With the current state of the DVD industry it is hard to predict what will be released in the coming year. What follows is a list of my most anticipated DVD/Blu-Ray releases of 2010. There will no doubt be others added over the year but here are the ones that have caught my eye so far:
Dark Night of the Scarecrow (Frank De Felitta, 1981) Lionsgate, USA: DVD. Date TBCA little known television movie starring Larry Drake and Charles Durning. This was originally going to be released on Blu-Ray and DVD by Image Entertainment but since they are currently considering filing for bankruptcy it looks as if Lionsgate will be attaining the rights to this cult classic. Elvis: The Movie (John Carpenter, 1979) Shout Factory, USA: DVD. 2 March 2010
Issues with music rights have prevented this little seen John Carpenter film, which was the first of many collaborations with Kurt Russell, from being released. Hopefully it will be the full uncut version and will feature a typically excellent commentary track from Russell and Carpenter. Shout Factory are probably the American DVD label to watch in 2010.
The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973) Warner Brothers, USA: Blu-Ray. October 2010
One of my favourite films of all time, I just hope that Friedkin doesn't continue his unwelcome trend of tampering with his original edit as he has done with
Cruising (1980) and the Blu-Ray release of
The French Connection (1971). Warner have
confirmed that both the 1973 and 2000 versions will be included.
Kingdom of the Spiders (John 'Bud' Cardos, 1977) Shout Factory, USA: DVD. 19 January 2010
William Shatner as a veterinarian trying to save a town from tarantulas. What is there not to like? This will be the third time I have purchased a DVD of this film. What makes this release particularly attractive is the special features; an interview with the film's spider wrangler (what a great job title), an interview with Shatner and a commentary track with Cardos. Another great offering from Shout Factory.
So Sweet, So Dead (Roberto Bianchi, 1972) Camera Obscura, Germany: DVD. February 28 2010
Aside from the forthcoming releases from maligned American label Mya Communication (I will discuss this in a forthcoming blogpost), Camera Obscura could be the label to keep an eye on for releases of rare
gialli. That cover art is sublime.
Suspiria (Dario Argento, 1977) Cine Excess, UK: Blu-Ray. Today!
This should be with me tomorrow morning courtesy of Amazon. Advance reviews have
praised this anticipated release. What next, Cine-Excess?
Thriller: The Complete Collection, Image, USA: DVD. TBC
With Image threatening to declare bankruptcy it is doubtful whether this release will happen which is disappointing considering that Tim Lucas and other respected genre enthusiasts have been recording audio commentaries for the release. Perhaps Shout Factory can come to the rescue?
The Twilight Zone Complete Collection, Image, USA: Blu-Ray. TBC
Again, a release announced by Image. I have been putting off completing my
Twilight Zone collection on DVD ever since it was rumoured that there would be a Blu-Ray release. Hopefully it will appear and will look as good as the
Star Trek and
The Prisoner Blu-Ray releases.
Urban Action Collection Warner Brothers, USA: DVD. 12 January 2010
I first saw
Black Belt Jones (Robert Clouse, 1974) on VHS in the late 80's and loved Jim "Bullshit Mr Han Man" Kelly in the lead role. It has never appeared legally on DVD and is part of this great value four-film Urban Action Collection. It contains other Blaxploitation action classics such as
Hot Potato (Oscar Williams, 1976),
Three The Hard Way (Gordon Parks Jr, 1974) and
Black Sampson (Charles Bail, 1974).
Who Dares Wins (Ian Sharp, 1982) Arrow, UK: Blu-Ray. 8 March 2010
Who would have expected this to be released on Blu-Ray in 2010? Another film I remember fondly from my youth. Lewis Collins is great in the lead role and the build up to the action filled finale is well executed.
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What other releases would I like to see in 2010? Fingers crossed for the following:
The Amazing Spider-Man Live Action Television series (something tells me that Marvel do not want this to see the light of day on optical disc. I prefer it to Raimi's recent offerings).
Cold Case Files: The Complete Collection (morbid I know but this is the best true crime television series I have seen).
The Equalizer: Series Two onwards
High Crime (Enzo G. Castellari, 1973)
One Step Beyond: Seasons Two and Three
Profondo Rosso (Dario Argento, 1975) Blu-Ray (hopefully the Blu-Ray release of
Suspria will lead to some of Argento's other classics being released on the HD format).
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