Caveat: I didn't yet go through any of the Radiance box sets. Mexico Macabre was great, Michael J. Murphy is probably my fave and Tod Slaughter the second fave. Also the Arrow mini-set of Lau Kar-Leung movies is fantastic!
I bought both the Östlund and Pusher Trilogy sets after you featured them in previous videos Elliott (for which thanks). A very good year indeed was 2023 for the spread of releases well beyond the norm; as you say a great year for Polish cinema (which I hope will continue). I very much enjoyed 'The End Of Civilization' set from Radiance. Any of their releases could have featured on this list. Like Villane7427 on this thread, I'm slowly working my way through Indicator's Michael J. Murphy set. Whilst perhaps none of his films would grace a best of year video, it's great to have them restored and out in the public domain to be seen. The sets covering Todd Slaughter and Mexico Macabre (both Indicator), and the new Arrow set of Coffin Joe (which I received yesterday morning) all fall into the same category of films that no major company would consider putting out there. In your old video where you went through your entire collection several years ago, you pulled out the Arrow Academy release of 'The Poetic Trilogy' by Mohsen Makhmalbaf and singled it out as a set that collectors should buy to support companies continuing to release such films. The same applies to all the sets mentioned above. The same ethos as that behind the BFI Flipside series of preservation of films that would otherwise go missing in action.
Criterion's packaging made me start something I'm quite happy with; the first time I get a disc out of one of those cardboard pockets, I never put it back there again: I buy slimline plastic blu-ray cases that I keep them in; next to the set if it fits on the shelf, or in the regular collection, and the box-set on a shelf. I can enjoy the booklets and all the other stuff, without worrying about damaging the discs.
I've no idea why everyone raves about the Radiance when the VS release came out just months earlier and with an extra (brilliant) film in Golem, which Second Run are doing in the UK.
For Christmas I treated myself to a Indicator range - the Sinbad trilogy, Mysterious island,and First Men in the Moon . Blu rays. Brilliant ! Recommended.
I just found your channel by finding Nathan who led to Davy who led to Sam who led to Chris who led to you. Lots of great YTers doing similiar but distinct things
Great picks but I was so excited for The Pusher blus and they are not very good transfers as you alluded to. Some of the colour timing is more muted than the DVDs I have from the 2000s, it's a real letdown. Those films deserve better. The first was shot on 16mm and blown up to 35 and suffers the most.
I really do hope we get some updated versions in the future. It'd be a shame if this is the best they ever look, but I'm just happy to have them easily accessible. Cheers for watching Davy!
Got a few favourites from last year, Lukas Moodysson from Arrow, Hellraiser set again from Arrow, It Follows and Texas Chainsaw Massacre from Second Sight I also loved the packaging on the Curzon Lars Von Trier set as well as JFK from shout select the best the film has ever looked.
Great picks as always Elliott I'm happy to say I have three boxsets from this selection. For me the Cosa Nostra set was a perfect choice. I devoured the 3 movies by damiano damiani in 2 nights and enjoyed a lot the special features. Radiance is one of the better labels on the market due to their rare selection of European and Asian movies I also enjoyed their comedia alla italiana boxset especially the movie el vedovo. Keep up the great work radiance The Andrezj zulawski set is a must for any cinephlie and the.limited edition sold out in a record time. I don't have the.imprint boxset of Jessica Lange but.i do have their boxset of gene Hackman. I agree with you on imprint presentation of some film but.at.least.we find rare films from them on disk Finally I just wanted to mention that I live in Egypt and sadly we don't have physical media in our country. That's why I import all my stuff and I really pay a lot Unfortunately lately our economy is seeing a bad downfall and it will be hard for.me to enjoy my hobby of collecting movies. Anyways wish you always all the best and keep up the good work👍
It feels like you could have easily made a top 10 of box sets, given that you’ve shown us 11 sets in this post, and there were probably others… I must confess that I have a few but often it takes a while for me to get beyond one or two films in a set. The last one that I finished was the Indicator Dietrich/Von Sternberg box. The set that I thought you might mention, but didn’t, was the Mexico Macabre, also from Indicator. I was pleased to see the Freaks and Zulawski sets getting a mention, even if I’ve not watched them all yet. Looking forward to your other lists, on whatever basis you do them.
I do, but I haven't dived into it yet. I watched "Messiah of Evil" last night, from Radiance, great film! 👍🏻😉 can't wait to go through the book and special features of that one
Oh! I didn't know the Freaks Criterion release included THREE films. I thought it was just Freaks. Well, now I have even more reason to get it. I'll wait for the next Criterion sale, but I'll definitely get that bad boy.
Like the previous two, it is a great set. I think you and your wife will enjoy it. My wife loved Rope - very theatrical - and Frenzy is wonderful. The transfers are excellent.@@ElliotCoen
I would say the Avatar and Avatar the Way of Water Collector's editions. They both have 8+ hours of bonus content and all the extended versions of the movie in 4K with Dolby Vision and Atmos in 4K BD100 GB disc. The only problem is again the tight cardboard packaging for the discs...
