Tag: criterion collection

My Most Anticipated Criterion Releases for January 2012

Let me introduce you to a habit, I mean… a hobby of mine. I am an admirer (addict) of the Criterion Collection of unique and important films. What they do for these movies is wonderful, in most cases, presenting them in the most pristine and enjoyable presentation available for home viewing. So, anytime new titles are released, I get all excited like a schoolboy daydreaming about his very own Official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle, with a compass in the stock.With it being mid-January, I figured I would get you up to speed on the film fixes I am most eager to get high off of for 2012, so far…

Release Date: 2012, January 17th (Blu-Ray, Spine #593)

BELLE DE JOUR (1967) directed by Luis Buñuel and starring the ravishingly beautiful and talented Catherine Deneuve. In the spirit of full disclosure, it has been so long since I saw this film in college, a time in which I often struggled to stay conscious through relatively early morning screenings, that I am ecstatic about finally revisiting the film, especially on blu-ray.

Release Date: 2012, January 24th (Blu-Ray, Spine #594)

GODZILLA (1954) is the monster that started it all, the original king of giant Japanese creature films and the very best… except for KING KONG, but that doesn’t count. It’s not Japanese, but I love them both! From what I’ve gathered, this will feature a gloriously pristine, unprecedented transfer. I can’t wait!

Release Date: 2012, January 14th (Blu-Ray, Spine # 597)

TINY FURNITURE (2010) is one of my favorite films from SXSW that year and for the year in general. Unique, off beat and sarcastic, the film is a modern sort of coming of age story for a young woman seeking her own direction and purpose in life while dealing with her mother and sister, whom she now lives with after graduating college. This smart, slightly rigid comedy is a masterful breakout feature film debut and definitely deserving of the Criterion monicker.

Criterion Watch: ‘My Dinner With Andre’

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Have you ever had one of those moments when you feel like the planets have aligned and fate has done you a favor? I had one of those moments the other day. It just so happened that a favorite movie of mine, one that has been out of print for years, finally got released on Criterion DVD last Tuesday, which just happened to be my birthday.

Sure, I know that this is all just coincidence and that getting all excited about any one movie seems childish, but telling me that this is just just a movie is like telling Tiger Woods that golf is just a silly game without any real meaning or value. I remember seeing ‘My Dinner With Andre’ years ago at a friends house who had an old VHS copy. I instantly fell in love and have been eagerly awaiting the release of this DVD ever since.

In Louis Malle’s captivating and philosophical My Dinner with André, actor and playwright Wallace Shawn sits down with friend and theater director André Gregory at an Upper West Side restaurant, and the two proceed into an alternately whimsical and despairing confessional on love, death, money, and all the superstition in between. Playing variations on their own New York–honed personas, Shawn and Gregory, who also wrote the screenplay, dive in with introspective, intellectual gusto, and Malle captures it all with a delicate, artful detachment. A fascinating freeze-frame of cosmopolitan culture, My Dinner with André remains a unique work in cinema history. — Criterion

mydinnerwithandredvd

Not only did Criterion make me one happy birthday boy by releasing this movie with their famous Midas touch approach to restoring and optimizing great films, but it’s also a two-disc set with goodies for me to enjoy. The official DVD release date was June 23, but you may have to put on your walking shoes to find this in stores. I managed to finally locate one copy at a local Borders, and they had to go in back and dig through boxes from that day’s shipment just to find that.

Special Features:

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer.
  • New video interviews with actors André Gregory and Wallace Shawn by filmmaker and friend Noah Baumbach.
  • “My Dinner with Louis,” an episode from the BBC program Arena, in which Shawn interviews director Louis Malle.
  • PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Amy Taubin and the prefaces written by Gregory and Shawn for the published screenplay.

Go to Criterion.com to read more about ‘My Dinner With Andre’ or to purchase the DVD.

Is ‘Cronos’ coming to Criterion DVD?

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Anyone into Guillermo del Toro, or just vampires in general, should be familiar with ‘Cronos’ and if you’re not… it’s probably because the movie is rather difficult to get hold of. That may be about to change.

