IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

Salutations, disc devotees,

Since new release titles are scant over the next two Tuesdays (around Christmas and New Years Eve), my “Garv’s Pick of the Week” column is on hold until January. In the meantime, it’s a good opportunity to look back over the past year and choose my favorite Blu-ray and DVD releases of 2020.

The list that follows should not be considered a “best of” list. These are simply my favorite 20 discs from 2020. Keep in mind, these are the picks of one person, and consequently, they are extremely subjective. My taste won’t necessarily match yours, but hopefully you’ll find a few intriguing titles below.

Also, I don’t have time to watch everything, and I don’t receive review screeners for all Blu-ray releases. Consequently, some titles, such as Criterion’s Essential Fellini and Severin’s The Complete Lenzi/Baker Giallo Collection, did not make the list simply because I didn’t budget for them. That doesn’t mean those aren’t fantastic releases or that I’m not interested in them. In fact, if anyone is looking at getting me a Christmas gift, those sets are near the top of my “wish list.” Are you listening, Santa?

A few quick notes —

• Although there are twenty slots, I cheated and peppered the disc descriptions with some honorable mentions that I didn’t want to leave off the list entirely.
• Some (but not all of the titles that follow) received a full review on this website earlier in the year. In those cases, I provided the link to the longer review for the curious.
• Finally, the photos of the Blu-ray and DVD covers below are not merely illustrative.  They are also links to the titles on Amazon.com for ease of ordering or to read additional customer reviews.
• Enough prologue already! Here’s the list:

