The Criterion Collection

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

I won't be waiting for a sale, that set will be expensive but I will be get it right away in March. Lean is one of my favorite director along with Capra, Kurosawa and Eisenstein.

I agree and with all the great Lean releases over the last year or so this is like icing on the cake...

[buffetfroid]

Originally Posted by JHas

Agreed, the doc included in The African Queen is another great one from a Huston film.

Criterion does really have some excellent supplements. My top three Criterion Supplements (off the top of my head) are:

-“Graham Greene: The Hunted Man,” an hour-long, 1968 episode of the BBC’s Omnibus series, featuring a rare interview with the novelist (The Third Man)

-Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry (1976), filmmaker Donald Brittain’s 99-minute, Academy Award–nominated documentary, narrated by Richard Burton, examining the connections between Under the Volcano author Malcolm Lowry’s life and that of his novel’s main character (Under the Volcano)

-The Typewriter, the Rifle and the Movie Camera, Adam Simon’s 1996 documentary on director Samuel Fuller (Shock Corridor)


I haven't checked out the Night of the Hunter extras yet, but I've heard there are some awesome ones included.

My favorite is probably "A Very British Psycho" on the Peeping Tom disc about screenwriter Leo Marks. Led me to also read his memoir, Between Silk and Cyanide, which is quite good.

[greekak229]

That Night To Remember cover is beautiful.

[Beta Man]

Been away from the computer all day (that was nice!) And I just found out the titles that were released.

I need to read some more, but I already see a few that I'm VERY excited for!

[rkish]

I'm happy for the titles I've discovered and/or gotten at a good price, coming in the next 3 months...but I think I'm the most excited about:

Seven Chances (Kino): Sitting on my shelf - I'm saving for Xmas weekend. Can't have enough silents and/or Keaton films.

Gorin Eclipse: The subjects of the films intrigues me. The only Eclipse I'll buy before a sale.

Letter Never Sent: I'm betting the cinematography is phenomenal. Slowly getting into Russian films.

World on a Wire: See above...plus the price couldn't be beat.

Anatomy of a Murder: See above...plus, though I've never seen it, it has a decided "12 Angry Men" feel to it.

Wings: How can a lover of silents not want this...won the first Academy award/only silent film Academy award to boot.

EDIT: These are UK releases...but what the heck:

The Student Comdies (The Ozu Collection): Probably my favorite foreign director

Le Silence de la Mer: Melville and WWII...what else do you need?

[Criterion Collector]

Ok, with all the talk about David Lean on the thread I decided to finally give my DVD of Pygmalion a spin. For some reason I had it in my head that Lean had directed this one, he was actually the editor of the film instead, I realized this in the opening credits.

Either way, since I already had it playing, I figured I may as well go ahead and watch it. I have to say that I am extremely glad that I did. Pygmalion is a really, really funny film. I found myself laughing out loud several times throughout my viewing.

I often see critics describe enjoyable and lighthearted comedies as "delightful", while watching Pygmalion, the word delightful popped into my head as the perfect adjective to describe this hilarious comedy.

While I watched it alone, I can easily see this film being enjoyed by groups of friends in a home theater, or at a commercial theater having a special screening. It's the type of movie where the laughter could become quite contagious in such settings, if that makes sense.

Needless to say, I highly recommend spine #85 to all film goers who enjoy a good laugh, and a good time, at the movies.

One note I would like to make regarding the presentation. Several times throughout the film, the audio and video would suddenly "shift" and look and sound as if there was no restoration work done at all. In fact, it would "shift" back and forth even during the same scene...weird. Did anyone else notice this, or is it just me?

[pro-bassoonist]

OFFICIAL PRESS SHEET:

THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST – BD
The Last Temptation of Christ, by Martin Scorsese (Raging Bull), is a towering achievement. Though it initially engendered enormous controversy, the film can now be viewed as the remarkable, profoundly personal work of faith that it is. This fifteen-year labor of love, an adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis’s landmark novel that imagines an alternate fate for Jesus Christ, features outstanding performances by Willem Dafoe (Antichrist), Barbara Hershey (Hannah and Her Sisters), Harvey Keitel (Mean Streets), Harry Dean Stanton (Paris, Texas), and David Bowie (The Man Who Fell to Earth); bold cinematography by the great Michael Ballhaus (Broadcast News); and a transcendent score by Peter Gabriel.

