10 Blu-rays From 2025 I Feel Lucky To Own

As with last year, this year’s list of favorite blu-ray releases feels premature, since there are still many blu-ray/4K titles I have yet to acquire. There is only so much money, so many gift cards, so many 50%-off sales to use them on and only so much time one can devote to a box set’s worth of extras. Still, this was a rich year for the physical formats and out of the over-a-hundred titles that came my way this year, I have ten that I am grateful for, for now, with plenty more on the way (“American Utopia,” “Burden of Dreams,” “Babe: Pig In the City” and "Kingpin," among many others). 

All Of Me (Vestron Video) - Hopefully, this release bodes well for many films under the HBO Video label that have yet to be granted an HD upgrade (the brilliant “American Splendor,” the guilty pleasure “Volunteers” and Michael Ritchie’s satire “The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader Murdering Mom,” to name a few). While Vestron tends to lean towards nostalgic genre films, they would do well to expand their catalog the same way Shout! Factory has done over the years. Their release of Carl Reiner’s “All Of Me” shows a commitment to not just ‘80s horror and goofy sci-fi, but to more straightforward titles that remain crowd-pleasing, while also getting at the heart of what makes a comedy work. The critics on-hand for this blu-ray enjoy the film as much as I do and I always forget Phil Alden Robinson wrote the script for this film. It’s great to hear his perspective as well. Sure, it would've been nice to hear from Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin, but with something like this, you have to take what you can get and what’s here was worth the wait. 

Amadeus (4K) (Warner Bros) - Ever since the blu-ray release of Milos Foreman’s Director’s Cut (and the Director’s Cut only), there has been a vocal demand for the superior Theatrical Cut of the 1984 Best Picture winner. Coming in a little late for the film’s 40th anniversary, the film’s original theatrical version arrived intact with a gorgeous restoration that did more to polish up the picture than some of the lackluster Warner releases through the years. Even the cover art avoided being ghastly (which can’t be said for “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest,” perhaps the worst Warner 4K cover of all). The choice to release it without the Director’s Cut blu-ray is unsurprising, given the studio has decided to save themselves an entire nickel by only selling 4K without a blu-ray disc. Because of the commentary by Foreman on that release, I’m forced to hang onto it. Nevertheless, the 4K disc is a visual stunner, with impressive audio to match and which should be cranked up loud in order to get the full sensory experience. 

Basquiat (Criterion) - I had no idea Julian Schnabel’s 1996 bio-pic of Jean-Michel Basquiat had intended to be released in black-and-white until Criterion announced this disc. Thanks to this release, we now have a wonderful film available as the director intended and I’ll never go back. The Weinstein-ed color version is also on here as well, just for posterity, but Schnabel’s film becomes something more significant and transcendent in its recently restored form. It somehow becomes more about the moment as a distant memory, until the final shot when Basquiat’s work finally explodes with color. I have always been a big fan of this film. The soundtrack remains one of the most underrated of the decade, effectively evoking a cultural movement that will never be replicated, and done so with great authority (Schnabel was there, of course). It compliments the film perfectly and helps make it worth revisiting time and again, not to mention the astonishing ensemble cast that Schnabel was able to get for his first film(!). 

Documentary Now! - The Complete Series (IFC) - I always like to include a complete TV series set on my year-end list and this one is just too good. Bill Hader and Fred Armisen’s vision for this show is still one that shouldn’t make sense, let alone one that lasts more than one season. Imitating landmark documentaries, or in some cases, just documentary genres and styles, is such a niche-within-a-niche idea, that you wonder how they were able to convince any network to run with it. Well, two hours worth of bonus material for the fans gets into the production as we quickly come to realize that only these two guys could pull something like this off. As a lifelong Jonathan Demme fan, Hader’s eerie imitation of Spalding Gray is a major highlight for me, as is the all-encompassing “Last Waltz”/”Stop Making Sense” parody, “Final Transmission.” We’re lucky to have this show and even luckier that IFC put together such a lovingly crafted set where even just looking at postcards of the fake movie posters is part of the comedic experience.

Hell’s Angels (Criterion) - Part of reviewing discs on a podcast is opening a package from a label and not knowing what they decided to send you for review. Howard Hughes’ “Hell’s Angels” wasn’t at the top of my preferences for the month of November (I’m pretty sure “Eyes Wide Shut” and "Burden of Dreams” were higher), but I was curious about this one. I decided to watch it on our projector screen and I’m so glad I did. Hughes’ film dazzled me with its ambitious aerial footage that took years to accomplish (and cost some lives, truth be told). Its mix of color and black-and-white in a time when film was still in its infancy as an artform and a technical marvel is a thrill to behold. Sure, the storyline isn't exactly the main draw for what is surely the blueprint for many of the WWII movies of the ‘40s or the “Top Gun”-type movies of the ‘80s and onward, but Criterion’s release made me want to learn more about its history, which is what a great blu-ray restoration should do. Thank you, Criterion, for sending this. 

