Estimated reading time: 14 minutes
Rejoice, because your holidays are officially covered, with movie and TV classics plus new arrivals on 4K, Blu-ray, DVD… and more. Looking for something family-friendly? Or perhaps a little edgier? Even a movie that was almost banned upon its initial release? Check, check and check! Get ready to amuse, frighten, dazzle, surprise and, most of all, entertain the special people in your life this year.
White Christmas 4K (Paramount)
Seventy years ago, this was the first feature film produced in large-format VistaVision, an “event” motion picture that would go on to become a holiday favorite for generations. With tunes by Irving Berlin and a cast headlined by the affable Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby, there’s ample song-and-dance as well as heart and humor. This new Ultra HD disc is extraordinary to behold, a native 4K/Dolby Vision rendition with Techni-colors in particular (not just the crisp whites of the title) helping earn it a spot among our reference-worthy titles. The legacy extras are quite extensive, starting with an audio commentary by co-star Rosemary Clooney (aunt of George) in addition to an on-camera interview, a sing-along, featurettes and much more.
Purchase White Christmas 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital on Amazon.com
For a very different take on the yuletide season:
Silent Night, Deadly Night 4K (Scream Factory)
This is pretty dark stuff, as the wrath of an axe-wielding Santa forged by his parents’ Christmas Eve murder and subsequent abuse by nasty nuns is visited upon the naughty, just in time for the holidays. Parents tried to ban it upon its release in 1984, but now for its 40th anniversary, Shout has wrapped it up in a virtual bow with a new 4K/Dolby Vision restoration from the camera negative plus a new audio commentary. Disc Two spins the new master in HD with the commentary and three new in-depth interviews with some of the original filmmakers, while the third disc of Christmas gives us the unrated version combining newly restored and SD elements for the best possible experience, this platter loaded with a great big sack full of ported extras.
Purchase Silent Night, Deadly Night 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on Amazon.com
Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! 4K (Warner)
In 1966, director Chuck Jones would give the world a beloved adaptation of Theodor Geisel’s sly children’s tale about a sinful sot who indulges his Xmas disdain by absconding with all the trappings in a nearby village. Catchy songs, Boris Karloff’s sweet narration and an irresistible message about the true meaning of the holiday make this a timeless addition to the other TV staples of our youth that have been arriving on the 4K format of late. In 2160p, Grinch proudly displays the distinctive line art of Jones’ middle years, with punchier wide-gamut colors to boot. The soundtrack is in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, improved from the old Blu-ray’s Dolby Digital, alongside the available commentary by animator Phil Roman and voice actress June Foray (Cindy-Lou Who). Warner has also upgraded the A/V quality of the disc’s companion features The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat and Halloween is Grinch Night. Further bonus content includes various vignettes and an enjoyable 1994 TNT special hosted by the wonderful Phil Hartman.
Purchase Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas 4K Ultra HD on Amazon.com
Jones is also one of the legendary director/animators showcased in:
Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice Vols. 1-4 Blu-ray (Warner Archive Collection)
Bringing together the entire output of Warner Archives’ admirable reclamation project thus far, here are close to 100 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons total on four discs, all restored–some just for this occasion–and almost none of them ever released in any form on Blu-ray or even DVD before. Additional fixes have been undertaken over and above the work done for the HD streaming/broadcast versions on HBO Max and Me-TV, and the results are truly a revelation, especially for anyone who’s watched the crappy old masters for decades. Audio is a cleaned-up lossless dual-mono, too. The familiar gang’s all represented: Bugs & Elmer, Daffy & Porky, Sylvester & Tweety, Wile E. & Road, in addition to the oddball antics of Babbit & Catstello and Mac & Tosh, the Goofy Gophers. No extras, just 11-and-a-half hours of sophisticated yet off-the-wall mirth and mayhem.
