Criterion News and Discussion

[Gold Trumpet]

Shanghai Express (1932)

I hope this one soon!  Someone has to release it .....!!!!!......

That's an old rumor. Goes back to when Criterion first got into DVDs. At the beginning, Criterion was releasing booklets with every new release and even publishing names of future titles in them. I believe Shanghai Express made a few booklets. Of course, it never got released and eventually Criterion stopped the booklets anyways.

[socketlevel]

I would like to see badlands and the thin blue line.

If the thin blue line does get a release, they should do a doc on the disc showing how it changed the documentary medium. Often overlooked, it really is the citizen kane of documentaries.

[Mr. Merrill Lehrl]

Maybe (?) overlooked in Canada. In the US Morris is easily one of the most well-known documentarians. He's an Oscar winner, Ebert celebrates him, he writes for the NY Times, makes magazine covers, etc. The Thin Blue Line is acknowledged as a classic so frequently I'd get sick of hearing about it if I wasn't also a fan.

There are plenty of neglected documentaries but that is not one.

[socketlevel]

overlooked in it's landmark influence for the contemporary documentary. so many people copied this style, especially for true crime docs.

[Stefen]

Barnes & Noble is having their 50% off Criterion sale on July 12 to August 1st.

So far the only thing I'm getting for sure is The Seventh Seal. And maybe update my Fear & Loathing DVD to the Blu-Ray.

[The Perineum Falcon]

Been waiting for this; those June releases are MINE!

[MacGuffin]

Michelangelo Antonioni's 'Identification Of A Woman' Leads Criterion's October Slate

It's the middle of the month, which means the good folks over at the Criterion Collection have lifted the veil on a new batch of releases that are set to hit in October. For those purists of the label who have been decrying some of their more contemporary and/or "populist" choices of late, they will have nothing to complain about as this month is all about the oldies.

Kicking things off, Michelangelo Antonioni completists will be pleased that the director's 1982 film "Identification Of A Woman" is getting a proper release. The minor work in Antonioni's filmography centers on a film director who is casting a film and gets drawn into relationships with two different women. The film apparently notorious for some explicit sexual content and perhaps also known for Vincent Canby's scathing review which caused the film to be dropped by its U.S. distributor. But those looking for extras will be disappointed as this will only contain a booklet with an essay and a reprint of an interview.

Fans of classic cinema have something to look forward to as the pre-code horror flick "Island Of Lost Souls" and the Technicolor epic "The Four Feathers" get booted up in the Collection. The former is an adaptation of "The Island of Dr. Moreau" that stars Charles Laughton and Bela Lugosi—and that should really be enough to get you to track this one down. The film will be presented in its uncut theatrical version with the platter loaded with extras including interviews with Devo founding members Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh, whose manifesto is rooted in themes from the film; a video conversation with John Landis, Rick Baker and Bob Burns, an audio commentary and more. As for the latter, Zoltán Korda's film is considered one of the best adaptations of A.E.W. Mason's 1902 adventure novel adn this disc will include "A Day at Denham" a short film from 1939 featuring footage of Zoltán Korda on the set of the film.

Japanese horror buffs have a reason to celebrate as Kaneto Shindo's "Kuroneko" gets the Criterion razzle dazzle. The 1968 film is set in a village in war-torn medieval Japan, where a malevolent spirit has been ripping out the throats of traveling samurai. This moody, atmospheric film won't have much in the way of extras but will include an interview with the director.

Finally, Aki Kaurismäki's films with the outrageous Siberian band the Leningrad Cowboy's have been collected into a Eclipse release. The bare bones set will include "Leningrad Cowboys Go America," its sequel "Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses" and the concert film "Total Balalaika Show."

Start saving your pennies...

[Alexandro]

fanny & alexander complete boxset on blu ray....
anyone knows is this is coming sometime soon????
im about to buy the damn dvd again....

[polkablues]

"Leningrad Cowboys Go America,"

Oh my god.  I have a friend who was obsessed with this movie.  He showed it to me about ten years ago, and all I remember was being drunk on disgusting cheap beer and having no idea what the hell was going on.  I might appreciate it if I watched it again, but I remember being pissed off at him at the time for making me sit through it.

[Ravi]

I thought Children of Paradise would be announced, since it was recently restored. Maybe it will be in the next wave of releases?

[Gold Trumpet]

Hello Belle de Jour!

