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Costa wrote:

Drucker wrote:
out of all those releases I've seen 16 films, and out of these i've watched 4 Criterion transfers.
So, my top 5 will be based mainly on reviews of these 16 blurays.

Spoiler

It kills me, but my kevyip is big enough at this point that when I buy a new BD, if I've seen the restoration in theaters already, I skip the feature. This fills me with great shame.

BEST RELEASE:
1. A Brighter Summer Day
2. One-Eyed Jacks
3. Chimes At Midnight
4. Punch-Drunk Love
5. Wim Wenders: The Road Trilogy

BEST BOXED SET: Wim Wenders: The Road Trilogy

BEST MODERN FILM: Phoenix

BEST COMMENTARY: A Brighter Summer Day

BEST "BONUS" FILM: Likely Consequence

BEST BOOKLET: Dr. Strangelove

BEST ON-DISC NON-COMMENTARY EXTRA: Shooting "Blood Simple"

BEST REISSUE: Carnival Of Souls

BEST UPGRADE: Bicycle Thieves

BEST COVER: Phoenix, though there were a bunch of stand-outs.

WORST COVER: Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls, which is a stand-out in all the wrong ways.

BEST PACKAGING: Dr. Strangelove

BEST DISCOVERY: A Brighter Summer Day

MOST UNNECESSARY RELEASE: Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls

MOST FLAWED RELEASE: The Story Of The Last Chrysanthemum, though it is flawed largely because of factors (the audio) that Criterion could not control.

BEST THREAD: The Jacques Rivette Collection, for Dom's review of Out 1, the only piece of film criticism that I went back and reread this year.

MEMBER OF THE YEAR: swo17

RICHARD CRANIUM AWARD: pro-b, for proving himself to be the best, most knowledgeable blu-ray reviewer ever in the Story of the Last Chrysanthemum thread.

Extra category: WORST PACKAGING: Night Train to Munich, for messing up a map of WW2 Europe.

Mungo wrote: RICHARD CRANIUM AWARD: pro-b, for proving himself to be the best, most knowledgeable blu-ray reviewer ever in the Story of the Last Chrysanthemum thread.

i'm sorry, pro-b is here too? because i thought this award goes only to members of THIS forum.
If it isn't, then pro-b is my pick too for the RICHARD CRANIUM AWARD.

(by the way, i didn't know this expression and thought Cranium is a real person! i had to look that up! )

He's long been a member here, though he's made all of four posts this year, starting here.

Costa wrote: 5. Iphigenia (Olive) (marks the first ever release of a pre-1980 Greek film on bluray worldwide. CONGRATULATIONS Olive!!!)

Not quite. Nikos Papatakis' 1967 Oi Voskoi (Thanos & Despina) was released by Gaumont on BluRay last year.

zedz wrote:

Costa wrote: 5. Iphigenia (Olive) (marks the first ever release of a pre-1980 Greek film on bluray worldwide. CONGRATULATIONS Olive!!!)

Not quite. Nikos Papatakis' 1967 Oi Voskoi (Thanos & Despina) was released by Gaumont on BluRay last year.

oh, i stand corrected then.
have never heard of this film or the director!

Costa wrote:

Mungo wrote: RICHARD CRANIUM AWARD: pro-b, for proving himself to be the best, most knowledgeable blu-ray reviewer ever in the Story of the Last Chrysanthemum thread.

i'm sorry, pro-b is here too? because i thought this award goes only to members of THIS forum.
If it isn't, then pro-b is my pick too for the RICHARD CRANIUM AWARD.

(by the way, i didn't know this expression and thought Cranium is a real person! i had to look that up! )

He is, though this year he only showed up in that one thread when a bunch of members were openly deriding his review of the blu-ray. He only made four posts, which I think were truly enough to secure at least a nomination.

Pro-B rather infamously gloated on the board that he was responsible for the Criterion release of Forgiveness of Blood, a Criterion title which many of you are just now for the first time in years remembering exists

I thought it was Before the Rain...

And he hasn't received the award before?

cdnchris wrote:I thought it was Before the Rain...

