CRITERION in November
BOTTLE ROCKET, THE LAST EMPEROR & THE THIRD MAN on Blu-Ray!!!!
Criterion have announced their November schedule, a very exciting month indeed for the company as they are finally making the transition into High-Definition viewing. And the best thing about it is that they are keeping the same price range as the standard releases, so your looking at less than $30 dollars if you take advantage of pre-order discounts. I've yet to confirm whether the Blu-Ray releases will be region free, sadly I doubt they will and as Blu-Ray Players are extremely difficult to region unlock, our U.K. readers might not benefit from the HD transition. I know it sucks doesn't it? For everyone else though it's fantastic and we can also just pluck for the standard releases. Love this month's line-up, Wes Anderson's cult favourite Bottle Rocket has an absolutely gorgeous cover and although I'm not much of a fan of the director, I can tolerate that movie. The beautifully evocative Chungking Express gets the HD and Criterion treatment which might be the most exciting release on this list, the swashbuckling French movie Fanfan La Tulipe I've never heard of but I do love me the old Errol Flynn classics, so if out of curiosity for a that type of movie, I must pick this up. As an owner of both the standard releases of The Last Emperor and The Third Man on Criterion, those are two of my absolute favourites the company has ever put have. If you have a Blu-Ray player, you must pick those up and then The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, the adaptation of the great John Le Carre novel which is a really cool 60's British thriller. Full press release below, November I think I might find myself skint. Save money and Pre-Order the titles from AMAZON or AXEL MUSIC!
BOTTLE ROCKET Criterion DVD SRP: $39.95 DVD and Blu-ray Street date: 11/25/08
Wes Anderson first illustrated his lovingly detailed, slightly surreal cinematic vision in this witty and warm portrait of three young middle-class misfits. Fresh out of a mental hospital, gentle Anthony (Luke Wilson) finds himself once again embroiled in the machinations of his best friend, elaborate schemer Dignan (Owen Wilson). With the aid of getaway driver Bob (Robert Musgrave), they develop a needlessly complex, mildly successful plan to rob a small bookstorethen go on the lam. Also featuring Lumi Cavazos as Inez, the South American housekeeper Anthony falls in love with, and James Caan as local thief extraordinaire Mr. Henry, Bottle Rocket is a charming, hilarious, affectionate look at the folly of dreamers. Shot against radiant southwestern backdrops, its the film that put Anderson and the Wilson brothers on the map.
Info Directed by Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) Starring Owen Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Armageddon, Wedding Crashers) Starring Luke Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Legally Blonde, 3:10 to Yuma) Cinematography by Robert Yeoman (Drugstore Cowboy, Rushmore, The Squid and the Whale) DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES: New, restored high-definition digital transfer supervised and approved by director Wes Anderson and director of photography Robert Yeoman Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 on Blu-ray) Commentary by director/co-writer Anderson and co-writer/star Owen Wilson The Making of Bottle Rocket: an original documentary by filmmaker Barry Braverman featuring Anderson, James L. Brooks, James Caan, Temple Nash Jr., Kumar Pallana, Polly Platt, Mark Mothersbaugh, Robert Musgrave, Richard Sakai, David and Sandy Wasco, Andrew and Luke and Owen Wilson, and Robert Yeoman The original thirteen-minute black-and-white Bottle Rocket short film from 1992 Eleven deleted scenes Anamorphic screen test, storyboards, location photos, and behind-the-scenes photographs by Laura Wilson Murita Cycles, a 1978 short film by Braverman The Shafrazi Lectures, no. 1: Bottle Rocket PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by executive producer James L. Brooks, an appreciation by Martin Scorsese, and original artwork by Ian Dingman.
