Blu-Ray Feature: 2010 High-Def Holiday Gift Guide

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For Film Historians:

“The Complete Metropolis”

“The Complete Metropolis” is a must-see for anyone who dares to call himself a film buff. It is easily one of the most important films of all time. In fact, a solid case could be made that it’s the MOST influential film ever made as it influenced all cinematic science fiction to come. The recently-found footage (what makes it “Complete”) is easy to spot as its both much more weathered than the nearly-perfect rest of the film and it’s interesting to note exactly what’s new by picking it out with the naked eye. And the restoration actually required some pre-existing shots to be re-edited as the found footage made it clear that we hadn’t even been seeing what existed in the right order at all times. Every one of the found 25 minutes serves to deepen Lang’s timeless themes of unchecked power and the will of the people to revolt. Imagine finding a few lost tracks to “Abbey Road.” Imagine a lost Beethoven symphony. That’s the parallel here. One of the most incredible movies every made is even better than the history books had recorded. Buy it. Or stop calling yourself a movie buff.

“Humphrey Bogart: The Essential Collection” (DVD-only)

“The Maltese Falcon” and “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” were both recently issued fantastic Blu-ray releases but “Humphrey Bogart: The Essential Collection” is one of the best DVD box sets ever released so we would be remiss to ignore it simply because it’s not HD. It can be the one old-ray gift you give this year. The set includes 24 films from the period in which Bogart went from a stage star to one of the biggest stars in the world. And, from that period, everything that matters is here including Bogart’s most-beloved classics: “High Sierra,” “The Maltese Falcon,” “Casablanca,” “To Have and Have Not,” “The Big Sleep,” “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” and “Key Largo.” Those seven films alone could comprise an “essential” set for most Bogart fans but when you add in films like “The Petrified Forest,” “Kid Galahad,” “Dark Victory,” and “Dark Passage,” it becomes that much more remarkable. Yes, it would have been nice to have some later films like “The African Queen,” “The Caine Mutiny,” or “Sabrina” but those were made after Bogart left WB. True Bogart fans should own “Casablanca,” “The Maltese Falcon,” and “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” on Blu-ray, especially given the 5-star quality of those releases, but the set is honestly worth the purchase price for just the other 21 films. And now you can have three of Bogie’s most-beloved on DVD as well as Blu-ray.

“The Night of the Hunter”

Charles Laughton directed one movie in his entire career, the terrifying and brilliant “The Night of the Hunter,” a modern Grimm’s fairy tale in which the evil witch in the forest has come to life and taken the form of one of society’s most trusted figure. Laughton’s masterpiece was a critical and commercial failure on its release but history has wisely recognized the lyrical power and sheer terror of one of the best domestic horror movies ever made. The Criterion Collection has had a spectacular year in the world of Blu-ray and their two-disc set for “The Night of the Hunter” stands as one of the best. With hours of fascinating special features, a perfect video transfer, and quite simply one of the best movies of its kind ever made, this is a must-own. The fact that “The Night of the Hunter” as widely-dismissed on its initial release is stunning but history has made reparations for that slight and this set is the ultimate tribute to a classic.

“Paths of Glory”

“Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.” No film has ever captured the truth of this brilliant Samuel Johnson quote as Stanley Kubrick’s masterful “Paths of Glory,” one of the best anti-war films ever made. It’s a work that often gets overlooked by the flashier projects like “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “A Clockwork Orange,” or “The Shining” that Kubrick would make later in his career, but it’s easily one the best works form one of history’s best directors and the Criterion Collection Blu-ray release of the film is another stunning beauty. The special features in “Paths of Glory” are typically-impressive for Criterion, including a new audio commentary by critic Gary Giddins, an excerpt from a 1966 audio interview with director Stanley Kubrick, a television interview from 1979 with star Kirk Douglas, new video interviews with Kubrick’s longtime executive producer Jan Harlan, “Paths of Glory” producer James B. Harris, and actress Christiane Kubrick, a French television piece about a real-life World War I execution that partly inspired the film, and a theatrical trailer.