AVguide.com: Film/Music Recommendations: Best DVDs of 2002
Film/Music Recommendations
TPV Picks
The Best DVDs of 2002
JONATHAN VALIN AND THE TPV FILM STAFF

The following 120+ DVDs, released between early November 2001 and early December 2002, aren?t all reference-quality transfers (though some, marked with an asterisk, are, and many others come mighty close). What they all are are terrific movies-well worth renting or purchasing. Here is our film staff?s pick of this year?s crop, listed alphabetically.

RSB - Royal S. Brown
FK - Fred Kaplan
JV - Jonathan Valin		 MD - Mark Dellelo
ML - Mark Lehman
SV - Steve Vineberg		 WG - Wayne Garcia
HP - Harry Pearson
SZ - Stephanie Zacharek		 BG - Bob Gendron
MS - Michael Sragow


  Film Title Year Director(s) Studio TPV Review Category Capsule
Description
8 1/2
 8 1/2 1963 Federico Fellini Criterion PS, Issue 42 DRAMA Comic compassion infuses every frame—a stone masterpiece about a film director suffering a creative block.
Ali
 Ali 2001 Michael Mann Columbia JV, Issue 43 DRAMA Will Smith as Muhammad Ali in the best big-budget biopic in a decade or more.
Amadeus
 Amadeus: Director's Cut 1984 Milos Forman Warner JV, Issue 45 DRAMA A deft, amusing serio-comedy about the deadly rivalry between Mozart and Salieri.
The Anniversary Party 2001
 The Anniversary Party 2001 2001 Alan Cumming New Line WG, Issue 42 DRAMA Sad, candid movie about an ill-fated Jennifer Jason Leigh Anniversary gathering among less-than-luminary Hollywood types.
A nous la liberte
 A nous la liberté 1931 René Clair Criterion JV, Issue 45 MUS/COM A boffo left-leaning musical satire that equates life in the modern world with life in prison.
Audition
 Audition 1999 Takashi Miike Chimera RSB, Issue 44 HORROR Gruesome but hypnotic horror film about a Japanese widower searching for a new wife.
Auntie Mame
 Auntie Mame 1958 Morton DaCosta Warner   COMEDY Reviewed in this issue.
Bagdad Cafe
 Bagdad Café 1987 Percy Adlon MGM HP, Issue 44 COMEDY Desert-stop romance with wonderful characters and vivid visual textures.
Ballad of a Soldier
 Ballad of a Soldier 1959 Grigori Chukhrai Criterion JV, Issue 44 DRAMA/WAR Deeply affecting Russian war film—a masterwork.
Beau-pere
 Beau-père 1981 Bertrand Blier Fox Lorber ML, Issue 45 DRAMA A genuinely unconventional movie about incest—at once tender, odd, painful, unsettling, and triste.
A Beautiful Mind
 *A Beautiful Mind 2001 Ron Howard Universal FK, Issue 44 DRAMA Liberty-taking biopic about schizophrenic Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash. Great performance from Crowe.
The Big Knife
 The Big Knife 1955 Robert Aldrich MGM Review to come DRAMA Famously tough Clifford Odets' melodrama about an actor whose life is coming apart at the seams—flamboyant performances from Jack Palance and Rod Steiger.
Big Wednesday
 Big Wednesday 1978 John Milius Warner SB, Issue 45 DRAMA John Milius' best film turns the California surfing life into a metaphor for the turmoil of the 60s.
Black Hawk Down
 * Black Hawk Down 2001 Ridley Scott Columbia JV, Issue 45 DRAMA/WAR Superb war film about the catastrophic Tristar "Mogadishu incident," with a revisionist moral that couldn't be more timely or unsettling.
Blue Velvet
 Blue Velvet - Special Edition 1986 David Lynch MGM JV, Issue 37 NOIR/DRAMA Improved transfer of Lynch's unforgettable surrealist allegory about a young man coming to grips with evil.
