THE BEST BOUTIQUE BLU-RAYS OF 2020 - Top 25 List - Physical Media Forever

[@ElliotCoen]

Happy New Year everyone!! I've accidentally made up a drinking game to play whilst watching this video - take a drink every time I describe a blu-ray as 'tremendous' or 'brilliant'. If you survive, let me know 😎

[@codecj3412]

I'm typing this from the after-life.

[@mattymac1399]

Hi Elliot. I scoped out Imprint's Hard Eight but held off on buying as their releases seem to be a tad pricey. Do you get yours directly from the label?

[@ElliotCoen]

@@mattymac1399 yes I do get them directly from them luckily. I totally agree, they are pricey but the ones I've mentioned in this video are certainly worth the price tag. I'd pay full ticket for this Hard Eight Blu-ray in particular! I hope that helps.

[@mattymac1399]

Yes thanks, wíll keep an eye on their site for the release of the standard Hard Eight. Great movie.

[@johnxantoro5511]

Would be cool to see your home cinema setup (TV, sound and of course BD player...).

[@TheCarltonator]

Agreed!

[@benmansell9800]

I got into watching and collecting movies this year and your videos helped me learn new films and helped me with the boredom of lockdown so i appreciate all your hard work

[@ElliotCoen]

Thank you so much for those kind words, Ben. Happy New Year, my friend!

[@benmansell9800]

@@ElliotCoen happy new year Elliot to you snd all your family take care

[@mrmogford8117]

Same words as Ben here Cheers Elliot! And happy New Years

[@jaredwilliams827]

Never thought I'd hear someone talking about Goodbye, Dragon Inn but I glad I did!

[@ElliotCoen]

It's a film I hope to revisit a lot in the future!

[@jonhinson5701]

The emotional intimacy between the two women in Portrait of a Lady on Fire is so beautiful. It really is a work of art.

[@FilmBloggerSam]

So glad Goodbye, Dragon Inn made the cut. Love promoting films like that. Amazing list, pal! What an incredible year for Blu-Rays. If 2021 is half as good as 2020 we will be lucky indeed! Happy New Year

[@ElliotCoen]

Thanks so much for the recommendation, pal! I have a feeling 2021 is going to be a great year for boutique blu-rays 😁 Happy New Year!!

[@Rychu89]

Some class ones on the list. I have a fair few of them myself. One release that nobody seems to be talking about but has been a brilliant discovery for me is the Columbia Noir #1 box set from Indicator. So good.

[@TOAOM123]

Portrait of a lady on fire is phenomenal Totally snubbed last year

[@linusfotograf]

Great video mate! I thought you were going to cry or something at 22:30 :-)

[@ElliotCoen]

Aha whoops, I missed that one! Thanks for all the support, Linus!

[@linusfotograf]

@@ElliotCoen Your channel has become the number one blu-ray channel in 2020 I’d say. Congrats

[@ElliotCoen]

@@linusfotograf that's so kind of you to say. Happy New Year!

[@dravenlee4473]

Blind bought and loved Come and See. It wasn't quite as disturbing as I thought it would be but it's still surreal, unnerving and is completely unique. It might be my favorite war movie due to its realism and acting. I also bought Kwaidan but haven't gotten around to it yet. Sounds really interesting.

[@JustTheDiscs]

Good stuff Elliot! Very cool that you highlighted the imprint titles! Also, I need to see SPRING NIGHT SUMMER NIGHT.

[@ElliotCoen]

Thanks so much, Brian! I think you'd really like Spring Night Summer Night

[@britishbullpig]

Happy New Year Elliot. You've sold me on the John Ford set. I bought their Von Sternberg set this year and it blew me away. Hope you're well. Your videos are always so engaging and informative.

[@Alexj_movieguy]

Greetings from Los Angeles! Great video! Keep up the good work! I own a few of these! Definitely excited to delve into the essential Fellini box set, particularly Juliet of The Spirits which is probably my favorite Fellini film and Nights of Cabiria which was the first Fellini film I ever saw and which is basically my intro to art film.

