It's that time again. This has been a horrific year in many ways, but we certainly can't complain about the state of the Blu-ray industry. It may be tightening its belt in some ways - I recorded fewer audio commentaries this year than last - but the quality of the product coming out is nothing short of dazzling, opulent, fetishistic. As always, I can't see everything and I'm guided somewhat by my own interests and biases; this list is understandably limited to what I saw, some of which was provided to me (thank you!) and some of which was bought. I couldn't settle on a Top 10 or even a Top 20; the total number of films (and different versions of films) in my main list total 66 movies. And, as John Cassavetes says in HUSBANDS, that's as far as I go without a red spotlight! Titles are listed in the order of personal preference.
And now, on with the show...
VW'S BEST OF FANTASTIC & CULT CINEMA ON BLU-RAY 2020:
THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (Warner Archive), BRIDES OF DRACULA, CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL (Scream Factory), FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN (as FRANKENSTEIN SCHUF EIN WEIB, Anolis Entertainment GER)
These six releases offer much more than definitive presentations of the films themselves; they encompass the yeoman efforts of Constantin Nasr and Steve Haberman, whose audio commentaries and documentary shorts boast some of the finest scholarship and critical observation ever brought to bear on the collected work of a single director: in this case, Terence Fisher. Additional invaluable content from Richard Klemensen (whose BRIDES OF DRACULA profile of Fisher ranks high among the best BD bonus items of the year) and musicologist David Huckvale. Warner's CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN is not only the year's best and most fulfilling restorations, but it is offered in three different ratios - 1.85, 1.66, and 1.37:1. I think the open matte presentation may be my favorite.
UNIVERSAL HORROR COLLECTION, VOLUME 4, VOLUME 5 and VOLUME 6 (Scream Factory)
Constantine Nasr was also the man responsible for organizing the extras for these sets of, shall we say, second-league Universal (and Paramount) horror titles from the 1930s and '40s. The films themselves look better than ever, but once again the real point of appeal is the research conveyed in documentaries and commentaries by the leading scholars in this niche: Tom Weaver, Greg Mank, Gary D. Rhodes, Kim Newman and Stephen Jones, Bruce G. Hallenbeck, and Scott Gallinghouse. It never quite hits the heights of the Karloff/Lugosi analyses contributed to the first two volumes, but these demand to be part of any serious collection.
THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (Criterion, also Via Vision Entertainment AU)
As far as single title releases are concerned, nothing beats this 4K restoration of Byron Haskin's 1953 science fiction classic for producer George Pal. It looks stunning, it sounds stunning. Pure adrenaline for the eyes and ears, and the extras are superb.
ROBOCOP: DIRECTOR'S CUT (Arrow Video)
Arguably the last great science fiction film of the 20th Century dusted off with a staggering 4K restoration of the unrated director's cut with a choice of three soundtrack options: 2.0 stereo, 4.0 surround, and 5.1 room-ripping mayhem. The 4.0 is the way to go. Three audio commentaries, one the vintage Paul Verhoeven track and the other two brand new, including one by noted historian Paul M. Sammon. And that is just the tip of the iceberg - basically every other supplement you could possibly want is here, and it can be yours for well under $25.
The aforementioned "Karloff/Lugosi analyses" from the likes of Tom Weaver, Greg Mank, Gary D. Rhodes, and Ted Newsom, which originally appeared on the first two Scream Factory UNIVERSAL HORROR COLLECTION sets, are ported into this belated British release, which benefits from its more specific focus on Lugosi. The set also includes an Easter Egg that leads to a re-edit of MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE, following the suggestions first laid out by Yours Truly in VIDEO WATCHDOG #111, and subsequently modified by Gary Prange. I did it all in my head, so it was also revelatory to me to actually see the results put into action; the film really is made better by the adjustments we proposed. I may be biased, but this is my choice for Best Blu-ray extra of the year.
