2024 had its usual ups and downs in terms of world events and politics but, personally, I feel it was a strong year for films. I was rarely disappointed by any of the new titles I saw at the cinema and the boutique Blu-ray market has been booming. We’ve had so many first-rate physical releases this year it’s untrue. It’s kept us busy here at Blueprint: Review, covering as many as we can in our free time (none of us get paid for this, if you’re not aware) and I’ve been spending far more money than I’d care to admit on discs I haven’t reviewed here.

If you’re interested in what I saw in 2024 and beyond, I try to keep tabs of everything I watch, new or otherwise, at Letterboxd. It’s a cool site if you’re not aware of it, offering a social network for film geeks and a place to track the films you’ve seen or want to see.

As usual for this time of the year, I’ve compiled a list of my favourite new films, physical media releases and first-time watches of 2024, and I’ve asked my fellow writers to do the same.

A new feature this year, however, is that I got together with Andy Goulding, Leon Vegas and Justin Richards to discuss our favourites for a special edition of the podcast. It was an epic discussion, so I’ve split the episode into two slightly more digestible chunks. Part 1 focuses on films first released in the UK in 2024 and part 2 looks at our favourite physical releases and first-time watches. You can listen using the embedded players below or by searching for the Blueprint: Review Podcast on most of the major podcast providers.

Part 1 – Favourite new releases

Part 2 – Favourite physical releases and first-time watches

I’ve included links to reviews when available.

David Brook

Top 10 New Releases

(going by widespread UK release dates, though I caught a few of these early at festivals and such)

10. Conclave – Superb performances and a gripping narrative. Polished, grown-up filmmaking of the highest order. It’s only a last minute twist that didn’t settle well with me, feeling a little too ‘hot topic’ and unnecessary.

9. Flow – This animated adventure isn’t out yet in the UK but I was lucky enough to be able to see it and was blown away. It’s a unique, strikingly beautiful and captivating tale.

8. The Substance – Quite an experience. Maybe too much for me in places but you’ve got to admire Coralie Fargeat’s balls for going all in. It’s got a Cronenberg does Neon Demon vibe with some early Peter Jackson thrown in for good measure. Demi Moore and Denis Quaid are fantastic too.

7. That They May Face the Rising Sun – A beautifully tender portrait of life and death in rural Ireland.
Gentle, melancholic and poignant but brimming with humanity and utterly intoxicating.

6. On Falling – Another one that’s not out yet but I was lucky to catch at a festival. On Falling quietly and effectively portrays the loneliness and isolation of modern life, particularly for immigrants and shift workers. Subtle and deliberate but nonetheless engrossing and moving.

5. Hundreds of Beavers – An inventive, visually striking and wildly funny madcap live-action cartoon-silent movie hybrid, this is low budget filmmaking at its most enjoyable. It needs to be seen to be believed.

4. All of Us Strangers – An achingly beautiful tale of love, loneliness and loss. That final shot stayed with me for a long time. Stunning.

3. Poor Things – Yorgos Lanthimos can do no wrong in my book. Whilst Kinds of Kindness just missed out of my top ten, largely due to its length and more troubling nature, Poor Things really hit my sweet spot. Visually jaw-dropping, thought-provoking and wildly amusing, it’s a joy to watch.

2. Anora – Well worthy of all the praise it’s been getting, Sean Baker’s latest is a masterpiece that effortlessly switches gears at various points, to deliver a film that’s funny, gripping and poignant in equal measure. The performances are first rate too. Baker is another director that is yet to put a foot wrong, in my opinion.

1. Zone of Interest – Jonathan Glazer’s subtly harrowing film affected me like no other this year. I stepped out of the cinema and saw the world in a different way, due to the unsentimental, forensic approach that has the audience simply watch the lives of a family whose patriarch is committing the most horrific acts, off camera. Aided by some of the best sound design I’ve heard, it’s a masterclass in using cinematic techniques to deliver a powerful message.

Honourable mentions: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Ama Gloria, Monster, Longlegs, Dune: Part Two, American Fiction, The Holdovers, Kinds of Kindness, La Cocina, Perfect Days

Notable films missed or not released in the UK yet – The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, All We Imagine As Light, I saw the TV Glow, Kneecap, A Real Pain (I have seen this just last week but it came out in the UK in 2025)

Top 20 Older First Time Watches

20. The Exterminating Angel
19. What Happened Was…
18. The Threat
17. Black Tuesday
16. Mikey and Nicky
15. A Man on His Knees
14. Mon Oncle
13. Tchao Pantin
12. ​​Obsession
11. Bullet For the General
10. The Valiant Ones
9. Anatomy of a Fall
8. Mighty Joe Young
7. Love Me Tonight
6. Happy End (1967)
5. Häxan
4. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
3. The Right Stuff
2. Grand Illusion
1. Cléo from 5 to 7

Honourable mentions – 3:10 to Yuma (1957), Tattooed Life, Dogfight, The Valley of the Bees, Viridiana

Favourite Blu-Rays of the Year

Top 20 Single Title Releases

20. All That Money Can Buy – Criterion
19. Dogfight – Criterion
18. Shadow of Fire – Third Window
17. Bandits of Orgosolo – Radiance
16. The Miracle Fighters – Eureka
15. When Taekwondo Strikes – Eureka
14. The Valiant Ones – Eureka
13. Fresh – Imprint
12. Black Mask – Eureka
11. Floating Clouds – BFI
10. Mute Witness – Arrow
9 . Scala!!! – BFI
8. Obsession – Indicator
7. Footprints – Shameless
6. The Cat and the Canary – Eureka
5. Häxan – Radiance
4. One From the Heart – Studiocanal
3. Slacker – Criterion
2. Seven Samurai – BFI
1. The Hitcher – Second Sight

There were so many great releases this year, it was hard to figure out the order and some fantastic discs missed the cut. The Hitcher wasn’t difficult to choose as my number one, though The BFI’s Seven Samurai was a close second. The transfer is stunning and there are hours of extras included on the disc with little crossover of anecdotes. Plus the film is an old favourite of mine, which helps.

Honourable mentions – The Last Starfighter – Arrow, The Lavender Hill Mob – Studiocanal, Tchao Pantin – Radiance, Sympathy for the Underdog – Radiance, Love Hotel – Third Window

Top 10 Multi-film Boxsets

10. Two Taoist Tales – Eureka
9. Daiei Gothic – Radiance
8. The Swordsman of All Swordsmen – Eureka
7. Samurai Wolf I & II – Eureka
6. China O’Brien 1 & 2 – Eureka
5. Prison Walls : Abashiri Prison 1-3 – Eureka
4. Valiant Red Peony: Red Peony Gambler I-III – Eureka
3. I Walked with a Zombie / The Seventh Victim: Produced by Val Lewton – Criterion
2. Laurel and Hardy: The Silent Years – 1927 – Eureka
1. Nothing is Sacred: Three Heresies by Luis Buñuel – Radiance

Nothing is Sacred was the clear winner for me. The three films included in the set are superb, the transfers stellar and the extra features are incredible. There are three feature length documentaries included in there, on top of numerous essays and interviews, as well as an excellent commentary by Michael Brooke. I can’t recommend the set enough.

