Noel Megahey's Top 5 DVDs of 2009
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Independent and World Cinema on DVD - The Year in Review 2009
It was always the case that 2009 was going to be a decisive year for the DVD home entertainment industry, 2008’s economic downturn pushing long-established retailers and distributors to the wall at the time when the major studios were trying to deliver the newer, more expensive Blu-ray format as the next generation. Inevitably, while there certainly has been a huge growth in the amount of Blu-ray titles available and its take-up with a small but committed group of film fans, the High Definition format has failed to make a significant impact on the consciousness of the wider general public, who fail to see the substantial improvements promised in audio/visual quality and are not persuaded by the dubious benefits of Digital Copies and BD-Live or the handicap of region coding being reintroduced and reinforced. While the those battles are still being fought, the outcome is already starting to form and the future, like it or not, would seem to lie in the direction being forged by Warner Bros. as the studio cuts back on its production and release of catalogue titles on DVD in favour of downloads and discs pressed on demand.
The struggle to hold ground when the sand in the arena is shifting appears, on the surface at least, to have had very little impact on the release of new and classic independent and world cinema titles by British distributors in 2009. With the notable exception of the BFI, Blu-ray has yet to expand towards being a significant part of any of the smaller distributors’ catalogues. Masters of Cinema have been slow to follow-up what looked like being a break-through year for them with Mad Detective, releasing only Kyoishi Kurosawa’s intriguing Tokyo Sonata on HD format in the earlier part of the year, though with their recent release of F. W. Murnau’s Sunrise – the first silent feature on Blu-ray – they are certainly breaking new ground, and have clear intentions to extend on this with a number of exciting releases next year that includes Fritz Lang’s M. The first titles in the StudioCanal Collection were a welcome addition to Optimum’s commitment to the new format, and there have been some notable releases from Metrodome but it’s been the BFI who are blazing a trail, not with selective releases of existing back catalogue titles, but by simply continuing their policy of finding rare or impossible to find films, fully restoring them and giving them the best possible presentation – which means Blu-ray where the titles will genuinely benefit from High Definition. While the results have been impressive in the expected areas, in their releases of Pasolini’s Trilogy of Life films and in the re-release of the Bill Douglas Trilogy, the BFI also produced High Definition editions of older titles in their newly established ‘Flipside’ and ‘Adelphi’ lines, promising many future obscurities worthy of rediscovery and re-evaluation in the new high quality format.
Other smaller independent distributors have put their toes in the water early in the year and just as quickly withdrawn them as far as Blu-ray releases are concerned. Drakes Avenue/ICA never followed up on their fine release of Sophie Scholl last year (but did at least release some fine DVDs with much improved transfers), and after the Wong Kar-wai releases in January and a fine HD release of Waltz with Bashir, Artificial Eye didn’t go near the Blu-ray format since March of 2009 (although again, that situation is set to change in the year ahead). Trinity are the only other small distributor to step forward into the new era, coming back after a hiatus in October, with strong HD re-releases of Import Export and Beaufort. Axiom’s first BD release is a safe one with the movie version of the Puccini opera La Bohème (starring two of operas brightest young stars), but there is much in their increasingly impressive catalogue including some Wim Wenders titles that could also benefit from High Definition releases in the year ahead.
Aside from the dearth of Blu-ray releases where more might reasonably have been expected from the cautious optimism of last year, 2009 has nonetheless been a strong year for standard definition DVD releases, with all the small independent UK labels easily matching the standard of last year both in terms of delivering new, interesting and worthwhile world cinema, and in the quality of the presentation. Pleasingly, a few of the newer small distributors in the UK who had been quiet for the early-to-middle part of the year – Diffusion and Trinity – came back with strong new statements of intent, Trinity with the aforementioned ventures into HD releases, Diffusion with a theatrical and DVD release of Azazel Jacobs’ excellent Momma’s Man. (On a similar note, it was pleasing to see the US independent Benten Films return with a fine Azazel Jacobs title The GoodTimesKid and also maintain the quality of their feature-packed releases). It’s notable that the end of the year also saw the return of Tartan under the name of Palisades Tartan, initially with more Asian horror cinema, so as of yet it remains to be seen whether they will be able to re-establish the kind of range they previously put out.