SHINING SEX, BAHIA BLANCA, CRIES OF PLEASURE, NIGHT OF OPEN SEX (Severin Films)
The first of these four Jess Franco titles is one of his rare science-fiction outings, made the same year as Nicolas Roeg's THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH, which not only suggests a distaff version of that story, but a mutation offspring of his own earlier THE DIABOLICAL DR. Z and SUCCUBUS, which would subsequently mutate again into the presently lost/unfinished AIDS: THE PLAGUE OF THE 20TH CENTURY. The other three titles are valuable retrievals from his 1980s output and a particular pleasure to see made available in English and quality presentations. CRIES OF PLEASURE is a return to de Sade territory told in lengthy sustained takes (à la ROPE), NIGHT OF OPEN SEX is a bastard entry in his Al Pereira series (with Antonio Mayans as "Al Crosby"), and BAHIA BLANCA (strictly limited to 600 copies and now SOLD OUT, so try eBay if you have the money) is a remarkable, even sui generis, achievement that infuses a haunting human drama with "Bride Wore Black" imagery decades before Tarantino's KILL BILL. David Gregory's short films following author Stephen Thrower on location visits to Franco's past locations are not only splendidly sentimental and informative, but really drive home the fact that Franco's gift for scouting locations worked miracles of production value.
THE OUTER LIMITS - THE COMPLETE SERIES (ViaVision Entertainment, AU)
For the OUTER LIMITS completist, this box set of the entire classic 1963-64 series contains everything found in the two Kino Lorber sets as well as three additional audio commentaries (David J. Schow on "The Architects of Fear", Craig Beam on "The Man Who Was Never Born", and yours truly on "The Hundred Days of the Dragon"), a new video essay by Mr. Schow on newly discovered revelations from a recently unearthed early teleplay of "The Forms of Things Unknown", and more.
HAMMER: THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION (Mill Creek)
Twenty films on ten discs, including the must-have Constantine Nasr/Steve Haberman commentary for Terence Fisher's THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN, which, alas, does not make use of the 4K restoration released in the UK as part of Indicator's HAMMER VOLUME 4 collection. In fact, though no one is saying this set isn't quite a bargain, Mill Creek was unfortunately obliged to work with Columbia's existing masters of the US versions of some of these titles, which means that STOP BEFORE I KILL! is missing an important shower scene involving nudity by Diane Cilento and CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT (making its home video debut) is the PG cut. The disc also hosts what I believe is the US Blu-ray debut of William Castle's THE OLD DARK HOUSE, originally shipped out to US theaters in black-and-white prints, but preserved here in its original striking color palette, which restores a good deal of its Hammer ambience. In addition to the aforementioned commentary, we also get Nasr on NEVER TAKE SWEETS FROM A STRANGER, Haberman on SCREAM OF FEAR, Phoef Sutton/C. Courtney Joyner/Mark Jordan Began sharing a track on the underrated THE SNORKEL, Joshua Kennedy on THE GORGON, and THE OLD DARK HOUSE is defended by the members of the Monster Party Podcast. There are also some featurettes and retrospectives, which I've not yet looked into but am told are all original to this set. Whether or not you already own the Indicator sets devoted to this same crop of films, there is enough exclusive and valuable material here to make it an essential purchase, especially if you can find it for less than retail.
DAWN OF THE DEAD: LIMITED EDITION (1978, Second Sight UK)
This one just came in the door, but it strikes me as a masterpiece of organization and presentation. Inside the box are three versions of the Romero classic (theatrical, extended Cannes cut, Argento ZOMBI cut), three soundtrack CDs (Goblin soundtrack, plus two discs devoted to DeWolf Library tracks sampled in the film), a 160-page hardcover book of new essays, and a new printing of the Romero/Sparrow novelization. I have issues with the actual 4K restoration of the theatrical cut, which has a jacked-up brightness and clarity that simply were not part of the film's theatrical experience, but it carries DP Michael Gornick's endorsement. I'm not saying it looks bad, just that it works on the viewer differently.
MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (Warner Archive)
One of the great pre-code horror classics of the 1930s, with its original two-strip Technicolor photography restored to its original richness and lustre. With two fine new audio commentaries by Scott McQueen and Alan K. Rode, a Fay Wray documentary featurette, and a closer look at the film's restoration.
KISS OF THE VAMPIRE (Scream Factory)
Another outstanding Hammer disc from Scream Factory, albeit this time the work of director Don Sharp. Separate commentaries by Nasr and Haberman, plus Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson, plus still another archive commentary with some of the film's surviving stars. The NBC-TV version KISS OF EVIL is also included.
