Just scroll down this page quickly, and take a look at all the discs being released today. Crazy, isn’t it?! I don’t have actual numbers to back this up but September 2010 seems like it’s the most balls-out bonkers Blu-ray disc extravaganza on record! Making it super tough to pick only the five best titles of the week. Well, as you’ll see when you take a closer look, I’ve cheated a little bit. What you’ll also note is that the title that will most likely be the best-seller of the week, Prince of Persia didn’t rate anywhere near the top of the list. Honestly, there’s no way that modern CGI pablum like that can compete with one of the best films of all time or one of the best TV shows of all time, nevermind classic Fincher, Jeunet or 80s sci-fi/horror! This weeks Top 5 features some pretty amazing stuff!

I’m going to be a whole lot poorer when the day is done…

1. BREATHLESS

Professor of Film, Dudley Andrew writes, “Breathless is the definitive manifesto of the New Wave.” This is the film that broke all the rules. That marked the birth of a movement. The point at which nothing would ever be the same again for film and for filmmakers worldwide. I know there’s a lot of shiny new titles on Blu today – titles that will look a lot slicker, vibrant and detailed on your big-screen, high-def display – but Godard‘s Breathless is hands-down the most critical buy of the week. Yes, it’s grainy, it’s black and white and it’s raw. But if you’re at all a film fan, you’re going to absolutely love this new Criterion Collection release.

From the package:

“There was before Breathless, and there was after Breathless. Jean-Luc Godard burst onto the film scene in 1960 with this jazzy, free-form, and sexy homage to the American film genres that inspired him as a writer for Cahiers du cinéma. With its lack of polish, surplus of attitude, anything-goes crime narrative, and effervescent young stars Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg, Breathless helped launch the French New Wave and ensured cinema would never be the same.“

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Restored high-definition digital transfer, approved by director of photography Raoul Coutard (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
• Archival interviews with director Jean-Luc Godard and actors Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, and Jean-Pierre Melville
• New video interviews with Coutard, assistant director Pierre Rissient, and filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker
• Two video essays: filmmaker Mark Rappaport’s Jean Seberg and critic Jonathan Rosenbaum’s “Breathless” as Criticism
• Chambre 12, Hôtel de Suède, an eighty-minute French documentary about the making of Breathless, with members of the cast and crew
• Charlotte et son Jules, a 1959 short film by Godard featuring Belmondo
• French theatrical trailer
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by scholar Dudley Andrew, writings by Godard, François Truffaut’s original treatment, and Godard’s scenario

Amazon: $29.99

2. DELICATESSEN

The top two films on Blu-ray this week are French!! How about that?

They might share the same country of origin but Jeunet and Caro‘s Delicatessen couldn’t be further from Godard’s new wave masterpiece. It’s a colourful, neo-futuristic fantasy that serves as the stylistic precursor to Jeunet’s later hit Amelie. This Studio Canal Collection Blu-ray disc serves as a welcome upgrade from all previously available home video incarnations. It looks fantastic, sounds great and has just enough special features to keep you out of trouble.

Amazon: $28.49

3. THE TWILIGHT ZONE: SEASON 1

If all the early reviews of this Twilight Zone boxed set are accurate, it’s in the running for Blu-ray release of the year. Sporting absolutely stunning new high-def transfers of the first season episodes and more bonus features than you can shake a stick at, The Twilight Zone: Season 1 is a must-buy for all fans of the popular black and white series and of tv-on-blu releases in general.

Read all about it here: The Twilight Zone: Season One comes to Blu-ray

Amazon: $69.99

4. SE7EN

Are you one of those unfortunate souls who picked up the Canadian Blu-ray release of Se7en? Yeah, we got hosed with that one – bad transfer, incorrect framing and no extras. Well, thank the good lord for New Line who, today are finally releasing their director approved, feature packed edition of the film, correctly framed in a sparkling new transfer that might just border on perfection. Four commentary tracks, alternate/deleted/extended scenes, title sequence exploration and more all a dual-layer disc bound in a beautiful hardcover digibook package.

Drool.

Amazon: $24.99

5. THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD and INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS

Okay, here’s where I really cheated. I couldn’t just pick one of these new MGM horror/sci-fi Blu-ray disc releases, so I went for both!

Before the 1985 Return of the Living Dead, no zombie had ever moaned the word “Brains!” Or articulated any word, for that matter. Director Dan O’Bannon‘s send-up of Romero‘s famous zombie films doesn’t take itself too seriously, set to a pounding 80s rock score and featuring more loquacious walking dead than any film before or since. It’s such a fun ride that it has since become a cult classic.

Conversely, the 1978 remake of the classic 50s Invasion of the Body Snatchers couldn’t take itself more seriously. As a child, I actually found this adaptation starring Donald Sutherland, Jeff Goldblum and Leonard Nimoy to be rather terrifying. That final scene with Sutherland and frightened Brooke Adams gave me nightmares and still sticks with me today. What an ending!!

Amazon: $18.99, $16.99

BLU-RAY 3D: Monster House 3D

I don’t even know how to talk about the upcoming onslaught of 3D Blu-ray releases. I don’t have a 3D display and don’t plan on getting one. Personally, I feel this is a big misstep by the home entertainment industry. One that I’m hoping won’t snap back and bite Blu-ray on the ass.

My feelings on the tech aside, Monster House is a great little animated film. And early reviews of the disc note that its 3D presentation is spectacular. Those who have yet to upgrade but are considering it in the future can feel confident picking up this disc as it also contains the 2D version of Monster House. Good move, Sony!

Amazon: $27.99

TV ON BLU

WHV DOUBLE FEATURES

ALSO AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY THIS WEEK
Clicking an image will take you to Amazon.com where you can learn more about and purchase the Blu-ray disc:

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