I figured I'd start a post for those of you that are getting your first DVD player for Christmas. Although my taste in DVDs may not reflect your's, and although the DVDs I select may not necessarily rank in the best films of all time, they are still the ones I'd like to recommend that were released this past year...

I left off the obvious choices (Phantom Menace, etc) because those will end up in your collection anyways (assuming you're a film lover as well.)

Lastly these films were meant to be viewed on a large TV (preferrably 16x9) with at least a dolby digital 5.1 sound system. That said...

1. Almost Famous Untitled: The Bootleg Cut 2-DVD set (& Stillwater CD)
Along with the never before seen 35 minutes of footage that is seamlessly edited back into the film, the commentary that features among others Cameron & his mother, this is a must have DVD for anyone that either loves music of any kind, or movies.

2. Do The Right Thing: Criterion 2-DVD set
An incredible new 16x9 transfer with a commentary track that brings you into the film. There will never be another version of this film on DVD. DTRT is my choice for the best film of the 2nd half of the 20th century.

3. Rebecca: Criterion 2-DVD set
Alfred Hitchcock's finest work, it won the best picture Oscar in 1940. I fell in love with Joan Fontaine after seeing this film in the early 1990's while working at a video store. Same as with the DTRT DVD set, I also own the LD box sets for DTRT and Rebecca (which I paid $125 for each). However with the new restoration of this set, I had to own it as well. If I was allowed to only own two DVDs, they would be the ones I'd choose.

4. Oliver Stone 15-DVD set
Although it doesn't include all of his films, it still is an great retrospective of his work. Most of the 10 films included include a commentary, and Oliver Stone's no-holds-barred commentaries are worth the price of admission alone.

5. Stanley Kubrick re-released 9-DVD set
The first box set was awful, but the new one was remastered and restored to the glory that it deserved.

6. The Goonies
Don't laugh. A underappreciated film. Directed by Richard Donner (who went on to film the Lethal Weapon series immediately following Goonies), and produced by Steven Spielberg. The reason it makes my top 10 list for the end of the year is that you'll play it for everyone that's ever seen the movie. Why? The commentary track. It doesn't hurt that it's also 16x9 & dolby digital 5.1 as well. "Hey you guys!!!"

7. Godfather Trilogy 5-DVD set
I have been saving this for a rainy day. Even though I haven't seen it yet on DVD (which goes to say for about 50 of those that I own), I know from what I've read that it's as good as it gets.

8. Die Hard Trilogy 6-DVD set
Fox got it right the 2nd time around. I also bought the first box set (no extras, no 16x9), but as soon as I heard they were re-releasing it as a 6-DVD set, I sold it. A must have set for anyone that enjoys popcorn.

9. Se7en: Platinum Series 2-DVD set
David Fincher's tour de force. I'd paid $125 for the Criterion laserdisc boxset about a year earlier. To have it on DVD is a dream. Everything you wanted (and didn't want) to know about how this film was created. Amazing.

10. Lawrence Of Arabia / Bridge On The River Kwai ('00nov27) / Doctor Zhivago
All three David Lean films are 2-DVD sets loaded with extras. I only wish more films were like these. Lean was a genius.

So there it is. Just my opinion. There were a lot of great films released on DVD this year, but I'm suspecting there will be better editions (with more features) of them coming out in the future (Traffic, Memento, etc)

Coming in 2002... looking forward to New Line's Infinifilm DVD set for "Lord Of The Rings," Dreamworks' 2-DVD "A.I.," Buena Vista's upcoming 4-DVD Vista Series set for "Pearl Harbor," and Cameron Crowe's "say anything," "Jerry Maguire," and "Vanilla Sky" - all due to be done up like the Almost Famous Untitled bootleg edition.


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m @ http://www.bashirshakur.org
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I meant to add that these are in no particular order...
m.
--

496 @ $8.55

Apocalypse Now Redux
Because I believe one day it'll be packaged with a commentary track with actors & the director, as well as the Hearts Of Darkness documentary.