Purchase Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice Vol. 1-4 Blu-ray on Amazon.com
The Fairly OddParents The Complete Series DVD (Nickelodeon/Paramount)
Nickelodeon’s second longest-running animated show, runner-up to SpongeBob SquarePants, lasted a whopping 10 seasons from 2001 to 2017. These are the misadventures of good-hearted but miserable Timmy Turner, trying to navigate the challenges an elementary schooler might encounter, but with the help of his two fairy godparents, Cosmo and Wanda. Together this wacky duo fills the void left by Timmy’s actual parents, who have left him in the care of the world’s worst babysitter, granting his wishes only to unleash unexpected consequences time after time. Terrific voice acting, lightning-fast pacing and an irrepressible attitude keep this show fresh from the first episode to the 172nd.
Purchase The Fairly Odd Parents: The Complete Series DVD on Amazon.com
3 Clint Classics:
Two Mules for Sister Sara 4K
Play Misty for Me 4K
The Eiger Sanction 4K (all Kino Lorber Studio Classics)
With director Clint Eastwood’s latest, Juror #2, hitting theaters and announced for Blu-ray, KLSC has pounced on the opportunity to serve up beautiful 4K restorations of some his best films likely overlooked by modern audiences. Two Mules reunites Eastwood with friend and mentor Don Siegel (Dirty Harry) for this western that sees Clint as a gun-toting drifter who teams with a nun in support of Mexican freedom fighters. Apparently Clint brought composer Ennio Morricone back from Italy with him, after they both did their part for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, il maestro’s score captured in 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD MA. The 4K disc boasts a new master of the international cut with two expert audio commentaries, one new and one legacy, plus a vintage promotional featurette. The domestic cut on HD Blu-ray is about eight minutes shorter but it’s just curious little snips that quicken the pace a tad.
The following year, Clint moved to the director’s chair for the first time with the tense thriller Play Misty for Me, playing a disc jockey who makes the understandable mistake of hooking up with the wrong fan (Jessica Walter). The 4K/Blu-ray combo contains its own new/ported audio commentaries and a quite generous complement of legacy bonus content. The Eiger Sanction, also directed by Clint, casts him as an assassin who comes out of retirement for one last hit, to take place during a treacherous mountain ascent. The location photography and legit climbing scenes look wondrous in 4K, with music by none other than John Williams, the same year he composed the Jaws score. And yep: There’s a pair of new/previous commentaries and great interviews/clips from the past.
All three of these Ultra HD discs are born of new 4K scans from the original camera negative, in Dolby Vision high dynamic range and on triple-layered 100-gig platters for optimal image quality.
- Read our full review of Play Misty for Me 4K
- Purchase Play Misty for Me 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on Amazon.com
- Read our full review of Two Mules for Sister Sara 4K
- Purchase Two Mules for Sister Sara 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on Amazon.com
- Purchase The Eiger Sanction on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on Amazon.com
Alien: Romulus VHS (Fox/Disney)
While some are dismissing the videocassette release of Fede Alvarez’s hot take on the enduring Alien franchise as a publicity stunt, I counter that it’s an effective and remarkably fun stunt, and the new cover art by Matt Ferguson certainly doesn’t hurt. Have an old VCR in the basement collecting dust? Find one at a garage sale? I say fire it up and let the old-school vibes flow: If vinyl records and the Atari 2600 can have a resurgence, why not VHS?
Alien: Romulus on VHS is officially available only at Walmart
And on the subject of early-‘80s entertainment…
1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever! Blu-ray (MVD Rewind Collection)
Last year I downloaded the CW app just so I could watch director Roger Lay’s four-part docu-series, and I devoured every nostalgia-infused moment. It’s so much better on Blu-ray, with stable video, 5.1 audio… and none of those annoying commercials! This sincere and heartfelt exploration of the 12 months that gave us E.T., The Wrath of Khan, Blade Runner, Conan, The Thing and so much else educates viewers and articulates what was so special about these movies, making us wonder, damn, could this really have been the best year for pop culture, particularly the sci-fi, fantasy and action genres? Copious clips are supplied and many, many of the original content creators are on-hand to weigh in. Watch and decide for yourself, then check out the twin multiparticipant commentaries with producer Mark Altman, 40 minutes of deleted/extended scenes and the filmmakers’ SDCC panel from 2022.
