishonest and untrustworthy when it comes to nuclear realities; It Happened One Night - Frank Capra's best picture may be this effortlessly charming runaway heiress story, transposed to a bus. The difference is the winning personalities of Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, and the warmly human touch of Capra, who makes every detail an entertainment highlight; and Five Days, Five Nights - a propaganda film from 1960 that seeks to improve relations between the countries by putting a benign face on the wholesale looting of the art of defeated Germany. Read all this and more in this week's DVD Savant.

It's a bit of a slow week for new releases, but check out these titles that will be hitting store shelves today: The Offence [review] - a criminally underrated and lesser known effort from actor Sean Connery and director Sidney Lumet... a fantastic film, one that any fan of quality filmmaking should appreciate; and Witness to Murder [review] - a really enjoyable crime thriller, a film ripe with noirish atmosphere, solid performances and some enjoyable scenes of rock-solid suspense... absolutely recommended for film noir buffs and fans of vintage thrillers. Be sure to check out our DVD Talk Review Database for all the latest reviews including an entire section devoted to reviews of DVDs out this week.

Some great DVD and Blu-ray reviews have been added to the the DVD Talk Review Database recently including The Wind Rises - the last film written and directed by animation legend Hayao Miyazaki, this understated, achingly lovely film stands as wondrous evidence of his artistry and skill with intimate storytelling; Classic Shorts from the Dream Factory, Volume 3, Featuring Howard, Fine and Howard (The Three Stooges) - the first time all of the team's MGM-starring shorts have been collected together in one package... of considerable interest for fans of the Three Stooges; and Seven Wonders of the World - another must-see Cinerama Blu-ray from Flicker Alley... one of the best releases of the year. Other recent reviews include: Les Blank: Always for Pleasure, Audrey Hepburn Collection, and Bunny Lake is Missing. Visit the DVD Talk Review Database for all the latest reviews including an entire section devoted to reviews of DVDs out this week.