We're not going to get into technical details here; since these are award winners, all of 'em look and sound stunning, or, in the case of rare or ancient films, as good as they can possibly look based on the available materials. Just trust us ,'kay? Also, note that as far as we know, all the ones marked Blu-ray were also released (or are already available) in standard DVD, too. We screened the high-def BD versions. Finally, note that these aren't necessarily the greatest films released on DVD or Blu-ray this year, just our favorites that we've seen. If more companies sent us screeners, well...

All About Eve (Fox Blu-ray, $34.98) One of the smartest, most biting, most engrossing of all film classics in a dazzling package with several behind-the-scenes featurettes of this behind-the-scene Broadway backstabbing drama, a multiple Oscar winner (including Best Picture). Joseph L. Mankiewicz wrote and directed; Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, and George Sanders star, with unforgettable supporting performances from Thelma Ritter and Marilyn Monroe. Released in 1950, but if it were released this week, it'd still be a great motion picture.

American Graffiti (Universal Blu-ray, $26.98) Well, they finally got it right. The soundtrack of this 1973 George Lucas-helmed coming-of-age classic with Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfus, Candy Clark and Paul LeMat was remixed for a theatrical re-release in the late 1970s, and has sounded like crap on its various VHS and DVD releases (I saw this film, a great favorite of mine when I was a teenager, more than a dozen times in its original run). At last, it’s been remixed properly so that the music – one of the greatest soundtracks ever compiled for a motion picture, and a key part of the film’s charm and success – can be heard successfully. The wonderful disc also includes a making-of documentary that’s nearly as long as the film itself. Great stuff. This rave review, incidentally, is tempered by the knowledge that over the years, I bought this film over and over on tape and DVD trying to get an acceptable release! Universal, you owe me MONEY!

Birth of a Nation (Kino Blu-ray, $39.95) The greatest film epic ever produced; more than three hours long at a time (1914) when the typical film was 10 or 15 minutes in length. It’s exciting, warm, human, thrilling, tender, impressive, and as colossal as anything ever produced on the motion picture screen from that day to this, with sprawling war scenes that require multiple viewings just to soak in. The film is also, however, an abomination, a racist horror in which the newly-freed Blacks are the villains and the Klansmen are the heroes, a problem that’s perplexed reviewers for nearly 100 years. This 3-disc package contains everything anyone could ever want to know about the film, and several additional Civil War shorts from director D. W. Griffith. Alas, sometimes American history isn’t a pretty thing. Still, this is one of a handful of films that must be watched by anyone who wants to understand and appreciate both history and the art of filmmaking.

Brenda Starr, Reporter (VCI, $19.99) This 13-episode serial from 1945 was considered all but lost for decades; a damaged print was finally made available, missing a reel or two of the sound and picture. VCI did the best they could with it, and the result is well worth having for fun and as a curiosity, even if it's not one of the great cliffhanger serials. Joan Woodbury stars as Dale Messick’s immortal comic strip heroine, with Kane Richmond and Syd Saylor in support. Wallace Fox directs. There are many great Columbia serials in the vault, waiting to be rescued.

Buster Keaton Short Films Collection 1920-1923 (Kino Blu-ray, $49.95) Kino has been doing a phenomenal job as the keeper of the Keaton legacy (a much, much better job than Criterion’s been doing with its Chaplin licensing). Several of Buster’s features are available, restored and remastered, on DVD and Blu-ray, and all are well worth having. This 3-disc set has all of Keaton’s solo short subjects, including such all-time favorites as One Week, The Playhouse, and Cops. A wonderful set, and Kino deserves our thanks and continued business. They haven't released a Blu-ray yet that isn't worth at least three times what they're asking for it.

Citizen Kane (Warners Blu-ray, $64.99) Generally regarded as the greatest film ever, and I’m not gonna argue with the general, whoever he is, that’s for sure. This remarkable package from Warners included a hefty package of bonus materials, including two full-length films on the making of Kane, a 48-page book, lobby card and souvenir program reproductions, copies of studio correspondence regarding the making of the film, and if your ordered it from Amazon, you also got the much-awaited DVD premiere of Orson Welles’ studio-mangled but impressive followup, The Magnificent Ambersons. Oh, yeah, and Kane looks fabulous here, too! Don’t miss the feature commentary by Roger Ebert, a masterpiece of film appreciation and information.

The Colossus of New York (Olive, $24.95) Olive Films has done a fine job licensing films both obscure and well-known from companies with scant interest in mining their own vaults; this is our rowdy, cheesy, barebones-but-fun pick of the year, a somber 1958 science-fiction film about a scientist whose brain ends up in a belligerent robot with death-ray eyes (folks, if you're building a giant robot "for the benefit of mankind," do NOT give him death-ray eyes! That's just CRAZY). Eugene Laurie directs.

The Ernie Kovaks Collection (Shout! Factory, $69.97) A massive collection (six discs, more than 12 hours!) worth of material, often howlingly funny, from the groundbreaking comic’s TV shows, specials, guest appearances, and classic cigar commercials of the 1950s and early 1960s. Wonderful stuff to browse through, many gems unseen in more than 50 years. If you aren’t a Kovaks fan, you will be.

