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I've already posted a list, but I realized a monstrous oversight:
Soda Pictures' release of Close-Up: This is one of the most important pictures of the last 50 years, and it's only now getting a decent English-subbed release. Excellent transfer, good basic extras, sublime film.

I would have to say that my "release of the year" vote would go for the Peter Watkins boxed set that came out recently. I know that most of the titles had been released previously, but I was finally able to get The War Game/Culloden and The Gladiators DVD's because of it. Plus, I don't feel that bad for double dipping on the Edvard Munch seeming as my previous copy is still in my collection for the theatrical edit.

This is really tough. This has been a great year for DVD.

Inn at Osaka (Gosho Heinosuke, 1954) R2 Japan, Kinokunya
Black River (Kobayashi Masaki, 1956) R2 France, Wild Side
Downfall of Osen (Mizoguchi Kenji, 1935) R0 Digital Meme
The Complete Short Films of Jan Svankmajer (Jan Svankajer) R2 BFI
Le Silence De La Mer (Jean Pierre Melville, 1949) R2 MOC
Cottage on Dartmoor (Anthony Asquith, 1931) R1 Kino
The Party and the Guests (Jan Namec, 1968) R2 Second Run
Renoir Box Set (Jean Renoir) R1 Lionsgate
Naruse Box Set (Naruse Mikio) R2 BFI
Battle of Okinawa (Okamoto Kihachi, 1972) R1 AnimEigo

Best commentary: Terence Davies on Distant Voices Still Lives BFI

Best Supplement: MOC Books

Best Package Design: Tabu MOC

Overall DVD of the Year: Planet Earth!

Before she wins, just wanted to say that Ginette did a piece to camera on LE SILENCE DE LA MER. She didn't do an audio commentary. She did do one on ARMY OF SHADOWS for BFI/Criterion though? Maybe that's what's confusing?

Well, it's not specific about what *kind* of commentary, so maybe it'll be ok. I'm going to change mine anyway (because I'd forgotten about Terence Davies on Distant Voices Still Lives.)

Ten most remarkable non-CC releases, in no particular order:

Ford at Fox
Le Silence de la Mer (MoC)
Nosferatu (MoC)
Coffret Chantal Akerman
Marketa Lazarova (Second Run)
Battleship Potemkin (Kino)
Treasures III - Social Issues in American Film 1900-1934
Killer of Sheep (Milestone)
Histoire(s) du Cinema (Gaumont)
Into Great Silence (Zeitgeist)

Happy Holidays..

Non-CC Releases of the year

The Lives of Others
Marketa Lazarova
This is England
Piano Tuner of Earth Quakes
Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East? (Milestone re-release)
Becket
Black Sun
Moolade
Lights in the Dusk
Malpertuis



Overall DVD of the year

Cria Cuervos

Non-CC Release of the year:
Jan Å vankmajer - The complete Short Films (BFI)
Diary of Lost Girl (MOC)
Market Lazarova (Second Run)
Films of Jean Renoir (Lionsgate)
The Party and the Guests (Second Run)
Nosferatu (MOC or Kino)

Best Non-CC Commentary:
Hmmmm...thinking

Best Non-CC Single Supplement:
Just about any MOC booklet

Best Non-CC Package Design - Includes packaging and menu screens
Jan Å vankmajer - The complete Short Films

Overall DVD of the year
Jan Å vankmajer - The complete Short Films

1. Naruse BFI Box Set
2. Blade Runner 5 Disc Ultimate Collection
3. Sansho Dayu/Gion Bayashi (MoC)
4. If (R2 - Paramount?)

I'm also really jealous of anyone who understands French because of that 47 Ronin release!

