Blu-Ray Feature: The 10 Best Blu-Rays of 2010

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5. “Psycho”

Psycho
Photo credit: Universal

“Psycho,” a movie I’ve possibly seen more than any other, has never looked quite like it does on this release. The remastered 1080p picture is absolutely stunning with the perfect color balance, line detail, and amount of grain to create a better video transfer than we’ve yet seen for the film. This is one of the best HD black & white video transfers, period. It’s stunningly good and should be used as the model for all films of this era being released in HD. The quality of the film and its transfer alone would earn it a spot on this list but it lands in the top five because of Universal’s incredible collection of special features including a feature-length documentary, a retrospective doc about Hitchcock, an audio commentary, and some of the most fascinating archival material of the year. There are only two Hitch films on Blu-ray to date and it will be 2040 before we get them all at this rate. If they’re all this good, I’m willing to wait.

4. 2010 Criterion Blu-Ray

Paths of Glory
Photo credit: Courtesy of the Criterion Collection

We could have populated this list with Criterion Blu-ray alone and so have taken the easy way out and lumped the best of the year into one spot. We’re lucky enough to regularly review HD releases from The Criterion Collection and yet the quality of these releases still have the power to amaze. With remarkable transfers and amazing, informative special features, Criterion continued to set the bar for classics in 2010. Universal had some great ones (“Psycho”) as did Warner Bros. (“The Maltese Falcon”) and Fox (“The Sound of Music”), but they’re all following Criterion. The best of the Collection this year included “Paths of Glory,” “M,” “The Night of the Hunter,” “Bigger Than Life,” “Red Desert,” and “Stagecoach.” They may be expensive, but save up and buy them all.

3. “The Twilight Zone: Season One”

The Twilight Zone: Season One
Photo credit: Image

Enter the middle ground between light and shadow with the amazing Blu-ray release of the first season of one of the best television programs of all time — “The Twilight Zone”. This release is packed with remarkable special features that are all perfectly shaped around a show that has lost absolutely none of its power despite the decades since its original airing and the myriad of programs that it inspired. Old films and shows sometimes look “wrong” in HD but “The Twilight Zone” just looks perfect. And the special features are mind-blowing. There’s a never-before-released unofficial pilot episode from 1958 called “The Time Element,” nineteen new audio commentaries, interviews with several of the “Twilight Zone” actors, a “Tales of Tomorrow” episode called “What You Need,” a vintage audio interview with director of photography George T. Clemens, 1977 syndication promos for “A Stop at Willoughby” and “The After Hours,” 18 radio dramas, and 34 isolated music scores. Image also included the special features previously available on the award-winning standard DVD sets including several more commentaries, vintage audio recollections, Rod Serling audio lectures, Rod Serling promos, the original unaired pilot version of “Where Is Everybody?,” and footage of the Emmy Award wins for the show. It’s overwhelming and breathtaking — the kind of complete release that all beloved programs should mimic.

2. “Avatar: Extended Collector’s Edition”

Avatar: Extended Collector’s Edition
Photo credit: Fox

With a version of the film that’s better than the theatrical mega-hit, perfect HD video and audio, and hours of special features, the newest release of “Avatar” is a must-own even if you don’t like the film. It’s simply too impressive to ignore. The extended cut (with 16 extra minutes) of “Avatar” is better than the original to the point that I’ll never watch the theatrical version again and the set comes with two discs of bonus material, the kind that fans will spend days dissecting and sharing with their friends. Every element of “Avatar” has been dissected in documentaries, featurettes, and production material. Deleted scenes, trailers, scripts, screen tests, rehearsals, even an animated short — James Cameron and others who adored “Avatar” claimed that the film would change the cinematic paradigm. It doesn’t seem to have done that. But the Blu-ray release could still change its market forever. If only all blockbuster HD releases were this impressive.

1. “Alien Anthology”

Alien Anthology
Photo credit: Fox

With FIVE DAYS worth of special features, multiple versions of one of the most influential franchises in history, and gorgeous HD picture and sound, this is why Blu-ray was invented in the first place. Each of the four films have been presented in pristine video and audio quality, but it’s the first two movies, the ones most of you really care about, that are the most remarkable. They look spectacular. The contrast levels, the color choices, the line detail — they’re jaw-dropping. Even the grain level has been perfectly rendered so the films don’t look unnatural. The audio is similarly mind-blowing. As for special features, everything from the “Quadrilogy” set has been transferred over and enhanced by Blu-ray functionality. All four films feature “MU-TH-UR Mode,” which allows documentaries, interviews, and more to play along with the films. There’s also a trivia track and an amazing function that allows you track things you’re interested in while you watch the four films for the player to then remember when you put in the special features discs 5 and 6. Even the housing of the six-discs in what feels like a hardcover book with beautiful artwork enclosed in a beautifully-designed slipcase is above-average. If you own a Blu-ray player, it’s not really doing its job without the “Alien Anthology.”

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com [email protected]