Ha, whoops! He could equally claim credit for Jules et Jim, he had as much sway with any release

BEST RELEASE
1. Lady Snowblood
2. A Brighter Summer Day
3. Akira Kurosawa's Dreams
4. Bicycle Thieves
5. Lone Wolf and Cub

BEST BOXED SET
Trilogia de Guillermo del Toro

BEST MODERN FILM
Inside Llewyn Davis

BEST COMMENTARY
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams

BEST “BONUS” FILM
Les Temps morts (Fantastic Planet)

BEST BOOKLET
Dr. Strangelove (the incorporation of the "Plan R" envelope, Tiny Bible & Smut Magazine are priceless)

BEST ON-DISC NON-COMMENTARY EXTRA
Kurosawa's Way (Akira Kurosawa's Dreams)

BEST UPGRADE
Bicycle Thieves

BEST COVER
A Brighter Summer Day

WORST COVER
Heart of a Dog

BEST PACKAGING
Lone Wolf and Cub

BEST DISCOVERY
Lady Snowblood

MOST UNNECESSARY RELEASE
Punch Drunk Love

MOST FLAWED RELEASE
Dekalog

BEST NON-CRITERION RELEASES
Napoleon (BFI)
The Rainer Werner Fassbinder Collection (Arrow)
The Human Condition (Arrow)
Prison Female Scorpion (Arrow)
Man With a Movie Camera and Other Works (MoC)
Early Murnau: Five Films, 1921-1925 (MoC)
Assault on Precinct 13 (SecondSight)
John Carpenter’s The Thing: Deluxe Edition (Shout! Factory)
Return of the Living Dead: Deluxe Edition (Shout! Factory)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Deluxe Edition (Shout! Factory)
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai in the 8th Dimension: Deluxe Edition (Shout! Factory)
Transformers: The Movie (30th Anniversary Edition) (Shout! Factory)
Phenomena: 3 Disc Steelbook (Synapse)

Best Release

• A Brighter Summer Day
  A Touch of Zen
  Dekalog
  The Executioner
  Lone Wolf and Cub

Best Boxed Set
Dekalog

Best Modern Release
Phoenix

Best Commentary
A Brighter Summer Day

Best Bonus Film
Our Time, Our Story

Best Book/Booklet
Trilogia de Guillermo del Toro

Best Supplement
Kurosawa’s Way

Best Reissue
Night and Fog

Best Blu-ray Upgrade
Bicycle Thieves

Best Cover
Kurosawa’s Dreams

Worst Cover
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

Best Packaging
Lone Wolf and Cub

Best Discovery
The Executioner

Most Unnecessary

Spoiler

Boyhood

Most Flawed
The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums

Since I finished the Eclipse collection in May, I've actually been able to keep up more with this years releases, to the tune of about 40 of them.

BEST RELEASE

1. Dekalog
2. Kennedy Films of Robert Drew & Associates
3. In a Lonely Place
4. Chimes at midnight
5. Dreams


Bumped
6. La Chienne
7. Lone Wolf and Cub
8. The Player
9. Fantastic Planet
10. A Brighter Summer Day
11. Inside Llewyn Davis

BEST BOXED SET
Dekalog

BEST MODERN FILM
Inside Llewyn Davis

BEST COMMENTARY
Primary


BEST "BONUS" FILM
Out in the Woods

This category is really hard, as Out in the Woods is really incredible, but the Sword of the Samurai is also stunning.


BEST BOOKLET
Dekalog


BEST ON-DISC NON-COMMENTARY EXTRA
Joseph McBride, chimes at midnight .

BEST SECOND EDITION
Night and Fog

BEST FORMAT UPGRADE
Bicycle Thieves


BEST COVER
Dekalog


WORST COVER
Trilogia de Guillermo del Toro - Blu Ray

The bleh cover art and terrible packaging of the bluray completely deterred me from double dipping on two of the titles in this set and opting only for Pan's Labyrinth. I probably would have bought it in the DVD packaging and sold off my stand alones.



BEST PACKAGING
Lone Wolf and Cub


BEST DISCOVERY
The Kennedy Films of Robert Drew

r/u (very close!) In a Lonely Place



MOST UNNECESSARY RELEASE
The Graduate



MOST FLAWED RELEASE

The Emigrants / New Land

I'd have preferred a more complete release with individual spines and the US cut and dubs of each film, ala the Leopard. That was the first way I saw the films, and I think the dubbing is some of the best I've ever seen.



BEST THREAD

All time List Discussion Thread


(notseen: lady snowblood 2, american friend, death by hanging, barcelona, phoenix, naked island, wim wenders box, amiche, sils maria, muriel, valley of the dolls, executioner, squid and whale, roma, heart of a dog)

BEST RELEASE
1. A Brighter Summer Day
2. Dekalog
3. Chimes at Midnight
4. McCabe & Mrs. Miller
5. I Knew Her Well

BEST BOXED SET
Dekalog

BEST MODERN FILM
Inside Llewyn Davis

BEST BOOKLET
The Immortal Story

BEST COVER
Dekalog

WORST COVER
Punch-Drunk Love

BEST PACKAGING
Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

BEST DISCOVERY
I Knew Her Well

MOST UNNECESSARY RELEASE
Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words

MOST FLAWED RELEASE
The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum

BEST RELEASE

1. A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY
2. LONE WOLF & CUB BOXSET
3. MCCABE & MRS MILLER
4. CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT
5. ONE-EYED JACK

