The holiday season is only a few weeks away. Before you rush off to pick up some presents, make sure to check out Exclaim!'s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide, which we will be rolling out in daily instalments this week.
While the season of giving brings plenty of pressures, there's often opportunity for some couch time as well. Here we present some film-related gift suggestions to be enjoyed in between wrapping presents and decking the halls.
The Exclaim! Holiday Gift Guide 2014: Film and Home Viewing
Pee-wee's Playhouse: The Complete Series
(Shout! Factory)
Whether you remember Pee-wee's Playhouse as a charming children's show or a subversive, psychedelic monstrosity for stoned collegians, you'll want to pick up the newly remastered Pee-wee's Playhouse: The Complete Series, which collects all 45 episodes of the Emmy Award-winning program for the first time in beautiful high-definition (and there's an emphasis on high there). Ten featurettes and behind-the-scenes bonuses will entice hardcore fans to this collection, which includes a sit-down with composers Mark Mothersbaugh and Danny Elfman about their music for the show.
Matthew Ritchie
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride
(Touchstone)
By Cary Elwes and Joe Layden
Even by the standards of the day, the chances of a postmodern action-adventure fairytale making it to the screen, let alone becoming one of the most iconic family films of all-time, were incredibly slim. Yet 1987's The Princess Bride has become an inescapable presence, it's characters woven into the fabric of pop culture. Star Cary Elwes details the film's gestation and behind-the-scenes tidbits in this new book that includes never-before-seen photos and new interviews with co-stars Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Billy Crystal and author and screenwriter William Goldman.
Ian Gormely
They Came From Within: A History of Canadian Horror Cinema (Revised and Updated Edited) (ARP Books) / Consumed: A Novel By David Cronenberg
(Penguin Random House)
Whether it's the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Dawn of the Dead, horror movies have long been used to explore the social, political and cultural underbellies of modern life. Caelum Vatnsdal's critically acclaimed book They Came From Within takes that one step further, examining how the Canuck horror industry in particular continues to define our nation. True Canadian film geeks probably already own the original, but this revised tenth anniversary update is an ideal gift for any burgeoning critic or completest. If that's not enough, pick up Consumed, the first novel by prolific Canadian horror visionary David Cronenberg, which should tide any fan over while they wait for him to stop working with Robert Pattinson.
Matthew Ritchie
Need more holiday gift ideas? Then check out our other sections on music, videogames, music ephemera and books, as well as gifts for the "urban hipster", folk fan and hip-hop fan in your life.
While the season of giving brings plenty of pressures, there's often opportunity for some couch time as well. Here we present some film-related gift suggestions to be enjoyed in between wrapping presents and decking the halls.
The Exclaim! Holiday Gift Guide 2014: Film and Home Viewing
Pee-wee's Playhouse: The Complete Series
(Shout! Factory)
Whether you remember Pee-wee's Playhouse as a charming children's show or a subversive, psychedelic monstrosity for stoned collegians, you'll want to pick up the newly remastered Pee-wee's Playhouse: The Complete Series, which collects all 45 episodes of the Emmy Award-winning program for the first time in beautiful high-definition (and there's an emphasis on high there). Ten featurettes and behind-the-scenes bonuses will entice hardcore fans to this collection, which includes a sit-down with composers Mark Mothersbaugh and Danny Elfman about their music for the show.
Matthew Ritchie
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride
(Touchstone)
By Cary Elwes and Joe Layden
Even by the standards of the day, the chances of a postmodern action-adventure fairytale making it to the screen, let alone becoming one of the most iconic family films of all-time, were incredibly slim. Yet 1987's The Princess Bride has become an inescapable presence, it's characters woven into the fabric of pop culture. Star Cary Elwes details the film's gestation and behind-the-scenes tidbits in this new book that includes never-before-seen photos and new interviews with co-stars Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Billy Crystal and author and screenwriter William Goldman.
Ian Gormely
They Came From Within: A History of Canadian Horror Cinema (Revised and Updated Edited) (ARP Books) / Consumed: A Novel By David Cronenberg
(Penguin Random House)
Whether it's the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Dawn of the Dead, horror movies have long been used to explore the social, political and cultural underbellies of modern life. Caelum Vatnsdal's critically acclaimed book They Came From Within takes that one step further, examining how the Canuck horror industry in particular continues to define our nation. True Canadian film geeks probably already own the original, but this revised tenth anniversary update is an ideal gift for any burgeoning critic or completest. If that's not enough, pick up Consumed, the first novel by prolific Canadian horror visionary David Cronenberg, which should tide any fan over while they wait for him to stop working with Robert Pattinson.
Matthew Ritchie
Need more holiday gift ideas? Then check out our other sections on music, videogames, music ephemera and books, as well as gifts for the "urban hipster", folk fan and hip-hop fan in your life.