The Great Dictator (Criterion Blu-ray, $39.95) In 1940, Charles Chaplin released his talkie debut, a spoof on Hitler that he’d been planning well before the second World War had begun in Europe. The result is that rarity, a great comedy that’s also a great work of art and a fascinating piece of history. So much has been written about how daring and important the film is that it’s often overlooked that the darn thing is friggin' hilarious. Chaplin’s last out-and-out masterpiece receives a stunning version here, including the feature-length TCM documentary The Tramp and the Dictator. Criterion gets no kudos from me for their typical release schedule these days, disappointing month after month, but when they do it right, they still show flashes of the old excitement.

House (Criterion Blu-ray, $39.95) The most outré release of the year - a 1977 Japanese horror film that seems to be inspired in equal parts by The Monkees, Scooby Doo, and every nightmare an 11-year-old girl can have. Director Nobuhiko Obayashi goes wild and creates one of the most stunningly original horror films in history. Your eyes won't believe what your heart tells you that your mind is seeing! (That last line is what Ed Wood would've written had he been a publicist for this film, or at least a writer for In The Balcony.) 

Island of Lost Souls (Criterion Blu-ray, $39.95) This 1932 Paramount pre-Code shocker has been missing in action during the VHS and DVD eras – until now. It’s an adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel about Dr. Moreau, a vivisectionist building demi-humans out of animal parts. Charles Laughton, Richard Arlen, and Bela Lugosi star; Erle C. Kenton directs. Even Mr. Welles thought it was in poor taste. I was less than impressed by the bonus material offered by this Criterion release but it’s such a joy to see this film again that I’m going to overlooking that shortcoming.

The Little Rascals Vols. 1 through 7 (Vivendi, $7.93 each) The seven low-priced volumes add up to more than eighty beautifully restored and uncut Our Gang/Little Rascals film short subjects, the entire short subject series from 1929-1938, their glory years. Watch Spanky, Alfalfa, Stymie, Darla, Porky, Farina, Buckwheat, Joe, Chubby, Wheezer, Jackie, and the other beloved Rascals grow up before your very eyes! Great for children and adults both.

The Looney Tunes Platinum Collection, Vol. 1 (Warners Blu-ray, $59.96) After six years of DVD releases with hundreds of Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies animated classics, here’s the first Hi-Def collection, a 3-disc set with more than 50 of the best Warner Bros. cartoons, including probably most or all of your favorites, along with hours of bonus featurettes and shorts. Eye-popping color and nothin’ but fun. I sometimes put THIS baby on instead of background music as I work. Well, if you call this workin'.

The Mikado (Criterion Blu-ray, $39.95) Wonderful, bright, unforgettably beautiful 1939 Technicolor adaptation of the Gilbert & Sullivan operetta; I watched this three times in a row the day I got it. Kenny Baker, Jean Colin, and Martyn Green star, but the cinematography, lush costumes, gorgeous Technicolor, and of course classic score will be what brings you back for multiple viewings. Victor Schertzinger directs. Just delightful, and the deleted scene features a guest appearance by Hitler!

Pre-Code Double Feature: This is the Night / The Song of Songs (Universal/TCM, $29.99) A Turner exclusive; the first film is a tawdry drama with Marlene Dietrich posing nude for artist Brian Aherne and falling in love with him, but her family forces her to marry creepy Lionel Atwill instead (and WHAT was her family thinking?!?); the second is an hilarious romantic romp with touches worthy of Rene Clair or Max Fleischer at their peak; Thelma Todd and Roland Young star with Cary Grant in his screen debut. TCM plans many more exclusives in 2012, and I hope to get all of 'em. 

The Prowler (VCI, $19.99) Wow! I saw this dark, ugly 1951 obscurity on the big screen in Manhattan a few years ago, and the entire audience was stunned at how seamy the whole thing is. Evelyn Keyes thinks she sees a voyeur outside her window, and calls the cops. Bad decision, because officer Van Heflin is a nutjob. Worse decision, his creepy but tenacious efforts to woo her embark on her having an affair with him, which results in the death of her husband, which results in… well, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you. One of the most sordid movies I’ve ever seen, put together by mainly-blacklisted personnel working far outside the Hollywood mainstream. You'll want to take a good, hot shower after watching it. Packed with bonus material; one of VCI’s greatest releases ever.

The Warner Archive Collection (Warners, various prices, but generally $19.95 for single discs) I couldn’t decide on just one release; besides, I’m preparing a big feature article on Warner Archive offerings, so I’ll have a ton of recommendations. Anyway, the Archive created an entire new way of catching vintage movies: manufactured on demand (MOD) discs, burned to DVD-R. Many of them are beautifully remastered, and it’s a chance to dip into the vaults for the hundreds of titles currently owned by Warners (which includes not only that studio’s productions, but films from MGM, RKO, and Monogram as well). Watch for their special sales and stock up on terrific entertainment, both features and film series and short subjects. These discs are ordered direct from wbshop.com.

2011 In the Balcony DISC OF THE YEAR!