I fought it. How I fought it. For the first 3 years of its existence, I tried to pretend that the Blu-ray format didn’t exist. Oh, I knew it was there, all right. Teasing me with its crisp 1,080 lines of vertical resolution and beckoning me with the siren call of lossless audio codec. But I refused to be swayed. I didn’t even want to look. Because I knew what would happen. There had been precedents. Previously, I had willfully ignored the “standard” DVD format for a spell, as I loathed the idea of replacing the 3,000 VHS titles in my collection. Although I had successfully battled the onslaught of Beta, and then Laserdisc, I finally caved on that newfangled DVD format, circa 2003. And then, once I had built a substantial library of DVDs, Blu-ray appeared. Little. Blue. Pretty. And pretty goddamned expensive. $30-$40 a pop? Not to mention the players-$600-$1,000. Are you kidding me? Hah! You’ll never see me falling for this latest ruse by the studios to con me into “upgrading” my entire collection, yet again. I’m too smart for…ooh, look! So shiny!!

If you follow my weekly scribbling here, you know that I have been a “user” now for a year and a half or thereabouts. Some friends did attempt to do an intervention, but to no avail. Once you’ve had Blu, it’s hard to go back. Prices have dropped to a reasonable level, and an ever-expanding number of deep catalog reissues was a closer for me. Yes, I’m aware that I could build a nice little Netflix queue, but you have to understand the curse of the obsessive-compulsive film collector. Must own. Must lovingly annotate in my special Excel file. Must arrange by genre and subgenre (alphabetized!) on the shelves.

Since we’re halfway through the year, I thought I’d offer my picks for the top ten Blu-ray reissues (so far) for 2011, and take a sneak peek at notable upcoming releases. Most titles are still being released concurrent with a standard DVD edition, so if you don’t have a BD player, don’t despair. As per usual, my list is in alphabetical, not preferential, order…

Barry Lyndon-Although it remains a mystery as to why Stanley Kubrick’s most visually sumptuous film took so long to arrive on Blu-ray, I’m just happy that it finally has. This beautifully constructed, leisurely paced adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s rags-to-riches-to-rags tale about a roguish Irishman of low birth (Ryan O’Neal) who grifts his way into the British aristocracy is like watching 18th-century paintings come to life (and to its detractors, about as exciting as being forced to stare at one of said paintings for 3 hours, strapped to a chair). This magnificent film has improved with age, like a fine wine; successive viewings prove the legends about Kubrick’s obsession with the minutest of details regarding production design were not exaggerated-every frame steeps in period authenticity. Michael Hordern’s delightfully droll voiceover performance as The Narrator rescues the proceedings from sliding into staidness. Warner includes no extras to speak of (they are notorious for issuing bare bones editions), but the film looks spectacular. Now, if “someone” would release Ridley Scott’s gorgeous 1977 Napoleonic piece, The Duellists on Blu-ray (anyone? Bueller?) then my life will be (sorta) complete.

Blow Out-One of Brian de Palma’s finest efforts, this 1981 paranoia thriller is one of my favorite Conspiracy-a-go-go flicks. John Travolta stars as a movie sound man who works on schlocky horror films. One night, while making a field recording of outdoor ambience, he unexpectedly captures the sounds of a fatal car accident involving a political candidate, which may or may not have actually been an “accident”. The proof lies buried somewhere in his recording-which naturally becomes a coveted item by a number of dubious characters. His life begins to unravel synchronously with the secrets on his tape. The director brings on a full arsenal of influences (from Antonioni to Hitchcock), but succeeds in making this one his most “de Palma-esque” (if that makes sense) with some of the deftest set-pieces he’s ever done (particularly in the climax-which borders on the poetic-followed by one of the most haunting epilogues you’ll ever see). This visually stunning film has been screaming for a Blu-ray release, and Criterion has done it proud. The extras include excellent, in-depth interviews with de Palma and co-star Nancy Allen.

Excalibur-Eclectic director John Boorman tried his hand at adventure-fantasy in this umpteenth version of the King Arthur legend, with varying results (mostly good). Although purists might see it as bit of a Cliff Notes take (and granted, there are some jarring jumps in the narrative), I think this is one case where style trumps substance. Photographed in a gauzy, dreamlike haze (by Alex Thomson, who also shot Legend and Labyrinth), the film is buoyed by a marvelous cast, including Nigel Terry, Nicol Williamson, Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson, Patrick Stewart, and the great Helen Mirren as a deliciously evil Morgana. One thing’s for sure-there’s much more sex and violence than one usually associates with the Arthurian legend, and more emphasis on the darker aspects of the tale (like the incest, for example). Definitely not recommended for a double bill with The Sword in the Stone on family movie night, if you know what I’m saying. Warner skimps on extras (as seems to be their want), but the Blu-ray transfer is excellent.