Terminator 1/2 special editions
Great DVDs all around. Perfect sound, loaded with extras, 16x9... Just waiting for the Cameron commentaries (the same goes for Aliens & The Abyss)

I own all of these. But I'm also the first to admit I'll sell them and buy the new versions. (As I did with the Kubrick box set, the Die Hard box set, Se7en, Glory, In The Line Of Fire, many of the DVDs in the Oliver Stone set, Almost Famous, etc, etc.)

There are others that didn't make my list. Either they didn't come out in 2001, or I'm waiting for something that I'm assuming will end up on a different edition in the future. Most of the ones I listed in my top 10 can't or won't be improved upon.
m.
--

496 @ $8.55

Along Came A Spider
Shrek ( I got a 6 year old alright)
Blow

>Blow

Still haven't watched the movie, but I did unwrap it so I could view the Nikka Costa video :D
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m @ http://www.bashirshakur.org
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the push n pull video? damn, looks like i gotta cop that. how about simpsons season 1 dvd?

>the push n pull video? damn, looks like i gotta cop that.

yep... worth the price of admission alone :D

>how about simpsons season 1 dvd?

don't have it yet. i wish i'd pre-ordered it so i could've found it at a respectable price.
m.
--

496 @ $8.55

that displays other important facts about ole boy's life and things that were happening in the world at the time the story takes place. It's cool as hell.

that brought a whole 'nother element to the film. the facts were quite interesting as well as some of the deleted scenes and commentary (esp the diego one #10).
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
brevity.

AIM: Guess91374486

Defense Lawyer: Objection, counsel is mocking the witness.

Jack: Yes I am.
(from Law & Order)

don't ask why i put that there.

that's definetly on my list.
as is shrek, batman (the first one), and the t2 package.
i still have to get flight club dammit.





...butter that bacon!(c)homer

...hard headed/my dick's like r2d2(c)ras kass

is the porno version of fight club where people try to get into the mile high club...no really, i meant fight club.





...butter that bacon!(c)homer

...hard headed/my dick's like r2d2(c)ras kass

We do this every year, don't we?

>Lastly these films were meant to
>be viewed on a large
>TV (preferrably 16x9) with at
>least a dolby digital 5.1
>sound system. That said...

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for saying this!!! People, you don't know what you're missing till' you've watched a DVD on a progressive scan widescreen television with at LEAST a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound System. I sometimes even watch terrible movies just to appreciate some great sound and video (Dante's Peak, Titanic). My father just bought a Mitsubishi 65" widescreen TV, and its presence is intimidating all by itself. Throw in "The Thin Red Line", "Se7en" or even "Toy Story", and you're good to go. Remember, sound is 50% of the film.

((DISCLAIMER)): THE AUTHOR UNDERSTANDS NOT EVERYONE HAS ACCESS OR CAN AFFORD THE ITEMS LISTED ABOVE. HIS INTENT WAS NOT TO EXCLUDE OR DIMINISH ANYONE PERSON OR PERSONS ENJOYMENT OF THE DVD FORMAT.

Now m covered the definate titles, here are a few more you might want to check out (this lists great DVD's: film and special edition material as well):

*RONIN - Without a doubt, this film has the best car chases I have EVER seen! Period. There's a great commentary track, along with the behind the scenes that show how they did all the great chases. It sounds great with an active Dolby Digital 5.1 track, and a crisp video transfer as well. Most importantly, it's a great film. C'mon DeNiro and Jean Reno? Directed by John Frankenheimer.

*REQUIEM FOR A DREAM (Director's Cut) - If you visit the Review boards enough, chances are you've read about this film. So there's no explanation for this. Great cinematography by DP Matthew Libatique (mtv). The makers of this DVD took great advantage of the 5.1 track, giving the surround speakers great splices of activity throughout the film. There's a great deleted scene of Marlon Wayans doing a Jar Jar Binks impression. After seeing this movie (along w/ the impression), I found a new respect for his acting. I wish he'd do more serious roles. Directed by Darren Aronofsky

*TAXI DRIVER (Collector's Edition) - ONE OF THE 100 BEST FILMS OF ALL TIME! This and "Fight Club" battle in my collection for best overall DVD. This one wins out in the complete film roll, but the Fight Club has cooler menus and director's commentary. ANYWAY...if you DON'T have this movie, you should. "You talkin' to me?" (c)DeNiro. 4 Academy Award Nominations including "Best Picture". Oh, and the making of documentary is the BEST I've seen on DVD (yeah, you can quote me on that). Directed by Martin Scorsese.

