Criterion Collection

[Daniel]

June titles:

Time Bandits 4K Blu-ray:
NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM, supervised by director Terry Gilliam, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM, and one Blu-ray of the film with special features
Audio commentary featuring Gilliam, cowriter-actor Michael Palin, and actors John Cleese, David Warner, and Craig Warnock
Program on the creation of the film's various historical periods and fantasy worlds, narrated by film writer David Morgan and featuring production designer Milly Burns and costume designer James Acheson
Conversation between Gilliam and film scholar Peter von Bagh, recorded at the 1998 Midnight Sun Film Festival
Appearance by actor Shelley Duvall on Tom Snyder's Tomorrow show from 1981
Gallery of rare photographs from the set
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by critic David Sterritt

The Rules of the Game 4K Blu-ray:
NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
One 4K Blu-ray disc of the film and one Blu-ray of the film with special features
Introduction to the film by director Jean Renoir
Audio commentary written by film scholar Alexander Sesonske and read by filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich
Comparison of the film's two endings
Selected-scene analysis by Renoir historian Chris Faulkner
Excerpts from a 1966 French television program by filmmaker Jacques Rivette
Part one of Jean Renoir, a two-part 1993 documentary by film critic David Thompson
Video essay about the film's production, release, and 1959 reconstruction
Interview with film critic Olivier Curchod
Interview from a 1965 episode of the French television series Les écrans de la ville with Jean Gaborit and Jacques Durand
Interviews with set designer Max Douy; Renoir's son, Alain; and actor Mila Parély
PLUS: An essay by Sesonske; writings by Jean Renoir, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bertrand Tavernier, and François
Truffaut; and tributes to the film by J. Hoberman, Kent Jones, Paul Schrader, Wim Wenders, Robert Altman, and others

The Servant:
NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
New program on director Joseph Losey by film critic Imogen Sara Smith
Rare interview from 1976 with Losey by critic Michel Ciment
Interview from 1996 with screenwriter Harold Pinter
Interviews with actors Dirk Bogarde, James Fox, Sarah Miles, and Wendy Craig
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by author Colm Tóibín

Medicine for Melancholy:
NEW MASTER, approved by director Barry Jenkins and director of photography James Laxton, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
New audio commentary featuring Jenkins
Audio commentary from 2008 featuring Jenkins, producers Justin Barber and Cherie Saulter, and editor Nat Sanders
New program about the making of the film, featuring Sanders and actor Wyatt Cenac
Camera test footage and blooper reel
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by critic Danielle Amir Jackson

Pasolini 101:
NEW 4K RESTORATIONS OF SEVEN FILMS and 2K digital restorations of Teorema and Medea, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks
Two shorts made by director Pier Paolo Pasolini for anthology films:
La ricotta (1963)
The Sequence of the Paper Flower (1969)
Two documentaries made by Pasolini during his travels
New program on Pasolini's visual style as told through his personal writing, narrated by actor Tilda Swinton and writer Rachel Kushner
Audio commentaries on Accattone and Teorema
Documentaries on Pasolini's life and career featuring archival interviews with the director and his close collaborators
Episode from 1966 of the French television program Cinéastes de notre temps
Interviews with filmmakers and scholars
Trailers
New English subtitle translations
PLUS: Deluxe packaging, including a 100-page book featuring an essay and notes on the films by critic James Quandt, and writings and drawings by Pasolini

[Ben]

Interested to see how Rules Of The Game stacks up against the BFI's version also coming soon. I can’t see Time Bandits and its cheap stick looking much better than the 4K-restored Blu, so good there. And I already passed on the restored Servant released here as I saw it again fairly recently and it’s not one I’m likely to repeat very often! The DVD I still have if I ever want to see it again will do.

[Randall]

Nothing for me! It's no longer very often that a Criterion title interests me too much.

[Daniel]

There's a 24-hour flash sale going on right now for 50% off. I would say now's a good time to get WALL-E Ames, but from reading what you wrote on the other board I think not!

[blackcauldron85]

Thanks Dan! Do you mean about 4K? Yeah, I just learned I can't play those... I see that the Criterion site says the bonus features are on the 2 Blu-ray discs so I could play those. I see it's $25 with the sale. Right now money's tight (already Preordered Cinderella 4K, lol but grrr) and since the sale is only for 24 hours I shouldn't. But next time they have a sale, maybe!

[Ben]

I think they do a BD version too? So that would be three BDs I think.

[blackcauldron85]

^ when I search for Wall-e on their site, just the 4K/BD combo comes up. No worries for right now, maybe next sale. I still have the Disney release so it's good.

[Ben]

Weird — Amazon UK is definitely showing a Blu-ray only version, but I can’t find that on the US site either. Maybe the two BDs in the pack are the movie and the extras?

Then again, if you have the Disney Blu then I think you’re good to go anyhoo!

[Daniel]

I think Amazon UK is just being weird! There's another listing which clearly shows the Disney 4K cover and also labels it as Blu-ray. The 4K combo is the only edition Criterion released.

[Ben]

Yeah…it’s a weird listing. I was sure Criterion's was a 4K exclusive, but thought I’d point that out just in case. I think 'Cauldy is good with Disney's Blu.

[Randall]

Yes, just one Criterion release, with a 4K and 2 BDs (1 extras disc) in the pack.

