Archive for the 'The Criterion Collection' Category
April 19th, 2022 by Aaron Neuwirth
This year’s Oscar winner for Best International Feature Film, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car, will make its home-video debut in July alongside David Lean’s radiant Technicolor gem about romantic longing, Summertime, and a stacked 4K UHD slate: Carl Franklin’s stylish noir set in segregated 1940s Los Angeles, Devil in a Blue Dress; Bong Joon Ho’s modern fairy tale about a girl, a superpig, and a corporate conspiracy, Okja; Sofia Coppola’s ethereal debut feature illuminating the interior lives of five sisters, The Virgin Suicides; and Martin Scorsese’s stunningly visceral portrait of self-destructive machismo, Raging Bull.
Continue reading ‘Raging Bull, Devil in a Blue Dress, Okja & More Coming to The Criterion Collection July 2022’
March 17th, 2022 by Aaron Neuwirth
This June: Criterion presents Ekwa Msangi’s stunning feature debut, Farewell Amor; Joachim Trier’s ultra-charismatic Oscar contender, The Worst Person in the World; Hong Kong master Stanley Kwan’s swooningly romantic ghost story, Rouge; and Shaft, the blaxploitation action-hero epic from Gordon Parks, now on 4K UHD. Plus: the filthiest, trashiest film on the Nation Film Registry, Pink Flamingos by John Waters, meets the lushest, most operatic Technicolor spectacle ever made, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressbuger’s The Tales of Hoffmann.
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Continue reading ‘Shaft 4K, Pink Flamingos, The Worst Person In The World & More Coming to The Criterion Collection June 2022’
February 21st, 2022 by Aaron Neuwirth
This was an entirely fitting choice. Miller’s Crossing is one of the ultimate kinds of Criterion films in many ways. It’s a neo-noir, low-budget yet heavy on style and influence, one of the early efforts from the Coen brothers, a cult favorite for audiences, despite receiving plenty of acclaim at the time from critics then and now, and just old enough to feel like a bridge between older and younger cinephiles. I don’t know all that goes into the selection process, but I do know that Miller’s Crossing is a gem of a picture, and I’m happy to see this feature get the deluxe treatment on Blu-ray.
– Continue reading ‘Miller’s Crossing – The Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
February 15th, 2022 by Aaron Neuwirth
Mystery lurks this May with a missing man in San Francisco’s Chinatown in Wayne Wang’s Chan Is Missing, a mistaken identity in World War II-era Paris in Joseph Losey’s Mr. Klein, and the sinister scheme in hard-boiled LA that put film noir on the map in Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity. Plus: The maker of Tampopo, Juzo Itami, takes on the Japanese way of death in The Funeral, and Mira Nair’s modern cross-cultural romance, Mississippi Masala, gets a long-awaited restoration.
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Continue reading ‘Double Indemnity 4K, Mississippi Masala & More Coming to The Criterion Collection May 2022’
January 18th, 2022 by Aaron Neuwirth
In April, Jayne Mansfield rocks Frank Tashlin’s jukebox musical The Girl Can’t Help It with a who’s who of 1950s radio idols, and bebop legend Dexter Gordon anchors one of the most beloved jazz films ever made, Bertrand Tavernier’s ’Round Midnight. A stunning 2020 debut from Lagos, Nigeria, Eyimofe (This Is My Desire) brings a neorealist eye to the modern megacity, while the original neorealist, Vittorio De Sica, offers up a special-effects-laden fairy tale, Miracle in Milan, set in a postwar shantytown. Plus: a 4K UHD release of the best moon movie ever made, For All Mankind, and a Blu-ray upgrade of Alex Cox’s daring, subversive, unforgettable biopic, Walker.
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Continue reading ‘Walker, Miracle in Milan, Round Midnight & More Coming to The Criterion Collection April 2022’
December 22nd, 2021 by Aaron Neuwirth
“I think I’ve figured out how to shrink this thing down.” What a foolish thing I told myself, once again… This is the first full year I’ve had to enjoy not only new Blu-ray releases but 4K UHD discs as well. Having all the modern format options like my fellow Why So Blu writers (in addition to a region-free player) has allowed me the optimal viewing experience to go along with these excellent releases. As usual (see: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020), this list has a key rule – I have to have gone through the disc as far as assessing the audio and video quality, along with the special features available. There are releases that I’m sure are terrific, but I just haven’t had the time to watch everything (I mainly focused on the ones I knew would satisfy the most). With that said, I have plenty of bonus sections as well. So, here we go!