I’d like to add that I’m only one man, so can’t watch every disc or boxset released each year. I’ve skipped over most of the bigger collections this time around due to time restraints. Notable sets I’d like to mention that look amazing but I haven’t got around to watching yet are Arrow’s Shawscope Vol. 3, Severin’s All The Haunts Be Ours Vol. 2, Eureka’s Louis Feuillade : The Complete Crime Serials, Imprint’s Tales of Adventure – Collection 4, Severin’s The Game of Clones: Bruceploitation Collection Vol. 1, Imprint’s Martin Scorsese: Films Of Faith.

Honourable mentions – Days/Afternoon – Two Films by Tsai Ming-liang – Second Run, Super Spies and Secret Lies – Eureka, Karate Beastfighter – Eureka, The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk Collection – 88 Films.

Andy Goulding

FIRST-TIME WATCHES

20. The Young Master (1980)
19. No Dogs or Italians Allowed (2022)
18. He Who Gets Slapped (1924)
17. It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947)
16. Blast of Silence (1961)
15. Police Story (1985)
14. Flamingo Road (1949)
13. Circle of Danger (1951)
12. Animal Kingdom (2010)
11. Reuben, Reuben (1983)
10. The Browning Version (1951)
9. P’tang, Yang, Kipperbang (1982)
8. Seven Days in May (1964)
7. Larceny, Inc. (1942)
6. Bachelor Mother (1939)
5. Junior Miss (1945)
4. The Breaking Point (1950)
3. The Sea Wolf (1941)
2. Middle of the Night (1959)
1. Daughters Courageous (1939)

As usual, over half of my favourite first time watches of the year come from Hollywood’s Golden Age, with my viewing of the entire Michael Curtiz filmography and my festive advent calendar of classic Christmas movies accounting for three films apiece. Curtiz’s wonderful Daughters Courageous took my top spot, with other Curtiz films The Sea Wolf and The Breaking Point are at positions 3 and 4. The delightful Christmas film Junior Miss is at number 5, while the top five is completed by Middle of the Night, the beautiful, raw Romantic Drama that reunited Marty writer and director Paddy Chayefsky and Delbert Mann but remains criminally overlooked.

The earliest film on my list is the silent He Who Gets Slapped, while the most recent are 2010’s excellent Crime Thriller Animal Kingdom and the highly unusual and delightful stop-motion animated Documentary No Dogs or Italians Allowed. My exploration of Kung Fu films, a genre I’d never previously given a chance, also resulted in two surprise appearances by Jackie Chan in my top 20, The Young Master and Police Story.

PHYSICAL RELEASES

5. Big Banana Feet (BFI)
4. Dazed and Confused (Criterion)
3. Directed by Sidney Lumet Vol. 1 (Imprint)
2. Hitchcock: The Beginning (Studiocanal)
1. Columbia Noir #6: The Whistler (Indicator)

When it comes to physical releases I’ve reviewed this year, I feel special mention should go to the BFI’s terrific restoration of Big Banana Feet, Murray Grigor’s documentary about Billy Connolly which was long considered all but lost and which is now available to view in much better shape than the wobbly VHS bootleg previously doing the rounds. Elsewhere, I was delighted to see Richard Linklater’s indie classic Dazed and Confused get the Criterion treatment, with the usual barrage of extensive extras. My top three releases this year were all boxsets, with Imprint and Studiocanal treating us to some lesser-known gems by the great directors Sidney Lumet and Alfred Hitchcock. But my top release of the year is Indicator’s latest Columbia Noir boxset which introduced me to the fascinating and addictive world of the 40s B-movie series The Whistler, a collection of eight films which I hungrily consumed across three days with mounting excitement and pleasure. Discovering these hidden gems is a real treat for Noir fans everywhere.

FILMS OF THE YEAR

Special Mentions:

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More
The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal
Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in Two Pieces

Before I get into my list of the year’s best films, I wanted to flag up a few releases that don’t quite fit into the standard film category but which I really enjoyed. The documentary Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in Two Pieces gave an intimate and extensive glimpse into the life and career of one of my comedy heroes, while the four hour The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal was a gripping and moving exploration of the Canadian phenomenon who somehow remain comparatively little known here in the UK. Music fans are advised to check them out immediately and this documentary offers a good point of entry.

Finally, I just adored Wes Anderson’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More. The only reason it is not in the upper reaches of my official top 10 of the year is that it is compiled from four short Ronald Dahl adaptations Netflix released last year, the first of which went on to win the Best Live Action Short Oscar. The four films have been seamlessly combined into a full length feature which Netflix released this year and they feel like they always should’ve been presented in this way as they enhance each other beautifully and are linked by the appearances of Ralph Fiennes’ Dahl surrogate. Though I encourage everyone to check out this version of Anderson’s Dahl adaptations, placing it on my list would feel akin to naming a Greatest Hits collection as one of the albums of the year.

Honourable Mentions: Poor Things, The Zone of Interest, All of Us Strangers, Janet Planet, Rebel Ridge, In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon, Laapataa Ladies, Girls State, Crossing

Runners Up:

Monster – A complex, multi-layered drama from Hirokazu Kore-eda, an acclaimed director whose work I really need to catch up on. This wonderful film encouraged me to do so as soon as possible. Exploring a confrontation between a single mother, her son and the school that seem to be covering up a traumatic incident involving a teacher, Monster shifts perspectives in order to slowly provide more information and reveal how dramatically a picture can change with every new puzzle piece added to it. Kore-eda shrewdly avoids reaching too neat a conclusion, opting instead to provide us with the tools to better understand a complex group of characters whose stories remain wide open as the credits roll.

Strike: An Uncivil War – gripping, emotional documentary about the Battle of Orgreave, a key moment in the 1984-85 miner’s strike. Daniel Gordon’s film not only offers riveting witness testimony from both miners and police officers, it also does a great job of succinctly explaining the strike and the historical events leading up to it.

The Children’s Train – A beautiful, classically styled film by Italian director Cristina Comencini, The Children’s Train examines mother/son relationships by way of the historical Treni Della Felicità initiative in which the Italian Communist Party arranged for the children of poor Southern families to be transported to live with northern families in the aftermath of World War II. Comencini is able to present viewers with a vivid child’s eye view which gives way to heartbreaking revelations in adulthood. Emotional without being manipulatively sentimental, The Children’s Train has the heartening solidity of prestige mainstream filmmaking, ensuring a riveting and rewarding couple of hours for those susceptible to such an approach.

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person – A fantastic debut feature by Canadian director Ariane Louis-Seize, this is a vampire film that spends most of its runtime avoiding showing us the bloodshed in which other vampire films revel. That’s because it’s really more a film about compassion and identity, though thankfully executed with great humour instead of the self-seriousness sombreness you might expect. The title should be a tip-off to the tone here, yet Humanist Vampire is far from a silly film and Louis-Seize imbues it with that debut film vitality that immediately makes you curious about the director’s next move. Though I loved it, this one didn’t quite stick the landing for me, otherwise it would likely have ended up in my top 10.

