DVD & BLU-RAY PICKS
Repo Man (Eureka/Masters of Cinema): Alex Cox’s startling 1984 directorial debut gradually became a cult film with its unusual mix of noir and sci-fi. When an unemployed punk rocker (Emilio Estevez) is hired by a guy named Bud (Harry Dean Stanton) to repossess cars for a living, he soon makes a strange discovery. Fully restored Blu-ray, with bountiful extras including audio commentaries and the network television version (i.e. the one without the swearing). [Buy the Blu-ray from Amazon UK]
Miss Bala (Metrodome): Accomplished crime drama, loosely based on real events, about a young woman (Noe Hernandez) with dreams of becoming a beauty queen who finds herself working for Mexican drug smugglers. Directed by Gerardo Naranjo, it is an unusually absorbing mixture of genres that aren’t combined that often. It has been selected as this year’s Mexican entry for the Academy Awards. [Buy it on DVD from Amazon UK]
Warrior (Lionsgate): Although it didn’t live up to commercial expectations, this drama about two brothers (Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton) who enter the biggest ‘winner takes all’ Mixed Martial Arts event in history. Directed by Gavin O’Connor and co-starring Nick Nolte as their father (a performance which has earned him an Oscar nomination), it dealt with contemporary issues that maybe cut too close to the bone for mainstream audiences (e.g. war, recession). But the performances and assured direction might see it become a home entertainment favourite. [Buy it on Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon UK]
ALSO OUT
Best Laid Plans (Sony Pictures Home Ent.)
Demons Never Die (Exile Media Group) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (StudioCanal) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Fright Night (Walt Disney Studios Home Ent.) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Garden State (Miramax) [Blu-ray / Special Edition]
Hollywoodland (Miramax) [Blu-ray / Normal]
One More (Odeon Entertainment) [Blu-ray / Normal]
Real Steel (Walt Disney Studios Home Ent.) [Blu-ray / Normal]
WWII in 3D (Go Entertain) [Blu-ray / 3D Edition]
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> The Best DVD and Blu-ray releases of 2011