Archive for the 'The Criterion Collection' Category
May 4th, 2017 by Aaron Neuwirth
Get ready for a colorful and musical delight with The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. This Criterion Collection release has actually already been available in 2014’s The Essential Jacques Demy Blu-ray box set. However, it would seem the resounding success of the Oscar-winning La La Land led to a separate release, as that film is so indebted to both ‘Cherbourg’ as well as Demy’s The Young Girls of Rochefort, which also received a separate release. There’s also the matter of ‘Cherbourg’ being simply one of the well-regarded musicals of its time, placing it as a highlight among the French New Wave and serving as an ambitious inspiration for many films that followed. So yes, for those who can’t afford the full Demy Blu-ray box set, Criterion at least has you covered for one of the major highlights of his filmography.
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April 17th, 2017 by Aaron Neuwirth
This July, Criterion will travel to the Zone with Andrei Tarkovsky’s hypnotic, philosophical sci-fi masterpiece Stalker-making its U.S. Blu-ray debut in a new 2K restoration, with special features that explore this endlessly mysterious film’s production and significance, including interviews with the crew as well as a new conversation with author Geoff Dyer. Albert Brooks and Julie Hagerty drop out of society and hit the road in Lost in America, a hilarious satire of yuppie dreams and delusions written and directed by Brooks, featuring new interviews with the cast and crew. Robert Bresson presents a world stripped of illusion in his final film, L’argent, an unsparing tale of crime and corruption adapted from a Tolstoy novella, on Blu-ray for the first time in a new, restored 4K digital transfer. And there’s more: the neorealist landmarks of Roberto Rossellini’s War Trilogy-intensely humane portraits of resistance, mourning, and hope filmed in the rubble of the Second World War-will arrive on Blu-ray in new restorations.
Continue reading ‘Brooks, Bresson and More Coming to The Criterion Collection July 2017’
April 13th, 2017 by Aaron Neuwirth
I was actually surprised to learn that Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow-Up was not already in The Criterion Collection and simply making its Blu-ray debut. This 60’s classic tells a great story that defies convention by subverting the plot any viewer was expecting to see, while also presenting a good look at Swinging London. The result is a film still held up its style, direction and contemplative nature. Not hurting is how exciting the film is to watch. There may be a character facing a sort of existential crisis at its center, but this is a hip film that has now come to Criterion, looking better than ever and featuring plenty of extra content.
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April 1st, 2017 by Aaron Neuwirth
The sublime comedy Being There has finally made its way to The Criterion Collection, further cementing its status as a true classic. The film received multiple awards and other acclaim, including a Best Actor nomination for star Peter Sellers and a Best Supporting Actor win for Melvyn Douglas. This praise was well-earned, as the Hal Ashby-directed film presented a wonderful satirical tale of how an anxious and delusional society could fall prey to a simple man’s charms. Previous releases have kept this film from falling out of the public conscious, but this Criterion Blu-ray easily provides the ultimate experience in enjoying the film and providing further insight in regards to its legacy.
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March 15th, 2017 by Aaron Neuwirth
This June, Criterion will bring three of the most beloved classics of French cinema to Blu-ray for the first time with a newly restored edition of Marcel Pagnol‘s Marseille Trilogy, a sweeping saga set in the author’s native Provence that tracks the lives and loves of its characters over the course of a generation. A legend is born in The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, the silent serial-killer thriller that Alfred Hitchcock considered his true debut, which is accompanied in our release by Downhill, another variation on the “wrong man” theme that the Master of Suspense returned to throughout his legendary body of work. Nicholas Ray kicked off his own renowned career with They Live By Night, a lyrical film noir that would be imitated by decades of lovers-on-the-run thrillers to come, now on Blu-ray for the first time. Dustin Hoffman stands his ground in Sam Peckinpah‘s notorious shocker Straw Dogs, presented in a new 4K transfer with extensive features that explore the film’s production and controversies. And not to be missed: Kenji Mizoguchi‘s Ugetsu, an indisputable classic of world cinema and perhaps the finest achievement of the master whom Jean-Luc Godard called “quite simply one of the greatest of filmmakers.”
Continue reading ‘Straw Dogs, Hitchcock’s The Lodger and More Coming to The Criterion Collection in June 2017′
February 16th, 2017 by Aaron Neuwirth
Michael Curtiz, the acclaimed journeyman director of films such as Casablanca, The Adventures of Robin Hood and Yankee Doodle Dandy, finally finds one of his films as a part of The Criterion Collection with Mildred Pierce. An ambitious mix of film noir and melodrama, this acclaimed 1945 film marked a career comeback for Joan Crawford, who would go on to win a Best Actress Academy Award. Based on the hardboiled James M. Cain novel, the film is now heralded as a classic for its handling of Crawford’s character, the strong casting choices, blend of domestic drama with murder mystery and many other elements. Now everyone can dive into this Criterion Blu-ray release and revisit this story of maternal sacrifice.
