As if it needed any greater pedigree than simply being a Terrence Malick film, The Tree of Lifearrives in theaters as winner of the 2011 Cannes Palme d'Or, the top honor from the world's most renowned film festival. Malick has directed only five films in 38 years, and The Tree of Life has had critics stumbling over themselves to describe its collision of the cosmos, spirituality, philosophy, and the deeply personal nature of familial love. Most everyone admits it's a tough nut that defies easy interpretation, demands repeated viewings, and may even be (gasp!) flawed in some fundamental ways. But the mantle of genius is sticking strong to Malick and The Tree of Life, along with its ruminative themes on the natural world and existential questions about who we are, why we're here, and where we're going after we've moved beyond our experience of the known.
All five of Malick's films have aspired to the realm of poetry. Because of the mystique that has grown up around him -- he stays resolutely out of the public eye and does not comment about his work -- the grand master label has become a given. He surrounds himself with a trusted creative team, and actors lucky enough to be chosen to share his vision have waxed rhapsodic about his process. In a recent interview with the New York Times' Dennis Lim, The Tree of Life's star Brad Pitt said that Malick fosters an atmosphere that allows for serendipity in capturing both elegiacal imagery and the aesthetics of personal interaction. "He finds perfection in imperfection, and he's always trying to create the imperfection," Pitt told Lim. Pitt said that working with Malick was "liberating but exhausting," and that he gave his actors free rein to answer "this actor’s quest of always trying to be in the moment, which is a bit precious but very true."
Others have observed that Malick uses his scripts as a starting point, but that they become less important than capturing moments that arise unexpetedly when shooting begins. Famous for laboring over his work both during shooting and in post production, Malick relies heavily on editing and sound design to shape his films. His intention has been expressed as a desire to capture emotion on film in a way that few directors have ever been able to do.
The Tree of Life certainly follows his obsession with nature and the beauty of living things, be they the branches of a tree or the churning vapors of a distant galaxy. In 2005 he brought the gaze of 17th century explorer John Smith (Colin Farrell) to the exotic shores of North America with The New World. His 1998 interpretation of The Thin Red Line, James Jones' novel about the World War II South Pacific battle on Guadalcanal strove for similar themes of the awesomeness, splendor, and sometimes horror found in the details of life so many of us pass by without a second glance.
Another device revered by Malick is the use of observational voice-over from his actors that intertwine with the spectacle of his images, sometimes in seemingly random ways. Malick is a Harvard educated Rhodes scholar who taught philosophy at MIT, so it's not surprising that he should be interested in bringing his idealistic view of the world to bear in his art. He uses the internal monologues that revolve in his characters heads to give voice to his own existential wonder. In The Thin Red Line, the virtual who's who of male Hollywood stars -- Sean Penn, Woody Harrelson, Nick Nolte, Adrien Brody, Jim Caviezel, et al -- mingled their voices to achieve a higher grace than that of a traditional war movie. The New World and The Tree of Life are also filled with voices of actors musing to themselves and to us, whether their thoughts relate to Malick's narrative or not.
The 20 year gap closed by The Thin Red Line was preceded by what is nearly universally hailed as Malick's golden achievement.Days of Heaven is a breathtaking and heartbreaking glimpse at life in the farmlands of the Texas panhandle in the early 20th century, starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, and Sam Shepard. Golden is also an apt descriptor of the visual style as filming took place almost entirely during "the golden hour" just before sunset, giving every scene its distinctive and entirely natural burnished glow. Malick was awarded the directing prize at Cannes for Days of Heaven in 1979.
Malick's first feature, Badlands was made on the cheap in 1973, but remains the prototype from which all his themes evolved -- the haunting voiceover, the wonderment or sense of dread provoked by environment, and a reliance on the just-so-ness of natural light. Performances by the very young Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek as an indifferent serial killer and his teenage lover remain powerfully affecting, as does the striking imagery of the American West.
