Criterion News and Discussion

[Pubrick]

Who here has wached Yi Yi twice.

why, i!

And why.

why, i..

[Flannery]

Here's what else is coming in July

Olivier's Shakespeare
**SPECIALLY PRICED BOX SET**
Sir Laurence Olivier directed only five films in his sixty-year acting career, yet his three Shakespeare adaptations are still widely considered the definitive film adaptations: his thrilling directorial debut, Henry V, stunned 1944 audiences with its vivid Technicolor and full-throttle battle scenes; Hamlet, which won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Actor, in 1948, brought to stunning life literature's greatest protagonist; and his legendary Richard III, thought by many to feature Olivier's most magnetic performance. All three are presented for the first time together on DVD in this deluxe gift set.

Info:
Includes three classic features:
* Henry V
* Hamlet
* Richard III

Specially priced box set features:
* All high-definition digital transfers
* Audio commentaries by film historian Bruce Eder on Henry V and playwright and stage director Russell Lees on Richard III
* A 1966 BBC interview with Olivier, featured on Richard III
* Original theatrical trailers of Henry V and Richard III
* Galleries of production stills and posters on Henry V and Richard III

Title: Olivier's Shakespeare
CAT: CC1638D
UPC: 7-15515-01882-1
ISBN: 1-55940-986-X
SRP: $79.95
Prebook: 6/13/06
Street date: 7/18/06


A Canterbury Tale
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's beloved classic A Canterbury Tale is a profoundly personal journey to Powell's bucolic birthplace of Kent, England. Set amidst the tumult of the Second World War, the film follows three modern-day incarnations of Chaucer's pilgrims-a melancholy "landgirl," a plainspoken American GI, and a resourceful British sergeant-who are waylaid in the English countryside and forced to solve a bizarre village crime en route to the mythical town. A Canterbury Tale has acquired a following of devotees passionate enough to qualify as pilgrims themselves. 

Info:
* Written and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus)
* Starring Dennis Price (Kind Hearts and Coronets, Ten Little Indians)

Special double-disc set features:
* All-new high-definition digital transfer
* Scenes from Michael Powell's re-edited American version
* Audio commentary by film historian Ian Christie
* John Sweet: A Pilgrim's Return, a short documentary on actor John Sweet's 2001 return to Canterbury
* Humphrey Jennings's landmark documentary Listen to Britain
* Artist Victor Burgin's impressionistic video piece Listen to Britain, inspired by Jennings's film and A Canterbury Tale.

Title: A Canterbury Tale
CAT: CC1639D
UPC: 7-15515-01892-0
ISBN: 1-55940-987-8
SRP: $39.95
Prebook: 6/20/06
Street date: 7/25/06

[life_boy]

A Canterbury Tale cover is up......

[cine]

so i hear Rohmer's Six Moral Tales are coming in a box set this august.

i'm there.

[Gold Trumpet]

so i hear Rohmer's Six Moral Tales are coming in a box set this august.

i'm there.

Considering I already own a few of the films, I was on the fence with the box set. Now seeing the specs, this is a must buy.

* New, restored high-definition digital transfers supervised by Eric Rohmer
* Exclusive new video conversation with Eric Rohmer and Barbet Schroeder
* Short film: "Nadja in Paris"
* Short film: "Charlotte and Her Steak"
* Short film: "Une etudiante d'aujourd'hui"
* Short film: "The Camber"
* Short film: "Veronique and Her Dunce"
* Video afterword with filmmaker and writer Neil LaBute
* Original theatrical trailers
* A book featuring the original stories by Eric Rohmer
* A memoir from Nestor Almendros
* Six new essays
* Essay: "For a Talking Cinema" by Eric Rohmer

I really don't think I've ever seen a better line up of extras for a DVD. The inclusion of the original short stories by Rohmer is fabulous plus the memoir by Nestor Almendros. This is a must buy. I'm already saving money to get it the first day.

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Jordorowsky is back!

