Sorry I’m a little late with this. The end of the month fell on Halloween and I was still waiting for one disc in the mail. With all the Halloween fare released in October it was hard to whittle down a top 10 list. We can eliminate X-Men: Days of Future Past for now because we know an extended cut is coming. And I forgot to request Snowpiercer but it’s sure to look great put out by Anchor Bay. Now I’m working on a review of “The Wonder Years” Complete Series but that’s on DVD, not Blu-ray.
So with those caveats in mind, here are my picks for the Top 10 Blu-rays of October. My decisions are final, though if you buy 11 or 12 Blu-rays this month, everybody still wins.
Fred Topel is a staff writer at CraveOnline and the man behind Best Episode Ever. Follow him on Twitter at @FredTopel.
The Top 10 Blu-rays from October 2014
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10. Nightbreed: The Director's Cut
It’s great for fans that they finally got the proper director’s cut of Nightbreed on high definition Blu-ray. There’s only so much you can do to fix Nightbreed though. I reviewed The Cabal Cut at Fantastic Fest and they’ve made some adjustments, but ultimately the footage is the footage, no matter which takes they switch out. But it looks great, like all Scream Factory Blu-rays. The detail in the creatures and sets is most apparent, although the dark caves of Midian succumb to a bit of digital noise. The sheer volume of bonus features, whether you get the Collector’s Edition or just the Director’s Cut, show a lot of sincere effort for the fans.
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9. The Purge: Anarchy
The popular sequel looks great on Blu-ray, which is no small feat since it’s mostly at night in the back-alleys of downtown Los Angeles. You can see everything in sharp detail, and even some nice touches of color. Bonus features are a tad light, but some of the deleted scenes are really strong. They only run a total of eight minutes so could easily have been added to the movie to flesh out the characters.
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8. Himizu
After seeing Tokyo Tribe at Fantastic Fest I wanted to see a lot more Shion Sono, so it was good timing that Himizu was released on Blu-ray in October. This actually makes it the first Sono film I’ve seen on Blu-ray. I watched The Suicide Club on Hulu and saw Why Don’t You Play In Hell at another festival. Himizu looks amazing on Blu-ray. I’ve come to be somewhat forgiving of Asian movies transferred on Blu-ray, but I don’t have to forgive anything here. Stark landscapes of post tsunami Japan are crisp and clear, and the moonlit sky shows a pure black with no digital noise fuzzing up the shot. There are no bonus features, so the film speaks for itself with this incredible picture.
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7. Edge of Tomorrow
Don’t let the new packaging fool you. This movie is called Edge of Tomorrow, and it’s a good movie. See my theatrical review, and my full Blu-ray review to confirm how good it looks at home. You should definitely see it under any name, and the Blu-ray includes a really in-depth profile of director Doug Liman that’s worth watching too.
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6. The Vincent Price Collection II
Round two of Scream Factory’s Vincent Price collections includes some genuine classics. The Last Man on Earth is the first I Am Legend movie, Return of the Fly and Dr. Phibes Rises Again! are much anticipated sequels, and the original House on Haunted Hill joins even more Edgar Allen Poe movies. Man, black and white looks great on Blu-ray. Color looks good too but then you get into different eras of color and personal preference. The black and white films in particular reflect a purity that’s unmistakeable when rendered in sharp high definition with crisp blacks and shades of gray.
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5. Sharknado 2
I have a philosophy about movies. The only reason a movie needs to have for existing is “because it’s awesome.” Not because it’s realistic, not because it makes sense, in fact hopefully a compelling fantasy does neither. The Sharkando movie exemplify “because it’s awesome” filmmaking and Sharknado 2 didn’t disappoint. You can read my full review but be sure it is a must have Blu-ray for October.
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4. The Steven Spielberg Director’s Collection
This collection of eight Spielberg movies includes the classics like E.T., Jaws and the first two Jurassic Parks. It is also the Blu-ray premiere of some underrated films like Always and his early formative work like Duel and The Sugarland Express. 1941 is also included. While four of the films are just repackaged and none of the bonus features are new, it is a great sampling of Spielberg’s work (although missing Schindler’s List which was also a Universal Studios release). The new Blu-ray transfers of the other four, and yes even 1941 deserves to look right, make it a must, at least until they get individual releases.
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3. Kingpin
Kingpin was hilarious on a worn out old VHS tape, so it doesn’t need to look great, but it does on Blu-ray. Compared to all of this month’s new releases, I really notice the difference between 35mm film transferred in HD. It may actually be sharper than digital, and the tacky colors of ‘70s bowling alleys and ‘90s Reno are beautiful. The Kingpin Blu-ray has a pretty good new bonus feature too with a new Farrelly Brothers interview. They reveal some interesting tidbits like original casting choices for the Amish bowler Randy Quaid played, and a three hour and 40 minute cut of Dumb and Dumber with a kidnapping subplot! Most interestingly, they respond to comments they themselves made in 1996 interviews at the film’s theatrical junket. They definitely didn’t Munson this Blu-ray.
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2. Begin Again
If you’re in need of a pick me up or some inspiration during this rough year that everyone seems to be having, Begin Again is that movie. I would recommend a bare bones Blu-ray just as strongly, but the best bonus feature on the Begin Again Blu-ray is, in addition to scene selection, the ability to jump right to the songs in the film. A 20 minute “making of” is fun and lyric videos give you the words to three of the songs, two versions of “Lost Stars,” but unfortunately not “A Step You Can’t Take Back.” The Blu-ray looks great, exemplifying the various corners of New York york from touristy Times Square to open mic dive bars.
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1. Pee-Wee's Playhouse
Fewer things are more surreal than seeing shows we watched on old 19” TVs restored from original film elements to Blu-ray quality. “Star Trek: The Original Series” and “The Next Generation” did it, and “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” did it to show a vision of the colorful abstract world Paul Reubens and his team created. It’s also got extensive, in-depth interviews with everyone but Paul Reubens himself. I’m guessing he didn’t want to spoil the illusion of Pee-wee, but I’m so impressed they got Laurence Fishburne that I forgive Reubens!