Continue reading ‘Super-Sized Top Ten: Aaron’s Exceptional 4K & Blu-ray Picks For 2021′
December 15th, 2021 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming in March: The Last Waltz, a genre-defining concert doc by music lover Martin Scorsese; Adoption, the 1976 stunner that made Hungarian auteur Márta Mészáros the first woman to win the coveted Golden Bear; love jones, Theodore Witcher’s singular tale of Black love and poetry in 1990s Chicago; and The Flight of the Phoenix, a psychologically charged Saharan survival epic featuring World War II flying ace James Stewart and an all-star cast. Plus: Le cercle rouge, Jean-Pierre Melville’s masterpiece of cool crime cinema, starring Alain Delon, returns to the Collection, now in 4K UHD.
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Continue reading ‘The Last Waltz 4K, Le Cercle Rouge 4K & More Coming to The Criterion Collection March 2022’
December 12th, 2021 by Aaron Neuwirth
Upon hearing the announcement of The Criterion Collection’s first set of 4K UHD Blu-ray releases, I was excited by all that was being offered (Citizen Kane! Menace II Society II), but I was most interested in seeing The Red Shoes in 4K. Looking at the list of archival releases put out in 4K in this year alone, I had little doubt that Criterion’s 4K presentation of the classic Powell and Pressburger drama would be the technicolor feast I had hoped for. I was not wrong. Without putting down the other recent 4K releases from Criterion (the ones I’ve seen are pretty great), The Red Shoes looks stunning. It also happens to be a spectacular feature, with sequences representing some of the best that cinema offers.
Continue reading ‘The Red Shoes – The Criterion Collection (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
November 15th, 2021 by Aaron Neuwirth
In February, The Criterion Collection is bringing out two classics of romance and melodrama, Leo McCarey’s Love Affair and Douglas Sirk’s Written on the Wind; the Coen brothers’ Prohibition-era gangster saga, Miller’s Crossing; and Ann Hui’s heartrending, humanist look at the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Boat People.
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– Continue reading ‘Miller’s Crossing, Love Affair & More Coming to The Criterion Collection February 2022′
October 15th, 2021 by Aaron Neuwirth
This January, the Criterion Collection is ringing in the New Year with major works by three fiercely imaginative women filmmakers: The Piano, Jane Campion’s sensual tale of a woman’s inner awakening, now in 4K UHD; Dick Johnson is Dead, Kirsten Johnson’s inventive, deeply moving love letter to her father; and Time, Garrett Bradley’s poetic look at one family and the devastating toll of mass incarceration. Plus: Thomas Vinterberg’s lacerating chamber drama The Celebration, which launched the Dogme 95 movement, and the 4K UHD release of A Hard Day’s Night, Richard Lester’s wildly entertaining Beatles showcase.
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Continue reading ‘The Beatles, Dick Johnson, The Piano & More Coming to The Criterion Collection January 2022’
September 15th, 2021 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming to the Criterion Collection this December, Academy Award-winning actor Regina King, in her directorial debut, brings to cinematic life an imagined 1964 meeting between four African American icons in One Night in Miami…, and renowned photographer turned filmmaker Gordon Parks weaves a spellbinding coming-of-age story in The Learning Tree—the first Hollywood studio film by a Black director. And Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s singular Technicolor fantasia The Red Shoes arrives in dazzling 4K Ultra HD.
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Continue reading ‘One Night In Miami, The Red Shoes 4K & More Coming to The Criterion Collection December 2021’
August 31st, 2021 by Aaron Neuwirth
Following the announcement of the Criterion Collection’s first set of 4K UHD releases, we now have an update regarding the Safdie’ Brother’s acclaimed 2019 film, Uncut Gems. The Adam Sandler-starring thriller, which was already set to come out this year, has been upgraded to a 4K release, complete with new artwork as well. The 4k UHD + Blu-ray combo will arrive in stores and online on November 23. Continue on to catch up on all the supplements and more arriving with this release.
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Continue reading ‘**UPDATE** Criterion Announces Uncut Gems 4K For November – This Is How They Win’
August 16th, 2021 by Aaron Neuwirth
The 4Ks are coming! This November, Orson Welles’s dazzling debut Citizen Kane will appear in a deluxe edition, eighty years after it changed the course of cinema history and thirty-seven after it launched Criterion’s laserdisc line. The raw and riveting first feature by Albert and Allen Hughes, Menace II Society sent shock waves through American cinema and hip-hop culture with its searing portrait of life and death in Watts, Los Angeles. Our box set Once Upon a Time in China: The Complete Films collects one of the pinnacles of Hong Kong cinema’s golden age, a series that launched Jet Li to international fame and set a new standard for martial-arts spectacle thanks to brilliant director Tsui Hark. Appearing on standalone Blu-ray for the first time, Federico Fellini’s heart-wrenching fable La strada cemented its director’s poetic vision of life as a bittersweet carnival. And David Lynch’s surreal, enthralling masterpiece Mulholland Dr. will debut in 4K Ultra HD, marking Criterion’s entry into the format along with Citizen Kane and Menace II Society.