[@LucasMarcoHigham]

Hey Elliot another great video and hurray so happy to see Essential Fellini set at number 1, that also be my number 1 pick as well (I was lucky enough to get it for Christmas!) I too love Fellini, glad we’ve got something in common there. Can’t wait to watch more of his films and revisit his masterpieces time and time again. Happy new year mate!

[@ElliotCoen]

Happy new year to you too mate! Thanks so much for all of the support. I look forward to chatting more movies with you!

[@nickkiernanwalker]

Thanks for all the great and informative videos this year Elliot, looking forward to more! Only had 3 of the 25 here, glad I got a copy of Kwaidan early. Surprised the Varda boxset wasn't on the list, I'm loving mine!

[@punypixel2795]

Totally agree with everything you said about Portrait of a Lady on Fire - absolutely incredible.

[@danboy77]

A Fistful Of Dynamite is one of the best films I have seen in a long time , totally up there in my opinion with Leone’s best and the flash back sequence’s are drenched in emotion you rarely see today.

[@ElliotCoen]

So true. Leone had a magic touch and Fistful of Dynamite is a prime example of his talent in blending big fun action with touching emotion! Thanks for watching, Danny!

[@BethanyPayneMovieBuff]

Really enjoyed this video and hearing your picks! Found some new films to check out, so I'm excited!

[@ShanghaiRooster]

Along with Arthouse Interiors, I must give a mention to the Arrow Gamera Complete Collection. A true labour of love by the company, which I think sold out within a fortnight! Others from this year for me would include the Criterion "War of the Worlds" (Imprint put this film out too I believe), The Apu Trilogy (Criterion region B), Eraserhead (Criterion region B), Mothra (MoC), and La Haine (BFI). I only have six of those on your list (nos. 6 - in standard BD, 8, 9, 10, 15 and 20), so plenty to investigate. Happy new year to and yours Elliot, and everybody reading these posts.

[@arthouseinteriors]

Wonderful lost Elliot! Only major omission of have to add to your list is the Arrow Gamera set and the Severin Al Adamson set. Not the greatest films ever, but absolutely beautiful, comprehensive sets!

[@ElliotCoen]

Both of those sets do look amazing. I unfortunately missed out on the Gamera set but I think I'll be getting the reissued smaller boxsets this year. Thanks for watching!

[@BirdArvid]

Watched my fist Tsai Ming-Liang film last night; The River. OMG; bleak is the best way to describe it. I read it's his hardest to watch, so I understand it gets better.. Completely agree about Portrait of a Lady on Fire! And excitedly saving up for the Fellini... Great list, Elliot, and Happy New Year!!!

[@VanessaButtino]

So happy that A Place In the Sun made your best-of list! I would love to get my hands on that one before it completely disappears.

[@slave_to_cinema]

Watching old videos of yours lol, and i love that you mentioned Takeshi Kitano and the BFI set! Hes a filmmaker i fell in love with years ago and we dont really talk about him much these days. Ive been meaning to pick up that set and its since gone oop on the website but is available on ebay and maybe Amazon. Anyway thanks Elliot and cheers!

[@MAFion]

The boutique standouts for me were the Midsommar 4k collector's edition from A24 and Criterion's Fellini Collection. The packaging and extras on each of these - WOW!

[@chrismohan]

Terrific list Elliott. It even has a few films that I thought I’d be the only one to mention ! 😂 I’ve also just decided to skip everyone talking about the Fellini set. I don’t think that extra temptation especially when I already own so many in other releases 👍 Happy new year to you and yours!

[@ElliotCoen]

Haha, yes resist all temptation! Thanks so much for the support in 2020, Chris. Happy New Year!

[@Bigal1982]

What a way to start the new year ... or end 2020 recommendations galore. Yet again another superb video mate, looking forward to more videos to come in 2021. All the best mate 👍🏻

[@ElliotCoen]

Thanks so much mate! Happy new year!

