The Fall of the Roman Empire: Limited Collector’s Edition

It’s a cliché to say but they really don’t make films like The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) anymore. Anthony Mann’s magnum opus is part of a grand tradition of big budget historical epics like Ben-Hur (1959), Spartacus (1960), and El Cid (1961).... 

Cloverfield

Cloverfield was the first media sensation of 2008 and an excellent case study in canny marketing. A teaser trailer appeared in theaters months ahead and featured a few, brief, tantalizing scenes of chaos in Manhattan with no mention of a title or who... 

Tilt: The Battle to Save Pinball

Anyone who grew up in the 1960s and especially the 1970s has probably played a game of pinball at least once in their lives. At its core is a simple game of hitting a little ball with a couple of paddles controlled by two buttons but it also requires... 

There Will Be Blood: Special Collector’s Edition

After the highly unconventional romantic comedy, Punch-Drunk Love (2002), many speculated about what writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson would do next. In a bold move, he decided to adapt Upton Sinclair’s novel, Oil! about ambitious oil tycoons in... 

Blast of Silence: Criterion Collection

Many film noir buffs cite Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil (1958) as the last film of the genre’s classical period but an argument can certainly be made for Allen Baron’s Blast of Silence (1961). As Terrence Rafferty’s liner notes for this DVD point... 

Enchanted

Essentially a reworking of Disney’s animated takes on Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty (while also referencing many others), Enchanted was a surprise hit in 2007 thanks in large part to the irrepressible charms of its leading lady, Amy Adams. Part animated... 

The Mist: 2-Disc Collector’s Edition

Filmmaker Frank Darabont has a real affinity for Stephen King’s stories having previously adapted two of the author’s non-horror tales (The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile) and with his latest film he tackles another King story, The Mist (2007),... 

PTU: Special Collector’s Edition

The busy, noisy sounds of the street play over the opening credits of PTU (2003) quickly establishing the film’s gritty, no-nonsense vibe. Four young street punks beat-up an overweight police detective known as Fatty and steal his gun. The Police Tactical... 

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: Special Edition

An R rated musical about a vengeful barber who kills his victims only to serve them up as meat pies must’ve made the studio a little nervous to bankroll a big budget adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s award-winning Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of... 

Juno: Two-Disc Special Edition

Juno was The Little Miss Sunshine (2006) of 2007 – the little independent film that could. Once the studio realized that it had a successful crowd-pleaser on its hands, the film was promoted from the art-house circuit to the multiplexes. Actress Ellen...