LOL. Many of you don't listen to commentaries, can't remember the ones you listened to, or can't think of one worth nominating, or any combination of the above. I think it's beginning to dawn on people that (a) filmmakers in general don't want to do commentaries, and (b) viewers in general don't like listening to them (even DVD geeks like us are often tired of them). People like Steven Spielberg and Woody Allen were smart enough to recognize this before anybody. Those who crap on them for not doing commentaries, where are they now?

kevyip1 1
Criterion Forum 0

Best Non-Criterion Releases for 2007

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey HD
2. Mario Bava Collection Vol. 1 and 2
3. The Films of Kenneth Anger Vol. 1 and 2
4. Blade Runner HD
5. Fox Horror Classics (Hangover Square, The Lodger, Undying Monster)
6. Jean Renoir Collection
7. Warner Brothers Film Noir Vol. 4
8. The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky
9. Taxi Driver LE
10. Performance

Best Non-CC Releases of the Year:

1. Ford at Fox (20th Century Fox, R1) – My copy is still en route, but I have seen enough of the included films for me to feel comfortable to say that this will be the release of the year for me based on the quality and amount of films on offer. This is the kind of near-definitive release of a director's work that I hope we will see much more of in the future. Bring on Borzage for 2008!

2. Jean Renoir Box Set (Lionsgate, R1) – Eight films by one of the greatest directors of all time at an extremely low price.

3. Odna (Arte, R2 DE) – A (partially) lost film given a beautiful release in spite of the weakness of the available materials.

4. Film Noir Classic Collection, Volume 4 (Warner Brothers, R1) – No less than 10 films, including Nicholas Ray's excellent They Live By Night, as well as titles by Anthony Mann, Fred Zinnemann and Don Siegel. A lot of value for the money, and the best of this series yet.

5. I Am Cuba (Milestone, R1) – A great film already released, and included here for the extras and general royal treatment, more than for the advances in image/sound quality (I thought the initial release was fairly good to begin with). Honorable mention to Milestone's other "release of the year" -- The Charles Burnett Collection.

6. The Films of Kenneth Anger, Vol. I & II (Fantoma, R1) – Originally I was not as taken with Anger's films as many other forum members, but I am slowly coming around, and I think Fantoma derserves credit for undertaking this project, which I am sure was not easy.

7. The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky (Anchor Bay, R1) – Like Fantoma's Anger sets, these films have been holy grails for so long that the set deserves inclusion on the list, if nothing else as applause to the fact that they finally were released, and in a box with excellent extras.

8. Shoah (Masters of Cinema, R2 UK) – I could have chosen almost any of MoC's releases, so I pick this one rather arbitrarily because it appears to have been the greatest undertaking and most ambitious release this year. Other high water marks for me this year were Diary of a Lost Girl and Le silence de la mer.

9. Eisenstein, Vol. 1 (Tartan, R2 UK) – For me the Kino release was an excellent presentation of this essential film in all respects. However, I choose the Tartan release for the inclusion of October and Strike.

10. Andrzej Munk Documentaries and Short Films (PWA, R2 PL) – Great applause to the Polish Film Institute for bringing out this series of releases dedicated to Poland's excellent filmmakers. I am just scratching the surface of these sets, but from what I have seen the Munk set alone qualifies as one of the releases of the year.

Honorable mention to Jan Svankmajer: The Complete Short Films (BFI, R2 UK) – Another example of the kind of exhaustive effort to bring a filmmaker's complete works out on DVD that I really like. Excellent job Michael! I hope this, and the Quay set, is successful enough that you have the opportunity to produce more projects in the future. Unfortunately, I have not yet had time to actually view any of the films in their entirety, and I am not familiar with Svankmajer's work beforehand, so I did not feel it would be correct to include in my list. The same goes for Marketá Lazarova, where my copy is still on its way, but it is easily my most anticipated release of this year, and the stills from Second Run's DVD look great. And, finally, BFI's Naruse Set, which along with several late MoC releases is still pending arrival on my doorstep.

Best Non-CC Commentary:

Unfortunately I did not find the time to listen to any this year, although there are a number that sound like they would be really interesting to listen to. Contrary to comments above, I really like to listen to commentaries, and used to do so a lot in the past. I am always thankful, when they are included, because I am certain that some day in the future they will motivate me to go back and experience the film again.

Best Non-CC Single Supplement:

Masters of Cinema's booklets. They continue to be my very favorite supplement of all.