CHUNGKING EXPRESS Criterion DVD SRP: $39.95 DVD and Blu-ray Street date: 11/25/08
The whiplash, double-pronged Chungking Express is one of the defining works of nineties cinema and the film that made Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai an instant icon. Two heartsick Hong Kong cops (Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung), both jilted by ex-lovers, cross paths at the Midnight Express take-out restaurant stand, where the ethereal pixie waitress Faye (Faye Wong) works. Anything goes in Wongs gloriously shot and utterly unexpected charmer, which cemented the sex appeal of its gorgeous stars and forever turned canned pineapple and the Mamas and the Papas California Dreamin into tokens of romantic longing. Info Directed by Wong Kar-wai (Ashes of Time, In the Mood for Love, 2046) Starring Tony Leung (Infernal Affairs, In the Mood for Love, Lust Caution) Starring Takeshi Kaneshiro (Fallen Angels, House of Flying Daggers) SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES: New, restored high-definition digital transfer Remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack supervised by director Wong Kar-wai (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 on Blu-ray) Audio commentary by noted Asian cinema critic Tony Rayns U.S. theatrical trailer New and improved English subtitle translation PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Amy Taubin and excerpts from a 1996 Sight and Sound interview with Wong by Rayns More! appreciation by Martin Scorsese, and original artwork by Ian Dingma.
FANFAN LA TULIPECriterion DVD SRP: $29.95 Street date: 11/18/08
Legendary French star Gérard Philipe swashbuckled his way into film history as the peasant soldier Fanfan in Christian-Jaques devil-may-care romantic action-comedy. In eighteenth-century France, Fanfan joins King Louis XVs army to avoid a forced marriage to a local lass. And thus begins an adventure that sees Fanfan getting himself out of close scrapes and into tight squeezes with Gina Lollobrigidas impostor fortune teller, Adeline, on his way to fighting in the Seven Years War. Filled to the brim with dazzling stunts and randy innuendo, Fanfan la Tulipe, which won the best director prize at Cannes and was a smash hit upon its initial release, remains one of Frances all-time most beloved films.
Info Directed by Christian-Jacque (If All the Guys in the World . . . , The Black Tulip) Starring Gérard Philipe (La ronde, The Red and the Black, Les Liaisons dangereuses) Starring Gina Lollabrigida (Beat the Devil, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Come September) SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES: New, restored digital transfer New video program about actor Gérard Philipe A clip from the colorized version of the film Theatrical trailer Optional English-dubbed soundtrack New and improved English subtitle translation PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by Kenneth Turan and an excerpt from Georges Sadouls monograph on Philipe.
THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD Criterion DVD SRP: $39.95 Street date: 11/25/08
John Le Carrés acclaimed bestselling novel, about a Cold War spy on one final, dangerous mission, is every bit as precise and ruthless onscreen in this adaptation directed by Martin Ritt. Richard Burton delivers one of his career-defining performances as Alec Leamas, whose hesitant but deeply felt relationship with a beautiful librarian (Claire Bloom) puts what he hopes will be his last assignment, in East Germany, in jeopardy. An intelligent, hard-edged, and even tragic thriller, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is etched with realism and suffused with genuine political and personal anxiety.
Info Directed by Martin Ritt (Hud, Sounder, Norma Rae) Starring Richard Burton (Becket, Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Equus) Starring Claire Bloom (Limelight, Richard III, Crimes and Misdemeanors) From the novel by John Le Carré (The Russia House, The Tailor of Panama, The Constant Gardener) SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES: New, restored high-definition digital transfer New interviews with author John Le Carré and cinematographer Oswald Morris The Secret Center: John Le Carré (2000), a BBC documentary on the authors extraordinary life and work Acting in the 60s: Richard Burton, a 1967 interview with the BBCs Kenneth Tynan examining the actors performances and accomplishments Gallery of set designs Theatrical trailer PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Michael Sragow and a reprinted interview with Ritt More!
THE THIRD MAN (BLU-RAY) Criterion SRP: $39.95 Street date: 11/18/08
Pulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, black-market opportunist Harry Limeand thus begins this legendary tale of love, deception, and murder. Thanks to brilliant performances by Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, and Orson Welles; Anton Karass evocative zither score; Graham Greenes razor-sharp dialogue; and Robert Kraskers dramatic use of light and shadow, The Third Man, directed by the inimitable Carol Reed, just continues to grow in stature as the years pass.
