The Criterion Collection

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by jcs913

IMO Brad, you are 100% correct in your thought. These films have been the forte of Criterion for many, many years now. The problem is that people always bring up the argument that Criterion used to release films like, Silence of the Lambs, Robocop, etc back in the days. They expect many main stream Hollywood titles from the past 30 years or so, which is not what Criterion does. Unfortunately, they forget, or just do not have the past knowledge, that those films were released because no one else was releasing them, and frankly, they were easy money makers for Criterion. That money earned has been used over the years to purchase rights to many of the films Criterion believes is their backbone, which are films like the ones just announced.

Oh Yeah... and LIMELIGHT!!!
Bring on The Kid...

I don't know who "they" are who apparently want "mainstream Hollywood titles."

Am I bummed that Mulholland Dr. wasn't announced, sure. Is that why I'm disappointed? No, not really.

I'm far more disappointed that I am unable to upgrade my Dreyer box set, or my copy of The Passion of Joan of Arc. I'm far more disappointed that when I watch Winter's Light and The Silence later tonight, I will have to watch them on DVD. You know what else I would like to see? A Blu-Ray of Contempt. Considering that that film and Joan are 2 of the 3 greatest films ever made in my opinion, I'd sorta, you know, like to see them updated.

Now, don't get me wrong. I never said anything announced was "crap." And I am more than willing to blind-buy something, anything if it sounds interesting, and most importantly if it's by a director I trust and appreciate greatly.

World on a Wire, most of the Jacques Demy box, Blue Is The Warmest Color -- all Criterion -- and non-Criterion stuff like To The Wonder, Under The Skin ... all of these were blind-buys; and those are just off the top of my head. So, there's no, "I haven't seen this, I'm not interested," bias here.

There's nothing wrong with disappointment. And it certainly is not a comment on the excitement of anyone here who is looking forward to these releases. So please don't treat it as if it is.

Thank you.

-- A.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

My wife and I couldn't get through WotW. Ali looks like something I might like, but I am put off by how much I didn't enjoy WotW.

Same here, I got maybe halfway through and couldn't make it any further. If it comes back on TCM again I'll give it another go. I usually give iffy movies 2-3 tries before I give up. After 3 viewings I still didn't enjoy Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

World on a Wire is the Fassbinder film that most intrigues me, but there's always something else on the Criterion rack that takes precedence.

Someday...

That film has cinematography that is like candy. Definitely recommended even as a starter to Fassbinder. I don't quite know how to accurately describe it. It's uniquely a Fassbinder film, but if the idea of Kubrick doing The Matrix in Germany in German sounds like fun you might want to see this.

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

Am I bummed that Mulholland Dr. wasn't announced, sure. Is that why I'm disappointed? No, not really.

I'm far more disappointed that I am unable to upgrade my Dreyer box set, or my copy of The Passion of Joan of Arc. I'm far more disappointed that when I watch Winter's Light and The Silence later tonight, I will have to watch them on DVD. You know what else I would like to see? A Blu-Ray of Contempt. Considering that that film and Joan are 2 of the 3 greatest films ever made in my opinion, I'd sorta, you know, like to see them updated.

If you're clamoring for those titles, it sounds like you should just go region-free for the Masters of Cinema Joan Of Arc disc and the upcoming Dreyer box set from BFI. While you're at it, go ahead and pick up any of the number of Mulholland Drive blu-rays scattered throughout the world. The same goes for Contempt, as well. You must not really want them on blu-ray or you would have already picked them up. If you're a fan of these films and disappointed by not having them on blu-ray, I don't see what's holding you back.

Also, is DVD as a format really all that bad? Hardly. It's been more than adequate for almost 20 years, and it's allowed us to see so many more movies in a better presentation than ever before. Your disappoint in having to watch a couple of movies on DVD is quite the first world problem, don't you think?

[Kakihara]

I'm just curious, is there some kind of animosity between Criterion and David Lynch I'm not aware about? Or do they really not think much of his work?

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by Kakihara

I'm just curious, is there some kind of animosity between Criterion and David Lynch I'm not aware about? Or do they really not think much of his work?

They just released one of his films 5 months ago. What would make you think they don't think much of his work?

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

Same here, I got maybe halfway through and couldn't make it any further. If it comes back on TCM again I'll give it another go. I usually give iffy movies 2-3 tries before I give up. After 3 viewings I still didn't enjoy Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice.

I would certainly like to give it another go. It's hard to rewatch a movie that you couldn't get through when you have so many movies you love only watched once in your collection though!

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by ccfixx

If you're clamoring for those titles, it sounds like you should just go region-free for the Masters of Cinema Joan Of Arc disc and the upcoming Dreyer box set from BFI. While you're at it, go ahead and pick up any of the number of Mulholland Drive blu-rays scattered throughout the world. The same goes for Contempt, as well. You must not really want them on blu-ray or you would have already picked them up. If you're a fan of these films and disappointed by not having them on blu-ray, I don't see what's holding you back.