Garv’s Picks of the Year: 2020

1. Murder, He Says [Blu-ray / Kino Lorber]: I had never heard of this 1945 screwball “scare comedy” prior to the release of the Blu-ray, and I didn’t pay much attention when the disc was announced. However, as is often the case, after the disc was available, I kept running across mentions of the movie. What I read made me think that I should check it out before year’s end. Consequently, I placed a last minute order, and I’m certainly glad I did. Murder, He Says was my most enjoyable “first watch” all year. The film is a wonderfully bonkers mix of genres, incorporating comedy, horror, mystery, noir, and “old dark house” hijinks. Imagine if someone was to put Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) and a Ma & Pa Kettle movie in a blender. The result would be something like Murder, He Says. Fred MacMurray stars as a pollster who runs afoul of a family of homicidal hillbillies, when trying to track down a previous poll worker who “disappeared.” A hidden stash of stolen loot, an escaped inmate, poison that makes people glow in the dark, and a surprising amount of violence figure into the plot. Not only is this now my favorite Fred MacMurray performance; the picture features marvelous supporting work from Helen Walker, Marjorie Main, Peter Whitney (as twins), Jean Heather, and Porter Hall. After seeing this zany dark comedy, you will never again hear the theme to NPR’s All Things Considered without singing “Honors flysis, Income beesis, Onches nobis, Inob keesis.” By the way, Murder, He Says was originally planned as as a third “scare comedy” pairing for Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard after The Cat and the Canary (1939) and The Ghost Breakers (1940). Kino also released those “old dark house” comedies on Blu-ray this year, and they are high on my honorable mentions list.
2. Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 1 [Blu-ray / Warner Archive]:  Tex Avery directed the wildest cartoons of the Forties and Fifties, and his work at MGM was his very best. The original negatives of these cartoons were destroyed in the 1965 MGM vault fire, but a restoration project is currently underway to preserve the shorts with 4K scans of the best surviving elements. The Warner Archive Collection is releasing single-disc Blu-ray collections of the cartoons as the restorations are completed. Two sets have been released over the past year, and while I only listed Volume 1 here, both volumes are highly recommended. The restored shorts are vibrant, colorful (from eye-popping reds to pearly pastel backgrounds), and look as fresh as when they were originally released. You can find my full reviews of Volume 1 HERE and Volume 2 HERE.
3. Harry Langdon At Hal Roach: The Talkies 1929-1930 [DVD / The Sprocket Vault]: Many critics consider Harry Langdon the fourth comedy genius of the silent era (behind Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd), and his slooooooower approach to slapstick was incredibly influential on his contemporaries (especially Stan Laurel). However, the same critics that celebrated Langdon’s silent films denounced his output after the advent of sound. Being that Langdon’s talkies were near-impossible to view, that critical consensus stuck until The Sprocket Vault released this DVD collection. Harry Langdon At Hal Roach: The Talkies 1929-1930 contains all eight shorts that Langdon produced in the first year of the talkie era. Having watched the collection, I’m a bit baffled as to how fans of Langdon’s silent comedies could have hated his talkies. Langdon is absolutely playing the same bizarre toddler-like character that made him famous in the Hal Roach films, and the comic premises are just as off-kilter, dark, risque, and surreal as found in his silents. The only noticeable difference is you can hear what the character is saying (except in the first two shorts, which are subtitled, because the soundtracks are missing). I can honestly say that I had a ball watching this 2-DVD collection. While none of the shorts are four-star classics, most of them are above-average two-reel comedies.  Even the worst of the shorts have moments of WTF weirdness that make them worth watching. You can find my full review HERE.
4. Mystery of the Wax Museum [Blu-ray / Warner Archive]: Many film fans are unaware that the popular 3-D horror film House of Wax (1953), starring Vincent Price, was actually a remake of 1933’s Mystery of the Wax Museum, starring Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray. The pre-code original, shot in the two-strip Technicolor process was thought lost until 1969, when a single damaged print turned up. Recently, with the help of a second discovered print, the UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation have restored missing footage and cleaned up the film to look like new. Balancing the color of two-strip Technicolor prints is tricky, and a lot of care was taken to get the colors just right. As a result, the presentation of Mystery of the Wax Museum likely looks better on the Warner Archive Blu-ray than it ever did in theatrical release. All together, the restoration is stunning. I’m happy to hear that the same team is working on Doctor X (1932) for a planned 2021 Blu-ray release. You can find my full review of Mystery of the Wax Museum HERE.
5. Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations [Blu-ray / MVD Visual-The Sprocket Vault]: The UCLA Film and Television Archive has undertaken a years-long restoration of the Laurel & Hardy films, and their painstaking labor has paid off in this 4-disc Blu-ray set.  Two features (Sons of the Desert and Way Out West) and seventeen of their finest short subjects (including my favorite, Busy Bodies) are presented in 2K and 4K transfers from the finest original 35mm materials in the world. That’s a whole lot of nice messes to get yourselves into. The set also represents the home video debut of the restoration of The Battle of the Century, which contains a full reel of footage previously thought lost. This set might have landed at #1 or 2 on this list, except for the fact that there is wide variation in the quality of the restorations. Some of shorts, such as Towed in a Hole and Hog Wild, look absolutely pristine. Whereas, some of the other films appear to have undergone a bit too much digital noise reduction. Still, the best of the restorations are phenomenal, and the eight hours of bonus materials are absolutely top notch. You can find my full review HERE.
