Best DVDs of 2003

By Chris Hyde

January 6, 2004

Though there's still an Xmas disk or two in the queue to be assimilated, the DVDs of 2003 have by now mostly passed thru my player. So with the year now put to bed, here are the choicest 11 releases of them all - and a few more, besides.

Make no mistake, this past year was when the digital versatile disc player solidly hit the mainstream and drove a digital stake thru the analog heart of its tape bound predecessor. It's more or less time to put that VCR out on the curb next to the 8 track and CB radio (though I'm sorry, you'll still have to pry the record player from my cold, dead hands), but if you're a bottom feeder who likes to nibble at the fringes of dying tech you'll probably have a field day as video stores across the world liquidate their tape collections for cheap in 2004. And if there were any doubt previously about the ascendancy of this bit of consumer technology, they have surely been erased with this Xmas season: holiday sales prominently featured players for the low, low price of 30 dollars and the week of November 28th alone rang up sales of over 1 million units.

However, it's not just DVD players that are flying off the shelves in amazing numbers these days; according to Adams Media Research, disc sales were up a phenomenal 46% from 2002, racking up a projected $12.3 billion dollars in total cash spent. The Finding Nemo DVD looks like it will easily break the 30 million sold mark and will probably surpass The Lion King for the best selling disc ever, and should end up garnering more profits for both Disney and Pixar in the home market than during its theatrical run. In fact, the economics of DVD production are such that studios now heavily consider the marketability of a film's digital incarnation when deciding whether or not to greenlight productions going forward; the high profit margins afforded by a movies eventual release to disc are so attractive that this has become a major driving factor in what films will actually get made. As popular as videocassettes were in their heyday, they never managed to swing the sort of market weight that's now being demonstrated by their digital successor in the home theater forum.

Beyond their influence on today's film production, however, DVDs have also widened a window into the world's celluloid past. Though huge gaps still exist in what's been released to the format, this past year saw an amazing number of old film projects make their debut in a stunning new form. Additionally, the storage available in the medium has led to many films being released in versions that package all sorts of extras along with the film itself; and so many movies are accompanied by material such as production stills, documentaries, commentaries, deleted scenes, alternate cuts and the like. Though some older critics seem to think this is all a bit much and might even somehow interfere with the interpretation of the original film, most film lovers seem pretty eager to gobble up just about anything additional that they can get on their favorite entertainments.

In any case, this past year was undoubtedly a landmark one for both producers and consumers of DVDs, and the thousands of discs released in 2003 are a tribute to the technology's now vast popularity. Choosing the past year's finest products was incredibly difficult - for not only did I wish to select more than 11 for my year end list from what I have in hand, there were additionally hundreds of potential other picks that I simply could not afford to get (let alone have time to watch). But with that limitation in mind, let's turn now to perusing the most prominent signposts seen while traveling down this digital road of excess over the course of the last 52 weeks. In no particular order, then, here are my picks for the best 11 DVD's released inside the last calendar year - as well as some additional notes on some others that came up just a bit shy.

The Looney Tunes Golden Collection (Warner Bros)

Shame on those who carped about the selection of cartoons put on this four-disc set - while I also miss "One Froggy Evening", "What's Opera, Doc" et al and sure would have liked to have seen some more Averys, Clampetts and Tashlins, I'm at a loss for how any fan of these cartoon classics could have anything but nice things to say about this brilliant release. A gorgeous digital restoration returns 56 of the Warners' chestnuts to all their multihued glory, making these films look better than ever. Toss in lots of super extras - commentaries by animation historians, music only tracks, archival documentaries and more - and you've got one release that just can't be beat. And are there any other 50- year-old films out there that seem any less dated than these? The nature of the shorts is such that you can share them with your kids today in a way that would never work with just about any other concurrent artifact of the time - though there are occasionally inherent archaic references where the films show their age, in every other way these timeless animations are every bit as fresh and funny today as they were at the time of their release.