Perhaps in an effort to make up for lost time, Malick has already shot his as yet untitled sixth film which is set in present day Oklahoma and stars Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams. But it's unlikely we'll see the film in time for next year's Cannes Film Festival, and maybe not even the year after that. For Terrence Malick, neither films nor life are things to be rushed, and each appear to hold eqaul importance in his ethos as one of the great artists of our time.--Ted Fry
Paramount and 20th Century Fox announced today that James Cameron's Titanic will be re-released in 3D on April 6, 2012, to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the ship's sailing.
Like most of the world, I watched this back in 1997 in the theater (3rd row, it was pretty crowded even on a Monday night), and even in 2D I remember feeling like I was actually bobbing in the water with the passengers, out in the vast, pitch-black ocean. While Titanic has its many, many detractors, the conversion to 3D will be an intriguing one given that the only film that has made successful use of 3D since it hit the mainstream is Avatar, also directed by Cameron.
How will the epic scenes play out in 3D? The boarding of the ship, the submarine exploration, "I'm flying!" and of course, the entire last hour of the film. Would you watch it again in 3D? What other older films do you think might actually benefit from a 3D conversion? --Ellen
Happy Star Wars day everybody! You know, May the 4th.... May the 4th Be With You... (May the Force Be With You) nyah nyah nyah.
Now that we've had some distance from the end of the saga, I'm rethinking how I feel about the six films in the saga in order. Most anybody with some iota of Star Wars passion wlll agree that Empire Strikes Back (Episode V) is the best, and A New Hope (Episode IV) is number 2, with The Phantom Menace (Episode I) and Attack of the Clones (Episode II) duking it out for the bottom. (We would be remiss not to mention that the entire saga is pre-orderable on Blu-ray, as well as Episodes I-III and Episodes IV-VI separately).
So where would you rank yours? Here's my stab:
1). The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V): There are many, many reasons why this dark second "original" chapter without a happy ending is the best of the bunch, not to mention possibly the best sequel of ALL TIME. Here are a few of them: Tauntauns; the battle on Hoth; the introduction of Yoda; the Han-Leia sparring/romance; "Do, or do not. There is no try"; the asteroid field; the light saber duel, and the MOTHER OF ALL PLOT TWISTS. It's actually the first one I ever saw (yes, I was late to the game) and decades later, still awe-inspiring. Shoot, I may have to watch it again when I get home.
2). Star Wars: A New Hope (Episode IV): Even if, it turns out, we live in a world where Han didn't shoot first (depending on which version you stick with), this is still awesome, even if Luke's whiny lines have accumulated more unintentional laughs over the years ("But I was going over to Tosche Station to pick up some power converters"). There are two very minor quibbles I have with how this movie held up: Knowing how it all turns out, the whole Luke-crushing-on-Leia thing is just gross now, and after all of Lucas' editing, he still hasn't excised that blooper with the Storm Trooper bonking his head in the doorway.
3). Return of the Jedi (Episode VI): This is a little controversial, because I know the anti-Ewok sentiment is huge, but I rank this above Episode III because there are so many cool things about this installment: The forest speeder chase, the final lightsaber duel, finally seeing what Anakin looks like, the Endor battle, the pit of Sarlaac battle, Jabba the Hut, the cool new green lightsaber... also, despite this being a sci-fi movie there was so much more emotion in this one. (If you doubt me, flash back to Natalie Portman crying in labor and Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader going "NOOOOOOO" in Episode III. Now you have a frame of reference.). Also, I just really liked Luke being more badass and zen than whiny and impudent. I also thought the Ewoks were cute. Yes, I'm a girl.
