There’s a dearth of big releases this week, possibly due to the fact that the holiday buying season is mostly over. Instead of spending a lot of time looking into this week’s biggest releases, we decided to go retrospective, looking at some of this year’s most over-the-top or bonus feature-filled box sets. From popular TV programs to films with wide fan bases, check out some of this years most nostalgic and most rewarding big sets, starting on the next page. As always, if you feel there are some big ones we may have missed, please let us know in the comments, below.
But first, horror fans should be pleased to get their hands on at least one of this week’s releases, which include Insidious: Chapter 2, the aptly named sequel to Insidious coming from director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell. You can order the set over at Amazon or check out the list of bonus features, below.
Blu-ray Exclusive Extras
- "Haunted Hospital: On Location" -- Cast & crew discuss what it’s like to film at a haunted location
- "Leigh Whannell’s Insidious Journal" – A look at making the film through the perspective of writer/actor Leigh Whannell
- "Work in Progress: On Set Q&A" -- Barbara Hershey, Patrick Wilson, Jason Blum, James Wan & Leigh Whannell discuss their experiences filming
- Insidious: Spectral Sightings 3-Part Webisodes -- Specs & Tucker find an unexpected ally in their early days as paranormal investigators
Blu-ray and DVD extras
- "Peripheral Vision: Behind the Scenes" -- Go on the set & see how the second installment was created
- "Ghostly Transformation" – Discover how actors were transformed into ghosts in The Further through make-up effects
Breaking Bad: The Complete Series Blu-ray
Some of this year’s best sets have great content, but grow even more impressive in our eyes thanks to packaging that is super fitting. One of these sets is the Breaking Bad: The Complete Series collection, which was released by Sony Pictures Entertainment back in November. The set comes in a barrel, a nod to the methamphetamine misadventures the drama’s unlikely heroes, Jesse Pinkman and Walter White, frequently got into. Not only is every episode of the drama available within the release, there are also several hours of brand new extras that look at the characters, the plots, and some of the best moments of the five-season drama. The good news is, this set rocks. The bad news is that the show has made such a huge cultural impact the set sold out rather quickly. If you’re willing to spend an arm and a leg to get your hands on the barrel, consider alternative sellers as an (expensive) option.
Wizard of Oz: 75th Anniversary Limited Collector’s Edition Blu-ray
The Wizard of Oz is turning 75 in 2014, and to celebrate the big anniversary Warner Bros. Home Entertainment recently put together a set that would please any fan of ruby slippers and gingham dresses. Following a 3D theatrical release, the Wizard of Oz: 75th Anniversary Limited Collector’s Edition hit stores, earning praise for its movie-related memorabilia. The fancy set comes with a ruby slippers snow globe, a journal, a pin, a collective map and much, much more. All of those extras don’t even include the hours of bonus content like "The Dreamer of Oz" TV special available with the release. But don’t take our word for it; check it out over at the WBShop.
Best of Warner Bros. 100 Film Collection DVD
The Wizard of Oz set isn’t the only grandiose collection Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has put together this year. Throughout the year, the long-running company released a bunch of 20-film collections based on themes including romance and comedy. This, in turn, led to the release of the Warner Bros. 100 Film Collection, featuring films from 1929-present. This disc isn’t one that is huge on the bonus features, but if you were looking for a fairly comprehensive collection of the company’s biggest and boldest releases, the 100 Film Collection would be it. You can order the set over at the WB Shop.
Additionally, if you are looking for some great Warner Bros. pictures available in high definition, you can check out the Warner Bros. 50 Film Collection Blu-ray, also at the WB Shop.
Dexter: The Complete Series Collection Exclusive Gift Set Blu-ray
Showtime’s Dexter may have gone out with more of a whimper than a bang, but the series as a whole provided hours of intricate, morally convoluted entertainment, as well as plenty of satisfying scenes, episodes and seasons. Around the time the eighth and final season of the series was released onto Blu-ray and DVD, Paramount Home Media Distribution put together several complete collection sets meant to entice the fans that stuck around for all eight seasons. Granted, neither of them run particularly cheaply, but if you don’t already own most of the seasons of Showtime’s original series, either would look pretty good on a mantle or shelf.
The first is the Amazon-only Dexter: The Complete Series Collection Exclusive Gift Set, which comes with over three hours of bonus content and features a white mannequin head with just an inkling of blood spatter. That set, while gorgeous, is so exclusive it’ll cost you the price of a decent-sized TV to own it as part of your collection. Still, it’s rather nice to look at. The other set is the more reasonable (but still pricey) Dexter: The Complete Series Collection, which comes in a fitting blood slide container and features a book of photographs, as well as over three hours of bonus features. You can get your hands on that set here.
Bruce Lee Legacy Collection Blu-ray
After an early HD snafu, Shout! Factory produced a simple and elegant release with the Bruce Lee Legacy Collection, a collection made for each and every fan of the martial arts master, who died at the untimely age of 32. At the time of his death, the prolific actor had created such lasting films as The Big Boss, Fist Of Fury, Way Of The Dragon and Game Of Death. This year’s release transfers these famed movies onto Blu-ray, improving upon the picture and giving fans a reason to trade up from the DVDs. A string of bonus features and documentaries about Lee are also included with the set, which can be purchased via Shout! Factory or Amazon.
Honorable Mentions:
Twilight Forever: the Complete Saga Box Set
Boy Meets World and Saved By the Bell The Complete Collections
Bond 50: the Complete 23 Film Collection with Skyfall
