The Best Releases of 2024 Part 4: Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray

Posted January 6, 2025 09:23 AM by Dr. Svet Atanasov


In 2024, some of the greatest bad characters reemerged from studio vaults across the globe. Outlaws, professional killers, dangerous chameleons, suicidal gamblers, cocky gigolos, elusive thieves, and crooked cops returned to remind us that they have always been around and their stories are told in some of the best films ever made. At times, their competition for the spotlight was exhausting, but I managed to welcome all of them to my library. In the process, I made several outstanding discoveries and upgraded old releases of many favorite films I had hoped would transition to Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray. The last of these releases showed up just forty-eight hours ago, having traveled across the Atlantic for weeks, so this is the reason I am a little late posting my list this year. I wanted to see all domestic and international releases of interest scheduled to hit the market in December. NORTH AMERICA 1. Las Vegas: The Complete Series (Universal) – Created by Michael Mann, the 1970s TV show Vega$ is one of my favorite destinations for old-fashioned escapist entertainment. Robert Ulrich is outstanding in it. In Las Vegas, the scene and the players are different, but several great actors from the 1970s pop up and roll the dice to make a fortune. This box set is my favorite release of the year. Hopefully, the folks at Universal will restore and give us impressive releases of McLoud and Banacek soon. 2. Fear City (Scream Factory) – I have several releases of this cult film in my library. They are all good reconstruction jobs that simply made it possible to see the film Abel Ferrara shot, not the cut version of it that censors and some distributors liked, so they were not ideal. This release is the one I always thought the film deserved, but I did not believe could materialize. In a sea of disappointing revisionist makeovers of older classic and cult films this year, it presents one of the most accurate and impressive 2K makeovers I have seen in a very long time. 3. Deadly Circuit (Kino Lorber) – An aging private eye becomes obsessed with a mysterious beauty taking out wealthy targets in this gorgeous mind-bender from French helmer Claude Miller. I have always had a copy of Deadly Circuit in my library because I am a big fan of Isabelle Adjani. However, until now, the uncut, longer version of the film was available only on the other side of the Atlantic. A few years ago, French studio TF1 prepared a beautiful 2K makeover of the uncut, longer version that looks wonderful on Blu-ray. 4. Japan Organized Crime Boss (Radiance Films) – Noboru Ando, a former yakuza boss-turned-actor, appeared in some of the best Japanese gangster films from the 1960s and 1970s, several of which Kinji Fukasaku and Hideo Gosha made and are remembered for. While Ando's presence in Japan Organized Crime Boss is not as electric as it is in Violent Streets, a genre masterpiece, this film is yet another genuine firecracker. 5. Sexmission (Vinegar Syndrome) – During the Cold War era, this mad, often quite hilarious, but seriously thought-provoking piece of communist satire quickly became a cult film. It targets a wide range of truths about the insecurities of the two sexes and carefully ridicules the then-popular politics that aimed to erase what makes them different. Some of its most absurd material is now the credo of a new generation of mainstream political activists. For this release, Sex Mission was exclusively restored by Vinegar Syndrome. 6. Prison Walls: Abashiri Prison I-III (Eureka Entertainment) – During the DVD era, I attempted to gather as many of Ken Takakura's gangster films as possible, and the three Abashiri Prison films were some of the best and most elusive. For English speakers, there were practically no decent options, so the bootleg market was the only place where these films could be tracked down. I was pleasantly surprised when they were announced for Blu-ray release by Eureka Entertainment, and now I could not be happier to have good copies of them in my library. Can a boutique label unearth and finally bring to Blu-ray Umetsugu Inoue's two Cobra films, too? 7. The Hell with Heroes (Kino Lorber) – While a very different film, Joseph Sargent's The Hell with Heroes is as good of a discovery as John Guillermin's P.J. Both films introduce legitimate tough guys played by two outstanding actors at the peak of their careers, and both produce some tremendous visuals. I am a big George Peppard fan, but I am beginning to think that I am not as big of a Rod Taylor fan simply because I have not been able to see all of the films he made during the 1960s and 1970s. The Hell with Heroes, beautifully restored in 2K, was one of my best discoveries in 2024. 