4). Revenge of the Sith (Episode III): This one is easy. There is no contest that Episode III is the best of the prequels, because that honor was not very hard to achieve. As a standalone film, it has its flaws ("Hold me like you did by the lake on Naboo"). But the arc of the saga guaranteed this to be the best before it was even made, as well as the darkest: Anakin's even killing the wee Jedi, for crying out loud! I walked away from the theater feeling like I was more or less satisfied, but years later I'm not remembering as much of it even though I own it and have watched it several times. The awe-inspiring moments are few, and Anakin's turn to the Dark Side was never gradual nor plausible enough for me. I get it, the kid's mad about his mom, but still. (Side bonus: This one has Wookiees.)
5). The Phantom Menace (Episode I): This was really hard. This was like Sophie's Choice. Which was worse? Jar Jar (Ep. I) or frolicking in the grass (Ep. II)? That Padme's shirt can be nearly ripped off with one movement (Ep. II), or Jake Lloyd's "yippee!" (Ep. I)? Don't hold me to this choice 'cause it could change the next time you ask, but I think about Liam Neeson (more than usual), the desert pod race, the Darth Maul double lightsaber vs. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gonn duel (which years later, is still like, a top-two lightsaber duel), and some really remarkable visuals, and subtract Jar Jar Binks, the very strange accents done by nearly everyone including Amidala, the political parts of the plot I still cannot explain to anyone. Does this equal a positive integer? Sorta. Maybe a little. Barely.
6). Attack of the Clones (Episode II): I'm going to preface this by saying that I think Hayden Christensen can actually act (see: Shattered Glass, which he is fantastic in). I have this need to qualify him all the time because people will always judge him by Star Wars, unlike Natalie Portman, who was already established as a respectable actress and came out of this saga with her dignity intact. I will even find myself defending the movie Jumper, which was not good, but I find it watchable. BUT ANYWAYS... my point is, neither of them can act in this movie. Yes, this is a great disservice because of the writing being so bad. The directing (the romantic parts) is bad. There are some good action scenes in here, and I like the whole segment where Obi-Wan goes to the rainy planet (Seattle) and witnesses the clone army. (There is also a very good outtake with Jango Fett dancing with an umbrella/falling off the wing on the bonus features. The outtakes for this movie are overall much better than the other movies, so I guess that's a plus. Watch below.). I was sorely disappointed in the forbidden love story, and there was no plot. At the time I saw it in theaters I really liked Yoda unleashing the can of whoop-ass on Dooku, but now I find all that a little weird too. Maybe Yoda should have just stayed a puppet.
Anyway, that's my opinion. Would love to hear yours! -- Ellen
We took votes, we debated those votes, we butted heads. But in the end, all that's left standing is the Amazon.com Movies & TV editors' picks for the Best of 2011... So Far on DVD, Blu-ray, and Instant Video. (Applies to titles released between Jan. 1 and Apr. 30, 2011). Here's a peek at some of our picks:
Tangled(No. 9 for DVD, No. 6 for Blu-ray): Not everyone expected to be delighted by this hilarious take on Rapunzel, but thanks to great comic timing (courtesy of a horse and an oft-used cast-iron pan) and perfectly cast Mandy Moore as the voice of the captured princess who yearns to know what's outside her sheltered world/tower, Tangled became an indelible part of the Disney lore.
Mad Men: Season Four (No. 3 for DVD, No. 5 for Blu-ray): If there's a year this show deserves the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, it's this season. Jumping off from the previous season's game-changer, the AMC series has reinvigorated itself, and Jon Hamm does his finest acting yet as a man who sinks to his lowest of lows (yet) and makes baby steps toward respecting himself again. (Don't miss the standout episode of the season, "The Suitcase")
Inside Job (No. 8 for DVD): For anyone who knows nothing about economics or real estate, this a documentary that aims to spell out exactly how the financial crisis happened and who's to blame. For anyone who understands economics or real estate, it's like a horror film you can't believe is real.
