Ian White's Top 5 Blu-ray Discs of 2012
By Ian White
You're gonna need a bigger screen...
2012 was only an average year for new film releases, but home theater fans were deluged with a monumental number of blockbuster releases on Blu-ray Disc including some of the best box sets in history. In a year where Bond, the Avengers, Spider-Man, and the Dark Knight ruled at the box office, it was the classics like Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., and Jaws that completely dominated on home video.
Even as more and more consumers get their movies via Vudu, iTunes, Amazon, and Netflix, Blu-ray continues to thrive offering the best picture and sound as well as an outstanding 3D experience for home viewing. However, 3D TV itself continued to struggle this year as consumers mostly ran for the exits.
While I still don't understand the excitement (is there any?) surrounding UltraViolet, it's clear that consumers are interested in digesting their favorite films wherever they go and that has to be great news for the studios who continue to churn out some pretty mediocre fare (but with a few gems thrown in, to be sure).
So...sit back, toss some chum and enjoy my top five Blu-ray discs of 2012.
Lawrence of Arabia (Sony Pictures)
My easy pick for the top Blu-ray of year with a reference level transfer worthy of the best home theater systems and worth every penny of its steep asking price. The 50th Anniversary Limited Collector's Edition contains a fabulous coffee table book with never-before-seen photographs and artwork and the bonus material will keep you fixated for hours. Not only did this Blu-ray of the David Lean masterpiece mate with a scorpion, but its timing was perfect as events in the Middle East continue to unfold in Cairo, Damascus, and Jerusalem.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Sony Pictures)
Hollywood's big screen adaptation of Stieg Larsson's best-selling Millennium trilogy hit all of the right notes with newcomer Rooney Mara stealing the show from Daniel Craig with her dark and ice cold portrayal of Lisbeth Salander. Mara still has two more films to yank the title from Swedish actress, Noomi Rapace, who turned Salander into a cult figure and is considered by most diehard fans to be the true "Lisbeth." Shot on location in both Sweden and Norway, the film looks just beautiful in HD with deep blacks, fantastic shadow detail, and one of the best surround tracks of the year.
Sunset Boulevard (Paramount Pictures)
Ask yourself a serious question. Does anyone in 2012 make movies as well as Billy Wilder did between 1945-1965? Don't strain yourself too hard trying to figure out the answer. One of Wilder's greatest films starring William Holden and Gloria Swanson left audiences with their jaws in their proverbial laps and the film has lost none of its satiric bite sixty-two years later. A perfect film from the first frame to the last dramatic moment. The Blu-ray transfer is superb in every way and a must-own if you truly love great cinema. The ultimate poke in the eye with a sharp stick that left a mark on tinseltown; it never healed.
The Amazing Spider-Man (Sony Pictures)
Superhero reboots have replaced original stories at the major studios and as much as I enjoyed the
Avengers, it was the web crawler that got me all excited about radioactive arachnids in 2012. Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) quickly made audiences forget about that other guy (Toby Wong. Toby Chu, Toby Who?) who wore the red suit and it didn't hurt that he and co-star, Emma Stone, were already a hot item before the film was even released. The 2D Blu-ray is the one to get as the film never really takes that flying leap in 3D that makes you really want to swing through midtown.
Jaws (Universal Studios)
Perhaps the most anticipated Blu-ray of the year and fortunately one of the best as well. One of the biggest box office smashes of all-time and one of the best psychological terror films to mess with a seven year-olds head (who never wanted to learn how to swim until he was 12). The Blu-ray transfer took years to finish and the finished product with fantastic black levels and one of the best sounding scores ever produced still packs a serious bite (how many pounds per square inch Mr. Hooper?). Turn down the lights, stick a mechanical shark in the bathtub and crank it loud. You're gonna need a bigger screen.
Honorable Mentions:
Titles I'd Like to See on Blu-ray in 2013
- Double Indemnity
- The Lost Weekend
- The Bad Sleep Well
- Throne of Blood
- Skyfall
- Stalag 17
- Exodus
- The Wire
- On the Waterfront
- Ace in the Hole
