| Top Picks - DVDs With The Best Special Features | ||
| One the reasons I love DVDs is because of the special features. But, of course, some DVDs have better special features than others. I find that sometimes the special features on a DVD can make the experience of watching a movie even richer than seeing it in a theater. Yet with other DVDs, the special features seem so trivial, you have to wonder why they even bothered to master them onto the disc! In hopes of sharing some real gems with you, here's my list of what are -- in my opinion -- the DVDs with the best special features. | ||
1) "Citizen Kane" Special Edition DVD (1941)
"Citizen Kane" is an enduring masterpiece that is considered by many -- myself included -- to be the greatest movie ever made. Welles' portrayal of the title character is unexcelled. I think that the visual style of "Citizen Kane" looks stunningly fresh and inventive even today. Film critic Roger Ebert's audio commentary is probably the best I've heard on any DVD so far. Also included is the documentary "The Battle over Citizen Kane" and an additional commentary by Peter Bogdanovich.
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2) "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" DVD (1999)
While "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" doesn't quite match the warmth and humor of the "Star Wars" films released in 1977-83, the new movie is visually far superior to those earlier films. I found the "Phantom Menace" DVD to be extremely entertaining, and I was pleasantly surprised by the special features, which were particularly fascinating. The DVD two-disc set is loaded with interesting extras, including 17 featurettes and an audio commentary by George Lucas with six additional contributors.
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3) "The Red Shoes" Criterion Collection DVD (1948) The Criterion Collection DVD provides some outstanding special features that helped me to achieve a deeper appreciation of this masterwork. "The Red Shoes" is one of my favorite films. I think this Technicolor movie is a visual delight, and when I first saw it years ago, I enjoyed it as an entertaining melodrama set against the backdrop of the world of ballet.
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4) "L'avventura" Criterion Collection DVD (1960) I've always been entranced by the enigmatic, poetic film "L'avventura," Michaelangelo Antonioni's great 1960 Italian-language masterpiece of world cinema. Antonioni is first and foremost about images, and the Criterion Collection DVD preserves his images beautifully. In addition, the DVD provides an illuminating commentary by film critic Gene Youngblood and comes packaged with a second disc that contains unusual bonus materials of interest to film buffs.
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5) "The Seventh Seal" Criterion Collection DVD (1957) "The Seventh Seal" established Swedish writer-director Ingmar Bergman as one of the world's most important filmmakers. Using stunning visual imagery, the movie explores philosophical issues such as the silence of God and man's search for the meaning of life. Much of the film deals with death's inevitability, yet the movie leaves me feeling hopeful rather than despairing. Also, the Criterion Collection DVD's extra features are terrific, especially film historian Peter Cowie's commentary. |
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6) "Grand Illusion" Criterion Collection DVD (1937) Although superficially a World War I POW escape story, the 1937 masterpiece of world cinema "Grand Illusion" is Jean Renoir's meditation on nationality, social class, language, and ethnicity. Pauline Kael declared "Grand Illusion" to be "the greatest achievement in narrative film." I understand her enthusiasm for this film. I loved this subtle movie the first time I saw it, and each time I watch this moving masterpiece again on DVD, my appreciation of it deepens. The commentary track by film historian Peter Cowie is superb. |
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7) "The Godfather Collection" DVDs The three movies "The Godfather" (1972), "The Godfather: Part II" (1974), and "The Godfather: Part III" (1990) make up what is arguably the greatest film trilogy of all time. "The Godfather" DVD Collection includes all three movies, along with optional audio commentary tracks by director-cowriter Francis Ford Coppola for all three films. In addition, there are 34 additional scenes, including an alternate opening to "The Godfather: Part III." |
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8) "Thirteen Days" Infinifilm Edition DVD (2000) In October of 1962, the United States and the Soviet Union became embroiled in a confrontation that could have escalated into nuclear war. This confrontation, which is known as the Cuban Missile Crisis, is brilliantly dramatized by the gripping docudrama "Thirteen Days." I was fascinated by how the film showed a group of highly intelligent men grapple with a complex, monumentally important problem. I also loved this DVD's extra features, which helped to place the events in historical context. |
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9) "Doctor Zhivago" DVD (1965) I've always loved the extravagant romanticism of "Doctor Zhivago." The DVD comes with an impressive array of special features, including "Doctor Zhivago: The Making of a Russian Epic," which is one of the best making-of featurettes I've seen. Fans of the Oscar-winning score will enjoy an option that allows you to play the movie with only the music audible on the soundtrack. There's also an audio track with commentary by Omar Sharif, Sandra Lean, and Rod Steiger.
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10) "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" DVD Two-Disc Platinum Edition (1937) In 1937 Walt Disney created the first feature-length animated film in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," and this charming film is available in a two-disc Platinum Edition DVD set that includes tons of extras, most of which are aimed at adults. My favorite special feature is the "Abandoned Concepts" on Disc Two. Here we are shown wonderful ideas that didn't make it into the final cut of the movie. I like this feature because it gives insights into the difficult decisions made in making the film. |
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