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February 15th, 2017 by Aaron Neuwirth
This May, Criterion will present a special edition of Orson Welles’s Othello, featuring two different versions of this visually astonishing Shakespeare adaptation as well as a host of special features chronicling its tumultuous production. Our second World Cinema Project collector’s set will feature restorations of hard-to-see classics from the Philippines (Insiang), Thailand (Mysterious Object at Noon), Soviet Kazakhstan (Revenge), Brazil (Limite), Turkey (Law of the Border), and Taiwan (Taipei Story), along with introductions by Martin Scorsese and interviews with renowned film figures including Hou Hsiao-hsien, Pierre Rissient, and Walter Salles. For the title character of Dheepan and his makeshift family, the flight from war-torn Sri Lanka to the banlieues of Paris is just the beginning of a dramatic, genre-bending story brought viscerally to life in Jacques Audiard’s 2015 Palme d’Or winner. Yasujiro Ozu’s wistfully comic Good Morning presents a gentler portrait of family life in postwar Japan, reworking the scenario of his silent classic I Was Born, But . . ., also included in this release. Bringing it all back home, our edition of Terry Zwigoff’s Ghost World – a cult favorite sketching the coming-of-age foibles of two sardonic teens (Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson) against a backdrop of all-American kitsch – features new interviews with the cast. Plus: a Blu-ray upgrade of Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, Chantal Akerman’s revolutionary study of a woman’s work.
Continue reading ‘GHOST WORLD, OTHELLO and More Coming to The Criterion Collection in May 2017’
January 17th, 2017 by Aaron Neuwirth
This April, Criterion is serving up a special edition of Tampopo, Juzo Itami’s delirious, genre-bending “ramen western,” fresh from its theatrical run. The kitchen becomes a battleground in Woman of the Year, where Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy play journalist spouses with different ideas about what makes for a successful marriage. There’s also Francis Ford Coppola’s feverish “art film for teenagers,” Rumble Fish, whose stunning black-and-white cinematography weaves expressionistic shadows around an all-star cast, including Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane, and Dennis Hopper. Another unforgettable ensemble is the title act of Buena Vista Social Club, Wim Wenders’ exuberant portrait of the performers who made Cuban music an international sensation. And for an encore: Jacques Demy’s color-drenched musicals The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (a big inspiration for current awards favorite La La Land) and The Young Girls of Rochefort step into the spotlight, in new stand-alone editions.
Continue reading ‘UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, RUMBLE FISH and More Coming to The Criterion Collection in April 2017’
December 15th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
In March, Criterion will be celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of
Blow-Up, Michelangelo Antonioni’s existential portrait of swinging-sixties London, with a special edition packed with supplements. It’ll be joined by John Waters’ outrageous take on American counterculture
Multiple Maniacs, a filth-spattered spectacle never before available on home video. We’re also proud to present the first-ever U.S. release of Felipe Cazals’s
Canoa: A Shameful Memory, a searing assault on the Mexican church and state that left its mark on a generation of Mexican filmmakers. Subtler wonders abound in
45 Years, Andrew Haigh’s devastating portrait of a marriage, with career-topping performances from Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay. And director Hal Ashby adds a sly satirical touch to the month with
Being There, a poker-faced fable starring Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, and Melvyn Douglas.
Continue reading ‘Blow-Up, Being There and More Coming to The Criterion Collection in March 2017’
November 16th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
In February, Criterion will put out the first-ever box set of Richard Linklater’s The Before Trilogy, a three-part romance and meditation on cinematic time featuring intimate performances by Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke. And that’s just one release in a month filled with extraordinary releases, including beloved films by two cinema giants: Pedro Almodóvar’s Academy Award-nominated Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, a raucous, screwball battle of the sexes starring Antonio Banderas and Rossy de Palma that announced the director to the world; and Ermanno Olmi’s Palme d’Or-winning The Tree of Wooden Clogs, an absorbing and sensual film that faithfully captures the rhythms of a now lost way of life in rural Italy at the turn of the twentieth century. All this plus Michael Curtiz’s noir masterpiece Mildred Pierce, starring Joan Crawford in a career-defining role (which earned her an Academy Award); and, fresh from an acclaimed theatrical run, Kirsten Johnson’s Cameraperson, the noted cinematographer’s deeply personal examination of what it means to train a camera on the world, which the New York Times has called “transfixing” and “unlike anything you’ve seen before.”