Bob Hope
 Bob Hope: The Tribute Collection 1940 Mitchell Leisen, et al. Universal Review to come COMEDY In movies, Bob Hope remains a figure to reckon with and this Tribute Collection contains many of his best films, including the Road pictures with Crosby and Lamour.
Bob le Flambeur
 Bob le Flambeur 1956 Jean-Pierre Melville Criterion FK, Issue 43 NOIR Witty, hard-boiled film noir about a French gambler.
Casualties of War
 Casualties of War 1989 Brian De Palma Columbia SV, Issue 40 DRAMA/WAR A profoundly upsetting and terrifying exploration of morality and group dynamics in wartime.
Children of Paradise
 Children of Paradise 1945 Marcel Carné Criterion GG, Issue 42 DRAMA An epic story of 19th century French theater life with the sweep and bittersweet sting of L'Education sentimenale—often voted one of the ten best films.
Chunking Express
 Chunking Express 1994 Wong Kar-wai Miramax FK, Issue 44 DRAMA Hong Kong action flick that combines energy of early Godard with the charm of middle Truffaut.
The Civil War
 * The Civil War 1990 Ken Burns PBS HV CC, Issue 45 DOCUMENTARY Arguably the best documentary ever aired by PBS—riveting American history.
CQ
 CQ 2002 Roman Coppola MGM Reviewed in this issue COMEDY  
Curse of the Jade Scorpian
 The Curse of the Jade Scorpion 2001 Woody Allen DreamWorks FK, Issue 42 COMEDY A light romantic comedy that might have been the premise for one of Allen's lesser New Yorker stories.
The Devil's Backbone
 The Devil's Backbone 2001 Guillermo del Toro Col/Tristar Review to come HORROR A thoughtful ghost story that suggests that the real "ghosts" are human beings who have become fixated on the past.
Dick Tracy
 Dick Tracy 1990 Warren Beatty Touchstone RSB, Issue 43 MUS/COM A phantasmagorical live-action comic strip, with fabulous make-up and sets.
Dogtown and Z-Boys
 Dogtown and Z-Boys 2001 Stacey Peralta Columbia SV, Issue 45 DOCUMENTARY Ravishing documentary about the L.A. boys who perfected the sport of skateboarding.
Donnie Darko
 Donnie Darko 2001 Richard Kelly Fox FK, Issue 43 FANTASY This portrait of high-school geekiness, alienation, and revenge is as fresh and darkly comical as anything of its kind since Heathers.
Don't Look Now
 Don't Look Now 1973 Nicolas Roeg Paramount Reviewed in this issue. HORROR  
Down By Law
 Down By Law 1986 Jim Jarmusch Criterion Reviewed in this issue. COMEDY  
Down From the Mountain
 Down From The Mountain 2000 D.A. Pennebaker, et al. Artisan WG, Issue 42 DOCUMENTARY A concert of music from the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Enigma
 Enigma 2001 Michael Apted Universal Reviewed in this issue. DRAMA/WAR  
ET
 E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial 1982 Steven Spielberg Universal Reviewed in this issue. SCI-FI/DRAMA  
The Favor
 The Favor 1991 Donald Petrie MGM ML, Issue 43 COMEDY A farce that neatly and amusingly dramatizes the notion that sexual activity is mostly mental.
Flirting
 Flirting 1991 John Duigan MGM Reviewed in this issue. COMEDY  
From Hell
 From Hell 2001 The Hughes Brothers Fox WG, Issue 44 HORROR The Jack the Ripper killings as a conspiracy to save the English monarchy.
Get Out Your Handerchiefs
 Get Out Your Handkerchiefs 1978 Bertrand Blier Anchor Bay RSB, Issue 42 COMEDY A man "gives away" his wife in a comedy that shocks and evokes laughter in more or less equal proportion.
Ghost World
 * Ghost World 2001 Terry Zwigoff MGM JV, Issue 42 COMEDY A misfit-teen coming-of-age comedy—sharply observed and very funny for its first hour.