Also, is DVD as a format really all that bad? Hardly. It's been more than adequate for almost 20 years, and it's allowed us to see so many more movies in a better presentation than ever before. Your disappoint in having to watch a couple of movies on DVD is quite the first world problem, don't you think?

One, I don't have a region free player yet. Though, as my frustration rises with this Samsung I have, and replacement gets nearer and nearer, it's only a matter of time. My next player will definitely be region free. AND it will have a remote I can tolerate (Samsung must make the worst remotes on the planet. When I replace my present player, I will finally, after a couple of decades be totally, completely, utterly Samsung-free. What a day that will be.)

Two, the reason I don't want to get other releases of these films is simple: I have faith in Criterion. They have almost never let me down. I know they will do justice to whatever it is they are releasing. And for stuff like Mulholland Dr., I keep reading every month "Confirmed." So, I assume it will happen. Maybe that assumption is incorrect. But it makes it difficult to pull the trigger on something from Germany, or wherever.

Three, no, DVD isn't acceptable. It WAS acceptable when it was replacing VHS. It was amazing, in fact. But I was a very happy camper when I was able to replace my DVDs of Breathless, L'Avventura, Persona, Vivre Sa Vie, Band of Outsiders, and so many more. I was able to replace them with FAR superior releases.

[WonderWeasel]

So glad to see 'Limelight'! The others: meh.

*The more I read about 'Make Way for Tomorrow', the more interested I'm becoming. That plot sounds depressing as hell.

[Tin Drum]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

I don't know who "they" are who apparently want "mainstream Hollywood titles."

Am I bummed that Mulholland Dr. wasn't announced, sure. Is that why I'm disappointed? No, not really.

I'm far more disappointed that I am unable to upgrade my Dreyer box set, or my copy of The Passion of Joan of Arc. I'm far more disappointed that when I watch Winter's Light and The Silence later tonight, I will have to watch them on DVD. You know what else I would like to see? A Blu-Ray of Contempt. Considering that that film and Joan are 2 of the 3 greatest films ever made in my opinion, I'd sorta, you know, like to see them updated.

Now, don't get me wrong. I never said anything announced was "crap." And I am more than willing to blind-buy something, anything if it sounds interesting, and most importantly if it's by a director I trust and appreciate greatly.

World on a Wire, most of the Jacques Demy box, Blue Is The Warmest Color -- all Criterion -- and non-Criterion stuff like To The Wonder, Under The Skin ... all of these were blind-buys; and those are just off the top of my head. So, there's no, "I haven't seen this, I'm not interested," bias here.

There's nothing wrong with disappointment. And it certainly is not a comment on the excitement of anyone here who is looking forward to these releases. So please don't treat it as if it is.

Thank you.

-- A.

contempt is readily available on blu. Seeing as how it's one of the best according to you, I'm surprised you did not know this.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by ccfixx

Your disappoint in having to watch a couple of movies on DVD is quite the first world problem, don't you think?

Well of course it's a first world problem.

Everything we talk about here is first world. Everything.

Do you think some kid in an Indonesian sweatshop really cares whether Criterion got the right amount of props this month or whether people have too many 'mainstream' titles on their Blu-ray wishlists?

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by octagon

Well of course it's a first world problem.

Everything we talk about here is first world. Everything.

Do you think some kid in an Indonesian sweatshop really cares whether Criterion got the right amount of props this month or whether people have too many 'mainstream' titles on their Blu-ray wishlists?

No, they only care if it's an Indian film being released. Hasn't Criterion given them enough Satyajit Ray and Mira Nair already??? God, those kids are insatiable! When do they have time to be watching movies, anyway? They should be making my David Beckham underwear.

As a side note, my David Beckham underwear comes from Cambodia.

[pro-bassoonist]

FINAL PRESS SHEET

MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW - Blu-ray Edition

Make Way for Tomorrow, by Leo McCarey (An Affair to Remember), is one of the great unsung Hollywood masterpieces, an enormously moving Depression-era depiction of the frustrations of family, aging, and the generation gap. Beulah Bondi (It’s a Wonderful Life) and Victor Moore (Swing Time) headline a cast of incomparable character actors, starring as an elderly couple who must move in with their grown children after the bank takes their home, yet end up separated and subject to their offspring’s selfish whims. An inspiration for Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story, this is among American cinema’s purest tearjerkers, all the way to its unflinching ending, which McCarey refused to change despite studio pressure.