Info Directed by Carol Reed (Odd Man Out, The Fallen Idol, Oliver!) Starring Joseph Cotten (Citizen Kane, Shadow of a Doubt) Starring Orson Welles (Citizen Kane, Mr. Arkadin, F for Fake) Starring Graham Greene (The Fallen Idol, The End of the Affair) BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES: Restored high-definition digital transfer Uncompressed mono soundtrack Video introduction by writer-director Peter Bogdanovich Two audio commentaries: one by filmmaker Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Tony Gilroy, and one by film scholar Dana Polan Shadowing The Third Man (2005), a ninety-minute feature documentary on the making of the film Abridged recording of Graham Greenes treatment, read by actor Richard Clarke Graham Greene: The Hunted Man, an hour-long, 1968 episode of the BBCs Omnibus series, featuring a rare interview with the novelist Who Was the Third Man? (2000), a thirty-minute Austrian documentary featuring interviews with cast and crew The Third Man on the radio: the 1951 A Ticket to Tangiers episode of The Lives of Harry Lime series, written and performed by Orson Welles, and the 1951 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of The Third Man Illustrated production history with rare behind-the-scenes photos, original UK press book, and U.S. trailer Actor Joseph Cottens alternate opening voice-over narration for the U.S. version Archival footage of postwar Vienna A look at the untranslated foreign dialogue in the film PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by Luc Sante.
THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH (BLU-RAY) Criterion
SRP: $39.95 Street date: 11/18/08
The Man Who Fell to Earth is a daring exploration of science fiction as an art form. The story of an alien on an elaborate rescue mission provides the launching pad for Nicolas Roegs visual tour de force, a formally adventurous examination of alienation in contemporary life. Rock legend David Bowie, in his acting debut, completely embodies the title role, while Candy Clark, Buck Henry, and Rip Torn turn in terrific supporting performances. The films hallucinatory vision was obscured in the American theatrical release, which deleted nearly twenty minutes of crucial scenes and details. The Criterion Collection is proud to present Roegs full uncut version, in this exclusive director-approved high-definition widescreen transfer. Info Directed by Nicolas Roeg (Walkabout, Dont Look Now, Bad Timing) Starring David Bowie (Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Prestige) Starring Rip Torn (Cross Creek, Tropic of Cancer, The Larry Sanders Show) Cinematography by Anthony RIchmond (Walkabout, Dont Look Now, Bad Timing) DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY EDITION FEATURES: High-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Nicolas Roeg Uncompressed stereo soundtrack Audio commentary by Roeg and actors David Bowie and Buck Henry Video interview with screenwriter Paul Mayersberg Performance, video interviews with actors Candy Clark and Rip Torn Audio interviews with costume designer May Routh and production designer Brian Eatwell Audio interview from 1984 with author Walter Tevis, conducted by Don Swaim Multiple stills galleries, including Rouths costume sketches; behind-the-scenes photos; and production and publicity stills, introduced by set photographer David James Gallery of posters from Roegs films Trailers PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Graham Fuller.
THE LAST EMPEROR (BLU-RAY) Criterion SRP: $39.95 Street date: 11/18/08
Bernardo Bertoluccis The Last Emperor won nine Academy Awards, unexpectedly sweeping every category in which it was nominatedquite a feat for a challenging, multilayered epic directed by an Italian and starring an international cast. Yet the power and scope of the film was, and remains, undeniablethe life of Emperor Pu Yi, who took the throne at age three, in 1908, before witnessing decades of cultural and political upheaval, within and without the walls of the Forbidden City. Recreating Ching-dynasty China with astonishing detail and unparalleled craftsmanship by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti, The Last Emperor is also an intimate character study of one man reconciling personal responsibility and political legacy.
Info Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci (Le commare secca, The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris) Starring John Lone (Year of the Dragon, M Butterfly, War) Starring Joan Chen (Twin Peaks, Heaven and Earth, Lust Caution) Starring Peter OToole (Lawrence of Arabia, The Ruling Class, My Favorite Year) Cinematography by Vittorio Storaro (The Conformist, Apocalypse Now, Reds)
