It’s the holiday season, which means it’s time to start thinking about buying gifts for those closest in your life. Committing to a gift idea isn’t easy for everybody, so at Grit Daily, we’re recommending a series of gift options. Today, we’re focusing on the movie lover you might know. Over the next few weeks, consider any of these valid options for any hardcore movie fans in your life.
The New Godfather III
Quit your snickering. Godfather III is a good film, damn it. Compare it to the first two Godfather movies, and yes, it’s underwhelming. However, it’s still Francis Ford Coppola doing grand opera gangster drama. The final film in his trilogy has its famous flaws, but they’re far more insignificant than most lauded studio films these days. The Godfather III has moments of glory, flaws and all, that should not be dismissed.
However, it’s still seen as a disappointment and even a joke to some people. All these years later, Coppola decided to cut a new version of one of his more polarizing films, titled, The Godfather, Code: The Death of Michael Corleone. He rearranged scenes and added and lost some. In Coppola’s words, it’s the superior version. Whether superior or inferior, Godfather III is an exceptional, albeit not great, drama with a fitting and lonely death for Michael Corleone (Al Pacino).
Lord of the Rings in 4K
Peter Jackson’s grand trilogy and lesser trilogy, The Hobbit movies, are now available in 4K. Jackson’s first crack at Middle Earth holds up beautifully. The scale, the sets, the effects, and the sweeping adventure have barely aged a day since they played in theaters. In 4K, The Lord of the Rings movies supposedly looks even better. Apparently, the same goes for The Hobbit 4K. For any Lord of the Rings fans, the pricey 4K set is a can’t-lose option, unless they don’t own a 4K TV and player.
The Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers can lighten up the holidays. We need the laughs more than ever this year, and The Marx Brothers’ classics never cease to fail in the laughter department. There’s a great Marx Brothers set, including Duck Soup and Animal Crackers, that’s currently only $14.99 on Amazon. It’s a steal.
Midsommar: Director’s Cut
Midsommar is one of the most visceral and mesmerizing horror films of the last few years. It’s not for everybody, but for the people it’s for, it’s a beautifully realized epic nightmare. The theatrical cut is already a full meal of horror and some dark laughs, but A24 released a Director’s Cut of Ari Aster’s film. It features 30 extra minutes of footage. Midsommar is not for the faint of heart, but for fans of the movie, those 30 minutes will provide more of what they love.
Paul Thomas Anderson Book
A behind-the-scenes look at all of Paul Thomas Anderson’s body-of-work, including There Will Be Blood, Boogie Nights, and Inherent Vice. Adam Nayman’s book is a treat for PTA fans, considering the filmmaker rarely grants interviews or publicly discusses his work. Nayman, however, got to talk to some of the director’s closest collaborators. From the sound of it, it’s a comprehensive overview of Anderson’s work. Books on filmmakers, such as two on Pedro Almodovar and Akira Kurosawa, are a safe bet as far as gifts for movie fans go.
Some Criterion Action
Every year Criterion knocks the latest additions to their library out of the park. The presentations, covers, and features are always beautifully done. This year, Criterion released Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman (get a double dose of Pacino!), David Cronenberg’s Crash (get your freak on!), Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (amazing!), and an array of other titles to gift to a movie fan in your life. Can’t go wrong with Parasite or Moonstruck, either. Better yet, gift a subscription to The Criterion Channel, which has hundreds of movies from all over the world to discover.
Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at the Box Office and You Can, Too!
For any aspiring screenwriter in your life, give them the gift of Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant’s book on the business of screenwriting. The duo behind Reno 911 and The Night at the Museum movies detail the ins and outs, the headaches and the fun of writing major studio films. The book came out eight years ago, but it’s still a hilarious look at the lives of two Hollywood go-to writers. There’s some practical writing advice in there, too, but it’s more about how to work behind-the-scenes and survive the tumultuous waters of Hollywood.
