Welcome to February’s Collector’s Disc Report, an overview of the month’s offerings of vintage Blu-ray and DVD treasures from large studios and the independents as well. The selection is wholly subjective, so I’ll try to explain why these particular titles caught my eye.

2009 is off to a fairly busy start. Blu-ray offerings are beginning to pick up, although few older library titles have yet to hit the new format, and many deserving candidates are still being reissued only as standard DVDs. This month Warner Bros.’ Being There with Peter Sellers and Sony’s Taxi Driver with Robert De Niro grab the attention, as well as Fox’s The French Connection and The French Connection II. William Friedkin has retransferred his original Popeye Doyle film with a new color scheme, a choice that is certain to cause some discussion. Fox’s sleeper hit Donnie Darko is another Blu-ray to consider.

In terms of quantity, Warner Bros. is releasing more collector-oriented titles than any other studio. It has Milos Forman’s Amadeus on tap, while Sony goes epic with Richard Attenborough’s biopic Gandhi. The superior Dustin Hoffman drama Kramer vs. Kramer plays better now than it did in 1979, and I’m curious to see how Nestor Almendros’ beautiful cinematography comes across in Blu-ray.

The independent company Blue Underground has a Blu-ray offering this month, Dario Argento’s first giallo thriller The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. Again, the treat will be to see more world-class cinematography in HD, in this case the work of Vittorio Storaro.

The regular DVDs naturally have a wider range. Sony gets high marks for its Martini Movies branded line, which this month offers us Carol Reed’s atmospheric Our Man in Havana and the truly obscure Five, the very first fifties sci-fi movie about the survivors of a nuclear war.

Warner Bros. features a six-title Natalie Wood Signature Collection containing Bombers B-52, Cash McCall, Splendor in the Grass, Gypsy, Sex and the Single Girl and Inside Daisy Clover. They’re also trying out a new branded line called TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection. Each reasonably priced two-disc set contains four prime titles from the Warner Bros. and MGM libraries. Romantic Dramas set features East of Eden, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Streetcar Named Desire (the restored version) and Rebel without a Cause. That’s a fairly high value. Two more sets are coming out at the same time (see below).

Criterion Collection brings us two rarified surreal masterpieces from Luis Buñuel in editions that include excellent documentaries, Simon of the Desert and The Exterminating Angel. David Lean’s Hobson’s Choice with Charles Laughton is also on their schedule. The company has its own new series of discs aimed at buyers who don’t need the exhaustive extras that accompany a normal Criterion Collection release. This month’s Criterion Essential Art House box contains Ikiru, La Strada, The 400 Blows, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Pygmalion and Black Orpheus. They’re all available separately as well.

MGM is puting out individual discs of a number of Alfred Hitchcock films released as a boxed set last fall. Its major library title for the month is a two-disc director’s cut of Yentl that has a selection of Barbara Streisand’s rehearsal videos and unused songs.

Finally, Warner Bros. has a string of four Paul Newman movies coming out all at once later in the month. The oddest of them is The Silver Chalice, a confused, bizarre quasi-Bibilical epic with Jack Palance as a deranged prophet — perfect casting! The movie can only be described as deliciously bad — its biggest claim to fame is that when it first came to television, Paul Newman took out newspaper ads asking people not to watch it!

February 3

Alec Guinness Collection: Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Lavender Hill Mob, The Ladykillers, The Man in the White Suit, The Captain’s Paradise (Lionsgate)


Being There – Blu-ray (Warner Home Video)


Brainstorm – science fiction – Natalie Wood’s last film (Warner)


5ive (Five) (Sony)


Getting Straight (Sony)


Natalie Wood Signature Collection: Bombers B-52, Cash McCall, Splendor in the Grass, Gypsy, Sex and the Single Girl, Inside Daisy Clover (Warner Home Video)


Our Man in Havana (Sony)


Taxi Driver – Blu-ray (Sony)


TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Romantic Dramas: Rebel without a Cause, East of Eden, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Streetcar Named Desire (Warner Home Video)


TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Romantic Comedies: Adam’s Rib, Woman of the Year, The Philadelphia Story, Bringing Up Baby (Warner Home Video)


TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Best Picture Winners: Casablanca, Gigi, An American in Paris, Mrs. Miniver (Warner Home Video)


Yentl – Director’s Extended Edition (MGM)

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February 10

Amadeus – Blu-ray (Warner Home Video)


Criterion Essential Art House Vol. 2 — Janus Films: Ikiru, La Strada, Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The 400 Blows, Pygmalion, Black Orpheus (Criterion, available separately)


Donnie Darko – Blu-ray (Fox)


The Exterminating Angel (Criterion)



The Geisha (AnimEigo)


The Lodger – Alfred Hitchcock (MGM)


Pretty Woman – Blu-ray (Disney)




Raging Bull – Blu-ray (MGM)


Sabotage – Alfred Hitchcock (MGM)


Simon of the Desert (Criterion)


Young and Innocent – Alfred Hitchcock (MGM)

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February 17

Gandhi Blu-ray (Sony)


The Helen Morgan Story (Warner Home Video)


Hobson’s Choice (Criterion)


Kramer vs. Kramer – Blu-ray (Sony)


The Outrage (Warner Home Video)


The Silver Chalice (Warner Home Video)


When Time Ran Out (Warner Home Video)

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February 24

Akira – Blu-ray (Anime – Honneamise)


Barbara Steele Double Feature: The Long Hair of Death, An Angel for Satan (Midnight Choir)


The Bird with the Crystal Plumage – Blu-ray (Blue Underground)




Four Flies on Grey Velvet (Dario Argento – Ryko)


The French Connection – Blu-ray (Fox)


The French Connection II – Blu-ray (Fox)


Vanishing Point – Blu-ray (Fox)

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March’s DVD and Blu-ray releases will feature the best of the classic James Bond movies, vintage Disney animation and more Forbidden Hollywood Pre-code shockers!

Glenn Erickson

reviews online at DVD Savant

Tags: alec guinness, amadeus, being there, bird with the crystal plumage, criterion, donnie darko, dvd, gandhi, kramer vs. kramer, natalie wood, robert de niro, taxi driver, tcm, the french connection