All your friends have Netflix. We can all access a wealth of
movies any time we want. But DVD box sets can still make fantastic gifts, if
they're cool-looking enough, and contain stuff your loved ones will watch over
and over. Here are the most beautiful (and cheapest) DVD box sets to give to
your friends and family.
Objects of Desire:
Marvel Phase 1 Box
Set.
All of Marvel Phase 1 comes in this awesome briefcase with
prop replicas and other memorabilia. $159.52 on
Amazon.
X-Men Collection
All 6 X-Men films on Blu-Ray in Adamantium claw packaging for
$129.99
MST3K 25th
Anniversary Tin
A must have for any hard-core MST3K fan, this collector's
edition costs
$49.99 and includes a ton of never before released/long out of print
material. Most notably it includes the episodes that transitioned between hosts
Mike and Joel.
Pacific Rim
Collector's Edition
For $41.22
you can get the Collector's Edition of Pacific
Rim. The Jaeger shaped case will protect your special-features-packed
blu-rays of Pacific Rim from
anything—even Kaiju.
Star Wars: The Clone
Wars Animated Series Collector's Edition
This special edition includes all of Star Wars: The Clone
Wars and includes The Art of the Clone Wars, a booklet containing concept art
from all 5 seasons. Currently
priced at $114.96.
Star Trek: Stardate
Collection
12 discs of Star Trek movies for
$84.99, including all 10 pre-J.J. movies and 2 discs of bonus features. Notably, these are the theatrical cuts — meaning that Star Trek VI, in particular, is a lot more watchable.
Akira 25th Anniversary
Edition
This 25th Anniversary Edition includes both English dubs and
the original Japanese audio track so the Akira fan in your life can listen any
way they please. $29.73
on Amazon.
The Man of Steel
At $44.99
this limited collector's edition of Man of Steel comes with PVC figurines of
Superman and General Zod.
Fringe: The Complete Series
This box set, containing all 109 episodes plus an insane amount of extras, came out last May — but now it's marked down from $200 to $87.72 on Amazon, making it actually somewhat affordable.
Farscape
Complete Series on Blu-ray:
This box set already came out in 2011, but now it's cheaper
(just
$75) and has a comic book included.
Supernatural Seasons 1-8 Blu-ray
Box Set
This
is some weird import, and there's almost no info about it, but if you have a
friend who's been wanting to get up to speed on the Winchester brothers — say,
someone who reveres Ben Edlund and just found out he wrote a ton of episodes of
this show — then you can give them the
entire run for just $125.
Game of Thrones Season 1-2 Set:
You
can also get the first two seasons on Blu-ray for $10 less, but the three vinyl
figures — including Drogo and a dragon! — might actually make this a way
better gift for your friend who wants a refresher course in Westerosi lore. It's
$90 on Amazon.
Twilight Zone Episodes Box Set:
Holy
cow — this is the entire run of the show, 156 episodes on 25 discs, for just
$118.99. Some Amazon reviewers are pointing people to the superior
Definitive Edition, which is priced
just slightly more, for now at least.
The Dark Knight Trilogy Ultimate
Collector's Edition:
Seriously,
even if you already have one or more of the Nolan Batman films on DVD or Blu-ray,
this box set may just be irresistible. The packaging is stunning, including an
art book. And the exclusive special features are just astonishing, including
glimpses at very different versions of Nolan's Batman that might have been. This
really is an indispensible edition. Just
$74.99 on Amazon.
Doctor Who 1-7 Blu Ray Box Set:
As
far as we know, this is the only way to own the first four seasons of the
rebooted Doctor Who on Blu-ray — they weren't shot in high-definition, but
everybody says the picture quality of the Blu-ray versions is still
surprisingly great. Plus loads of special features. And a sonic screwdriver! $299.99
on Amazon.
Mad Max: The Complete Trilogy on
Blu-ray
Supposedly
this is the first time you can get Beyond
Thunderdome on Blu-ray, although there's also a separate release that came
out at the same time. In any case, the whole trilogy, plus a bunch of extras,
is just
$24.99 on Amazon now. Looks as though George Miller recorded a new
commentary track, which might be interesting since he was in the middle of
shooting a new Mad Max film.