Hollywood Legends of Horror Collection (Warner Archive) - Warner Archive’s collection sets are a godsend for those of us who collect many of their titles and are running out of shelf space. Many of the sets are valuable bargains, but the Hollywood Legends of Horror set is easily my favorite (along with the Judy Garland, ‘50s Sci-Fi and Gene Kelly sets). Six films, including both “Dr. X” films, two Lionel Barrymore films (“Mark of the Vampire,” also starring Bela Lagosi, and the wonderfully loopy “The Devil Doll”), Boris Karloff in “The Mask Of Fu Manchu” and the disc’s centerpiece, the classic “Mad Love,” showcasing one of the essential Peter Lorre performances. All of these discs have been available separately, of course, so there's nothing new here, but the fact that you get to have the extras as well as the features in one compact set at a mere $59.99 makes it perhaps the bargain of the year and a must for horror fans looking for alternatives to the Universal monster films of the era. Keep these sets coming, please. 

The Movie Orgy (American Genre Film Archive) - Full disclosure: An essay and interview with Joe Dante that I wrote for RogerEbert.com appears in the booklet for this release. Even if that weren’t the case, the fact that this got any kind of physical release at all is enough to celebrate. One of the most sought-after titles in all home video history, Dante’s 4.75-hour, 16mm mash-up only saw the light of day via film society and college campus screenings for over five decades. Everyone presumed the film would never get released because of rights issues. Somehow, the fine folks at the American Genre Film Archive figured out the legalities and the disc sold out within days of its release (copies on eBay are already triple the original price). Consider yourself blessed if you have a copy on hand. Don’t watch it alone, though. Gather your friends, have plenty of food handy and make a night of it. It remains an essential communal experience, above all else.

Re-Animator (Ignite) - What can a burgeoning start-up genre label like Ignite do with this movie that Arrow Video hasn’t done already with their robust release from 2018? Turns out, quite a bit. In addition to the lengthy Legacy Features (copied and pasted from the Arrow release), Ignite went above and beyond with worthwhile interviews and special features of their own (although my interest in “Re-Animator: The Musical” only goes so far). That and a lovingly rendered 4K transfer that really makes the gore pop, adding a new layer of disgust that has always been essential to the film’s legend. Ignite is supposedly working on a 4K disc of “Bride of the Re-Animator,” which will come out in 2026. With this and their extraordinary “Invaders From Mars” disc from a few years ago, Ignite is making a name for themselves in this industry as a quality producer of physical media. Here’s hoping they can get on pace with everyone else by having more than one disc a year. I should also point out that I only have the standard 2-disc version. The out-of-print 3-disc set with all the goodies looks like a must-have as well, if you can afford it. 

Swimming To Cambodia (Cinematograph) - I always knew there was more to be said about Spalding Gray’s “Swimming To Cambodia” than what Shout! Factory had on their DVD release from many years ago. Cinematograph’s set does not disappoint, featuring interviews with those involved (unfortunately, not composer Laurie Anderson) as well as podcast episodes that shed more light on the production, Gray’s process and Jonathan Demme’s singular approach. If you were lucky enough to get the edition with the booklet, that’s a keeper there. Gray left his mark as a monologist, sure, but also as an honest writer. Discovering “Swimming To Cambodia” in high school, watching it countless times and reading his works was tremendously impactful for me during that time. His influence is still being felt today and we’re all the better for it. And yes, I can still watch it without thinking of Bill Hader. 

Tom & Jerry - The Golden Era (Warner Archive) - My only complaint about this release still stands: You need to have an insert or something that indicates what cartoons are on what disc (my copy didn’t come with one). Other than that, this is a cartoon lover’s dream set, one that I hoped would come to fruition at some point. Even if it hadn’t, I’d probably include the “Tom & Jerry: The Complete CinemaScope Collection” in this list. That alone was a true gift of a release, but for Warner Archive to turn around so fast and offer this within the same year shows they are in tune with their customer’s demands (so much so, Amazon reportedly ran out of stock with pre-orders alone). The addition of old and new documentaries on the bonus disc is praiseworthy and puts the set up there with the “Looney Tunes Platinum Collections” (also re-released this year). On a related note. Hannah-Barbera fans also had reasons to celebrate with a constant stream of TV oddities from their catalog seeing the light of day on blu-ray. Who knew the demand was so high for “Wally Gator”? I have a couple requests: “The Ed Grimley Show” and a “Tiny Toons”  set, complete with “How I Spent My Vacation.”

Looking forward to in 1996: The aforementioned "Bride of Re-Animator" (Ignite), The "Gilmore Girls" Complete Series, even if it doesn't have the Netflix stuff, (Warner), Looney Tunes Collector's Vault, Vol. 2 (Warner Archive), Diane Keaton's "Heaven" (Lightyear), "Over The Garden Wall" (Warner), Monster Mayhem Collection (FilmMasters).