[@horrorintoj3577]

Great list mate, got quite a few of them titles this year 👌 hope you had a great Christmas

[@ElliotCoen]

Thanks so much mate, I did! I hope you did too, and happy new year!

[@tylerblair318]

We really need the Criterion bluray edition or an Arrow release of Don't Look Now. Such a crazy influential film for horror nowadays. Just look at Ari Aster's films and the influence is so obvious.

[@adamstevens2048]

Hi Elliot, great list! I recently purchased The Ladykillers on standard blu-ray and will get round to watching it soon. Glad to hear that the quality is good as I don't have a 4k player as of yet. Anyway keep up the good videos and happy new year!

[@cfbilly70]

Solid Metal Nightmares being region A was like a major kick in the balls.

[@jacobhibbard6405]

So you’re someone from UK. I live in the states but discovered my love for the Uk comedy scene last year and my favorite thing I bought last year was a region free DVD player. There’s so much I would have missed out on if I didn’t have a love for physical media.

[@darrenblizzard3851]

Nice list Elliott. I agree with most of them though maybe not necessarily the order. Some of the stuff you mentioned I have ordered but don't have yet (like the Fellini set) as it's still either in the postal ether or it is stored in a Shipito warehouse in Austria waiting for me to send it over in bulk (Amazon UK still not shipping direct to Australia) with other Amazon UK orders. That goes for the Varda set as well (US Shipito in this case) but I'm sure once I receive it that it will rank highly on my list. For me in terms of what I did get so far in my hands I'd add in the Arrow Gamera set which was absolutely stellar and I think Severin's Al Adamson set is also a wonderful and fun set. In terms of Indicator I agree the John Ford set is great but I would have picked the Fu Manchu Cycle box set. I think it's a stellar release. The Columbia Noir V1 set is also great. A late edition I received was Blue Undergrounds 4k treatment of Vigilante. A great package and fantastic transfer and a great vengeance film...Death Wish on steroids! A tad campy as well but that's ok. An honorable mention to the A24 special 4k release of Midsommar as well. Man the packaging and PQ is amazing. Not the greatest film I've seen but certainly a stellar release of it and I do still enjoy the film very much. Just a shame it doesn't have the theatrical version as well as more special features else it could have been right up the top of the list. The Warner Archive animated stuff were also highlights.... Space Ghost and Dino Boy, Josey and the Pussycats and the two Tex Avery volumes are great releases. I love my classic animation. I'll have to mention the cool Ultraman sets from Mill Creek too... They have been knocking those releases out of the park! And I cannot miss the 4k Columbia Classics volume 1 set either. Lawrence of Arabia and Ghandi in 4k are stunning! Oh bloody hell I guess I also should mention the suburb Jackie Chan stuff from 88 Films and also Eureka's lovely editions of The Man Who Laughed and The Painted Bird! And Mothra and ...well... I better stop there or this will go on forever! There's just so much good stuff in 2020 it's really hard to choose and my wallet is already weeping about 2021 but the cinephile and collector in me says bring it on!! if it's anything like 2020 then we are in for another great year of physical media for film fans!

[@bradjones9625]

Another great video.... Happy new year!

[@URBONED]

A great list and a handful of films I may need to pick up! Some of my favourites, Imprint Films: -Fire In The Sky -Essential Film Noir -The War of the Worlds Criterion: -Crash -Leave Her to Heaven -Come and See Vinegar Syndrome -LA Wars -Rad (and very likely Beastmaster, Fade to Black and Silent Madness once I get them from the Black Friday sale) Eureka: The Specialists Bliss And of course Dawn of the Dead, and Silent Night Deadly Night 1+2 from 101 films.

[@davidvankampen9545]

I think you mean Dawn of the Dead by Second Sight

[@URBONED]

@@davidvankampen9545 sorry, I was referring to the silent night boxset as everyone’s pretty well aware of the dawn of the dead set.