Best Non-CC Package Design - Includes packaging and menu screens

Again, any of MoC's cover designs, really, but Tabu is particularly lovely.

Overall DVD of the year

It would be impossible for me to choose just one of the flood of excellent releases this year. However, strictly in terms of film experiences, the greatest for me came through rips from tv and vhs. I am deeply thankful to have had the opportunity this year to discover the films of Frank Borzage, Yoshida Yoshishige, Nagisa Oshima, Jean Grémillon, Mitchell Leisen, and several others, which no DVD company as yet has made possible. These would collectively be my overall DVDs of the year.

Still a lot to catch up with, but this will do for now:

My Way Home (Second Run, R2)
Close-Up (Soda Pictures, R2)
Still Life / Dong (Warner, R6)
Bigger Than Life (BFI, R2)
La Silence de la Mer (MoC, R2)
The Films of Kenneth Anger Volume II (Fantoma, R1)
Distant Voices, Still Lives (BFI, R2)
if... (Paramount, R2)
Angel Face (Warner, R1)
Family Nest (Mokep, R2)

Honourable mentions for the UK Godard and Kaurismäki round-ups (Optimum & Artificial Eye), Elegy of a Voyage (Facets), BFI's Å vankmajer, Jarman & Naruse releases, MoC's Mizoguchi & Watkins, Performance (Warner), and Le Jour se lève (Optimum).

Overall DVD of the Year
The Chantal Akerman Collection (Cinéart) - a godsend.

Non-CC Release of the year (no particular order; all R1)-
Cinema of Peter Watkins (New Yorker/Project X)
Blade Runner 5-Disc (Warner)
Performance (Warner)
Prince of the City (Warner)
Straight Time (Warner)
Not Just the Best of Larry Sanders (Sony)
Viva Pedro (Sony)
O Lucky Man (Warner)
Bava Box Vol. 2 (Starz/Anchor Bay)

Best Non-CC Commentary: Dustin Hoffman and Ulu Grosbard on Straight Time

Best Non-CC Single Supplement - Dangerous Days on Blade Runner

Best Non-CC Package Design - N/A

Overall DVD of the year - Cinema of Peter Watkins (New Yorker/Project X)

The Mario Bava Collection Vol. 1
The Mario Bava Collection Vol. 2
The Films of Kenneth Anger Vol. 1
The Films of Kenneth Anger Vol. 2
Chantal Akerman Collection
Mikio Naruse Collection
Viva Pedro
Twin Peaks: Definite Gold Box
INLAND EMPIRE
Broken Sky
Bellissima (MoC)
Diary of a Lost Girl (MoC)
Ratatouille
Funny Face

Non-CC Release of the year - RESULTS

1 - The Films of Kenneth Anger Vol. 1 and 2 (Fantoma)

2 - Jean Renoir Box Set (Lionsgate)

3 = Jan Å vankmajer - The complete Short Films (BFI)
3 = The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky (Anchor Bay)

5 = Marketa Lazarova (Second Run)
5 = Nosferatu (MoC)

7 = INLAND EMPIRE (Absurda)
7 = Histoire(s) du Cinema (Gaumont)
7 = Sansho Dayu/Gion Bayashi (MoC)

10 = La Silence de la Mer (MoC)
10 = The Party and the Guests (Second Run)
10 = Mikio Naruse Collection (BFI)
10 = The Mario Bava Collection Vol. 1 and 2 (Anchor Bay)
10 = Chantal Akerman Collection (Cinéart)
10 = Ford at Fox (20th Century Fox)
10 = Blade Runner (Warner)

Best Non-CC Commentary

R.Dixon Smith and Brad Stevens on Tabu (MoC)

Best Non-CC Single Supplement

Runaway win for MoC booklets

Best Non-CC Package Design

tie - Jan Å vankmajer - The complete Short Films (BFI) and Histoire(s) du Cinema (Gaumont)

Overall DVD of the year

Another clear winner: Jan Å vankmajer - The complete Short Films (BFI)

Winners now posted in this thread (see above).