*SILENCE OF THE LAMBS(Criterion Collection) - Well, it's unfair for me to list this DVD because it's no longer available. MGM has their own version (its 3rd DVD release) with different extra material. I prefer Criterion's version for the director's commentary (nope, it's not on the MGM version). One of my most favorite suspense thrillers!

I still have yet to grab "Die Hard" (didn't care for II, and I have III already). But ever since you mentioned Criterion doing Spike Lee's "She's Gotta Have It", I've been combing the internet for info. "Please Baby, baby baby baby Please!"

| and | | thought | this | | it | |

Oh, DON'T BUY "MEMENTO"! Wait till' the Special Edition version drops next year (thanks T2daP).

| and | | thought | this | | it | |

Both are getting special editions next year.

Triple X
"Got more action than GI Joe with a flow"
www.B-BoyEpicenter.com


Kate Hudson: Okay. "Tell me, Doctor Jergens, is my liver gonna be okay?"

Woodrow: "No. No, it's not. Your liver has a brain tumor. It's serious."

Kate Hudson: "How serious?"

Woodrow: "Medical. That's how."

Kate Hudson: "Is it laryngitis?"

Woodrow: "Yes. You're going to die in.. in.. in a minute or so."

Kate Hudson: "Oh, God, this crazy world, Doctor, I'm scared!"

>Oh, DON'T BUY "MEMENTO"! Wait
>till' the Special Edition version
>drops next year (thanks T2daP).

Could'nt wait. Way 2 good of a movie

Screw you guys...I'm goin home -Cartman

The mother of civilization, wants 2 know my occupation, home location and means of transportation. The correct combination unlocks her placenta. Ive got a cellular phone w/ a rubba antenna, own a 3 story house, drive a 4 door Ac, favorite song of all time, Mobb Deeps hit it from the back...then jet. -Ras Kass

...she said, "Do you have a car? Is your shit up 2 par?" Damn! a nigga need a resume just sittin at tha bar! -Ras Kass

Cuz bitches are like flies(why)they attract 2 the best shit. -Ras Kass

Cowards make a little cheese, then enlarge artificially, like Pamela Anderson Lee's double D's, please! I'm bangin from Belize 2 Tel Aviv in tha Red Sea racin Saddam Hussien on Kawasaki jet skies. -Ras Kass

18 willin rednecks, sendin me death threats, cuz their niece fantasize about wet sex, when I'm in her headsets. -Opio from Souls of Mischief

Tryin 2 do all I can do in this car...her mom's Jaguar -A-plus from Souls of Mischief

You think you're able 2 label the Hiero sound? You still havent found a comparable variable -Del

You live on the edge? I live on the San Andreas. -Evidence

I AINT GOT TIME 4 NO JIBBA JABBA!!!-Mr.T

>Could'nt wait. Way 2 good of a movie

neither could i. (will sell my current copy for the new version though...)
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m @ http://www.bashirshakur.org
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not that it isn't one of the best in my collection, but isn't it older than a year? i swear that was one of the first DVDs i bought. doesn't matter really cuz everybody needs to get it anyway.

looks like you're almost correct.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000050FEN/dvdlisform

it came out one year ago tomorrow.

go to the link, and read about all of the extras that are missing from the original DVD (which also just happened to be a flipper - you had to turn the DVD over to finish it.)

ahh, the days before rdsl...
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m @ http://www.bashirshakur.org
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reverse spiral double layering (if i remember correctly)
m.
--

496 @ $8.55

Finally someone that loves commentary tracks as much as me. I've pretty much watched a commentary track for every movie I've seen that has one, and learned way more form listening to the directors than any film class. Often times they're better than the movie itself.

