Sondheim

The Magician - Spine 537



SYNOPSIS: Ingmar Bergman’s The Magician (Ansiktet) is an engaging, brilliantly conceived tale of deceit from one of cinema’s premier illusionists. Max von Sydow stars as Dr. Vogler, a mid-nineteenth-century traveling mesmerist and peddler of potions whose magic is put to the test by a small town’s cruel, eminently rational minister of health, Dr. Vergerus. The result is a diabolically clever battle of wits that’s both frightening and funny, shot in rich, gorgeously gothic black and white.

Disc Features

-New, restored high-definition digital transfer (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
-New visual essay by Bergman scholar Peter Cowie
-Brief 1967 video interview with director Ingmar Bergman about the film
-Rare English-language audio interview with Bergman, conducted by filmmakers Olivier Assayas and Stig Björkman
-New and improved English subtitle translation
-PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Geoff Andrew, a reprinted essay by Assayas, and an excerpt from Bergman’s autobiography Images: My Life in Film

Paths of Glory - Spine 538



SYNOPSIS: A pivotal work by Stanley Kubrick, Paths of Glory is among the most powerful antiwar films ever made. A fiery Kirk Douglas stars as a French colonel serving in World War I who goes head-to-head with the army’s ruthless top brass when his men are accused of cowardice after being unable to carry out an impossible mission. This haunting, exquisitely photographed dissection of the military machine in all its absurdity and capacity for dehumanization (a theme Kubrick would continue to explore throughout his career) is assembled with its legendary director’s customary precision, from its tense trench warfare sequences to its gripping courtroom climax to its ravaging final scene.

Disc Features

-New, restored high-definition digital transfer (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
-New audio commentary by critic Gary Giddins
-Television interview from 1979 with star Kirk Douglas
-New video interviews with Kubrick’s longtime executive producer Jan Harlan, Paths of Glory producer James B. Harris, and actress Christiane Kubrick
-Excerpt from a French television program about real-life World War I executions similar to the events dramatized in Paths of Glory
-Theatrical trailer
-PLUS: An essay by Kubrick scholar James Naremore

House - Spine 539



SYNOPSIS: How to describe Nobuhiko Obayashi’s indescribable 1977 movie House (Hausu)? As a psychedelic ghost tale? A stream-of-consciousness bedtime story? An episode of Scooby-Doo as directed by Mario Bava? Any of the above will do for this hallucinatory head trip about a schoolgirl who travels with six classmates to her ailing aunt’s creaky country home and comes face-to-face with evil spirits, a demonic house cat, a bloodthirsty piano, and other ghoulish visions, all realized by Obayashi via a series of mattes, animation, and collage effects. Equal parts absurd and nightmarish, House might have been beamed to Earth from some other planet. Never before available on home video in the United States, it’s one of the most exciting cult discoveries in years.

Disc Features

-New, restored high-definition digital transfer (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
-Constructing a House, a new video piece featuring interviews with director Nobuhiko Obayashi, story scenarist and daughter of the director Chigumi Obayashi, and screenwriter Chiho Katsura
-Emotion, a 1966 experimental film by Obayashi
-New video appreciation by director Ti West (House of the Devil)
-Theatrical trailer
-New and improved English subtitle translation
-PLUS: An essay by Chuck Stephens

The Darjeeling Limited - Spine 540



SYNOPSIS: In The Darjeeling Limited, from director Wes Anderson, three estranged American brothers reunite for a meticulously planned, soul-searching train voyage across India, one year after the death of their father. For reasons involving over-the-counter painkillers, Indian cough syrup, and pepper spray, the brothers eventually find themselves stranded alone in the middle of the desert—where a new, unplanned chapter of their journey begins. Featuring a sensational cast, including Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, and Anjelica Huston, The Darjeeling Limited is a visually dazzling and hilarious film that takes Anderson’s work to richer, deeper places than ever before.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION:

-New high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Wes Anderson (with DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray edition)
-Anderson’s short film Hotel Chevalier (part one of The Darjeeling Limited), starring Natalie Portman, with commentary by Anderson
-Audio commentary featuring Anderson and cowriters Jason Schwartzman and Roman Coppola
-Behind-the-scenes documentary by Barry Braverman
-Anderson and filmmaker James Ivory discussing the film’s music
-Anderson’s American Express commercial
-On-set footage shot by Coppola and actor Waris Ahluwalia
-Audition footage, deleted and alternate scenes, and stills galleries
-Original theatrical trailer
-PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Richard Brody and original illustrations by Eric Anderson

The Seven Samurai - Spine 2



SYNOPSIS: One of the most beloved movie epics of all time, Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) tells the story of a sixteenth-century village whose desperate inhabitants hire the eponymous warriors to protect them from invading bandits. This three-hour ride—featuring legendary actors Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura—seamlessly weaves philosophy and entertainment, delicate human emotions and relentless action into a rich, evocative, and unforgettable tale of courage and hope.

