Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Mel Neuhaus's Top 10 of 2006 Best Picture and Sound on DVD

1. The Searchers (Ultimate Collector's Edition; Warner, 2 discs). The John Ford/John Wayne classic never looked better, in crisp Technicolor and Ford's preferred VistaVision aspect ratio. With tons of interviews and other extras, including the 1956 comic book!

2. Forbidden Planet (Ultimate Collector's Edition; Warner, 2 discs). Beautiful color and crystal-clear CinemaScope images are so good that a guest mistook the disc for high-def. Great extras, too: documentaries, a whole other Robby the Robot feature - even a Robby toy!

3. Mutiny on the Bounty (1962, Special Edition; Warner, 2 discs). Mind-blowing 65mm transfer with Technicolor that'll knock you for a loop. Plus terrific surround that'll rock both your hull and your stern. Includes restoration of the long-thought-lost Prologue and Epilogue.

4. The Abbott and Costello Show: Season 1 (100th Anniversary Collection; Passport, 5 discs). An A&C fan's dream come true: all pristine 35mm prints plus hours of extras, including Costello's 1940s home movies (many with sound and in color) and interviews with his daughters.

5. The Girl Can't Help It (20th Century Fox). Magnificent, ebullient CinemaScope transfer with original stereo tracks remixed in jammin' 4.0 surround. Nice commentary and an hour-long A&E Jayne Mansfield bio.

6. The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (No Shame). Spectacular uncut 2.35 transfer of this previously unwatchable enfant terrible. Option of English or Italian track (with English subtitles) plus an often raunchy interview with the still ultra-gorgeous star Erika Blanc.

7. The Black Pit of Dr. M (CasaNegra). Black-and-white so rich, luxurious, and atmospheric, you'll think you've come upon a lost 1930s Universal classic rather than a 1950s Mexican horror opus. A crypt full of extras includes exhaustive background on the movie's unsung director, cast, and crew as well as the much-maligned South of the Border supernatural genre in general.

8. Gojira (Deluxe Collector's Edition; Sony Wonder, 2 discs). The restored, complete 1954 Toho monster classic like you've never seen it before (literally). Excellent black-and-white imagery from the best surviving 35mm materials (in Japanese with English subtitles) plus the 1956 Americanized Godzilla: King of the Monsters (with Raymond Burr). Fascinating featurettes trace the story development and the evolution of the "Godzilla Suit."

9. Seven Men from Now (Special Collector's Edition; Paramount). Long-overdue release of this legendary '50s Western, with eye-popping color restoration replacing the soft, faded WarnerColor prints. Nifty background supplements discuss the production's history from inception to release.

10. Sergeant Rutledge (Warner). Underrated but major John Ford work gets the formidable Warner treatment it deserves. The immaculate widescreen transfer vividly conveys how special it was to see a Technicolor movie.