1988 • 163 minutes • Color • 5.1 Surround • 1.85:1 aspect ratio

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• Restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by cinematographer Michael Ballhaus and editor Thelma Schoonmaker, with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack by supervising sound editor Skip Lievsay
• Audio commentary featuring director Martin Scorsese, actor Willem Dafoe, and writers Paul Schrader and Jay Cocks
• Galleries of production stills, research materials, and costume designs
• Location production footage shot by Scorsese
• Interview with composer Peter Gabriel, with a stills gallery of traditional instruments used in the score
• PLUS: An essay by film critic David Ehrenstein

TITLE: The Last Temptation of Christ (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2118BD
UPC: 7-15515-09271-5
ISBN: 978-1-60465-553-7
SRP: $39.95
PREBOOK: 2/14/12
STREET: 3/13/12


LETTER NEVER SENT – BD
The great Soviet director Mikhail Kalatozov (The Cranes Are Flying), known for his virtuosic, emotionally gripping films, perhaps never directed one more visually astonishing than Letter Never Sent. This absorbing tale of exploration and survival concerns four members of a geological expedition who are stranded in the bleak and unforgiving Siberian wilderness while on a mission to find diamonds. Luxuriating in wide-angle beauty and featuring one daring shot after another (the brilliant cinematography is by Kalatozov’s frequent collaborator Sergei Urusevsky), Letter Never Sent is a fascinating piece of cinematic history and a universal adventure of the highest order.

1959 • 96 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In Russian with English subtitles • 1.33:1 aspect ratio

SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
• New English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Dina Iordanova

TITLE: Letter Never Sent (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2129BD
UPC: 7-15515-09381-1
ISBN: 978-1-60465-564-3
SRP: $29.95
PREBOOK: 2/21/12
STREET: 3/20/12


THE WAR ROOM – BD
The 1992 presidential election was a triumph not only for Bill Clinton but also for the new breed of strategists who guided him to the White House and changed the face of politics in the process. For this thrilling, behind-closed-doors account of that campaign, renowned cinema verité filmmakers D. A. Pennebaker (Monterey Pop) and Chris Hegedus (Startup.com) closely followed the brainstorming and bull sessions of Clinton’s crack team of consultants—especially the folksy James Carville and the preppy George Stephanopoulos, who became media stars in their own right as they injected a youthful spirit and spontaneity into the process of campaigning. Fleet-footed and entertaining, The War Room is a vivid document of a political moment whose truths (“It’s the economy, stupid!”) still ring in our ears.

1993 • 96 minutes • Color • 2.0 Surround • 1.33:1 aspect ratio

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New, restored high-definition digital transfer, approved by directors D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
• Return of the War Room, a 2008 documentary in which advisers James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, and Paul Begala and others reflect on the effect the Clinton war room had on the way campaigns are run
• Making “The War Room,” a conversation between the filmmakers about the difficulties of shooting in the campaign’s fast-paced environment
• Panel discussion hosted by the William J. Clinton Foundation and featuring Carville, Clinton adviser Vernon Jordan, journalist Ron Brownstein, and surprise guest Bill Clinton
• Interview with strategist Stanley Greenberg on the increasing importance of polling
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by writer Louis Menand

TITLE: The War Room (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2114BD
UPC: 7-15515-09181-7
ISBN: 978-1-60465-543-8
SRP: $39.95
STREET: 3/20/12

DAVID LEAN DIRECTS NOEL COWARD – BD
In the 1940s, the wit of playwright Noël Coward (Design for Living) and the craft of filmmaker David Lean (Lawrence of Arabia) melded harmoniously in one of cinema’s greatest writer-director collaborations. With the wartime military drama sensation In Which We Serve, Coward and Lean (along with producing partners Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan) embarked on a series of literate, socially engaged, and enormously entertaining pictures that ranged from domestic epic (This Happy Breed) to whimsical comedy (Blithe Spirit) to poignant romance (Brief Encounter). These films created a lasting testament to Coward’s artistic legacy and introduced Lean’s visionary talents to the world.

In Which We Serve
In the midst of World War II, the renowned playwright Noël Coward engaged a young film editor named David Lean to help him realize his vision for an action drama about a group of Royal Navy sailors (roles that would be filled by Coward himself, Great Expectations’ Bernard Miles, and Ryan’s Daughter’s John Mills, among others) fighting the Germans in the Mediterranean. Coward and Lean ended up codirecting the large-scale project—an impressive undertaking, especially considering that neither of them had directed for the big screen before (this would be Coward’s only such credit). Cutting between a major naval battle and flashbacks to the men’s lives before they left home, In Which We Serve (an Oscar nominee for best picture) was a major breakthrough for both filmmakers and a sensitive and stirring piece of propaganda.

