J Paul Johnson
If you have an obsessive cinephile in your life, the staff at Film Obsessive are here to make your holiday shopping a bit easier this year with our 2024 Holiday Gift Guide! (Or, if you are secretly looking to hoard some swag for yourself, we won’t tell!) Here are our recommendations for your holiday gifts. Click the image or link in each description to purchase.
BOXSETS
Film lovers love films, and any cinephile who collects or even enjoys physical media is certain to succumb to joy when opening up any of these lovely boxsets of films.
Universal Classic Monsters Limited Edition Collection on 4K
Halloween may be over, but if you’re a cinephile partial to horror, you know that scary movies spin in our disc players year-round! This year, one of the major box-sets released happened to be an eight-disc collection that includes some of the foundational films in the genre on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray with hours of bonus features: Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932), The Invisible Man (1933), The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Wolf Man (1941), The Phantom of the Opera (1943), and Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954). The groovy box art and book-style packaging also distinguish this release from previous editions. — Will Scheibel
Hitchcock: The Beginning 11-Disc Blu-ray Boxset
More than a century after on from the release of his first film, you would think there would be little remaining to say about Alfred Hitchcock, or little need to re-release his works. Studiocanal has wonderfully proved us wrong with the release of Hitchcock: The Beginning, an 11-disc Special Edition Blu-Ray boxset that presents 10 of Hitch’s early films (showing the transition from silent cinema to ‘talkies’) in sparkling, lovingly restored form, alongside a wealth of extras and special features and a 62-page booklet to boot—and all in time for Christmas! — Chris Flackett
Christopher Nolan 8-Film Collection on 4K
What could possibly be a better gift idea for a cinephile than eight 4K films of Christopher Nolan in a single set? Not only is the price great, but these 4K discs for most of Nolan’s best work are well worth the upgrade over their Blu-Ray contemporaries. From his Dark Knight trilogy to original stories The Prestige and Inception, the picture and sound has never been better for that stretch of his filmography. IMAX ratio shifts are abundant, especially in his work with cinematographer Hoyte van Hotye in Interstellar, Dunkirk, and Tenet. While you view reference quality 4K discs on your visual setup, your surround sound system will be put to the test with booming and elaborate sound design on all right films. — Seth Lamey
The Stanley Kubrick Director Series
Know someone who won’t give up on DVDs? Well, you’re in luck with collections like The Stanley Kubrick Director Series. I had this film collection before Blu-ray was a thing, and even in standard definition, the movies in this collection still look great. This collection isn’t even close to featuring all of Kubrick’s films. But it’s enough of his best work to make fans giddy. More so, check out the masterful documentary Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures, which gives an in-depth analysis and behind-the-scenes interviews and footage throughout Kubrick’s career. The extra features on these discs are vast and plus, it’s cheap now! — Mike Crowley
SUBSCRIPTIONS
So maybe your movie person isn’t a collector but more of a clutter-avoidant minimalist who likes to keep a clean and tidy look. There are plenty of great streaming options for cinephiles, including the services below, each of which offers a niche for those whose passions transcend the mainstream.
MUBI
The best gift for a film lover is the means to watch films! Mubi offers a rotating curated lineup of features free to members from new releases to old classics and many many hidden gems in between. There’s no better place to expand your cinematic palate than this streaming service offering the best and broadest in international and art house cinema. There’s no better place to stay up to date with global releases and see films you’ll have a hard time finding anywhere else! Gift a three month or annual membership and open up a world of cinema! — Hal Kitchen
The Criterion Channel
Few film lovers would be disappointed with a yearly (or even monthly!) subscription to The Criterion Channel. The long-respected restoration and distribution company known for their physical media—The Criterion Collection—offers up new film collections every month plus the opportunity to view most, if not all, of the celebrated titles of all time in their permanent library. — J Paul Johnson
Film Movement Plus
It may be less well known than some, but Film Movement Plus offers audiences a curated selection of acclaimed features from around the world, including prize winners from the world’s best festivals: Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, Locarno, Sundance and SXSW. You’ll—ahem, excuse us, your “gift recipient”—will enjoy plenty of hard-to-find exclusive independent and world cinema titles, cult and arthouse classics, and award-winning documentaries, and at a lower price than many services. Film Movement Plus is also available to subscribe on Prime Video Channels. — J Paul Johnson
Facets
Remember getting DVD’s rentals in the mail? You may think those little envelopes of joy have entirely gone away after Netflix shut down their rent-by-mail service last year, but there are a couple of great ways to reclaim that magic while supporting some amazing cinema preservation institutions. Facets Cinema in Chicago is a longstanding beacon of independent cinema that, yes, still rents out their unique and rare collection by mail. — Jason J. Hedrick
Scarecrow Video
Another great option for your best cinephile friend is to rent from the “temple of movie culture” Scarecrow Video in Seattle, WA, which includes the option to rent-by-mail up to six discs at a time. So, fill a queue for yourself or a loved one this season and knock that snow off the mailbox! — Jason J. Hedrick
SWAG ‘N STUFF
If your cinephile bestie already has access to all they can watch, maybe they’ll light up when they find some new holiday swag all wrapped up in a tidy bow!