Continue reading ‘Citizen Kane 4K, Once Upon A Time In China & More Coming to The Criterion Collection November 2021’
August 11th, 2021 by Aaron Neuwirth
After years of waiting for a push to the 4K UHD Blu-ray format, the Criterion Collection is thrilled to announce their first 4K Ultra HD releases, a six-film slate that includes Citizen Kane, Menace II Society, The Piano, Mulholland Dr., The Red Shoes, and A Hard Day’s Night. The first of these editions and their special features will be detailed in their November 2021 announcement next week, with others to follow in subsequent months.
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– Continue reading ‘CITIZEN KANE & More To Lead The Criterion Collection’s First 4K Slate’
July 18th, 2021 by Aaron Neuwirth
The great thing about this surprise Criterion Collection choice, Bill Duke’s 1992 undercover cop thriller Deep Cover, is that it’s a great film, regardless of its placement in Criterion’s extensive library. As much as I dig the collection, it’s not hard to see a curious lack of films directed by Black Americans. Whether or not this is the first in a series of attempts to help change up that balance (remember, a Melvin Van Peebles box set is coming soon), getting a chance to revisit this well made 90s film was certainly worthwhile, and the work done to restore the movie has paid off immensely.
d Continue reading ‘Deep Cover – The Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
July 15th, 2021 by Aaron Neuwirth
This October, the Safdie brothers will join the Criterion Collection with their acclaimed adrenaline rush of a thriller Uncut Gems, starring Adam Sandler in a manically brilliant dramatic role. Humphrey Bogart gives a star-making turn alongside Ida Lupino in the gritty crime picture High Sierra, directed by action-movie master Raoul Walsh. A highlight from the early career of Satyajit Ray, Devi stages the clash between faith and reason as a sublime and shattering fable. Pulp master Jack Arnold’s existential sci-fi classic The Incredible Shrinking Man deploys ingenious special effects to ask what it means to be human. And that’s not all: Kaneto Shindo’s chilling erotic folktale Onibaba and Lynne Ramsay’s hauntingly beautiful coming-of-age tale Ratcatcher will make their Blu-ray debuts.
Continue reading ‘Uncut Gems, High Sierra & More Coming to The Criterion Collection October 2021’
June 15th, 2021 by Aaron Neuwirth
This September, Gina Prince-Bythewood’s groundbreaking coming-of-age film and beloved sports romance Love & Basketball will join the Criterion Collection in a new restoration. Never before available on home video, the genre-blending judo tale Throw Down is a perfect introduction to Hong Kong’s most prolific and offbeat auteur, Johnnie To. Luchino Visconti’s most savagely subversive film, The Damned traces the rot of Nazism through the decline of one decadent family. And Neil Jordan’s Mona Lisa, a dreamlike journey through London’s criminal underworld starring an Oscar-nominated Bob Hoskins, will appear on Blu-ray. Plus: our previously announced box set Melvin Van Peebles: Four Films celebrates a cinematic renegade whose uncompromising vision established a new model for Black creative independence.
Continue reading ‘Love & Basketball, Mona Lisa & More Coming to The Criterion Collection September 2021’
June 10th, 2021 by Aaron Neuwirth
Presenting the latest box set from The Criterion Collection: Melvin Van Peebles: Four Films. Director, writer, composer, actor, and one-man creative revolutionary Melvin Van Peebles jolted American independent cinema to new life with his explosive stylistic energy and unfiltered expression of Black consciousness. Though he undeniably altered the course of film history with the anarchic Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, that pop-culture bombshell is just one piece of a remarkably varied career that has also encompassed forays into European art cinema (The Story of a Three Day Pass), mainstream Hollywood comedy (Watermelon Man), and Broadway musicals (Don’t Play Us Cheap). Each facet of Van Peebles’s renegade genius is on display in this collection of four films, a tribute to a transformative artist whose caustic social observation, radical formal innovation, and uncompromising vision established a new cinematic model for Black creative independence. Also included in the set is Baadasssss!, a chronicle of the production of Sweet Sweetback made by Van Peebles’s son Mario Van Peebles—and starring the younger Van Peebles as Melvin.
Continue reading ‘The Criterion Collection To Deliver The One-Man Revolution: Melvin Van Peebles: Four Films’
This year’s Oscar winner for Best International Feature Film, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car, will make its home-video debut in July alongside David Lean’s radiant Technicolor gem about romantic longing, Summertime, and a stacked 4K UHD slate: Carl Franklin’s stylish noir set in segregated 1940s Los Angeles, Devil in a Blue Dress; Bong Joon Ho’s modern fairy tale about a girl, a superpig, and a corporate conspiracy, Okja; Sofia Coppola’s ethereal debut feature illuminating the interior lives of five sisters, The Virgin Suicides; and Martin Scorsese’s stunningly visceral portrait of self-destructive machismo, Raging Bull.