Perfect Days – I feel like this laidback, soothing film will grow on me more and more with each viewing but, for the time being, I loved it just a little less than some of the other year’s releases. It’s fantastic to see Wim Wenders adding another brilliant piece of work to his already significant filmography though. I can’t wait to revisit Perfect Days.

MY 10 FAVOURITE FILMS OF 2024

10. Will & Harper – A disarmingly sweet and timely Documentary from Barb and Star director Josh Greenbaum, Will & Harper explores gender identity and friendship through a delightfully funny, warm road trip taken by longtime pals Will Ferrell and former Saturday Night Live writer Harper Steele, following an email from Harper to Will informing him that she is a trans woman. As well as exploring its subject matter in a humane and enlightening manner, Will & Harper is also consistently entertaining, giving audiences a chance to glimpse the real Ferrell, as well as his numerous comedy contemporaries who cameo throughout. In her short time on screen, Kristen Wiig once again exercises her seemingly effortless ability to steal a film in a matter of minutes, in one of the must uplifting epilogues I’ve ever seen. Though it doesn’t flinch from addressing more difficult subject matter, Will & Harper emerges as the feelgood film of the year.

9. Kneecap – A hilarious, kinetic, inventive fictionalised chronicle of the rise of Irish Hip-Hop trio Kneecap, Rich Peppiatt’s film stars the band as themselves, giving terrific performances that hold their own against A-list co-star Michael Fassbender. Politically charged and filled with great music, Kneecap incorporates tongue-in-cheek asides, fourth-wall breaking flourishes and even a smattering of animation while imparting its powderkeg exploration of the moment an oppressed indigenous culture says “enough is enough.”

8. The Substance – For a while I wasn’t sure whether The Substance, one of the biggest word of mouth hits of the year, was going to make my top 10. I wasn’t sure when l was anticipating watching it, I wasn’t sure while I was watching it and I wasn’t even sure after I’d watched it. But this film stuck with me. As a satire it draws its power from an artfully deliberate lack of subtlety and as a Horror film it deals mostly in disgust and the growing feeling of dread at the inevitability of the characters’ terrible choices. Both of these aspects work very well but it is the visual experience of The Substance that pushed it that extra mile for me. It looks fantastic, both in its bold but often minimalist set design and its jaw-droppingly squishy effects. I was skeptical about its lengthy runtime but the two hours and twenty minutes flew by, culminating in a brilliant and cleverly cyclical final image. Demi Moore is a fantastic piece of casting and deserves all of the awards buzz coming her way, as does Margaret Qualley who is equally wonderful.

7. The Bikeriders – I’ve been greatly impressed by the filmography of Jeff Nichols so I was looking forward to The Bikeriders. Shortly after it came out, a mini-backlash seemed to occur with people complaining about odd accents and a dull, meandering non-story. My faith in Nichols was strong enough to ignore this though and my high expectations were rewarded with another gem. The looseness of the plot is part of The Bikeriders’ design, inspired as it was by a photo book and evoking the spirit of the classic 60s documentary Scorpio Rising. It benefits from this approach, giving the viewer time to drink in the beautifully depicted iconography and shifting between characters and events with a fluidity that presents a satisfying overview of a subculture. As for the performances, I thought they were excellent, with Jodie Comer’s vivid turn standing out as one of my favourites of the year.

6. Daughters – Produced over the course of eight years and co-directed by activist Angela Patton, Daughters is a raw, moving but unsentimental Documentary about Patton’s fatherhood program that arranges a Daddy Daughter Dance for incarcerated men and their daughters. Focusing on four father/daughters pairs but providing an enlightening overview of the whole process, including the 30 day parenting course the prisoners have to attend, Daughters makes the astute choice to omit specifics about what landed each man behind bars, focusing instead on the central relationships and the effects that separation has on them. A deeply affecting and riveting watch.

5. A Greyhound of a Girl – Running at a brisk 85 minutes, A Greyhound of a Girl is one of those films that is never not 100% pleasurable to be with. It is leisurely but engrossing, simple but emotionally complex, and simultaneously sad, funny and uplifting. The film was produced across seven different European countries and six separate production companies but this hasn’t affected its quality at all and those expecting a Euro-pudding will be pleasantly surprised by how strongly the film asserts its Irish heart. Italian animator Enzo D’Alò has tapped into an underlying theme of identity that is strong enough to strike a chord with viewers of all nationalities and walks of life. The result is the kind of film that just makes you feel good to be alive, even as it plays on the awareness that this will not always be the case. Everything will be grand, the film tells us, and the strong work of everyone involved ensured that for 85 minutes, and the extra time I bathed in the glow of its memory, I believed it.

4. Hundreds of Beavers – The word-of-mouth cult hit of the year, Mike Cheslik’s Hundreds of Beavers is the sort of genuinely exciting indie filmmaking that leaves viewers buzzing, racing to their friends with a recommendation burning a hole in their pocket. Made on a tiny budget but bursting with visual invention and comedic ingenuity, this story of an applejack salesman taking on an army of destructive beavers overcomes the potentially destructive silliness of its goofy costumes and go-for-broke visual gags with a timely reminder that silliness done well is as powerful as any other tonal choice. Inspired by classic silent comedies and Golden Age animation (a catnip combination as far as I’m concerned), Hundreds of Beavers delivers the belly laughs by way of just enough plot and more than enough invention to sustain its surprisingly lengthy runtime.

3. The Teacher’s Lounge – İlker Çatak’s film about a spate of thefts at a school has the moral complexity of an Asghar Farhadi film and the pressure cooker intensity of a Thriller, even as it remains largely confined to classrooms, hallways and staff rooms. A potent microcosm with a very smart screenplay and a strong cast, including many impressive child actors, The Teacher’s Lounge has already been nominated for last year’s Best International Film Oscar. It is a tight, utterly gripping film with many memorable images ensuring it will stand up to rewatches. It makes the viewer experience the overwhelming stress of a terrible chain of events set off by one easily-made mistake by an otherwise virtuous person. The culture and structure of the school is vividly captured, with a real sense of the institution and its moral ambiguities opening up more and more throughout the film. I absolutely loved it.

2. Robot Dreams – An absolutely beautiful tale of love, loss and moving on, Robot Dreams is the story of a lonely dog who orders a robot companion to share his 1980s Manhattan apartment. When an unexpected event separates them, we follow their separate journeys as their attempts to reunite yield unexpected results. With an unconventional and deeply moving narrative, splendidly bright and charming animation and the best use of a soundtrack song this year (try not whistling Earth, Wind and Fire’s September after watching this), Robot Dreams took that regular fifth spot in the Best Animated Feature Oscar category that is reserved for the film that should secretly win!

1. The Holdovers – There are some films that you are so sure you’re going to love that you build them up in your mind to a dangerous degree before seeing them. Then you often find you either don’t like them or that you like them well enough but your enjoyment has been overshadowed by the disappointment of them not living up to the impossibly high expectations you’ve placed on them. But then there’s that glorious third category: the ones that do live up to your self-created hype. For me, Alexander Payne’s The Holdoverswas one of those rare treasures. It touches on numerous issues including race, class, privilege, the generational divide, love, honour and integrity but it does so with such a lightness of touch that it never threatens to become a heavy-handed issues film. Instead, it emerges as a human and humane character piece whose astute awareness of societal ills is couched in terms of how its protagonists are depicted. It never loses sight of that crucial context, which is what makes it such an effective Christmas film (despite it ironically having been held over for a January release in the UK). It will do me, and I’m sure many others, so much good to have a film of such immense empathy and rich humanity as part of my regular Christmas rotation. Beats the hell out of Love Actually, eh?!