The Hills Have Eyes Special Edition (Anchor Bay)

The folks at Anchor Bay have understood the DVD game from the very first, nearly always making their releases worth a long look. Here they turn their attention to Wes Craven's greatest outing and the two-disc end result is easily the horror film release of the past year. The gutbucket '70s terror of the digitally restored film itself is accompanied by an entertaining commentary track by the director and producer on disc one, and the second DVD piles on with a new documentary on Hills, a Wes Craven featurette, an alternate ending, original storyboards, theatrical and tv spots and much more. A fitting release for a discomfiting film.

Once Upon A Time in the West (Paramount)

Though Sergio Leone's metawestern masterpiece is truly best appreciated on an actual theater sized screen, Paramount's widescreen presentation of the movie for DVD gives it about the best home treatment that can be imagined. The film itself looks brilliant, and the carefully handled 5.1 surround sound mix gives Ennio Morricone's fantastic sonic score the key position that it deserves. There are also three nice documentary segments here, as well as a featurette on train history, plenty of production and cast materials and a fascinating multiplayer commentary from all sorts of film luminaries. Given that this set is widely available for fewer than $15, there's absolutely no excuse for this release not having a spot on your shelves.

The Adventures of Robin Hood Special Edition (Warner Bros)

Some might favor the Special Editions of Casablanca or The Treasure of the Sierra Madre that Warners released in 2003 as the best classic film release of the year from that studio's voluminous vaults, but to these eyes the topnotch excitement of this Errol Flynn vehicle was really where it was at. For not only was the vibrant Technicolor splendor of this wonderful treasure restored in all its finery - thus allowing one of Hollywood's greatest popcorn movies of all to show off its picturesque palette - but it was accompanied by a whole raft of extras that made for hours of viewing fun.

By Brakhage: An Anthology (Criterion)

If there's any one company whose seemingly endless slate of great releases will eventually drive me to the poorhouse, it's Criterion. Not being independently wealthy, it's simply impossible for me to keep up with the amazing catalog of titles that this outfit continues to street on a monthly basis. Thus far for 2003 I've managed to miss Ozu's Tokyo Story, Fassbinder's Ali: Fear Eats the Soul and The BRD Trilogy (rassin frassin' not even listing this as one of my BOP Xmas picks resulted in me being gifted with the thing, darnit), Bresson's Les Dames du Bois Bologne and Peckinpah's Straw Dogs, among many others. But amongst the Criterion product that I could scrape together the cash for, this two DVD set was the tops. The recently deceased avant-garde film pioneer Stan Brakhage's career output is given the complete overview with this release, and though his work is really meant to be seen in the flickering medium of film, the always tender care that Criterion lavishes on all of their product resulted in a DVD presentation that allows for quality home viewing of this filmmaker's seminal work.

Space Is the Place (Plexifilm)

It's hard for me to choose between this one and Spoon Records' spectacular Can DVD as the musical release of the year in the format, but I guess we'll give this one the slightest of edges on the basis of entertainment value and archival worth. Having never previously seen Sun Ra's foray into sci-fi blaxploitation, to a free jazz fan such as myself this release was a true revelation. The director's cut offered here was some minutes longer than any previous VHS version, and the disk also offered interviews with the filmmaker and producer, a nice little booklet of essays and some great historic footage of the Arkestra that had never been released before.

Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes (ILC Prime-R2)

Those of us appalled by the casting of the limp Val Kilmer as porno's most famous son were rewarded with a British release of an excellent 1998 documentary on the infamously endowed actor. (Strange aside: in researching the release date of this DVD I went to many UK DVD sites only to find that this disc is now listed as coming out in March of 2004; I'm not sure what sort of wormhole in time that I fell through, but I can assure you that I purchased this from Benson's UK just a month or so ago. I have no idea at this point if the disc that I bought will differ in any way from the one that will appear a couple months hence). Though the subject is pure prurience, the documentary is a professionally made and fascinating look at one of the pillars upon which modern pornography is built. One cannot understand the business of American film in the late twentieth century without first grappling with the legacy of Mr. Big and his ilk, and this well crafted examination of his legend goes some way towards making his seamy story accessible to those outside the world of adult film.

