So, you've decided to give DVDs as Christmas gifts this year. And everyone on your list wants something that came out this year. They just can't think of the titles right off.
Kids/teens want the hottest new movies, of course — but can they really wait until Christmas? Can parents really keep "Up" and the new "Star Trek" on ice until Dec. 25?
Well, if you should you weaken, there are plenty of other titles to choose from for under-the-tree packages or hanging-from-the-mantel stocking-stuffers. Would you believe more than 14,000 DVD titles have been released during 2009?
Of course, that includes everything from cardio kickboxing to yoga programs to no less than four versions of the "Transformers" sequel to new entries in the "Girls Gone Wild" franchise to multiple reissues of familiar older films to children's specialty discs to ancient material that has fallen into public domain to the most sought-after movies and TV shows.
The year's biggest sellers for family viewing were primarily animated features, led by "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" (Dreamworks), "Up" (Disney/Pixar), "Bolt" (Disney), "Monsters vs. Aliens" (Paramount), "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" (Fox) and Disney's re-issue of its 1940 classic, "Pinocchio."
Among the best-selling live-action movies this year were "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (Paramount), "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (Fox), "Taken" (Fox), "The Proposal" (Touchstone) "Gran Torino" (Warner), "Star Trek" (Paramount), "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" (Disney), "Marley and Me" (Fox) and "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" (Paramount).
But all of those were outshone by the No. 1 best-seller of 2009, "Twilight," which was far ahead of the rest with 9.5 million copies sold for $172.5 million.
True, "Transformers 2" earned more money — $184.6 million — but it sold only 8.2 million units. (Did I say "only"?)
Still, you're probably not going to buy any of those because you have no doubt purchased or rented them already. So this is a sampling of everything else.
Obviously, a newspaper DVD gift guide cannot be comprehensive. This is meant to be simply a reminder of some of the best/most popular titles that came out this year, categorized for easy review (with apologies if your fave was overlooked).
POPULAR MOVIES
"Quantum of Solace" (MGM). Daniel Craig's second outing as James Bond isn't up to the first, but it is a wild visceral ride, as action-filled as any movie in recent memory.
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount). The special effects got all the talk, but Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett definitely walked the walk.
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox) won the Oscars early this year and then made a killing on DVD shortly thereafter. This R-rated film is harsh in places but a worthy journey.
WESTERN MOVIES
"Appaloosa" (New Line) is a fine return to a beloved genre by filmmaker/star Ed Harris and co-star Viggo Mortensen.
"Wagon Master" (Warner). John Ford's 1950 yarn about Mormons heading West was filmed in Moab, in gorgeous black and white.
"Lonely Are the Brave" (Universal). Modern-day cowpoke Kirk Douglas is at odds with the advancement of civilization in this 1962 black-and-white drama.
FAITH MOVIES
"Fireproof" (Sony) came out last January and is among the top 35 best-selling DVDs of the year. The comic relief is labored, but the save-your-marriage story is first-rate.
ART-HOUSE MOVIES
"Frozen River" (Sony) is an excellent drama about a woman (Oscar-nominated Melissa Leo) who transports illegal immigrants when she's in desperate financial straits.
"The Class" (Sony Classics). This fascinating French documentary-style drama about inner-city kids and a special teacher is based on real events and uses real kids.
"The Exiles" (Milestone) is an early '60s feature about displaced Native Americans in California, with instructive bonus features about "independent" filmmaking.
VINTAGE MOVIES
"Jack Lemmon Film Collection" (Sony) features a range of pictures never before on DVD, including "Phffft," "The Notorious Landlady" and "Good Neighbor Sam."
"White Dog" Criterion)/"The Samuel Fuller Collection" (Sony). The latter is a box set of Fuller's early work — but it is eclipsed by the former, a startling, tough allegory about racism that had been unavailable for decades.
"Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music: The Director's Cut: 40th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition" (Warner). If ever a title told all, this is it. Baby boomer alert.
"The Sidney Poitier Collection" (Warner) is highlighted by the black-and-white dramas "Edge of the City" and "A Patch of Blue."
"Natalie Wood Collection" (Warner) includes three DVD debuts, "Sex and the Single Girl," "Cash McCall" and "Inside Daisy Clover" (the latter with young Robert Redford).
"Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Volume Three: William Wellman at Warner Bros." (TCM/Warner)/ "Pre-Code Hollywood Collection" (Universal). Each set contains six pre-Production Code movies from the early 1930s, nine making their home-video debut. Stars in the latter include young pups Cary Grant, Claudette Colbert and Ida Lupino.
"Icons of Screwball Comedy: Volume One" and "Volume Two" (Sony). A total of eight terrific farces, two each starring Rosalind Russell, Jean Arthur, Irene Dunne and Salt Lake native Loretta Young, and several making home-video debuts.
TV SHOWS
"Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days" (Vivendi) is a best-of set with enough songs, stories and skits to entertain and educate any moppet who loves Muppets.
"Midsomer Murders: Barnaby's Casebook" (Acorn) brings together 17 feature-length episodes from four seasons of the low-key, rural murder-mystery series.
"Farscape: The Complete Series Megaset" (A&E) is a fan-favorite reissue for sci-fi buffs.
"Homicide: Life on the Streets: The Complete Series" (A&E) is a gritty police procedural from 2000 that boasts a strong cult fanbase.
"Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Complete Series" (A&E). Jane Seymour's frontier show was re-issued with streamlined packaging at a more reasonable price.
"The Prisoner: The Complete Series" (A&E). Patrick McGoohan's surrealistic allegory about maintaining individuality is remastered and given streamlined packaging.
Also, a bevy of beloved vintage series made their DVD debuts, including "On the Road With Charles Kuralt" (Acorn), featuring quirky lifestyles of everyday folks across the country; "Zorro" (Disney), the baby boomer favorite from Disney's golden age; "Ally McBeal" (Fox) the fantasy-laden law-firm comedy; "It's Garry Shandling's Show" (Shout!), a hilarious anti-sitcom; "The Barbara Stanwyck Show" (E1), the movie star's anthology show; "Peyton Place" (Shout!/Fox), the half-hour soap opera; and "The Patty Duke Show" (Shout!), the series with teenage Duke as "identical cousins."
Three shows also made their "official" season-set debuts after years of circulating in random, inferior quality public-domain sets: "Bonanza" (CBS/Paramount), "Wagon Train" (Timeless/NBC) and "One Step Beyond" (CBS/Paramount).
And in the category of follow-up seasons, two that were released in 2009 were a long time in coming: "The Mary Tyler Moore Show: The Complete Fifth Season" arrived three years after "Season 4" and "Everwood: The Complete Second Season" came five years after "Season 1"!
BLU-RAY MOVIES
Animated features enhanced by the hi-def brilliance of Blu-ray included Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Pinocchio," as well as Pixar's "A Bug's Life" and "Monsters, Inc." all buffed up to look as if they were created yesterday.
"North by Northwest" (Warner). This fabulous hi-def transfer of this great Alfred Hitchcock thriller will have fans being chased by cropdusters in their dreams.
"The Universe: Seasons 1-3" (History) is a terrific documentary series that explores the outer reaches of space with computer graphics that are especially stunning in hi-def.
"Miracle on 34th Street" (Fox) and "It's a Wonderful Life" (Paramount) were gussied-up with Blu-ray transfers for the holidays.
"The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone With the Wind" (both Warner) were updated one more time to show off a glorious hi-def gloss.
"A River Runs Through It" (Columbia), the Robert Redford film starring Brad Pitt, looks and feels brand-new in this rebooted edition.
e-mail: hicks@desnews.com