THE THIRD LOVER and THE CHAMPAGNE MURDERS (Kino Lorber)
Unfairly overlooked in this crazy year of releases were these two fantastic thrillers from Claude Chabrol's fascinating if highly erratic first decade. THE THIRD LOVER, from 1962, is a story of how a young journalist moves to a small town to finagle an interview with a famous writer who, with his wife, is one of its reclusive locals. He not only ingratiates himself into their friendship, but the more deeply he becomes involved with the wife (Stéphane Audran), the more he becomes committed to destroying their marriage and filling the void he anticipates will follow the writer's untimely demise. I really set out to learn more of Chabrol's work only this year, and THE THIRD LOVER is one of his best. THE CHAMPAGNE MURDERS is preserved on Kino's disc only in its English version, which is good for preserving Anthony Perkins' performance, though a reportedly different French version also exists. This movie plays a trick on the viewer that caught me absolutely off-guard, and it haunted me for days. Kino Lorber also released Chabrol's political thriller LINE OF DEMARCATION this year - outside the scope of this survey, but well worth seeing.
WARNING FROM SPACE (Arrow Video)
In the Western consciousness, Japanese fantasy generally conjures up thoughts of giant monsters crushing Tokyo, but this disc preserves (and beautifully restores) the first color science fiction film make in Japan - directed by Koji Shima for Daiei Studios. The film has only ever been seen in English in a distorted recut distributed by AIP-TV, and that version is presented here looking better than it ever did on television, but the real eureka is the Japanese version, presented with optional English subtitles. Remarkably, the picture (scripted by Hideo Oguni, author of Kurosawa's THE SEVEN SAMURAI!) has no real protagonist, its ever-moving eye focusing instead on the varied breadth of humanity as it responds to an ultimately well-meaning alien presence on Earth.
THE COMPLETE LENZI/BAKER GIALLO COLLECTION (Severin Films)
This comprehensive package of the four giallo films made in the late '60s and early '70s by Italian director Umberto Lenzi and starring his muse, the American actress Carroll Baker, is another impeccably illustrated study not just of its particulars but the larger arc of giallo cinema, which these films represent in the years between Mario Bava and Dario Argento's mastery. All four of the films, not previously available in very good presentations, are given revelatory presentations and audio commentaries by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Kat Ellinger, Samm Deighan, and Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson intensify their yield as sociology as well as entertainment. La Baker is conspicuous in her absence, but there are archival interviews with Lenzi, new interviews with screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi and author Stephen Thrower, as well as soundtracks for three of the four titles.
THE FU MANCHU CYCLE 1965-69 (Indicator)
Each of the five films in this comprehensive collection (THE FACE OF FU MANCHU, THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU, THE VENGEANCE OF FU MANCHU, THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU, and THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU) has been impressively revitalized for this release - they look better, sound better, and they are as complete, as well organized and chronicled as they can possibly be. In some ways, this is a party for a series that never quite fulfilled its promise, and the party is the reason to get it. The festive analysis provided explains in meticulous detail why the films went downhill so quickly, and rather than seeing a sad decline over time, our eyes are keened to a greater appreciation of what was managed, and also of the inspired diversity of directorial approaches taken to the material at hand. A fun education.
THE PUPPETOON MOVIE VOLUME 2 (Puppetoon Productions)
Arnold Leibovit's long-awaited follow-up to 2013's Blu-Ray of THE PUPPETOON MOVIE contains another 18 fully restored HD presentations of George Pal's stop-motion animation gems from 1934-46 and additional programming in standard definition, including looks at Pal's commercial work for Shell Oil Company and Alka-Seltzer. Fascinating to watch, and at least as fascinating to step-through, frame by frame.
FORBIDDEN FRUIT: THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE EXPLOITATION PICTURE (Kino Lorber, eight volumes to date)
In this age of 4K restorations and comprehensive box sets, it's easy to overlook this growing set of collaborations between Kino Lorber, Something Weird Video, and other providers, which sheds new light on various forms of exploitation during the early years of the sound era. Starting with William Beaudine's notorious 1945 "birth of a baby" movie MOM & DAD (with audio commentary by Eric Schafer, author of BOLD! DARING! SHOCKING! TRUE! A HISTORY OF EXPLOITATION FILMS 1919-59, and a John Ford-directed sex hygiene short among its supporting content), continuing with various fantasias of nudism (UNASHAMED: A ROMANCE) and tragedies concerning unwanted pregnancies (CHILD BRIDE) and marijuana addiction (SHE SHOULDA SAID NO!), and most recently culminating in the first-ever home video release of the legendarily long-lost INGAGI (a faux documentary about virgin sacrifices to gorillas in jungle cultures), these films are loaded with surprises (including appearances by Lyle Talbot, Jack Elam, and other familiar faces). Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Bret Wood, and the late David F. Friedman are among the knowledgeable commentators.
AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON: COLLECTOR'S EDITION (Kino Lorber)
John Landis produced this collection of comedy sketches - featuring bits by himself, Robert K. Weiss, and a wealth of terrific material from Joe Dante - and I find it one of the most enduring things he's ever done. Much in the same vein as his earlier THE KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE, this potpourri has an emphatic focus on televised entertainment and the impact of technology on human relationships and interactions. Dante's contributions in particular have an often barbed edge to their confrontational comedy and, as I especially felt when seeing this film theatrically, delight in making the audience uncomfortable. As time has gone on, it's only grown better, with everyone exploring stylistic templates that range from 1930s James Whale horror and Dwain Esper sex education trash to 1950s Technicolor pirate and science fiction pictures, to the perky TV trends of its own time. This disc is the best way to see the film, as it includes a wealth of deleted material (originally described way back in VIDEO WATCHDOG #2) that for some reason didn't pass muster, though it certainly appealed to me!
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
THE ELEPHANT MAN (Criterion)
AL ADAMSON: THE MASTERPIECE COLLECTION (Severin Films)
CRASH (Criterion)
THREE FANTASTIC JOURNEYS BY KAREL ZEMAN (Criterion)
TEOREMA (Criterion)
THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS (Kino Lorber)
LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH (Scream Factory)
ULTRAMAN ACE, NEO ULTRA Q, ULTRAMAN R/B: THE SERIES/THE MOVIE, ULTRAMAN ORB: THE ORIGIN SAGA (Mill Creek Entertainment)
THE CREMATOR (Criterion)
OUTSIDE THE LAW, DRIFTING and WHITE TIGER (Kino Lorber)
TEX AVERY'S SCREWBALL CLASSICS VOLUME 2 (Warner Archive)
THE NIGHT MY NUMBER CAME UP (Kino Lorber)
THE YEAR'S BEST RESTORATIONS:
THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (Warner Archive)
THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (Criterion, ViaVision Entertainment AU)
INGAGI (Kino Lorber)
ULYSSES (Kino Lorber)
MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (Warner Archive)
THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (Scream Factory)
THE GOLEM (Kino Lorber)
WARNING FROM SPACE (Arrow Video)
TRAIL OF THE SCREAMING FOREHEAD - DIRECTOR'S CUT (Hydraulic Entertainment)
INNER SANCTUM MYSTERIES (Mill Creek Entertainment)
PLAY MISTY FOR ME (Kino Lorber)
THE FU MANCHU CYCLE 1965-69 (Indicator)
THE WONDERS OF ALADDIN (Kino Lorber)
ORGASMO (in THE COMPLETE LENZI/BAKER GIALLO COLLECTION, Severin Films)
WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE (ViaVision Entertainment AU)
THE THIEF OF BAGHDAD (as DER GAUNER VON BAGHDAD, Colosseo Film GER)
20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (Kino Lorber)
LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH (Scream Factory)
CURSE OF THE UNDEAD (Kino Lorber)
SUPERNATURAL (Kino Lorber)
And finally...
Having generally left my own contributions outside the discussion, I will close with this complete list of the new work I generated this past year, in the order I recorded them, for those who want to know.
TIM LUCAS BLU-RAY AUDIO COMMENTARIES OF 2020:
THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS (Kino Lorber)
THE GOLEM (with bonus short commentary; 1920, Kino Lorber)
THE OUTER LIMITS - THE COMPLETE SERIES (“The Hundred Days of the Dragon,” ViaVision, AU only)
CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE (Kino Lorber)
BRIGHTON ROCK (1948, Kino Lorber)
SUPERNATURAL (1933, Kino Lorber)
SECRET CEREMONY (Kino Lorber)
NEUROSIS (Redemption/Kino Lorber)
THE BALCONY (Kino Lorber)
ULYSSES (1954, Kino Lorber)
THE CHALK GARDEN (Kino Lorber)
DANGER: DIABOLIK (ViaVision, AU only)
THE WONDERS OF ALADDIN (Kino Lorber)
PLAY MISTY FOR ME (Kino Lorber)
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
(c) 2020 by Tim Lucas. All rights reserved.
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