Animated X-Men Volume 3 and 4 comes out on DVD today and I have to say I love watching this show all over again. Sure it’s cheesy, but this is how a lot of us were given our first real taste of the X-Men. Don’t forget that we’re giving away a set of these and the contest ends today (click here for details). These X-Men cartoons are perfect for a week or two of nights watching with the kids. In other X-Men related news today, X-Men Origins: Wolverine came out on DVD and Blu-ray. There really isn’t much to say about that one.

As far as a mandatory purchase today, Criterion released an Essential Art House version of Akira Kurosawa’s Throne Of Blood. You must own this movie. If you own the full version, excellent. If you don’t own it, now there is no excuse with the way this version is priced. Buy it now. Seriously.

The classic An American Werewolf in London is hitting a Blu-ray release today. This movie is funny, scary and has perhaps the greatest werewolf transformation scene in film history. It should be quite a thing to see in the Blu-ray format.

Army of Darkness comes out on Blu-ray with its Screwhead Edition. Again, there isn’t much more to say about this one. This movie is a classic for a reason, go buy it in high definition.

Next on the list is the brand new remaster of the original Transformers: Season Two, Volume 1 for its 25th anniversary. The episodes on these discs look cleaned up beyond all reason and are a treat to sit at home and watch with any number of small children who may or may not be yours.

With all of this Vampire craze going about, I’d honestly rather watch the discs ofDark Shadows that they’re releasing today. I watched pieces of this show while I was a kid and couldn’t make heads or tails of it, but I’m interested enough to check it out now. And even if it’s terrible, it can’t be as bad as Twilight.

Perhaps Rob Reiner’s last masterpiece, Misery comes out on Blu-ray today. This film holds up so well that it’s nauseating. Seriously, in a good way.

Perhaps one of the releases I’m most looking forward to today is Peter Bogdonavich’s Directed by John Ford. This documentary features interviews with John Ford, Orson Welles, Martin Scorsese, John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Clint Eastwood and plenty of other people from an era of the industry that I miss deeply. This is certainly worth a look.

Another box set I’m keen to get my hands on is One Step Beyond: The First Season. This was an anthology show like the Twilight Zone, but it ended its run 9 months before Twilight Zone went on the air. I have a disc with one episode starring Charles Bronson and I loved it.

Speaking of horror, Universal is putting out a Legacy edition of the 1941 The Wolfman with Lon Chaney and Claude Rains. That is music to my ears.

Finally we have a Blu-ray four pack called The Ultimate Force of Four. I received it yesterday in the mail and plan on reviewing it shortly, but it contains four movies that I’ve been dying to get into my blu-ray collection as it is. Zatoichi, Drunken Master, Hero, and Iron Monkey. This is certainly a box set that’s a force to be reckoned with.

Be sure to check out Arse-bot’s highlights and lowlights over at his Examiner page!