Piranha 3D (No. 18 in Blu-ray): We're not all highbrow on this list (clearly). Alejandre Aja's remake of the Roger Corman B-movie made the list not just for its Blu-ray 3D effects (much to the chagrin of James Cameron, who decried that films like these are "not what we should be doing" with 3D) but because what it does--deliver cheesetastic gore to the max without pretending to be anything else--it does well.
and finally, our No. 1 pick on DVD and Blu-ray:
The Social Network: We over here think this film deserved Best Picture (Fincher, you wuz robbed!), but no one can argue is that its DVD and Blu-ray features are a Best in Class on how to use your medium. (Not that we considered The King's Speech small beans either; it also made the top 5 in DVD). But between the strength of the film itself; its commentaries by the cast, writer Aaron Sorkin, and director David Fincher; and its feature-length documentary (not to be missed, it's a must for all film buffs); this is the Best DVD or Blu-ray to come out in 2011... So far.
After the collective "feh" that most people sighed in reaction to this year's tepid Oscar show, there remain a couple of moments that linger as highlights between James Franco's smug slouch and Anne Hathaway's fretful zeal. The King's Speech preordained wins were not among them, but the thoughtful, moving speeches given by star Colin Firth, director Tom Hooper, and screenwriter David Seidler that stood in contrast to the graceless, boring, "bad TV" moments of so many other honorees certainly were. There's been a lot of grousing about how The King's inevitable coronation insidiously seeped into many aspects of the show, especially the final Best Picture montage. But one royal reference that was also among the shows standout moments was when Helen Mirren and Russell Brand appeared to award the Best Foreign Language Film. Deadpan, elegant, and in perfectly accented French, Dame Helen announced the award category, and then paused for translation from her unlikely pal and upcoming co-star in the Arthur remake: "What Helen said was, ‘Yo, my Oscar winning performance as a Queen was much more realistic than Colin Firth's as a King.'"
Whether or not that's so, it's true that Oscar loves royalty. Add that to the fact that an actor's skill in portraying and overcoming a disability gives the Academy an even deeper glow, any doubt that The King's Speech would walk away with quad top honors of Picture, Actor, Director, and Screenplay should have surprised no one. And hey, it didn't!
As anecdotal evidence of Oscar's penchant for the Crown, here's a list of some other notable wins and nominations that have tickled Academy voting fingers over the years:
The Queen (2006): Helen Mirren was a pretty obvious choice by any standard when she won Best Actress for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II, a modern monarch with chilly warmth and a palpable struggle that kept her loyalties divided between family and country. She was in good company with co-nominees Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet, Penelope Cruz, and Judi Dench (more about her later). It was also not Dame Helen's first nomination for playing the Queen of England. She was in the Best Supporting Actress category in 1995 for The Madness of King George (more about that later too). Hers was the only win for The Queen, though it was also nominated for Best Picture, Director (Stephen Frears), Original Screenplay (Peter Morgan), Score (Alexandre Desplat), and Costume Design.
Elizabeth (1998) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age: (2007): Cate Blanchett was twice nominated for her decade-apart portrayals of the icy, beautiful, Queen Elizabeth I, but was trumped the first time by non-Queen Gwyneth Paltrow for Shakespeare in Love (more later again), then by Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose. In addition to several art and technical nominations, Elizabethwas one of the Best Picture entries at 1999's Oscar show (it earned four other nominations, winning only for Best Makeup), but Elizabeth: The Golden Age was shut out of all other categories in 2008 except Costume Design, although it did win that category. Cate Blanchett does have an Oscar statuette on her mantel, having won Best Supporting Actress in 2005 for The Aviator. She also received Supporting Actress noms in 2007 for Notes on a Scandal, and in 2008 for I'm Not There (in competition with herself for the Elizabeth Best Actress performance!).
Shakespeare in Love (1998): In addition to darling Gwynnie's win, Dame Judi Dench took home a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for playing a similarly wintry Elizabeth II (was she better than Cate Blanchett? Hmmm…). The movie that the Academy adorned with 13 nominations took home five others, including Best Picture. It beat heavy favorite Saving Private Ryan in that top category, but at least Steven Spielberg took home the Best Director statuette so he could bonk Shakespeare director John Madden over the head with it.
Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown (1997): Speaking of Judi Dench, her role as a curmudgeonly Queen Victoria gained her a Best Actress nomination, but she was aced at 1998's Oscar show by Helen Hunt for As Good As It Gets. Dame Judi has since been honored with Supporting Actress nominations for Chocolat (2000), and Leading Actress nominations for Iris (2001), Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005), and Notes on a Scandal (2006).
The Madness of King George (1994): The great Nigel Hawthorne reprised his original stage performance in Alan Bennett's adaptation of his play The Madness of George III, and rightly earned himself a Best Actor Nomination for portraying the monarch who lost the American colonies, then went completely loony. Speculation is that the madness was caused by the disease porphyria, while Hawthorne's Oscar loss was most definitely blamed on a shameless win by Tom Hanks for Forrest Gump. The Madness of King George did take home an Oscar for Art Direction-Set Decoration, and Alan Bennett was nominated for his Adapted Screenplay. As mentioned above, Helen Mirren earned a Supporting Actress nomination as George's devoted Queen Charlotte.
The Lion in Winter (1968): Katharine Hepburn won Best Actress honors (in a rare tie, with Barbra Streisand for Funny Girl) for her portrayal of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who married Henry II and became Queen of the English in a rather roundabout way. It was a consecutive win for Hepburn after having taken home the Oscar the previous year for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? It represented another milestone in that Katharine Hepburn still holds the record for multiple lead acting Oscar wins -- she also received Best Actress honors for one of her first roles in Morning Glory (1931), and for one of her last in On Golden Pond (1981). As for the Lion himself, Peter O'Toole was nominated, but lost that year to Cliff Robertson for Charly.
A Man For All Seasons (1966): The Academy really loved this rousing adaptation of Robert Bolt's play, and it took home six Oscars in 1967, including Best Picture, Best Director (Fred Zinnemann), Best Adapted screenplay (Bolt), Cinematography, and Costume Design. Paul Scofield won as Best Actor for playing Sir Thomas More, the Chancellor of England who denied King Henry VIII a divorce from Catherine of Aragon and lost his head for it. A youngish Robert Shaw, nominated in the Supporting category for playing the King kept his head, but lost the Oscar to Walter Mathau for The Fortune Cookie.
A few more films with Royal themes that Oscar loved a little bit include Mary Queen of Scots (1971), which earned Vanessa Redgrave one of her five nominations (she won as Supporting Actress in 1978 for Julia), and Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), which got nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Richard Burton), Best Actress (Geneviève Bujold), and Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Quayle), among its 10, but won only for Costume Design. The Young Victoria (2009) also won for Costume Design, but was not recognized for a fine performance by Emily Blunt as the Queen who would much later achieve lasting fame for loosing a sexy secret in the retail sales arena. The beautiful Emily Blunt may yet have a chance, for playing British royalty clearly plays to Oscar's weakness, especially if there's a pretty face and/or a stumbling speech involved.--Ted Fry
Whether or not it's a foregone conclusion that Colin Firth has the Best Actor Oscar locked up for The King's Speech, there's an opposing buzz that Jeff Bridges stands a good chance of pulling a hat-trick win for his wonderfully crotchety work as Rooster Cogburn in the Coen brothers' True Grit. After finally and rightly being honored by the Academy with last year's win for Crazy Heart, Bridges may yet have a bit of an edge with voters. Plus he's absolutely terrific in the role. He's certainly proven to be a hit with audiences, making True Gritthe Coen's biggest box office success by a long shot.