Also, there is word that that Criterion will indeed by releasing the newly re-mastered works of Alejandro Jodorowsky. The films are getting shown everyhere in the world (including Cannes) and all carry The Criterion Collection logo. Here some more information (including DVD release information):

"Stumbling upon a screening of Jodorowsky's "The Holy Mountain" in Madison last November, Bill Rouleau and Dan DuChaine, film buffs and owners of Rush-Mor Records in Milwaukee's absurdly hip South Side, decided to bring the film to town.

Rouleau and DuChaine began butting heads with ABKCO records and Criterion for several moths in order to obtain the print of the film and screen it here. After gaining the approval of Jodorowsky himself, the two acquired the film and secured the screen at the Union Theater for one night.
Before we received the print, the film had shown in Argentina, France and Sweden," says DuChaine. "Criterion, who now owns the distribution rights to the film, didn't want to send it back to the Midwest, so again we had to contact Jodorowsky himself. After showing him how enthusiastic we were about wanting to show the film, he gave us the thumbs up and got the film sent to us."

In 2007 The Criterion Collection will be releasing the film on DVD. "

[I Don't Believe in Beatles]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jordorowsky is back!

Also, there is word that that Criterion will indeed by releasing the newly re-mastered works of Alejandro Jodorowsky. The films are getting shown everyhere in the world (including Cannes) and all carry The Criterion Collection logo. Here some more information (including DVD release information):

"Stumbling upon a screening of Jodorowsky's "The Holy Mountain" in Madison last November, Bill Rouleau and Dan DuChaine, film buffs and owners of Rush-Mor Records in Milwaukee's absurdly hip South Side, decided to bring the film to town.

Rouleau and DuChaine began butting heads with ABKCO records and Criterion for several moths in order to obtain the print of the film and screen it here. After gaining the approval of Jodorowsky himself, the two acquired the film and secured the screen at the Union Theater for one night.
Before we received the print, the film had shown in Argentina, France and Sweden," says DuChaine. "Criterion, who now owns the distribution rights to the film, didn't want to send it back to the Midwest, so again we had to contact Jodorowsky himself. After showing him how enthusiastic we were about wanting to show the film, he gave us the thumbs up and got the film sent to us."

In 2007 The Criterion Collection will be releasing the film on DVD. "

I hope that's true.  This site made me think otherwise: http://www.abkcofilms.com/

[Gold Trumpet]

OK, new looking website....new looking covers.....August titles all announced.

First, new cover:



The august Titles are Seduced and Abandoned, (above) Kicking and Screaming and The Six Moral Tales by Eric Rohmer Boxset

http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=349 - Kicking and Screaming

http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=350 - Seduced and Abandoned

http://www.criterionco.com/asp/boxed_set.asp?id=342 - The Six Moral Tales

[modage]

wow, best cover yet.  mike allred designs for criterion now?

[Gold Trumpet]

wow, best cover yet.  mike alfred designs for criterion now?

Yes. Much more comic book looking than any other Criterion cover. Kicking and Screaming has a similiar (only small pic of it exists) feeling so we'll see if Criterion is capable of subtlety in this new format once the Rohmer covers hit.

[edison]

How is Kicking and Screaming? If I liked Squid and the Whale will I also like this one? From reading the description on the criterion website, it sounds interesting, mainly because I'm in that similar post-college what-to-do stage.

I like the redesigned website but I'm not too sure about the new covers (having that new logo and criterion collection on the left side) yet, wonder what the spine will look like.

[pete]

losing the horse, good to know that you didn't dig Yiyi much either.  it was like magnolia on a tripod.

[Gold Trumpet]

All doubt of the new cover design is gone. These covers are gorgeous and shows the range Criterion is able to present with their diverse titles. Easily the most anticipated DVD set of the year for me.

[samsong]

anyone else not a fan of the new logo?

[Ravi]

anyone else not a fan of the new logo?

I probably wouldn't mind it if it was at the top like the old one.  I hope the C is not on the actual covers.  It feels like a network logo.

[hedwig]

the one in the corner of the rohmer box-set cover makes it look like he's eating a cartoon horseshoe.