25. Back to the Future Trilogy
First announced for DVD release back in 1998, Robert Zemeckis's popular time-travel trilogy finally made its way to DVD in 2002. Some framing issues on the two sequels and the lack of any truly major extras undermined some of the excitement at its long-anticipated arrival, but the fine DTS audio and impressive image quality on the Region 2 and 4 release still makes this an essential purchase.

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24. Eraserhead
David Lynch's first feature film took the eccentric genius filmmaker nearly a decade to create, and after taking his time to have the film meticulously restored frame by frame, he released it on DVD under his own banner, available to buyers only through his website. The personal nature of the Lynch-narrated feature-length documentary perfectly suits the material here, as does the artfully designed oversize box.

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23. Beauty and the Beast - Platinum Edition
The second annual release in Disney's limited Platinum Collection, this fairly recent Disney masterpiece deserves all the credit it gets, and is brought to DVD in a two-disc edition that does the movie justice. With the original theatrical release version supplemented by the new extended 'Special Edition' cutas well as the 'work in progress' cut premiered at the 1991 New York Film Festival, this one's a keeper.

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22. Pulp Fiction - Collector's Edition
Tarantino's trend-setting underground opus remains as funny and electrifying as it ever was, and finally gets the treatment it deserves in this handsome two-disc set. The only thing really missing in this two-platter collection is an audio commentary track, but this lack is almost made up for by the wealth of supplements on the second disc.

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21. The Royal Tenenbaums - Criterion Collection
Director Wes Anderson generously fulfills the great promise shown in his previous feature Rushmore with this hilariously funny and deeply moving comedy drama, designed to a fault but never losing sight of the story's emotional core. Handsomely packaged and technically perfect, the selection of extras on this two-disc release is appropriately quirky and informative.

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20. The Adventures of Indiana Jones
Hardcore fans cried 'foul' as deleted scenes, image galleries and original featurettes were left out of this long-awaited box set containing the three most popular action-adventure movies of the 1980s. But it's hard to find fault with the gorgeously restored image quality, room-filling audio mixes and three hours of stand-out documentary on the fourth disc in this must-have collection.

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19. Singin' in the Rain - 50th Anniversary Edition
Painstakingly restored for its half-century anniversary, the gorgeous transfer on this impressive release is simply the best-looking Technicolor film to appear on DVD so far. It's supplemented by a hugely informative group commentary track as well as a wide selection of documentary material and sources of inspiration for the film.

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18. The Terminator - Special Edition
The little B-movie that could, this extraordinary chase thriller turned out to be a brilliantly conceived and flawlessly executed science-fiction classic, with a paradoxical logic that was sadly subverted by its more expensive sequel. The MGM/UA Special Edition DVD (currently the only available release) presents an excellent transfer and an over-the-top 5.1 audio mix.

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17. North by Northwest
Hitchcock's wildest and funniest ride of a movie is still hard to beat when it comes down to sheer entertainment value. Master cinematographer Robert Burks' widescreen Vistavision cinematography is rendered in a transfer that must be seen to be appreciated, and original screenwriter Ernest Lehman provides an informative, entertaining and sometimes cantankerous audio commentary.

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16. The Silence of the Lambs - Criterion Collection / MGM/UA Special Edition
One of the best and most original horror movies ever made was released to DVD by the Criterion Collection with a transfer that - sadly - could have been better, but which is now a valuable collector's item thanks to the outstanding audio commentary, edited together from material by Jodie Foster, Jonathan Demme, Anthony Hopkins, writer Ted Tally and an actual FBI special agent. Remastered and re-released with quite a few great new extras (but no audio commentary), the Special Edition from MGM/UA is the only version currently in print, with a handsome anamorphic transfer and solid 5.1 audio mix.

read the Criterion Collection review
read the MGM/UA edition review

15. Spartacus - Criterion Collection
The full contents of Criterion's legendary LaserDisc box set finally make it to DVD along with a newly restored transfer and two new audio mixes. The film hasn't looked better since its original release, and the commentary and great extras are among the best ever produced.

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14. Terminator 2 - Ultimate DVD Edition
One of the richest releases to hit the medium so far doesn't make as much use as it could of some of the technical features available on DVD, but does stuff its double-sided disc full enough to hold three versions of the movie in exquisite anamorphic transfer and a kind of interactive book with the definitive account of the ins and outs of this behemoth's production.