The Living Corpse (Mondo Macabro)

While all of the releases that the USA side of this fantastic company put out in 2003 were worth the purchase price, their resurrection of a 1960s Pakistani vampire film was the single best effort that they put forward all year. The disc of course contains the usual solid helping of additional Mondo features, but it was in rescuing this exotic horror classic from the trashcan that the company really proved their value to the world of film. If it wasn't for die hard film buffs like Pete Tombs et al the world of film would certainly be a much poorer place, and there are few companies whose future release announcements I await as anxiously as this outfit's. As of today, I'm most hoping to hear that they're going to do a cool disk next year for Kim Ki- young's The Housemaid - though Lady Terminator, Latidos de Panico and Mill of the Stone Women will do for now.

The Spaghetti Western Collection (Blue Underground)

I think that if I were forced to choose the DVD company that I felt had the best overall year of releases over the course of the last 52 weeks it'd be Blue Underground that I'd place at the top of the list. While this incredible four- disc set of Eurowesterns was the best that I purchased, that sure isn't meant to slight any of their other fabulous selections. But by packaging newly restored versions of Django, Django Kill, Run Man Run and Mannaja all together in one extras-laden box set for an amazingly reasonable price, BU simply outdid themselves - and I for one can't wait for the sequel set said to be coming in 2004. Of course, while biding my time pending the release of that I'll have to content myself with other BU disks like upcoming The Girl From Rio, Fast Company and The Final Countdown. I soooooo love these people.

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (Celestial-R3)

OK, remember what I said about Criterion pushing me towards indigence? Well, that also goes for this bunch in Hong Kong tossing out more Shaw Brothers classics than I can afford each and every month! The pace of these releases is so absurd that I don't think I could keep up even if I didn't buy anything else. Anyway, though I still have to watch Bamboo House of Dolls and The Five Venoms, at this point I'll put this martial arts classic starring Gordon Liu (recently seen in the states in the first installment of Tarantino's Kill Bill) at the top of the list of the ones that I have managed to pick up this year.

Band of Outsiders (Criterion)

We'll close out this year's top eleven list with yet another Criterion number, though this final spot could have easily gone to one of the many releases detailed below - at this level the discs are all so excellent that not much really separates them. But while perhaps it's simply my own love for this Jean Luc Godard ode to gangster films that's giving this one the slight edge, the whole release is so high quality that its place here is well deserved regardless. There's the pristine transfer, the interviews with Anna Karina and Raoul Coutard, the interview excerpts with the director, the Agnes Varda silent comedy, the great essay booklet and the cool visual glossary to recommend this DVD. Not to mention the brilliance of the film itself, as this is one of Godard's most accessible and enjoyable pictures.

And the Rest

OK, so the list above is the cream of the crop and represents a nice cross section of the companies whose product I tended to purchase most over the course of the year. I certainly picked up many other DVDs from Celestial (including Have Sword Will Travel, Buddha's Palm, The Super-Inframan and The Enchanting Shadow), Paramount (Targets, The Tenant, Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter), Mondo Macabro (Alucarda, The Diabolical Dr Z, Seven Women for Satan and Mystics in Bali from their UK arm) and Blue Underground (Daughters of Darkness, Baba Yaga, Salon Kitty, Vampyres, The Crazies, Dead and Buried, Q the Winged Serpent). Criterion's disk of The Pornographers also made its way into my home, as well as Anchor Bay's wonderful Dead of Night/Queen of Spades double feature.

When it comes to double features, however, I'd certainly be remiss if I was not to mention the work done at MGM in releasing twofers at an incredibly low price. These releases are some of the best deals going, and in August they unleashed an onslaught of material, including Countess Dracula/The Vampire Lovers and The Comedy of Terrors/The Raven double bills as well as single DVD's for The Ghoul and a great Special Edition of Joe Dante's werewolf pic The Howling. MGM was also responsible for the TV release of the year, as they put the second season of the '60s sci-fi show The Outer Limits onto store shelves.

