frameofmind

Actors: Chow Yun-Fat,Chang Chen,Lung Sihung,Li Fa Zeng,Gao Xian,Wang De Ming,Zhang Jin Ting,Action,Adventure,Drama,Romance,

110 DVDs you should own
16.10.09

2 Toy Story (£15, available through play.com )
Picking a favourite Pixar film is a fool’s game. But nothing expresses the
essential magic of animation like this first Pixar movie about toys that
come to life.The two-disc 10th anniversary edition is full of additional
treats, but after enjoying its deleted scenes, you’ll only admire the
economy of the 80-minute original more.

3 The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (£17.99, RRP £20.99. 698332) The
first Narnia movie was a much bigger hit, but though lengthy and often
gloomy, this impresses with its scale and by the performances of its young
stars, as well as boasting a Shrek -style fencing mouse.

4 Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (Region 1, from £8.50; available through amazon.co.uk )
A ‘plot’ inspired by a gloomy Italian realist classic, a star caught
exposing himself in a cinema and a screenwriter killed by his wife. Tim
Burton’s breakthrough film is not everybody’s formula for a kids’ classic,
but its visual style and childlike take on the world ensures it has a unique
mood and a happy, but anti-Hollywood ending.

5 The Bear (£7.99, RRP £9.99. 650614) Though painstakingly filmed over many
months in the Canadian wilderness with real animals, this almost-wordless
story of an orphaned bear and its grizzly guardian is no more ‘authentic’
than Babe . But it’s a great primer on the call of the wild for urban
urchins.

6 The Iron Giant (£4.99, RRP £17.99. 73191) Ted Hughes approved this
adaptation from Incredibles director Brad Bird, even though it
transported his novel’s action to New England at the height of the Cold War.
Critics endorsed it too.

7 Spirited Away (£9.99, RRP £15.99. 671682) Hayao Miyazaki’s most successful
Western export is a great introduction to his inventiveness, and to the way
children understand his logic when their parents don’t.

8 Kes (£5.99, RRP £15.99. 656513) A lonely Yorkshire lad has his horizons
expanded by the relationship he forms with a kestrel. It’s four decades old,
it’s black and white and it’s not a barrel of laughs. But Kes is still unforgettably affecting.

9 Dumbo (£14.50, available through amazon.co.uk )
If any Disney masterpiece can claim to be ‘neglected’, it’s surely this one.
The beauty of its mother-son relationship, as expressed in songs like Baby
Mine , is beyond compare.

10 Raiders of the Lost Ark (£8.99, RRP £9.99. 697037) Harking back to a time
when heroes didn’t have lasers and the baddies were always Nazis, Raiders remains not only a lean action adventure, but also a film whose plot junior
and grandpa can both follow, gripped.

11 Something Wicked This Way Comes (Region 1, from £6.50; through amazon.co.uk )
Though the import DVD is easy to come by, this most un-Disney-like of Disney
films has never had a proper British release. It’s an atmospheric story of
carnivals, fathers and sons and the power of faith.

12 Bridge to Terabithia (£6.99, RRP £19.99. 690346) The trailers
misrepresented the tone of this preteen fantasy upon its 2007 cinema release
as a Narnia/Potter-type number. Rather than a jolly Quidditch-sticks romp,
this beautifully acted adaptation is a rumination on life, love and
loneliness, whose power is down more to young actors than its sparsely used
effects.

13 Big (£4.99, RRP £12.99. 652277) Of all the body-swap comedies old and new, Big is the acknowledged master. It’s a movie of moments, and all of those remain
as magic as they ever were.

14 The Witches (£4.99, RRP £12.99. 675143) Angelica Huston was cast in the
lead, delighting author Roald Dahl; director Nic Roeg, previously known for
spooking adults, captured the author’s creepy-conspiratorial tone. The
resulting movie is a sparkling, stylish children’s classic.

War

1 Saving Private Ryan (£12.99, RRP £15.99. 72204) The visceral, chaotic,
unbearably intense immediacy of the first 24 minutes of Spielberg’s D-Day
masterpiece are awesome. But let’s hear it for the other 138, which are
pretty awesome too.