1937 • 92 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • 1.33:1 aspect ratio

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• High-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Tomorrow, Yesterday, and Today, an interview from 2009 featuring filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich discussing the career of director Leo McCarey and Make Way for Tomorrow
• Video interview from 2009 with critic Gary Giddins, in which he talks about McCarey’s artistry and the political and social context of the film
• PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by critic Tag Gallagher and filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier, and an excerpt from film scholar Robin Wood’s 1998 piece “Leo McCarey and Family Values”

TITLE: MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2487BD
UPC: 7-15515-14701-9
ISBN: 1-68143-000-2
SRP: $39.95
STREET: 5/12/15

LIMELIGHT - Blu-ray


Charlie Chaplin’s masterful drama about the twilight of a former vaudeville star is among the writer-director’s most touching films. Chaplin plays Calvero, a once beloved musical-comedy performer, now a washed-up alcoholic who lives in a small London flat. A glimmer of hope arrives when he meets a beautiful but melancholy ballerina (Richard III’s Claire Bloom) who lives downstairs. An elegant mix of the comic and the tragic, this poignant film also features Buster Keaton (The General) in an extended cameo, marking the only time the two silent comedy icons appeared together on-screen. Made at a time when Chaplin was under attack by the American press and far right, Limelight was barely distributed in the United States upon its initial release, but it is now considered one of his essential and most personal works.

1952 • 137 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • 1.33:1 aspect ratio

SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Chaplin’s “Limelight”: Its Evolution and Intimacy, a new video essay by Charlie Chaplin biographer David Robinson
• New interviews with actors Claire Bloom and Norman Lloyd
• Chaplin Today: “Limelight,” a 2002 documentary on the film, featuring director Bernardo Bertolucci and actors Bloom and Sydney Chaplin
• Outtake from the film
• Archival audio recording of Charlie Chaplin reading two short excerpts from his novella Footlights
• Two short films by Chaplin: A Night in the Show (1915) and the never completed The Professor (1919)
• Trailers
• PLUS: An essay by critic Peter von Bagh

TITLE: LIMELIGHT (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2481BD
UPC: 7-15515-14621-0
ISBN: 978-1-60465-993-1
SRP: $39.95
STREET: 5/19/15


THE ROSE - Blu-ray

Bette Midler exploded onto the screen with her take-no-prisoners performance in this quintessential film about fame and addiction from director Mark Rydell (On Golden Pond). Midler is the rock-and-roll singer Mary Rose Foster (known as the Rose to her legions of fans), whose romantic relationships and mental health are continuously imperiled by the demands of life on the road. Incisively scripted by Bo Goldman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) and beautifully shot by Blow Out’s Vilmos Zsigmond (with assistance on the dazzling concert scenes by a host of other world-class cinematographers, including Conrad L. Hall, László Kovács, Owen Roizman, and Haskell Wexler), this is a sensitively drawn and emotionally overwhelming melodrama that made the popular singer into a movie star as well.

1979 • 134 minutes • Color • 5.1 surround • 1.85:1 aspect ratio

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director of photography Vilmos Zsigmond, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD master audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Audio commentary featuring director Mark Rydell
• New interviews with Rydell, Zsigmond, and Bette Midler
• Archival interviews with Midler and Rydell, with on-set footage
• PLUS: An essay by music critic Paula Mejia

TITLE: THE ROSE (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2483BD
UPC: 7-15515-14641-8
ISBN: 978-1-60465-995-5
SRP: $39.95
STREET: 5/19/15


THE CONFESSION - Blu-ray

The master of the political thriller, Costa-Gavras, became an instant phenomenon after the mammoth success of Z, and he quickly followed it with the perhaps even more riveting The Confession. Based on a harrowing true story, the film stars Yves Montand (The Wages of Fear) as an influential Czechoslovak dignitary who, in the early fifties, was abducted, imprisoned, and interrogated by fellow members of his country’s Communist ruling party—their intentions vague, their methods terrifying. Also starring Simone Signoret (Diabolique) and Gabriele Ferzetti (L’avventura), Costa-Gavras’s film is an unflinching depiction of a troubled historical period and the miasma of twentieth-century politics.

1970 • 139 minutes • Color • Monaural • In French with English subtitles • 1.66:1 aspect ratio

SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• You Speak of Prague: The Second Trial of Artur London (1971), a twenty-one-minute documentary by Chris Marker shot on the set of The Confession
• New interview with the film’s editor, Françoise Bonnot
• Conversation between director Costa-Gavras and programmer and scholar Peter von Bagh about the director’s life and career, from the 1988 Midnight Sun Film Festival
• Portrait London, a 1981 interview with Artur and Lise London, the real-life figures on whose story the film is based
• Interview with actor Yves Montand from 1970
• New interview with John Michalczyk, author of Costa-Gavras: The Political Fiction Film
• New English subtitle translation
• PLUS: An essay by film scholar Dina Iordanova

TITLE: THE CONFESSION (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2472BD
UPC: 7-15515-14431-5
ISBN: 978-1-60465-980-1
SRP: $39.95
STREET: 5/26/15

STATE OF SIEGE - Blu-ray

Costa-Gavras (Z) puts the United States’ involvement in South American politics under the microscope in this arresting thriller. An urban guerilla group, outraged at the counterinsurgency and torture training clandestinely organized by the CIA in their country (unnamed in the film), abducts a U.S. official (The Wages of Fear’s Yves Montand) to bargain for the release of political prisoners; soon the kidnapping becomes a media sensation, leading to violence. Cowritten by Franco Solinas (The Battle of Algiers), the electrifying State of Siege piercingly critiques the American government for helping institute foreign dictatorships while also asking difficult questions about the efficacy of radical violent acts to oppose such regimes.