Personally, I was less taken with Soda’s catalogue this year, hitting one or two duds in the form of La Zona, Better Things and Far North, but they deserve praise for bringing Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy to the UK, for their commitment to new British independent cinema and for the generally continued high standards of their releases. Axiom on the other hand went from strength to strength, scarcely a month passing without a notable title being released, expanding their auteur line with more rarely seen Wim Wenders titles and Jean-Claude Brisseau films, but also releasing some important new international cinema that deserves a higher profile (Blue Eyelids, In The City Of Sylvia) in excellent editions with impressive transfers. New Wave started up in February and immediately established themselves as one of the top new small distributors, with a consistent output of new British cinema and world-class filmmakers like Claire Denis, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, The Dardenne Bros and Arnaud Desplechin. Their future plans show promise for continued expansion, filling in areas unexplored in experimental and art-cinema. Some of the most impressive titles and releases of the year have come from Artificial Eye – stunning new transfers of Wong Kar-wai’s Happy Together, Ashes of Time Redux and Chungking Express (the latter two also on Blu-ray), as well as some essential cinema in the form of major heavyweight players Alexander Sokurov (Alexandra), Abbas Kiarostami (The Wind Will Carry Us), Béla Tarr (the breathtaking The Man From London), a new complete Essential Michael Haneke collection and a whole new batch of Jacques Rivette titles. Barring some of the latter Rivettes, the quality of Artificial Eye releases remains impressive, most of them with fine director interviews as extra features that are often better than a commentary track.
If there were no major developments then over the year, there were at least no major losses as there have been in previous years, and no lessening in quality or output from the usual reliable distributors of independent and arthouse material. Such a stable situation is however reflected in my somewhat predicable choice of my favourite DVDs of the year which runs almost like a mirror image from last year, featuring a Bill Douglas release from the BFI, a Maurice Pialat release from Masters of Cinema, a quirky Second Run release, a ‘mumblecore’ film from Benten and another lesser-known title from one of the other independent distributors. I make no apologies however for not choosing less obvious releases (and as noted in the preceding paragraphs, there are plenty of other choices equally as worthy), but feel that in the current climate, it’s something to celebrate that we can still rely on the quality of those releases and the huge efforts that the respective companies put into the presentation of the films on DVD that would otherwise be difficult, if not near impossible, to otherwise see. That’s the case with the five films listed below, five films that I can honestly say I watched with just a little more enjoyment, delight, amazement and with a feeling of gratitude than the others, the thrill enhanced all the more by their exceptional presentation on DVD and Blu-ray.
Top 5 DVDs 2009
1. Comrades (Blu-ray) - Bill Douglas (BFI, UK)
The BFI’s release of the Bill Douglas Trilogy was one of the highlights of last year, leading to what for many was the rediscovery of an important and brilliantly unique British director, capable of working powerfully with deeply personal material. Following that up not only with a Blu-ray presentation of the Trilogy in 2009, the BFI also gave us a DVD and an impressive Blu-ray release of the only full-length feature by Douglas – made in 1986 but rarely seen – also rounding up some rare short features and a couple of fine documentaries to top-off an outstanding package. Covering the deportation of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, a group of Dorset men who were arrested and transported to Australia in 1834 for illegally forming a union, Comrades is nonetheless a very personal filmmaking exercise for Douglas, who pours his life and soul into it. A wonderful rediscovery of an outstanding film that is sure to be considered as one of the most important British films of recent times. Isn’t this what the BFI is for?
(Full review)
2. The GoodTimesKid - Azazel Jacobs (Benten Films, USA)
While 2009 was a year for regrouping and reworking their strategy having teamed up with Watchmaker Films, the only release from Benten this year however at least adhered to their commitment to quality of presentation and an abundance of worthwhile extra features, as well as their promise to bring exciting, original, new independent cinema to the fore. Azazel Jacobs’ The GoodTimesKid certainly fits that description, a fresh and invigorating reminder of how powerful cinema can be at expressing simple truths and situations while also being a lot of fun in the process. It’s this attitude that should ensure that Jacobs – whose latest film Momma’s Man also demonstrated the director’s abilities – will be an important new filmmaker worth keeping an eye on, one more than capable of making the transition from independent cinema to mainstream acceptance without losing any of the qualities that make his work so unique in the first place.
(Full review)
3. Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble - Maurice Pialat (Masters of Cinema, UK)
The Masters of Cinema releases of a substantial part of Maurice Pialat's work is another welcome series in a strong and varied line-up from the distributor, and such an important one that it’s amazing that so far we’ve had little access to the work of one of the great modern French directors, whose influence on cinema is no less important than Renoir or Bresson. Any viewing of modern French cinema would be incomplete without considering the themes and techniques used by Pialat, particularly, but not exclusively, in his first three remarkable films. No more so than in the second of those films, Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble (We Won’t Grow Old Together), a no-holds-barred and deeply unpleasant look at the break-up of a relationship, but one that is utterly compelling and painfully truthful about relationships – or at least one particular relationship – but it also has much to say in general about what men and women expect from each other. Pialat’s cinema was revolutionary for its time and still packs a powerful raw emotional force and authenticity that is still unsurpassed today. The DVD presentation is, as ever, exemplary.