2 Apocalypse Now Redux (£5.99, RRP £19.99. 650996) OTT when first released;
Coppola’s sprawling head-trip of a Nam epic is now an hour more OTT with
French plantation sequences, extra Playboy bunny girls, and, most
importantly, more Robert Duvall surfing.

3 The Great Escape World Cup Edition (£14.99, RRP £19.99. 703711) You’ve seen
the film countless times at Christmas; what the DVD extras tell you is just
how historically accurate it was. Apart from Steve McQueen on the motorbike
over the wire. And a few other bits.

4 Platoon (£3.99, RRP £15.99. 651009) Oliver Stone was there, of course, so is
in an ideal position to show the Nam war as the green hell it was. DVD
extras include cast, crew and veterans testifying movingly to the horror of,
well, everything.

5 Black Hawk Down Special Edition (£4.99, RRP £19.99. 665904) Best war movie
soundtrack; probably – with Saving Private Ryan – the most
realistic movie depiction of infantry combat, plus thrilling testimony by
Mogadishu vets.

6 Ninth Company (£7.99, RRP £9.99. 694691) Post-Soviet Russia’s highest-ever
grossing film, Ninth Company has more curiosity than
total-masterpiece value. It’s about Soviet conscripts getting the
Nam-equivalent experience in Eighties Afghanistan.

7 Days of Glory (£12.99, RRP £19.99. 691339) WWII as you’ve never seen it
before: from the perspective of Algerian volunteers fighting for the French.
Slow, brooding, with great combat sequences.

8 The Cruel Sea (£5.99, RRP £12.99. 658708) Documentary-style film that
captures brilliantly the British stiff upper lip amid the bleakness of
Atlantic convoy duty.

World

1 Lola Montès (£14.99, RRP £19.99. 866322) Max Ophüls’ last film was ridiculed
and cut when new in 1955. Now it’s been restored to its original length in
its full CinemaScope and Eastman Color glory.

2 Naruse Vol 1 (£39.99, RRP £49.99. 684875) Mikio Naruse was a great Japanese
director with a career stretching back to the silent era. This boxset
contains three Fifties marital dramas – Flowing , Repast and Sound of the Mountain – that come with a 180-page book.

3 Marketa Lazarová (£9.99, RRP £12.99. 694035) Never released here and by
little-known Czech film-maker Frantisek Vlácil, this superb historical drama
shot in 1967 needs lots of background information, which is given in an
indispensable essay by Peter Hames that traces the film’s source and
meaning.

4 Il Grido (£14.99, RRP £19.99. 869994) Antonioni’s films from L’Avventura onwards are now well appreciated, but this film was made earlier and set
among the proletariat. A knowledge of what was happening to Italian society
at that time is essential, which is what’s provided here.

5 La Terra Trema (£14.99, RRP £19.99. 659554) It’s little known that
Visconti’s realist drama about Sicilian fishermen came from a 19th-century
novel by Giovanni Verga. This DVD explains how it was updated and spoken in
a dialect that had to be subtitled even for Italy.

6 A Long Weekend in Pest and Buda (£9.99, RRP £12.99. 685257) This sequel to
Károly Makk’s 1971 film Love stars the same leads 32 years
later. An informative booklet outlines how modern Budapest shapes people’s
lives today.

7 Mother Joan of the Angels (£12.99, RRP £12.99. 691828) Jerzy Kawalerowicz’s
film is about the same historical incident as Ken Russell’s The
Devils . It was made in Poland under Communism, even though it’s an
attack on dogma. An essay sheds light on what the director had in mind.

Drama

1 Comrades (£17.99, RRP £22.99. 700126) This is the story of the Tolpuddle
Martyrs – a feature of 19th-century trade union history that is known about
rather than known – and of the lanternists, precursors of cinema who were
contemporaneous. A helpful vade mecum explores both aspects.

2 Sunrise (£14.99, RRP £19.99. 798142) Winner of the first Academy Award, this
American film by Germany’s FW Murnau is a triumph of atmosphere. Also
included is a Czech print, and a 68 page booklet setting it in context.

3 A Star Is Born (£6.99, RRP £12.99. 30668) Is this much filmed story a drama
or a musical? Both, actually. The 1954 American release, with Judy Garland
and James Mason, has scenes later cut for world markets. They’re
reintegrated here in a longer version than is customarily seen.