HONOURABLE MENTION FOR ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS and LA CHIENNE

BEST BOXED SET LONE WOLF & CUB
BEST MODERN FILM PHOENIX

BEST REISSUE NIGHT & FOG

BEST COVER A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY
WORST COVER BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS
BEST PACKAGING LONE WOLF & CUB

BEST DISCOVERY ONE-EYED JACKS (LA CHIENNE a very close second)
MOST UNNECESSARY RELEASE DR STRANGELOVE
MOST FLAWED RELEASE THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL

BEST THREAD HORROR LIST
MEMBER OF THE YEAR ZEDZ
RICHARD CRANIUM AWARD PRO-B

BEST NON-CRITERION RELEASES:

DEKALOG (Arrow)
NAPOLEON (BFI)
THE THING (Shout Factory)
BLACK CHRISTMAS (Shout Factory)
CARRIE (Shout Factory)
JOHNNY GUITAR SIGNATURE EDITION (Olive)
ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW (BFI)
SHANE (MoC)
LOVE & PEACE (Third Window)

Squid and the Whale is not eligible for Best Modern Film

BEST RELEASE
1. The Kennedy Films of Robert Drew & Associates
2. A Taste of Honey
3. Chimes at Midnight
4. The Asphalt Jungle
5. The Emigrants / The New Land

BEST BOXED SET
Wim Wenders: The Road Trilogy

BEST MODERN FILM
Boyhood

BEST COMMENTARY
The Kid

BEST "BONUS" FILM
Pharos of Chaos

BEST BOOKLET
Trilogía de Guillermo del Toro

BEST ON-DISC NON-COMMENTARY EXTRA
Momma Don’t Allow

BEST REISSUE
Carnival of Souls

BEST UPGRADE
Bicycle Thieves

BEST COVER
In a Lonely Place

WORST COVER
Heart of a Dog

BEST PACKAGING
Dr Strangelove

BEST DISCOVERY
The Kennedy Films of Robert Drew & Associates

MOST UNNECESSARY RELEASE
Ingrid Berman: In Her Own Words (I felt that everything here was more than adequately covered last year by both the Criterion & BFI Bergman sets)

MOST FLAWED RELEASE
Fantastic Planet (For the eye straining colour palate)

(Suggestion) COLLECTION INTERLOPER (a title to challenge the determined completist)
Punch Drunk Love (All these years on and I’m still completely immune to the attraction or virtues of this film)

BEST NON-CRITERION RELEASES
Dissent & Disruption: The Complete Alan Clarke at the BBC BFI
Napoleon BFI
Dekalog and Other TV Works - Arrow
The Human Condition Trilogy - Arrow
Man with a Movie Camera (and other works by Dziga Vertov) - Masters of Cinema
The Rainer Werner Fassbinder Collection -Arrow
Early Murnau - Five Films - Masters of Cinema
Pioneers of African American Cinema - BFI
The Seven-Ups - Signal One
People of the Mountains - Second Run

BEST RELEASE
1. A Bright Summer Day
2. The New World
3. AK’s Dreams
4. The Kennedy Films of Robert Drew & Associates
5. The Emigrants / The New Land

BEST BOXED SET : Lone Wolf & Cub
BEST MODERN FILM : Inside Llewyn Davis

BEST COMMENTARY : N/A
BEST "BONUS" FILM : A Short About Love
BEST BOOKLET : The Kennedy Films of Robert Drew & Associates
BEST ON-DISC NON-COMMENTARY EXTRA :

BEST REISSUE : Night and Fog
BEST UPGRADE : Bicycle Thieves

BEST COVER : Blood Simple
WORST COVER : The Immortal Story. So many runner-ups...
BEST PACKAGING : Lone Wolf & Cub (love the overall visual design)

BEST DISCOVERY : The In-Laws
MOST UNNECESSARY RELEASE : Clouds of Sils Maria. Runner up : Gilda and Cat People.
MOST FLAWED RELEASE : The Exterminating Angel : with all the movies that haven't been upgraded yet despite good restorations being available, they chose to upgrade one with a decade-old master ? Also : disappointed that Criterion didn’t try to re-create the 2 shorter cuts of The New World from the new 4K restoration.

MEMBER OF THE YEAR : I don’t know well the other members and don’t interact much in the most active threads, so I don’t feel at ease singling out a member for the whole year. However, I’d like to praise Moshrom’s work and comparisons around audio quality, which is often left behind compared to the video analysis.