Bridges is regarded as a consummate professional among his peers. The recent American Masters documentary on PBS, Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides was an excellent critical tribute that ran down his brilliant career and was filled with praise from a string of colleagues who honored him for his warmth and humility. Bridges' career has spanned genres, peaks, and valleys since his big screen breakout role in Peter Bogdonovich's The Last Picture Show in 1971. His first nomination as a supporting actor came from that defining '70s golden-age film for playing a small town Texas roughneck (he was aced by his old timer co-star Ben Johnson), and went on to get nods in the supporting category in 1974 for Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (Robert De Niro won for The Godfather: Part II), then again in 2000 for playing the American President in The Contender (Benicio de Toro won for Traffic). His only other Best Actor nomination was in 1984 for playing a sensitive alien with an emerging soul in Starman (the Oscar went to F. Murray Abraham for Amadeus).
In the popular press at least, Bridges also finds himself up against the legacy of John Wayne, who won his only Academy award for playing Marshall Cogburn in Henry Hathaway’s 1969 adaptation of Charles Portis's novel. Wayne's only other acting nomination was for 1950's Sands of Iwo Jima (Broderick Crawford deservedly took home the Oscar that year for his towering work in Robert Rossen's All the King's Men). The True Grit win prompted a minor controversy from an emerging generation of the new Hollywood and wave of raw American cinema that all but swept away the old guard studio system as the ‘70s progressed. Sickly and on his way out, Wayne was judged by many to nab the Oscar out of sympathy, sentimentality, and a sense of entitlement based on his long career and lifetime of box office earnings. He had some real competition in the category from Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, both of whom won their nominations from bold, courageous work in John Schlesinger's groundbreaking Midnight Cowboy. But they must have seemed just too much of a risk against the traditionalism that still held industry sway, so the safe bet was for the Duke.
Both Hathaway's and the Coen's interpretation of Portis's excellent source material are fine, maybe even great movies. The characterizations, subtext of fundamental morality, and base theme of genuine right overcoming genuine wrong are powerful forces in both, but it's a specious argument to consider one being better than the other given the 40 years of change in how we accept and absorb movies as entertainment. Wayne does a lot of hamming and mugging, playing up his well-established persona (which probably also helped him with Academy voters), while Bridges gets to the gritty soul of a man with a strength of character and gruffness of spirit that still can't completely hide a caring heart.
And speaking of specious claims, talk of Bridges' Cogburn being some old west ancestor of the Dude (a role for which he absolutely should have been honored as star of The Big Lebowski) seems to me a silly, entertainment media ploy that merely serves to squander publicity ink. It's true that Bridges' Rooster Cogburn abides to the depths of his soul, but the Dude stands alone as a genuine abiding spirit that will never have an equal. Nevertheless, let's hope that with his second triumph as the Coen's leading man Jeff Bridges returns to their stock company of actors again and again. --Ted Fry
Award-winning actor Anthony LaPaglia returns to his villainous roots as the voice of Lex Luthor in All-Star Superman, the highly anticipated 10th entry in the ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original Movies coming February 22, 2011 from Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation, and Warner Home Video.
LaPaglia is known far and wide for his lead role on the CBS drama Without a Trace, but his fame goes well beyond those 160 episodes over seven seasons on the primetime series. LaPaglia's career highlights include an Emmy Award as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Simon on Frasier, a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series/Drama for Without a Trace, and the 1998 Tony Award for Best Actor (Play) for the revival of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge. He has also been honored with two AFI Awards as Best Lead Actor in the films Balibo (2009) and Lantana (2001).
LaPaglia takes the villainous lead in an All-Star Superman cast that includes James Denton (Desperate Housewives) as Superman, Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) as Lois Lane, seven-time Emmy® Award winner Ed Asner (Up) as Perry White, Golden Globe® winner Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under) as Ma Kent, Matthew Gray Gubler (Criminal Minds) as Jimmy Olsen, and Linda Cardellini (ER) as Nasty. It's available on Blu-ray, DVD, and Video On Demand in the DC Comics Store.
Here's a few questions the actor/goalie fielded in an interview following his recording session as Lex Luthor for All-Star Superman ...
QUESTION: What were the challenges of creating Lex Luthor as an animated voice?