Leon Vegas

Top 10 Films of 2024

10. Kneecap (dir. Rich Peppiatt) – One of the year’s most hilarious pictures, offering a fictionalised recounting of Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap’s rise to fame. Visually creative in every single frame, the music’s excellent and it’s a delight from the first frame to the last. Still kicking myself that I caught this at home instead of seeing it in the cinema. Highly recommended to fans of films like Trainspotting.

9. Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal (dir. Steve Conoscenti) – An absolutely gut-wrenching documentary about wrestler Bray Wyatt and his career which was cut short in 2023. Excellently made and recommended even for those not familiar with Wyatt or without an interest in wrestling. The final stretch of this had the tears flowing, so bring tissues. Unfortunately, this one’s only streaming in the States on WWE Network/Peacock but is absolutely worth your time.

8. Kinds of Kindness (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos) – After the huge success of Poor Things, director Yorgos Lanthimos surprises the four people who went to see Kinds of Kindness with one of the most depraved comedic anthology films out there. Stellar performances from the cast who act in each segment, including Jesse Plemons, Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Hong Chau and Margaret Qualley, gorgeously shot and darkly comedic in all the right (and wrong) ways, there’s nothing else quite like Kinds of Kindness.

7. Hundreds of Beavers (dir. Mike Cheslik) – The prime example of how anybody can make a film and limitations mean nothing when you have a concept and a skilled team to work with. An absolute riot that I was lucky enough to catch in a sold-out screening after the film received UK distribution, Hundreds of Beavers is DIY filmmaking done right and will undoubtedly go down as one of the decade’s best films.

6. The Substance (dir. Coraline Fargeat) – One of the most insane theatrical experiences of my entire life. Went into this one knowing nothing, outside of loving the director’s previous feature Revenge and still left the cinema floored. A career best performance from Demi Moore as well as an excellent performance by Margaret Qualley (second time on this list!) lead one of the most explosive, gooey, bloody and biting satires in recent memory. Definitely not for the faint of heart but if you can stomach it, The Substance is a rollercoaster ride that you should experience.

5. Better Man (dir. Michael Gracey) – As I said in my Letterboxd review (which you can read here: https://letterboxd.com/leonvegas/film/better-man-2024/), when you tell me that the Robbie Williams biopic is directed by the man behind The Greatest Showman, you really need to sell me on it. Thankfully, thanks to the fun premise of having Williiams be portrayed by a chimp throughout the entire runtime, Better Man sold me. What I didn’t expect, however, was how much I’d love the entire thing. After sitting with it for a month, I feel like I can safely say this is one of the best music biopics I’ve seen. Grandiose and inspired musical numbers, energetic and caring direction and multiple scenes that had me weeping, Better Man blew me away. It’s an anthem for the fuck-ups, it’s raw, honest and unforgettable. It’s a crying shame this one bombed at the box office.

4. Trap (dir. M. Night Shyamalan) – Over the past few years, I’ve become somewhat of an M. Night truther. I don’t love everything the man makes, but it’s impossible to deny the amount of love, care and passion he has for filmmaking. The recent streak of Old, a gonzo thriller about a beach that makes people old and Knock at the Cabin, an apocalyptic thriller led by the stellar Dave Bautista, I was ready for whatever M. Night was cooking next. To my surprise, it ended up being Trap, which is not only my favourite recent film of Night’s but might rank in my top two. Outstanding direction from Night, some of the best cinematography in one of his films thanks to DoP Sayombhu Mukdeeprom and an unforgettable lead performance from Josh Hartnett, Trap might be the most entertaining film of 2024. I’ve already seen it three times and can see myself coming back for more time and time again.

3. I Saw the TV Glow (dir. Jane Schoenbrun) – After loving their last feature We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, I was stoked to see whatever director Jane Schoenbrun made next and they knocked it out of the park with one of the few films I’d consider an instant classic. Influenced by the work of David Lynch and classic YA television series like Goosebumps and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I Saw the TV Glow is one of the defining films of 2024. It’s a tale of self-identity, transness, our relationships with the media we consume and oh, so much more that I don’t even want to spoil. If you watch one film from my top 10, make it this one.

2. Anora (dir. Sean Baker) – Sean Baker’s another favourite of mine right now and after the incredible trifecta of Tangerine, The Florida Project and Red Rocket, I couldn’t wait to see Anora. No surprise here, I loved every second of Anora and came away with a new favourite from Baker. Mikey Madison is electric, the film constantly pulls the rug from under you with genre switch-ups (the screwball comedy segment was hilarious!) and ends on the most unforgettable final shot of the year, Anora deserves to be seen by everyone.

1. Challengers (dir. Luca Guadagnino) – Never in a billion years would I have predicted that the man behind the atrocious remake of Suspiria would direct my favourite film of the year, but here we are. One of the most energetic films I’ve ever seen, Challengers is the most enthralling picture of the year. The best tennis sequences I’ve ever seen, a killer love triangle with horniness that’s been missing from mainstream cinema, excellent cinematography from Trap’s Sayombhu Mukdeeprom and an unbelievable soundtrack from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Challengers is my most rewatched film of the year. It’s the one that hasn’t left my mind once since seeing it. I’ve had the soundtrack on repeat, I’ve rewatched the ending countless times, it’s like a drug with how infectiously entertaining it is. Writing this piece about it has me wanting to pop the Blu-ray in again… Seek it out!

Honourable mentions: Red Rooms/Les chambres rouges (dir. Pascal Plante), Longlegs (dir. Ozgood Perkins), Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (dir. George Miller), Chasing Chasing Amy (dir. Sav Rodgers), AGGRO DR1FT (dir. Harmony Korine), Strange Darling (dir. JT Mollner), Lisa Frankenstein (dir. Zelda Williams), Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point (dir. Tyler Taormina), Juror #2 (dir. Clint Eastwood), Wicked (dir. Jon M. Chu)

Top 10 Physical Media Releases of 2024

10. The Addiction – Arrow Video
9. Santa Sangre – Severin
8. Raging Bull – Criterion
7. Death Game – Radiance/Grindhouse Releasing
6. Gummo – Criterion
5. Peeping Tom – Studio Canal
4. The Conversation – Studio Canal
3. Watership Down – BFI
2. The Blair Witch Project – Second Sight Films
1. Inside the Mind of Coffin Joe – Arrow Video

Top 10 First Time Watches of 2024

10. The Vanishing (dir. George Sluizer)
9. Babe (dir. Chris Noonan)
8. Watership Down (dir. Martin Rosen)
7. It’s a Wonderful Life (dir. Frank Capra)
6. I Saw the Devil (dir. Kim Jee-woon)
5. The Conversation (dir. Francis Ford Coppola)
4. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (dir. Peter Greenaway)
3. The End of Evangelion (dir. Kazuya Tsurumaki and Hideaki Anno)
2. Chungking Express (dir. Wong Kar-Wai)
1. Dog Day Afternoon (dir. Sidney Lumet)

Jon Kirk

Each year we seemingly get a wave of incredibly strong standalone and boxset boutique Blu-ray releases, but in 2024 it felt next level with the quality of some of the products. Many of the best labels around went from strength-to-strength, while newer labels also released some real gems. My rundowns are my personal favourites; they aren’t top tens. Whilst I’ve watched a large number of the year’s releases, there are many I’ve also not found the time for. So, here we go, in no particular order – these are treasured editions that have stuck with me or I’ve rewatched, or longed to rewatch, since the first spin of the disc.

