August '09 Criterions
 

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Synopsis:

A singular work in film history, Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles brilliantly evokes, with meticulous detail and a sense of impending doom, the daily domestic routine of a middle-aged widow—whose chores include making the beds, cooking dinner for her grown son, and turning the occasional trick—just as it begins to break down. In its enormous spareness, Akerman’s film seems simple, but it encompasses an entire world. Whether seen as an exacting character portrait or one of cinema’s most hypnotic and complete depictions of space and time, Jeanne Dielman is an astonishing, compelling movie experiment, one that has been analyzed and argued over for decades, and is finally making its long-awaited DVD debut.

Disc Features:

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET

* Restored digital transfer, approved by director Chantal Akerman
* Autour de “Jeanne Dielman,” a 70-minute documentary, shot by actor Sami Frey and edited by Agnes Ravez, made during the filming of Jeanne Dielman
* New interviews with Akerman and cinematographer Babette Mangolte
* Excerpt from “Chantal Akerman par Chantal Akerman,” a 1997 episode of the French television program Cinéma de notre temps
* An interview with Akerman’s mother, Natalia
* Archival television interview excerpt featuring Akerman and star Delphine Seyrig
* Saute ma ville (1968), Akerman’s first film, with an introduction by the director
* New and improved English subtitle translation
* PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by film scholars Ivone Margulies and Janet Bergstrom

25 Aug 2009
DVD
2 Discs
SRP: $39.95



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Synopsis:

The Last Days of Disco is a clever, comic return to the nighttime party scene in early Eighties Manhattan from director Whit Stillman (Metropolitan). At the center of the film’s roundelay of revelers are the icy Charlotte (Kate Beckinsale) and the demure Alice (Chloë Sevigny), by day toiling as publishing house assistants and by night looking for romance and entertainment at a premier, Studio 54–like club. The Last Days of Disco is an affectionate yet unsentimental look at the end of an era, brimming with Stillman’s trademark dry humor.

Disc Features:

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION

* New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Whit Stillman
* Audio commentary featuring Stillman and actors Chloë Sevigny and Chris Eigeman
* Four deleted scenes with commentary by Stillman, Eigeman, and Sevigny
* Stills gallery with production notes by Stillman
* Stillman reading a chapter from The Last Days of Disco, with Cocktails at Petrossian Afterwards, his novelization of the movie
* Behind-the-scenes featurette
* Original theatrical trailer
* PLUS: An essay by novelist David Schickler

25 Aug 2009
DVD
1 Disc
SRP: $39.95


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8 Aug 2009

Criterion
Blu-Ray
1 Disc
SRP: $39.95


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18 Aug 2009
Blu-Ray
1 Disc
SRP: $39.95


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Synopsis:

From the mid-1950s to the early 1970s, wild, idiosyncratic crime movies were the brutal and boisterous business of Nikkatsu, the oldest film studio in Japan. In an effort to attract youthful audiences growing increasingly accustomed to American and French big-screen imports, Nikkatsu began producing action potboilers (mukokuseki akushun, or “borderless action”) modeled on the western, comedy, gangster, and teen-rebel genres. This bruised and bloody collection represents a standout cross section of the nimble nasties Nikkatsu had to offer, from such prominent, stylistically daring directors as Seijun Suzuki, Toshio Masuda, and Takashi Nomura.

Collector's set includes:

I Am Waiting
Koreyoshi Kurahara, 1957

In Koreyoshi Kurahara’s directorial debut, rebel matinee idol Yujiro Ishihara stars as a former boxer working as a restaurant manager, who saves a beautiful, suicidal club hostess (Mie Kitahara) trying to escape the clutches of her gangster employer.

Rusty Knife
Toshio Masuda, 1958

In Toshio Masuda’s smash Rusty Knife, Yujiro Ishihara and fellow top Nikkatsu star Akira Kobayashi play former hoodlums trying to leave behind a life of crime, but their past comes back to haunt them when the authorities seek them out as murder witnesses.

Take Aim at the Police Van
Seijun Suzuki, 1960

At the beginning of Seijun Suzuki’s taut and twisty whodunit, a prison truck is attacked and a convict inside is murdered. The penitentiary warden on duty, Daijiro (Michitaro Mizushima), is accused of negligence and suspended, only to take it upon himself to track down the killers.

