Re: 2023 Other Label Awards
Posted: Tue Mar 26, 2024 5:44 am
Best Overall Releases:
1. Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest - This is Arrow's magnum opus, the amount of care, effort, and work that went into it should not be dismissed. It's massive and sparling with so much content in such a gloriously constructed design that brings forth to Boutique Labels what Bruce Lee is to Martial Arts, unbeatable.
2. The Cassandra Cat - I am dead serious. The Cassandra Cat is an utterly unique film written by my favorite screenwriter of all time and given such visual imagination that Second Run has honored in it's excellent release of this film. Am I biased? Yes but this is my list.
3. Magic, Myth & Mutilation - A testament to genuine low budget effort and another really good preservation effort by Indicator (possibly their best), this is a giant set and one in to look back as one of Indicator's masterworks.
4. The End of Civilization - Szulkin's work is maybe my favorite discovery of the year and it never ceases to amaze me how he had been basically ignored from the pantheon of internationally recognized Polish greats up to this point.
5. Lukas Moodysson Collection - A wonderful collection of some of Sweden's most transgressive cinema.
6. From Hollywood to Heaven - Putting this here mainly for the Estus Pirkle films but this was maybe one of the wildest discoveries of this year.
7. The Warriors - Pretty good release for such a cult hit, that's pretty much it.
8. Mexican Macabre - Spooky charmers in a wonderful package.
9. The Criminal Acts of Tod Slaughter - Wonderfully restored and well curated, the Tod Slaughter set is one of the most well executed rescuing of any public domain films I've seen in a long time.
10. Benny's Bathtub - A charming film with loads of extras and is maybe my favorite Deaf Crocodile release in terms of extras.
11. Jerzy Skolimowski - Wonderful films in a great package including the very lovely audio commentaries by Michael Brooke.
12. Love Me Tonight - Lovely update over the Kino release in both the transfer and extras department.
13. Laurel & Hardy: Year One - Truly love me some Laurel & Hardy and this set truly delivers.
14. Columbo: The 1970s - I love Columbo and it's been wonderfully restored to a tee but unfortunately the loss of extras does hinder my appreciation of it just a bit.
15. The Working Class Goes to Heaven - Arguably one of the greatest starts to a boutique label outside of Criterion with Grand Illusion and it's an utterly wonderful achievement that Radiance entered the scene like this.
16. Cat City - Wonderfully deranged and elegantly crafted, Cat City is a true gem of a film that is given life in Deaf Crocodile's hands.
17. Martin - Just a glorious resurrection of a long thought unavailable film which while disappointingly wasn't able to include the workprint cut, is still very lovely.
18. Kids - Pretty solid upgrade from the old DVD.
19. Foolish Wives - This is just a good release with the only caveat that Kino does have some pretty interesting extras on their release too.
20. Hi Diddle Diddle - I don't know it's just a good movie, only downside being there's no special features on it.
Best Upgrade:
1. Angel Face
2. Queen Christina
3. Blood and Black Lace
4. The Strawberry Blonde
5. Clash by Night
6. Morgiana
Best Boxset (Ranked by Comprehensive Value):
1. Magic, Myth & Mutilation
2. The Lars von Trier Collection
3. The Lukas Moodysson Collection
4. The Criminal Acts of Tod Slaughter
5. From Hollywood to Heaven
6. Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest
Best Arrow Release:
1. Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest
2. The Lukas Moodysson Collection
3. The Warriors
Best BFI Release:
1. Two Films by Jerzy Skolimowski
2. Bluebeard's Castle
Best Deaf Crocodile Release:
1. Benny's Bathtub
Best Indicator Release:
1. Magic, Myth, & Mutilation
2. From Hollywood to Heaven
3. The Criminal Acts of Tod Slaughter
4. Mexico Macabre
5. Love Me Tonight
6. Jean Rollin Series
Best Kino Release:
1. Columbo: The 1970s
2. Silent Avant-Garde
Best Eureka Release:
1. Touch of Evil
Best Radiance Release:
1. The End of Civilization
2. The Working Class Goes to Heaven
3. Messiah of Evil
4. Welcome to the Dollhouse
Best Second Run Release:
1. The Cassandra Cat
Best Second Sight Release:
1. Martin
Best Vinegar Syndrome Release:
1. eXistenZ
Best Warner Archive Release:
1. Angel Face
2. Queen Christina
3. The Strawberry Blonde
Best Labels:
1. Kino Lorber
2. Indicator
3. Deaf Crocodile
4. Radiance
5. Arrow
Best Encoding:
Ineligible
Best Commentary:
1. Michael Brooke for Barrier
Best Bonus Film:
1. Surogat
2. Escape from America
Best Collection of Short Films:
1. Silent Avant-Garde
2. Soundies: The Ultimate Collection
Best Other On-Disc Extra:
1. The Final Game of Death, Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest (Arrow)
Best Cover:
1. Pandora's Box
Worst Cover:
1. Rosemary's Baby - At least The Exorcist makes it look like a horror movie, this cover makes the film look like it's a British comedy about devil pigs.