In 1993, a little-known Spanish filmmaker emerged on the scene by the name of Guillermo del Toro with an incredible little alternative take on the vampire genre in the form of a movie called ‘Cronos’. Since then, del Toro has become one of the biggest, most influential powerhouses in the genre of creepy-cool movies.

The original DVD hit store shelves on October 14, 2003 but is currently out of print. In today’s email newsletter from the Criterion Collection, a teaser cartoon appeared that leads us to believe that this modern classic and rare gem will be getting the coveted Criterion treatment.

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Criterion is know not only for giving films a great transfer on DVD, but also for including as much “extra” features as possible. It’s pretty clear that there ought to be some special features on the Criterion release, seeing as the film did get a 2-disc special edition DVD release on PAL format (also out of print) which had special features included. Exactly “what” will appear on the Criterion edition is yet to be seen.

[source: Twitch]

‘Benjamin Button’ goes straight to Criterion!

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For those of you who loves ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ and found themselves on some level torn between Fincher’s Button and Boyle’s Slumdog (myself included) here’s some news to brighten your day…

It looks like ‘Benjamin Button’ will be making it’s DVD premiere into your movie collections by way of Criterion. That’s right, somehow David Fincher has managed to convince the studio to allow the movie’s initial DVD/Blu-Ray release to be handled via the Criterion Collection, which is a company devoted to providing top-notch treatment for the very best films from around the world and is a staple for movie geeks.

The movie will be available on DVD/Blu-Ray as a two-disc special edition from Criterion on May 5, 2009. Special features? You betcha! The two-disc release will have over 3 hours of special features for your viewing pleasure.

Check out the official Press Release below for all the details:

Continue reading ‘Benjamin Button’ goes straight to Criterion!

Criterion brings on ‘The Hit’ (Stephen Frears, 1984)

I am something of a Criterion junkie! Anything I’ve seen and enjoyed that Criterion releases I simply MUST own! With that said, I find that I’m frequently introduced to films I’ had never seen, or in some cases never even heard of, that look pleasing to the palette. I agree, there have been a few “questionable” releases from Criterion (i.e. Armageddon) but, for the most part, they’ve been dead on the money with picking films.

Before you go and start getting all holier than thou, I will address the issue some are likely thinking… Why haven’t they released anything from Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, etc? My best guestimate is related to rights. So, let’s try and not go there… again! What I do appreciate about Criterion is that they tend to focus on movies that are worthy but are not readily available to the public, movies that are out of print or movies that are deserving of a larger audience.

One of the many movies in the works for release in 2009 is a gangster movie from director Stephen Frears called ‘The Hit’ (1984). Now, this got my attention because I not only haven’t seen it, but I haven’t even heard of it. It’s currently not available on Region 1 DVD and never has been (as best as I could find). Frears has a nice touch for telling stories about social outcasts and the less desirable parts of town, a la ‘The Grifters’ or ‘Dirty Pretty Things’. The movie touts an awesome cast with Terrence Stamp, John Hurt, Tim Roth, Laura del Sol and Jim Broadbent.

Terence Stamp is Willie, a gangster’s henchman turned “supergrass† (informer) trying to live in peaceful hiding in a remote Spanish village. Sun-dappled bliss turns to nerve-racking suspense, however, when two hit men—played by a soulless John Hurt and a youthful, loose-cannon Tim Roth—come a-calling to bring Willie back for execution. This stylish early gem from Stephen Frears boasts terrific performances from a roster of England’s best hard-boiled actors and ravishing photography of its desolate Spanish locations—a splendid backdrop for a rather sordid story. — Criterion

DVD Features Scheduled for this release:

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer, approved by director of photography Mike Molloy.
  • Commentary featuring director Stephen Frears and actors John Hurt and Tim Roth.
  • Parkinson One-to-One: “Terence Stamp,† a 1988 television interview with the actor.
  • Original theatrical trailer.
  • PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by film critic Graham Fuller.

The Criterion edition DVD of ‘The Hit’ (1984) is scheduled to hit store shelves on April 29, 2009 with a Suggested Retail Price of $29.95 and the Criterion Store Price will be $23.96

[source: Criterion]

Criterion Watch: ‘Bottle Rocket’ & ‘Chungking Express’

Above is the cover for for two big new “modern” masterpieces being given the fabulous Criterion Collection treatment. ‘Chungking Express’ is a mesmerizing and beautiful film by Wong Kar–Wai and ‘Bottle Rockets’ is the smart, subtly humorous feature film debut from filmmaker Wes Anderson.