The Avengers: The Complete Emma
Peel Megaset
Supposedly
contains all the episodes featuring Emma
Peel (Diana Rigg, currently rocking Game of Thrones) and it's just
$42.48 on Amazon.
Cheap Sets and Cult Classics
Drive In Cult
Classics Collection
For $51.99,
this 200 movie collection is a steal. It includes classic cult movies starring
William Shatner, Richard Burton, Bruce Lee and Bela Lugosi. For a complete list,
go
here.
3rd Rock from the Sun: The Complete Series
All six seasons of 3rd Rock, the classic alien sitcom featuring French Stewart and Kristen Johnson, plus a couple other guys you might have heard of, are just $20 on Amazon. And you can find it even cheaper on other sites. The downside: these are the edited-for-syndication versions, meaning some stuff is missing. Drat.
Cries of Ecstasy,
Blows of Death
Something Weird Video is a national treasure, preserving
obscure cult films for a couple decades now. Their website [NSFW!] is a shining
citadel of trash culture, and their films are generally available for $9.99 as
DVD-Rs or downloads. Including this
1973 sexploitation classic, which takes place in the post-apocalyptic world
of 2062.
Health and Safety
Scare Films Vol. 18
The other recent release from Something Weird that would
make an excellent gift — this is a
compilation of weird and terrifying "health and safety" films
from the 1950s to 1970s, including one where a see-thru robot warns workers
about workplace safety, then says "I told you so" when they screw up.
Bewitched:
The Complete Series
Hopefully unlike 3rd Rock, this one isn't edited versions
of the episodes — and it's still dirt cheap. Over
on CD Universe, the whole set of eight seasons, both the Dick Sargent and
Dick York eras, is just $41.99!
The
Sci Fi Invasion
Basically, just four low-budget
science fiction action movies: Cosmos: War of the Planets (1978),
Assignment: Outer Space (1960), Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965), and
Warning From Space (1956). Just $7.38
on Amazon.
American
Horror Stories
Cheapo DVD publisher Mill Creek
Entertainment tries to capitalize on the popularity of American Horror Story,
with this box set of horror films — including the original Little Shop of Horrors with Jack
Nicholson, and Horror Express with
Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Telly Savalas! Just
$4.24 on Amazon.
Best
of the Worst 12 Horror Movie Collection
Another Mill Creek release, this
one includes Manos the Hands of Fate
and The Atomic Brain. Perfect for
holiday marathons. Just $9.62
on Amazon.
Monster
Movie Pack
Another 12-pack from Mill Creek,
featuring The Creeping Terror, Gamera the Invincible, The Crater Lake Monster,
Attack of the Monsters, Bride of the Gorilla, Horror High, Horror of the
Zombies, The Wasp Woman, The Horrors of Spider Island, Kong Island, Land of the
Minotaur and Snowbeast. Just $5.00
on Amazon.
4
Post-Apocalyptic Films:
Unlike the 12-packs from Mill
Creek (and there are plenty more where the above ones came from) this is just four
movies for $9.99. But they include the original Logan's Run and the excellent director's cut of Dark City.
8
Movie Action and SF Pack:
For just
$7.79, you get Christian Bale doing Gun-Kata in Equilibrium, Christopher Lambert having forbidden sex in Fortress, and much much more.
TMNT
4 Movie Pack:
Catch up on the Turtles before
the new Michael Bay film comes out, for just $9.33
at Walmart.
Batman
4 film set:
Both Burton films, and both
Schumacher films, for only $9.96
from Walmart.
100
SF Classics:
Mill Creek does it again — and
this one really does have everything. Including Galaxina! And Robo Vampire!
So many films in here that everybody really ought to see at least once, and
it's all just $16.49.
15-Film
Man Cave Sci-Fi Horror Pack:
Why "Man Cave"? No
clue. But this includes ExistenZ,
Cronenberg's underrated VR epic. Plus 14
other films that range from to WTF to watchable. It's just
$8.82.
50
Horror Classics:
Mill Creek, once again. And with
a number of films starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff in the mix, this isn't
a bad deal for just
$8.96.
The
Complete Ray Bradbury Theater:
And finally... the whole run of Ray Bradbury's TV show is
now just
$10.21 on Amazon. Hard to believe.