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DVD NEW RELEASES: BEST OF 2000
Editor, Jeff Shannon
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Yes, folks, it's that time again--time for our esteemed editorial
staff to pool its resources and select what we consider the finest
DVDs released during the past year. Each editor compiled a list of his
or her personal favorites. Those lists were then compiled, and the
most popular selections were voted on for inclusion in our top 50
list.
And so, without further ado, here's our list of the top 50 DVDs of the year 2000, followed by some highlights from the list itself. |
BEST OF 2000 DVD HIGHLIGHTS
THE TOP TEN:
"Toy Story & Toy Story 2: The Ultimate Toy Box (3-Disc Collector's Set)"
For adults as well as children, this was the home-run set of the year. "Toy Story" and its sequel were both instant classics, and because both films were mastered to DVD from digital data (that is, no actual film was involved), the image quality is so vivid it looks almost three-dimensional. A third disc demonstrates in elaborate detail how these computer-animated hits were created, serving as a virtual primer for anyone interested in the technology and artistry of computer animation.
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"Gladiator"
The top-selling DVD of 2000 is also one of the year's very best releases--a spectacular two-disc set in a year filled with double-disc delights. Ridley Scott's fantastic epic is included on one disc, with optional Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS soundtracks. The second disc includes some of the best DVD supplements of the year, including an informative documentary on the history of gladiatorial games.
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"Rushmore (Criterion Collection)"
The critics' darling of 1999 was also one of the best DVDs in a year of great releases from the Criterion Collection. Wes Anderson's wildly idiosyncratic comedy is a treat for anyone who gravitates toward offbeat, original humor, and this is one of the few DVDs with bonus features that are every bit as good as the movie itself. Hilarious movie parodies--performed by the "Max Fischer Players" at the 1999 MTV Movie Awards--are by themselves worth the price of the disc.
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"Magnolia (New Line Platinum Series)"
If the Criterion Collection is the elite DVD showcase for timeless classics and foreign masterworks, New Line's Platinum Series is a more mainstream equivalent: Every release is a DVD archive for New Line's proudest achievements. In addition to the two-disc rerelease of "Boogie Nights," P.T. Anderson's "Magnolia" is the perfect match of a daring and original film with intimately revealing bonus features (one quibble: Tom Cruise's absence from the documentary). Aspiring filmmakers will consider this a kind of digital Holy Grail.
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"Being John Malkovich"
As you might have guessed by now, we like our movies fresh, original, and decidedly out of the mainstream (most of them, anyway). "Being John Malkovich" is a comedy that belongs in its own delirious universe. Its wild ideas fly off the screen with crazed inspiration, fueled by yet another memorable John Cusack performance.
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"American Beauty (The Awards Edition)"
1999's Oscar-winner (Best Picture, Actor, Director, Screenplay) offers further proof that DreamWorks is as serious about DVD as they are about making great movies.
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"High Fidelity"
The year's best romantic comedy (smoothly Americanized from Nick Hornby's British novel) is an instant slacker classic, and the deleted scenes on the DVD are almost as good as the movie itself.
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"North by Northwest"
Hitchcock's 1959 classic was given due respect for its much-anticipated DVD debut, which includes an exclusive new making-of documentary. This year's release of "The Birds" is also highly recommended, and we can barely wait for the upcoming releases of "Rear Window" and other Hitchcock favorites.
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"I, Claudius"
DVD got ambitious this year with the boxed-set releases of several TV miniseries and full-season packages. "I, Claudius" was arguably the best--an eminently literate, tightly woven account of political intrigue over 70 years of ancient Roman history.
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"Brief Encounter (Criterion Collection)"
Another stellar DVD release from Criterion, this time a vintage British classic by David Lean that has never looked this pristinely luminous--and it's still as intensely emotional as ever.
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MORE SELECTED TITLES:
"American Movie"
One of the funniest--and most truthful--documentaries ever made.
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"A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies"
Want a privileged lesson in American movie history? Let a master teach you.
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"Titus"
Overlooked and underrated, with the best director commentary of the year.
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"The Virgin Suicides"
One of 2000's best films, marking the directorial arrival of another promising Coppola.
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10 DVDs THAT MATTERED IN 2000
As the premiere video format, DVD began to prove its potential in 2000, in both popularity and technical achievement (and even more improvements are on the way). To celebrate this encouraging diversity, Amazon.com editor Doug Thomas selected 10 DVD releases that influenced the market, attracted throngs of DVD converts, and pointed the way to the format's promising future.
See Doug's list
