For many years now, Chronicle Books has been publishing a stellar line-up of Disney animation books. For contemporary fans, there’s The Art Of Frozen II (Chronicle Books, $40 SRP), loaded with production insight into the sequel. For deeper dive fans, they’ve continued their series chronicling the development art crafted at the studio during various periods in its history, the latest two volumes of which are They Drew As They Pleased – The Hidden Art Of Disney’s Mid-Century Era: The 1950s & 1960s (Chronicle Books, $50 SRP) & They Drew As They Pleased – The Hidden Art Of Disney’s Early Renaissance: The 1970s & 1980s (Chronicle Books, $50 SRP).
But those aren’t the only Disney books that should be on your holiday list. Disney Editions is releasing a few titles of note, including the tie-in to the Disney+ series One Day at Disney (Disney Editions, $50 SRP), Pete Docter & Christopher Merritt’s 2-volume celebration of a Disney artist & Imagineering legend in Marc Davis in His Own Words: Imagineering the Disney Theme Parks (Disney Editions, $150 SRP), the revised special edition of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit: The Search for the Lost Disney Cartoons (Disney Editions, $80 SRP), The Walt Disney Studios: A Lot to Remember (Disney Editions, $60 SRP), Walt Disney’s Ultimate Inventor: The Genius of Ub Iwerks (Disney Editions, $60 SRP), and former Imagineering president Marty Sklar’s Travels with Figment: On the Road in Search of Disney Dreams (Disney Editions, $26.99 SRP).
Yes, it is a Christmas movie, and you can celebrate the 35th anniversary of Gremlins (Warner Bros., Rated PG, 4K-$41.99 SRP) by watching it in 4K high definition, which means it’s never looked better. Bonus features include a pair of audio commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes, galleries, and trailers.
Documenting his creative career in exquisite detail, Rick Baker: Metamorphosis (Cameron, $250 SRP) is a massive two-volume set containing a comprehensive visual archiving of nearly every creature, makeup, and effect crafted by the legendary cinema artisan. Listen, this thing is massive – And dense. Drop it and it’d break a foot.
Disney has been very kind to fans of both their theme parks and novelty vinyl, releasing a trio of picture albums featuring the complete ride-through audio and songs from Pirates Of The Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, and It’s a Small World (Walt Disney Records, $21.98 SRP each).
If vinyl’s not your thing and you’re just keen on some CD stocking stuffers, you can also score the soundtrack albums for Toy Story 4, The Lion King, Frozen II, Dumbo, & Descendants 3 (Walt Disney Records, $10.99 SRP each).
Largely fallen off the radar, China Beach (Time Life, Not Rated, DVD-$149.95 SRP), while leaning more towards drama than comedy, is to the conflict in Vietnam what M*A*S*H was to the Korean War, and is a series worth your time to explore – or revisit – via this new box set, collecting all 4 seasons plus audio commentaries, interviews, and featurettes.
Years and years ago, the fine folks at Sideshow released a 1/6-scale “figure†of Han Solo in Carbonite (Sideshow Collectibles, $249.99), to the delight of Star Wars fans eager to fill out their displays (particularly their Jabba’s Palace). Fans frustrated that the original piece sold out years ago will be very happy with their new release, with full control panel light features. The main difference is in the display stand, where the original release was intended to represent the alcove in Jabba’s Palace, this new edition has the flooring found in Cloud City from Empire Strikes Back.
And because there’s a new Star Wars film, it also means we get the information & trivia filled Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker The Visual Dictionary: With Exclusive Cross-Sections (DK, $24.99 SRP).
Oh, and hey, Star Wars fans, while I have your attention, the actor inside one-half of your favorite droid duo, Anthony Daniels, has released a memoir – I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story (DK, $24.99 SRP), which contains all of the firsthand anecdotes and details you could hope for, along with a clutch of personal photos.
While I don’t think any of them have aged particularly well as films, there’s no denying that the Batman 4K Film Collection (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, 4K Blu-Ray-$124.99 SRP each) – which contains 4K presentations of Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, & Batman & Robin – looks truly spectacular, from the gothic glory of the Burton films to the day-glo camp of Schumacher’s. Bonus features are all carried over from the previous special editions, including commentaries, documentaries, and more.