Best single title releases

The Sword – Eureka Classics
I, The Executioner – Radiance Films
Patrick – Indicator
Planet of the Vampires – Radiance Films
The Nude Vampire – Indicator
The Blair Witch Project – Second Sight
The Third Man – StudioCanal
The Hitcher – Second Sight
A Quiet Place in the Country – Radiance Films
Watership Down – BFI
Seven Samurai – BFI
Häxan – Radiance
I Walked with a Zombie and The Seventh Victim – Criterion Collection
The Great Escape – Arrow
Three Wishes for Cinderella – Second Run

Honourable mentions

The Valley of the Bees – Second Run
The Tigon Collection (various titles) – 88 Films
L’amour fou – Radiance
Pharoah – Second Run
The Shop at Sly Corner – Indicator
The Valiant Ones – Eureka
Slacker – Criterion
Big Banana Feet – BFI
The Stone Tape – 101 Films
Cooking Price-Wise – BFI Flipside
Santa Sangre – Severin
Merry Go Round – Second Run
Luminous Woman – Third Window
The Silence of the Lambs – Arrow
Tchao Pantin – Radiance
Message from Space – Eureka
Dawn of the Mummy – Treasured Films
Vital – Third Window
Floating Clouds – BFI
I Vampiri – Radiance
You’ll Never Get Rich – Indicator
The Good, The Bad, The Weird – Arrow
Juggernaut – Eureka
The Hop-Pickers – Second Run
The Small Back Room – StudioCanal
The Cat and the Canary – Eureka

Whether your favourite title has made my list or not, it’s clear to see that each of the big labels released some real treasures and what struck me most was the breadth of releases on display. One of my personal all-time favourite movies, The Third Man, received a gorgeous 4K transfer from StudioCanal and equally beautiful physical release (the box even plays that wonderful, hummable, zither theme when you open it). The extras were all archival, but all essential.

Powerhouse Films’ Indicator label have long been my personal favourite label (though Radiance and the BFI are pushing for that mantel lately) and they continued their outstanding series of Jean Rollin editions, for me a masterclass in how to curate a series of films by a director. I could have chosen any of the Rollin releases from 2024 but I plumped for Requiem for a Vampire as it features all the staples of his surreal work of fantastique. Each of the director’s films has been treated with love and attention with another masterclass, this time in how to restore a film which Powerhouse Films did themselves, informative booklets of new and archival writing and excellent new and archival on-disc extras.

Indicator’s growing releases of Ozpolitation films (exploitation movies from Australia) have also been a personal favourite, and Patrick was the one I chose as one of my favourites for the year. Featuring the usual mix of excellent physical and on-disc extras, and multiple cuts, the suspenseful movie was well complemented, including the addition of multiple cuts, one featuring a score by prog-rockers Goblin, best known for their collaborations on Dario Argento’s films like Suspiria.

The BFI released a number of fabulous releases, including one I never expected to see get a boutique Blu-ray release – Cooking Price-Wise, a Flipside label edition of Vincent Price’s six-part 1970s cookery series. That one didn’t quite make my main ‘best of’ list, but two did. Firstly, the definitive edition of Akira Kurosawa’s peerless and oft-imitated masterpiece Seven Samurai, which received a 4K edition, packaged with an exhaustive booklet and on-disc extras. This one has outdone the Criterion edition for me and shows how first-rate BFI releases have become.

Also from the BFI, we received an excellent edition of classic British animation Watership Down, with separate 4K and Blu-ray editions. This release was due to come out some years ago but sadly had to be cancelled, so I’m thrilled that we finally got it, and it was worth the wait: the transfer is brilliant, the on-disc extras fantastic (the new commentary is a real treat), and the booklet is top notch. The film should need no introduction, it’s as close to a horror film for children as there’s ever been, nightmare fuel but so marvellously done – it’s an animation masterpiece.

Eureka continued to mix their Masters of Cinema releases of masterful films, with a wealth of supremely entertaining Hong Kong movies, including becoming the latest label to dip their toes into the hundreds and hundreds of films released by the Shaw Brothers. I opted for The Sword on my list, a more thoughtful and thought-provoking wuxia film than usual, the directorial debut of Patrick Tam, who edited Wong Kar-wai’s Days of Being Wild and Ashes of Time. Like all of the Hong Kong movie releases from Eureka, this was packaged with beautiful artwork, a booklet and some insightful on-disc extras.

Arrow’s release of The Great Escape was a fantastic way to end the year for the label. The classic war film which has become so iconic (the music, Steve McQueen on a motorbike etc) was given the first rate treatment with a stunning transfer, first-rate physical package, a wealth of informative interviews and extras, and a bonus disc with The Great Escape II: The Untold Story, a TV movie which essentially replays the first film.

Like any year, I could have chosen any of the monthly single releases from Second Run, but I opted to include Three Wishes for Cinderella, a magical Czech telling of the Cinderella story which is very inventive in the way it brings the magic to the screen and was a perfect film to watch in the run-up to Christmas.

Criterion only feature once in my main standalone releases list but it’s a simply wonderful release: a double bill of Val Lewton-produced films, I Walked With a Zombie and The Seventh Victim. The two films are elevated horror, standing out from the Universal monster films and their ilk that came out at the same time (that’s not a criticism by the way, I love the Universal horrors), all brooding and growing atmosphere and subtext. Like the Criterion release of another Lewton-produced film, The Cat People, this one contains contextualising extras, all of which are first rate, and includes segments from Adam Roche’s masterful podcast The Secret History of Hollywood.

And then there’s Radiance. The label is only two years old but my list is testament to how quickly they’ve gotten out of the blocks as a top tier label to be contended with: my list contains no fewer than three of their standalone releases, with two more in my ‘honourable mentions’. The four I’ve chosen for my main list show the eclectic nature of their releases: I, The Executioner is a supremely dark, marvellously directed Japanese film from Tai Kato (a director I’ve grown to love thanks to the label), Haxan is a landmark silent film about witchcraft, superbly packaged by Radiance with four versions of the film and a treasure trove of physical and on-disc extras, Mario Bava’s oft-imitated Planet of the Vampires, and A Quiet Place in the Country, a superb giallo-esque thriller by Elio Petri and starring icons Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave.

If I had to pick a single film release of the year, I’d probably plump for The Hitcher from Second Sight. It’s a film that hasn’t received a great release in the UK until this edition, which is a surprise considering how great a film it is. It’s incredibly suspenseful, beautifully shot and scored with marvellous performances and has one of those ‘did I just see that’ moments like Seven (one of the scenes is so well shot that you think you saw something you actually didn’t, similar to the ‘head in the box’ scene in Seven). The artwork is stunning and there’s hours of on disc extras and two fantastic books amongst the physical package.