ANTHONY LAPAGLIA: You have to understand the medium that you're in. As opposed to [on-camera] acting with another individual where it requires listening in order for you to respond, here you're having to create the question the other person would ask you in your head and then respond to it. It's a much more difficult process because there's a line between it being real and it being animated. There's a slightly different tonal quality to the way you say things, or in the way you have to make it bigger sometimes than you would naturally do in order to sell it. But not having the visual in front of you--you're kind of shooting in the dark a lot.
QUESTION: Did you enjoy this incarnation of Lex Luthor?
ANTHONY LAPAGLIA: Yeah, I did actually. I found it surprising that Lex Luthor was getting a bit spiritual [laughs]. I guess it's kind of like a sign of the times where he's trying to get in touch with the inner Lex. [laughs]
It’s finally happened … The Star Wars saga is now available to pre-order on Blu-ray, and to celebrate we here at Amazon.com have been singing the classic Bill Murray Saturday Night Live version of the theme song.
The best bet is the complete saga, which has three discs of extras. These include deleted scenes, auditions, and an exploration of the Star Wars archives. (Maybe we’ll get to see a young Harrison Ford try out for the role, who knows?) And of course, with the original trilogy, you should know that these are George Lucas’ updates (so yes, Greedo shoots first, but we all secretly know it was Han).
The discs come out in September 2011, and we will update you as we learn more about the extras. Until then … may the force be with you. Pre-order now:
Unless you're already done with your holiday shopping (hey, I know a couple people who are), you may want to take an advance look at our upcoming Lightning Deals, starting Monday, December 13. Also, we're looking for your help to decide one of them. On Thursday, December 16, we'll be offering three special Blu-ray limited editions--Alice in Wonderland, The Dark Knight, and Watchmen--as Lightning Deals, but whichever one wins your vote will be available at the super-low price of $14.99. Make your voice heard! --David
One of the sublists of our Best Movies & TV of 2010 is the top 10 Classics on DVD (restricted to movies and TV made before 1970). Although there were a number of outstanding rereleases this year, our choices include only those movies that came out for the first time on DVD, which made the top choice pretty easy since we've only been waiting for it since, oh, the beginning of the DVD era. We've also created a separate list below for notable classics that came out on Blu-ray in 2010. If you've wondered whether an older film will benefit from high-definition treatment, take a look at these. --David
The African Queen: Probably the last major classic to be released on DVD, John Huston's great adventure paired Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart.
Bigger Than Life (Criterion Collection): In a great year for premium label Criterion, Nicholas Ray's neglected 1956 masterpiece rises to the top.
Three Silent Classics by Josef Von Sternberg (Criterion Collection): German-born, American-raised Sternberg created these films on the cusp of the sound era: Underworld, Last Command, and Docks of New York.
Night Train to Munich (Criterion Collection): Carol Reed (The Third Man) directed this breathless and fun wartime thriller.
Make Way for Tomorrow (Criterion Collection): Another example of what Criterion does best: shed light on a neglected Depression-era gem
Thriller: The Complete Series: This year we opened up our list to TV so we could include Boris Karloff's acclaimed 1960s horror series.
The Elia Kazan Collection: His politics are controversial, but his filmmaking skills are not. This collection is a collaboration among studios and includes five films never before available on DVD, including A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
Evening Primrose: Rescued from the vaults, this television film featured the music of a young Stephen Sondheim and the singing talents of Anthony Perkins (Psycho) and Charmian Carr (Liesl in The Sound of Music).
CHICAGO The Original 1927 Film Restored: You've probably seen the 2002 Oscar winner, and maybe you've seen the 1942 Ginger Rogers version called Roxie Hart. Here's the 1927 original.
Ten classics we're glad to see on Blu-ray this year:
Happy Star Wars day everybody! You know, May the 4th.... May the 4th Be With You... (May the Force Be With You) nyah nyah nyah.
We took votes, we debated those votes, we butted heads. But in the end, all that's left standing is the Amazon.com Movies & TV editors' picks for the 
