Best DVDs of 2006
Elevator to the Gallows/Playtime Yeah four entries right off the bat with two titles tied together really only by country of origin and general leitmotif. Both Elevator... and Playtime were released this year by Criterion in its finest form (two discs with extras dug up from deep vaults). Which probably means it will out of print in about 15 minutes so hurry up and enjoy them.
Born in Flames/Putney Swope Two classics of low-budget, NYC, late 70s/early 80s, semi-fantasy film-making dealing with race, sex and class in ways that will still embarrass your dad. See full reviews here and here.
the Conformist/the Passenger Arguably Bertolucci's greatest, a meditation on sex, violence and political tyranny the way only people who lived under Mussolini could do it; comes out this month with 3 featurettes. The Passenger has become legend due to its brutal and masterful 7-minute uncut final shot. Hold me, Antonioni.
Demon Seed/the Man Who Fell to Earth Two sci fi weirdo films (albeit on very different ends of the spectrum) out on disc starring the greatest rock stars of my imagination: David Bowie and Julie Christie.
Police Tapes One of the most influential cinema verite docs. Released as a part of Docurama Film Festival dvd box set as well as individually. Read my full review here.
the Staircase An interesting true-crime/courtroom IFC television special spanning two discs. I include it mostly because I am envious of anyone with IFC, Showtime, HBO, TCM or the Western cable channel. What am I paying Comcast so much freaking money for again?
Double Indemnity You might be saying to yourself "Jacques Tati and Louis Malle don't get their own slots but two Barbara Stanwyck movies get their own?" To which I respond simply: yes. One classic pre-code film plus possibly the greatest film noir of all time. It's two slots, people. Wipe the tears.
This two disc set includes the unfortunate made for television seventies re-make.
Babyface A projectionist at the Library of Congress recently uncovered several never seen before scenes that completely changed the tone and theme of the film. I had the immense pleasure of seeing them on the big screen during Balboa's Pre-Code film festival this year. Now the TCM dvd release contains both versions which includes a brief appearance by a young John Wayne. The dvd collection also includes Waterloo Bridge and Red-Headed Woman.
Kicking and Screaming/Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle Let 1995 forever be remembered for being the year of gab, gab, gab, gab & wit, wit, wit. Kicking & Screaming -- Noah Baumbach's (Squid & the Whale) elegy to post-graduate malaise. Funnier than your mom.
Safe Men Steve Zahn and Sam Rockwell play incompetent robbers mistaken for high class bandits, Paul Giamatti stars as a low-level Jersey thug and oh yeah, it's written & directed by the guy who wrote Zoolander! Your new favorite movie is now available on dvd. Praise Jesus!
Valley of the Dolls And perhaps to a lesser extent, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. Gorgeous two-disc collection that also includes several lobby cards. Trash has never been such a treasure. Read my full review at Guru.
2007 DVD Wishlist
Paisan - Roberto Rosselini's multiple vignettes about post-WW2 villagers and their interactions with American GIs. Discussed at length in Martin Scorsese's My Voyage to Italy.
White Dog - The film that more or less drove Samuel Fuller out of America. So misunderstood. Stars Kristy McNichol and the dog from Brian De Palma's Body Double.
Kanal/Last Year at Marienbad/Woman in the Dunes - Thanks, Criterion.
Night Nurse - another Barbara Stanwyck pre-code delight. Two party girl nurses put in charge of watching over two dying children plot with the chauffeur (Clark Gable) to thwart the parents's murderous schemes.
Working Girls/Erotique - Lizzie Borden's subsequent films after Born in Flames. A quasi-documentary about Manhattan call girls and a sort of precursor to Eros wherein four lady film-makers examine sex and sensuality.
Twisted Nerve - Isn't it a rule that once Quentin Tarantino has riffed on your score your film is golden? Why is this film not available on dvd?
Evergreen - a film that signed a groundbreaking deal out of the festival circuit to be exclusively projected at AMC cinemas digitally but it never materialized. In truth, any film shot in the Pacific NW I am already charmed by. But c'mon, AMC! Let's see how the model would work!
Darwin's Nightmare/A Brief History of Time/Los Angeles Plays Itself/Power of Nightmares - Four wonderful documentaries about nature, science, history and media.
the Wayward Cloud - every and their Mom has seen a bootleg of this one and would you please shut up about it! All I needed to know was "watermelon sex dance". Also directed by Ming-liang Tsai whose What Time Is It There? was also gorgeous and wonderful.
Mahogany - Directed by Berry Gordy and starring Diana Ross it's like the prequel to Dreamgirls!
Cocksucker Blues/Decline of Western Civilization - Each year I ask, each year I'm disappointed.
Army of Shadows - This film has been making the rounds in arthouses, which was also how Paramount promoted the Conformist... a girl can dream.
Pervert's Guide to Cinema Sort an overstatement of a title, but okay whatever. A strange, but hilarious German man goes through a half dozen classic films (the Birds, Blue Velvet, the Conversation) discussing their darker aspects. Several clips are available on YouTube.
On Their Knees - Directed by Anais Granofsky (of Degrassi High: the Next Generation, oh yes!) sort of a Canadian sequel to Me Without You.
John and Mary - Hah! Available March 6th, I win!
All the Oscars have ever represented to me was a huge ad buy (often called "the female Superbowl") and a fashion show but apparently everyone in America is dying to win their office pool thus we all must be inundated with every organization you didn't know existed making their unofficial Oscar picks by giving out their own awards. 
+Scorsese to Weinstein: Don't do me any favors. [
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