[The Perineum Falcon]

The Music Room Blu-ray

This looks phenomenal! Criterion has improved this so much, it looks like a completely different film. This has definitely become a top priority re-watch.

[Ravi]

^ I can't wait for my copy to arrive. I'm used to watching it on the Columbia Tristar VHS (which was the best available at the time), and the French DVD was crap.

[Ravi]

The Rules of the Game DVD Sale

We will soon be announcing revised Blu-ray and DVD editions of Jean Renoir's masterpiece The Rules of the Game as part of our November lineup—we are replacing one supplement and creating new packaging.

Our original DVD edition will then be officially out of print. However, at this time we are offering it at a 65% discount from the suggested retail price at Criterion.com. (Use the promotion code REGLE at checkout.) We have a limited supply. We will fulfill orders as soon as we can.

[Gold Trumpet]

fanny & alexander complete boxset on blu ray....
anyone knows is this is coming sometime soon????
im about to buy the damn dvd again....

November 8th, Alexandro. Just announced. Also...



    Restored high-definition digital transfer
    Introduction to the film by Jean Renoir
    Audio commentary written by film scholar Alexander Sesonske and read by filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich
    Version comparison: side-by-side analysis of the film's two endings, and an illustrated study of Renoir's shooting script
    Selected-scene analysis by Renoir historian Christopher Faulkner
    Excerpts from Jean Renoir, le patron: La Règle et l'exception (1966), a French television program directed by Jacques Rivette
    Part one of Jean Renoir, a two-part 1993 BBC documentary by David Thompson
    Video essay about the film's production, release, and later reconstruction
    Jean Gaborit and Jacques Durand discuss their reconstruction and rerelease of the film
    Interviews with Renoir's son and assistant cameraman Alain Renoir, set designer Max Douy, and actress Mila Parély
    Written tributes to the film and Renoir by J. Hoberman, Kent Jones,Paul Schrader, Wim Wenders and others
    Improved English subtitle translation
    Plus: A booklet featuring writings by Sesonske, Renoir, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bertrand Tavernier, and François Truffaut



    New high-definition digital restorations (with DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray editions)
    Three cinema lessons with director Krzysztof Kieślowski
    New interviews with composer Zbigniew Preisner; writer Krzysztof Piesiewicz; and actors Julie Delpy, Zbigniew Zamachowski, and Irène Jacob
    Selected-scene commentary for Blue with actress Juliette Binoche
    Three new video essays, by film writers Annette Insdorf, Tony Rayns, and Dennis Lim
    Kieślowski's student short The Tram (1966) and his fellow student's short from the same year The Face, which features Kieślowski in a solo performance
    Two short documentaries by Kieślowski: Seven Women of Different Ages (1978) and Talking Heads (1980)
    Krzysztof Kieślowski: I'm So-So . . . (1995), a feature-length documentary in which the filmmaker discusses his life and work
    Two multi-interview programs, Reflections on "Blue" and Kieślowski: The Early Years, with film critic Geoff Andrew, Binoche, filmmaker Agnieszka Holland, cinematographer Sławomir Idziak, Insdorf, Jacob, and editor Jacques Witta
    Interviews with producer Marin Karmitz and Witta
    Behind-the-scenes programs for White and Red, and Kieślowski Cannes 1994, a short documentary on Red's world premiere
    Original theatrical trailers
    New and improved English subtitle translations
    PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by critics Colin MacCabe, Nick James, Stuart Klawans, and Georgina Evans, an excerpt from Kieślowski on Kieślowski, and reprinted interviews with cinematographers Sławomir Idziak, Edward Klosinski, and Piotr Sobocinski



    New high-definition digital restoration (with uncom­pressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
    Frank Schaffner's 1955 television version, with an introduction by Ron Simon, director of the Paley Center for Media Studies
    "Twelve Angry Men": From Television to the Big Screen, a video essay by film scholar Vance Kapley comparing the Sidney Lumet and Schaffner versions
    Archival interviews with Lumet
    New interview about the director with writer Walter Bernstein
    New interview with Simon about television writer Reginald Rose
    New interview with cinematographer John Bailey in which he discusses cinematographer Boris Kaufman
    Tragedy in a Temporary Town (1956), a teleplay directed by Lumet and written by Rose
    Original theatrical trailer
    PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by writer and law professor Thane Rosenbaum