6. Lupino Lane: Silent Comedian [Blu-ray / D&D]: This was an excellent year for Blu-ray and DVD releases of rare films starring forgotten film comedians of the silent era, including Kino Lorber’s Reginald Denny Collection and Undercrank Productions’ Douglas MacLean Collection. However, the best of the bunch is Lupino Lane: Silent Comedian from D&D (Dave Glass & Dave Wyatt). With the participation of Serge Bromberg and Lobster Films, Elif & Co at the EYE Film Museum, and Patrick Stanbury (Photoplay), the Daves have restored and released eight shorts featuring British musical hall comedian Lupino Lane. Lane was the most physically flexible of all of the silent film comedians, and his acrobatic skills rival those of Buster Keaton and Douglas Fairbanks. The films included are an absolute delight, and the Musketeers spoof Sword Points (1928) is another of my favorite “first watches” of 2020. Unfortunately, the photo to the right is not clickable. This disc was only offered through a Kickstarter crowdfunding project, with no intention of selling the disc through other retail channels.
7. The Golem [Blu-ray / Kino Lorber]: Along with Mystery of the Wax Museum, The Golem is one of the most beautiful films released on disc this year. I feared that this 1920 horror film would be more like a museum piece than actual entertainment, but I decided to check it out due to its historical importance. Happily, my fears were completely unfounded. The film, conceived and directed by early horror auteur Paul Wegener, is a silent cinema masterpiece. It displays the very heights of storytelling circa 1920. The technical aspects of the production, from the weird set design (modeled after human organs), to the bizarre costumes, to the innovative special effects, are startling for the time; and it is all captured masterfully by cinematographer (and future director) Karl Freund. The disc is from the F.W. Murnau Foundation’s 2018 restoration from the best available surviving elements. Surprisingly, the image is remarkably sharp, vibrant, and largely undamaged. The film has been color tinted to match the original release (blue for night scenes, yellow for outdoor daylight, orange during a blazing fire). All of it adds up to a gorgeous disc. You can find my full review HERE.
8. The Great McGinty [Blu-ray / Kino Lorber]: I’ve made no secret of the fact that Preston Sturges is my favorite filmmaker, so whenever any of his films make the jump to high definition, those Blu-rays are sure to make my favorites list. This year, Kino Lorber released Sturges’ The Great McGinty (1940) and The Criterion Collection released The Lady Eve (1941) on Blu-ray. While both discs should be considered “must own” titles, I’m giving the slot on this list to McGinty, simply because I rank it slightly higher in the Sturges filmography. Sturges was the wittiest screenwriter to ever come out of the Hollywood studio system, and he made the leap to writer/director with this classic comedy. The Great McGinty tells the story of a homeless man (Brian Donlevy) who goes to work for a crooked political Boss (Akim Tamiroff) and rises in the organization until he becomes Governor of the state.  However, his success is threatened when he performs a single selfless act. The moral: “If you’re a crook.  Be a crook.” Sturges was able to get away with very subversive material, because his films were so damned funny; and The Great McGinty is one of his best. You can find my full review HERE.
9. Never Give a Sucker an Even Break [Blu-ray / Kino Lorber]:  This is another personal favorite that you probably won’t find on any other year-end list. No one makes me laugh like W.C. Fields. It is a shame that he is virtually unknown today by younger audiences, because he was the most modern of all of the classic film comedians, having popularized both cringe comedy and misanthropic humor. Up until now, “The Great Man” (as Fields like to be called) has been woefully underrepresented on high definition home video. Happily, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has begun to right this wrong with the release of Fields’ last starring film on Blu-ray. While alcohol had taken its toll on Fields by the time Never Give a Sucker an Even Break was made, the film is no less hilarious. Fields basically plays himself, a ne’er-do-well film comedian by the name of Bill Fields who constantly butts heads with the studio bosses. Yet, W.C. Fields never made a movie less grounded in reality. Sucker displays “The Great Man” at his most outlandish, surreal, and inebriated. Let’s hope that more of The Great Man’s feature film masterpieces make there way to Blu-ray in the upcoming year. You can find my full review HERE.
10. The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection 4K [UHD / Universal]: This year also saw many classic films get a 4K UHD upgrade, with more pixels and a greater range of color, that more closely represent the look of the original film elements. I haven’t had a chance to view the Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 1, which upgraded six films, including Lawrence of Arabia and Dr. Strangelove, or that set might have made this list. Just as impressive, Universal upgraded four classic films from the master of suspense–Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, and The Birds as The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection 4K. While these films have received numerous home video releases over the years, the image has never appeared as detailed and dynamic. Most importantly, a few minutes of footage from Psycho that have been censored since its original theatrical release have been reinserted for the 4K UHD disc.
11. Africa Screams [Blu-ray / ClassicFlix]: One of the lesser Abbott & Costello films received a miraculous 4K restoration from the original 35mm elements by the 3-D Film Archive. This public domain title was in desperate need of a digital scan, before the highly flammable nitrate elements decomposed. A Kickstarter campaign paved the way for the scan, as well as digital restoration and clean-up. The resulting Blu-ray presents Africa Screams in the best condition since its original theatrical release. While the team made better movies, I enjoyed the film much more on my latest viewing, due to the improved condition of the print. The disc is also packed with a hearty package of extras, including a rare radio broadcast, a live TV skit, interviews, outtakes, a scan of a A&C 3-D comic book (with red/blue glasses for viewing), and much more. If you love the team, you’ll want this release. Plus, this is the only film that features supporting roles for both Stooges Shemp Howard and Joe Besser! The same team is currently working on a restoration of Abbott and Costello’s Jack and the Beanstalk (1952), which will receive a ClassicFlix Blu-ray release next year.