[@yvesdemunter1547]

Brandon Cronenberg’s POSSESSOR on 4K is one of my favourite movies|releases of 2020.

[@gaips]

Great vid! What camera and microphone are you using?

[@edtallman7264]

Really enjoyed your take on obscure and "arty" foreign language films, Thank you.

[@stevelangton2467]

Hi Elliot, fascinating list. I don't have the cash yet for 4K equipment, but your comments on the Crash disc make me wish I had. Some of the films you select hold great nostalgia for me. I was at the UK premiere of Crash at the London Film Festival when the screening came close to being banned, and caught Danger: Diabolik at London's NFT as part of a Mario Bava retrospective, many moons ago. Anyway, my own top 10 Blu-rays of 2020. 1 Czechmate: In Search of Jiri Menzel 2 Dawn of The Dead 3 Walkabout 4 Eve 5 Kwaidan 6 Night Tide 7 Spring Night Summer Night 8 Bela Lugosi/Poe triple bill 9 Dementia 10 Bait Many congratulations on for the continued success of your channel and Happy New Year! Keep on making great videos.

[@filmbuff2777]

I love the Fellini set. Mine sadly came with some superficial damage to the box, but I've been excited for it all year & seeing as how terrible a year it was, I didn't want to go through the hassle of returning it just because the box is damaged (I'm from Australia so its more of a hassle). I'm currently taking a break from it because I've been going through it & most of the extras, & I don't want to get burnt out on Fellini. I stopped after La Dolce Vita, which I think is a good place as he gets really out there from 8 1/2 onwards. I only got a region free player last March when I had to get a new TV, so I've only just been able to get region 1 discs that I can't get anywhere else, so some of these don't really count because they weren't released in 2020, but I LOVED how great Barry Lyndon's Criterion looked, as well as Blue Velvet, Andrei Tarkovsky & Eraserhead. I've been trying to catch up on some of these titles released a few years ago, so I've not gotten much released in 2020. Criterion's The Cremator is fairly new, & I saw that for the first time a few months ago & it was really good. Apart from the Fellini set, I was also super excited for The Irishman. I'm generally not into streaming, & I was lucky enough to see it in a cinema in 2019, & I was so excited when Criterion announced it. I've been too busy with the Fellini set to look at the extras, but I love the packaging & presentation too. I also quite liked the Scorsese shorts collection from Criterion, & the interview with him was much longer than I expected. The Great Escape from Criterion was also terrific.

[@kdkseven]

Have you ever discussed the Ingmar Bergman's Cinema set? I just recieved it yesterday (picked up from the recent Criterion sale), and... wow... it's mighty impressive.

[@jdseaton3386]

Amazing selection! I own a fair few. I think sometime in the future you should do a Top 30 or 50 directors of all time video. I hear you say a lot of filmakers being your best, but if you have 1 video trying to decifer who's at number 1, would be an interesting watch :)

[@lessthan1000000]

The 2 disc limited edition of After Midnight/The Battery, from Arrow is a must have.

[@ElliotCoen]

I need to give that one a go. Thanks for the recommendation!

[@tombolton1379]

Please tell me a place in the sun is a box set of all the episodes of that channel 4 property show? Because that deserves a boutique release.

[@ElliotCoen]

Haha imagine!!

[@NikstSWE]

Great top list Elliot! I have just recently started getting into collecting Criterion and other brands focused on more indie titles, like Eureka and 88 films and so on. And watching your videos does help inspire more purchases, which can both be a good thing and a bad thing LOL :-D I have one question for you though, that is more of a collector question in general. When you blind-buy titles, what do you do with movies you end up not liking or that you feel are just OK after you have watched them once? Movies do take up space and unfortunately, not all of them are worth much in the second hand market. Do you keep them just as a collectors item to fit in with your various collections? Do you try to sell them? Gift them to someone? Im not sure what to do with some titles I dont really want in my collection (not criterion or any of those brands, these are more "normal" brands with titles I dont care for). I really dont want to throw them away but Im not sure what to do with them. What do you do? Would love to know what others do as well :-)

[@hollywoodnova]

Fantastic list Elliot. Goodbye Dragon Inn may very well be my next purchase, HOWEVER, how important would you say it is to watch Dragon Inn first? I want to see it regardless, but does this now need to be a 2-film purchase?