Second Sight also released an outstanding edition of The Blair Witch Project, with similar attention to detail to the physical package (two books, including a recreation of Heather’s Journal), a fantastic new documentary and much more. The film still stands up for me as the landmark found footage feature, and if you succumb to its mythos, there’s plenty to unpack and debate into the wee small hours.

Finally, a special mention for the Tigon Collection by 88 Films. Similar to the Jean Rollin’s from Indicator, this was another well curated series, with excellent new extras, amongst the best booklets 88 have released, and a series of classic British horror and science fiction films, including two of the holy trinity of folk horror, The Witchfinder General and Blood on Satan’s Claw (The Wicker Man is the third staple of the genre). The collection also included Witchfinder General director Michael Reeves’ excellent Boris Karloff-starring The Sorcerers, meaning we got all three of the late, great director’s films on boutique UK Blu-ray in 2024 (Radiance distributed the other, a Raro Video release of Revenge of the Blood Beast). He died all too young at 25, and it’s tantalising to imagine what he would have achieved in his career had he not left us so soon.

Best multi-film boxsets

Louis Feuillade – The complete crime serials 1913-1918 – Eureka Masters of Cinema
Shawscope Volume 3 – Arrow Video
Pete Walker Flesh and Blood – 88 Films
The Agitator: Three Provocations from the Wild World of Jean-Pierre Mocky – Radiance Films
Three Revolutionary films by Senagalese director Ousmane Sembene – Criterion Collection
Peter Strickland Collection – Curzon
Michael Powell: Early Works – BFI
Daiei Gothic – Radiance
Nothing is Sacred – Three Heresies by Luis Bunuel – Radiance
Hitchcock – The Beginning – StudioCanal

Honourable mentions

Bandits of Orgosolo and The Lost World – Radiance
Memento Mori – The Films of Jorg Buttgereit – Arrow
The Mexico Trilogy – Arrow
World Noir Volume 2 – Radiance
J Horror Rising – Arrow
Columbia Noir 6 – Indicator

For me, there’s no other place to start my rundown of the best boxsets of the year, than with Eureka’s Louis Feuillade – The complete crime serials 1913-1918. If I had to choose not only a boxset of the year, but a release of the year full stop, this would be it. The films (Fantomas, Les Vampires, Judex, and Tih Minh) are landmark serials, multi episode mini movies that were well ahead of their time in form and nature, hugely inspirational and gripping (as each episode ended I was already ready to watch the next one). The 4K restorations are simply astonishing, they’re as good a restoration of a silent film as I’ve seen, the accompanying book is a beast, and the hours of on-disc extras (a mix of commentaries and interviews) packed with information and entertaining in their own right.

Arrow released a third lavish boxset of Shaw Brothers films, this one focused more on swordplay films, which featured 14 films, all with new restorations, all but one a 2K restoration done by Arrow themselves. There’s hours and hours of on-disc extras including commentaries, interviews and appreciations, and different cuts for some of the films, and an accompanying CD and booklet. There’s no time to list all the films, but one that I did want to mention is The 14 Amazons, a fantastic female-centric tale of revenge.

Pete Walker The Flesh and Blood Show became a perennial conversation starter amongst my group of film friends, mainly because the 88 Films release frequently got delayed and we eagerly awaited for it to final arrive. It was another release that was well worth the wait. The British director of exploitation films released some real landmarks in British horror, including The Flesh and Blood Show, House of Whipcord, House of Mortal Sin and Frightmare. These all featured on the now out of print boxset, alongside Die Screaming, Marianne; Schizo and The Comeback. The set itself featured stunning artwork by Sean Longmore, a 56 page book and a wealth of new and archival commentaries and interviews. It complemented 88’s separate releases of the director’s Man of Violence/ The Big Switch and his sexploitation films (For Men Only; School for Sex; Cool It, Carol!; and Home Before Midnight) well.

Radiance appear three times on this list, firstly with The Agitator: Three Provocations from the Wild World of Jean-Pierre Mocky (containing cult horror Litan, hooligan thriller Kill the Referee, and Hitchcockian mystery Agent Trouble). The films are all well worth a watch, I particularly enjoyed Litan and Kill The Referee, and the package comes with some fab extras and a typically well appointed booklet.

Second on my list from Radiance is Daiei Gothic, which came out just in time for Halloween and packaged together three eerie and atmospheric Japanese ghost stories (The Ghost of Yotsuya, The Snow Woman, and The Bride from Hades). Commentaries and visual essays add a rich layer of depth and background to the ghostly tales.

Finally on this list from Radiance is Nothing is Sacred – Three Heresies by Luis Bunuel, which packaged the director’s highly acclaimed 1960s works Viridiana, The Exterminating Angel, and Simon of the Desert (each is wonderful in its own way), with two feature length documentaries, another near hour one, a new audio commentary and newly recorded and archival appreciations and interviews. It was a great way to end 2024 for the fantastic label.

Releases of Senegalese director Ousmane Sembene are always welcome; I’ve long been an admirer of his works, particularly Black Girl and Mandabi. Criterion released a boxset of three of the director’s revolutionary films, Emitai, Xala and Ceddo. The films themselves are fantastic, as is to be expected from the outstanding director, and the set included a great 1981 documentary on the making of Ceddo, as well as a wide-ranging discussion between Mahen Bonetti, founder and executive director of the African Film Festival and writer Amy Sall.

Curzon have occasionally been releasing gorgeous boxsets collecting together works by a specific director (as well as a similar set of Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Three Colours Trilogy) and my personal favourite was their release of all of British director Peter Strickland’s films to-date. So, we get everything from his debut Katalin Varga through Berbarian Sound System, The Duke of Burgundy and In Fabric, to his so far latest feature film, 2022’s Flux Gourmet. Over seven hours of extra features are included, including a bonus disc of 23 of the director’s short films as well as music videos and other miscellaneous works. Interviews, behind the scenes footage and commentaries are also included, whilst the physical package contains a canvas slipcase, three posters, a 48-page booklet and one of three possible enamel pin designs. The package is a work of art in itself.

The BFI packaged together five early works by one of the all-time great directors of cinema in their release Michael Powell: The Early Works. Whilst none of the films would make it on to a list of the best the director of The Red Shoes, Peeping Tom, A Matter of Life and Death and many more released, they do showcase some of the staples of his work and show an emerging talent, and each is worth a watch in its own right. The films included were Rynox, Hotel Splendide, The Night of the Party, Her Last Affaire, and the abridged reissue version of The Man Behind the Mask. The BFI included a great booklet, a new audio commentary for each film, some archival films featuring Powell and Emeric Pressburger and two 40-plus minute documentaries, one looking at the films on the set and another at the directors unmade films.