The Gleaners and I
 The Gleaners and I 2000 Agnès Varda Zeitgeist Review to come DOCUMENTARY Great Varda documentary about loss.
The Great Race
 The Great Race 1965 Blake Edwards Warner HP, Issue 44 COMEDY Whenever Jack Lemmon, as Professor Fate, and Peter Falk, as his ditzy accomplice Max, are onscreen, the movie is exhilaratingly alive.
Gregory's Girl
 Gregory's Girl 1981 Bill Forsyth MGM ML, Issue 42 COMEDY A tale of gawky adolescent romantic awakening.
Gremlins 2
 Gremlins 2 1990 Joe Dante Warner Reviewed in this issue. COMEDY  
A Hard Day's Night
 A Hard Day's Night 1964 Richard Lester Miramax Reviewed in this issue. MUS/COM  
Hearts and Minds
 Hearts & Minds 1974 Peter Davis Criterion FK, Issue 44 DOCUMENTARY As an artifact of history, a record of a dreadful time, this Vietnam War documentary remains a powerful film.
The Horse's Mouth The Horse's Mouth 1958 Ronald Neame Criterion HP, Issue 44 COMEDY An outrageously sociopathic painter is obsessed by visions that he can only imperfectly render into reality.
Husbands and Wives Husbands and Wives 1992 Woody Allen Columbia FK, Issue 43 DRAMA Domestic Drama that rivets from the first scene.
The Hustler The Hustler 1961 Robert Rossen Fox MS, Issue 44 DRAMA Paul Newman creates a portrait of the artist as a pool player in Robert Rossen's masterpiece.
Insomnia * Insomnia 2002 Christopher Nolan Warner Reviewed in this isuue. THRILLER  
In the Bedroom In the Bedroom 2001 Todd Field Miramax SZ, Issue 45 DRAMA In his directorial debut, Todd Field has managed to capture the shape and color of grief.
In the Heat of the Night In the Heat of the Night 1967 Norman Jewison MGM DM, Issue 42 MYST/DRAMA A murder mystery set in 60s Mississippi that deftly balances social issues with suspense.
In the Mood for Love In the Mood for Love 2001 Kar-Wai Wong Criterion FK, Issue 42 DRAMA Slow, languorous, painfully romantic film about two repressed lovers in 60s Hong Kong.
Jackie Brown Jackie Brown 1997 Quentin Tarantino Miramax JV, Issue 45 THRILLER First-rate comic thriller about a black airline stewardess who outwits a gangster and an ATF agent, with help from a romantic bailbondsman.
Joy Ride Joy Ride 2001 John Dahl Fox Reviewed in this issue. THRILLER  
Juliet of the Spirits Juliet of the Spirits 1965 Federico Fellini Criterion HP, Issue 43 DRAMA One of the ten best uses of color in film.
Kansas City Confidential Kansas City Confidential 1952 Phil Karlson Image RSB, Issue 44 NOIR A war veteran/ex-con gets framed for a heist in this hard-boiled noir.
Kin Hearts and Coronets Kind Hearts and Coronets 1949 Robert Hamer Studio Canal Reviewed in this issue. COMEDY  
Kissing Jessica Stein Kissing Jessica Stein 2001 C. Herman-Wurmfield Fox Reviewed in this issue. COMEDY  
Klute Klute 1971 Alan J. Pakula Warner RSB, Issue 42 NOIR A suspense thriller of a decidedly non-Hitchcockian variety about a prostitute, a detective, and a serial killer.
The Lady Killers The Ladykillers 1955 Alexander Mackendrick Anchor Bay Reviewed in this issue. COMEDY  
Lantana Lantana 2001 Ray Lawrence Trimark JV, Issue 44 MYST/DRAMA Well-acted Australian mystery story that is also a sad lesson about love, loss, luck, and forgiveness.
The Last Waltz The Last Waltz 1978 Martin Scorcese MGM SV, Issue 44 DOC/MUSICAL No rock-concert movie has ever looked as beautiful or come as close to capturing the energy of live performance.