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13. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - Platinum Edition
Spearheading Disney's new Platinum Collection DVD series, the first-ever animated feature is presented in better shape than it may ever have been in before following extensive restoration work. A second disc contains so many extras, it makes this release hard to beat even in a market now loaded with great double-disc releases.

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12. The Godfather DVD Collection
This handsome box set of the classic trilogy is what DVD fans everywhere have been waiting for since the introduction of the medium. Five discs hold all three films (including full-length audio commentaries from Francis Ford Coppola) and a full DVD of great extras. The only minor disappointment is the unrestored source prints used for the three films.

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11. This is Spinal Tap - MGM/UA Special Edition / Criterion Collection
With a new anamorphic transfer that is as good as this movie will ever look, remastered DD 5.1 sound, most of the extras from the rare recalled Criterion Edition and the funniest menu screens ever made, this is one that should be part of any DVD collection. Let's not forget to point out that this is still the front runner for the Funniest Movie Ever Made title and more than deserves its number 11 spot in our list :-).

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10. Citizen Kane - Special Edition
Another long-awaited classic in a stellar two-disc set that features two audio commentaries, a feature-length Oscar-nominated documentary and lots of other great extras. The restored transfer must be seen to be believed.

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9. Black Hawk Down - Deluxe Edition
The three-disc DVD set of Ridley Scott's brilliantly assaultive recreation of the battle on the streets of Mogadishu comes laden with top-produced extras that cover the production in outstanding detail as well as offering much-needed historical context about the actual events on which the film was based.

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8. Casablanca - Special Edition
This impeccable balancing act of drama, action, romance, comedy, thrills and suspense may be one of the most accessible works of cinema ever produced, and this two-disc release finally gives it the amount of supplemental material it deserves along with a faultless restoration.

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7. Universal Classic Monster Collection - 8-Disc Box Set
Released a few years back as a whole batch of individual releases for Region 1, which have since gone out of print and are now officially on moratorium until Universal decides to re-release them, eight of the most memorable horror titles ever to appear on film have now been combined into an astounding box set for Region 2 and 4, with extensive documentaries and audio commentaries for each included title.

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6. Se7en - Platinum Edition
A beautifully packaged welcome re-release of a modern classic with extras as uncompromizing as the film itself. Four separate audio commentary tracks delve deeply into the many angles on this rich and influential work, and the transfer and audio mix set a new standard for DVD mastering.

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5. The Adventures of Robin Hood
The wait was long for early adopters eager to give the most popular swashbuckler of all a spin in their DVD player. But Warner's awesome double-platter release almost made it worth the wait, delivering not only one of the finest Technicolor restoration jobs ever to grace any screen, but also a wide variety of terrific extras including a newly produced definitive documentary on the making of the film.

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4. Brazil - Criterion Collection
Long the Mother Of All Special Editions, this three-disc set presents a staggering and always riveting amount of material documenting the production of the movie and the incredible battle that followed. Of course we can't help complaining that the transfer isn't anamorphic, but otherwise this is as good as it gets on DVD.

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3. Toy Story - The Ultimate Toy Box
No matter whether or not one is a fan of the first digitally animated feature film and its superior sequel, it is impossible to deny how impressive this box set is. The digital-to-digital transfers of both movies are simply the finest image quality yet to appear on DVD, while both the sheer amount of extras and the skill, creativity and enthusiasm with which they were assembled set the standard for its time and remain hugely impressive.

Toy Story: read the review
Toy Story 2: read the review

2. Alien Quadrilogy
Fox supplants the five-disc 'Alien Legacy' box set with a bafflingly titled but otherwise faultless nine-disc set boasting two versions of all four films, twelve hours of new documentary material charting their making, new audio commentaries, richly packed galleries of storyboards, stills, and designs, as well as a bonus disc with trailers, another documentary, and even the contents of the original Laserdisc releases.

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1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - Director's Extended Cut
The four-disc box set of the first installment in Peter Jackson's Tolkien trilogy did nothing short of setting a completely new standard for any major Special Edition DVD release, and the next two films' extended releases matched the first blow by blow, following its template and delivering an even more enriched narrative with copious amounts of added and extended scenes. With each release holding seven hours of documentary material, four audio commentaries, innumerable design galleries and impeccable technical specifications, this twelve-disc set looks like it will remain the standard-bearer for DVDs for years to come.

The Fellowship of the Ring: read the review
The Two Towers: read the review
The Return of the King: read the review