Best Packaging:
1. From Hollywood to Heaven
Best Late Discovery:
1. Cinema's First Nasty Women
Best Criterion Alternative:
1. Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest
2. Targets
1. Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest - This is Arrow's magnum opus, the amount of care, effort, and work that went into it should not be dismissed. It's massive and sparling with so much content in such a gloriously constructed design that brings forth to Boutique Labels what Bruce Lee is to Martial Arts, unbeatable.
2. The Cassandra Cat - I am dead serious. The Cassandra Cat is an utterly unique film written by my favorite screenwriter of all time and given such visual imagination that Second Run has honored in it's excellent release of this film. Am I biased? Yes but this is my list.
3. Magic, Myth & Mutilation - A testament to genuine low budget effort and another really good preservation effort by Indicator (possibly their best), this is a giant set and one in to look back as one of Indicator's masterworks.
4. The End of Civilization - Szulkin's work is maybe my favorite discovery of the year and it never ceases to amaze me how he had been basically ignored from the pantheon of internationally recognized Polish greats up to this point.
5. Lukas Moodysson Collection - A wonderful collection of some of Sweden's most transgressive cinema.
6. From Hollywood to Heaven - Putting this here mainly for the Estus Pirkle films but this was maybe one of the wildest discoveries of this year.
7. The Warriors - Pretty good release for such a cult hit, that's pretty much it.
8. Mexican Macabre - Spooky charmers in a wonderful package.
9. The Criminal Acts of Tod Slaughter - Wonderfully restored and well curated, the Tod Slaughter set is one of the most well executed rescuing of any public domain films I've seen in a long time.
10. Benny's Bathtub - A charming film with loads of extras and is maybe my favorite Deaf Crocodile release in terms of extras.
11. Jerzy Skolimowski - Wonderful films in a great package including the very lovely audio commentaries by Michael Brooke.
12. Love Me Tonight - Lovely update over the Kino release in both the transfer and extras department.
13. Laurel & Hardy: Year One - Truly love me some Laurel & Hardy and this set truly delivers.
14. Columbo: The 1970s - I love Columbo and it's been wonderfully restored to a tee but unfortunately the loss of extras does hinder my appreciation of it just a bit.
15. The Working Class Goes to Heaven - Arguably one of the greatest starts to a boutique label outside of Criterion with Grand Illusion and it's an utterly wonderful achievement that Radiance entered the scene like this.
16. Cat City - Wonderfully deranged and elegantly crafted, Cat City is a true gem of a film that is given life in Deaf Crocodile's hands.
17. Martin - Just a glorious resurrection of a long thought unavailable film which while disappointingly wasn't able to include the workprint cut, is still very lovely.
18. Kids - Pretty solid upgrade from the old DVD.
19. Foolish Wives - This is just a good release with the only caveat that Kino does have some pretty interesting extras on their release too.
20. Hi Diddle Diddle - I don't know it's just a good movie, only downside being there's no special features on it.
Best Upgrade:
1. Angel Face
2. Queen Christina
3. Blood and Black Lace
4. The Strawberry Blonde
5. Clash by Night
6. Morgiana
Best Boxset (Ranked by Comprehensive Value):
1. Magic, Myth & Mutilation
2. The Lars von Trier Collection
3. The Lukas Moodysson Collection
4. The Criminal Acts of Tod Slaughter
5. From Hollywood to Heaven
6. Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest
Best Arrow Release:
1. Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest
2. The Lukas Moodysson Collection
3. The Warriors
Best BFI Release:
1. Two Films by Jerzy Skolimowski
2. Bluebeard's Castle
Best Deaf Crocodile Release:
1. Benny's Bathtub
Best Indicator Release:
1. Magic, Myth, & Mutilation
2. From Hollywood to Heaven
3. The Criminal Acts of Tod Slaughter
4. Mexico Macabre
5. Love Me Tonight
6. Jean Rollin Series
Best Kino Release:
1. Columbo: The 1970s
2. Silent Avant-Garde
Best Eureka Release:
1. Touch of Evil
Best Radiance Release:
1. The End of Civilization
2. The Working Class Goes to Heaven
3. Messiah of Evil
4. Welcome to the Dollhouse
Best Second Run Release:
1. The Cassandra Cat
Best Second Sight Release:
1. Martin
Best Vinegar Syndrome Release:
1. eXistenZ
Best Warner Archive Release:
1. Angel Face
2. Queen Christina
3. The Strawberry Blonde
Best Labels:
1. Kino Lorber
2. Indicator
3. Deaf Crocodile
4. Radiance
5. Arrow
Best Encoding:
Ineligible
Best Commentary:
1. Michael Brooke for Barrier
Best Bonus Film:
1. Surogat
2. Escape from America
Best Collection of Short Films:
1. Silent Avant-Garde
2. Soundies: The Ultimate Collection
Best Other On-Disc Extra:
1. The Final Game of Death, Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest (Arrow)
Best Cover:
1. Pandora's Box
Worst Cover:
1. Rosemary's Baby - At least The Exorcist makes it look like a horror movie, this cover makes the film look like it's a British comedy about devil pigs.
Best Packaging:
1. From Hollywood to Heaven
Best Late Discovery:
1. Cinema's First Nasty Women
Best Criterion Alternative:
1. Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest
2. Targets