(Full review)
4. In The City of Sylvia - José Luis Guerín (Axiom, UK)
Guerín’s remarkable feature also demonstrated in a unique and personal way how powerful cinema can be when taken away from the conventional dramatic narrative structure. Reminiscent of Claire Denis’ wonderful Vendredi Soir where the subject is as simple as boy meets girl, In The City of Sylvia is even more minimalist in that nothing apparently comes of the encounter between a young man and the young woman he follows through the streets of Strasbourg. That doesn’t prevent the film however from being hauntingly beautiful and deeply entrancing in its Romantic striving for an ideal that may be inspired by nothing more than a dream. Questions about the aspect ratio aside, the presentation of this wonderful film on DVD by Axiom is impressive, and contains an informative interview with the director.
(Full review)
5. Three Films by Marc Isaacs - Marc Isaacs (Second Run, UK)
Second Run consistently strive to bring eminently worthy and highly original but rarely seen films to DVD from all four corners of the world, but their release of three short documentary features from UK filmmaker Marc Isaacs shows that you don’t have to travel too far to find unique and fascinating cinema that is keenly in touch with the world we live in today and the people we see around us. Whether it be regular people using the lift of a tower block, people encountered on a train, or immigrants and emigrants at Calais, Isaacs has a remarkable ability to break down barriers and reveal a largely untapped resource in simple human stories of coping with everyday life. Like most of the films in my selection of the year, the filmmaking ability evident in the presentation of seemingly simple commonplace stories is matched with a large degree of personal investment that each of the writer/directors bring to the material, delving deep within themselves to bring out those essential insights and truths.
(Full review)
Noel Megahey’s Previous Top 5 DVD listings - 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Recommend this article to your friends by clicking the link below.
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You can also follow us on Twitter at these accounts:
Follow @thedigitalfix Follow @HomeDigitalFix
It was always the case that 2009 was going to be a decisive year for the DVD home entertainment industry, 2008’s economic downturn pushing long-established retailers and distributors to the wall at the time when the major studios were trying to deliver the newer, more expensive Blu-ray format as the next generation. Inevitably, while there certainly has been a huge growth in the amount of Blu-ray titles available and its take-up with a small but committed group of film fans, the High Definition format has failed to make a significant impact on the consciousness of the wider general public, who fail to see the substantial improvements promised in audio/visual quality and are not persuaded by the dubious benefits of Digital Copies and BD-Live or the handicap of region coding being reintroduced and reinforced. While the those battles are still being fought, the outcome is already starting to form and the future, like it or not, would seem to lie in the direction being forged by Warner Bros. as the studio cuts back on its production and release of catalogue titles on DVD in favour of downloads and discs pressed on demand.
The struggle to hold ground when the sand in the arena is shifting appears, on the surface at least, to have had very little impact on the release of new and classic independent and world cinema titles by British distributors in 2009. With the notable exception of the BFI, Blu-ray has yet to expand towards being a significant part of any of the smaller distributors’ catalogues. Masters of Cinema have been slow to follow-up what looked like being a break-through year for them with Mad Detective, releasing only Kyoishi Kurosawa’s intriguing Tokyo Sonata on HD format in the earlier part of the year, though with their recent release of F. W. Murnau’s Sunrise – the first silent feature on Blu-ray – they are certainly breaking new ground, and have clear intentions to extend on this with a number of exciting releases next year that includes Fritz Lang’s M. The first titles in the StudioCanal Collection were a welcome addition to Optimum’s commitment to the new format, and there have been some notable releases from Metrodome but it’s been the BFI who are blazing a trail, not with selective releases of existing back catalogue titles, but by simply continuing their policy of finding rare or impossible to find films, fully restoring them and giving them the best possible presentation – which means Blu-ray where the titles will genuinely benefit from High Definition. While the results have been impressive in the expected areas, in their releases of Pasolini’s Trilogy of Life films and in the re-release of the Bill Douglas Trilogy, the BFI also produced High Definition editions of older titles in their newly established ‘Flipside’ and ‘Adelphi’ lines, promising many future obscurities worthy of rediscovery and re-evaluation in the new high quality format.
