JUST THE TICKET
Film fans on your gift list? These titles should keep them watching.
These films are widely available. Shop around for best prices.
Let the games begin
“100 Years of Olympic Films,” released by Criterion. For those who love the Olympics as much as they love film, this is their lucky year. This massive collection presents 53 documentaries on the subject, starting with 1912 in Stockholm and including classics from Leni Riefenstahl and Kon Ichikawa, plus a 216-page hardback book. $399.95.
A must-have
“The Bridge on the River Kwai,” released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Winner of seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Director (David Lean) and Actor (Alec Guinness), the WWII classic deserves a place in every movie lover’s library. Even longtime fans will be dazzled by the 4K Ultra HD transfer to celebrate the film’s 60th anniversary. $30.99.
Guide to movie greats
“Cinemaps: An Atlas of 35 Great Movies” by Andrew DeGraff. Quirk Books. DeGraff ’s intricate, playful, intensely detailed maps use color coded pathways to show you the routes your favorite characters took in movies ranging from venerated classics like “King Kong” and “The Wizard of Oz” to newer productions like “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Mad Max: Fury Road.” $29.99.
Sci-f i classic
the film: the 1977 theatrical version, the 1980 special edition and the 1997 director’s cut. Plus, fresh supplements, a 4K restoration transfer, and packaging modeled after the alien spacecraft. It’s truly out of this world. $75.99.
‘Die Hard’ fans
“A Die Hard Christmas” by Doogie Horner and JJ Harrison. Insight Editions. Channel your inner John McClane as one of Hollywood’s most underrated holiday classics gets the long-awaited picture book treatment in this playful spin on “The Night Before Christmas” — just with a lot more cursing and graphic violence. $16.99.
A TV cookbook
the screen and into your kitchen. Whether “Sixteen Candles” left you hankering for birthday cake, or your mouth still waters at the thought of the Il Timpano from “Big Night,” the creative cooking contained within will satisfy all appetites. $25.
Dazzling visionary
“Guillermo del Toro’s ‘The Shape of Water’: Creating a Fairy Tale for Troubled Times” by Gina McIntyre. Insight Editions. Get an inside peek at the dazzling vision behind one of the year’s most acclaimed and original films. Behind-the-scenes interviews bolster a page-turning look at the bold ideas and visuals at work in this one-of-a-kind love story, which won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival. $45.