4 Lost Horizon (£4.99, RRP £19.99. 651604) This film, too, was cut before
release. All that survives is here restored. It adds new scenes but no new
characters, clarifying previous uncertainties and underlining author James
Hilton’s pacifist message. It remains one of the great idealistic pictures.

5 New York, New York (£7.99, RRP £19.99. 761031) Martin Scorsese’s film – a
drama about music rather than a musical – nevertheless features a long
production number, with Liza Minnelli axed when the film was first released.
You get her back here, turning an impressive picture into a great one.

6 The Battle of the Somme (£8.99, RRP £10.99. 691632) Released within weeks of
the bloodiest battle of the First World War, was this seemingly real film a
documentary? It feels authentic but was in fact shot out of harm’s way, and
now carries an explanatory booklet.

Horror

1 The Descent (£5.99, RRP £15.99. 678394) Six girls go caving and get more
than they bargained for in the scariest movie of the decade. Even the DVD
menu of this two-disc set will give you the heebie-jeebies; the commentaries
by director, cast and crew add light-hearted company (‘Ooh that’s gonna
sting!’) if the film proves too terrifying.

2 Let the Right One In (£12.99, RRP £17.99. 753874) Superb social realist
Swedish vampire movie; charming, informative commentary by its director and
writer.

3 Final Destination 2 (£14.99, RRP £19.99. 658770) Death picks off survivors
of a truly horrifying motorway pile-up. The Region 1 DVD comes with
eccentric extras such as ‘Choose Your Fate’.

4 Shaun of the Dead (£3.00, available through amazon.co.uk )
The best British horror-comedy in living memory, with a package of features
including flip charts, commentaries and video diaries.

5 Dawn of the Dead (£9.99, RRP £12.98. 666900) George Romero’s zombie classic
gets special DVD treatment in this four-disc presentation.

6 Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (£6.99, RRP £12.99. 699620) Director Sam Raimi and
star Bruce Campbell give hilarious commentary (‘Here we go! Eyeball!’) on
their cult demon-fest.

7 The Omen (£4.99, RRP £12.99. 651493) This Seventies devil movie is tons more
fun than The Exorcist ; buy it boxed with sequels for all the bonus
features.

8 Scream (£4.99, RRP £19.99. 76812) Director Wes Craven provides smart running
commentary for his postmodern slasher movie, which is both funny and scary.

9 The Fly (£6.99, RRP £12.99. 674398) Beautiful metal slipcase for David
Cronenberg’s horror classic, plus typically intelligent observations from
the director.

10 Whistle and I’ll Come to You (£49.99, available through play.com) Horror
writer Ramsey Campbell introduces Jonathan Miller’s spine-chilling version
of MR James’ classic ghost story

Science Fiction

1 Serenity (£6.99, RRP £19.99. 676651) Writer-director Joss Whedon proves
excellent company in his commentary (‘ Star Trek moment!
Everybody fall down!’) for the big screen version of his short-lived sci-fi
series Firefly . Dry humour, deep-space zombies and action a-go-go
add up to a rip-roaring interplanetary western in which characters are never
swamped by special effects.

2 Pitch Black (£7.99, RRP £15.99. 667472) Vin Diesel stars in cracking B movie
about space travellers stranded on a planet infested with flesh-eating
creatures. Look for the special edition.

3 Starship Troopers (£4.99, RRP £19.99. 76816) Teens versus giant
creepy-crawlies! Paul Verhoeven provides acerbic commentary (‘Here we’re
trying to be extremely gender neutral’) on the rollicking sci-fi satire.

4 eXistenZ (£7.99, RRP £9.99. 650144) The ever-articulate David Cronenberg
turns his attention to the world of role-playing games, with mind-bending
results.

5 The Thing (£9.99, RRP £9.99. 474635) John Carpenter and Kurt Russell give
convivial commentary on extra-laden version of tense sci-fi classic with
mind-boggling special effects.

6 Alien (£4.99, RRP £19.99. 650134) Awe-inspiring monster-in-space movie; the
DVD includes intriguing footage cut from the finished film.

7 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (£4.99, RRP £12.99. 650788) Chilling remake
of the 1956 classic, with info-packed commentary from director Philip
Kaufman.

