The greatest DVDs, of all time overall...

[Guest Downhome]

I'm trying to figure out some DVDs that would be great to buy, and I thought this would be an interesting way for everyone to help me learn more about "must have" DVDs, as well as help anyone else that's interested in some that you might not know about.

 

I do NOT mean just the best movies, so don't mistake this for that. I'm talking the best DVDs overall, meaning the movie, extra features, and everything else. Basicly, what are the DVDs that collectors should truly have in their collection?

 

Let's make a list or something, of maybe the top 100 or so. Once someone names one, don't name it again. Hell, to make this easier, let's number them as we go as we did with something else I started once. If you really want to be helpfull, even list the extras that are on the DVD you name. I'll begin this...

 

1) Pearl Harbor The Director's Cut ---

 

Commentary by Michael Bay

 

Commentary by Technicians, including the DP, Production Designer, and Costume Designer

 

Commentary by Jerry Bruckheimer with stars Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Josh Hartnett, and Alec Baldwin

 

Mail-in Certificate for a $10 Rebate for Owners of Previous Editions, Expires 1/2/03

 

Disc One

 

Intro and letterbox explanation by Michael Bay

 

Pearl Harbor: The Director's Cut - Rated R (Part 1)

 

Disc Two

 

Pearl Harbor: The Director's Cut - Rated R (Part 2)

 

Disc Two, Three & Four

 

Hours of Interactive in-depth "Making Of" features

 

"Journey To The Screen: The Making of Pearl Harbor" segments (approximately 45 minutes) including segments on Battleship Row Attack, Sandbag Explosion, Dorrie Miller At The Guns, The Airfield Attack, The Scramble To The Planes, The Dud Bomb, The Oklahoma Gimble, The Doolitle Raid

 

The Surprise Attack - A multi-angle breakdown of the film's most exciting sequence (approximately 30 minutes)--includes video intro by Michael Bay

 

Multiple video tracks that will include pre-visualization: Storyboards, artwork, animatics, effects plates, green screen, and final sequence--All accessible by switching angles

 

Commentaries from veterans

 

Pearl Harbor Historic Timeline - a set-top interactive feature produced by documentarian Charles Kiselyak. Through an innovative animated timeline, viewers will be able to select historic videos, audio clips, text, or photos that set the stage for the events in Hawaii, or follow how they impacted world events that transpired as a result of the conflict. (Approximately 30 Minutes)

 

Soldier's Boot Camp - This segment follows the actors as they take preparation for their roles to an extreme. In the first segment, Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and their co-stars are put through grueling paces by an over-enthusiastic drill sergeant. The second segment follows Alec Baldwin through his officer training. (Approximately 30 Minutes)

 

"One Hour Over Tokyo" - The History Channel's documentary

 

Super-8 Montage - A collection of unseen super-8 footage shot for potential use in the movie by Michael Bay's Visual Assistant, Mark Palansky.

 

"Deconstructing Destruction" - an in-depth conversation among filmmakers with interactive industrial light and magic sequences

 

Nurse Ruth Erickson interview

 

"Unsung Heroes" - The History Channel documentary

 

Widescreen anamorphic format

 

Number of discs: 4

 

...if you ask me, this fucking belongs in ANY collection, even if you aren't a big fan of the film like myself.

 

I took the description of all of that from Amazon.com by the way, if you want to use it also.

 

Sincerely,

...Downhome...

[Guest godthedog]

i refuse to buy or watch 'pearl harbor', as i am convinced that jerry bruckheimer is the devil.

 

anyway, my favorite overall dvd of all time is 'almost famous'. 2 different cuts of the movie, a stillwater cd, the greatest commentary EVER, & lots of other goodies. and the movie rules.

[Guest razazteca]

El Mariachi/Desperado Directors Double Feature

 

Commentary

Short films: Bedhead, 10 Minutes Film School, 10 More Minutes

5.1 audio

 

2 movies for the price of 1! Both the indy film and the big budget studio on the same DVD!

[Guest EsotericMaster]

The Tarantino SE DVD’s are up there as well. (Jackie Brown, Pulp Fiction, True Romance, Reservoir Dogs) Both 2 Disks, Commentary all over the place, Interviews, Deleted Scenes, etc...... I would also recommend any Criterion Disks as all of them are loaded.

[Guest DawnBTVS]

4) Usual Suspects Special Edition

Featurettes(5): Pursuing the Suspects, Doin' Time with the Suspects, Keyser Soze - Lie or Legend, Original Featurette, Heisting Cannes with the Usual Suspects

TV Spots/Trailers(10): Theatrical Trailer(W/Intro), International Trailer, 8 TV Spots

Deleted Scenes(5): The Restaurant Scene, Finding Arturro's Body, McManus and the Hungarian, Planting the Bomb, Extra Verbal(All w/Intros)

Gag Reel w/ Intro

Commentary(2): Bryan Singer and Christopher McQuarrie, John Ottman

 

5) Nightmare Before Christmas Special Edition

Commentary: Henry Sellick and Pete Kozachik

Making of Nightmare Before Christmas Featurette

Storyboard to Film Comparison

Deleted Storyboards(3): Behemoth Singing, Oogie Boogie w/ Dancing Bugs, Alternate Identity of Oogie Boogie

Deleted Animation Sequences(4): Jack's Scientific Experiments, Vampire Hockey Players, Lock Shock and Barrel, Oogie Boogie Shadow Dance

The Worlds of Nightmare Before Christmas Featurette

Teaser Trailer

Trailer

Posters

Early Films(2): Vincent, Frankenweenie

James & Giant Peach Theatrical Trailer

Edited May 24, 2003 by DawnBTVS

[Guest Karnage]

Hulk Still Rules is how a wrestling DVD should be done.

