2023 was a very unusual year for me. I added to my library the largest number of genre films ever, and I could not pick up everything I liked. On top of this, I ordered the largest number of box sets with classic TV content, though not all of them were new releases. I even managed to acquire several imports that took a long time to reach America. So, while 2022 was a very busy year for me, 2023 was unlike any other year before it, which is a very long time because I have been collecting since the LD era. I am convinced 2024 will be another tremendous year for collectors like me because I already have a huge list of pre-orders and they cover only January through April.
NORTH AMERICA
1.
Violent Streets: The Umberto Lenzi/Tomas Milian Collection (Severin Films) - One of the most colorful of all Italian directors and one of the most colorful of all genre actors made several of the most colorful European crime films, which are gathered in this outstanding box set from Severin. It was not even close. This was my favorite release of 2023.
2.
The Facts of Murder (Radiance Films) I am a big admirer of Pietro Germi's work and during the DVD era did my best to acquire all of his films. Unfortunately, I routinely had to look overseas and pick up DVD releases that were not English-friendly.
The Facts of Murder, a film I like a lot, emerged via the excellent Italian series Cinema Forever more than two decades ago but never made it to America. Now, fully restored,
The Facts of Murder looks sensational on Blu-ray and finally can be rediscovered by English speakers.
3.
Blast of Silence (Criterion) Allen Baron's film probably was the blueprint for Jean-Pierre Melville's classic film
Le Samourai. Both are about lone wolves who make ends meet by killing targets on demand, and both have impeccable visual styles. Criterion's release introduces a brand new 4K restoration of
Blast of Silence that is an absolute stunner. Unlike the previous DVD release, it has two versions of the film, too.
4.
The Sonny Chiba Collection: Volume 2 (Shout Factory) Two elusive films in this great box set made it impossible for me not to include it on my list:
Great Okinawa Yakuza War and
The Okinawa War of Ten Years. As expected, Sonny Chiba is on fire, and the visual style of these films is the very definition of cinematic cool. Shout Factory filled some very important gaps with its two Sonny Chiba box sets.
5.
Missing in Action Trilogy (Kino Lorber) There are very few films that preserved so much of what made the 1980s unique so well as the
Missing in Action films did. However, these films are truly special because they channel some genuine pain from a tragic loss, which of course the so-called serious critics have never been able to detect and appreciate. Kino Lorber's new restorations of the three
Missing in Action films are gorgeous.
6.
Cheers: The Complete Series (Paramount) Exceptional wit, great sense of humor, fantastic style, tremendous acting and directing. There is so much quality in this classic TV show that the laughs often hurt. It took me two months to go through the entire box set, but what an experience it was. Kudos to Paramount for giving
Cheers a new life on Blu-ray. Hopefully, in 2024, Sony Pictures will release a similar box set with a fully uncut
Married with Children.
7.
In the Folds of the Flesh (Mondo Macabro) The folks at Mondo Macabro dig so deep in film archives that without them and their releases the Blu-ray hobby quite simply would not be the same. Sergio Bergonzelli's
In the Folds of the Flesh is an outstanding retro mind-bender that looks sensational on Blu-ray. I have an old DVD release of this film and could not believe the upgrade in quality after I finished viewing the Blu-ray. If the party that restored the film is placed in charge of all future genre films that transition to Blu-ray, the internet will be a much more pleasant place.
8.
Palmetto (Warner Archive) A classic piece of American neo-noir, Volker Schlφndorff's
Palmetto is a very, very close relative of Dennis Hopper's
The Hot Spot and John Dahl's
Red Rock West. Because the Blu-ray release was coming via Warner Archive, I knew right away that I would be picking up yet another spectacular upgrade for my library. After it was fully restored,
Palmeto looks exactly as I remember it. Simply superb.
9.
Visitors from the Arkana Galaxy (Deaf Crocodile Films) It is impossible to explain how crazy yet entirely logical Dusan Vukotic's film is to anyone who has not sampled the absurd communist environment from which it emerged. Deaf Crocodile's offerings of classic and cult Eastern European films made during the communist era have been tremendous.
10.
Fighting Back (Arrow Video) Arrow Video gave this forgotten cult film a new life. At the right time, too. There is an important lesson in it that probably few people realize is a lot more relevant today than it was during the 1980s.