ME

My Top Ten :)

1. AKIRA
2. Phantom Menace
3. Thug Life (the Movie, Funny as hell)
4. Startup.Com
5. Welcome to DeathRow
6. Do The Right Thing
7. Almost Famous
8. KC-Jojo Special Edition
9. Made
10. Superman The Movie

>My Top Ten :)
>
>1. Bamboozled (Platinum New Line Edition)
>2. The Mummy Returns
>3. Gone In 60 Seconds
>4. The Fifth Element
>5. The Cell
>6. Traffic
>7. Me, Myself, and Irene
>8. Half-Baked
>9. The Simpsons (First Season)
>10. Planet of the Apes (u can watch it from different angles)

AIM:abztract1920
MSNIM:cocoapebbles753

"You sold me out, for chicken change, told me my woman had all the range" - James Brown "Payback"

"Broke love is only cool when you can look back at it and laugh cuz you ain't broke no mo'"-Sonlight

"I ain't no lyrical ATM even tho' I'm Nyce and I'm a MAC.- Talib Kweli

"Won't you be my neighbor?" -- Fred Rogers

"Get yo' hand off my pocket, nigga, get yo' pocket off my hand."
"Nigga I'll stick you!"
"Ow, I'm bleedin' but I'm bleedin' cool." -- Bootie Brown and Slim Kid 3

"My life is a joke, so let's all laugh shall we?" -- Abztract

"I hate to resort to hittin' elderly people in the head for money, but I'll do it, I'll do it, uh you know I'll do it, I like gettin high, uh, uh, uh, uh, cuz I'm a c-c-c-c-c-c-c crack head. - Gator

peace...two fingers, Abztract

this movie was dope, and the extras on the DVD are worth it. it goes WAY in depth and makes what actually happened much clearer.

-- rhombus

....super dope flick and all of the extras helped things make a lot more sense to me! Reading all of the newspaper headlines and his journal entries? ILLLL!

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/text/134383653_video28.html

Friday, December 28, 2001, 12:00 a.m. Pacific
Video Watch
A year-end shrink-wrap-up of DVDs

By Mark Rahner Seattle Times staff reporter

This year, enough titles came out on DVD — the film addict's crank — to bankrupt Charles Foster Kane. First you find the DVD of your favorite movie, then a widescreen edition of it, then a special-edition DVD of it with an audio commentary, then a collector's edition, a Superbit edition ... not to mention the VHS tape, which isn't nearly extinct yet.

The manufacturers are hip to the jones. They know restraint is hard for movie lovers, if not out of the question.

Did you jump to get "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" when it came out this August in a full-frame DVD, only to feel like Augustus Gloop when the widescreen edition came out in November? Have you got a spare copy of "Almost Famous," now that the righteous two-disc "Bootleg" edition has rendered the first one you bought more uncool than an Air Supply T-shirt?

That's the yin and yang of the DVD explosion: gratification and expensive obsolescence.

Other nagging inequities remained this year. Sure, in a universe with talk shows called "Ananda" and "Iyanla," nothing makes sense. But for what earthly reason is there a "Patch Adams Ultimate Edition," or two separate audio commentaries on "Joe Dirt"? Meanwhile, great movies like "Alfie," David Cronenberg's "Scanners," David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" and "Apocalypse Now Redux" came in disappointing bare-bones editions. The horror.

Putting together a year-end Top 10 DVD list is an inherently dishonest proposition, because some of the most boffo, jampacked-with-extras DVD treatments were given to utterly crappy movies.

And no matter how many bells and whistles you put on doody, it's still "Pearl Harbor."

Other breathtaking DVD packages wrapped around bad movies include: "Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace," "Moulin Rouge," "How The Grinch Stole Christmas," "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" and the "15 Minutes" infinifilm edition. Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes" exists in an in-between dimension; it's not as shell-shockingly rotten as the others, and comes in an outstanding DVD.

If Freddie Prinze Jr.'s "Summer Catch" comes out in a two-disc Criterion Collection edition, my last ties with a meaningful universe will be severed.

Speaking of Criterion, if a Top 10 is irrelevant, there are some companies that deserve honorable mention for consistently showing their own love of great movies with top-notch DVD treatments:

• Criterion, whose highlights this year included: "My Man Godfrey" (William Powell's profane outtakes with Carole Lombard are a scream), Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca," "Withnail & I" ("We want the finest wines available to humanity!") and Preston Sturges' "Sullivan's Travels."