Over the course of its 5 seasons, Gotham (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$112.99 SRP) abandoned any pretense of being a somewhat serious Batman prequel series and instead leaned… no, barreled into being a completely bizarre, totally unhinged meta goof that could more easily have been a prequel to the ’66 Batman series. You can now own the complete run, containing featurettes, deleted scenes, panels, and more.
When Batman Beyond (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$99.99 SRP) was announced as a follow-up series to the now-legendary Batman: The Animated Series – leaping forward decades from that show & featuring a teenager as the new Batman – I feared a shark-jumping in the making. But nope, instead it proved to be a brilliant extrapolation of the animated universe, and ended with one of the best Batman films ever crafted, Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker. The show is finally getting a high definition release via this box set, with bonus interviews and featurettes.
Speaking of comic books, there are a couple of hardcover tomes you might want to add to your shelves – DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle (DK, $50 SRP), Brave And Bold: Female DC Heroes Take On The Universe (DK, $16.99 SRP), and The Marvel Book (DK, $25 SRP).
More books? More books! Creator Rebecca Sugar has written a fully-illustrated storybook, Steven Universe: The Tale of Steven (Abrams, $14.99 SRP), a classic comic strip is celebrated in Art of Nothing: 25 Years of Mutts and the Art of Patrick McDonnell (Abrams, $40 SRP), and BoJack Horseman: The Art Before the Horse (Abrams, $40 SRP).
Insight editions has a dragon-sized and comprehensive The Art Of Game Of Thrones (Insight Editions, $75 SRP), which collects the awesome development art generated for the flawed series. Spider-Man: From Amazing To Spectacular – The Definitive Comic Art Collection (Insight Editions, $45 SRP) is an oversized spotlight on over 50 years of character artwork. Old school and new fans of the recent Netflix series will probably want to check out The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance – Inside The Epic Return To Thra (Insight Editions, $50 SRP). Those keen on process should find plenty of interest in Masters Of Comics: Inside The Studios Of The World’s Premier Graphic Storytellers (Insight Editions, $24.99 SRP). Finally, it may be small, but there’s one more bit of Star Wars fun to be had – the pocket-sized Star Wars: The Complete Marvel Comics Covers – Volume 1 (Insight Editions, $11.99 SRP).
In a post-Stranger Things world, the big-screen take on Stephen King’s It (Warner Bros., Rated R, 4K-$44.95 SRP) and its ragtag band of kids fighting a terrifying evil creature couldn’t help but feel a bit “been there, done thatâ€, but the performances from all involved (including Bill Skarsgard as the monstrous Pennywise) made for a film that’s worth a watch. The completion of the story in It: Chapter Two (Warner Bros., Rated R, 4K-$44.95 SRP) doesn’t quite live up to part one, but it does expand the cast out with the adult version of the Losers’ Club. Bonus materials include audio commentary, featurettes, and deleted scenes.
The Warner Archive Collection continues to impress with catalogue titles both unexpected and appreciated. For animation fans, they’ve collected together the first high definition release of Popeye The Sailor: The 1940s Volumes 1-3 (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP each), Jonny Quest: The Complete Original Series (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP), Teen Titans: The Complete Series (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$44.99 SRP), and Hanna-Barbera titles Wally Gator: The Complete Series (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$24.99 SRP) & Lippy The Lion and Hardy Har Har: The Complete Series (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP). On the TV side, they’ve put out Babylon 5: The Complete First Season (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$47.99 SRP) back into MOD print, along with the uncensored first season of Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$24.99 SRP). Finally, see the historical debut of a lot of elements we consider canon for the character in Superman: The Theatrical Serials Collection (Warner Bros., Not Rated, DVD-$29.98 SRP).
I mean, I really do love the Warner Archive, as they deliver deep dives and fan favorites from the vaults directly to fans who wouldn’t otherwise be able to get them if these niche titles had to reach a normal retail threshold to trigger release. On the theatrical side, you’ve got John Milius’ coming-of-age surfer film Big Wednesday (Warner Bros., Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP), the Steve Martin comedies The Man With Two Brains (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP) & My Blue Heaven (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP), Harry Belafonte & Mel Ferrer in The World, The Flesh, And The Devil (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP), Lana Turner & Kirk Douglas in The Bad And The Beautiful (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP), Sophia Loren & George Peppard in Operation Crossbow (Warner Bros., Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP), Arthur Penn’s crime thriller Night Moves (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP), the pitch-black cult comedy The Loved One (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP), the pilot for film for the Patrick Duffy series Man From Atlantis (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP), the legendary Cleopatra Jones (Warner Bros., Rated PG-$21.99 SRP), My Favorite Year (Warner Bros., Rated PG, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP) and Bette Davis in the 1940 W. Somerset Maugham adaptation The Letter (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP).