Other smaller independent distributors have put their toes in the water early in the year and just as quickly withdrawn them as far as Blu-ray releases are concerned. Drakes Avenue/ICA never followed up on their fine release of Sophie Scholl last year (but did at least release some fine DVDs with much improved transfers), and after the Wong Kar-wai releases in January and a fine HD release of Waltz with Bashir, Artificial Eye didn’t go near the Blu-ray format since March of 2009 (although again, that situation is set to change in the year ahead). Trinity are the only other small distributor to step forward into the new era, coming back after a hiatus in October, with strong HD re-releases of Import Export and Beaufort. Axiom’s first BD release is a safe one with the movie version of the Puccini opera La Bohème (starring two of operas brightest young stars), but there is much in their increasingly impressive catalogue including some Wim Wenders titles that could also benefit from High Definition releases in the year ahead.
Aside from the dearth of Blu-ray releases where more might reasonably have been expected from the cautious optimism of last year, 2009 has nonetheless been a strong year for standard definition DVD releases, with all the small independent UK labels easily matching the standard of last year both in terms of delivering new, interesting and worthwhile world cinema, and in the quality of the presentation. Pleasingly, a few of the newer small distributors in the UK who had been quiet for the early-to-middle part of the year – Diffusion and Trinity – came back with strong new statements of intent, Trinity with the aforementioned ventures into HD releases, Diffusion with a theatrical and DVD release of Azazel Jacobs’ excellent Momma’s Man. (On a similar note, it was pleasing to see the US independent Benten Films return with a fine Azazel Jacobs title The GoodTimesKid and also maintain the quality of their feature-packed releases). It’s notable that the end of the year also saw the return of Tartan under the name of Palisades Tartan, initially with more Asian horror cinema, so as of yet it remains to be seen whether they will be able to re-establish the kind of range they previously put out.
Personally, I was less taken with Soda’s catalogue this year, hitting one or two duds in the form of La Zona, Better Things and Far North, but they deserve praise for bringing Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy to the UK, for their commitment to new British independent cinema and for the generally continued high standards of their releases. Axiom on the other hand went from strength to strength, scarcely a month passing without a notable title being released, expanding their auteur line with more rarely seen Wim Wenders titles and Jean-Claude Brisseau films, but also releasing some important new international cinema that deserves a higher profile (Blue Eyelids, In The City Of Sylvia) in excellent editions with impressive transfers. New Wave started up in February and immediately established themselves as one of the top new small distributors, with a consistent output of new British cinema and world-class filmmakers like Claire Denis, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, The Dardenne Bros and Arnaud Desplechin. Their future plans show promise for continued expansion, filling in areas unexplored in experimental and art-cinema. Some of the most impressive titles and releases of the year have come from Artificial Eye – stunning new transfers of Wong Kar-wai’s Happy Together, Ashes of Time Redux and Chungking Express (the latter two also on Blu-ray), as well as some essential cinema in the form of major heavyweight players Alexander Sokurov (Alexandra), Abbas Kiarostami (The Wind Will Carry Us), Béla Tarr (the breathtaking The Man From London), a new complete Essential Michael Haneke collection and a whole new batch of Jacques Rivette titles. Barring some of the latter Rivettes, the quality of Artificial Eye releases remains impressive, most of them with fine director interviews as extra features that are often better than a commentary track.
If there were no major developments then over the year, there were at least no major losses as there have been in previous years, and no lessening in quality or output from the usual reliable distributors of independent and arthouse material. Such a stable situation is however reflected in my somewhat predicable choice of my favourite DVDs of the year which runs almost like a mirror image from last year, featuring a Bill Douglas release from the BFI, a Maurice Pialat release from Masters of Cinema, a quirky Second Run release, a ‘mumblecore’ film from Benten and another lesser-known title from one of the other independent distributors. I make no apologies however for not choosing less obvious releases (and as noted in the preceding paragraphs, there are plenty of other choices equally as worthy), but feel that in the current climate, it’s something to celebrate that we can still rely on the quality of those releases and the huge efforts that the respective companies put into the presentation of the films on DVD that would otherwise be difficult, if not near impossible, to otherwise see. That’s the case with the five films listed below, five films that I can honestly say I watched with just a little more enjoyment, delight, amazement and with a feeling of gratitude than the others, the thrill enhanced all the more by their exceptional presentation on DVD and Blu-ray.
