This week's DVD slate offers a chance to catch up with the most acclaimed movie of the year. No, not The Dark Knight–though if there's anyone out there who hasn't yet seen Christopher Nolan's unsettling, often thrilling exploration on moral choice and superheroics, now's certainly the time. But if you're looking for a 2008 movie that has a "100% Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes (unlike The Dark Knight's 94%), that would be Man On Wire, James Marsh's deeply moving (if flawed) documentary about Philippe Petit, the man who walked between the two World Trade Center towers on a tightrope back in 1974.
Or, for a different kind of wildly acclaimed wire, there's always the complete series set of HBO's The Wire, which people seem to think is pretty good. And because we can't post an A.V. Club article about the best of TV without sparking a pointless debate, we feel obliged to note that the DVD set of Lost's spectacular fourth season is also available today. Lost or The Wire? The Wire or Lost? We'll duck out of the way now and let you folks duke it out.
If you need us, we'll be enjoying two of the best cult foreign films of recent decades: Lars Von Trier's Europa (a.k.a. Zentropa), now part of The Criterion Collection, and the long-overdue special edition of Olivier Assayas' Irma Vep. Or perhaps we'll delve further into one of the best DVD sets of the year: Murnau, Borzage & Fox, which tracks the glory years of two of silent cinema's masters. (Ful review coming tomorrow.) The best films of '08, or the best of 1928? Again, we'll leave it up to you.
AC/DC: Church Of Rock–The Bon Scott Years (Koch, $18.99)
The All-Star Christmas Show (Video Music, $14.95)
Anamorph (IFC, $19.95)
Another Gay Sequel (TLA, $24.99)
Blitzkrieg: Escape From Stalag 69 (Wild Eye, $19.99)
The Bloody Ape (Wild Eye, $19.99)
Bob Dylan: Changing Tracks (Classic Rock Legends, $14.99)
Boyz II Men: Motown Live–A Journey Through Hitsville U.S.A. (Decca, $19.98)
Chamber Of Horrors/Brides Of Fu Manchu (Warner, $19.98)
Change My Life (Synkronized USA, $24.98)
The Dark Knight (Warner, $28.98/$34.98; Blu-Ray, $35.99)
Deadwood: The Complete Series (HBO, $179.97)
Decade In The Sun: The Best Of Stereophonics (Fontana Universal, $16.98)
Dragon Ball GT: Season One (Funimation, $49.98)
The Elder Son (Peace Arch, $29.99)
Europa (Criterion, $39.95)
FLOW: For Love Of Water (Oscilloscope, $29.95)
Gunsmoke: The Third Season, Vol. 1 (Paramount, $37.99)
Hair: Let The Sunshine In (Alive Mind, $24.98)
Happy Days: The Fourth Season (Paramount, $40.99)
Holy Hustler (Maverick, $16.98)
Horton Hears A Who (20th Century Fox, $29.98/$34.98; Blu-Ray, $39.99)
I Am Legend: Ultimate Collector's Edition (Warner $49.98; Blu-Ray, $59.98)
Irma Vep (Zeitgeist, $26.99)
Kid Rock: Insomnia Unauthorized (Video Music, $19.95)
Kirby: Kappy New Year & Other Adventures (Funimation, $14.98)
Lost: The Complete Fourth Season (Buena Vista, $59.99; Blu-Ray, $96.99)
Lyrical Nanoha: The First Season (Funimation, $59.98)
Man On Wire (Magnolia, $26.98)
The Man Who Came Back (Lionsgate, $26.98)
McLeod's Daughters: The Complete Seventh Season (Koch, $79.98)
Murnau, Borzage And Fox (20th Century Fox, $239.98)
Not On Your Nellie: The Complete First Season (Wham! USA, $14.95)
Open Window (Image, $27.98)
Peter & The Wolf (MXOW9, $19.98)
The Philadelphia Phillies 2008 World Series Collector's Edition (A&E;, $79.95)
Rawhide: The Third Season, Vol. 2 (Paramount, $40.99)
Roadrunner United: The Concert (Roadrunner, $24.98)
Shelly Duvall's Bedtime Stories (Starmaker II, $39.99)
The Shuttered Room/It! (Warner, $19.98)
Swingtown: The First Season (Paramount, $40.99)
Takva: A Man's Fear Of God (Koch, $26.98)
A Viking Saga: Son Of Thor (Synkronized USA, $24.98)
The Wire: The Complete Series (HBO, $249.99)
Woman On The Beach (New Yorker, $29.95)
WWE: Sting (World Wrestling, $29.95)
WWE: The Twisted, Disturbed Life Of Kane (World Wrestling, $34.95)