8. Stir (Severin Films) – A genuine Australian classic, Stir recreates true events that are every bit as disturbing as the ones chronicled in John Frankenheimer's Against the Wall. In it, Bryan Brown gives a stunning performance that should be considered one of his best, possibly even the best. Severin's Blu-ray release introduces a fabulous 2K makeover of Stir, sourced from a 35mm interpositive held at The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. 9. The Nico Mastorakis Collection (Arrow Video) – The notorious Greek helmer's best and most entertaining films are in this wonderful box set. However, these films will not be everyone's cup of tea because they blend raunchy humor and ridiculous behavior with unbridled enthusiasm that probably only lovers of 1980s B-films can properly appreciate. All six films have been remastered and look lovely on Blu-ray. 10. Satanik (Terror Vision) – Piero Vivarelli's twin brother of Mario Bava's cult classic Danger: Diabolik is practically unknown on this side of the Atlantic. The tiny label Terror Vision, run by a couple of young and big physical media enthusiasts, prepared this wonderful Blu-ray release that introduces an exclusive new 2K makeover of Satanik. It was one of my favorite acquisitions in 2024. 4K BLU-RAY RELEASES 1. Bad Lieutenant (Kino Lorber) – Abel Ferrara is the last true living American auteur. He continues to make the same films he made several decades ago, during the early days of his fascinating career. They are risky, wild, sometimes perplexing, sometimes dangerous films. But they are always original and sincere films. Bad Lieutenant is Ferrara's masterpiece. It comes from the 1990s, but it looks and feels like a film that snuck out of the 1970s. It features a stunning Harvey Keitel playing an unforgettable suicidal character like the one James Caan became in Karel Reisz's The Gambler. I have always wanted to see Bad Lieutenant properly restored and reintroduced on the home video market with a special release. This combo pack is it. 2. Le Samouraï (Criterion) – All of Jean-Pierre Melville's color films are now out on Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray. However, Le Samourai is the only one properly restored and color-graded, looking as it should. In it, Alain Delon plays a dangerous but incredibly stylish professional killer who is a distant relative of the many great gunslingers that the classic American westerns immortalized and Melville was obsessed with. 3. The Roaring Twenties (Criterion) - A lot of people consider Raoul Walsh's The Roaring Twenties to be the greatest gangster film that old Hollywood produced. They are probably right. However, the gangster story that is told in The Roaring Twenties is part of an even bigger story about America and its evolution, which is timeless, and I think that this is the real reason the film is so special. 4. Bob le Flambeur a.k.a. Bob the Gambler (Kino Lorber) - The two 'coolest' villains in French cinema were created by the same director, Jean-Pierre Melville -- the professional killer that Alain Delon plays in Le Samourai, Jef Costello, and the aging gambler that Roger Duchesne becomes in Bob le Flambeur. All other French films about gamblers made after Melville's classic film essentially copy his blueprint, from Bay of Angels to Any Number Can Win to Cheaters. Some tweak a few things here and there, but the influence of Melville's classic film is always incredibly easy to recognize. 5. Body Double (Sony) – Arguably Brian De Palma's most ironic film, but not because it was conceived to be one. Body Double was once passionately rejected by the so-called serious critics while being described as amateurish and ugly, but now it is impossible to deny that it is one of De Palma's most stylish and entertaining. It is far better than anything you would see in your local cinema these days, especially during the summer season, when Hollywood parks its big guns there. Sony's gorgeous 4K makeover has been out for a while, so it is hardly surprising that Body Double looks stunning on 4K Blu-ray. This immaculate release, which finally unites the film with the complete original music video for Frankie Goes To Hollywood's monster hit "Relax", is a gift for all De Palma fans. 6. The Wages of Fear (BFI) – Several desperate opportunists and shady characters drive old trucks loaded with nitroglycerin on the worst roads in South America in this timeless masterpiece directed by Henri Georges-Clouzot. The 4K Blu-ray release introduces a native presentation of the outstanding recent 4K makeover of The Wages of Fear, which reintroduces additional footage from the original French theatrical version of the film, that TF1 prepared. Previously unseen, this is the longest version of the film. In America, Criterion will issue the 4K makeover on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray this March. 