My Favorite DVD Film Releases
Waiting for the next DVD film releases? While waiting, let’s talk about some of my favorites…
There is one word that strikes fear into the heart of my inner (okay, and outer) pop culture junkie, a horrible ‘F-Word’ that I dread. Favorite. As in, what is your favorite DVD film releases? That word, with the implication that I can pick only one thing, is what draws my mouth into a trembling-lower-lip pout and my eyes become big, round, and sad, begging you not to make me choose. I may as well be asked to choose between my children, which at this point in my life, is rather difficult as I haven’t had any yet (smart money is on my first daughter). However, if we pluralize it to ‘Favorites’, that makes it much easier and much more interesting. Allowing the discussion of multiple favorite items allows the wider opportunity to find common ground with another person, and allows for a much wider spectrum of judging criteria: favorite comedy, favorite drama, favorite romance, favorite animated film, favorite movie starring your celebrity crush, etc. The following are my favorite DVD film releases, in no particular order.
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If a gun were held to my head and the only thing that could save me was a truthful response to the awful ‘Favorite’ question (in the singular), I would answer The Empire Strikes Back. The second (or fifth, if you count the prequels) film of the ‘Star Wars’ franchise has been one of my favorite films since childhood. It was the first film I can remember in which there was no happy ending, which speaks to the copious quantities of Disney films I consumed like most other females of my generation. The ending was made especially painful by the fact that Han Solo (as portrayed by Harrison Ford) would be my first and longest-lasting celebrity crush (I was only partially joking about that particular criterion in the introduction).
DVD film releases I recommend
I have the 2004 original Trilogy set on DVD with an extra disc of bonus material, including the documentary Empire of Dreams, several featurettes, including my personal favorite, the 15-minute The Birth of the Lightsaber, showcasing how every geek’s favorite weapon works. I prefer the original Trilogy, but any Star Wars love is good love; if you want to go all the way, George Lucas has recently released a box set of all the Star Wars films (The Phantom Menace through Return of the Jedi) on BluRay.
Another film I have loved since I was a child is The Nightmare Before Christmas. I am honor-bound to watch that movie at least twice a year, at Halloween and Christmas, and sometimes I will watch it just because. It is difficult to believe this film is almost 20 years old; it looks just as good as any 3-D computer animated film coming out now, if not better. The creativity of the story of two completely different holidays crossing over into each other may not resonate with today’s children, as more and more stores seem to be putting their Halloween and Christmas decorations out at about the same time, but when I was a child, this was truly a bizarre concept. What sorts of hijinks ensue when you put the ghouls that haunt Halloween in the Christmas season? Of course, I didn’t know any goths, emo kids, or wanna-be vampires at the time either, and having seen some of them during the holidays, they aren’t nearly as fun as Jack, Sally, and Oogie Boogie.
The Special Edition DVD of the film includes audio commentary with director Henry Selick, a making-of featurette (It’s a good thing I like featurettes, because most films have at least one on every DVD), and two of Tim Burton’s earlier short films, 1984’s Frankenweenie (which is being remade into a full-scale movie due out in 2012) and 1982’s Vincent, about a boy who wants to be Vincent Price, narrated by Vincent Price. Yes, please! But my favorite set of extras on this DVD are the glimpse into the art of not only designing and making these little figures, but having them come to life in this manner. There are storyboards and concept art and animation tests, as every second of movement is set up, recorded, stopped, set up, recorded, stopped second by second, movement by movement. It took 100 people and three years to create 76 minutes of pure magic, and it was worth every moment!
One of my favorite DVD film releases: ‘The Empire Strikes Back’
No list of movies would be complete without at least one romance, or ‘chick flick’, if you will. While the DVD release is not particularly special (a featurette, director commentary, a music video), my favorite romance is Sleepless in Seattle, which makes this list purely by virtue of being one of the most awesome romance movies of all time. You know how I know it’s the most awesome? It’s my dad’s favorite. My cranky, abrasive father, who is basically Gregory House with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, LOVES this movie. He used to quote lines from the movie as I started dating, about not wanting to be in love, but wanting to be in love in a movie (a fairly central theme to the film, and good advice besides). But besides an apparent predisposition to liking the film, it’s just wonderful on its own. Tom Hanks, the mayor of the film industry, and Meg Ryan, the queen of the 90s romantic comedy, both turn in possibly their most perfect performances. Unfortunately, this didn’t carry over into their next collaboration, You’ve Got Mail, a remake of the far superior Shop Around the Corner choked with what has now become a history lesson about the early days of the Internet, but I digress. Sleepless in Seattle is one of the most perfect, timeless love stories I have seen, along with The Princess Bride and It’s a Wonderful Life, which is, at heart and most importantly, a love story.
And finally, what is a list of favorite DVD film releases without a few honorable mentions? My honorable mentions list includes Young Frankenstein, and almost all other Mel Brooks films. These are especially great to get on DVD with Mel and others doing commentary. The man is just plain hysterical and so creative; it’s always great to get a brief glimpse into the mind of the artist. Young Frankenstein has a great cast of many of his regulars and is a great spoof of monster movies. Another comedy with a great DVD release is Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, featuring a family-friendly version of the film and special features such as cartoons, and another version with other special features that is, shall we say, less so. Moving from the realm of comedy into musical comedy, the 26th Anniversary Edition of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, featuring commentary, games and trivia, and audience participation commentary and subtitle tracks to brush up before you attend the local theater’s Halloween showing.
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In terms of dramatic film, nothing beats Gregory Peck’s hero Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. Really, he was voted the number one film hero in AFI’s 100 Years, 100 Heroes and Villains list. The stirring, sharp black and white film has no special features, but that is to be expected in the case of many older films, wherein any extra footage would have either been locked away and forgotten or destroyed (either intentionally or not). All this DVD has is the film, and that’s really all it needs. And finally, in the special honorable mention category, the 30th Anniversary collection of School House Rock. Yes, I just did that. You know why? ‘Conjunction Junction, what’s your function?’ You heard that singing in your head, didn’t you? You’re probably still singing it in your head, or maybe even out loud. This is the reason many people know the Preamble of the Constitution, or how a Bill becomes a Law, or how to multiply by five. All of the originals, plus five new ones, a trivia game, and all sorts of other fun stuff. This is one of the DVD film releases I am saving for the aforementioned children that don’t exist yet, and should probably be required repeat viewing for children of any age.
That is my list of my favorite DVD film releases and why – I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
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