Among titles like The Passion of Joan of Arc, Seven Samurai, and The Third Man, Michael Bay's 1998 disaster flick Armageddon undoubtedly sticks out. But devoted Criterion collectors will have this 2-disc set placed together with the likes of obscure independents and overlooked foreign films, as part of the Criterion Collection. While the movie may not fit the typical Criterion mold, the release does. In addition to the director's cut of the film (which means a few additional minutes added onto the already long running time), the set contains a slew of audio commentaries, a jazzy 5.1 track, a gag reel, featurettes, special effects supplements, and more, the Criterion release of Armageddon almost makes the retail price not look so grossly high. The unfortunate thing (well, besides, what some would argue is the movie) is that the feature is not anamorphically-enhanced. Bummer. No anamorphic for Armageddon?! What the hell did Harry save the world for then?!
Buy this DVD

Criterion does it yet again with this 2-disc set of Hitchcock's first Hollywood film. Rebecca gets a luminous black-and-white transfer with minimal graininess. A sumptuous and suspenseful adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's novel of romance and obsession, beautifully played and filmed and justly awarded the Oscar for Best Picture. Perfect film loaded with perfect extras.
Buy this DVD

Courting controversy from its very inception, Life of Brian serves mainly as an excuse for the Monty Python boys to take aim at some of their favorite targets and serve up some typically juvenile gags albeit with a satirical edge. This sporadically hilarious send-up of religious epics and organized religions - and the bigotry therein - is perhaps the Pythons' most cohesive and assured work, and Criterion treats it with the reverence it so richly deserves. Hilarious commentaries and supplementary material in abundance make this one a necessary purchase.
Buy this DVD

Considered by many to be the greatest war films of all time, Apocalypse Now isn't even really about Vietnam. I'll leave a lengthy interpretation to others, but suffice to say, Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 drama is about the heart of darkness, as adapted from the Joseph Conrad novel. The story behind the making of Apocalypse Now is one of the most interesting Hollywood tales in history, which is why it's a little disappointing that Paramount did not include any supplemental material that examined this, and certainly not the 1991 documentary Hearts of Darkness which detailed everything with on-set footage. What you do get is the film itself, and yes this is the original 144 minute cut that people voted for, not this past year's Redux (although that cut received some votes too). The 2.20:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is pleasing, but some disagree with the framing of the film for home video (it essentially crops off the sides of the 2.35:1 in accordance with the DP's wishes). There's a wicked 5.1 track (well, for its time anyway) and the deleted footage of the destruction of the Kurtz compound, with commentary from Coppola, which clears up that this is not an alternate ending. And a trailer too, but the real attraction here is the film, which is some ride. Be sure to turn it up for the Wagner scene!
Buy this DVD

British horror writer Clive Barker's directorial debut transfers his chilling short story "The Hellbound Heart" to the screen visually intact, creating a claustrophobic shocker that introduces a new mythology to the genre, the Cenobites. Despite uneven direction, stilted humorless dialogue and characterization, graphic scenes of murder and sadomasochism, and an unrelenting bleak atmosphere, the movie - against all odds - delivers the gruesome goods. A great Limited Edition package from Anchor Bay includes the sequel, a commentary on both movies and two superb documentaries. An acquired taste, but...if your stomach can take it...a ghoulish delight, provided you can find it.
Buy this DVD

You might have missed this little treasure of a film in theaters, but New Line's Platinum Series disc for The Sweet Hereafter is more than enough reason for you to finally check it out now on DVD. With a praiseworthy anamorphic transfer, and a surprisingly useful 5.1 track, the film looks and sounds great. Then there are the supplements which include director Atom Eyogan's interview on "The Charlie Rose Show", an audio commentary with Eyogan and author Russell Banks, an isolated score track, trailers, discussion, and more. Supersized treatment for this overlooked film.
Buy this DVD

Brad Pitt, Dennis Farina, Benicio Del Toro, and star in this energetic offbeat action/comedy film from British director Guy Ritchie. The film interweaves several storylines involving gangsters, diamond heists, and an incomprehensible Irish fighter played by Pitt. Columbia's 2-disc Special Edition contains a beautiful anamorphic transfer (and full-screen for those people), a making-of featurette, deleted scenes, storyboard-to-film comparisons, and a commentary from Madonna's husband himself!
Buy this DVD

While this highly-anticipated computer animation project did only (to put it mildly) tepid box office business, Columbia TriStar nevertheless saw the production fit for a 2-disc DVD release, which features one of the most highly-praised direct digital video transfers seen on DVD to date. If you can forget that many considered the film a letdown and that the financial failure of the movie has led to the shutdown of the animation production department, and simply enjoy this DVD set for pure fun, then you'd be like the other people who voted for this. To be fair, many people thought the movie wasn't that bad, and as is the case with many films, an at-home DVD viewing allows people to see some of the quality aspects of a film that might have been missed in theaters.
Buy this DVD

U-571 is one of those movies that people outrightly admit is not an excellent film. Of course, the movie quality was only one thing to take into account when voting. That the same people who admitted that U-571 was not cinema at its finest nevertheless included it on their Top 10 DVDs lists underlines just how good of a presentation Universal gave this film. Containing what some have argued is the single greatest audio track ever (though a majority would give the nod to Saving Private Ryan, Toy Story 2, or even The Phantom Menace) and a crisp, pleasing video transfer, this action film is perfect for giving your home theater system a full workout and is a nice demo material to show people who just don't get why DVD is better than VHS.
Buy this DVD

Gene Hackman's a pretty cool guy, and I give props to any DVD release that rhymes when you say it. I've read that the guy from Jaws is in it, the one who's not Robert Shaw or Richard Dreyfuss. No wonder he got the part in Jaws. (Note: CNN's Bernard Shaw is not in this movie, either.)
Buy this DVD