[@ElliotCoen]

Hi Simon! No it isn't required viewing but the two films make a very good pair!

[@MrKahlerHahn]

new subscriber - lovely video and lovely calming voice

[@ElliotCoen]

Hi Andre, thank you so much. It's a pleasure to meet you!

[@MrKahlerHahn]

@@ElliotCoen My wallet will surely learn to hate you ;)

[@travissorensen7614]

Great list and video, Elliot. How many releases did you start with before narrowing it to 25?

[@ElliotCoen]

Thanks so much, Travis! I started with a longlist of about 70 or 80 titles from the year that I enjoyed, mostly from the boutique labels mentioned in the top 25

[@philipmarinello8802]

Had no idea Goodbye Dragon Inn had a new release! Need to track that down. And that Dawn of the Dead set is incredible!! Hope I can snag one eventually.

[@themovievault]

Great list Elliot, I need to grab some of these, funds pending of course 😂

[@JJ-nu3we]

Indicator have two of my favorite Howard Hawks movies coming next year Twentieth Century and The Criminal Code. So jealous that you guys are getting these. I’d kill for for a US release of these and the Ford collection.

[@ElliotCoen]

I'm very excited for those two Hawks movies. I've not seen either of them, but I'm a big fan of his later works such as Rio Bravo and Red River!

[@JJ-nu3we]

@@ElliotCoen you’re in for such a treat! Twentieth century is one of the all time great screwball comedies and Criminal Code is what put Boris Karloff on the map.

[@AdamOnVinyl]

Hard 8 is awesome! Also The Beastmaster from Vinegar Syndrome is amazing.

[@ElliotCoen]

Yes! That Beastmaster release looks lovely. I need to hook up with Vinegar Syndrome in 2021

[@AdamOnVinyl]

Elliott you won't be disappointed. Vinegar Syndrome has the best slip covers too. I think they are the best boutique blu-ray label out there right now.

[@andremattozo]

What an incredible collection. Friend, do you have a website or page where you check the releases? Because it's a lot of labels from different countries.

[@TheGrimmy11]

You get quite a lot of Region A import Blu-Rays. Do you have a separate American player too or have you got a modded multi region one? What are you rocking?

[@ElliotCoen]

Yes got a modded player! An Oppo UDP 203. It does the job perfectly for me.

[@TheGrimmy11]

@@ElliotCoen Nice! Great video. Think I'll have to get a modded 4K player at some point. Want to update my ancient audio receiver and maybe my projector first though.

[@bbattersby2345]

Now that Danger Diabolik and Hard Eight made the list I know that there might be a Wave 3 Imprint video on the horizon

[@static3821]

This is me during 2020- 22:28

[@ElliotCoen]

Haha, I love it

[@hollywoodnova]

I can't be the only person who thought for a SPLIT SECOND you were overcome with emotion when talking about Nicolas Roeg.

[@Dan89201]

Can I make a video suggestion? Out of all the boutique labels which do you think would be most likely to start releasing tv and if all the labels did what shows would you like to be released by each label?

[@felmonto]

An excellent KZbin channel with a smart and beautiful presenter.

[@ElliotCoen]

Thank you so much, Felipe!

[@danielmalchovichcorleone4031]

So manny good Films & Blu Ray very good video from México 🙌👐👍.

[@vinnycaprezzi4598]

I actually got my first ever criterion for Christmas this year, that being Come and See. Saw it recently for the first time, and it was brilliant.