Flicker Alley has carved out a wonderful niche for themselves in providing beautifully restored high definition releases of historical importance. Their latest is Melies Fairy Tales In Color (Flicker Alley, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$36.95 SRP), a selection of hand-colored films made between 1899-1909, the last silent Sherlock Holmes film ever made, Richard Oswald’s Der Hund von Baskerville (Flicker Alley, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.95 SRP), from 1929, 1922’s The Last Warning (Flicker Alley, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.95 SRP), and the film that was one of the inspiration’s for the Batman villain The Joker, 1928’s The Man Who Laughs (Flicker Alley, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$35.99 SRP).
The folks at Flicker Alley have also been doing a fantastic job restoring, preserving, and presenting vintage large format films, including those shot for Cinerama, that would otherwise have been unavailable to film aficionados for home viewing. Their latest releases are the rarely-seen Cinerama film The Golden Head (Flicker Alley, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.95 SRP), a slapstick heist yarn about a pair of kids who run afoul of two thieves (Buddy Hackett & George Sanders), and the 70mm film Flying Clipper (Mediterranean Holiday) (Flicker Alley, Not Rated, 4K-$39.95 SRP), a documentary following a Swedish sailing ship as it navigates the Mediterranean.
Meanwhile, Mill Creek has been consistently stepping up their catalogue title game, as their latest batch of cult titles attests – including the pitch-black Aykroyd/Belushi comedy Neighbors (Mill Creek, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP), the 1985 Helen Slater-starrer The Legend Of Billie Jean (Mill Creek, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP), and Pamela Anderson’s Barb Wire (Mill Creek, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP). They’ve also dipped into the 90s with the Van Damme/Rodman actioner Double Team (Mill Creek, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP), Dana Carvey in Opportunity Knocks (Mill Creek, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP), Alicia Silverstone & Benicio Del Toro in Excess Baggage (Mill Creek, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP), Pauly Shore in Jury Duty (Mill Creek, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP), and the double features Stepmom/The Deep End Of The Ocean (Mill Creek, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP), Mo’ Money/High School High (Mill Creek, Rated R/PG-13, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP), The Trigger Effect/Body Count (Mill Creek, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$14.98 SRP), and Mindwarp/Brainscan (Mill Creek, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$14.98
SRP).
And because this world contains more films than you can shake a stick at, Olive Films is also able to do some stellar cult catalogue releases, including the high definition debuts of How To Stuff A Wild Bikini (Olive Films, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), The Believers (Olive Films, Rated R, Blu-Ray-$24.99 SRP), and The Bells Of St. Mary’s (Olive Films, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$27.99 SRP).
For the cinephile on your list eager to expand their knowledge or just indulge their particular fandom, check out the books Tim Burton: The Iconic Filmmaker And His Work (White Lion Publishing, $25 SRP), Quentin Tarantino: The Iconic Filmmaker And His Work (White Lion Publishing, $35 SRP), Alien Vault (Epic Ink, $45 SRP), and Cult Filmmakers: 50 Movie Mavericks You Need To Know (White Lion Publishing, $16.99 SRP).
Oh, but those aren’t the only film & TV books that you should give serious gift consideration to, as Titan Books has a veritable bookshelf worth of titles to consider, including J.W. Rinzler’s definitive The Making Of Alien (Titan Books, $60 SRP), Alien: The Blueprints (Titan Books, $44.95 SRP), Joe Alves: Designing Jaws (Titan Books, $39.95 SRP), Star Trek: The Art Of John Eaves (Titan Books, $39.95 SRP), Alita Battle Angel: The Art & Making Of The Movie (Titan Books, $45 SRP), The Addams Family: The Art Of The Animated Movie (Titan Books, $39.95 SRP), Men In Black Films: The Official Visual Companion To The Films (Titan Books, $50 SRP), The Art And Making Of The Expanse (Titan Books, $39.95 SRP), Making Moon (Titan Books, $39.95 SRP), Orson Welles Portfolio: Sketches & Drawings From The Welles Estate (Titan Books, $50 SRP), and the gallery collection Rick And Morty: Show Me What You Got (Titan Books, $39.95 SRP). Quite the line-up, eh?
