Welcome to the one place your movies are safe: the land of physical media.
Perhaps you’ve lost faith in streaming companies to make your favorite movies easily available. Maybe you saw Max delete original films and shows from its platform. Perhaps you’re tired of Netflix cycling movies on and off the service. You could just be tired of having to Google where to find a particular movie, only to learn that what you found is already out of date.
We make an effort to celebrate not just what’s new on streaming, but what you can still own on Blu-ray or 4K UHD. Discs have better sound and image quality, but their real selling point is their permanence.
I had my own breaking point with streaming that launched my return trip to the shores of physical media. A couple of years ago, I began to notice many movies weren’t available to stream, neither on a subscription service nor VOD. In fact, some I could hardly even find on physical media, because the film got caught in a licensing dispute or its owners simply didn’t feel they’d make enough money off a restored release.
That’s why I’m so happy to share these recommendations, most of which come from medium and small labels, from big names like Criterion and Arrow to up-and-comers like Radiance and Severin. As retailers like Best Buy scrap their Blu-ray aisles and studios like Disney hand off distribution duties, these dedicated labels are keeping hundreds of films from falling off the face of the Earth.
What follows is our rolling list of the best Blu-ray and 4K UHD discs of 2024. We update the list regularly, so be sure to check back for the latest recommendations!
Image: Universal Pictures
Conan the Barbarian (4K or Blu-ray)
Arnold always had it.
In 1982’s Conan the Barbarian (released two years before the first Terminator film), the champion bodybuilder turned actor looks like he left the Gold’s Gym weight room and strolled onto set, yet he delivers a fearless performance that should be the envy of Juilliard grads. Don’t believe me? Focus on what Schwarzenegger does with his face. Though every other part of his body has been cut from a single slab of marble, his mouth and eyes twist and widen in ways that call to mind great silent film performances.
This new 4K release from Arrow is a shrine to these early days of Arnold, which would pour the foundation for the following decades of his R-rated popcorn masterpieces. The set includes an archival commentary with the man himself, along with a new commentary by Paul M. Sammon, the author of Conan: The Phenomenon. A second disc includes a king’s bounty of documentaries, interviews, and on-set footage that provides juicy info on every aspect of the film, from its look to the killer score.
Conan the Barbarian hasn’t had the lasting power of other Schwarzenegger classics, but that comes with its silver lining: The odds are high you haven’t seen this delightful epic full of elaborate sets and practical effects.
Phase IV (4K + Blu-ray)
Saul Bass is known as one of the great creators of opening credits: Psycho, Vertigo, The Man with the Golden Arm, Seconds. Even if you haven’t seen those films, you’ve seen the work of Bass’ admirers. His work is still being parodied and pastiched by the likes of Steven Spielberg and Matthew Weiner, who borrowed liberally from Bass with the iconic opening credits of Mad Men.
Bass, however, is not known as a film director. He directed one feature film and it bombed so hard it got the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment. What a shame. Phase IV is an ambitious and fearless sci-fi film that deserves reappraisal. This 4K restoration may be its best shot.
You’ll understand why this film benefits from a proper visual upgrade from the blurry depths of the home video bin. Bass spends an exceptional amount of the film’s run time with actual ants, shooting them with microlenses so that they look (and even behave) like characters. He doesn’t give them cheeky voice-over; he just lets our minds wonder what might be going through their heads.
Like I assume an actual global ant takeover would work, the movie stars very slow and small, the camera leisurely following a couple of ants through their daily activities. But in time, their efforts gain momentum, and suddenly ants are bringing down buildings and converting poisonous sludge into antlike weaponry.
Bass took this project seriously, and Vinegar Syndrome has mirrored that approach with the three-disc set, including a Blu-ray disc featuring a reconstruction of an early version of the film, plus the original ending that really must be seen to be believed. We’re talking ending of 2001: A Space Odyssey stuff. With ants!
Dark Water (4K or Blu-ray)
If you like horror, you’re familiar with The Ring, either in its original form from Hideo Nakata or its American adaptation by Gore Verbinski. It’s less likely you have seen its follow-up, Dark Water, in which Nakata once again adapts the work of author Koji Suzuki to terrifying effect.