----------------------

Non-Criterion / Non-US releases :

2016 was an incredibly heavy year, even more so when you’re Region Free. UK, especially, really went pedal to the metal through the BFI (Ken Russell ! Alan Clarke ! Peter Watkins ! Napoleon ! Quay brothers !), but also the end of the Sony licencing lockdown : Eureka took advantage of it, but it seems like Indicator might be even better off on the use of this catalog. Warner Archive also increased noticeably their output (2.5x more releases than in 2015 !) and huge boxsets as a whole were often particularly rewarding (Dekalog, Alan Clarke, Almodovar, Costa-Gavras, Taviani, ...).

However, since we have to filter all this down a bit, here are my highlights :
- 4 Julien Duviver movies released by Pathé (Pathé - France) : fascinating movies, beautiful restorations, good extras. What more can we ask (except when Marie-Octobre look so bright ?) ?
- 3 x Richard Fleischer @ Carlotta (Carlotta - France) : Carlotta always said they wanted to do plenty of Fleischer, and these ones are good and well released.
- Alan Clarke / Napoleon / Culloden & The War Game (BFI - UK) : even just a year ago, nobody would have thought we would get all these in such tremendous releases. And yet... For this alone, 2016 will remain in the history of Blu-ray, or maybe even video as a whole.
- Dekalog / the 2 Nikkatsu Diamond Guys (Arrow - UK) : the first one is proof (if still needed) that the Academy line-up is both probably the most thrilling but also the most consistently lavishly made part of what Arrow is doing, the other one that Arrow are also full throttle variety-wise, with these 6 movies nowhere else to be found in HD.

BEST RELEASE
01. Inside Llewyn Davis
02. McCabe & Mrs. Miller
03. The Asphalt Jungle
04. Boyhood
05. Valley of the Dolls

BEST BOXED SET
Lone Wolf and Cub

BEST MODERN FILM
Inside Llewyn Davis

BEST COMMENTARY
Robert Christgau, David Hajdu and Sean Wilentz on Inside Llewyn Davis

BEST "BONUS" FILM
Shogun Assassin on Lone Wolf and Cub

BEST BOOKLET
Trilogia de Guillermo del Toro

BEST ON-DISC NON-COMMENTARY EXTRA
"Shooting Blood Simple" with Joel Coen, Ethan Coen and Barry Sonnenfeld

BEST REISSUE
Carnival of Souls

BEST UPGRADE
Bicycle Thieves

BEST COVER


WORST COVER


BEST PACKAGING
Dr Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

BEST DISCOVERY
Valley of the Dolls

MOST UNNECESSARY RELEASE
Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words

MOST FLAWED RELEASE
The Exterminating Angel

BEST THREAD
Professional Bassoonery

MEMBER OF THE YEAR
matrixschmatrix

RICHARD CRANIUM AWARD
flyonthewall2983, only in an effort to get him to curb his brevity and start writing more complete thoughts consistently, they're always worthwhile when he does.

Cannot believe the growing complacency in the voting that will result in Alan Clarke escaping the Richard Cranium prize this year.

tenia wrote:BEST "BONUS" FILM : A Short About Killing / Love

You can only pick one of these.

domino harvey wrote:Squid and the Whale is not eligible for Best Modern Film

Fixed that now. Cheers!

Edited again: Changed my vote from Heart of a Dog to Phoenix

swo17 wrote:

tenia wrote:BEST "BONUS" FILM : A Short About Killing / Love

You can only pick one of these.

Whoops, my bad, it's fixed now.

BEST RELEASE
1. The New World
2. In a Lonely Place
3. The Manchurian Candidate
4. The Emigrants/The New Land
5. Punch-Drunk Love

BEST BOXED SET
Dekalog

BEST MODERN FILM
Phoenix

BEST COMMENTARY
Inside Llewyn Davis

BEST BOOKLET
The New World

BEST REISSUE
Short Cuts

BEST UPGRADE
Bicycle Thieves

BEST COVER


WORST COVER


BEST PACKAGING
Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

BEST DISCOVERY
Bitter Rice

MOST UNNECESSARY RELEASE
Hard to judge, since I haven't seen any of those I suspect to be unnecessary, but I guess Ingrid Bergman is the one of those I'm least likely to ever bother with

MOST FLAWED RELEASE
Easy Rider, because I don't like the breaking up of the boxes

BEST THREAD
The All-Time List Discussion Thread (Really embarrassed I haven't contributed more and instead have been compulsively posting dozens of times in the politics thread)

Honorable Mention: The new millenials -- yo, hold up, Willenials (at least 89% due to the title)

MEMBER OF THE YEAR
I know he's won before, but swo17 adds a hell of a lot of value and deserves to be a two-time winner (I'm assuming he would be the first; I've only been here a few years)

RICHARD CRANIUM AWARD
Not that it will matter to him as he's long since banished: firstlast, for this thread, and in particular his final post