[@ElliotCoen]

Excellent, welcome to the club, Neil 😁

[@C--A]

Neil Bean it's one of the best ever war films (though it's really a anti war film) you should also watch The Big Red One reconstructed edition, great film 👌🏾 shame it's not got a 4k scan blu ray or 4k blu ray. It would look awesome.

[@ThePanPiper89]

Enjoyed this! Jotted down a few. And I concur with The Cranes Are Flying and Kwaidan. 2021 I want a region B Woman In The Dunes 🤞 2020 gave me Kwaidan so I can hope.

[@darrendarren9730]

La Dolce Vita is the same transfer as the old Criterion bluray. Other than that, good list. I shouldve picked up Hard Eight when I had the chance.

[@Infametheus]

Never heard of Imprint films. Quick look at their site and no mention of region free or not, do you know if they are or not?

[@yvesdemunter1547]

Tsai Ming-Liang; hoping for a Blu-ray release of Rizi|Days

[@chrlbrclyhrrs]

Do you have a region free Blu Ray player? If so, which do you recommend? So many films I'd love but can't get them in region B!

[@rikaardyyz3039]

What's best place to get " A Place on the sun", it's on Amazon £36 although I think you can get it from Australia for maybe 1/4 less ?? Thanks

[@joshyposhy727]

Arrows 'The Game' release is pretty excellent too

[@ElliotCoen]

I still need to get that one. Thanks for the recommendation, Joshua!

[@CubanBeastt]

So what exactly makes these boutique? Is it the price?

[@philipmcritchie7309]

I'm into films and watches and it's all about the unsourceable grail isn't it. Humans are funny. Just watched Vagabond by Agnes Varda. A masterpiece..

[@lando2743]

Surprised the Gamera Complete Collection isn’t on here

[@ElliotCoen]

It's one of those releases I didn't manage to get my hands on unfortunately! I'm hoping to get the reissued boxsets this year.

[@lando2743]

Yeah same, I wasn’t familiar with Arrow until recently, so I didn’t even know about until it was already completely sold out. Hoping I can eventually grab a copy. It would look nice next to my Godzilla Criterion set

[@charlyvg2521]

Hey, still waiting for the fellini special video, grettings frim mexico.

[@fraancetate8759]

No EverythingBlu Psycho 1960 Deluxe 4K Boxset?

[@elliot157]

Kwaidan is great but what do you think of the human condition trilogy?

[@Lee-fn6en]

I bought crash in 4k on apple tv earlier for £2.99! Im not sure if i enjoyed or not but I'm still thinking about it, so i guess that's something! Ha

[@brucetownes8421]

I'd like to see John Sayles' Lone Star, a boutique or special release of Nocturnal Animals with a director's commentary, and for god's sakes, someone put out Ladybug, Ladybug!

[@miguelsantos6913]

Do you have Letterboxd?

[@Ikeyboy101]

Happy new year all.

[@ElliotCoen]

Happy new year, my friend!

[@lawlorie24]

Hasn't Takeshi made like 60 plus movies? Re-watching his filmography would take me a year.

[@ElliotCoen]

I only meant the films he's directed, apologies. I can't remember how many that is but it's fewer than 20 features for sure.

[@lawlorie24]

@@ElliotCoen According to IMDB he is credited as director for 61 feature movies, I love Takeshi Miike he is somewhat quirky and I would say very uneven some are master pieces others B-Movies but still very enjoyable due to his unique style.

[@ElliotCoen]

@@lawlorie24 I'm talking about Takeshi Kitano in this video, not Takashi Miike, but I can understand the confusion

[@lawlorie24]

@@ElliotCoen Well then I understand

[@darkphoenix474]

No Varda?

[@Victor-E-R]

How about Friday 13th???

[@divyenjoshi1168]

How do you watch them if they're not EU Region?

[@ElliotCoen]

I have a multi-region blu-ray player than can play blu-ray discs from anywhere in the world :)

[@divyenjoshi1168]

@@ElliotCoen Which one would you recommend?