8 Paprika (£5.99, RRP £19.99. 692494) Astonishing Japanese anime about a
scientist who enters people’s dreams. If you can read French, it’s worth
tracking down the packed-with-extras French edition.

9 Robocop (£6.99, RRP £19.99. 662456) Paul Verhoeven’s satire on the future of
law enforcement gets the deluxe Criterion treatment, which means
commentaries, storyboards and extra violence.

10 Quatermass and the Pit (£4.99, RRP £12.99. 667670) Film of the sci-fi
thriller comes with all six episodes of the original 1957 television series.
The effects may be hokey, but this is one of the most frightening plots ever
devised.

Action

1 Enter the Dragon (£7.99, RRP £14.99. 666580) The legendary Bruce Lee
infiltrates a martial arts tournament and beats everyone to a pulp while
making strange Donald Duck noises in this kung-fu classic. The special
edition offers commentaries, interviews and documentaries.

2 On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (£8.99, RRP £9.99. 687368) George Lazenby is
not as awful as you might expect, and there’s no arguing about the quality
of stunts and soundtrack in one of the most underrated Bond movies.

3 The Adventures of Robin Hood (£5.99, RRP £12.99. 70356) Errol Flynn wears
tights and still looks manly in this colourful, swashbuckling classic. Film
buff bonuses galore, including a documentary about Technicolor.

4 The Wages of Fear (£8.99, RRP £19.99. 654088) A slow start, but fasten your
seat belts for a white-knuckle ride as Yves Montand drives a truckful of
dynamite over rocky roads.

5 Once Upon a Time in China (£14.99, available through play.com) Jet Li takes
on all-comers in Tsui Hark’s dazzling martial arts epic. Look for the
collector’s edition.

6 Police Story (available through amazon.co.uk )
Jackie Chan’s Hong Kong movies are bags more fun than his Hollywood ones;
thrills, spills and special features in the collector’s edition.

7 The Rock (£6.99, RRP £19.99. 79185) Michael Bay’s action thriller starring
Sean Connery isn’t the most obvious title to receive the Criterion
treatment, yet here it is, with a full bouquet of special features.

8 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (£4.99, RRP £19.99. 652124) Chow Yun-Fat
stars in this art-house action hit with stunning fight scenes; director Ang
Lee and producer James Schamus provide detailed commentary.

9 Dead or Alive (£15.99, RRP £19.99. 655067) Takashi Miike’s Japanese cop
thriller has the most outrageous opening and closing sequences you’ve ever
seen. The parts in between aren’t bad, either, but are not for the easily
offended.

10 The Three Musketeers/The Four Musketeers (£7.99, RRP £15.99. 699247)
Richard Lester’s two-part swashbuckler is the best film version of the
Alexandre Dumas classic.

Musicals

1 Wizard of Oz Collector’s Edition (£12.99, RRP £15.99. 683960) This
three-disc trip down the yellow brick road is comprehensive: alongside an
informative documentary graciously hosted by Angela Lansbury, the main
excitement is seeing the four earlier filmed versions of Oz as well as a
short 1933 cartoon version.

2 West Side Story Collector’s Edition (£3.99, RRP £19.99. 4661147) Any DVD
which includes extra Rita Moreno can only be a good thing. Here she pops up
with other cast members in an hour-long doc on the making of the film.
There’s a rich scrapbook too, with original press and promo material and the
whole of the shooting script.

3 Mary Poppins: Anniversary Edition (£9.99, RRP £19.99. 865582) PL Travers’
classic story was given a digital makeover for its third DVD release. The
extras were also upgraded, with a warbling reunion between Dick Van Dyke and
Julie Andrews and plenty of child-friendly pop-ups.

4 Meet Me In St Louis: 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Region 1 only;
available through amazon.co.uk for
£12.99) Liza Minnelli introduces her parents’ first, and most successful,
collaboration. As well as much-improved picture and audio, it features a
Vincente Minnelli trailer gallery, and an insightful commentary from
Garland’s biographer.

5 High School Musical: Encore Edition (available through amazon.co.uk )
See the cast in the early days, learn the dance routines under the guidance
of director-choreographer Kenny Ortega, and sing along to the squeaky clean
pop songs with the help of on-screen lyrics.

