It’s time to say goodbye to 2014 in DVD.

This year there was no single DVD release that stood head and shoulders above the rest, but there were a number of very fine releases, mostly in the area of stunning Blu-ray upgrades of classic films from the 1930s through the 1990s.

The year’s biggest disappointment was the delay in the release of the 4K 50th Anniversary restoration of My Fair Lady which still doesn’t have an official release date although rumor has it that it will be in February. Paramount is taking their time on this after the black eye that got for their less than stunning first Blu-ray release of the 1964 Oscar winner.

The year’s biggest rip-off was Warner Home Video’s 75th Anniversary Edition of Gone With the Wind which was a repackaging of the 70th Anniversary Edition with insultingly dumbed down extras.

The Gold Medal for Best Studio this year goes to boutique label Twilight Time which releases a handful of meticulously prepared Blu-ray upgrades each month. These releases are always limited editions, usually just 3,000 copies each, some with commentary from house historian Julie Kirgo and others, always with an informative written insert by Kirgo. This year’s eclectic releases included such superb renderings as Judgment at Nuremberg, Inherit the Wind, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Heaven & Earth, Yentl, Equus, Bunny Lake Is Missing, The Man from Laramie, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison, Two Rode Together, and Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation.

The Silver Medal goes to Kino Lorber which has this year, mostly through its Studio Classics line, given us wonderful Blu-ray upgrades and restored standard DVD versions of beloved classics as well as the occasional film we never thought we would find on DVD. Among this year’s best releases have been Witness for the Prosecution, Separate Tables, Marty, and The Conformist.

The Bronze Medal goes to Acorn Media which specializes in British mysteries which they release on Blu-ray and standard DVD and have recently made available through streaming on their website. Among this year’s releases have been Agatha Christie’s Poirot – The Complete Collection, compilations of Inspector Morse and A Touch of Frost, and the latest releases of Inspector Lewis, Endeavor, George Gently, and Midsomer Murders as well as the Canadian Murdoch Mysteries and the Australian Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries which seems to have sadly ended its run after just its second season.

The year’s best western release was Criterion’s restoration of the usually suppressed original release version of Red River along with the incorrectly titled director’s cut which is the version most people are familiar with.

The year’s best release of a silent film was the long overdue Blu-ray upgrade of Fox’s Sunrise.

The year’s best release of a film noir was Warner Archive’s Blu-ray release of Out of the Past.

The year’s best musical release was Warner Archive’s release of the long out-of-print 1936 version of Show Boat

The year’s best DVD-only restoration was Warner Archive’s widescreen release of Running on Empty.

Most of the current year’s best theatrical releases have yet to be released to home video, but there have been some that are worth mentioning.

The year’s best new foreign film release was the Oscar-bound Ida which not only takes place in the early 1960s but has been filmed in the style of films made in that era, a remarkable achievement on all counts.

The year’s best new suspense film release was a tie between Calvary and A Most Wanted Man, both of which take place on foreign shores – one in Ireland, the other in Germany.

The year’s best new science fiction release was the adrenaline charged Snowpiercer with honorable mention going to the tongue-in-cheek Guardians of the Galaxy.

The year’s best new horror film release was New Zealand’s Housebound.

The year’s best new comedy release was Wes Anderson’s award-winning The Grand Budapest Hotel with honorable mention going to Britain’s Golden Globe-nominated Pride.

The year’s best new young adult film release was Joe with honorable mention going to The Fault in Our Stars.

The year’s best new animated film release was Hayao Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises released theatrically in 2013 in its original Japanese version, but earlier this year in its English-dubbed version. Honorable mention goes to the highly entertaining The Lego Movie.

It just occurred to me that of these dozen films, only Joe takes place entirely in the U.S. It was quite a year for international film collaboration.

Next week I’ll run down the films that are most in need of a Blu-ray upgrade and some of the treasures that are let to have even a standard DVD release.

This week’s new releases include The Equalizer and Elsa & Fred.