Signs of Life 2004

Let’s face it. Most of us first watch the majority of each year’s best films on DVDs. We live in small markets that show only action blockbusters, or we have lives or budgets that interfere with constant trips to the multiplex, or we simply don’t know about those films while they’re in theatres. So instead of doing a list of 2004’s top theatrical releases, we decided to focus instead on DVDs. (Not to mention that much of the year-end Oscar bait doesn’t play outside L.A. and N.Y. until well into the following year.)

It was a banner year in 2004 for films on DVD. Blockbusters, indies, epic action/adventure stories, intimate personal narratives, outstanding children’s movies, galvanizing documentaries and exceptional foreign films—video shelves had it all last year. And we also welcomed long-overdue classics to DVD and saw the continuation of a welcome trend—the quick DVD release of television series such as Arrested Development allowing such shows to continue despite mediocre ratings.

So without further ado, here’s a snapshot of 2004’s best DVDs.

Best new film releases on DVD

1. Return of the King (Extended Edition)
2. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
3. City of God
4. Lost In Translation
5. 21 Grams
6. Before Sunset
7. Garden State
8. Kill Bill V1 & V2
9. Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban
10. The Son
11. In America
12. The Fog of War
13. Bus 174
14. The Passion of the Christ
15. Crimson Gold
16. Triplets de Belleville
17. American Splendor
18. Elephant
19. The Barbarian Invasions
20. Goodbye, Lenin!

Honorable mentions

My Voyage to Italy | Coffee & Cigarettes | School of Rock | Hero | Pirates of the Caribbean | The Celebration | Capturing the Friedmans | Millenium Mambo | Shattered Glass | Control Room | Pieces of April | Spider Man 2

Readers’ favorite films of 2004

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. Garden State
3. The Incredibles
4. Sideways
5. Fahrenheit 9/11
6. Napoleon Dynamite
7. Shrek II
8. Spider Man 2
9. I Heart Huckabees
10. Finding Neverland
11. Hero
12. Harry Potter III
13. Kill Bill Volume 2
14. The Motorcycle Diaries
15. Ray
16. Big Fish
17. The Passion of the Christ
18. Super Size Me
19. Closer
20. Collateral

Best DVD classics/ special editions

1. Rules of the Game
2. Diary of a Country Priest / A Man Escaped (Bresson)
3. Floating Weeds
4. Fanny & Alexander Box Set / Scenes From a Marriage (Bergman)
5. The Shawshank Redemption (Two-Disc Special Edition)
6. The Lower Depths-Criterion Collection
7. Manchurian Candidate [1962] The Special Edition
8. Short Cuts-Criterion Collection
9. Dr. Strangelove - 40th Anniversary Special Edition
10. Battle of Algiers
Honorable Mentions:

Das Boot - The Original Uncut Version, The Tin Drum | Slacker Special Edition, Dazed & Confused (Widescreen Flashback Edition) | Schindler’s List | Clerks (10th Anniversary Edition) | Tanner ’88-Criterion Collection Gone with the Wind (4-Disc Collector’s Edition)