In January, Warner also started releasing a series of smaller DVD 20 film collections divided into genre—Best Pictures, Musicals, Romance, Comedy and most recently Thrillers—these sets, consisting of previously released titles, are perhaps best suited for collectors looking to consolidate shelf space, or a new collector looking to grab a handful of films at a very reasonable price (20 films at an SRP of $98.92 works out to slightly less than $3:50 per film, and several online retailers have the sets for less.
While Best of Warner Bros. 20 Film Collection: Thrillers can’t possible provide everything in the genre the studio has to offer, the set includes some of the industry’s biggest stars, working with renowned directors on some truly great films. Here are the included titles: The Public Enemy (1931), The Maltese Falcon (1941), The Big Sleep (1946), Strangers on a Train (1951), North by Northwest (1959), Dirty Harry (1971), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Lethal Weapon: Director’s Cut (1987/2000), Batman (1989), Goodfellas (1990), The Fugitive (1993),
Natural Born Killers: The Director’s Cut (1994), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Seven (1995), Heat (1995), L.A. Confidential (1997), American History X (1998), The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2010), The Town (2010).
It is interesting to note that 70% of the films were released from 1971 on, and nearly half the titles were released theatrically in the ‘90s. Some classic film fans are bound to feel a bit slighted. With that said, there are plenty of highlights: The Maltese Falcon, Strangers on a Train, North By Northwest, Dog Day Afternoon, Goodfellas, The Shawshank Redemption (which may or may not be a thriller), LA Confidential, and The Dark Knight are all must-haves for any serious film fan.
All twenty films are presented in their original theatrical aspect ratios (or a close approximation) and the sixteen made in widescreen are enhanced for 16:9 displays. As you might expect, results vary from disc to disc. Suffice to say that in general, a majority of the transfers are good to superb when considering they are in standard definition. Most viewers should be pleased, though those used to high definition may want to seek out their Blu-ray counterparts.
The lossy Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono on Public Enemy, The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Strangers on a Train and Dog Day Afternoon aren’t bad, considering their age, but do exhibit some weak spots. The lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes on the rest of the DVDs are fine, but some (Dirty Harry, Lethal Weapon, North by Northwest, GoodFellas and Batman (1989) are not originally 5.1 films and it shows.
All twenty films are accompanied by some of the special features that can be found on their original DVD releases. There are hours of audio commentaries and featurettes to keep viewers busy for hours.
