1. Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Complete Collection (Arrow)
The only company around that can top Arrow is Arrow. My personal number one choice for best Blu-ray boxset of 2015 is Battles Without Honor Humanity: The Complete Collection. I went back and forth with this and the Hellraiser set and in the end this one just came out on top. Much like that Hellraiser set, Battles Without Honor and Humanity is a limited edition release but it just came out and should still be available. So if you want it, get it now. And trust me, you want it!
This is a 13-disc set. Yes, 13 discs! On one set you get Kinji Fukasaku’s entire Yakuza saga. You like the work of Takashi Miike? What about Quentin Tarantino? Then you’re going to want this set because these films influenced directors of that ilk greatly!
The set consists of 5 films – Battles Without Honor and Humanity, Hiroshima Death Match, Proxy War, Police Tactics, and Final Episode. The films all go together and what this set includes, amongst it’s great wealth of special features, is the premiere of the 224-minute compilation edition of the first four films, previously screened only as part of a limited Japanese theatrical release in 1980 and on the Toei cable channel. That’s right, you can watch a cut of the first four films! That’s pretty freakin’ cool!
Oh and much like the Hellraiser set, Arrow once again has included a limited edition hardback book. This time its 150 pages on the history of the yakuza film genre. It’s fascinating and a must-read if you’re even slightly interested in the genre.
Look, here’s how impressive this set is. It just came out a few weeks ago and I’ve barely begun to get my feet wet with all it has to offer. There are goodies included that I’ve yet to enjoy and still I can confidently say it’s the best release of the year. Seriously, it’s that good.
So there you have it. That’s my 10 favorite Blu-ray collections of the year. Did I miss anything? Would you rank them differently? Let me know in the comments below!