It’s always a surprise to find what subject Ken Burns has turned his documentarian eye towards, as it forever seems left field from where you’d expect him to go. I was certainly intrigued when I heard his next massive project would be Country Music (PBS, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$75.80 SRP), as it’s a rather sprawling, unwieldy topic. Leave it to Burns to pull off a miracle, then, by crafting a structure that explores its musical and cultural roots, personalities, and legacy, warts and all. The box set includes over 3 hours of additional content, including bonus video, featurettes, and more.
One of the most successful and longest-running sitcoms in television history, fans can now indulge their obsession with Big Bang Theory: The Complete Series (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$179.95 SRP) with a deluxe collector’s boxed set containing all 12 seasons, plus featurettes, gag reels, and more.
It may not be awesome, but everything is pretty good in The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (Warner Bros., Rated PG, 4K Blu-Ray-$ SRP), which captures enough of the fun and energy of the first film to make for an enjoyable return. The real highlight, though, is the musical numbers. So many musical numbers! Bonus materials include deleted scenes, featurettes, music videos, and more.
It says something about the declining influence of the show that revisiting the episodes contained within South Park: The Complete Twenty-Second Season (Comedy Central, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.99 SRP) felt like watching them for the first time. The show is still entertaining, but it’s moved beyond groundbreaking or culturally relevant. Bonus materials include mini-commentaries, #Socialcommentary, and deleted scenes.
Guillermo del Toro is probably the closest we’ve got to an inheritor of the unique visual world building ability of Terry Gilliam, and that claim was made decidedly clear with Pan’s Labyrinth (Warner Bros., Rated R, 4K-$44.95 SRP), whose visual splendor makes its way to 4K high definition in style. Bonus materials include an audio commentary, featurettes, a gallery, and more.
While you’re in with the family this holiday season, why not partake of a pair of delightfully offbeat classics now bundled together on one release with The Addams Family/Addams Family Values: 2-Movie Collection (Paramount, Rated PG-13, Blu-Ray-$16.99 SRP)? It’s altogether ooky.
I’m not sure the world needed another remake of A Star Is Born (Warner Bros., Rated R, 4K-$19.96 SRP), but at least this one features a pair of incredible performances from Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, and lands its emotional core with devastating effect. Bonus materials include additional performances, a featurette, and music videos. Also available is the A Star Is Born: Encore Edition (Warner Bros., Rated R, Blu-Ray-$24.98 SRP), which features an extended cut with extended musical performances, jam sessions, and scenes.
When it aired in 1983, V: The Original Miniseries (Warner Bros., Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$21.99 SRP) seemed a revolutionary bit of television science fiction – Dark, caustic, and full of social commentary. It was as close to John Carpenter’s They Live as you could imagine network television getting. Bonus materials for this release include an audio commentary with writer/director Kenneth Johnson and a behind-the-scenes documentary.
To wrap things up on a fun note, for ages I’ve been praising the work that Diamond Select does with their Diamond Gallery PVC dioramas (Diamond Select, $50-70 SRP). Not only have they been exploring a deep bench of characters from Marvel, DC, and more – including film, TV, and animation – with solid sculpts and paint work, but they’re incredibly inexpensive compared to the more traditional resin or polystone statues. Here’s hoping they keep expanding the line into new and interesting directions, including pieces based on the artwork of specific artists… If only so I can finally get some John Byrne Fantastic Four statues.
I’m a tremendous fan of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and I had high hopes that the documentary What We Left Behind (Shout Factory, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$29.99 SRP) would pay proper tribute to the show and its creatives, both behind and in front of the camera. Thankfully, it delivered in spades, proving to be a loving tribute and celebration of the show and its dedicated fans, with participation from nearly everyone involved (sans the ever-elusive Avery Brooks). Bonus features include nearly an hour of additional interviews, a roundtable discussion, and featurettes.
A bona fide holiday classic, It’s A Wonderful Life (Paramount, Rated PG, 4K-$35.99 SRP) gets a stunningly pristine high definition upgrade in a release featuring both black & white & colorized versions of the film, original cast home movies, a featurette on the 4K restoration, and more.
Speaking of gorgeous high definition upgrades, The Wizard Of Oz (Warner Bros., Rated G, 4K-$41.99 SRP) has gotten its own eye-popping trip down the yellow brick road, with bonus materials including an audio commentary, featurettes, and more.