Continue reading Criterion Watch: ‘Bottle Rocket’ & ‘Chungking Express’

Criterion Watch: ‘Mishima, A Life in Four Chapters’

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Just released recently, this new Criterion edition of Paul Schrader’s ‘Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters’ is overdue. The film, a poetic telling of the life story of Japanese writer Yukio Mishima (Ken Ogata) is visually stylistic and beautiful and is scored by the talented American composer Philip Glass.

DVD Features:

  • – DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES
  • – New, restored high-definition digital transfer of the director’s cut, supervised and approved by director Paul Schrader and cinematographer John Bailey
  • – Optional English and Japanese voice-over narrations, the former by Roy Scheider, the latter by Ken Ogata
  • – New audio commentary featuring Schrader and producer Alan Poul
  • – New video interviews with Bailey, producers Tom Luddy and Mata Yamamoto, composer Philip Glass, and production designer Eiko Ishioka
  • – New video interviews with Mishima biographer John Nathan and friend Donald Richie
  • – New audio interview with coscreenwriter Chieko Schrader
  • – Video interview excerpt featuring Mishima talking about writing
  • – The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima, a 55-minute BBC documentary about the author
  • – Theatrical trailer
  • – PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Kevin Jackson, a piece on the film’s censorship in Japan, and photographs of Ishioka’s sets

Criterion Watch: ‘Brand Upon the Brain’

Here’s the details (from  the Criterion website)  for the upcoming first Criterion release of a Guy Maddin film, ‘Brand Upon the Brain’. Great DVD cover art for this one …

Release Date: August 12, 2008

Synopsis:

In the weird and wonderful supercinematic world of Canadian cult filmmaker Guy Maddin, personal memory collides with movie lore for a radical sensory overload. This eerie excursion into the Gothic recesses of Maddin’s mad, imaginary childhood is a silent, black-and-white comic science-fiction nightmare set in a lighthouse on grim Black Notch Island, where fictional protagonist Guy Maddin was raised by an ironfisted, puritanical mother. Originally mounted as a theatrical event (accompanied by live orchestra, Foley artists, and assorted narrators), Brand upon the Brain! is an irreverent, delirious trip into the mind of one of current cinema’s true eccentrics.

DVD Special Features:

New high-definition digital transfer
Narration tracks by Isabella Rossellini, Laurie Anderson, John Ashbery, Guy Maddin, Louis Negin, and Eli Wallach
97 Percent True, a new documentary featuring interviews with the director and his collaborators
Two new short films directed by Maddin exclusively for this release: It’s My Mother’s Birthday Today and Footsteps
Deleted scene
Trailer
PLUS: A new essay by film critic Dennis Lim

Classic Revival: ‘Le Samourai’ (1967)

First, let me just say this … if you’re wondering why I sometimes write about “old” movies, its because I like to watch “old” movies as much as I enjoy watching “new” movies … and there’s some really cool “old” movies out there to be seen. So, for any of you who’ve seen them … right on! For those who haven’t, maybe these little blasts from the past will spark a curious itch that just must be scratched.

Le Samourai was written and directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. The film holds a subtle but monumental influence on some future films with similar themes. The story follows Jef Costello, a lone hit-man who is cool-headed and flawlessly calculated in his work. Nothing is left to chance. Costello completes a job, but finds himself picked up along with several other suspects. After a lengthy interrogation, Costello is released and he meets with his contact to collect payment. Costello learns that this job has taken a turn for the worse and he must turn the tables on his employer while eluding the law.

More than any other reason, the visual style of Le Samourai is what makes this film so great. The drab colors combined with the sharp angles and edges of the city and Costello’s environment, compliment the contrast of lighting and shadows and emphasize the straight-faced, almost robotic demeanor of Costello’s personality. While watching the film, its not difficult to pick out how it has influenced future film-makers. One of the most apparent is that of Luc Besson, best known for films with similar themes like La Femme Nikita and Leon: The Professional.