Kiss Me Deadly- Robert Aldrich directed this influential 1955 pulp noir, adapted by A.I. Bezzerides from Mickey Spillane’s novel. Ralph Meeker is the epitome of “cool” as hard-boiled private detective Mike Hammer, who gives a ride to a half-crazed (and half-naked) escapee from “the laughing house” (Cloris Leachman) one fateful evening after she flags him down on the highway, setting off a chain of events that quickly escalates from pushing matches with low-rent thugs to an embroilment with a complex conspiracy involving a government scientist and a stolen box of highly radioactive “whatsit” that is being coveted by any number of parties with dubious motivations. The sometimes confounding plot takes a back seat to the film’s groundbreaking look and “feel”. The expressive and inventive cinematography (by Ernest Laszlo), coupled with the shocking brutality and nihilism of the characters, puts it light years ahead of its time. Criterion’s transfer is excellent (even if the hi-def does bring out the inherent graininess-which you won’t notice after a bit). Extras include commentary from two respected noir historians, contextual excerpts from two docs (one about screenwriter Bezzerides and the other a profile of Spillane) and a tribute by Alex Cox (who paid homage in his film, Repo Man).

The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Extended Edition)-It’s quite possible that the bloodiest battle fought over Middle Earth is nowhere to be found within director Peter Jackson’s epic, three-film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved book trilogy. That particular kerfuffle continues as you read this, in countless chat rooms. For the past several years, “Where’s the Blu-ray of the extended editions?” was the rallying cry of hand-wringing fantasy geeks, waxing wroth on the discussion boards and getting their braies in a bind over the dreaded “double dip” extorted from fans by the releasing studio (or in this case, “quadruple dip”, counting the staggered wait between releases of the standard and BD versions of the original theatrical cuts). The coveted Blu-ray box set in question was finally released this week…and already a new controversy rages. It concerns the color timing of these HD versions of the extended editions (I won’t bore you with details-just Google “Lord of the Rings green tint”). At any rate, I picked up a copy, and to my eyes…it’s all good-the transfers are fabulous. Besides-this is a fantasy world, anyway…right? New Line has imported all extras from the original EE’s. Hopefully, this will be the one edition to rule them all (until the next Latest and Greatest format arrives).

The Man Who Would Be King-Look in the dictionary under “ripping yarn” and you’ll likely see a picture of this engaging adventure from 1975, co-adapted by director John Huston with Gladys Hill from Rudyard Kipling’s classic short story. Stars Sean Connery and Michael Caine both shine (and have fantastic chemistry) as a pair of British army veterans who set their sights on plundering an isolated kingdom in the Hindu Kush. Well, that’s their initial plan. Before it’s all said and done, one of them finds himself to be the King of Kafiristan, and the other one sort of…covering his friend’s flank while they both try to figure out how they are going to load up all that treasure and make a graceful exit without losing their heads in the process. As it is difficult for a king to “uncrown” himself, that is going to take one hell of a soft shoe routine. In the realm of “buddy films”, the combined star magnetism provided here by Connery and Caine has seldom been equaled (Redford and Newman come to mind). Also with Christopher Plummer (as Kipling) and Saeed Jaffrey. Warner’s Blu-ray is short on extras, but has a spiffy transfer.

Once Upon a Time in the West-Although it is chockablock with classic “western” tropes, director Sergio Leone somehow manages to honor, parody, and transcend the genre all at once with this 1968 masterpiece. This is a textbook example of pure cinema, distilled to a crystalline perfection of mood, atmosphere and narrative at its most elemental. At its heart, it’s a relatively simple revenge tale, involving a headstrong widow (Claudia Cardinale) and an enigmatic “harmonica man” (Charles Bronson) who both have a sizable bone to pick with a sociopathic gun for hire (Henry Fonda, cast against type as one of the most execrable villains in screen history). But there are bigger doings afoot as well-like building a railroad and winning the (mythic) American West. Also on board: Jason Robards, Jack Elam, Woody Strode and Keenan Wynn. Dario Argento and Bernardo Bertolucci had a hand in developing the story, and it wouldn’t be a classic Leone joint without a typically rousing soundtrack by his longtime musical collaborator, Ennio Morricone (love that “Harmonica Man Theme”). It goes without saying that the film looks breathtaking in HD. Paramount’s Blu-ray includes both the theatrical and fully restored versions, and carries over all extras from the previous standard DVD edition.