1972 • 120 minutes • Color • Monaural • In French with English subtitles • 1.66:1 aspect ratio

SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New conversation between director Costa-Gavras and film scholar Peter Cowie
• NBC News excerpts from 1970 on the kidnapping of Dan Mitrione, on which the film is based
• New English subtitle translation
• PLUS: An essay by journalist Mark Danner

TITLE: STATE OF SIEGE (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2474BD
UPC: 7-15515-14451-3
ISBN: 978-1-60465-982-5
SRP: $39.95
STREET: 5/26/15

THE MERCHANT OF FOUR SEASONS - Blu-ray

New German Cinema icon Rainer Werner Fassbinder (World on a Wire) kicked off a new phase of his young career when he made the startling The Merchant of Four Seasons. In this despairing yet mordantly funny film, Fassbinder charts the decline of a self-destructive former policeman and war veteran struggling to make ends meet for his family by working as a fruit vendor. Fassbinder had skyrocketed to renown on the acclaim of a series of trenchant, quickly made early films, but for this one he took more time and forged a new style—featuring a more complexly woven script and narrative structure and more sophisticated use of the camera, and influenced by the work of his recently discovered idol, Douglas Sirk. The result is a meticulously made, unforgiving social satire.

1971 • 88 minutes • Color • Monaural • In German with English subtitles • 1.37:1 aspect ratio

SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Audio commentary featuring filmmaker Wim Wenders
• New interviews with actors Irm Hermann and Hans Hirschmüller
• New interview with film scholar Eric Rentschler
• New English subtitle translation
• PLUS: An essay by film scholar Thomas Elsaesser

TITLE: THE MERCHANT OF FOUR SEASONS (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2485BD
UPC: 7-15515-14661-6
ISBN: 978-1-60465-997-9
SRP: $39.95
STREET: 5/26/15

Pro-B

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by PipesDonatello

Agreed. I haven't been excited about an announcement since Time Bandits back in September. I guess I just don't like obscure foreign art films for the most part.

[jw007]

I'm somewhat pleased with the May releases.

I look forward to upgrading my Criterion DVD of Make Way for Tomorrow, which I believe is a beautiful morality tale from another time period. It's a sad but very touching story and today there are rarely (if any) films made like this.

The Costa-Gavras films are curiosities for me. Maybe worth watching first. Costa-Gavras is the master of the political thriller.

I'm really happy to see yet another Chaplin film, Limelight, see the light of the Criterion blu-ray laser beam. This feels like a bookend and completes my Criterion Chaplin collection once and for all. I can't see Criterion releasing any more Chaplin (with maybe the exception of The Kid and The Circus).

The Fassbinder film is interesting... with Wenders' commentary. Worth a blind buy.

and finally The Rose which is loosely based on the late Janis Joplin is another interesting rental. It didn't seem to get a lot of publicity at the time though. I noticed Michael Cimino (Heavens Gate) co-wrote this film. It did get nominated for 4 Oscars for best actress, supporting actor, editing and sound too.

So a lot of 70s films here plus a great upgrade and an amazing late period Chaplin film. Overall, pretty good month in fact.

[jw007]

Might I add that the cover art for The Rose is killer cool. I just can't stop staring at this! I disagree with the people who think the artwork has gone downhill. This particular artwork is a gem, esp. with that font.

[WonderWeasel]

Originally Posted by jw007

Might I add that the cover art for The Rose is killer cool. I just can't stop staring at this! I disagree with the people who think the artwork has gone downhill. This particular artwork is a gem, esp. with that font.

It matches the era of the film's setting well, doesn't it?

I really like the 'Limelight' cover, too. It reminds me of circus banner/Fred Johnson artwork.

[Peachy]

Well, again a deception

I'm not a fan at all of Costa-Gavras, but I presume if it's the case, it's a good month.

(and i going to repeat myself every month, but were the damn is Mulholland Drive ?!).

[easydreamer]

The press sheet for Make Way for Tomorrow says it comes with a booklet. Hope it is true!

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by easydreamer

The press sheet for Make Way for Tomorrow says it comes with a booklet. Hope it is true!