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by DVD Breakdown founder Dan Hassler-Forest
On this page, in more or less random order, are the
DVDs that I find myself playing more often than any
others and would therefore have to bring with me in
the unlikely event of being sent to a desert island
equipped with a decent DVD setup - not to mention
electricity. Some are bare-bones DVD releases that
I watch again and again for the movie, others include
such a wealth of great extra material that I find
myself coming back to them with great frequency in
spite of the fact that the movie may not be a particular
favorite of mine. So here is my completely subjective
choice of discs:
Dan
Hassler-Forest
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Stop Making Sense
My favorite concert film ever made is infinitely
rewatchable on DVD, with its three different
sound mixes to choose from and wide variety
of extra features. Its main repeat value however
lies in the on-stage presence of Mr. David Byrne,
whose performance as the band's lead singer
is never less than amazing.
read
the review
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This is Spinal Tap - Special Edition
Each time I was convinced I now knew every
detail of this film by heart, some new, undiscovered
detail would catch my eye the next time I turned
it on. A beautifully restrained effort executed
with almost scary conviction. Subsequent similar
efforts from Christopher Guest and Rob Reiner
only demonstrate how difficult making a movie
as rich and funny as this one is.
read
the review
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The Court Jester
Hardly an obvious choice for a DVD Essentials
list, this is a movie that I grew up watching
on VHS and have by now seen more often than
any other movie. It was popular 1950s comedian
Danny Kaye's finest moment, and its bizarre
combination of farce, musical, Robin Hood spoof
and verbal comedy still have me in stitches
every time (even though the DVD transfer on
this bare-bones release is disappointing).
review - coming soon
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Dr. Strangelove - Collector's Edition
Kubrick's only stab at comedy remains his
most accessible film, and his all-around best
work in my opinion. Superbly balanced across
its three main locations (the bomber plane,
the Air Force base and the War Room), this is
nothing less than a succession of classic moments
that fit together beautifully. The Collector's
Edition DVD provides all the necessary background
material.
read
the review
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Fargo
The Coen brothers' only film to date that
manages to populate their stylized oddball universe
with affecting, convincingly human characters.
William H. Macy's performance alone makes this
unique work infinitely rewatchable.
read
the review
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Manhattan
Woody Allen's classiest film remains his
top-of-the-list effort in my book, thanks in
no small part to Gordon Willis's amazing black-and-white
widescreen cinematography (which has never looked
better than on this razor-sharp transfer). The
lack of extras on the DVD I can deal with; my
only complaint concerns Allen's traditional
mono soundtrack, which does a real disservice
to the fabulous Gershwin score.
read
the review
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North by Northwest
A true compendium of Hitchcock's best work,
this magnificent picture tosses the director's
increasingly inflated sense of self-importance
and pretentions overboard for a breathless succession
of exciting and very funny set pieces. It's
nice that Warner provided this disc with some
decent extras, but the DVD's true staying power
is the transfer, which defies belief in its
sharpness and richness of color and detail,
and the new sound mix that gives Herrmann's
glorious score the prominence it deserves.
read
the review
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Alien - 20th Anniversary Edition
Alien may be a somewhat nasty film,
but as a slick, well-oiled and impeccably designed
thrill machine, it's still hard to beat. In
my opinion, it remains Ridley Scott's most successful
combination of style with a strong story, and
as a DVD package, it's still hard to beat (especially
for the lucky few who got hold of the bonus
disc with the documentary).
read
the review
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Se7en - Platinum Edition
You have to be in the right mood to approach
this doom-and-gloom-laden movie, but it's still
its director David Fincher's finest film, and
this 2-disc set with its four audio commentary
tracks delves as deeply into the film's themes,
visuals, production and sound design as any
historian would want to.
read
the review
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Terminator 2 - Ultimate DVD Edition
I've always had quite an axe to grind with
T2 as a movie, never having been able
to forgive it for subverting the beautiful circular
time-travel paradox of the first film. But the
extras on this disc - which impress both in
scale and in scope - keep me coming back for
more to this very day.
read
the review
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Brazil - Criterion Edition
Terry Gilliam's flawed but often brilliant
and very rich vision of a bureaucratic retro-future
gets the royal Criterion 3-disc treatment on
DVD. For a long time, this was without a doubt
the finest Special Edition ever made. It still
compares favorably to most new releases, though
its non-anamorphic transfer and limited Dolby
Surround audio do not hold up so well.
read
the review
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Toy Story - The Ultimate Toy Box
This package is truly hard to beat whether
you're a Toy Story fan or not, and it's absolutely
essential material for animation lovers. Both
film transfers and audio mixes are absolutely
reference quality, and both in the design and
the extras department, this collection truly
holds more value than any other DVD set so far.
Hours and hours and hours of enjoyment guaranteed...
Toy
Story: read the review
Toy Story 2: read the review
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