Jonathan Melville: Present and correct

Published on Friday 18 December 2009 17:54

WHAT do you buy the film fan who has everything? With only a week to go until Christmas, there's not much time to pick up the perfect present for the friend or loved one in your life who knows his or her Scorsese from their Spielberg.

This year has seen some fantastic DVD and Blu-ray releases, some of which have slipped under the radar. If it's blockbusters you're after you might want to try the new Star Trek movie, which should suit both Trekkies and non-fans, the explosive Transformers II or the variable Terminator: Salvation, which wasn't quite the classic we hoped for.

Comedy-wise, In The Loop is a must-have for anyone who loves grown-up comedy while The Hangover is an above-average US romp set in Las Vegas.

I stumbled upon two stunning boxsets this year which should keep their owners occupied from Christmas through to New Year. Both are relatively unknown in the UK but don't deserve to be ignored.

First is The Complete Dr Mabuse Fritz Lang, a compendium of classic films featuring master criminal Dr Mabuse, which comes packed with commentaries and special features. There's also The Complete Lone Wolf and Cub, containing seven Japanese action classics, including Shogun Assassin, the film which inspired Tarantino's Kill Bill.

Another oldie getting a re-release is Alfred Hitchcock's North By Northwest. Now out on Blu-ray, the film has never looked better, the new set coming with a commentary and new documentary on Hitchcock.

I'd also recommend Swedish horror Let The Right One In, a hauntingly beautiful drama set in the snowy Stockholm of 1982. To say more would be to spoil it, but I reckon this is one of the finest films, horror or otherwise, of the decade, and all movie buffs should own a copy.

You could also give them a novel which has been adapted for the big screen in 2010. My top choices would be the post-apocalyptic The Road (starring Viggo Mortensen, out 8 January); Swedish crime bestseller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (out 12 March) and upcoming Peter Jackson supernatural drama The Lovely Bones (29 January). Finally there's cinema membership, meaning discounts up until December 2010.

Whatever you choose, have a great Christmas and here's to a new batch of films in the New Year!

Visit the blog at www.edinburgh news.com/reeltime