Purchase 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever! Blu-ray on Amazon.com
Curb Your Enthusiasm The Complete Series DVD (HBO/Warner)
Casting Jason Alexander as his avatar, George Costanza on Seinfeld, wasn’t enough, and now Larry David has built a dynasty by portraying “himself” as a petty, argumentative cynic at the center of HBO’s Curb. It’s not always easy to figure out what’s real-ish and what’s pure fiction, much of the credit going to producer/director Bob Weide who, early on, helped establish the show’s deceptively loose improvisational structure that yielded clever, credible stories week-to-week. Some celebrities play versions of themselves, other equally famous folks play characters, and it all leads to groans, laughs, and that much-talked-about Seinfeld reunion. All 12 seasons from 2000 to this year’s 120th-and-final episode are here, with commentary on the first by Weide and most of the main cast, plus there are deleted scenes, interviews, featurettes, TV specials and a gag reel. The long run also encompasses the transition from analog to digital, notable in the 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios.
Purchase Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Series DVD on Amazon.com
The Complete Thin Man Collection Blu-ray (Warner Archive Collection)
Spawned from the book by Dashiell Hammett, the Thin Man series follows impossibly witty and urbane Manhattan socialites Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy) as they solve a series of mysteries with a unique combination of brains and sass. These well-produced films attracted an impressive roster of co-stars and proved popular with audiences for a decade and a half.
Warner Archive has restored all six from 4K film scans, here in HD and joined by an assortment of live-action shorts and cartoons to help re-create a night at the movies in their original era. The six-disc set includes:
- The Thin Man (1934)
- After the Thin Man (1936)
- Another Thin Man (1939)
- Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
- Song of the Thin Man (1945)
- The Thin Man Goes Home (1947)
Purchase The Complete Thin Man Collection Blu-ray on Amazon.com
Watchmen Chapters I&II 4K (Warner)
DC Animation takes another swing at capturing the essence of what made writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons’ seminal graphic novel so damned good. The story was split into two halves on two separate discs three months apart for some reason, and I waited until both halves were in-hand before watching. I admit that it really looks like the comic book come to life, down to the bright colors and even the texture. The voice cast (Matthew Rhys, Katee Sackhoff, Titus Welliver et. al.) brings it, and the respectful script adaptation by J. Michael Straczynski makes this feel like the most authentic dramatization we might ever get. But why do I suspect that this was new boss James Gunn’s “revision” of his former co-worker Zack Snyder’s divisive 2009 live-action attempt? Extras include insights from Gibbons, who thankfully has not turned his back on the property as Moore has.
- Read our full review of Watchmen Chapter I 4K
- Purchase Watchmen: Chapter I 4K Ultra HD + Digital on Amazon.com
- Purchase Watchmen: Chapter II 4K Ultra HD + Digital on Amazon.com
12 Days of Star Trek Advent Calendar (Insight Editions)
Count down to the big day (whichever day you look forward to) with a menagerie of high-quality and often useful collectibles created for Insight’s Trek-themed advent calendar. (Mild spoiler: More than a couple of the items are designed to make happy hour a little happier.) The set is officially licensed by Paramount, its contents inspired from the franchise’s long history, spanning the original series to NextGen, DS9, Voyager and beyond. All the goodies are concealed within numbered compartments inside a replica U.S.S. Enterprise shuttlecraft, along with a frameable print hand-signed by artist Ryan Dening and an individually numbered letter of authenticity reflecting the limited run of 1,701.
12 Days of Star Trek Advent Calendar available on the Insight Editions website.
Editor’s Special Mention:
- Arcane: League of Legends Season One 4K SteelBook (GKIDS/Shout! Factory)
- Hush (2016) Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (Scream Factory)