The 2005 Golden Gavel Awards
On January 16th, 2006, DVD Verdict announced their Golden Gavel awards for the best DVDs of 2005. The reviewing staff of DVD Verdict each drafted a list of their ten picks for the best of the year, and those lists were compiled into a master list based on the rankings given to each film. 129 DVDs appeared on the lists from the 29 voting staff members, and from those nominees emerged the ten winners. But this year, we introduced a new category: The Jury Voice Award.
Read our review (Judge Ryan Keefer)
Long before computer-generated animation made things "realistic," King Kong terrified audiences with stop-motion animation. Fans who have been waiting for this for years were given reason enough to celebrate. The behind the scenes documentary is among the most extensive in recent memory, and the picture simply couldn't look grander. It's nice to have Kong enthusiast Peter Jackson contributing to such stellar work, even recreating the lost spider scene. Sure, you could get The King Kong Collection (also a Golden Gavel nominee), or even the Kong collector's edition, but this packed two-disc edition is the only one most film lovers really need. At less than $20, it's a steal. How else to say "One of the greatest, most beloved, most influential movies of all time gets an awesome DVD release"?
Votes:
1st: 6
2nd: 4
3rd: 1
5th: 1
Read our Supreme Court review
How often is it that you find an animated film, ostensibly for kids, that prompts six grown men to wax prosaic about its merits? Such is the power of The Incredibles. From the inventive mind of Brad Bird, director of the underrated Iron Giant, comes Pixar's most mature, emotionally complex, and energetic adventure yet. And, with comprehensive extras and nearly perfect video and audio, this sets the standard for animated films on DVD. No capes!
Votes:
1st: 4
2nd: 1
3rd: 1
4th: 1
5th: 1
6th: 1
Read our review (Chief Justice Mike Jackson)
Remember in the comics when Bane broke Batman's back, and everyone assumed that we was as good as dead? Yeah, that's what we all thought after Batman and Robin broke the franchise's back...and heck, Bane was in it. You can't keep a good superhero down, and Memento director Christopher Nolan and American Psycho star Christian Bale were just the men to reboot the Dark Knight. Warner Bros. did a fine job with the film on DVD as well, with great picture and sound, and all the extras a comic fan could want, even a comic book!
Votes:
1st: 1
2nd: 2
3rd: 2
5th: 2
9th: 1
10th: 2
Read our review (Judge Ryan Keefer)
It has lions and tigers and bears, oh my! It's endorsed by the Lollipop Guild! It has brains, and heart, and courage! It's the DVD that will make you think you're not in Kansas anymore, even if you are in Kansas. With a digitally restored picture and two discs devoted solely to bonus features, this DVD will get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!
Votes:
1st: 3
2nd: 1
3rd: 1
5th: 1
8th: 1
9th: 1
Read our review (Appellate Judge Mike Pinsky)
David Cronenberg's films are being slowly re-released in collector's edition DVD packages. So far, each of them have been outstanding sets, from Cronenberg's insightful and intelligent commentaries down to the grab-bag of extras included. Icky, gross, disquieting, and completely Cronenberg -- The Fly finally got all the respect it deserves in a mainstream release. 20th Century Fox delivers an irresistible look at this 1986 entry, and makes it look shiny and new. David Prior, DVD producer extraordinaire, provides a wealth of extras for the Cronenberg completists out there, including commentaries, documentaries, and original screenplays. You won't find more bang for your buck in all the releases of 2005 than right here.
Votes:
2nd: 1
3rd: 2
4th: 1
5th: 2
6th: 1
Read our Supreme Court review
Not only did Lost help stimulate and redefine television when it began airing, but now the release of Lost: The Complete First Season has changed the face of "television on DVD." Buena Vista packed the set with enough extra features to tempt even those DVR fans who burned every new episode as they aired to make a purchase. It raised the bar on definitive packaging for a program. It also has the distinction of being the first television single-season box set to place in our Golden Gavels winner list. Too bad you had to wait until the second season to find out what was inside the hatch!
Votes:
1st: 2
3rd: 2
4th: 1
Read our Supreme Court review
Unless George Lucas changes his mind yet again, Revenge of the Sith is the final motion picture in the epic Star Wars series. We've witnessed the dirty deeds of one Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith. We've seen his son, Luke Skywalker, take down a galactic Empire and turn his father back to the Light Side. And with the prequel trilogy, we've seen Anakin Skywalker grow from a precocious young lad to the tortured Jedi who would become Darth Vader. The cycle is now complete. Oh, and the THX masters always deliver the DVD goods, and here it's no exception.
Votes:
2nd: 1
3rd: 1
4th: 1
5th: 1
9th: 4
Read our Supreme Court review
Val Lewton's movies have long been the stuff cult cinema dreams are made of, and Turner Home Entertainment fulfilled the dreams of classic horror and thriller fans everywhere by releasing his entire RKO catalog in one box set. The extras are dynamite, and for the first time we get a collection of movies that does justice for the master of moody "no budget" films.
Votes:
1st: 1
2nd: 2
4th: 1
Read our review (Appellate Judge Dan Mancini)
Akira Kurosawa could not have made this pointed examination of the collapse of a man and his kingdom a day earlier. It takes a 75-year-old man to understand and empathize with Shakespeare's King Lear -- and it takes a talent like Kurosawa to turn Lear's plight into a purely Japanese spectacle. This might be one of the greatest Shakespeare adaptations in cinema. The film has never looked better, the long-awaited documentary A.K. is included, along with other substantive extras that continue to keep Criterion in the upper echelon of DVD producers.
Votes:
1st: 1
5th: 1
7th: 1
8th: 1
9th: 1
10th: 1
Read our Batman review (Judge Ryan Keefer)
Read our Batman Returns review (Appellate Judge Michael Stailey)
Read our Batman review (Appellate Judge James A. Stewart)
Read our Batman & Robin review (Judge David Johnson)
In 1989, comic book movies changed forever thanks to Tim Burton, Jack Nicholson, and Michael Keaton. Dark, quirky, and beautiful, Batman charged into theatres and never looked back as he ruled the summer in a new black get-up. It would only take a fashion designer and studio mismanagement to take the franchise down, but oh, what a ride it was. Warner Brothers finally gives us all that we need to enjoy the Dark Knight as he appeared in the '90s. Audio/video presentations that are far superior to the original releases, real commentaries, and tons of extras to explain why we loved and loathed all four movies.
Votes:
2nd: 1
3rd: 1
7th: 1
8th: 1
DVD Verdict's readers have spoken, and sin is in. This new version loaded with extras should have came out first, but at least the dreaded double dip of everyone's favorite ultraviolent fantasy finally delivered the Sin City we were expecting. Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez finally showed us what a comic book movie could look like, and it was dazzling. Though most of the additional added elements were credits to each story, now presented in separate segments as they appeared in Miller's graphic novels, the newly recut movie is still one of the most successful experimental films of 2005. The special edition has a massive number of special features that bust the filmmaking process wide open. Rodriguez loves the craft and loves DVD, and this edition is a showcase for his passion.
