We review lots and lots of DVDs each year. Of the many many hundreds which we review, only a very small percentage attain a
perfect 5 out of 5 score overall. Below, for your viewing pleasure are the 12 DVDs which have attained our perfect 5 out of 5 score for the year of 2009.
This is not a "Top 10" of 2009. This is simply a
list of the best of the best of the DVDs that we've come across for 2009.
(The DVDs are listed in reverse release date order, not by the date of our review.)
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The Cove (2009)
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2010 Golden Globe winning documentary (and now Oscar nominee) The Cove lands on DVD, given excellent treatment. This exposé of the Japanese dolphin fishing industry will deservedly turn heads and have people thinking twice about what sort of fish they tuck into.
Released 2-Dec-2009
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Warlords, The (Tau ming chong): Collectors Edition (Blu-ray) (2007)
Talentaid 
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Set during the time of the Taiping rebellion in China against the corrupt Qing dynasty when five million people died from starvation, disease or by the sword, The Warlords from director Peter Ho-Sun Chan (Perhaps Love) is both a magnificent historical epic and a film with a focus upon individual, intimate relationships. It also contains the performance for which action star Jet Li won Best Actor at the 2008 Hong Kong Film Awards. With fantastic action sequences, great acting, wonderful visuals and a great sound design, The Warlords is a stunning cinematic experience that builds to an inevitable climax that will not soon be forgotten. The Warlords is simply one of the best epic action films of 2007.
Released 30-Nov-2009
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Wake in Fright (Blu-ray) (1971)
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In my opinion, Wake in Fright represents one of the three most important films made in this country. All these films share a common theme of the struggle of white Australian Anglo-Saxon people fitting into the natural environment of outback Australia. The other two are Walkabout (1971) and Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) Do not hesitate to pick up this great Australian film on Blu-ray. I consider it one of the most important films I own in my collection and I know that you will too.
Released 3-Nov-2009
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Wake in Fright (1971)
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At the very beginning of the 1970's a few films assisted in the renaissance of the Australian film industry - Wake In Fright is one of those films. It captures our landscape with cruel, but sublime beauty and portrays elements of our culture with an eerie clarity. Wake In Fright is an undisputed classic of Australian cinema. Madman Entertainment has delivered the film to DVD with outstanding transfers and extras, in a beautiful presentation.
Released 3-Nov-2009
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Samson & Delilah (2009)
Footprint Films 
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Australian filmmaker, Warwick Thornton's brilliant debut feature, Samson & Delilah is a haunting and emotional film experience that offers hope from utter desolation. Winner of the coveted, Caméra d'Or at Cannes this year, Samson & Delilah is currently cleaning up at every film ceremony in the country. Madman Entertainment has delivered a first class, two-disc presentation - buy it.
Released 25-Nov-2009
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Baraka (Blu-ray) (1992)
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Baraka, from 1992, was the last film to be shot in the Todd-AO 70mm widescreen format. Nothing more than a series of scenes and images set to music and nothing less than a pantheistic journey across the planet Baraka is an experience that will either leave you breathless or reaching for the remote. Even for those not attuned to its experimental nature Baraka has another reason to recommend it. Transferred from film to Blu-ray using an 8K scanning process this is the pinnacle of home theatre presentation and will be a reference disk for many years to come. The impressive DTS Master Audio soundtrack is also amongst the very best and the extras are genuinely interesting including a feature length Making of documentary.
Released 8-Apr-2009
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Transformers: The Movie (Blu-ray) (1986)
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Brutal and engrossing. Hands down one of the greatest flicks of the 1980s, animated or otherwise, lands on a spectacularly worthy Blu-ray. Eat your heart out Michael Bay, THIS is how to make a Transformers movie.
Released 24-Jun-2009
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Sin City (Blu-ray) (Disney) (2005)
Dimension Films 
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Sin City on Blu-ray represents the new reference disc to show the capabilities of Blu-ray video and audio to your friends. This release by Disney would rate as the definitive Blu-ray release of 2009 so far, comparable with The Dark Knight, Wall-E and Pinocchio.
Released 9-Jun-2009
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X-Men 2 (X2): Two Disc Edition (Blu-ray) (2003)
Fox
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Bryan Singer promised one journalist that X2 would be bigger, badder, and better. He delivered on that promise, and then some. Scenes that provide an insight into how the real world's X-Men perceive their persecutors is just the icing on the cake for a story that rockets along like the proverbial X-Jet. The disc X2 is presented on is of a quality befitting a film so revered by the audience.
Released 6-May-2009
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X-Men: Two Disc Edition (Blu-ray) (2000)
Fox
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X-Men is among the most underrated comic book film adaptations of all time. Yes, it is an origin story, but seldom do origin stories in any canon immerse the viewer so well in the characters, their underlying psychology, or the world they inhabit. This BD-Video release also benefits from being a major improvement over the previous DVD releases in every way imaginable.
Released 6-May-2009
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Pinocchio: 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition (Blu-ray) (1940)
Disney 
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Disney's timeless classic has been given a truly deluxe Blu-ray treatment, one that even features a DVD version of the film as a backup of sorts.
Released 11-Mar-2009
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Quantum of Solace (Blu-ray) (2008)
MGM 
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Quantum of Solace is the first direct sequel in the James Bond film series. Unlike it's lush and romantic predecessor, QoS is very much a hard driven, revenge film. It's often dark and brooding, and contains surprising emotional depth. Despite being stylishly a little derivative of the Jason Bourne films, QoS is more than just The Bond Ultimatum, and its more than just a good sequel, it's a great Bond film in its own right. With exotic locations, thrilling action scenes, and outstanding stunt set-pieces, QoS always looks and sounds fantastic in high definition, with DTS-HD Lossless Master Surround Audio.
Released 18-Mar-2009
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