[Guest Retro Rob]

6) Fight Club 2-Disc (The first truly GREAT DVD)

 

7) Planet of the Apes - Wahlberg (The move is OK at best, but it is PACKED with tons of extras. You could sit there for an entire day going through all of Disc 2.)

[Zetterberg is God]

8) Se7en Platinum Edition (great film gets an even better DVD)

9) Godfather DVD Collection (this is the way classics should be treated on DVD)

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin]

10) Terminator 2: Judgmenet Day - Ultimate Edition.

 

Best DVD ever IMO.

[Guest El Psycho Diablo]

The sheer ammount of stuff on the Fellowship of the Ring (Extended, naturally) disc should qualify that, too.

[Guest CanadianChris]

Monty Python and the Holy Grail is an AWESOME DVD, and belongs on any list.

[Guest MrRant]

Krull

[Guest eiker_ir]

The Nightmare on Elm Street Collection

[Guest Dmann2000]

Brazil (Criterion Collection)

[Guest MrRant]

Krull has the Mavel comic of the movie set to the ENTIRE audio track of the movie as a feature.

 

Yes... you too can watch 2 or so hours of them going panel to panel of the comic in sync with the audio track of the movie.

 

Sweet.

[Guest DawnBTVS]

Spider-Man: Special Edition

Disc 1

Weaving the Web(Sub-Title Factoids)

Commentary: Sam Raimi, Kirsten Dunst, Laura Ziskin, Grant Curtis

SFX Commentary: John Dykstra

Music Videos: Hero, What We're All About

TV Spots

Theatrical Trailer

Character Files

Filmographies

 

Disc 2

HBO Making Of

Spider-Mania: E! Entertainment Special

Director Profile: Sam Raimi

Composer Profile: Danny Elfman

Screen Tests: Tobey Maguire, J.K. Simmons, CGI Spider Man

Costume & Makeup Tests

Gag Reel

Conceptual Art/Production Design Gallery

Spider-Man: The Mythology of the 21st Century Documentary

Rogues Gallery

Loves of Peter Parker

Comic Book Artist Gallery

[Guest DrTom]

Bah. Spider-Man blows as a DVD because it lacks deleted scenes. They've become a staple in every good DVD's list of special features, and they're glaringly absent from Spidey's two-disc set. It's not that the special features that were included are terrible, it's just that I expect deleted scenes, especially on a double-discer. What was left on the cutting room floor is often as interesting as the movie itself.

 

I was going to add a disc or two of my own, but once I saw the list kicked off with melodramatic garbage like Pearl Harbor, I decided to refrain.

[Guest goodhelmet]

i disagree about the deleted scenes, Tom. as jay spree once wrote in an article on our very own site, many deleted scenes are manufactured for the saking of appearing on the dvd. now, for movies created prior to the dvd explosion, i think you are right but not for newer releases. if a deleted scene isn't genuine then why waste my time?

 

i agree with you on the whole pearl harbor fiasco.

[Guest treble charged]

Speed - Five Star Collection

 

Features-

 

Commentary by Jan De Bont

 

Commentary by Graham Yost and Mark Gordon

 

Production notes

 

2 disc set

 

Extended Scenes ("Jack Shoots Payne in the Neck," "Payne Lives/Cops' Party," "Annie's Job," "After Helen's Death," "Ray's Crime")

 

Easter Eggs (DVD Credits, Airline Version of Bus Crash)

 

Inside Speed Featurettes on the location, stunts and visual effects

 

Poduction Design (60 stills)

 

Original Screenplay (240 stills)

 

Action Sequence Featurettes on the "Bus Jump" and "Metro Rail Crash"

 

Multi-Angle Shots with Audio ("Bus Jump" - 9 angles, "Cargo Jet Explosion" - 9 angles, "Jack vs. Payne" - 4 angles, "Metro Rail Crash" - 9 angles)

 

Multi-Stream Storyboards ("Bomb on the Bus," "Baker Sequence," "Bus Jump," "Metro Rail Fight & Crash")

 

Interview Archive (with Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper, Jeff Daniels, and Jan De Bont)

 

HBO Special

 

Trailer & 11 TV Spots

 

Billy Idol Music Video

 

Press Kit

 

Production Notes (40 stills)

 

Image Gallery (various stills)

 

Widescreen anamorphic format

 

Number of discs: 2

[Guest Downhome]

I was going to add a disc or two of my own, but once I saw the list kicked off with melodramatic garbage like Pearl Harbor, I decided to refrain.

