Holiday Gift Guide 2021

With Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Small Business Saturday on the horizon, it’s that time of the year again to start thinking about gift ideas. Below, I have compiled a list of recommended 4Ks, Blu-rays, Books, TV Series sets and albums to aid you in your holiday shopping spree. On with the list!

4Ks:
* Indiana Jones Collection- While we all wait for the fifth film, why not go back and revisit the first 4 with this glorious new 4K box set?
* Middle-Earth: 31-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition- For Lord of the Rings fans, it doesn’t get any better than this box set which contains the theatrical and extended edition cuts of all of the LOTR and Hobbit films.
* The Karate Kid Collection- Why not revisit the first 3 films while you wait for Cobra Kai season 4?
* Love and Monsters- I know I’ve praised this film quite a bit on here, but I will continue to do so! It deserves way more of an audience than it currently has.
* Tremors- It doesn’t get much more entertaining than this classic monster movie.
* Mad Max Anthology- All 4 films in the Mad Max franchise are available together on 4K for the first time.
* Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory- Two words: Gene Wilder.
* Halloween 1-5- One of the most exciting 4K releases this year comes from Scream Factory who put out the first 5 Halloween films. Let’s hope the subsequent sequels aren’t far behind!
* Soul- Grab a hankie and pick up Pixar’s 2020 gem. To be fair, you need a hankie for most of the Pixar movies.
* Citizen Kane- Often cited as the greatest film ever made, Orson Welles’ masterpiece gets a new 4K edition from boutique label Criterion.
* Godzilla (2014)- One of my favorite films of the past decade and one of the very best Godzilla films.
* Godzilla Vs. Kong- Arguably the best Vs. movie ever made.
* Almost Famous Steelbook- Cameron Crowe’s partially autobiographical coming-of-age story about love and music ages well.
* Universal Classic Monsters: Icons Of Horror Collection- Horror movies don’t get much better than “Frankenstein,” “The Invisible Man,” “The Wolf Man” and “Dracula.”
* Scream- Before 2022’s “Scream” comes out, why not revisit the best horror film of the 90’s?
* Transformers: The Movie- For the Transformers fan on your list, you can’t go wrong with the 1986 animated movie.
* Mortal Kombat (2021)- One of the best video game movies period.
* A Quiet Place Part 2- The rare sequel that is just as good if not better than the first.
* My Fair Lady- The Audrey Hepburn starring musical is a timeless classic.
* In The Heights- The feature film adaptation of the Broadway musical was a highlight of 2021.
* Nobody- One of 2021’s most satisfying movies is this action flick starring Bob Odenkirk.
* F9- The saga about family races on with the latest installment in the action franchise.
* Batman: Year One- Commemorative Edition- Still one of the best DC animated films around.
* Star Trek: The Original 4-Movie Collection- The first 4 Trek films get the 4K treatment in one of the year’s best releases.
* The Suicide Squad- James Gunn entered the DC Universe with this wild sequel.
* Inglourious Basterds- Tarantino’s revisionist WWII film gets the 4K treatment. It also comes with the original “Inglorious Bastards” as an added bonus.
* Clockwork Orange- Stanley Kubrick’s cult classic has never looked better.
* Dune (1984)- David Lynch’s version pales to 2021’s masterpiece, but this Blu-ray box set is a treasure in and out of itself (especially for fans of the cult filmmaker).
* The Shawshank Redemption- Frank Darabont’s adaptation of the Stephen King story is one of the most treasured movies of the past 30 years.
* Vigilante- An intense grindhouse movie starring the late great Robert Forster.
* Batman: Soul Of The Dragon- A fun Elseworlds story that pays homage to martial arts cinema, blaxploitation, James Bond and DC Comics history.