[@fabulousbakerboy]

Happy New Year! .... all of these packages seem great; a lot of effort goes into these releases, most of the movies you show are fantastic, your vids are well-produced.... but many of these vids (not just your vids, there are many people on YT who create the same kind of content) just feel like commercials for these so-called 'boutique' labels. These vids lack any form of criticism... it's a shame really. There's a group of filmbuffs out there who don't (yet) have a good and steady job/income and would also like to be introduced to the cinema of Tsukamoto. And Tsukamoto's stylish, experimental, subversive cinema will not be everybody's cup of tea! For sure! So why recommend a $100 ($300 at the moment) boxset as 'an introduction to...'? These boutique labels are incredibly expensive! You live in the UK. Why don't you recommend the earlier individual blu-ray releases of Tsukamoto's work by Third Window e.g.? They cost under £10. Try 2 of them, see if you like Tsukamoto's work, and then contemplate about buying this great expensive Arrow set. I know you mean no harm, but this almost blind adoration for boutique labels in the YT community is sometimes a little bit annoying. You saw one Bruce Lee movie in your life, and then you decide to import a $100 Blu-ray set of his movies? Why? You know as well as me that 'mediumrare' released a Bruce Lee Blu-ray box in the UK 4 years ago containing all of his films (and 2 documentaries). And you can buy this one for almost one third of that price (£30?). Same goes for the phenomenal 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire'..... £9 for the Artificial Eye Blu-ray. What will it cost you to import the Criterion? 3 times as much? When you haven't watched that movie before that's not a phenomenal recommendation, a £30 blindbuy. I'm bitching a little bit, and i really mean no harm, and maybe it's not fair of me to complain about this on your channel specifically but I would love to see some kind of nuance in these vids on YT. Stay well!

[@ElliotCoen]

Hello. First of all, thanks for watching and happy new year to you too! To answer your point about criticism - I'm not really a critic. This channel is just a passion of mine, a hobby, and certainly not my profession. I do review certain things on my channel, recently a lot of 4K discs, and you'll see I do become critical in those. But as for these recommendation videos or top lists, I'm only talking about things I like, so naturally there will be little criticism of the discs. They wouldn't be appearing in the lists if there were lots of issues to point out. If I recommend an expensive boxset as an introduction to a filmmaker, that's up to the viewer to decide whether that's for them or not. It's always wise to check multiple sources before making an informed purchase. I merely want to highlight when a label such as Arrow Video put great care into a release like they did with the Tsukamoto set. I can't recommend those Third Window blu-rays because I don't own them and haven't watched them, so that would be dishonest. I can only put forward opinions on the discs I own. As to why I spend my money as I do, I've talked a lot about it on this channel. I want to support the labels I already have a great relationship with. Blind adoration, as you've put it, suggests an unearned loyalty. I have bought hundreds of discs from the likes of Criterion, Indicator, and Arrow, and loved them. No label is perfect, but these companies have a great track record with me. I vote with my wallet, and I'd much rather pay the higher ticket for a film I haven't seen if it means supporting a company I have trust in. You bring up Artificial Eye which is a label I do not have full trust in - a lot of their releases are scant on special features, suffer from rushed encoding and compression etc. I only tend to go with them if there isn't another option. I certainly appreciate that not everyone will be in a similar financial situation to me, but I can only talk about what I have been buying and watching. I would not be genuine if I did otherwise. I think many people still find these videos useful, regardless of finances, because I am able to highlight films, filmmakers, and film movements that they may not have heard about otherwise. I hope that helps answer your questions, and thanks again for supporting the channel!