Early works of another of the best directors of all-time were also packaged together in another outstanding boxset, this time StudioCanal’s Hitchcock The Beginning. This contains the excellent The Ring, Blackmail, The Manxman, Murder!, and the interesting Champagne (though like many of the films in the set the director’s technical flair is well apparent and a pleasure to witness), with the lesser The Farmer’s Wife, Juno and The Paycock, The Skin Game, The Rich and Strange and Number Seventeen. So whilst the films, some silent and some early talkies, are a mixed bag, and aside from The Ring and Blackmail nowhere close to approaching the heady heights of the director’s best, we’re witnessing a director finding his form and trying to push the boundaries of the embryonic art form of cinema. Well curated is a term I don’t use lightly, but I mention it again here – each film features a pair of informative and insightful introductions, and excerpts of Francois Truffaut’s seminal interview with Hitch, whilst a brand new documentary on Blackmail and a number of other film-specific extras are also included. The films themselves look simply astonishing.

Best first time watches

The Hitcher – Second Sight
The Sorcerers – 88 Films
House of Whipcord – 88 Films
Haxan – Radiance
Litan – Radiance
The Good, The Bad, The Weird – Arrow
The 14 Amazons – Arrow
Tchao Pantin – Radiance
Glengarry Glen Ross – 101 Films
Planet of the Vampires – Radiance

The beauty of being a boutique Blu-ray collector is being introduced to a range of films, some whose names are familiar and others which aren’t. The amount of first-time watches I’ve had through these labels is phenomenal, and there have been plenty that have become firm favourites or I’ve returned to many times.

The films I’ve listed are just a handful, really, of the films that I’d never seen before but which have stuck with me. I’ve already written a little about The Hitcher, The Sorcerers, Haxan, and The 14 Amazons from this list, so all I’ll say is these are four of the best films I’ve seen this year, for very different reasons.

Of the others, Glengarry Glen Ross is one that I’d longed to see and I can’t really explain why I hadn’t until last year. It’s an excellent adaptation of David Mamet’s theatre production, with a scintillating script, first class performances by some of the best actors around, and some of the most inventive uses of swear words in cinema history. The shift from stage to screen works well, cinema adding wonderful transitions using the Chicago L-Train. The disc itself on the 101 Films Black Label is pretty much a port of the US disc, with the addition of a booklet.

Up next is The Good, The Bad, The Weird, released in a typically lavish limited edition by Arrow. Directed by Kim Jee-woon, this is a visually arresting and ridiculously entertaining homage to Italian Spaghetti Westerns, particularly, as you can probably tell from the title, Sergio Leone’s 1966 classic The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. There are some great performances, a lot of flair, and some excellent set-pieces. It’s one of my favourite watches of the year. The disc comes with a strong booklet and some decent on-disc extras.

I’ve already referenced the Pete Walker Flesh and Blood boxset, and one of the films on the disc has really stayed with me since I watched it, The House of Whipcord. Why? Because of the performance of Sheila Keith in her horror debut. She pops up several times on the boxset and is always, for me, a highlight of the films. Here she is at her sadistic best in a very effective psychological horror film.

Radiance must be up there as being the label that has brought me the most first-time watches. I can only recall one of their releases (Messiah of Evil) that I’d seen before. I’ve opted for three (aside from Haxan) for this list; Litan, which plays out like a waking nightmare as a couple visit the titular town during a very strange annual festival; Planet of the Vampires, the visual feast of a sci-fi film from Mario Bava, which inspired the likes of Alien and Pitch Black; and Tchao Pantin, which follows a loner petrol station worker (played by French stage comedian Coluche) who befriends a young man and bonds with him before the latter is killed and the petrol worker seeks vengeance with the help of a punk girl. All of the Radiance releases contain a fabulous array of on-disc and physical extras.

Favourite label

Rather than pick out a single label, I’m going to do a brief run through a number of the labels for my assessment of their year.

Firstly, Radiance: the high number of releases I’ve featured shows that, for me, they’re bringing us some real quality. Each month it’s a joy to delve into their releases and they continue to go from strength-to-strength as if they’ve been around for years and years.

Powerhouse Films’ Indicator label remain a favourite for me. Their booklets are second to none, those aforementioned Jean Rollin releases are masterfully produced, and they release a wide range of films from classic American and British movies to Ozploitation and beyond.

For a large chunk of the year it felt as though Arrow were mostly re-releasing films in 4K, but they still had a strong year for me with some excellent releases. In addition to those already mentioned, we got the likes of Demolition Man, The Silence of the Lambs, Robert Rodriguez’s Mexican trilogy and a wonderful J-Horror boxset. If you are in the US or don’t mind importing, you were also lucky to get the likes of the two Arnold Schwarzenegger Conan films in a stacked boxset and Peter Weir’s fantastic Witness, starring Harrison Ford, among others.

Eureka released some real gems if you’re a fan of Hong Kong cinema, but we also got outstanding new editions of G.W. Pabst’s amazing Louise Brooks’ starring Pandora’s Box, early Laurel and Hardy short films, the dark animated classic The Secret of Nimh (with my favourite commentary of the year by animation scholar Sam Summers) and, of course, that masterful Louis Feuillade boxset of silent serials.

88 Films deserve a mention just for their Pete Walker boxset and Tigon releases, but they also released some extreme Japanese cinema, a number of Hong Kong films, particularly Shaw Bros classics with the return of their 88 Asia label, a wave of Italian gems, a few Slasher Classics and some big name films like 90s gross-out high school comedy American Pie.

Second Sight only tend to release one film a month, but it’s always presented in a fantastic way with new artwork, a booklet, artcards, and on-disc extras, and throughout the year we got the likes of found footage film Creep, the recent horror Late Night With The Devil (an excellent physical media release, though I found the film very lacking and not at all scary), Adam Wingard’s You’re Next, Kim Jee-woon’s A Bittersweet Life, The Borderlands and more.

Second Run also tend to only release a disc a month, a mix, generally of Eastern European cinema and documentaries. Their releases were among the best and most interesting films of the year include Jerzy Kawalerowicz’s Pharoah, Frantisek Vlacil’s The Valley of the Bees, Days and Afternoon by Tsai Ming-Liang and Happy End by Oldrich Lipsky.

The BFI, for me, are an unsung label that’s quietly releasing wonderful releases, increasingly more lavish, and often outdoing releases of the same film by other labels. Seven Samurai, Cooking Price-Wise and Watership Down have already been mentioned, but other great BFI releases during the year included Ken Russell’s The Music Lovers, a BFI Flipside release of Remembrance, Billy Connolly’s Big Banana Feet and Chocolat, by Claire Denis.

Treasured Films are a relatively new label on the block but each of their releases is curated as well as the biggest labels. They have brought some very different films to us including wonderful editions of Dawn of the Mummy, The Island starring Michael Caine and former Section 3 video nasty Mausoleum.

In addition to the two releases I’ve mentioned already, The Third Man, and Hitchcock The Beginning, StudioCanal continues to release a range of fantastic films, including British classics like The Small Back Room, No Trees in the Street, Cage of Gold, The Weak and the Wicked and a 4K edition of An Inspector Calls. They also brought us an amazing edition of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation, cult classics like Orca The Killer Whale, Night of the Eagle and Red Sun, and a 4K edition of Air America.

Criterion have continued to bring some great releases to the UK, it’s just a shame that we’re so far behind the number of releases in the US and only get a couple or so releases a month.