Blu-rays:
* Graveyards Of Honor- Fans of Japanese cinema should check out this box set from Arrow Video which contains Kinji Fukasaku’s 1975 gangster film “Graveyards Of Honor” AND 2002’s version by the prolific director Takashi Miike.
* The Court Jester: Paramount Presents- Danny Kaye’s best movie.
* Pariah Criterion- A groundbreaking LGBTQ movie.
* Fatman- If you’re looking for a different sort of Christmas movie, you needn’t look further than this one starring Mel Gibson.
* Elizabethtown: Paramount Presents- When it comes to Cameron Crowe everyone talks about “Jerry Maguire” and “Almost Famous,” but this moving drama-comedy deserves more love.
* Nightmare Alley Criterion- Guillermo del Toro’s remake is on the way, but check out the original film noir classic.
* Gamera: The Showa Era and The Heisei Era Box Sets- Arrow Video gave Kaiju fans a real treat this year with two box set releases of the early Gamera films of the Showa era and the fantastic Heisei Era.
* Breakdown: Paramount Presents- This intense thriller starring Kurt Russell still holds up.
* The Buster Keaton Collection Volume 4: Go West and College- 2 more gems from the silent film comedian.
* Jazz On A Summer’s Day- A wonderful concert movie.
* The Eurocrypt Of Christopher Lee- Cult film lovers will be over the moon for Severin’s collection of little seen European films starring Christopher Lee that include “Castle Of The Living Dead,” “Challenge The Devil,” “Crypt Of The Vampire,” “Sherlock Holmes And The Deadly Necklace,” “The Torture Chamber Of Dr. Sadism,” and the TV series “Theatre Macabre.”
* John Hughes 5-Movie Collection- John Hughes fans will be in heaven with this set containing “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Some Kind Of Wonderful,” “Pretty In Pink,” “She’s Having A Baby,” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.”
* Freaky- A delightful body swap horror-comedy.
* Zack Snyder’s Justice League- The fan favorite Snyder Cut hits home video.
* Friday The 13th 8-Movie Collection- Let’s face it, these are the best F13 movies (although I have a soft spot for “Jason X”). If you don’t want to spend more for a bigger set, this more affordable Blu-ray collection of the first 8 films is the way to go.
* Raining In The Mountain- A fantastic lesser known martial arts film that is worth seeking out.
* Host- You may not have heard of this one, but it should be on your radar as it’s easily one of the scariest horror films of the past decade.
* Raya And The Last Dragon- An emotional new animated film from Disney.
* Last Train To Gun Hill: Paramount Presents- A great underrated western film with Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn.
* Explorers- A thoroughly entertaining 80’s kidventure movie from filmmaker Joe Dante.
* Pickup On South Street Criterion- Samuel Fuller’s film noir is worth picking up.
* Randolph Scott Western Collection- 12 movies of the classic western actor including masterpieces like “Ride Lonesome” and “The Tall T.”
* Alone In The Dark- An unsettling horror film/slasher that deserves more attention.
* Pump Up The Volume- A top tier coming-of-age movie.
* Original Cast Album: Company Criterion- An insightful behind-the-scenes documentary about recording the cast album for the musical “Company.”
* Coraline: LAIKA Studios Edition- LAIKA’s best film gets a new Blu-ray release from Shout! Factory.
* Kinky Boots: The Musical- This live recording of the stage show from London is a must for the musical lover on your list.
* Black Widow- The long awaited BW stand-alone movie was well worth the wait.
* The Dead Zone- One of David Cronenberg’s best movies AND one of the best Stephen King adaptations.
* Underneath- A highly underrated Steven Soderbergh neo-noir.

TV Series:
* Thundarr The Barbarian- The Complete Series DVD and Blu-ray- Thanks to the fine folks at Warner Archive, all 21 episodes of the Hanna-Barbera animated sci-fi/fantasy series have now been released on Blu-ray and DVD. Not only did this cult series clearly inspire He-Man, but it’s also a creative, action-packed series filled with great villain designs, detailed environments, Thundarr’s awesome sword, and, of course, Ookla The Mok!
* Smallville: The Complete Series Blu-ray- One of the best and most influential comic book series of all time is finally released in a complete series collection on Blu-ray for the first time just in time for the show’s 20th anniversary.
* Star Trek: The Original Series- The Complete Series Blu-ray Steelbook- Live, Long and Prosper and absorb the original Trek series which has received a new Blu-ray re-release.
* Wonder Showzen: The Complete Series DVD- This hilarious oddball parody of children’s educational series is for adults only.
* NCIS: New Orleans- The Complete Series- NCIS fans can watch the spin-off series in its entirety now thanks to this new complete series set release.
* Primal Season 1 Blu-ray- Genndy Tartakovsky’s animated series about a T-Rex and a caveman is must see TV.
* Dolly: The Ultimate Collection 6-Disc DVD- Dolly Parton aficionados should take note of this set which includes “Dolly” TV episodes, specials, concerts, music videos and more.
* The Legend Of Korra: The Complete Series Blu-ray- If you’ve finished “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” scope out the follow-up series too.
* Superman: The Animated Series- The Complete Series- If you cherish “Batman: The Animated Series” or know someone who does it, the underrated Superman: TAS is worth looking into.
* The Soul Of The Midnight Special DVD- A dazzling array of soul, funk, rock and disco performances from “The Midnight Special” TV series.

Books:
* Star Wars: The High Republic: Light of the Jedi- The first and still best novel in the new High Republic book series.
* The Art Of The Mitchells Vs. The Machines- A splendid film art book dedicated to one of the year’s best films.
* Star Wars: Year By Year: A Visual History- New Edition- For Star Wars lovers, this book provides a wonderful trip down memory lane.
* The Alex Ross Marvel Comics Poster Book- What’s better than a collection of one of the greatest comic book artist’s work?
* Star Wars: Darth Bane: Path Of Destruction: The Essential Legends Collection- It may no longer be canon, but the first book in the Darth Bane trilogy is still one of the best Star Wars novels to date.
* Star Wars: The Art Of Galaxy’s Edge- You might be like me and hope to visit Galaxy’s Edge someday. In the meantime, why not pour over a book featuring tons of artwork and tidbits about the Disney Parks land?
* The Essential Directors- There’s been no shortage of great Turner Classic Movies Presents books lately, but this one about the great directors is a must read.
* The DC Comics Encyclopedia: New Edition- An informative and handy coffee table book for DC Comics lovers.
* Dark City: The Lost World Of Noir- Essential reading for film noir fans.

