With the advent of streaming, it looked as though the cinema-going experience might be declining in popularity. And since the start of the pandemic, it has become even easier for certain moviegoers to stay at home, even when catching the newest releases. But streaming is one thing, and physical media is another.
Although it comes nowhere close to actually going to the movies,Blu-Rayis the best format for the purposes of the home-viewing environment. The picture is crisp, the sound quality crystal-clear, and for all intents and purposes, avid cinephiles can pretend to be lead programmers for their own tiny cinemas, and they might actually manage to fool some people.
But even more appealing than the quality of the viewing experience is the idea of being a collector. Nowadays, the most die-hard movie fans are curators of their own personal movie museums – on the same level of nerdiness as those who collect baseball cards, trade rare coins, or display limited-edition action figures inside sealed glass cases. Unlike many such aficionados, however, many Blu-Ray collectors would rather die than simply let their prized possessions collect dust in a box on the shelf. Rather, they tear open the packages as soon as they arrive in the mail and take them out for a spin – in fact, they would probably watch multiple Blu-Rays at once if that were even remotely possible.
What follows is a list of the coolest and most impressive Blu-Ray box sets in recent years. These TV and movie collections marry beautiful package design with thrilling quality and a host of extra features (also a huge selling point for fans). Most of them are widely available, some are rarer, but all of them are bound to elicit that feeling of “Gimme! Gimme!”
5Vengeance Trilogy (Arrow Video)
Playful one minute and deeply troubling the next,Park Chan-wook’striad of informally connected films –Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance,Oldboy, andLady Vengeance–sit somewhere on the spectrum between Wes Anderson and David Cronenberg. Each film is absolutely astonishing in its own uniquely idiosyncratic way, and whileOldboyhas achieved massive cult status, its two companion films are perhaps even better, with a similar degree of shocking, visceral violence.
Arrow’s release of theVengeance Trilogywould be enough of a must-have even without all the special features, which include a whopping eight commentaries split between the three movies, all but one of which feature Park himself. Also included are two feature-length documentaries aboutOldboyand a bevy of behind-the-scenes content for the entire trilogy.
Related:Best Korean Thriller Movies, RankedPark is one of the boldest and most interesting voices in contemporary cinema, and this set is a must-have for any fan of his one-of-a-kind hybrid of arthouse and genre sensibilities. The bad news is that it’s a UK release and so you’ll need a machine that’s capable of playing Region B content.
4Dekalog (The Criterion Collection)
To even simply consider a ten-episode anthology series that takes place in the desolate confines of an apartment complex in Cold War-era Poland, one is immediately overcome with waves of existential sadness. Such is the way withKrzysztof Kieslowski’sDekalog, which completely fails to convince you that 1989’s Warsaw is anything other than the saddest place in the world.
While some might claim that it is not his best work,Dekalogis still arguably Kieslowski’s opus, or at least his most ambitious project. Each of the ten episodes is inspired by one of the Ten Commandments, and the stunning, minimalist Criterion release will tell you as much, with a mini-essay on every single entry.
While it has some special features to enjoy – interviews, behind-the-scenes, and a thought-provoking film-analysis segment – the star here are the episodes themselves, rendered in beautiful high-definition in their original 4:3 aspect ratio. The monochromatically inclined world of the apartment complex is pierced by increasingly frequent, and more prolonged, splotches of brilliant color.
Kieslowski was a master of the close-up and a kind of poetic atmosphere. This release does the work justice, to really immerse you in the slowness and deeply felt nature of his world, and to let you dive into its characters’ eyes. On paper, it is kitchen-sink realism, but on screen, it is practically high fantasy, and the Criterion edition immerses you in a way that might not have been possible in the original broadcast.
3Friday The 13th Collection (Scream Factory)
Now here is a real collector’s item. Just in time for Halloween 2020, the storied Scream Factory label (subsidiary of Shout! Factory) released theFriday The 13thCollectioncontaining all ten original chapters of the Crystal Lake Saga, not to mention the crossover hitFreddy Vs. Jasonand the 2009 reboot. While the quality of the series may vary throughout its run, absolutely nobody can dispute its massive success and unending influence.