The Lavendar Hill Mob The Lavender Hill Mob 1951 Charles Crichton Anchor Bay Review to come. COMEDY Great Alec Guinness comedy about a bank clerk who plans to rob his own bank.
Less Than Zero Less Than Zero 1987 Marek Kanievska Fox HP, Issue 43 DRAMA Two friends try to keep another friend from sinking into drug addiction in 80s L.A.
L.I.E. L.I.E. 2001 Michael Cuesta New Yorker HP, Issue 44 DRAMA Starts like it is going to be about the seduction of a young boy by a sexual predator but ends up being more about friendship than sex.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001 Peter Jackson New Line JV, Issue 45 FANTASY Three hours of sheer delight for the grey-beard-pointy-hat-carries-a-staff crowd.
Love in the Afternoon Love in the Afternoon 1957 Billy Wilder Warner WG, Issue 42 COMEDY A romantic comedy that works only because its stars, Gary Cooper and Audrey Hepburn, are, well, Cooper and Hepburn.
Macbeth Macbeth 1971 Roman Polanski Columbia/Tristar JV, Issue 44 DRAMA High among the best Macbeths on film.
The Man in the White Suit The Man in the White Suit 1951 Alexander Mackendrick Anchor Bay Review to come. COMEDY An Alec Guinness comedy about an inventor who develops clothing that won't wear out-to the dismay of the garment industry.
M*A*S*H M*A*S*H 1970 Robert Altman Fox SV, Issue 42 COMEDY Altman's breakout film—a counterculture classic about front-line doctors in the Korean War.
McCabe & Mrs. Miller McCabe & Mrs. Miller 1971 Robert Altman Warner RSB, Issue 44 DRAMA/WEST Beautiful post-modernist Western about an entrepreneur who refuses to sell his business, a whorehouse, to an acquisitive railroad—Altman's best film.
Memento: Limited Edition * Memento: Limited Edition 2000 Christopher Nolan Columbia JV, Issue 44 MYST/DRAMA A superb remastering of Nolan's haunting mystery about wishes, memory, and murder.
Monsoon Wedding Monsoon Wedding 2001 Mira Nair VCI Dist. Reviewed in this issue. COMEDY  
Monsters, Inc. * Monsters, Inc. 2001 Peter Doctor Disney Review to come. COMEDY Good Disney fantasy about adorable monsters.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975 Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones Columbia/Tristar RSB, Issue 42 COMEDY Python takeoff on the knights-in-shining-armor epic—often-side splitting comedy.
Mulholland Drive Mulholland Drive 2001 David Lynch Universal JV, Issue 42 DRAMA The first masterpiece of the new decade-Lynch turns Hollywood dreams and realities into the stuff we are made of.
My Favorite Year My Favorite Year 1982 Richard Benjamin Warner MS, Issue 45 COMEDY Peter O'Toole makes pratfalls and toilet jokes into gags fit for a throne.
Near Dark Near Dark 1987 Kathryn Bigelow Anchor Bay Reviewed in this issue. HORROR  
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975 Milos Forman Warner Review to come. DRAMA Moving if too—pat parable about individualism, set in an Oregon mental hospital-perhaps the movie most expressive of its tumultuous era, with a great performance by Jack Nicholson.
Ossessione Ossessione 1943 Luchino Visconti Image Review to come. DRAMA/NOIR Influential neo-realist adaptation of The Postman Always Rings Twice.
The Others The Others 2001 Alejandro Amenábar Dimension SV, Issue 44 HORROR Ingenious little ghost story set on an island off the English coast just after World War II.
Panic Room * Panic Room: Superbit Deluxe 2002 David Fincher Columbia Reviewed in this issue. THRILLER  
The Producers The Producers 1968 Mel Brooks MGM Review to come. COMEDY Hilarious farce about a producer and an ccountant who produce a B'way bomb.
Pulp Fiction Pulp Fiction: Miramax Collector's Edition 1994 Quentin Tarantino Miramax JV, Issue 45 NOIR The most wildly entertaining Hollywood movie of the 1990s—a phantasmagoria of pulp crime fiction, pop music, and pop culture.