Albums:
* Weezer- OK Human and Van Weezer- Weezer released 2 albums this year and both rank among their best work.
* Goose- Shenanigans Nite Out- One of my favorite modern bands is this Connecticut based jam band. This new album is their best to date.
* Billy Strings- Renewal- The multi-talented bluegrass/jamgrass band’s latest album is a must.
* Lana Del Rey- Chemtrails Over The Country Club and Blue Banisters- Like Weezer, singer/songwriter Lana Del Rey added 2 new albums to her already brilliant discography in 2021.
* Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band: The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concert- See Springsteen in his prime with this archival concert release.
That’s all for this year, folks!
November 22, 2021 - Posted by nicklyons1 | List | 4K, A Quiet Place Part 2, Albums, Almost Famous, Alone In The Dark, Batman: Soul Of The Dragon, Batman: Year One, Billy Strings, Black Friday, Black Widow, blu-ray, Books, Breakdown, Citizen Kane 4K, Clockwork Orange, Coraline, Cyber Monday, Dark City: The Lost World Of Noir, Darth Bane, Dolly Parton, Dune, Elizabethtown, Explorers, F9, Fatman, Freaky, Friday The 13th 8-Movie Collection, Gamera: The Heisei Era, Gamera: The Showa Era, Gift Guide, Gift Ideas, Godzilla (2014), Godzilla Vs. Kong, Goose, Graveyards Of Honor, Halloween 4Ks, Holiday Gift Guide 2021, Holiday Shopping, In The Heights, Indiana Jones, Inglourious Basterds, Jazz On A Summer's Day, John Hughes 5-Movie Collection, Kinky Boots, Lana Del Rey, Last Train To Gun Hill, Love And Monsters, Mad Max Anthology, Middle-Earth 4K, MortalKombat (2021), My Fair Lady, NCIS: New Orleans, Nightmare Alley, Nobody, Original Cast Album: Company, Pariah, Pickup On South Street, Primal, Pump Up The Volume, Raining In the Mountain, Randolph Scott Western Collection, Scream, Small Business Saturday, Smallville, Soul, Star Trek: The Original 4-Movie Collection, Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Wars: The High Republic: Light Of The Jedi, Star Wars: Year By Year, Superman: The Animated Series, The Alex Ross Marvel Comics Poster Book, The Art of The Mitchells Vs. The Machines, The Buster Keaton Collection Volume 4, The Court Jester, The DC Comics Encyclopedia, The Dead Zone, The Essential Directors, The Eurocrypt Of Christopher Lee, The Karate Kid Collection, The Legend of Korra, The Shawshank Redemption, The Soul Of The Midnight Special, The Suicide Squad, Thundarr The Barbarian, Transformers: The Movie, Tremors, TV Series, Underneath, Universal Classic Monsters: Icons Of Horror Collection, Vigilante, Weezer, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Wonder Showzen, Zack Snyder's Justice League
No comments yet.
About DVD Corner
DVDCorner.net’s blog contains reviews of the latest DVD, 4K and Blu-ray discs, disc news, as well as reviews of other media items such as graphic novels, books, board/card games, and more. DVDCorner has been around for nearly 17 years now and this is our latest evolution. We are not affiliated with any other website that contains DVDCorner in its title nor do we sell DVDs or Blu-rays. We only review titles sent to us from different studios. Thanks for dropping by from all of us at DVDCorner.net.
Share This Blog
Blogroll
Pages
Reviews
DVDCorner’s Archives
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
-
Join 374 other subscribers
Meta
- Academy Awards Action Movie Alfred Hitchcock Animated Film Animated Movie Animated Series animation Arrow Academy Arrow Video Batman Bill Corbett Bruce Willis Chewbacca Christmas Movie Classic Movie Comedy Comedy Movie Criterion Collection Darth Vader DC Comics Disney Doctor Who documentary Film Movement Film Noir Funimation Goku Han Solo Hayao Miyazaki HBO horror Horror Comedy Horror Film Horror Movie IDW IDW Comics IDW Publishing Joel Hodgson Jon Pertwee Kevin Murphy Marvel Matt Smith Mike Nelson musical Mystery Science Theater 3000 Netflix Nicolas Cage Obi-Wan Kenobi Oscars Pixar Rey Rifftrax Sci-fi Scream Factory Shout! Factory Star Trek Star Trek: Discovery Star Wars Star Wars- The Clone Wars Star Wars Book Star Wars Books Star Wars Comic Book Star Wars Rebels Stephen King Studio Ghibli Superman The Flash Tom Baker Viz Media Warner Archive western Western Film Western Movie Wonder Woman Zombies
Leave a Reply