6 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Collector’s Edition (£17.99, RRP £24.99. 661625)
Games, the making of the West End stage version and vintage ads from the
1968 release earn this DVD its collector’s title. Perhaps most interesting
are the vintage featurettes, including a demo from the songwriting Sherman
brothers.

7 Bugsy Malone (£9.99, RRP £15.99. 683988) Before Evita and Fame there was Bugsy . Alan Parker, the man behind them all, recalls
filming his Seventies hit on a minuscule budget. Also included are promo
reels, original set design drawings and production stills of the 200-strong
cast (average age 12).

8 Moulin Rouge!: The Special Edition (£6.99, RRP £17.99. 662145) Two separate
commentaries from writer-director Baz Luhrmann reveal how he reinvented the
musical.

Animation

1 Waltz with Bashir (£12.99, RRP £15.65. 867820) A former Israeli soldier
struggles to remember his part in the invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Ari
Folman’s musing on memory veers from the visceral to the surreal and back
again. In a fascinating, bonus-material Q&A, Folman explains the
political struggles he went through to secure financing.

2 Grave of the Fireflies (£9.99, RRP £19.99. 667055) Commonly considered one
of the great anti-war movies. Isao Takahata tells the moving tale of two
Japanese siblings left hungry, homeless and orphaned by the Allied bombing
of Kobe. An accompanying documentary contextualises the story.

3 Persepolis (£7.99, RRP £17.99. 698740) Marjane Satrapi’s bittersweet graphic
novel about growing up during the Iranian Revolution is adapted in stark
monochrome. In an insightful, accompanying interview, Satrapi discusses what
it was like headbanging to Iron Maiden and embracing teenage liberation in a
culture of repression.

4 The Nightmare Before Christmas: Special Edition (£7.99, RRP £12.99. 657026)
Remastered version of Tim Burton’s gloriously gothic tale about the
residents of Halloween Town who hijack Christmas. The ‘making of’ material
is interesting enough, but the best extra is an eerie narration by
Christopher Lee of Burton’s original ‘Nightmare’ poem (which inspired the
film).

5 Belleville Rendez-Vous (£14.99, RRP £19.99. 663069) A dialogue-free,
surrealist comedy about a young Tour de France cyclist kidnapped by
gangsters mid-race. The pace of the action is unrelenting, so many of the
visual gags that you missed in the cinema can now be fully appreciated.

Documentary

1 Grey Gardens (£12.99, RRP £19.99. 687075) The classic, cultish Maysles
brothers doc about octogenarian Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edie,
eccentric cousins of Jackie Onassis. An Al Maysles interview and two
documentaries featuring the ‘Marble Faun’, the Beales’ teenage handyman, add
to the portrait.

2 Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (£15.99, RRP £19.99. 669734) Just when you
thought Metallica – here struggling with creative block and their $40,000 a
month ‘performance enhancement coach’ – couldn’t get more ridiculous, this
DVD has 28 deleted scenes of irony-free navel-gazing, plus two featurettes
and commentaries.

3 Science is Fiction: The Films of Jean Painlevé (£17.99, RRP £24.99. 687262)
A typically superb two-disc BFI release of natural history films by
surrealist associate Jean Painlevé and his partner, Geneviève Hamon,
revealing the natural world in all its bizarre glory. There’s an alternate
soundtrack by Yo La Tengo and a panoply of related short films.

4 Don’t Look Back 65 Tour Deluxe Edition (£19.99, RRP £22.99. 703721) DA
Pennebaker followed Bob Dylan on his 1965 tour of Britain. There’s an
hour-long doc with Pennebaker’s out-takes, a book and a Subterranean
Homesick Blues flipbook.

5 The Life Collection (£79.99, RRP £169.99. 674983) Who needs special features
when you’ve got 60 hours of Sir David Attenborough? Discover The
Life of Birds , The Private Life of Plants , The Life of Mammals ,
the Trials of Life , Life in the Freezer , The Living Planet , Life on Earth and Life in the Undergrowth .

6 Deep Water (£5.99, RRP £19.99. 688366) Donald Crowhurst, amateur sailor,
would-be hero and liar, staked his family’s future on completing a
single-handed yacht race around the world. Among the features are interviews
with journalists, fellow competitors and, most movingly, the family he left
behind.