11.
The Last American Virgin (MVD Rewind Collection) I had to cheat and place this release on my list for two reasons. First,
The Last American Virgin is a very old favorite of mine that also happens to be a true cult film. It would have been such a shame if it did not get a nice special edition in America. Second, I wanted to highlight the hard work of the one-man show behind the MVD Rewind Collection, Eric D. Wilkinson. Your passion is genuine and it shows, and I love what you do for film collectors.
4K BLU-RAY RELEASES
1.
To Live and Die in L.A. (Kino Lorber) L.A. noir begins in the 1980s and ends in the 1990s, and its masterpiece is William Friedkin's
To Live and Die in L.A. There are other similar great genre films that effectively depict the City of Angels as a giant casino with multiple identities where people are willingly and unwillingly betting their lives, but they do not look or feel as organic as
To Live and Die in L.A. Also, in terms of visual style, everything that made films that emerged from the 1980s special is on full display in it. This is an incredible accomplishment because the same can be said about Friedkin's
The French Connection and its relationship with the 1970s. Kino Lorber's 4K Blu-ray release of
To Live and Die in L.A. is a stunner.
2.
Rio Bravo (Warner) Warner Archive was the right party to handle the 4K restoration of Howard Hawks' classic western. I never had doubts that the 4K restoration would be spectacular, but as soon as the opening credits appeared on my screen, I knew that I was in for a very special experience. We need more classic westerns on 4K Blu-ray.
3.
Point Break (Shout Factory) I saw
Point Break on the day it opened in my neck of the woods and since then I have purchased it multiple times on multiple home video formats. This 4K Blu-ray release will be the last one I pick up because I do not think that
Point Break can look any better than it does on it. The folks at Shout Factory did everything right -- color timing, sound, encoding, cover work. Great, great release.
4.
Cool Hand Luke (Warner) Another all-around winner from Warner Archive. I thought that the 4K presentation was very faithful, providing the film with a very convincing organic appearance. While I am quite happy with the existing Blu-ray release of
The Getaway, my favorite Steve McQueen film, I would be thrilled to own it on 4K Blu-ray as well. Hopefully, an announcement for an upcoming release will be made soon.
5.
Branded to Kill (Criterion) The high praise that the new 4K restoration of
Branded to Kill received at the Venice Film Festival was entirely deserved. It is probably one of the top five 4K restorations of a black-and-white film that I have seen to date, and I have seen quite a few. The film consistently looks glorious, which is not easy because it plays with light and shadow in some quite unique ways. I would enthusiastically welcome more 4K Blu-ray releases of classic and cult Japanese yakuza films.
6.
Fascination (Indicator/Powerhouse Films) Jean Rollin's films are not for everyone. They visit some strange places where the real and the surreal overlap in most unusual ways. I think that the best way to explore these places is via 4K Blu-ray releases like the ones the folks at Indicator/Powerhouse Films produced this year for several Rollin films. For me, the most impressive one of the bunch was
Fascination.
7.
The Magnificent Seven (Shout Factory) I was eager to upgrade my Blu-ray release of this classic film, but I must admit that I was unsure what type of makeover to expect. All previous releases of it that I have owned had some unique issues. Fortunately, the 4K Blu-ray release offers an all-around very convincing presentation that eliminated what I thought had to be addressed a long time ago. I am very happy to have it in my library.
8.
The Long Wait (ClassicFlix) What a gem. It nails what I think ought to be the style of a genuine Mickey Spillane film while telling a good story about an amnesiac who is suspected of being a killer. Tony Quinn is superb, but the ladies around him are dangerously hot.
9.
One False Move (Criterion)
One False Move is one of the very best independent films from the 1990s and unquestionably Carl Franklin's masterpiece. I could not be happier that it entered the Criterion Collection because it is where it belongs, right next to
Blood Simple and
House of Games. The 4K Blu-ray release is quite the revelation, too.
10.
Underworld (Kino Lorber) This is the most surprising release on my list. I am including it here, but I prefer how the film looks on Blu-ray, not on 4K Blu-ray. Also, I prefer the original, slightly shorter version of the film, which is one of the most effective 1980s nostalgia fixes that I have encountered in quite some time.
INTERNATIONAL RELEASES
1.