Continue reading ‘The Before Trilogy And More In The Criterion Collection’s February 2017 Announcement’
October 14th, 2016 by Bron Anderson
Criterion will ring in 2017 with a diverse lineup of films, including three whose directors are joining the collection for the first time. January will feature the films His Girl Friday, Fox and His Friends, Something Wild, and Black Girl. All of these releases will come replete with the treatment and features we have come to expect from the Criterion Collection. Start to make some new year’s resolutions to watch great films as you check out all the juicy details below. Continue reading ‘Criterion Collection January 2017 Blu-ray Releases Have Been Announced’
September 15th, 2016 by Bron Anderson
The Criterion Collection will be releasing a number of films this December and below you can see the list of what great, important, beloved, or underappreciated films they have coming to Blu-ray. December’s releases are pretty much a film-lover’s treat, with directors Federico Fellini, Luis Buñuel, Laurie Anderson and John Huston all getting releases. See all the details about special features and release dates here. Continue reading ‘Check Out the Criterion Collection Blu-rays Coming in December!’
August 30th, 2016 by Bron Anderson
Newly released on Blu-Ray by The Criterion Collection comes The Immortal Story, the first color production directed by Orson Welles (Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil). As can be expected by the curators at Criterion, this release has been cleaned up, freshly transferred and given a ton of love by way of commentary, interviews, an included documentary about Welles, and an essay on the film. If, like myself, one is met with the thought “The Immortal Story? I have never heard of that,” then what a delightful opportunity to discover something worth treasuring we have been given. Continue reading ‘The Immortal Story – Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
August 25th, 2016 by Jerad Mullicane
The kitchen sink realistic play comes to the living room screen. “A Taste of Honey”, the 1961 British classic from Tony Richardson, finally makes it’s Blu-ray debut. Thanks to the folks at Criterion, “A Taste of Honey” has been digitally restored and remastered. Completely unapologetic in its’ depiction of life for the poor living in industrial Manchester, “A Taste of Honey” cuts to the bone in a way so few films capture. Where so many films and dramas aim to capture a story with a clear and resolute ending, A Taste of Honey does something different. There is no happy ending, only happy moments, tucked away among the clutter of reality. Continue reading ‘A Taste of Honey (Criterion Collection)’
July 17th, 2016 by Jerad Mullicane
Coming July 19th from The Criterion Collection, Muriel, or The Time of Return. Directed by Alain Resnais and written by Jean Cayrol, Muriel is a lost 1963 french classic incorporating themes of time, memory, war, and unrequited love. Starring Delphine Seyrig, Jean-Pierre Kérien, Nita Klein, and Jean-Baptiste Thiérrée, Muriel revolves around four souls as they attempt to navigate life shortly following the troubled resolution of the Algerian War. Continue reading ‘Muriel – The Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
March 3rd, 2016 by Bron Anderson
Likely no surprise to anyone who has previously seen the work of Charlie Chaplin, The Kid, recently released on Criteron blu-ray, is an outstanding and groundbreaking cinematic achievement. One of the only ways to give a film this superb a worthy blu-ray release would be for Criterion to handle it. The combination of care, research, attention, and quality that is presented within the small plastic case is a testament to Criterion recreating the same values that Chaplin brought to his own films when he was making them. It should already be clear that this release is a must-have for anyone fond of silent film, comedy, Chaplin, The Criterion Collection, pathos, or film history, but in case more convincing is needed, let’s take a closer look at The Kid. Continue reading ‘The Kid (Criterion Collection Review)’
March 1st, 2016 by Jerad Mullicane
An American classic, The Graduate is restored in glorious 4k resolution thanks to the folks at Criterion. Chronicling the purgatorial existence of post-graduate Benjamin Braddock(Dustin Hoffman), The Graduate dives into the heady waters of adulthood, sexuality, love, and maturity with unrestrained breadth. Timeless in its’ portrayal of early adulthood and the minefield of social interactions, The Graduate strikes a chord that has resonated for nearly 50 years. Criterion proudly brings Mike Nichols‘ masterpiece to the digital world of high definition, and bolsters the presentation with a wonderful assortment of extras. Criterion, you’re trying to seduce me. Aren’t you? Continue reading ‘The Graduate (Criterion Collection)’
February 29th, 2016 by Jerad Mullicane
So few directors can infuse the story of a struggling, down on his luck musician with so much unapologetic dark humor and persistent optimism. The Coen Brothers achieve just that with Inside Llewyn Davis. Oscar Isaac delivers an incredibly stirring performance, delivering deep soulful ballads that will leave the viewer entranced. Living a squanderous life of some notoriety and virtually no pay, Llewyn Davis wanders New York desperately seeking his big break. Unable to afford his own place, Llewyn couch surfs and depends on his various acquaintances to shelter him from a particularly troubling winter. Centered around the folk revival scene of the 1960’s, the film’s plot follows a pattern closely resembling folk songs and has fun with the cyclical nature of music. The end result is a finely crafted love letter to some of the unsung heroes of the pre-Bob Dylan folk scene in Greenwich Village. Continue reading ‘Inside Llewyn Davis (Criterion Collection)’