Not every great DVD, must be of a great movie. The Pearl Harbor 4-disc set is fucking great. It goes through EVERY step of filmmaking, which is just outstanding to see for me. Sure, the movie sucks a big one, but if you have any care at about about ANY of the filmmaking process from idea to screenplay to screen, then the DVD is a must. Not to mention that it features two History Channel documentary's on the REAL events of Pearl Harbor, when alone they would cost you $20 or so a piece to get on DVD/VHS. There is tons of other stuff about the true events.

 

I bought it for all of these extras, the filmmaking stuff and the real event, not the movie.

[Guest DARRYLXWF]

- Beauty and the Beast

- Lawrence of Arabia

[Guest EsotericMaster]

The Star Wars Dvd's are great also.

[Guest Grand Slam]

Terminator 2 Ultimate Edition

 

Men In Black Limited Collector's Edition

 

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings (Both DVDs together, in effect, the 6 disk special edition)

 

The Ultimate Toy Box (Toy Story 1 & 2)

 

The Fantasia Anthology (Fanstasia, Fantasia 2000 & The Fantasia Legacy)

[Guest DrTom]

Not every great DVD, must be of a great movie. The Pearl Harbor 4-disc set is fucking great. It goes through EVERY step of filmmaking, which is just outstanding to see for me. Sure, the movie sucks a big one, but if you have any care at about about ANY of the filmmaking process from idea to screenplay to screen, then the DVD is a must. Not to mention that it features two History Channel documentary's on the REAL events of Pearl Harbor, when alone they would cost you $20 or so a piece to get on DVD/VHS.

Fair enough. My parents have that DVD set, and I'll grant that the extras are very impressive. It's hard for me to look past the fact that movie sucks a savage sausage, though. While a plethora of special features is nice to have, I can't see buying a DVD for a movie I despise just because the extras are good. It's like trying to put a bowtie on a dog turd, IMO.

[Guest DrTom]

i disagree about the deleted scenes, Tom. as jay spree once wrote in an article on our very own site, many deleted scenes are manufactured for the saking of appearing on the dvd. 

I still like seeing them, to see what didn't make it into the movie. It's interesting to imagine how the movie would have been different if those scenes had been left in. While creating deleted scenes specifically for inclusion on DVD is a cynical exercise, I have to wonder how widespread it is.

[Guest Mikey2Dope]

Looks like the Black Hawk Down 3 Disc Edition due out next week (June 3rd) may be one of the greatest ever:

 

Commentary by producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Ridley Scott

 

Commentary by author Mark Bowden and screenwriter Ken Nolan

 

Commentary by U.S. Special Forces Veterans ('93)

 

Theatrical trailer(s)

 

The Essence of Combat: Making Black Hawk Down: 1. Getting It Right 2. Crash Course 3. Battlefield Morocco 4. Hymn to the Fallen 5. Digital Warriors 6. After Action Report (2.5 hours)

 

8 deleted & alternate scenes with optional commentary

 

Production design archive

 

Storyboards with optional commentary

 

Ridleygrams with optional commentary

 

Jerry Bruckheimer's Black Hawk Down photo album

 

Opening title explorations

 

Photo galleries

 

The History Channel Presents: The True Story of Black Hawk Down - GREAT Documentary and it runs 1 hour 40 minutes

 

PBS Presents: Frontline: Ambush in Mogadishu - Runs 1 hour

 

Interactive mission map/timeline

 

Target building insertion - multi-angle sequence with optional commentary

 

Question & Answer Forums: BAFTA (Ridley Scott, Jerry Bruckheimer, Josh Hartnett, Ewen McGregor, Jason Isaaca, Mark Bowden & Tom Matthews), Motion Pictures Editor's Guild (Pietro Scalia), American Cinematheque (Jerry Bruckheimer & Ridley Scott)

 

"Gortoz A Ran - J'Attends" music video performed by Denez Prigent & Lisa Gerrard

 

Theatrical poster explorations

 

Widescreen anamorphic format

 

Number of discs: 3

 

Man what a LOADED set.

[Guest Downhome]

Not every great DVD, must be of a great movie. The Pearl Harbor 4-disc set is fucking great. It goes through EVERY step of filmmaking, which is just outstanding to see for me. Sure, the movie sucks a big one, but if you have any care at about about ANY of the filmmaking process from idea to screenplay to screen, then the DVD is a must. Not to mention that it features two History Channel documentary's on the REAL events of Pearl Harbor, when alone they would cost you $20 or so a piece to get on DVD/VHS.

Fair enough. My parents have that DVD set, and I'll grant that the extras are very impressive. It's hard for me to look past the fact that movie sucks a savage sausage, though. While a plethora of special features is nice to have, I can't see buying a DVD for a movie I despise just because the extras are good. It's like trying to put a bowtie on a dog turd, IMO.

I know where you are coming from, don't get me wrong. I also must add that I bought this at Blockbuster for only $8, one hell of a deal considering that it's over $30 everywhere new. I don't know if I would have EVER bought it had I not found that great f'n deal.

 

Still, I have it just for the extras. I will say that the version on the DVD is SLIGHTLY better than version that was in theaters, but just a little bit, it's still a poor film for the most part.