The best Blu-rays of 2024
Welcome to the only place where your movies are safe: the land of physical media.
Maybe you’ve lost faith in streaming companies to make your favorite movies easily available. You may have seen Max remove original movies and shows from his platform. Maybe you’re tired of watching Netflix movies both on and off the service. You may be tired of Googling where to find a particular movie, only to find that what you found is already outdated.
We’re doing our best to celebrate not only what’s new in streaming, but also what you can still own on Blu-ray or 4K UHD. Discs have better sound and picture quality, but their real selling point is their durability.
I had my own breaking point with streaming, which launched my journey back to the shores of physical media. A few years ago I noticed that many movies were not available to stream, either through a subscription service or VOD. Some I could barely even find on physical media, either because the film became embroiled in a licensing dispute or the owners simply didn’t feel like they could make enough money from a reinstated 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 newcomers like Radiance and Severin. The way retailers like it Best Buy is eliminating their Blu-ray aisles and studios like Disney hand over distribution duties, these dedicated labels ensure that hundreds of films do not disappear from the face of the earth.
What follows is our ongoing 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 images
Conan the Barbarian (4K or Blu-ray)
Arnold has always had it.
In 1982 Conan the Barbarian (released two years before the first Terminator film), the champion bodybuilder turned actor looks like he walked out of the weight room at Gold’s Gym and onto the set, yet he delivers a fearless performance that should be the envy of Juilliard students . Do not you believe me? Concentrate on what Schwarzenegger is doing with his face. Although every other part of his body is carved from a single piece of marble, his mouth and eyes twist and dilate in a manner reminiscent of great silent film performances.
This new 4K release from Arrow pays tribute to Arnold’s early days, which would lay the foundation for subsequent decades of his R-rated popcorn masterpieces. The set includes archival commentary with the man himself, along with new commentary from Paul M. Sammon, the author of Conan: The phenomenon. A second disc contains a plethora of documentaries, interviews, and on-set footage that provide juicy information about every aspect of the film, from its look to its killer score.
Conan the Barbarian doesn’t have the lasting power of other Schwarzenegger classics, but it does have a positive edge: chances are you haven’t seen this wonderful epic full of elaborate sets and practical effects yet.
Phase IV (4K + Blu-ray)
Saul Bass is known as one of the great creators of opening credits: Psycho, Fear of heights, The man with the golden arm, Seconds. Even if you haven’t seen those films, you’ve seen the work of Bass’s admirers. His work continues to be parodied and pastiched by the likes of Steven Spielberg and Matthew Weiner, who borrowed liberally from Bass with the iconic opening credits of Crazy men.
However, Bass is not known as a film director. He directed one feature film and it bombed so much that he got the movie Mystery Science Theater 3000 therapy. What a pity. Phase IV is an ambitious and fearless science fiction film that deserves reappraisal. This 4K restoration is perhaps the best recording.
You’ll understand why this film benefits from quite a visual upgrade from the hazy depths of the home video bin. Bass spends an exceptionally large portion of the film’s running time on real ants, photographing them with micro lenses so that they look (and even behave) like characters. He doesn’t give them a sassy voiceover; he just makes our minds wonder what could be going through their heads.
The way I assume an actual global ant takeover would work, the movie stars are very slow and small, while the camera leisurely follows a few ants as they go about their daily activities. But over time their efforts gain momentum, and suddenly ants are tearing down buildings and converting toxic sludge into ant-like weapons.
Bass took this project seriously, and Vinegar Syndrome has reflected that approach with the three-disc set, including a Blu-ray disc with a reconstruction of an early version of the film, plus the original ending that you really have to see to get it to believe. We’re talking about the end of 2001: A space odyssey stuff. With ants!
Dark Water (4K or Blu-ray)
If you like horror, you’re familiar with it The ring, either in the original form by Hideo Nakata or in the American adaptation by Gore Verbinski. It’s less likely that you’ve seen its sequel, Dark waterin which Nakata once again adapts the work of author Koji Suzuki to terrifying effect.
The ring‘s central premise of a deadly videotape and a ticking clock towards death is unforgettable. But for me, Dark water is a stronger drama, one that spends as much time on scares as it does on probing the inner lives of its single mother and child. As expected from an Arrow release, the package includes a grab bag of interviews, trailers and even a short documentary about the making of the film.
Image: 20th century studios
The Abyss (4K)
Despite being a big-budget, Oscar-nominated sci-fi spectacle created by James Cameron, The abyss has not been available (in high quality formats) for decades. If you lived in New York or LA, you might pray for a repertoire screening; otherwise it would be best to settle for a 20 year old DVD.
In addition to 4K releases from Aliens And True lies, James Cameron’s original sci-fi masterpiece is finally getting the home video treatment. The end product is incredible – as if everyone involved in this release wondered in the back of their minds whether it would take another twenty years before The abyss gets some TLC.
The visuals and sound make the most of the 4K HDR disc, whether it’s a glowing alien spacecraft or the close-up of an extremely handsome Ed Harris shouting technical jargon about watercraft. Sure, the computer-animated special effects have been dated since 1989, but they still fit comfortably into the film. Credit to the art direction, along with what I imagine was a large amount of technical attention during the film’s long restoration process.
The set includes nearly two hours of additional documentaries and interviews. It’s a nice gravy. But honestly, we waited so long for the mashed potatoes that I would have been fine with them just spooned onto my plate, simple and delicious.
Image: Criterion collection
The Roaring Twenties (4K or Blu-ray)
Released in 1939, just six years after the end of Prohibition, The wild twenties was made by people who remembered that era – who lived It. For director Raoul Walsh, the Roaring ’20s were the years in which he cut his teeth as a director in Hollywood, releasing fourteen films in ten years. Considering the state of Los Angeles at the 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 that so many other gangster films engage in. That the cast consists of a line-up of Golden Age killers, including James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Priscilla Lane, certainly helps give each character a spark of life as well.
But why is this film on this list compared to countless other old films? Because it moves like a modern movie. The film covers a decade in less than two hours and rockets forward like a Model T on nitrous boosters.
For film historical 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 the very least something that makes me think about what movies can and should be. I can already recommend it this year Goodbye and amen (an Italian spy thriller), Allonsanfan (a stately drama with an unmissable Ennio Morricone score), and as you saw above, Black tight killers.
Forget story. Of Black tight killers, you just need to know the ingredients. A gang of female assassins who wield deadly vinyl records. A bundle of lost gold from World War II. A pop score from the sixties that would make Austin Powers grin. You feel that director Yasuharu Hasebe is having a good time with this film; the joy is contagious.
Radiance features an archival interview with the director and a commentary track with 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 and bold colors and action sequences involving everything is involved from a helicopter to a makeshift flamethrower.
Photo: Universal Pictures
Universal Monster Collection (4K)
We don’t need ways to buy Universal’s collection of classic monster movies. More than a decade ago the studio released one of mine favorite box setswhich not only introduced me to many less seen films (The invisible man, ghost of the opera) but also the Spanish-language version of Dracula – a drive I still dig out every Halloween. And just two years ago, Universal upgraded a large part of that set to 4K.
But reader, if you want a set so beautiful you can display it in your living room, there is only one choice: the new limited edition coffee table book collection. Technically it’s a book, with the discs resting in their sleeves among pages filled with classic photos, posters, and original art. But the cover looks more like a poster, ready to be framed.
The set includes numerous special features for each film Frankenstein Unpleasant Creature from the Black Lagoon. One warning: this set is limited to 4K. If you’re a hardcore collector, this set counts and you’ve probably already made the purchase. If you’re new to these exceptional horror standards, the other box sets are just as valuable entry points.