7 The Blue Planet (£17.99, RRP £29.99. 32851) Four discs of aquatic
revelations with David Attenborough as your guide. Extras include interviews
with the production team and two stand-alone documentaries. With the sound
down it also makes a surprisingly effective hangover cure.

8 Touching The Void (£13.99, RRP £19.99. 693796) Kevin MacDonald’s story of
betrayal and survival on the 21,000ft Siula Grande mountain in the Andes is
traumatic. But wait until you see the magnificent MacDonald-directed extra Return
to Siula Grande , in which mountaineers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates
revisit the scene of their terrible adventure.

9 Super Size Me (£12.99, RRP £15.99. 669453) Morgan Spurlock’s contribution to
the debate on obesity – eating only McDonald’s for a month – is rounded out
with an interview with Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser, a Q&A
with the McLibel Two, and a commentary from Spurlock himself.

Cult

1 Withnail and I: 20th Anniversary Special Edition (£9.99, RRP £15.99. 683119)
Aside from being very funny (Richard E Grant and Paul McGann play two
‘resting’ actors who wind up on a drunken, accidental holiday)
the DVD contains a startlingly candid ‘making of’ documentary. Here, for
example, is Grant on a production company executive who thought Withnail
‘wasn’t funny’: ‘The stupid f—– got it all wrong, didn’t he.’

2 Heathers: Anchor Bay edition (£4.99, RRP £5.99. 654283) High school
bitchiness takes a deliciously murderous turn in this endlessly quotable
black comedy, starring Winona Ryder as the girl who’ll do anything to make
her high school a nice place. Fans will love the ‘Swatch dogs and diet coke
heads’ documentary extra.

3 Performance: The Special Edition (£3.99, RRP £15.99. 685940) Nicolas Roeg’s
extraordinary debut explores the nature of masculine identity in the
swinging Sixties via ultra violence, psychedelics and Mick Jagger in a
once-shockingly daring ménage à trois scene. The documentary Influence
and Controversy explores further, referencing Bacon, Nieztsche and
Borges among others.

4 Rocky Horror Picture Show/Shock Treatment 30th Anniversary set (£9.99, RRP
£24.99. 680240) Musical, science fiction/horror spoof and camp classic, it’s
little wonder this transsexual extravaganza starring the inimitable Tim
Curry as corset-clad Dr Frank-N-Furter made the leap from obscure midnight
movie to the mainstream. This three-disc set contains a singalong feature
and brilliant deleted scenes.

5 The Wicker Man: Special Edition (£10.99, RRP £20.99. 71218) Forget the 2006
remake; there’s little creepier than the searingly good performances from
Christopher Lee and Britt Ekland as remote islanders whose pagan rituals are
anything but harmless. Extras include the documentary Burnt Offering ,
which contains anecdotes from the cast.

6 Battle Royale: Special Edition (£19.99; through amazon.co.uk )
A Japanese Lord of the Flies , this is an enjoyably bloody satire on
violence and unemployment, as well as an energetic death match between
surprisingly battle-ready teenagers. Rather worryingly, the full
instructional ‘How To Stage a BR’ video is an extra.

7 Repo Man: Special Edition (£4.99, RRP £9.99. 659071) Brat packer Emilio
Estevez as you’ve never seen him before, as an unwilling car repossessor in
a world of nuclear weapons and aliens. The DVD features the documentary Repossessed ,
about producer Michael Nesmith, also a founding member of The Monkees.

8 A Clockwork Orange: Special Edition (£7.99, RRP £15.99. 684901) Hugely
controversial at the time, Stanley Kubrick’s horrifically violent
dystopia-come-musical romp gained a new army of fans when its ban was lifted
27 years later. An extra documentary exposes the scandal in greater detail.

9 Un Chien Andalou/ L’Age d’Or (£24.99, RRP £29.99. 669598) The calling card
of the surrealist movement, this 16-minute film made stars of Dali and
director Luis Bunuel, with its perverse imagery (including the infamous
eyeball slitting scene) and disjointed provocations against society and
religion. The DVD comes with L’Age d’Or , another
Dali/Bunuel collaboration.

Television

1 Dad’s Army (£39.99, RRP £99.99. 688023) Admittedly the repeats of Jimmy
Perry and David Croft’s Second World War stalwart are never far away, but
Captain Mainwaring completists should avoid the ‘Very Best Of’ compilations
and collect ‘The Complete Series 1-9’ and the Christmas Specials. The Series
1 DVD also contains radio remakes of the ‘lost episodes’.

