Tim from the Youtube channel Tim Talks Talkies has challenged all collectors to build an imaginary 5-film 4K themed boxset that you would buy immediately if it were released. Right away, my mind went to collections of my favorite directors whose work still needs 4K Ultra HD upgrades. Everyone has to be begging for a David Fincher Box Set with titles like “Se7en,” “The Game,” “Fight Club,” “Panic Room,” and “Zodiac.” Believe it or not, but most of M. Night Shyamalan’s work is not yet in the 4K format, so a Box Set of “The Sixth Sense,” “Signs,” “The Village,” “The Lady In The Water,” and “The Happening” have to be on the immediate horizon. I would even kill for a collection of Mike Flanagan’s work, as many of it is still only on streaming, so a 4K Box Set with titles like “Oculus,” “Hush,” “Before I Wake,” “Ouija: Origin Of Evil,” and “Gerald’s Game” would be game changers.
But collections of director’s works feel too easy (and too possible), so I wanted to reach a little deeper. I started pulling out some of my favorite films of all time and seeing if there were any themes to them, and I narrowed down 10 of them that all fit the same theme. So instead of building just one Box Set, I’ll create two within the same theme. The other additional stipulation I added is that they’d be 4K Steelbook Box Sets, much like the “Superman” Box Set released last month. The theme many of my favorite films fell under was Thrillers, and when I picked my 10, I saw a delineation between 5 thrillers with a male lead and 5 with a female lead, so I decided to split them like that. So enjoy my 2 Custom 4K Steelbook Box Sets, including 10 of my favorite films that do not currently have a 4K release here in the States, along with the artwork I’d like on the Steelbooks.
4K STEELBOOK BOX SET #1
LEADING MALE THRILLERS
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT (2004)
Warner Bros. | 1 Movie, 2 Cuts | 120 min | Rated R
Directed & Written by Eric Bress & J. Mackye Gruber
As odd as it may seem, “The Butterfly Effect” is one of my favorite films of all time, and if it got released in a Box Set, I would have no choice but to buy it. It already has a Steelbook release overseas, but it is still waiting for that 4K Ultra HD upgrade. Starring Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart, the film spans the life of a man who has the power to return to moments in his life by reading his journals, only to find that by changing one small detail, he changes everything in his future.
Bringing Out The Dead (1999)
Paramount Pictures | 121 min | Rated R
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Written by Paul Schrader & Joe Connelly
The fact that Martin Scorsese’s “Bringing Out The Dead” doesn’t already have a 4K release is baffling. With actors like Nicolas Cage, John Goodman, and Patricia Arquette, there has to be demand for this in an upgraded format. Cage plays a burned-out paramedic in Hell’s Kitchen, ranking as one of my favorite Scorsese and Nicolas Cage films.
No Country For Old Men (2007)
Paramount Pictures | 122 min | Rated R
Directed by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Written by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, & Cormac McCarthy
One of the Coen Brothers’ most successful films, “No Country For Old Men,” must get a 4K release. The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Directing, Adapted Screenplay, and Performance in a Supporting Role for Javier Bardem, so if any film should get a 4K upgrade, this one should be at the top of the list. Set in a modern-day Western, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin play characters involved in a drug deal gone wrong while Bardem plays the iconic villain, Anton Chigurh, from Cormac McCarthy’s thrilling 2005 novel.
The ROAD (2009)
Lionsgate Films | 111 min | Rated R
Directed by John Hillcoat
Written by Joe Penhall & Cormac McCarthy
Speaking of Cormac McCarthy, another adaptation of his novel, “The Road,” deserves a 4K release. Starring Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron, the film is a dreary, post-apocalyptic journey between a father and son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) as they fight for survival on their travels, facing unsavory characters and cannibalistic gangs. John Hillcoat is a favorite director of mine, and seeing his work upgraded to a higher format would be a gift.
Oldboy (2003)
Tartan Video | 120 min | Rated R
Directed by Park Chan-wook
Written by Park Chan-wook, Hwang Jo-yun, & Lim Jun-hyeong
With a 4K theatrical re-release of “Oldboy” coming this summer, it’s the perfect time to release this film on the 4K physical media format. Part of Park Chan-wook’s “Vengance” trilogy, the film sees the character Oh Dae-su searching for a captor that imprisoned him for a decade and a half. With some of the most original imagery of its time, Spike Lee would eventually remake the film with Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Olsen.
4K STEELBOOK BOX SET #2
LEADING FEMALE THRILLERS
Black Swan (2010)
20th Century Fox | 108 min | Rated R
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Written by Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, & John J. McLaughlin
Natalie Portman set the bar for tortured artist characters with her Academy Award-winning performance in “Black Swan.” In a highlight performance, she plays a ballerina thrust into the spotlight when picked to play the lead in Swan Lake. Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, and Winona Ryder also perform exceptionally. With all the success surrounding Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale,” what a perfect time to release one of his best films on the 4K format.
L.A. Confidential (1997)
20th Century Fox | 138 min | Rated R
Directed by Curtis Hanson
Written by James Ellroy, Brian Helgeland, & Curtis Hanson
Speaking of Academy Award-winning performances from actresses, Kim Basinger won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1997’s “L.A. Confidential.” The film would get a Best Picture nomination but ultimately lost to “Titanic.” We don’t have a 4K of James Cameron’s “Titanic” yet, but “L.A. Confidential” would make a great 4K edition.
Nocturnal Animals (2016)
Universal Studios | 116 min | Rated R
Directed by Tom Ford
Written by Tom Ford & Austin Wright
“Nocturnal Animals,” a thriller starring Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, is a film that often falls under the radar. Directed by Tom Ford, the film is gorgeous and captivating in all the best ways, and with none of his work released in the 4K format, why not start here?
Promising Young Woman (2020)
Universal Studios | 113 min | Rated R
Directed & Written by Emerald Fennell
The fact that we never received any special editions for Emerald Fennell’s film “Promising Young Woman” is a tragedy. Not only was the film a Best Picture nominee, but Fennell would go on to win Best Original Screenplay, and Mulligan should have won for Best Leading Actress but got beat by Frances McDormand. Mulligan plays a medical school dropout with a revenge list after a college rape leads to her best friend’s suicide. With a compelling, original story and often beautiful imagery, I couldn’t think of a better film to get the 4K treatment.
Winter’s Bone (2010)
Lionsgate Films | 100 min | Rated R
Directed by Debra Granik
Written by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini
Before Jennifer Lawrence was a household name with huge franchises (“The Hunger Games” and “X-Men”) and Oscar accolades (“Silver Linings Playbook,” “American Hustle,” and “Joy”), there was “Winter’s Bone.” The film, alone, was a success, garnering Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay nominations. But Lawrence would receive her first Oscar nomination for her performance, losing to Natalie Portman in “Black Swan.” Lawrence plays a solemn girl traversing the countryside and social landscape of Ozark Mountain, looking for her absentee father to keep her and her siblings together.
