JANUARY 11 — The last few years have seen more and more news that seemingly signal the death of physical media for films in general.

With even big chain stores like Walmart and Best Buy announcing that they won’t be carrying movies on their shelves anymore, and most recently LG announcing that they will no longer be producing their 4K and Blu-ray players, it’s anybody’s guess what the future holds for physical media like 4K, Blu-ray and DVD.

What’s still happening now is a vibrant niche market where limited and collectors’ editions of not only classic A-list films, but also obscure B-grade (and even lower) films that have never made it to disc before, are selling so well that some titles can even sell out 2,000 copies on pre-order in less than 30 minutes!

There are loads of releases that I wanted to get, but couldn’t yet, for various reasons, and there are some releases I’ve already pre-ordered but have yet to receive (like Cannibal The Musical and The Keep from Vinegar Syndrome) that I suspect would’ve made this list if they were in my hands right now, but of the ones I did manage to acquire, these are the ones I love the most.

Godzilla Minus One Deluxe Japan Collector’s Edition (Toho)

Godzilla Minus One was my favourite film of 2023, so it’s no surprise that this would be my favourite Blu-ray release of 2024.

Toho has absolutely milked this one out, releasing the movie in multiple editions — Standard edition, Steelbook edition, and this 4-disc Deluxe Japan Collector’s Edition.

This one has the movie on 4K, a Blu-ray disc, a separate Blu-ray disc that has the black and white version of the movie (which is the main reason I went for this edition) and another Blu-ray disc that contains special features like interviews and press conferences.

If you love Godzilla Minus One, this is the release to own and proudly display on your shelves.

The Poetry of Lee Chang-Dong: Four Films (Film Movement)

If I had to choose only one director from South Korea, it would definitely be Lee Chang-Dong.

Even though I already own all the films in this set on DVD, I couldn’t pass up the chance to upgrade to these newly remastered transfers of these four films — Green Fish, Peppermint Candy, Oasis and Poetry — all of which look way better than their previous releases, and each one armed with useful extras like commentaries, making-of featurettes, cast and crew interviews and even intros from Lee Chang-Dong himself.

The limited-edition version available from Vinegar Syndrome makes it even more worth it, with a booklet and a real nice slipcover and hard case to make the whole set feel even fancier.

Dogfight (The Criterion Collection)

One of three releases in 2024 of films by Nancy Savoca, a director who had a pretty formidable 3-film run in the early 1990s but is pretty much forgotten or overlooked now, I could include any one of the releases for those 3 films here, whether it’s her debut feature True Love (released by KL Studio Classics), Househould Saints (released by Milestone Films) or this one, her magical second film.

However, my deep love for this film, and the fact that this new 2K restoration looks marvellous, makes this release the one I cherish the most.

The extras aren’t bountiful — there’s an audio commentary, a new interview with the director and lead actor Lili Taylor conducted by Mary Harron and a zoom session with a number of the crew members — but they are highly informative, which suits the low-key nature of this film just fine.

Run And Kill (Error 4444)

I’m not sure if this is the right way to approach or appreciate a Hong Kong Cat-III film, but for me, Run And Kill is probably the most highly accomplished of them all, and the closest one can get to one of these shockers being an actual, "proper” film.

This 1993 film from director Billy Tang still has all the provocative elements that made these Cat-III movies infamous like violence and nudity, and it probably has the most outrageous child-kill in all of cinema (which has to be seen to be believed), but it’s in how skillfully it’s put together, and how that’s been brought to the forefront by this brand new 2K restoration from the fine folks at Error 4444, that makes this release a must-have in your collection.

That video essay on child kills in Cat-III films included as one of the bonus features here is also quite something!

Abang Adik Limited Collector’s Edition (Deltamac)

It’s not every day that a Malaysian film gets a Blu-ray release, so this limited collector’s edition release from Taiwan (which is also available on DVD, if you’re looking to get it cheaper) is truly something to be cherished.

It’s a modern film, so of course the transfer looks great (and it comes with English subtitles as well), with extra points for the very nice digipack packaging and the pretty thick dual-language booklet that’s included in the first print run for this limited collector’s edition.

If you’re a Malaysian cinephile with a passion for collecting physical media, this one’s a no-brainer.

Going All The Way: The Director’s Edit (Oscilloscope Laboratories)

Director’s cuts of movies are nothing new nowadays, but very rarely do they completely upend the first version of the film that was released.

More often than not, these director’s cuts are merely glorified extended versions of the original release, with only subtle differences. Not this one though.

This new Director’s Edit by director Mark Pellington of his debut feature Going All The Way, which was originally released in 1997 and played more like a 50s comedy, has totally transformed it into a more solemn and contemplative film.

Making this an even more impressive package is the fact that Disc 2 here holds a comprehensive 3-hour plus documentary on the making of this film, which by the end will make you an expert on the history of Going All The Way.

Fudoh: The New Generation (Media Blasters)

Japanese madman Takashi Miike might be best known for films like Audition, Ichi The Killer, 13 Assassins and Crows Zero, but trust me when I say that this one, the first movie that brought his brand of mayhem to international attention, is still one of his greatest achievements.

Filled with wild and crazy happenings, from primary school aged assassins to many other things that I can’t really describe (because they’re just so... indecent), this brand new 4K scan is definitely the best I’ve seen this film look on disc yet, and judging from the film’s low budget origins, I don’t think we’ll see a better-looking transfer in the near future.

The Other Dimension & The Films of Fabio Salerno (Bleeding Skull)

The films of Fabio Salerno are definitely not for everyone, but if you think that a combination of Dario Argento and the Kuchar brothers is something that might interest you, then I implore you to at least explore some of the many delights available on this release from Bleeding Skull, which is the first time that these films have been made available on disc in America.

Disc 1 here houses two feature films, The Other Dimension and Deep Night, while Disc 2 collects all of the late Salerno’s short films, making this a complete collection of his entire filmography.

These films being mostly shot on Super 8mm, it’s pretty remarkable how good they look on Blu-ray here, with the colours popping nicely and clarity quite impressively rendered.

Seeing Red: 3 French Vigilante Thrillers (Fun City Editions)

I’m sure we’re all pretty well acquainted with American vigilante films like Death Wish, Walking Tall and Vigilante.

To get the chance to see French versions of these movies, all of whom I’ve never really heard of before this, makes this effort from Fun City Editions a really valuable one, especially when all 3 of the films included in this set — Shot Pattern, Street Of The Damned and Black List — are quite different from each other.

And just like their American cousins, these French films are more of the disreputable, B-grade kind, which makes this set quite the discovery for even the most seasoned of cinephiles.

Timecrimes (Umbrella Entertainment)

By now, time loop movies are already a sub-genre of its own, and this film is probably the one that started it all.

Never available on Blu-ray in an English-friendly edition before (it was released on Blu-ray in Germany about 13 years ago, but without English subtitles), fans of this movie will absolutely welcome this release.

In addition to the usual bonus features like audio commentary, interviews and documentary, this release is armed with a special Alternate Chronological Cut of the film which was previously only available on the Blockbuster Exclusive American DVD release.

In short, this release collects all the different bonus features available in all the different DVD releases previously, making this one the most complete release yet.

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.