Rashomon Rashomon 1950 Akira Kurosawa Criterion JV, Issue 43 DRAMA The film that first made Kurosawa's international reputation-a parable about the relativity of truth and the vanity of truth-tellers.
Red Beard Red Beard 1965 Akira Kurosawa Criterion SV, Issue 45 DRAMA The least known of Kurosawa's masterpieces, a three-hour coming-of-age story that suggests a great 19th-century novel.
Reservoir Dogs Reservoir Dogs 1992 Quentin Tarantino Artisan Review to come. NOIR Black comic and tragic complications ensue when a jewelry story robbery goes bad—a violent, funny, shocking debut film.
The Return of a Man Called Horse The Return Of A Man Called Horse 1976 Irvin Kirshner MGM SV, Issue 43 WESTERN A Western that is one of the neglected glories of its era.
Rocco and His Brothers Rocco and His Brothers 1960 Luchino Visconti Criterion Review to come. DRAMA Famous Italian neo-realist melodrama about the dissolution of a rural family that moves to Milan to find work.
The Rocking Horse Winner The Rocking Horse Winner 1950 Anthony Pelissier Image Review to come. HORROR Classic British horror film taken from the famous D. H. Lawrence story about a boy who tries to win the love of his cold, extravagant mother by picking winners at the racetrack.
Romeo is Bleeding Romeo is Bleeding 1991 Peter Medak MGM HP, Issue 43 NOIR A pop art trash masterpiece about a villainous Russian hitwoman.
Saturday Night Fever Saturday Night Fever 1977 John Badham Paramount Reviewed in this issue. DRAMA  
Say Anything Say Anything 1989 Cameron Crowe Fox SV, Issue 43 COMEDY Genuinely charming teenage romantic comedy—still Cameron Crowe's best movie.
Sexy beast Sexy Beast 2002 Jonathan Glazer Fox JV, Issue 43 NOIR Ben Kingsley as an unforgettably bad apple in a hip British caper flick.
The Sheltering Sky * The Sheltering Sky 1990 Bernardo Bertolluci Warner Reviewed in this issue. DRAMA  
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon She Wore a Yellow Ribbon 1949 John Ford Warner MS, Issue 44 WESTERN John Ford and John Wayne reach a new easy eloquence in the second of Ford's famous "cavalry trilogy."
The Shop on Main Street The Shop on Main Street 1965 Ján Kadár, Elmar Klos Criterion WG, Issue 43 DRAMA A tragic collision of lives and cultures in World War II Poland-tough, memorable stuff.
Singin' in the Rain * Singin' in the Rain 1951 Stanley Donan, Gene Kelly Warner Reviewed in this issue MUS/COM  
Slap Shot Slap Shot 1977 George Roy Hill Universal JV, Issue 43 COMEDY One of the best (and certainly the funniest) American films about the far side of the sporting life.
The Son's Room The Son's Room 2001 Nanni Moretti Miramax Reviewed in this issue. DRAMA  
Sous le sable
(Under The Sand)		 2000 Francois Ozon Fox Lorber KV, Issue 44 DRAMA/MYST Haunting French drama about the way our lives are carried forward after abandonment.
Star Trek II Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan 1982 Nicholas Meyer Paramount DM, Issue 45 SCI-FI Widely considered the best of all the ST movies.
Stormy Monday Stormy Monday 1988 Mike Figgis MGM Reviewed in this issue. DRAMA/NOIR  
Storytelling Storytelling 2001 Todd Solondz New Line Review to come. COM/DRAMA An acquired taste that leaves a bad taste, director Todd Solondz's latest poison pen letter to the middle classes is just as bleak, black, and hilarious as his last one, Happiness.
Strictly Ballroom Strictly Ballroom 1992 Baz Luhrmann Miramax HP, Issue 43 MUS/COM Romantic's wet dream of a film about neophyte ballroom dancers.
