DVD Releases: Ten Best DVD 2004

The Ten Best Single-Platter DVDs of 2004 by Doug Pratt

	Shaun of the Dead (Universal) The very funny British zombie movie comes with some great special features, including a fascinating illustrated run through of the film that the filmmakers shot in 2001 when they first started developing the script, 13 minutes of deleted scenes, 11 minutes of bloopers, a number of other little things, and two engaging commentary tracks.

	Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Universal) A collector's edition is reportedly coming out in 2005, but the standard release is fairly impressive on its own. Firstly, this is the sort of movie that viewers tend to want to manipulate, to go back and re-watch sections and jump around to check and compare different parts of the film, so the DVD format is an ideal delivery medium. Secondly, there is a decent commentary track with director Michel Gondry and screenwriter Charles Kaufman, some great production documentaries that focus on star Jim Carrey, and several intriguing deleted scenes that resurrect a subplot, which, like the hero's memories, kind of disappeared from the completed film.

	Elephant (HBO Video) Okay, there are almost no special features on the DVD, just 12 minutes or so of interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, but the soundtrack is outstanding-more powerful and directional than many big budget features-and the 2003 movie itself is amazing, the kind of mesmerizing journey that you can watch over and over. Hence, it is ideal programming for the durability of the DVD format.

	Wild at Heart (MGM Home Entertainment) Even if you think this is David Lynch's worst movie, it is difficult not to admire the effort that has gone into producing the DVD. The color transfer is fantastic. It is doubtful the 1990 movie ever looked this good in most theaters, and it has never looked even half this good on home video before. The film's sound mix is equally compelling, and Lynch was fully involved in close to an hour of retrospective documentaries that go over every aspect of the film's creation.

	Ed Wood (Touchstone Home Entertainment) Anytime a movie is based on something that is real, the DVD can become a treasure trove of background information on the topic, and that is what happens here. Between the hour's worth of production documentaries and the multi-speaker commentary track, you get a thorough portrait not only of the 1994 film's production, but of Wood himself and what his life was really like. There are also some very precious deleted scenes.

	Mean Streets (Warner Home Video) Warner put out all of Martin Scorsese's Warner films on DVD in 2004 with extensive supplementary materials. Each offering was reasonably good, but it seems to have all come together on Mean Streets. The picture transfer is a significant improvement over the earlier DVD release of the 1973 film. Since it was his first studio production, Scorsese takes advantage on his commentary track to go over his entire background and discuss the formation of his career, a talk that is enhanced by the fact the film was essentially shot on the streets where he grew up.

	3 Women (The Criterion Collection) It is doubtful that the enigmatic and memorable 1977 Robert Altman cult classic, a 20th Century Fox production, would have seen the light of day any time in the near future were it not for the efforts of the Criterion Collection, which has produced a gorgeous transfer. Altman is also on hand to reminisce about his experiences making the film-and offer his own contemplations on its meanings-on a commentary track.

	Shrek 2 (DreamWorks Home Entertainment) Even the menus are funny. The movie is slam-dunk entertainment, and the computer animation, which is greatly improved over the first film, achieves the digital-to-digital crossover to DVD without losing a pixel. The filmmakers and voice actors have made special materials exclusively for the DVD, and in addition to these and other satisfying supplements, there are two very good commentary tracks that focus on the film's creation.

	Dawn of the Dead Unrated Director's Cut (Universal) The energized 2004 remake of the George Romero classic is 9 minutes longer than the theatrical release and all the more visceral because of it. The sound mix is outstanding, adding even more to the movie's thrills, and the film is accompanied by a decent commentary track, plenty of informative production featurettes and even more deleted scenes. On top of all of this, there are two additional special features created for the DVD that genuinely enhance the viewing experience, a compilation of the 'news reports' glimpsed on the television screens during the ordeal, which tracks the unrelenting advance of the zombie pandemic, and a fictional 'home movie,' made by one of the peripheral characters in the film (played by Bruce Bohne), which retells the film's narrative from another perspective. Romero's original film, incidentally, was also issued in a superb multiple-platter set this year, by Anchor Bay Entertainment.

	Underworld Extended Cut (Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment) More so than the extended versions released in 2004 on DVD of the other two comic book movies, Hellboy and Daredevil, the additional footage reintegrated with this film-about 12 minutes worth-enhances and tightens the narrative, adds to the gore and the sex, and generally makes what was already a highly entertaining popcorn feature, about a war between vampires and werewolves, a more rewarding and enduring accomplishment. Additionally, there is a good commentary track, some solid production documentaries and several other engaging features.