The Stunt Man-“How tall was King Kong?” That’s the $64,000 question, posed several times by Eli Cross (Peter O’Toole), the larger-than-life director of the film-within-the-film in Richard Rush’s 1980 cult classic. Once you discover that King Kong was but “3 foot, six inches tall”, it becomes clear that the fictional director’s query is actually code for a much bigger question: “What is reality?” And that is the question to ponder as you take this wild ride through the Dream Factory. Because from the moment our protagonist, a fugitive on the run from the cops (Steve Railsback) tumbles ass over teakettle onto Mr. Cross’s set, where he is in the midst of filming an art-house flavored WW I action adventure, his concept of what is real and what isn’t becomes quite muddled, to say the least (as does ours). O’Toole really chews the scenery; he is ably supported by a cast that includes Barbara Hershey and Allen Garfield. A one-of-a-kind flick that stands up well to repeat viewings, it is truly a movie for people who love the movies. The Blu-ray transfer does reveal it to be a candidate for a full-blown restoration at some point-but you can’t have everything. Luckily, Severin Films has seen fit to include the full-length doc, The Sinister Making of the Stuntman, because it makes for a fascinating tale in and of itself .

The Sweet Smell of Success- I think I actually nearly swooned when I first heard that Criterion was going to give this one the Blu-ray treatment; it’s one of my all-time favorite noirs. Tony Curtis gives a knockout performance as a slimy press agent who shamelessly sucks up to Burt Lancaster’s JJ Hunsecker, a powerful NYC entertainment columnist who can launch (or sabotage) show biz careers with a flick of his poison pen (yes, kids-print journalists once held that kind of power…JJ is sort of a cross between Perez Hilton and Andrew Breitbart). Although it was made 50 years ago, the film retains its edge and remains one of the most vicious and cynical ruminations on America’s obsession with fame and celebrity. Alexander Mackendrick directed, and the sharp Clifford Odets/Ernest Lehman screenplay veritably drips with venom. Lots of quotable lines; Barry Levinson paid homage in his 1982 film Diner, with a character who is obsessed with the film and drops in and out of scenes, incessantly quoting the dialogue. A 1973 documentary about the cinematographer James Wong Howe is the highlight amongst the extras on the disc.


Taxi Driver- Equal parts film noir, character study and socio-political commentary, this was one of the most important (if disturbing) films to emerge from the “maverick” American film renaissance of the 1970s, due in no small part to the artistic trifecta of directing (Martin Scorsese), writing (Paul Schrader) and acting (Robert De Niro) talents involved. De Niro plays a profoundly lonely and alienated Vietnam vet named Travis Bickle, who takes a night job as a cabbie. Prowling New York City’s meanest streets, Travis kills time between fares fantasizing about ways he could, erm, “customize” the seedy milieu he observes night after night to jibe with his rather exacting world view of How Things Should Be. As we watch him go more and more post toastee, it becomes clear that Travis is the proverbial ticking time bomb. His eventual catharsis still has the power to shock, and is not for the squeamish. The outstanding cast includes Jodie Foster (nominated for an Oscar), Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Cybill Shepherd and Albert Brooks. Sony went all out for their Blu-ray edition, transferring from a digitally restored print; Michael Chapman’s striking cinematography really comes to the fore. The new HD audio mix is also a plus, boosting Bernard Herrmann’s memorable score (sadly, his last).

…and here are some more noteworthy Blu-ray reissues, due out in the near future:

Das Boot, The Sacrifice (7/5) Buster Keaton: Short Films Collection, Brazil, Damnation Alley, Naked (7/12) Amelie, Beauty and the Beast, The Music Room (7/19) Dazed and Confused, The Battle of Algiers, Dead Man, Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (8/9) The Big Lebowski, The Killing, Agent 8 ¾, Cul-de-sac, Breaking Glass (8/16) Swingers, The Women in Cages Collection (8/23) Blood Simple, An Affair to Remember, All About Eve, The Complete Jean Vigo, Orpheus, If…. (8/30) My Life as a Dog, 3 Women, Citizen Kane (9/13) Star Wars: Original Trilogy (9/16)

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