7. The Devil's Honey (Severin Films) – One of the most enigmatic provocateurs of Italian cinema, Lucio Fulci, made this wild genre film that probably should have been among the highlights in Umberto Lenzi's oeuvre. It is ugly and beautiful at the same time, as only Fulci and Lenzi knew how to make these types of genre films. I could not be happier with its transition to 4K Blu-ray. It looks great, so this combo pack will remain its definitive home video release. 8. American Gigolo (Arrow Video) – The seemingly perfect life of a hard-working Los Angeles-based gigolo becomes a deadly nightmare in this stylish neo-noir film from the early 1980s. Paul Schrader made it with John Bailey, one of the most knowledgeable cinematographers of recent times, who appeared in numerous outstanding special features produced for all kinds of different classic and cult films that transitioned to Blu-ray. American Gigolo is also graced with a masterful electronic soundtrack created by the Father of Disco, Giorgio Moroder. 9. Risky Business (Criterion) - There was a moment in director Paul Brickman's life when he rolled the dice exactly like Joel Goodsen does in Risky Business. Brickman was working hard, trying to meet expectations, and constantly getting turned down, so he used an F-bomb to destroy the right path to success and chose his own. This is why Risky Business is a great film. It speaks truths with clarity that cannot be misinterpreted and often reveals a fierce sense of humor that makes it irresistibly attractive. Criterion's combo pack introduces an immaculate new 4K makeover of it. 10. 36 Precinct a.k.a. 36 Quai des Orfèvres (Gaumont) – In 2004, this legitimate French challenger of Michael Mann's blockbuster Heat, directed by Olivier Marchal, united the two biggest French actors, Gerard Depardieu and Daniel Auteuil, and sent them on a collision course, too. It is a tremendous gangster film. French studio Gaumont prepared a gorgeous new 4K makeover of it, which is presented with optional English subtitles on this 4K Blu-ray release. It is worth pointing out that Marchal's film borrows its title from Henri-Georges Clouzot's classic 1947 film noir, which also received a stunning 4K makeover and has been out on Blu-ray in America for several years. 11. Purple Rain (Warner) – Too many older films transition to 4K Blu-ray and lose their native identity because they are color-graded incorrectly. I chose to single out this release of Purple Rain because it does precisely what it should – it revives the original theatrical appearance of the film in spectacular fashion. For my money, the 4K makeover that was prepared for it is one of the most accurate and convincing to emerge from a major U.S. studio in several years. Purple Rain is, of course, a legitimate 1980s classic, whose only glaring flaw is that it could not retain the late Vanity. INTERNATIONAL RELEASES 1. The Frightened Woman (Shameless Entertainment) - Had Piero Schivazappa's The Frightened Woman emerged in the late 1970s, it most likely would have become a cult film. In 1960s Italy, mainstream audiences still flocked to see lavish pictures like The Leopard and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and traditional comedies like Seduced and Abandoned and Marriage Italian Style, so its arrival was rushed. I think that it is an incredible first film matching the quality of similar, very ambitious projects like French director Henri-Georges Clouzot's final film, Woman in Chains, which has quite a reputation. This release introduces a fabulous 4K makeover of the fully uncut version of The Frightened Woman and a most interesting exclusive new program with its star, Dagmar Lassander. 2. Wolves, Pigs & Men (Eureka Entertainment) – This perhaps predictably intense gangster film from Kinji Fukasaku is easy to pair with Luchino Visconti's masterpiece Rocco and His Brothers. Both come from the 1960s and tell stories about brothers risking their lives to escape a post-war reality defined by extreme, often genuinely disturbing contrasts. Fukasaku's biographer Sadao Yamane has declared that Wolves, Pigs & Men is the masterpiece of the iconic director's early period, and I think he is correct. 3. Dobermann (Fractured Visions) – The biggest mainstream French offender of the 1990s. Dobermann is a freak show, so before and after it was released a lot of people did not want to be associated with it. However, this rejection never made much sense to me because the excess in Dobermann cannot possibly be taken seriously. Some of Alex de la Iglesia's films are even more unhinged, but they have been very successful at various international film festivals. Why? I decided to place this release on my list not because I am a big fan of Dobermann, but because it is a labor of love. It is worth picking up just for the excellent but hard to see on this side of the Atlantic short films that Jan Kounen directed before his career took off. 4. Nothing But the Best (StudioCanal) – Alan Bates plays an ambitious but dangerous chameleon similar to the one Alain Delon becomes in the French classic Purple Noon, and utters cynical truths similar to the ones Michael Caine's love supplier shares in the British classic Alfie. What is the crucial lesson that emerges from Nothing But the Best? It is an old one. Everything is up for grabs, even the very best. StudioCanal's Blu-ray release introduces a stunning new makeover of Clive Donner's film, prepared to celebrate its 60th anniversary. 