1942 · 114 minutes · Black & White · Monaural · 1.37:1 aspect ratio

This Happy Breed
David Lean brings to vivid emotional life Noël Coward’s epic chronicle of a working-class family in the London suburbs over the course of two decades. Robert Newton (Oliver Twist) and Celia Johnson (Brief Encounter) are surpassingly affecting as Frank and Ethel Gibbons, a couple with three children whose modest household is touched by joy and tragedy from the tail end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second. With its mix of politics and melodrama, This Happy Breed is a quintessential British domestic drama, featuring subtly expressive Technicolor cinematography by Ronald Neame and a remarkable supporting cast including John Mills, Stanley Holloway (My Fair Lady), and Kay Walsh (The Horse’s Mouth).

1944 · 111 minutes · Color · Monaural · 1.37:1 aspect ratio

Blithe Spirit
Blithe Spirit, David Lean’s delightful film version of Noël Coward’s theater sensation (onstage, it broke London box-office records before hitting Broadway), stars Rex Harrison (Unfaithfully Yours) as a novelist who cheekily invites a medium (The Importance of Being Earnest’s Margaret Rutherford) to his house to conduct a séance, hoping the experience will inspire a book he’s working on. Things go decidedly not as planned when she summons the spirit of his dead first wife (Kay Hammond), a severe inconvenience for his current one (Constance Cummings). Employing Oscar-winning special effects to spruce up Coward’s theatrical farce, Blithe Spirit is a sprightly supernatural comedy with winning performances.

1945 · 96 minutes · Color · Monaural · 1.37:1 aspect ratio

Brief Encounter
After a chance meeting on a train platform, a married doctor (The Third Man’s Trevor Howard) and a suburban housewife (This Happy Breed’s Celia Johnson) enter into a muted but passionate, ultimately doomed, love affair. With its evocatively fog-enshrouded setting, swooning Rachmaninoff score, and pair of remarkable performances (Johnson was nominated for an Oscar for her role), David Lean’s film of Noël Coward’s play Still Life deftly explores the thrill, pain, and tenderness of an illicit romance, and has influenced many a cinematic brief encounter since its release.

1945 · 86 minutes · Black & White · Monaural · 1.37:1 aspect ratio

SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New high-definition digital transfers of the BFI National Archive’s 2008 restorations, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-ray editions
• Audio commentary on Brief Encounter by film historian Bruce Eder
• New interviews with Noël Coward scholar Barry Day on all of the films
• Interview with cinematographer-screenwriter-producer Ronald Neame from 2010
• Short documentaries from 2000 on the making of In Which We Serve and Brief Encounter
• David Lean: A Self Portrait, a 1971 television documentary on Lean’s career
• Episode of the British television series The Southbank Show from 1992 on the life and career of Coward
• Audio recording of a 1969 conversation between Richard Attenborough and Coward at London’s National Film Theatre
• Trailers
• PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by Ian Christie, Terrence Rafferty, Farran Nehne, Geoffrey O’Brien, and Kevin Brownlow

TITLE: David Lean Directs Noël Coward (4-BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2119BD
UPC: 7-15515-09281-4
ISBN: 978-1-60465-554-4
SRP: $99.95
STREET: 3/27/12

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER – BD
On April 14, 1912, just before midnight, the unsinkable Titanic struck an iceberg. In less than three hours, it had plunged to the bottom of the sea, taking with it more than 1,500 of its 2,200 passengers. In his unforgettable rendering of Walter Lord’s book of the same name, A Night to Remember, the acclaimed British director Roy Ward Baker (Don’t Bother to Knock) depicts with sensitivity, awe, and a fine sense of tragedy the ship’s final hours. Featuring remarkably restrained performances, A Night to Remember is cinema’s subtlest, finest dramatization of this monumental twentieth-century catastrophe.

1958 • 123 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • 1.66:1 aspect ratio

SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
• Audio commentary by Don Lynch and Ken Marschall, author and illustrator of “Titanic:” An Illustrated History
• The Making of “A Night to Remember” (1993), a sixty-minute documentary featuring William MacQuitty’s rare behind-the-scenes footage
• Archival interview with Titanic survivor Eva Hart
• En natt att minas, a forty-five-minute Swedish documentary from 1962 featuring interviews with Titanic survivors
• Trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Michael Sragow

TITLE: A Night to Remember (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2133BD
UPC: 7-15515-09421-4
ISBN: 978-1-60465-568-1
SRP: $39.95
STREET: 3/27/12

[easyblu]

Just watched my copy of The Lady Vanishes that I got from the BN sale. Great movie, but I really wish there was an option for subtitles. I had some trouble hearing/understanding some of the dialogue. Now bring on Foreign Correspondent blu-ray please, Criterion Such an underrated movie.

