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This DVD in review article looks at the best aand favorite DVDs I reviewed in 2006 in addition to mentioning those I
wish I had seen and owned.
BEST Single disc:
2046
AEON FLUX
DELICATESSEN
NIGHT WATCH
UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION
V FOR VENDETTA
VITAL
The best single disc are based mostly on how I loved the movie ansd sometimes the extras that were included too.
Even though 2046 was released in the last week of 2005, I include it here since I saw it in 2006. 2046 is an atmospheric
tale of sadness. However, one film that was released in August 2005 on DVD and watched in 2006 that I love didn't make the
list unfortunately is OLDBOY.
VITAL is a powerful and moving film from Tartan Asia Extreme and many of the films from Tartan Video (not just the Asia
Extreme range come highly recommended like THE RED SHOES, MAREBITO, and LADY VENGEANCE). Some films really challange
the viewers and some might not be to everybody's tastes. I hope Tartan finally releases TETSUO II and TOKYO FIST to
the Asia Extreme range in 2007 because Shuinya Tsukamoto is one very unique director from Japan. TETSUO is a fever dream
while A SNAKE OF JUNE and VITAL are films about souls coming to life (VITAL is the beautiful one of the two).
UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION is an action film that had me impressed while V FOR VENDETTA was an action drama that left me wanting
to watch it again and again.
THE BEST OF YOUTH
EVENT HORIZON Special Edition
HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN Director's Cut
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 2- DEAD MAN'S CHEST
The KINGDOM OF HEAVEN Director's Cut is hands down the most impressive DVD of the year with two discs of very interesting
discs on the making of the film while the first two discs provide the version of KINGDOM OF HEAVEN that should have been released
in theaters because the extra 45 minutes make it a better and different film that makes wonder why Ridley Scott did a two
and half hour version in the first place.
BEST OF YOUTH is a six hour Italian mini-series that was presented a feature film in the USA. BEST OF YOUTH has
it's ups and downs as you experience the lives of one family and the people they get involved with over the course of four
decades as you see history through their eyes and experience the hapiness and sadness they endure. Definitely one of
my favorites of 2006.
EVENT HORIZON has an impressive set of extras from deleted scenes and featurettes on the making of the film. Too
bad a lot of the cut footage was lost that prevented a Director's Cut of this underrated sci-fi horror film reaching new dimensions.
HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE is the best animated film I saw and the English dub track is even better than the original Japanese
audio track.
BEST Box sets:
CHARLIE CHAN Volume One
CHARLIE CHAN Volume 2
JAMES BOND ULTIMATE EDITION Volume 4
MR. MOTO Collection Volume One
20th Century Fox did a bang-up job on restoring the CHARLIE CHAN and MR. MOTO films to DVD. The second volume fo
MR. MOTO comes out next month while more Chan is certain since Fox spent $2 million on restoring the Chan films.
I only went through volume 3 and 4 of the JAMES BOND ULTIMATE EDITIONS, but Volume 4 is picked due to three of my
favorite James Bond films being in that volume and that same volume not having transfer mistakes like volume 3 (the cropping
of GOLDENEYE and the orange on black in the title sequence of LIVE AND LET DIE).
BEST TV on DVD:
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Season 2.5
THE NEWSROOM Season 2
NIGHT STALKER
THE TIME TUNNEL Volume One
THE TIME TUNNEL Volume 2
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is one of the best shows on TV and big plus for the extended version of PEGASUS.
THE NEWSROOM gets an inclusion for it being on of the best satire series ever despite the season 2 and season 3 sets
being Non-Anamorphic and lacking close captioning. It is an utter brillaint show period.
THE TIME TUNNEL sets have great transfers and so do THE VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA. THE TIME TUNNEL has great
extras like the extended TV pilot (on volume 1) and the unaired 2002 pilot and THE TIME TRAVELLERS TV movie (on volume 2).
NIGHT STALKER was a great new take on Kolchak that unfortunately didn't find an audience. Shows that almost made
the list and are great sets to watch to discover a show are PRISON BREAK Season 1, SURFACE, THRESHOLD, and THE UNIT.
Shows I'm glad that made it to DVD are FOREVER KNIGHT Season 3 and POLTERGEIST THE LEGACY Season 1 despite having no
extras (sorry the music videos for FOREVER KNIGHT don't count and too bad legal reasons prevented the delted scenes from being
included).
DVDs I didn't get to see and don't own But are worth menitioning include:
FORBIDDEN PLANET 50th Anniversary SE
SUPERMAN 2- THE DONNER CUT
MIAMI VICE Unrated Director's Cut
Various Warner Bros. box sets (mostly the latest Humphrey Bogart Collection)
CACHE
Remastered BLADE RUNNER Director''s Cut DVD
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