The Stunt Man The Stunt Man 1980 Richard Rush Anchor Bay HP, Issue 41 COMEDY A joyous rollercoaster ride about a Job-like stunt man trying to please a capricious God-like director.
Tell Me Something Tell Me Something 2000 Yoon-Hyun Chang Kino RSB, Issue 44 HORROR In both its narrative and its frequent dark
and rainy scenes it recalls Se7en.
La Terra trema La Terra trema 1949 Luchino Visconti Image Review to come. DRAMA A spare powerful neorealist masterwork about a fisherman trying to go his own way in post-War Italy.
The Thin Man The Thin Man 1934 W. S. Van Dyke Warner Reviewed in this issue. MYSTERY  
Three Brothers Three Brothers 1981 Francesco Rosi Facets Video FK, Issue 45 DRAMA A moving film about Italian society in the turbulent 70s.
Tokyo Olympiad Tokyo Olympiad 1965 Kon Ichikawa Criterion MS, Issue 45 DOCUMENTARY Matches the sensuality of Leni Riefenstahl's Olympia, then tops it with a rich and fervent humanism.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me 1992 David Lynch New Line Review to come. NOIR Laura Palmer's eerie, heartbreaking last few days are traced in this prequel to Twin Peaks.
Twin Peaks: The First Season Twin Peaks: The First Season 1990 Various Artisan RSB, Issue 42 NOIR The Lynchian soap opera that, briefly, woke
up mainstream TV and mainstream America.
Under the Roofs of Paris Under the Roofs of Paris 1930 René Clair Criterion Reviewed in this issue. DRAMA  
Unfaithful * Unfaithful 2002 Adrian Lyne Fox Reviewed in this issue. DRAMA  
Unforgiven * Unforgiven: Special Edition 1992 Clint Eastwood Warner JV, Issue 45 DRAMA/WEST A Calvinist Western—Eastwood's best film as an actor and director.
Used Cars Used Cars 1980 Robert Zemeckis Columbia JV, Issue 42 COMEDY Hip, raw, raucous farce about a desperate trio of used car salesmen.
The Usual Suspects The Usual Suspects: Special Edition 1995 Bryan Singer MGM RSB, Issue 43 NOIR Crime drama that does everything it can to sidetrack the viewer from guessing who its maleficent criminal genius is.
Va Savoir Va Savoir 2001 Jacques Rivette Columbia SV, Issue 43 COMEDY A theater-life story that is a grand blend of leisurely theatricality and jack-in-the-box playfulness.
What Time Is It There? What Time Is It There? 2001 Tsai Ming-Liang Wellspring Review to come. DRAMA Hypnotic and effortlessly lovely picture about a young man who, troubled by the recent death of his father, seeks refuge in the memory of a woman whom he's met only once.
Wild Strawberries Wild Strawberries 1957 Ingmar Bergman Criterion JV, Issue 42 DRAMA Bergman's version of A Christmas Carol—widely considered a masterpiece.
With A Friend Like Harry With a Friend Like Harry 2001 Dominik Hill Disney JV, Issue 42 NOIR Droll French noir that carries the premise of Strangers on a Train a step or two beyond where Hitchcock left it.
Wolfen Wolfen 1981 Michael Wadleigh Warner HP, Issue 45 HORROR One of the few great horror films of the past quarter century.
The Young Girls of Rochefort The Young Girls of Rochefort 1968 Jacques Demy Miramax Review to come. MUSICAL Candy-colored musical about twin sisters in Paris, played by Catherine Deneuve and her real-life sister Françoise Dorléac—even at its goofiest, a pure pleasure to look at.
Y Tu Mama Tambien Y Tu Mamá, También 2001 Alfonso Cuarón MGM KV, Issue 45 DRAMA Sexy funny/sad Mexican film about two teenagers whose dreams come true when they take a road trip with a gorgeous married woman.
Z Z 1968 Costa-Gavras Wellspring FK, Issue 45 THRILLER A savage thriller about the junta which snuffed out democracy in Greece.


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