5. Banning (Imprint Films) - Banning heads down the same path and quickly enters the same territory where you will discover wonderful but not well known genre films like Warning Shot and P.J. These films tend to behave like film noirs, but reject their classic stylistic identity and always play with a lot of light and bright colors. I am convinced many of them were the blueprints for the big and popular neo-noir films that emerged during the 1980s and 1990s. For this Blu-ray release, Banning was exclusively restored in 2K by the fabulous Australian boutique label Imprint Films. 6. The Man Who Had Power Over Women (Powerhouse Films) - "The world is a tragedy to the man who feels, a comedy to the man who thinks." This timeless quote from English writer Horace Walpole sums up pretty well John Krish's film The Man Who Had Power Over Women, which is a decent comedy, a fine drama, and a lovely truth-telling dramedy. Yes, it is certainly a product of its time, too, but I consider this a very good thing. It features yet another outstanding performance from Australian hunk Rod Taylor. Indicator/Powerhouse Films' release introduces a gorgeous new 4K makeover. An identical release is now available for purchase in America, too. 7. The Last New Year's Eve (Oblivion Film) – I had commented somewhere on our site how much I like Marco Risi's film and a member of our community reached out to let me know that it has appeared on Blu-ray in Italy. I could not pick up the Blu-ray release right away to upgrade my DVD release, but eventually, I did. I do not know why The Last New Year's Eve never reached America. In some ways, it is as wild as Paolo Sorentino's Oscar winner The Great Beauty. However, it lacks the Oscar winner's intellectual musings, so it is easier to promote to fans of Quentin Tarantino's work. The Blu-ray release, like the old DVD release I have, is English-friendly. 8. Pépé le Moko (StudioCanal) – The great French actor Jean Gabin plays a jewel thief hiding in the Casbah of Algiers and longing to return home in this classic gangster film directed by Julien Duvivier. Pepe Le Moco has been newly restored on behalf of StudioCanal and looks the best it ever has, but this Blu-ray release is not good for English speakers. However, I believe a North American Blu-ray release will be announced shortly. 9. Sandokan (Eagle Pictures/RAI Italia) – I delayed my list because I was waiting for this box set to reach me. During my childhood, I could not get enough of Emilio Salgari's novels about The Tiger of Mompracem and his right-hand man, Yanez. When Sergio Sollima created the TV show Sandokan, and later the feature films were made from it, I viewed both as often as I could. The Tiger of Mompracem, Yanez, and Lady Marianna have a permanent spot in my childhood memories. I have some reservations about the remastering work done on behalf of RAI Italia, but at least now the complete TV show is here and I could travel back in time with it whenever I wish. Hopefully, a boutique label, like Kino Lorber or Deaf Crocodile, will bring Sandokan to America and present it, in its entirety, with the original English audio. Real pirate ships, jaw-dropping battles, stunning locations. All these years later, Sandokan is still a great spectacle that has it all. 10. An Autumn's Tale (88 Films) - Chow Yun-Fat will always be remembered as one of Hong Kong cinema's greatest action men. However, some of his best work is in films that did not require of him to carry a gun. One of these films is An Autumn's Tale, a romantic charmer from the 1980s shot entirely on location in New York City. This release introduces a recent 4K makeover that is a genuine stunner. I have always had a copy of An Autumn's Tale in my library and could not believe how good it looks now.
Source: Blu-ray.com \| Permalink \|

News comments (8 comments)

4Dblu

Jan 06, 2025

Nice list. I see a couple i 4got now i remember...

Scott321

Jan 06, 2025

Thank you Dr. Svet!

Top reviewer

Top contributor

cgpublic

Jan 06, 2025

Nice write up and will definitely be adding a few to those that have already found a spot on my shelf.

Top reviewer

Top contributor

SkinnyTwist

Jan 07, 2025

This list was worth the wait. Many new adds to my wishlist. Thanks, Doc.

Top reviewer

amputd

Jan 07, 2025

Thanks, Svet. Always get sone good tips from your lists!

LeoneFan

Jan 07, 2025

Thanks Dr Svet. There's a couple that I didn't even know were released that must have.

anomaly7

Jan 07, 2025

So the Las Vegas show being described is different than the show in the picture. That makes a lot more sense based on Dr. Svet's tastes for the rest of his list.

Top contributor