• Anchor Bay Entertainment, with exhaustive editions of "The Wicker Man" (it even comes in a coffin-like wooden box), "The Stunt Man" and a three-disc treatment of Dario Argento's "Suspiria."

• Something Weird Video: This Seattle outfit ought to get a federal grant for all the wonderfully obscure vintage odds and ends it saves from oblivion. Their cult-trash DVDs come loaded with hypnotically off-the-wall extras.

Here are a few of my other personal favorites of the year, in no particular order: "Lawrence of Arabia," "Citizen Kane," "Carrie," "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," "The French Connection," "Akira," "Spartacus," "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "The Prisoner," "Twin Peaks" TV series and "The Godfather DVD Collection" — although I would have liked an option to buy the latter without "Part III."

And finally, here are two things I'd like to see next year on DVD:

• The old "Wild Wild West" TV show. Do it while Robert Conrad is still around.

• Better commentary tracks. Too many current ones are deadly dull. Who gives a quatloo about every excruciating detail of Douglas Trumbull's special-effects gobbledygook on the long-awaited "Star Trek: The Motion Picture — The Director's Edition"? Others, like the one on Todd Haynes' "Safe," were just self-congratulatory mutual stroke-fests. Jodie Foster and director John Carpenter did a number of entertaining and informative commentaries on their films. And for sheer novelty value, outlaw feminist Camille Paglia's breakdown of "Basic Instinct" was one of the most fun of the year.

I hear abrasive video columnists make good moderators on these things.

Mark Rahner: 206-464-8259 or mrahner@seattletimes.com.
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m @ http://www.bashirshakur.org
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I just got my player yesterday (toshiba SD-2700 for $89!), and i am loving this thread.

I picked up some classic HK joints today, "Saviour of the Soul" and "In The Line of Duty 4". Judging by these two, Tai Seng is doing a pretty solid job converting their catalogue to DVD. They're not hooking up any extra features, but just getting to see such a crisp, clear version of "Saviour" is delicious.

Here are some I have watched elsewhere, that I know have cool commentaries and such:

1. The Beastie Boys criterion collection - Hours and hours of fun with this one, special features out the blowhole.

2. Evil Dead 2 - High-lariose commentary from Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. Plus some behind the scenes footage, etc. Today I bought the "Army of Darkness" joint, hopefully it is more of the same.

3. Spinal Tap - lots of outtakes plus a commentary track by the band members, in character.

4. Boogie Nights - whichever is the most "deluxe" version..

5. Monkeybone - interesting commentary from the director who was evidently fairly pissed about how the movie turned out.

6. Deathstalker 2 - Saw this today for $9 and couldn't resist. I mean, if ever a film cried out for director's commentary, it is "Deathstalker 2: Duel of the Titans", right? I'm watching it now...most insightful comment so far: "uhh, these girls have nothing to do with the story, but I figured we should have some naked breasts at the beginning."


Jay Smooth
WBAI 99.5 FM in NY
http://www.hiphopmusic.com

Trying is the first step towards failure. - Homer S.

seven is about all i can afford on your list that im interested in, i may check for being john malkovich and definitely finding forrester

----------------------------------------
these hoes will not be my downfall

check the fly shit (c) ghost http://jrf5780.diaryland.com

Http://www.bluechip-productions.com
BlueChip Productions, LLC.

>
>9. Se7en: Platinum Series 2-DVD set
>
>David Fincher's tour de force. I'd
>paid $125 for the Criterion
>laserdisc boxset about a year
>earlier. To have it on
>DVD is a dream. Everything
>you wanted (and didn't want)
>to know about how this
>film was created. Amazing.

i've been watching this for like two or three days and still have'nt gotten all the way through it. its great. color correction process, sound, theres almost too much. and like you said some stuff you did'nt really wanna know. but still very interesting.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
brevity.

AIM: Guess91374486

Defense Lawyer: Objection, counsel is mocking the witness.

Jack: Yes I am.
(from Law & Order)

don't ask why i put that there.