[@fabulousbakerboy]

@@ElliotCoen First of all; thank you for this extensive reply. But i'm still having some issues with it... 'If I recommend an expensive boxset as an introduction to a filmmaker, that's up to the viewer to decide whether that's for them or not'.... With over 13000 subscribers to your channel, and making vids that WILL influence the buying habits/choices of your viewers, you also obtained some kind of responsibility towards your audience. In the case of an expensive boxset that contains the works of Tsukamoto, an outlaw filmmaker whose films are most certainly an 'acquired taste', i think you should/could point out to your viewers that there are cheaper and safer ways to have 'a first meeting' with this director (streaming, an individual Blu-release...) while still promoting this Arrow boxset. I don't think your argument of not owning (and recommending) the Third Window discs is valid in this case, cause you admitted not having watched half of the films (the content, not the presentation) in the Arrow boxset. 'I think many people still find these videos useful, regardless of finances, because I am able to highlight films, filmmakers, and film movements that they may not have heard about otherwise.' And with that also comes some kind of responsibiliy to your viewers because, in the case of Tsukamoto, you don't provide us with a reason (or any context) to explore his films in this vid. You left out your filmknowledge... you don't make a comparison in this vid... you don't say 'people who like the cinema of Sogo Ishii probably should check this out' and you don't say 'filmbuffs who don't like experimental avant-garde cinema probably should not buy this set' ... you just state 'it's amazing'... You can't recommend a big Sharunas Bartas set to first-time viewers without mentioning Tarkovsky or Tarr.... (or even Angelopoulos).. people will buy this stuff because they like and trust you and your channel And there will be some subscribers among those 13000 who, after watching your video' will blindbuy this expensive set, and two movies in they will realise buying this was a big mistake. So i disagree with you..... but that's not the end of the world! :) Furthermore.... Artifical Eye is a boutique label. They were also big players on the dvdmarket (I've been collecting movies for about 25 years now). In the case of 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire', the AE release provides us with better supplements; an audiocommentary and a 55 minute interview. And it will cost you under £10! you're not a Criterion executive, are you? ;)

[@ElliotCoen]

@@fabulousbakerboy If you have issues with my reply, I don't know what else to say to you really. I do things my way because it's the only way I know how to. You're the only person who has ever expressed anything like this to me before about this channel, so I cannot change how I do things for the sake of one person. I hope you understand that, and thanks again for watching.

[@fabulousbakerboy]

@@ElliotCoen We agree to disagree.... no hard feelings.

[@clivelathrope3421]

Is the Fellini Collection Region B ?

[@dlat80]

No, it isn't.

[@clivelathrope3421]

Thanks both

[@Paulcrastinator2236]

@@BlownMacTruck or just buy a multi region player.

[@EdjacsProductions]

Someone tell me this is jackfragss

[@ElliotCoen]

It is.

[@AlexStruck]

Hello Elliott, just found your channel here the other the day and I love your content. I was wondering if you have a Letterboxd account or plan to make one, so we can follow what you watch on a daily basis?

[@ElliotCoen]

Hi Laurits, thank you so much! Yes, you can follow me on Letterboxd here letterboxd.com/Elliot_Coen/

[@AlexStruck]

Great! Following!

[@beanguy]

What do you mean by boutique blu-ray release?

[@ShanghaiRooster]

A boutique label is one which licenses selected movies, picked for their excellence or importance to film history. The kind of stuff many companies just pass over completely for whatever reason. So, Criterion, Arrow, Indicator, BFI, Masters of Cinema, Imprint, Second Sight etc.

[@linusfotograf]

Smaller labels who put more care into their releases.

[@NR-ff9jw]

Wanna let me get the Dawn of the Dead shipped to your place since they don’t ship to the US? Lol

[@conorfurlong]

I watched "Come and See" for the first time a few weeks ago. Brilliant film but i think the whole "it's the most disturbing, harrowing war film ever made" thing is really over-hyped. It's a war film, it refers to atrocities obviously, but I didn't find it harrowing at all. For one thing, you don't actually see any of the violence on camera. I found it much easier to watch than, say Schindler's List.

[@joshyposhy727]

Completely agree with you, it is way over hyped. Still a good film though

[@pholly]

Horrible list

[@ElliotCoen]

Let's hear yours then ;)