And though Scream Factory has certainly prided itself on releasing some obscurer, arguably more interesting titles, thisF13 Collectionis damned impressive and almost has too much in the department of extra goodies. Contained on the discs are an unfathomable 22 commentaries – some films have none, others have as many as four – and each movie comes with its own selection of behind-the-scenes content and fascinating Q&As. As if this weren’t enough, there are an additional two discs made up solely of special features. In all honesty, you could probably go years and still not have finished digesting all of it – the phrase “embarrassment of riches” seems like an insufficient descriptor.
However you may feel about the films themselves, this collection is about so much more than that. Because for the price that Scream Factory is charging you, not only do you own the entire franchise in pristine HD, you also get an über-exhaustive oral history told from the perspectives of cast, crew, fans, and scholars. Simply put, this thing is a behemoth.
2Twin Peaks: From Z to A (CBS & Paramount)
David Lynch and Mark Frost’s seriesTwin Peaksfinished up its supposedly final season about five years ago now, and in that time, it has come to occupy more of the television discourse than ever before. Everybody’s got their own take. Subsequent re-watches continue to dazzle and befuddle, and the more you attempt to understand it, the more frustrated you might become.
Best to just let it wash over you with the monumental set,Twin Peaks: From Z to A, which contains the complete original series, the movieFire Walk With Me, and the indescribable final season. You get your own version of the beautiful Red Room with picture-card inserts from moments in the series as well as a cut-out of Laura Palmer and Dale Cooper.
Related:Why Twin Peaks: The Return Is A Perfect Conclusion to the Franchise
The extras are nothing to scoff at, either – the most notable being several hours of behind-the-scenes footage from the final season, which heavily feature Lynch’s bizarre and mysterious directing style. There are no commentaries, however – Hell will freeze over before this guy makes any attempt to explain himself – and most of the remaining extras are dispersed throughout the original series’ discs, reissues of featurettes and other goodies from previous DVD releases, all of which are worth a look.
The star of this release is not just the picture quality, perfect though it may be – and the colors in that original series are even more rapturous than you remember. Rather, the thing that ought to be highlighted, more than anything else, isThe Return’s immaculate, visionary sound mix, with special mention to musician Dean Hurley, functioning as Lynch’s partner in sound design. Their work is not just ambiance or atmosphere; rather, it is an absolute tornado of sound.
Almost nothing in 21st-century American television was more nuanced and understated thanMad Men, and its Blu-Ray release is similarly so, taking the form of a small book, with quotes and episode descriptions laid amidst production stills and colorful modern design.
The show was brought to us byMatthew Weiner(a man not without his fair share of controversy), but it became successful because of the genius, hard work, and talent of everyone involved, from the actors and the writers to the production designers and location scouts. This project is built on the blood, sweat, and tears of the collaborators at its core.
How do we know all this? BecausetheMad MenBlu-Ray setcomes with audio commentaries on, literally, every single episode.* Many of these feature Weiner himself, others feature conversations between him and the actors, a designer sitting with an episode director, Jon Hamm and John Slattery doing their own version of Mystery Science Theater 3000, and every other possible combination therein. And this is not to mention that many episodes have two different commentary tracks. The amount of detail and depth is absolutely staggering, and while the production details are certainly interesting, the cast and crew’s analyses of the show as regular viewers are some of the most invaluable and interesting segments. You begin to realize who the actors are beyond their characters, and just how much work goes into constructing the world of the show.
*Previously, for mysterious reasons, Weiner had not pursued commentaries for Season Six. That fact has changed with this release, and there are commentaries for these episodes, though the liner notes won’t tell you that.
The one drawback here (and, according to many customers, of the aforementionedTwin Peaksbox set) is that, while the book-like packaging is stunning and perfect on an aesthetic level, the discs are near-impossible to extract, an unfortunate design flaw. To overcome this, we recommend a pair of rubber gloves, some elbow grease, and a CD book to store the discs for when you plan to watch. This way, the packaging will not serve as an obstacle to your viewing experience, and rather can just sit and look pretty on your shelf.