Other companies whose worthy releases often turned up in my basket in 2003 were Milestone (The Films of Grant Munro, The Cook and Other Treasures and I'll sure buy the Norman McLaren collection when I can find it), Wellspring (Beware of a Holy Whore, The Niklashausen Journey), and VCI (The Scar/The Limping Man, Blonde Ice, Target Earth). Other notable releases from the past year were The World of Geisha (Kimstim), Experiments in Terror (Other Cinema), Drole de Drame (Home Vision Entertainment), Laugh With Max Linder (Image) and The Cat Returns (IVL-R3). I additionally imported a fair number of Asian and European films from companies like Panorama Entertainment, Mongkol, Universe Laser and Video, Mei Ah, Tartan UK, Artificial Eye, Alpha France and Herzog DVD.

A couple of last outfits deserve mentions here, which for some reason were mostly neglected by me this year. Something Weird is always good for some incredible releases, but after the rights problems that they had with all the Mexican horror stuff that I planned on getting, all I ended up picking up were Chained Girls/Daughters of Lesbos and Angels/Getting Into Heaven. Synapse, on the other hand, got completely shut out by me on their 2003 slate, though I did finally buy a 2002 disk of theirs called The Image. Of course, if they had streeted that much ballyhooed Street Trash SE I would've been all over it! But that's one I'm willing to wait for, and I sure have a feeling that their DVD's of Singapore Sling, Lemora and They Call Her One Eye will be getting my undivided attention in the months to come.

Forgive Me, For I am Weak

There's an argument to be made about the product that comes from Alpha Video - the source materials they use are often sketchy, rights issues sometimes seem unclear and it's possible that their low quality disks at times keep better companies from releasing certain titles. There's no doubt that their DVDs are priced nicely, though, and there are points at which I just can't help myself from throwing these into my cart. The most interesting one of these that I bought all year was an Edgar Wallace krimi directed by Harold Reinl called The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle. On its own it's an OK little thriller, but it was worth the purchase price (five bucks) for the bizarre Oskar Sala electronic soundtrack alone. Also of note from Alpha this year (and other DVD companies please note: if you put out nice SE's of any of these films, I promise to buy them) were The Head, Warning From Space, Lady Gangster, Sound of Horror and Manos, the Hands of Fate.

Disappointments of the Year

While in the main I have very little bad to say about MGM and their DVD releases, I can't help but be somewhat let down by their bare bones release of David Cronenberg's The Brood. Many of their ten dollar double bills come loaded with plenty of extras, so for them to put out one of the seminal horror films of the 1970s without any features at all was pretty much a drag. Especially when the director seems not at all averse to doing commentary tracks.

The other bitter pill that I had to swallow this year had to do with some shaky advertising from Media Blasters on their release of Sappho '68. As the cover that this DVD was released with prominently featured the name of the voluptuous Uschi Digart, you'd think she was actually in the movie, right? Uh uh, she's nowhere to be found in the thing. So I complained to the company, and they proceeded to tell me that the mistake was that the packaging was created in advance of them getting to see the film, so they didn't know - but of course even when they knew she wasn't in it, they went ahead and shipped it in those covers that they knew full well were wrong. Not liking to spend my money with companies that don't play it completely straight, I consequently cancelled my orders for Brigitta, Fraulein Leather and the Ichi the Killer SE. They may have gotten my cash once, but I think it'll be a while before I purchase anything from this bunch again.

Farewell, 2003

I'm not going to close up this piece on the note of disappointments, however, because when it comes to DVDs it's patently obvious that these days the good far outweighs the bad. Just looking at the upcoming release lists for 2004 shows that nearly all of the companies named above are planning some great work for the next 12 months, and there are also plenty of other operations that I have blatantly overlooked here that will be releasing amazing projects in digital form. It's actually looking like I may need to come up with a scheme to rip off Fort Knox in order to keep up with this nonstop pace of incredible material, though any company out there that would like to help out by sending me free stuff is utterly welcome to do so! All begging aside, though, there's little doubt that the DVD table is pretty full these days and if by next year I'm writing a wrap up that lists as many spectacular titles as this one did for 2003, then we'll all have very little to carp about. The digital film landscape is a bountiful feast at the present time, and I for one consider myself pretty damned lucky to be able to gorge myself like this on a regular basis. So bring on the next course.