12. The Curse of Frankenstein [Blu-ray / Warner Archive]: If you love Hammer horror films on disc, 2020 was a wallet-busting year. Such favorites as Brides of Dracula (1960), Curse of the Werewolf (1961), The Phantom of the Opera (1962), Kiss of the Vampire (1963), Evil of Frankenstein (1964), Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974), and Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974) received standalone Blu-ray releases. However, most important amongst all of the Hammer Blu-rays was the film that started the Hammer horror phenomenon, The Curse of Frankenstein (1957). Prior to the Warner Archive Collection’s new Blu-ray release, The Curse of Frankenstein had looked washed out and damaged on home video (and even in repertory theatrical screenings). Warner Brothers went back to the original separation masters and scanned them at 4K 16 bit, before performing full digital restoration and color correction. The results are a huge improvement over prior home video releases, with a sharper, more colorful image and no visible scratches or speckles. This 2-disc special edition presents the film in your choice of three different aspect ratios, along with a new audio commentary and four entertaining and enlightening featurettes. You can find my full review HERE.
13. Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife [Blu-ray / Kino Lorber]: Ernst Lubitsch goes screwball with this delightful comedy about a multiple divorcee (Gary Cooper) and the woman (Claudette Colbert) who is more than his match. This is another film I had never heard of prior to Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray announcement. Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife is a title that is rarely discussed today, and that’s a pity, because it is an absolute delight. What’s more, it packs more laughs in its 85-minute running time than most romantic comedies made prior to the directorial run of Preston Sturges. You can find my full review HERE.
14. Daughters of Darkness [4K UHD + Blu-ray + CD / Blue Underground]: While it is great to see classics by Hitchcock, David Lean, and Stanley Kubrick get the prestige 4K treatment, it’s a treat to see unexpected cult titles also get a surprise UHD release. Boutique video label Blue Underground recently produced a new restoration of the 1971 cult Euro-horror Daughters of Darkness (a.k.a Les lèvres rouges, 1971) from a 4K scan of the original camera negative, overseen by the film’s director, Harry Kümel. The new restoration reveals more brilliant colors and more stable grain structure than previous releases, and the resulting video is quite stunning. I’d say it’s a improvement in quality on the level of Synapse Film’s Blu-ray and 4K restoration of Suspiria (1977). The restoration was released as a 3-disc limited edition collectors set, containing the film on both 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs, along with a CD of the original soundtrack. You can find my full review HERE.
15. Brick [Blu-ray / Kino Lorber]: If you enjoyed Rian Johnson’s Knives Out (which I consider the most entertaining film of last year), you may want to check out his previous whodunnit movie, which sets a noirish mystery in a high school. Brick is not only a good “first film.” It’s a good film, period. Film noir fanatics and mystery lovers should consider it essential viewing. The video presentation on previous releases was sub-par, but Kino’s release is a new 4K restoration supervised by director Rian Johnson.  The difference is obvious.  The image is sharp with darker and richer colors, and there are no scratches, speckles, or debris to be seen. You can find my full review HERE.
16. The Point [Blu-ray / MVD Rewind Collection]: When it was time for singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson to create his sixth record, he had an idea for a concept album fueled by an acid trip. The album, The Point, would center around Oblio, a round-headed boy (with a very round-sounding name) born into a pointed world. Never one to think small, Harry also thought that the fable-like story would make a pretty cool animated television special. The ABC special, with a mix of music and psychedelic visuals (à la Yellow Submarine), is a favorite of many who grew up in the 1970s, but film was in dire need of restoration. The original negative elements were missing and the 16mm prints had been played to death. MVD did a fantastic job of restoration from the best second generation elements available. You can read my full review HERE.
17. The Cameraman [Blu-ray / Criterion]: The independently produced silent features of Buster Keaton have all received Blu-ray releases, and those features have recently received new 4K scans and digital cleanup. As a result, favorites such as Our Hospitality (1923), The General (1926), and Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) received their second or third U.S. Blu-ray release last year. However, Keaton’s final two silents, produced for MGM, had not received an HD upgrade until now. Happily, the Criterion Collection released The Cameraman (1928) on Blu-ray in June from a new 4K restoration. The disc gets the standard Criterion prestige treatment, with an audio commentary and copious extras. Best of all, the disc includes Buster’s final silent, Spite Marriage (1929), as an added bonus, completing Buster’s silent filmography on Blu-ray.
18. Their Finest Hour: 5 British WWII Classics [Blu-ray / Film Movement]: Over the past couple of years, boutique label Film Movement has become a reliable source of foreign and independent titles on Blu-ray. I especially like that they have been introducing U.S. audiences to popular British films through Blu-ray box sets, such as The Ealing Studios Comedy Collection and Alastair Sim’s School for Laughter. One of the most interesting of these sets was Their Finest Hours: 5 British WWII Classics. This five-Blu-ray box set gathers five of the finest British war films celebrating their efforts in World War II. The set includes Went the Day Well? (1942), The Colditz Story (1955), The Dam Busters (1955), Dunkirk (1958), and Ice Cold in Alex (1958).
19. Police Squad!: The Complete Series [Blu-ray / Paramount]: Before the Naked Gun movies, there was was the television series Police Squad! Though the show only lasted six episodes, each of those episodes was comedy gold. It was arguably the funniest TV show of the Eighties; and in my opinion, it was funnier than the movies that it spawned. Best of all, Police Squad! is completely free of O.J. Simpson, as the character of Norberg was played by Peter Lupus in the television version. The complete series is collected on a single disc, along with a nice collection of special features, including audio commentaries for three of the episodes.
20. Three Fantastic Journeys by Karel Zeman [Blu-ray / Criterion]: This package is a visual feast. Czech director Karel Zeman’s celebrated fantasy films combine live-action, paper-cutouts, and stop-motion animation for a unique experience that influenced numerous future directors, most notably Terry Gilliam. Criterion’s 3-disc set includes Journey to the Beginning of Time (1955), Invention for Destruction (1958), and The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (1962). This set would have ranked higher on the list, except for the fact that these films were previously released on region-free Blu-rays from British label Second Run.