2 The Office (£14.99, RRP £39.99. 73431) All 12 episodes and both Christmas
specials of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s sitcom in one excruciating
box. Excellent extras include footage from the pilot and a music video for
Brent’s office training day anthem, Freelove Freeway , recorded
with Noel Gallagher.

3 The Wire: The Complete Series (£99.99, RRP £124.99. 698414) All 60 episodes
of David Simon’s sprawling crime epic. Best watched on DVD because you can
gorge on multiple episodes back to back, the director and writer
commentaries are funny and insightful, and the subtitles explain the
impenetrable slang.

4 Band of Brothers (£34.99, RRP £44.99. 70369) A Second World War drama with
impeccable pedigree: it was made by HBO and produced by Steven Spielberg.
Includes a ‘making of’ documentary.

5 The Simpsons: Series 5 (£29.99, RRP £39.99. 670013) There is plenty to chose
from (441 episodes and counting) but this is arguably the greatest series of
unarguably the greatest animated comedy of all time. Episodes include ‘Deep
Space Homer’, ‘Burns’ Heir’ and ‘Homer Goes to College’.

6 People Like Us (£14.99, RRP £19.99. 4655538) This wickedly clever but
largely forgotten BBC Two comedy by Chris Langham ( The Thick of It ),
pioneered the format (spoof documentary about mundane people) followed by The
Office .

7 Curb Your Enthusiasm: Complete HBO Seasons 1-6 (£69.99, RRP £79.99. 696863)
Larry David’s comedy of embarrassment, in which the co-creator of Seinfeld plays himself as an argumentative calamity-magnet. Extras include rare
interviews with the man himself.

8 Police Squad! (£15.99, RRP £19.99. 32243) In a blunder bigger than any of
Frank Drebin’s, television bosses cancelled Leslie Nielsen’s deadpan sitcom
about the useless cop after six episodes. It’s never repeated, so buy.

Comedy

1 This Is Spinal Tap: 25th Anniversary Edition (£17.99, RRP £19.99. 775886)
Aside from the main feature, that note-perfect send-up of intellectually
underprivileged rock bands, this ‘Up to 11’ package contains The
Return of Spinal Tap , in which Nigel and co update their story, and
footage of a ‘press conference’ from their hippie days in which they
proclaim water as a drug.

2 Monty Python: The Movies (£15.99, RRP £34.99. 680691) Four manically
brilliant films from Cleese and co, plus a Michael Palin documentary about
the Holy Grail’s locations.

3 The Woody Allen Collection, Set 1 (£29.99, RRP £34.99. 687016) The first of
three Allen compendiums, it includes Manhattan , Annie Hall , Sleepers , Bananas and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex .
The subsequent boxsets obey the law of diminishing returns.

4 Dr Strangelove Collector’s Edition (£4.99, RRP £19.99. 76779) The Pink Panther series has more gags, but Stanley Kubrick’s 1963 Cold War
satire showcases Peter Sellers’ comic genius as he tackles three leading
roles. Extras include a feature on Kubrick’s film-making and a ‘making of’
documentary.

5 Christopher Guest Collection (£9.99, RRP £29.99. 675354) More improvised
brilliance from one of the writers and stars of Spinal Tap . The
target of Guest’s needle-sharp spoofs include Crufts-style show-dog owners ( Best
in Show ), Sixties folk singers ( A Mighty Wind ) and small-town
amateur dramatics societies ( Waiting for Guffman ).

6 Borat (£6.99, RRP £22.99. 686600) The film won’t be to all tastes, but those
who relish Sacha Baron Cohen’s satirical brinkmanship should buy the DVD:
extras include deleted scenes, a Baywatch spoof and highlights from
Borat’s promotional tour.

To place your order by phone, call 0844 557 6733. Please quote code 959DT3 To order online visit www.telegraph.co.uk/top110dvds To order by post, send cheques or credit card details to: Telegraph DVD
Offer, Simply Entertainment, PO Box 40, Burton upon Trent, DE14 3YE.
Please make cheques payable to Simply Entertainment. When ordering
please quote the special promotional code of 959DT3.