SPECIAL EDITION THREE-DISC SET:

-All-new, restored high-definition digital transfer
-Two audio commentaries: one by film scholars David Desser, Joan Mellen, Stephen Prince, Tony Rayns, and Donald Richie; the other by Japanese-film expert Michael Jeck
-A 50-minute documentary on the making of Seven Samurai, part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create
-My Life in Cinema, a two-hour video conversation between Akira Kurosawa and Nagisa Oshima produced by the Directors Guild of Japan
-Seven Samurai: Origins and Influences, a new documentary looking at the samurai traditions and films that impacted Kurosawa’s masterpiece
-Theatrical trailers and teaser
-Gallery of rare posters and behind-the scenes and production stills
-New and improved English subtitle translation
-PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by Peter Cowie, Philip Kemp, Peggy Chiao, Alain Silver, Kenneth Turan, Stuart Galbraith, Arthur Penn, and Sidney Lumet and an interview with Toshiro Mifune

All will be available on DVD and Blu-ray.

bluetoast

Wow. This is going to be an expensive month.

TheySentYou

goddamn. i'll take one of each!

MoviePage

An amazing group of titles. Seven Samurai on BD, and Paths of Glory too? Yes please.

CardiffGiant

What a great month. I haven't seen House...or really know much about it, but the other 4 films are great and I'm looking forward to them.

Cool cover for The Magician.

alfonsosoriano

more bergman

yes please

Mike UFC

This.

One of the best release months for Criterion that I can remember. Has anyone seen "House"? It sounds right up my alley.

Superdaddy

I'm going to want Paths of Glory to add to my Kubrick collection.

Between the Revanche, Walkabout, Yojimbo/Sanjuro, Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, The Thin Red Line, and Paths of Glory BDs, as well as the rumored New Hollywood set, you are killing me (or my wallet) this year, Criterion.

And I love you for it.

Johnny Zhivago

Paths of Glory? Holy...

JoshuaSokolov

Nobuhiko Obayashi's Hausu (House) will be my first Criterion Collection release ever. Glad to finally see a release date for it.

zombeaner

I have the UK release on DVD. It is absurd and relentlessly entertaining! I can't wait to pick it up on Blu-ray! I'm going to see it Saturday at midnight again!

Hendersonfan

I'd like one of each. Might take me awhile to save the money thoguh. Unless OT starts back up.

jdpatri

First month in a long time that I plan to own all of them.

MTRodaba2468

Damn. I want the Blu-Rays for all of them. Good thing November'll also have a 50% off sale at B&N.

jrsl76

Yes, everything please. Kubrick...drool.

flansered

Makes sense, since I had just bought a copy of Paths of Glory from a Movie Gallery a month ago. I'll probably wait to get the bluray though. House is a day one purchase though.

Maxflier

Count me in for The Darjeeling Limited and Seven Samurai. Will have to look into The Magician.

Brian T

Criterion has owned the rights to HOUSE for several years now. Weird that it's finally coming out with a seemingly limited (though educational, I'm sure) set of extras. A proper commentary at the very least could have been illuminating. Probably didn't help that the entire feature was available on YouTube (widescreen, subbed) for quite some time before getting yanked. Still worth picking up, although it barely fits under Criterion's "important films" umbrella.

cxp36

The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, Paths of Glory, Seven Samurai, all in blu? Damn you, Criterion - just take it. Take it all.

JoshuaSokolov

As a total newbie with Criterion, I have no idea if anything would be up my alley. Not sure if I'd be willing to blind buy on something I may or may not like. Read reviews on a lot of stuff and doesn't seem to really fit my interests.

zombeaner

Pretty much everyone likes "M", as long as you're okay with subtitles.

Gobear

Grand Illusion and Nights of Cabiria are both OOP, although you can watch them on Netflix. A good alternate Fellini would be Amarcord; I think everyone can find something to relate to in that film.

jrsl76

I don't know if anyone else noticed, or if I'm late to the game, but it seems that Criterion has reduced it's DVD base prices. The Magician DVD is MSRP for $24.95 and the 2 disc titles this time round are at $29.95.

Interesting, though it mostly doesn't help me as I am Blu-ray now.

manicsounds

I guess this makes the first time that EVERY announced title has been Bluray and DVD. I'm still surprised that Toho gave Criterion an OK for releasing House on BD, as in Japan it still isn't out.

Then again, in Japan, NOBODY knows this movie. It's a forgotten film.... but this might spike up interest a little.

Undeadcow

Interesting to see Ti West appearing on House features, I think Ti is very under-rated so good to see him get any Criterion attention.

Any rumors when Godard's Weekend might be released?

Looks like a good slate but will probably hold off until I upgrade to HD.