Cruel Gun Story
Takumi Furukawa, 1964

Fresh out of the slammer, Togawa (Branded to Kill’s Joe Shishido) has no chance to go straight because he is immediately coerced by a wealthy mob boss into organizing the heist of an armored car carrying racetrack receipts.


A Colt Is My Passport
Takashi Nomura, 1967

One of Japanese cinema’s supreme emulations of American noir, Takashi Nomura’s A Colt Is My Passport is a down-and-dirty but gorgeously photographed yakuza film starring Joe Shishido as a hard-boiled hit man caught between rival gangs.

25 Aug 2009
DVD Box Set
5 Discs
SRP: $69.95

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

I have to say, all these releases have piqued my interest...

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

Two new titles this month? thats it?
Meh. Probably rent both.

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

The Last Days of Disco? that's just awesome.

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

Well, that about wraps it up for me: the Nikkatsu set trumps anything else that could come out this year.

:rock2::rock2::rock2:

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

Plus a large Eclipse set and two Blu-rays, including Playtime, which should be a real treat in HD. Now if we could only get Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes next!

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

Meh, month. I guess I'm not easily impressed anymore.

I'm sure you're aware that one is already available and the other will be out before the end of the year. Which means, I'm sure they'll be released sooner than later.

I'm a bit disappointed by Criterion Blu-ray output. I guess it's hard to top opening with The Third Man, Chunking Express, and the Last Emperor. But there haven't been any Blu-ray announcements that have I really anticipated... because as good as The Seventh Seal... it's already been out for awhile. Same for The 400 Blows minus the english subtitles. I'm surprised more titles such as La Haine or Salo haven't been released on Blu-ray yet because of their foreign counterparts. But steady as she goes. Happy that Criterion is keeping up with newer releases on Blu like Repulsion or In the Realm of the Senses... but why oh why couldn't we get Last Days of Disco on Blu-ray?

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

The Eclipse set is the most exciting to me - though they'll all be at least rentals for me (and I'll definitely be picking up the two Blu-ray discs at some point.)

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

Yes I know - I've been avoiding ordering the ITV disc of Black Narcissus in anticipation of a Criterion re-issue, but at £9.98 from Amazon, I may have to just pull the trigger. I sent ITV an email inquiring as to Red Shoes' region coding, but Brief Encounter's B-coding does not bode well for this one.

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

:thumbsup:

are there any similar nikkatsu releases available that are worth seeking out?

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

Also, remember last month that 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her was announced late, so perhaps another title will be added.

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

Criterion announced #483 last month. It is Repulsion.

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

Yup, what he said.

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

NIkkatsu is a definite, maybe Last Days of Disco and Jeanne Dielman.

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

Damn, I completely missed that "Repulsion" was #483. My apologies for my oversight.

CC

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

That Nikkatsu Noir set sounds fantastic! This is the first must-own Eclipse set I've seen.

LDoD sounds interesting, might wait on reviews.

Def. in for BD of Kagemusha, poss. Playtime as well.

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

you should check out the sam fuller set

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

Playtime should look fantastic on Blu. :up: I'll be picking that up.

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

Ditto that! You beat me to saying it!

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

My friend and I watched the majority of Playtime once. I feel like it went over my head or something, because we were unable to figure out what was meant to be going on for most of it. I did laugh really hard at the Greek pedestal trash can, but other than that, I just didn't get it.

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

A very "meh" release month in my opinion, compared to June (Seventh Seal, My Dinner with Andre, Last Year at Marienbad) and July (For All Mankind, Repulsion, The Human Condition). But that's ok, because I'll need a break from spending by then. :)

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

Last Days of Disco!

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

yup!

:banana: :banana: :banana:

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

The original Last Days of Disco dvd was going for quite a bit on ebay - pretty soon, they won't be able to give those away.

Re: August '09 Criterions
 

Not exactly similar in terms of genre, but Mondo Macabro have released a half dozen or so roman porno titles from the same studio. Well worth checking out if you haven't already.