101 Films continued their fab Black Label with the likes of Incendies and The Stone Tape, as well as bringing us catalogue titles on their Red Label including When We Were Kings and Ferngully The Last Rainforest.

It was also good to see Severin return to the UK with stacked releases of Nightmares in a Damaged Brain, Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker, Santa Sangre, Bad Biology and more. We also got ace documentaries like Enter the Clones of Bruce; here’s hoping we start to get some of their amazing boxsets soon too.

Finally, there are so many non-UK labels that are releasing some phenomenal discs, but I just wanted to mention two. First, Australian label ViaVision, who firstly are doing what British labels aren’t – releasing the classic Carry On comedy series chronologically (we still only have four films on Blu-ray in the UK, all from StudioCanal). Volume 4 came out at the end of the year, meaning the first 16 films in the series are now on Blu-ray. As well as some stacked film releases through the Imprint label, ViaVision have taken up the mantle left by the sadly no longer with us Network to release a wealth of classic British TV in wonderful editions.

And last, but not least, Film Masters are a relatively new kid on the block that have brought out some great releases of eclectic films, including Roger Corman double bills, and a wealth of rarities or lesser known films like Redneck Miller, Salt of the Earth and Ginger in the Morning.

Finally, as I look back on 2024, I can’t help but look forward to what the rest of this embryonic 2025 has in store for us. One comment on the future, with a new year, comes a new label, the latest iteration of Hammer films, that purveyor of classic horror, has begun the year in style with an absolutely mesmerising release of Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter – gorgeous packaging, two books (one of the comic), and a stack of other on disc and physical extras and, best of all, a new 4K restoration that’s a feast for the eyes on the dual-format release. The future looks very bright indeed for fans of physical media.

John Meakin

Favourite new releases

All Of Us Strangers – Of all the films released this year, I found All Of Us Strangers to be one of the most accomplished. You might think the story a little obvious, predictable even, but Andrew Haigh’s film is an example of that not mattering in the slightest. You’ll do well to find a better directed film or a better acted one this year. Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal are breathtakingly good.

The Holdovers – An eccentric Christmas film featuring Paul Giamatti in one of his best roles. There’s more to this curmudgeon than meets the eye. And Dominic Sessa as his frustrated student is pitched against type, making an intentionally anachronistic film feel sparky and fresh.

Dune 2 – Sci-fi has been underserved by modern cinema. You may scoff, but many entries in the genre are driven by action ideas, not science fiction ones. Denis Villeneuve has been putting that right since Arrival and Blade Runner 2049. His take on Frank Herbert’s magnum opus -the wellspring of a novel that inspired so much since- is marvellous. In the incredible part 2, he’s started to wrestle with some of the eccentricities in the book. He leaves me wondering how he’ll tackle Dune Messiah but I can’t wait.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – I was disappointed to see Furiosa struggle at the box-office. I thought it was a shoo-in considering Fury Road was so loved. This does lack the last film’s literal driving narrative, as well as the headline character (surely we’re not seeing it fail because it’s led by women?), but the action is still present with a sprawling mythology buoyed by invigorated, thirsty direction by George Miller.

Close Your Eyes – This was a gift. It’s wonderful to see that the elusive Víctor Erice has lost none of his power. I believe his El Sur is one of cinema’s greatest films, even though he was denied the chance to finish it. Close Your Eyes is extraordinary. A love letter to film wrapped in a powerful, superlative drama.

Deadpool Vs Wolverine – What? It can’t all be serious navel-gazing! Deadpool Vs Wolverine is ridiculous though. By any measure, it’s absurd fan-service at its most indulgent. Well, this fan is here for it. It’s hilarious, and continues to exploit Deadpool’s unique talent for repeatedly breaking the fourth wall as well as bringing back Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. How Ryan Reynolds deals with the small issue of Logan is a perfect example of why his film works. Downright offensive and yet, it doesn’t undermine James Mangold’s film in the slightest.

Speak No Evil (Dutch version) – I reviewed the DVD UK release last year, but I can’t list it as a highlight of physical releases because it’s a dreadful transfer. Takes me back to DVD circa 2002. But the film itself is another matter.

Speak No Evil features the most singularly disturbing sequence I’ve witnessed for some time. I find myself thinking of it more than I would like, questioning its impact and why. I even compared the plot-points with the English remake, a remake original director Christian Tafdrup criticised; I can see why he would but I intend to watch it as a pseudo-sequel. And therapy. I doubt I’ll watch the original again.

It’s not perfect. It’s brilliantly acted and directed as an excruciating exercise in passive aggressiveness, but unavoidably contrived. The actions of one character in particular make him impossible to sympathise with. That’s the point, I’m sure, but it still takes you out of the film. But in of itself, that moment is upsetting to the core.

Finding a truly disturbing horror is an eccentric challenge. I find excessively gory films with at least an attempt at a decent plot potentially fun, but usually dull. And so many thrillers fail to land the punch. Starve Acre, I’m looking at you. Straw Dogs, Don’t Look Now, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, even the risible Last House On The Left, all have a quietly earned power rarely seen. Speak No Evil dallies with that same power.

American Fiction – A rather understated film with a strong performance by Jeffrey Wright. Witty and insightful, it’s sharply and deftly written and can be laugh out loud hilarious. It could very easily have found an axe to grind, but it lets its contrary characters do that and observes the fallout with an intelligent warmth.

The Dead Don’t Hurt – Viggo Mortensen’s eccentric western is wonderful and he finds a new angle on a well-trodden road. While unmistakable as a typical genre entry, his perspective is very European. It’s rare that we see first-generation cowboys dreaming of their home left behind, but that’s precisely what Viggo and his screen-wife Vicky Krieps do. It’s affecting and warm, even while hitting the usual gunplay and vengeance marks.

Favourite Physical Releases

At Close Range (Arrow) – A forgotten gem from James Foley featuring an early performance by Sean Penn. A brilliant thriller that’s worth seeking out in a fine presentation.

Ikuru (BFI) – With a raft of Kurosawa releases due in 4K, don’t miss Ikuru on Blu-ray. The transfer is phenomenal, proving we shouldn’t take the format for granted.

The Small Backroom (StudioCanal) – A little known film from Powell and Pressburger that flopped on release, but is ripe for reassessment in an excellent value package from StudioCanal. It’s a great film by any measure and the assortment of extras are brilliantly curated for this package.

Incendies (101) – A powerful and invigorating drama that looks at the impact of war and violence from director Denis Villeneuve. It’s an incredible film that almost pushes itself over the edge into Oldboy territory with an audacious twist. 101 presented the film with an excellent transfer and a modest, but well-placed raft of extras.

In Closing

I’m going to skip the group consensus this year as I didn’t get many new release lists and a lot of the home entertainment lists weren’t ranked. I think the lengthy write-up gives a good idea of what we thought of 2024 though.

I’d like to thank all the writers who’ve helped fill Blueprint: Review with a bumper crop of reviews and feature articles this year.

So that’s it for 2024. Keep visiting the site for our thoughts on the latest home entertainment releases (and the rare cinematic releases that we get around to). Let us know your thoughts about the best and worst of the year below or on social media.

Happy belated New Year!