Top 5 DVDs 2009
1. Comrades (Blu-ray) - Bill Douglas (BFI, UK)
The BFI’s release of the Bill Douglas Trilogy was one of the highlights of last year, leading to what for many was the rediscovery of an important and brilliantly unique British director, capable of working powerfully with deeply personal material. Following that up not only with a Blu-ray presentation of the Trilogy in 2009, the BFI also gave us a DVD and an impressive Blu-ray release of the only full-length feature by Douglas – made in 1986 but rarely seen – also rounding up some rare short features and a couple of fine documentaries to top-off an outstanding package. Covering the deportation of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, a group of Dorset men who were arrested and transported to Australia in 1834 for illegally forming a union, Comrades is nonetheless a very personal filmmaking exercise for Douglas, who pours his life and soul into it. A wonderful rediscovery of an outstanding film that is sure to be considered as one of the most important British films of recent times. Isn’t this what the BFI is for?
(Full review)
2. The GoodTimesKid - Azazel Jacobs (Benten Films, USA)
While 2009 was a year for regrouping and reworking their strategy having teamed up with Watchmaker Films, the only release from Benten this year however at least adhered to their commitment to quality of presentation and an abundance of worthwhile extra features, as well as their promise to bring exciting, original, new independent cinema to the fore. Azazel Jacobs’ The GoodTimesKid certainly fits that description, a fresh and invigorating reminder of how powerful cinema can be at expressing simple truths and situations while also being a lot of fun in the process. It’s this attitude that should ensure that Jacobs – whose latest film Momma’s Man also demonstrated the director’s abilities – will be an important new filmmaker worth keeping an eye on, one more than capable of making the transition from independent cinema to mainstream acceptance without losing any of the qualities that make his work so unique in the first place.
(Full review)
3. Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble - Maurice Pialat (Masters of Cinema, UK)
The Masters of Cinema releases of a substantial part of Maurice Pialat's work is another welcome series in a strong and varied line-up from the distributor, and such an important one that it’s amazing that so far we’ve had little access to the work of one of the great modern French directors, whose influence on cinema is no less important than Renoir or Bresson. Any viewing of modern French cinema would be incomplete without considering the themes and techniques used by Pialat, particularly, but not exclusively, in his first three remarkable films. No more so than in the second of those films, Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble (We Won’t Grow Old Together), a no-holds-barred and deeply unpleasant look at the break-up of a relationship, but one that is utterly compelling and painfully truthful about relationships – or at least one particular relationship – but it also has much to say in general about what men and women expect from each other. Pialat’s cinema was revolutionary for its time and still packs a powerful raw emotional force and authenticity that is still unsurpassed today. The DVD presentation is, as ever, exemplary.
(Full review)
4. In The City of Sylvia - José Luis Guerín (Axiom, UK)
Guerín’s remarkable feature also demonstrated in a unique and personal way how powerful cinema can be when taken away from the conventional dramatic narrative structure. Reminiscent of Claire Denis’ wonderful Vendredi Soir where the subject is as simple as boy meets girl, In The City of Sylvia is even more minimalist in that nothing apparently comes of the encounter between a young man and the young woman he follows through the streets of Strasbourg. That doesn’t prevent the film however from being hauntingly beautiful and deeply entrancing in its Romantic striving for an ideal that may be inspired by nothing more than a dream. Questions about the aspect ratio aside, the presentation of this wonderful film on DVD by Axiom is impressive, and contains an informative interview with the director.
(Full review)
5. Three Films by Marc Isaacs - Marc Isaacs (Second Run, UK)
Second Run consistently strive to bring eminently worthy and highly original but rarely seen films to DVD from all four corners of the world, but their release of three short documentary features from UK filmmaker Marc Isaacs shows that you don’t have to travel too far to find unique and fascinating cinema that is keenly in touch with the world we live in today and the people we see around us. Whether it be regular people using the lift of a tower block, people encountered on a train, or immigrants and emigrants at Calais, Isaacs has a remarkable ability to break down barriers and reveal a largely untapped resource in simple human stories of coping with everyday life. Like most of the films in my selection of the year, the filmmaking ability evident in the presentation of seemingly simple commonplace stories is matched with a large degree of personal investment that each of the writer/directors bring to the material, delving deep within themselves to bring out those essential insights and truths.
(Full review)
Noel Megahey’s Previous Top 5 DVD listings - 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Recommend this article to your friends by clicking the link below.
By liking our page you'll get updates posted directly to your news feed so you never miss a thing!
You can also follow us on Twitter at these accounts:
Follow @thedigitalfix Follow @HomeDigitalFix
Member
Posts: 185
In terms of the quality of the main feature itself, I'd say Of Time and the City (BFI), was the best thing I saw on DVD this year.
In terms of the breadth of extras, the best DVD was Master of Cinema's La Gueule Ouverte.
For me, though, the best DVD of the year would have to be a combination of a great main feature and oodles of brilliant extras. Therefore my choice for DVD of the year would be...
(Roll on the drums)
The BFI's Derek. :)