[Darkcritic]

Regarding the discussion of the lack of supplements in Letter Never Sent, I am actually happy about the price point although I would not mind some extras in it. I don't always watch the extras but I find some of them pretty interesting, especially does that give great insight in the career of the director. I love me some Soviet cinema and this possibly is my most anticipated release for 2012 (Alongside World on a Wire and Le Silence de la Mer). I love that I will get it almost in release as I plan to pre-order it. I really can't believe Criterion is releasing another Kalatozov, can't wait to see an upgrade for The Cranes are Flying . Also, who wants Klimov's Come and See in the Collection ?

[octagon]

Originally Posted by easyblu

Just watched my copy of The Lady Vanishes that I got from the BN sale. Great movie, but I really wish there was an option for subtitles. I had some trouble hearing/understanding some of the dialogue. Now bring on Foreign Correspondent blu-ray please, Criterion Such an underrated movie.

In the future try the subtitle (or maybe audio, I forget) key on your player/remote. They usually have SDH subs that don't show up in the menu.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by easyblu

Just watched my copy of The Lady Vanishes that I got from the BN sale. Great movie, but I really wish there was an option for subtitles. I had some trouble hearing/understanding some of the dialogue. Now bring on Foreign Correspondent blu-ray please, Criterion Such an underrated movie.

There are subtitles, as the above poster said. You just have to access them from your remote.

[easyblu]

Oh, nice! Thanks guys! I guess that gives me a good reason to rewatch the movie soon. I think subtitles will really enhance the movie for me.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by Darkcritic

Regarding the discussion of the lack of supplements in Letter Never Sent, I am actually happy about the price point although I would not mind some extras in it. I don't always watch the extras but I find some of them pretty interesting, especially does that give great insight in the career of the director. I love me some Soviet cinema and this possibly is my most anticipated release for 2012 (Alongside World on a Wire and Le Silence de la Mer). I love that I will get it almost in release as I plan to pre-order it. I really can't believe Criterion is releasing another Kalatozov, can't wait to see an upgrade for The Cranes are Flying . Also, who wants Klimov's Come and See in the Collection ?

I believe the rights to Come and See are held by Kino and, supposedly, it will be coming in 2012. That is good news since Kino BDs are high quality. Like you, I really want to see it released.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

These are the type of Soviet films I would love to see transition to Blu-ray Perhaps Criterion could eventually do Grigori Chukhrai's Ballad of a Soldier, and also surprise us with The Forty-first. These will be special upgrades in the library.



Pro-B

Pro-B, I like the way you think These would be fantastic on blu-ray. Do you know who holds the rights to The Forty-First?

[trombone dixie]

F**k Barnes & Noble... Pre-ordered Tokyo Drifter and Branded To Kill during the November sale before they adjusted the prices back up. They just arrived today, only I received Tokyo Drifter and The Rocketeer... WTF?????????????

[Oblivion138]

Originally Posted by greekak229

That Night To Remember cover is beautiful.

Agreed. I wonder if it's by the same artist who did the cover illustration for The Killing.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by oildude

Pro-B, I like the way you think These would be fantastic on blu-ray. Do you know who holds the rights to The Forty-First?

I am unsure. I have the Russian disc, and have never seen a R1 release. If there ever was one, I missed it.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by trombone dixie

F**k Barnes & Noble... Pre-ordered Tokyo Drifter and Branded To Kill during the November sale before they adjusted the prices back up. They just arrived today, only I received Tokyo Drifter and The Rocketeer... WTF?????????????

I know, I had an order turn up like that too during the sale. They sent me 2 copies of the same film instead of sending two different films...how do they even make that kind of mistake...

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by trombone dixie

F**k Barnes & Noble... Pre-ordered Tokyo Drifter and Branded To Kill during the November sale before they adjusted the prices back up. They just arrived today, only I received Tokyo Drifter and The Rocketeer... WTF?????????????

Mine still hasn't shipped yet, you know, because the release date changed.

When mine finally ships, I'll let you know if i get a mystery movie like you did.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

I'm risking a B&N order. I got a 50% off coupon for their mystery coupon e-mail they just sent out this morning. I forgot to use ebates, but at this point, I don't care, I ordered Branded to Kill.

It looks like this is one of those coupons where when you put your unique code into the cart, it transforms it into a generic 6 digit code. Care to share that 6 six digit code? It should work once for each billing address...