Gifts for Movie Lovers

Something that goes further into the films they already love: a good edition of a favourite, or a book on how it was made. The Life Aquatic on Criterion Blu-ray suits the Wes Anderson fan, and 2001: A Space Odyssey on 4K Ultra HD rewards the biggest screen in the house, for someone who will still argue about the ending afterwards.

A book about the films they keep rewatching. Taschen's The Shining opens up the archive behind the film, and The Stanley Kubrick Archives collects stills, notes and production papers from a director who kept everything. Give the first with The Shining on 4K for an evening that is read about first and then watched again.

Books that go film by film through one director's career. The Iconic Filmmakers series covers Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson, with the stills doing as much work as the text. For a completist, Alfred Hitchcock All the Films gives every film, episode and short its own entry.

The Wes Anderson Archive from Criterion collects ten films across twenty-five years in 4K UHD, so the next marathon needs no hunting for discs. It sits well beside The Life Aquatic on its own Criterion Blu-ray and the Iconic Filmmakers book on Anderson, which explains how the symmetry in his frames actually gets made.

For someone who cares about films, yes: a disc is a copy they keep on the shelf rather than a title that may leave a streaming service next month. 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shining both come here as 4K Ultra HD with a Blu-ray alongside, and Criterion editions are made for people who collect the films they love.