[Daniel]

July titles:

The Ranown Westerns: Five Films Directed by Budd Boetticher 4K Blu-ray:
FIVE FILMS PRESENTED AS 4K BLU-RAY/BLU-RAY COMBO PACKS
NEW 4K RESTORATIONS by Sony Pictures Entertainment, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FIVE FILMS
Introductions to the films by filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Taylor Hackford
New introduction by film critic Farran Smith Nehme on actor Randolph Scott
Three audio commentaries, featuring film scholar Jeanine Basinger on The Tall T, film critic Jeremy Arnold on Ride Lonesome, and Hackford on Comanche Station
Archival programs featuring interviews with director Budd Boetticher
Audio conversation with Boetticher and film scholar Jim Kitses
Super 8 home-movie version of Comanche Station
Trailers
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by film scholar Tom Gunning

One False Move 4K Blu-ray:
NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM, approved by director Carl Franklin, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
Audio commentary from 1999 featuring Franklin
New conversation between Franklin and cowriter-actor Billy Bob Thornton
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by author William Boyle

After Hours 4K Blu-ray:
NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM, approved by editor Thelma Schoonmaker, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
New program featuring director Martin Scorsese interviewed by writer Fran Lebowitz
Audio commentary from 2004 featuring Scorsese, Schoonmaker, director of photography Michael Ballhaus, actor and producer Griffin Dunne, and producer Amy Robinson, with additional comments recorded in 2023
Documentary about the making of the film featuring Dunne, Robinson, Schoonmaker, and Scorsese
:New program on the look of the film featuring costume designer Rita Ryack and production designer Jeffrey Townsend
Deleted scenes
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by critic Sheila O'Malley

Breathless 4K Blu-ray:
4K RESTORATION, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
Interviews with director Jean-Luc Godard; actors Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, and Jean-Pierre Melville; director of photography Raoul Coutard; assistant director Pierre Rissient; and filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker
Two video essays: filmmaker Mark Rappaport's Jean Seberg and critic Jonathan Rosenbaum's "Breathless" as Criticism
Chambre 12, Hôtel de Suède, a 1993 French documentary about the making of Breathless, featuring members of the cast and crew
Charlotte et son Jules, a 1959 short film by Godard featuring Belmondo
Trailer
PLUS: An essay by scholar Dudley Andrew, writings by Godard, François Truffaut's original treatment, and Godard's scenario

The Watermelon Woman:
2K RESTORATION OF THE FILM, supervised by director Cheryl Dunye, cinematographer Michelle Crenshaw, and producer Alexandra Juhasz, in collaboration with the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project, with 3.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
New interview with Dunye
New conversation between Dunye and artist-filmmaker Martine Syms
New conversation between Juhasz and filmmaker and film scholar Thomas Allen Harris
Six early short films by Dunye
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by critic Cassie da Costa

[EricJ]

After Hours - I tried to get anyone I could to watch this 80s nightmare comedy (if you don't know what the term means, you will KNOW after this movie ), even before "Shutter Island" outed Scorsese as a Kafka fanboy.
Between this and "King of Comedy", we need more proof that Marty had a genius sense of humor.

And before anyone asks, yes, the Richard Gere remake of Breathless has also just been announced for Blu:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98arUBmTT6A

[Ben]

Bet Eric is a big Into The Night fan too!

Half tempted by Hours, which I haven’t seen since that original Warner Blu around 2005, which is where I guess the commentary comes from, though that looks to have been updated, even if only a bit. Won’t be a day one, but maybe in the next sale.

Nothing else for me. Sacrilege I know, especially saying it as an editor, but while I can appreciate how stark and striking A Bout de Soufflé must have been and felt back in the day, I just found all that waiting around without much aim to quickly become very tedious, plotless and aimless. Yes, that’s also half the point, but there’s a part of me that often feels some of those films were people either not knowing what they were doing and just fumbling through any way how, or finding "creative" ways to fix their lack of coverage and budget. Whichever, it’s either recklessly exciting or being reckless for exiting's sake, and I'm afraid I seem to fall on the latter viewpoint…

For anyone who does need it, it looks like this beats StudioCanal's earlier version for extras, even with all the tat the 60th anniversary edition had. I remember not liking the '83 Gere "remake", which I now bizarrely mix up with American Gigolo and, even stranger, Cat People, all these years later, none of which I have ever felt the need to revisit, or when I have, remember why I didn’t like them in the first place!

[EricJ]

Bet Eric is a big Into The Night fan too!

The fact that I can't even IDENTIFY whether post-TZ John Landis was aiming for a "Kafka imitation" gives some idea of how successful he was at it. All I could see was an incoherent mess of self-indulgent director-buddy cameos, and a working demonstration of how not to do the quirky oddness of The Blues Brothers.

As for Scorsese, if Hours had been a Kafka novel, it would have ended with our hero plastered into the statue. But the "happy" ending was the perfect capper.

Nothing else for me. Sacrilege I know, especially saying it as an editor, but while I can appreciate how stark and striking A Bout de Soufflé must have been and felt back in the day, I just found all that waiting around without much aim to quickly become very tedious, plotless and aimless. Yes, that’s also half the point, but there’s a part of me that often feels some of those films were people either not knowing what they were doing and just fumbling through any way how, or finding "creative" ways to fix their lack of coverage and budget.

FMM, you can't watch French New Wave and not see that Monty Python sketch:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x36mi2d