Movie Posters
Nothing says movie lover like a film poster. Classic one-sheets are veritable works of art any cinephile will appreciate. Although collecting them can get pricey, places like movieposters.com offer originals as well as reasonably priced high quality reprints for a variety of films. — Jay Rohr
Classic Horror Oracle
For the horror movie lover in your family… This Classic Horror Oracle tarot deck is perfect for that one person who isn’t afraid of the spooky stuff and is a fan of Criterion, Shudder, and TCM. Be prepared to add some scares to your Christmas—if you dare! — Lilli Keeve
Children’s Board Books
Is there a kid in your life that you want to turn into a film lover? ‘lil cinephile has board books for babies to start them off on the right foot. My First French New Wave and My First Hollywood Musical have been hits for the babies in my life. — Tina Kakadelis
Board Games
From my experience being “the movie guy” among my family, friends, and co-workers, the traditional saying of “birds of a feather flock together” rings true. Movie fans find each other. I hope in this post-pandemic era that good, old-fashioned game nights are back in social rotations. We all know going out to the movies can be expensive, but staying can be looser, more comfortable, and, best of all, cheaper. For those film aficionados out there, I recommend the Cinephile Card Game brought to you by the same folks as Tina’s suggestion of those excellent board books. Get around a table, sip a libation, share some sustenance, and enjoy thinking up the movies we love. — Don Shanahan
Film Obsessive Merch
What Film Obsessive reader wouldn’t love a little gear from our own shop? Check out our storefront at TeePublic, where you can find t-shirts, hoodies, crewnecks, zip-ups, totes, mugs, and more, all with the swank style you expect from Film Obsessive.
BOOKS
Serious cinephiles are also avid readers, just like the crew at Film Obsessive. Here’s a few of the titles we’ve obsessed over this year and will highly recommend for the film lovers in your life.
I Spit On Your Celluloid: The History of Women Directing Horror Movies
Heidi Honeycutt has given the world a gift. I Spit on Your Celluloid is a magnificent survey of female filmmakers in the horror genre. It goes deep, so even the most ardent cinephile will find something new to explore. Physical copies sold out this summer, but now you can easily find one. — Michael Suarez
Devious Dreams: Reimagining David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive
Here’s something for the David Lynch fanatics in your life! John Thorne has long been an authority on Twin Peaks, and here he turns his fantastic attention to detail to a well-researched, thorough and very readable analysis of perhaps Lynch’s best film. Essential for any cineaste’s bookshelf. — Chris Flackett
Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema
For the queer film buff in your house, there are few better recommendations than Willow Maclay and Caden Gardner‘s Corpses, Fools and Monsters. Centering on the evolution of transness in cinema, Maclay and Gardner explore the different ways trans characters are murdered, made into jokes, or viewed as threats. — June McCambridge
The Hayao Miyazaki Catalogue
Whether the person is a cinephile, animation enthusiast, or art lover, The Hayao Miyazaki Catalogue is a stunning choice. This exquisite book celebrates the legendary filmmaker’s artistry, featuring breathtaking visuals from his iconic films. This collection of artwork offers an intimate look into the mind of Miyazaki and his groundbreaking animation techniques. It includes never before seen sketches from his classic films like My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service to masterpieces like Princess Mononoke and Howl’s Moving Castle. — Chelsea Alexandra
The Art and Soul of Dune: Part Two
That’s a wrap! (See what we did there?) Thanks for reading Film Obsessive’s 2024 Holiday Gift Guide and may your deities, idols, friends and family gift you many treasures this holiday season.