The Ring’s central premise of a deadly videotape and ticking clock toward death is unforgettable. But for me, Dark Water is a stronger drama, one that spends equal time on scares as it does spelunking the interior lives of its single mother and child. As to be expected from an Arrow release, the package includes a grab bag of interviews, trailers, and even a short documentary on the making of the film.
Image: 20th Century Studios
The Abyss (4K)
Despite being a big-budget, Oscar-nominated sci-fi spectacle made by James Cameron, The Abyss has been unavailable (in high-quality formats) for decades. If you lived in New York or LA, you could pray for a repertory screening; otherwise, your best bet was making do with a 20-year-old DVD.
Alongside 4K releases of Aliens and True Lies, James Cameron’s original sci-fi masterpiece finally gets the home video treatment. The final product is incredible — as if everyone involved in this release wondered, in the back of their heads, if it would be another 20 years before The Abyss gets some TLC.
The picture and the sound make the most of the 4K HDR disc, whether it’s a glowing alien spacecraft or the close-up of an exceedingly handsome Ed Harris shouting technical jargon about watercraft. Sure, the computer-animated special effects have aged since 1989, but they still fit comfortably within the film. Credit the art direction, along with what I have to imagine was a great deal of technical attention in the film’s long restoration process.
The set includes nearly two hours of additional documentaries and interviews. It’s nice gravy. But frankly, we’ve been waiting so long for the mashed potatoes that I would have been fine with them scooped right on my plate, simple and delicious.
Image: Criterion Collection
The Roaring Twenties (4K or Blu-ray)
Released in 1939, only six years after the end of Prohibition, The Roaring Twenties was made by people who could remember that era — who lived it. For director Raoul Walsh, the Roaring ’20s were the years he cut his teeth as a director in Hollywood, putting out 14 films in 10 years. Considering the state of Los Angeles at that time, it’s safe to assume he was familiar with the world of bootleg liquor.
Perhaps that’s why Walsh imbues his criminals with such humanity, rather than treating them like the petty parodies with which so many other gangster movies indulge. That the cast is a murderers’ row of Golden Age talent, including James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, and Priscilla Lane, certainly helps give each character a spark of life, too.
Why, though, is this movie on this list versus countless other old movies? Because it moves like a modern film. Spanning a decade in under two hours, the movie hurls forward like a Model T with nitrous boosters.
For some film history context, the disc includes a commentary with historian Lincoln Hurts and an interview with critic Gary Giddins, along with a handful of additional bonus features to sweeten the pot.
Photo: Radiance
Black Tight Killers (Blu-ray)
Radiance has become the Criterion Collection for movies I’ve never heard of. When a new disc arrives, it will most likely be a surprising delight, and at minimum, something that gets me thinking about what movies can and should be. This year, I can already recommend Goodbye & Amen (an Italian spy thriller), Allonsanfan (a stately drama with a not-to-be-missed Ennio Morricone score), and as you’ve seen above, Black Tight Killers.
Forget story. With Black Tight Killers, you only need to know the ingredients. A gang of female assassins who wield deadly vinyl records. A bundle of lost World War II gold. A 1960s pop score that would make Austin Powers grin. You can feel director Yasuharu Hasebe having a blast with this film; the joy is contagious.
Radiance includes an archival interview with the director and a commentary track featuring critic Jasper Sharp, and while I’m grateful for the inclusions, the star of the show is the film itself: a quirky delight that speaks for itself with cool suits, audacious colors, and action sequences involving everything from a helicopter to an improvised flamethrower.
Photo: Universal Pictures
Universal Monsters Collection (4K)
We aren’t wanting for ways to buy Universal’s collection of classic monster movies. Over a decade ago, the studio released one of my favorite box sets, which not only introduced me to many lesser-seen films (The Invisible Man, Phantom of the Opera) but also the Spanish-language version of Dracula — a disc I still dig out every Halloween. And only two years ago, Universal upgraded much of that set to 4K.
But reader, if you want a set so pretty that you can display it in your living room, there’s only one choice: the new limited-edition coffee table book collection. It technically is a book, the discs resting in sleeves between pages full of classic photos, posters, and original art. But the cover looks more like a poster, ready to be framed.
The set includes tons of special features for every film, from Frankenstein to Creature from the Black Lagoon. One caveat: This set is limited to 4K. If you’re a hardcore collector, this set rules and you’ve probably already made the purchase. If you’re new to these exceptional horror standards, the other box sets are just as worthy as entry points.