Commedia all'italiana: Three Films by Dino Risi (Radiance Films) Even though one of the films in it is not new to my library, I have to say that this lovely box set is my favorite imported release. Dino Risi is one of the true giants of Italian post-war cinema, so it is always a special event when his films are reintroduced to a new generation of younger cinephiles. If you did not pick up the box set in 2023, you missed a very, very special release.
2.
Capitain Volkonogov Escaped (KinoVista) As of January 1, 2024, this tremendous film is not yet available on Blu-ray in America. It tells a true story that is relevant again. After the communist takeover of Russia, the NKVD, which will eventually become the KGB, sets up large camps across the country where teams of young "anti-fascists" are trained to identify and hunt down "fascists" that could erode the foundation of the worker's paradise. But one trainee sees through the scam and realizes that the NKVD teams are created to do the work that Hitler's brown shirt teams have been doing in Germany.
3.
A Rage to Live (Imprint Films) A genuine masterpiece directed by Walter Grauman featuring a haunting performance by the beautiful Suzanne Pleshette. I would enthusiastically place
A Rage to Live next to some of the all-time greatest post-war melodramas. The supporting cast, which includes such great actors as Ben Gazzara and Bradford Dillman, is terrific as well.
4.
Casino Raiders (Eureka Entertainment) -
Casino Raiders is the big and influential blueprint for all the other popular contemporary gambling films that have been made in Hong Kong since the end of the 1980s, like
God of Gamblers, The Conmen in Vegas, and
From Vegas to Macau. It is the best of the entire bunch, too. It merges the glitz and cool of Hong Kong pop culture and the unmistakable exuberance of the 1980s in spectacular fashion but tells a hard-hitting story that is impossible to forget. It is a very old favorite of mine, and I was thrilled when Eureka Entertainment announced its Blu-ray release.
5.
Cosa Nostra: Franco Nero in Three Mafia Tales by Damiano Damiani (Radiance Films) Another gift for fans of Italian genre films from Radiance, this three-disc box set gathers three smaller but very good films with one of the greatest and most prolific Italian genre actors, who is still working.
The Day of the Owl was my favorite.
6.
McVicar (Fabulous Films) - For many years, I had
McVicar recorded on a VHS tape and sitting next to several other VHS tapes with random episodes of
The Professionals. Back then, I thought that McVicar, Bodie, and Doyle were the coolest British characters I had discovered. I could not get enough of the prologues where Roger Daltrey sings "Free Me" and The Cow times Bodie and Doyle while they show him why they are the best in the business. Now, the Blu-ray release of
McVicar is on my shelf, next to the four Blu-ray box sets of
The Professionals, and I could not be happier. The folks from Fabulous Films also produced two outstanding new programs for
McVicar, one of them with the real John McVicar, who recently passed away.
7.
The Pusher Trilogy (Umbrella Entertainment) The first film in this box set launched the career of the best male actor from the last couple of decades, Mads Mikkelsen. Some things could have been done a little better, but to have the three
Pusher films in a box set with English subtitles is an offer I could not resist. However, I am going to have to repurchase the box set because another colleague of mine received a lovely Christmas present. You know who you are, and you are very welcome.
8.
Cross of Iron (Imprint Films) This 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray box set is the most comprehensive home video release of a Sam Peckinpah film that I have ever held in my hands. It introduces StudioCanal's terrific recent 4K restoration of
Cross of Iron on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray, and adds several hours of exclusive new and archival bonus features, many of which come from German film historian, documentarian, and Peckinpah superfan Mike Siegel. Imprint's collaborations with Siegel have been extraordinary.
9.
Sunburn (Explosive Media) The tiny Swiss label Explosive Media, which is run by a true film lover with impeccable taste, has brought to Blu-ray many of my favorite genre films that I thought might have been forgotten. This gem from Richard Sarafian unites a predictably excellent Charles Grodin with two of the most beautiful ladies of the 1970s, Farrah Fawcett and Joan Collins. If fully restored the film will look better, but I am just happy to have it on Blu-ray and introduce it to friends who have not heard of it.
10.
The Game Trilogy (Arrow Video) I did not know anything about the three films in this set but ended up having a terrific time with them. They reminded me of Umetsugu Inoue's
Cobra films from the 1970s. Can someone finally restore them and put them on Blu-ray in America or the United Kingdom?