CRITERION ANNOUNCES SEPTEMBER 2012 RELEASES!
The Game! Mimes! Puppies! Cannibals (oh how timely, Criterion)! read all about it!
NEW RELEASES
#627 THE GAME (dir. David Fincher) 1997
well this one has practically been rumored since the laserdisc era, and it seemed destined to be one of those things that was always coming out “soon.” well, soon just became September 25. Fincher’s sadistically satisfying mind-fuck has only grown in esteem along with its director, its remarkable focus and commitment to illusion and narrative trickery as ceiling-smashingly great as ever. arriving with an old commentary from Fincher, Savides, and Michael Douglas, an hour of behind-the-scenes footage (with commentary), an alternate ending (with commentary), trailers (with commentary!), and gorgeously bleak artwork… this is a disc i can’t wait to play.
#625 EATING RAOUL (dir. Paul Bartel) 1982
i feel like the past year or two has really seen Criterion embracing their anarchic side, and Paul Bartel’s cult classic Eating Raoul certainly continues that trend in a gleefully gluttonous way. imagine Delicatessen with swingers (the lifestyle, not the Favreau) and you’re on the right track, as a stuffy American married couple finds a way to rid themselves of the pestilence of perverts that’s plaguing their apartment. a deliciously loaded disc, Criterion is releasing this thing with a commentary track, 2 Bartel shorts, a making-of doc, and even a “gag” reel. oh, and the cover, with that iconic mouth, is to die for.
#626 LES VISITEURS DU SOIRS (dir. Marcel Carné) 1942
the inspiration for a classic episode of The Twilight Zone, Marcel Carne’s devilishly under-seen parable is a medieval fantasy begins with two strangers showing up at a castle feast, only to reveal themselves as minions of Satan. as Criterion notes in their copy, this one’s all about the nazis, but certainly one of the most enchanting films to be made as a byproduct of that darkest age. the painterly artwork is absolutely perfect, and compensates for a disc that would be bare-bones if not for a making-of doc.
BLU-RAY UPGRADES
#141 CHILDREN OF PARADISE (dir. Marcel Carné) 1941
Carné’s epic masterpiece, restored for a theatrical run via Janus Films, and now inevitably making its way to Criterion. a melodrama unlike any other, every cinephile owes it to themselves to see this at least once. and while i prefer the more elegant and contained artwork of Criterion’s initial DVD, this release’s new visual essay should smooth things over.
#201 UMBERTO D. (dir. Vittorio De Sica) 1952
arguably the greatest film of the Italian Neorealist movement, De Sica’s classic finally gets the spruced up edition it deserves. nothing new here besides the heartbreakingly tragi-cute cover art, but this is a no-brainer.
(Source: film-dot-com)
