Criterion wird im April 2011 drei Filme neu auf DVD und Blu-ray veröffentlichen, drei weitere bereits auf DVD erhältliche werden außerdem als Blu-ray-Editionen erscheinen. Das Highlight des Monats ist meiner Meinung nach Brian De Palmas hervorragender Thriller “Blow Out – Der Tod löscht alle Spuren / Blow Out” [USA 1981, Brian De Palma].
 
26. April 2011
Blu-ray #175: “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas [aka: Angst und Schrecken in Las Vegas] / Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” [USA 1998, Terry Gilliam]
2.35:1
English
$39.95

It is 1971, and journalist Raoul Duke barrels toward Las Vegas—accompanied by a trunkful of contraband and his unhinged Samoan attorney, Dr. Gonzo—to cover a motorcycle race. His cut-and-dried assignment quickly descends into a feverish psychedelic odyssey. Director Terry Gilliam and an all-star cast (headlined by Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro) show no mercy in adapting Hunter S. Thompson’s legendary dissection of the American way of life to the screen, creating a film both hilarious and savage.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION:

• Digital transfer, approved by director Terry Gilliam
• dts-HD Master Audio soundtrack and an optional 5.1 mix
• Three audio commentaries: one with Gilliam, one with stars Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro and producer Laila Nabulsi, and one with author Hunter S. Thompson
• Deleted scenes, with optional commentary by Gilliam
• Selection of Thompson correspondence, read on camera by Depp
• Hunter Goes to Hollywood, a short documentary by filmmaker Wayne Ewing
• A look at the controversy over the screenwriting credit
• Profile of Oscar Zeta Acosta, the inspiration for Dr. Gonzo
• Collection of artwork by illustrator Ralph Steadman
• Audio excerpt from the 1996 spoken-word CD Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, featuring filmmaker Jim Jarmusch and actor Maury Chaykin
• Fear and Loathing on the Road to Hollywood, a 1978 BBC documentary with Thompson and Steadman
  Storyboards, production designs, stills gallery, theatrical trailer, and TV spots
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic J. Hoberman and two pieces by Thompson

 
12. April 2011
Blu-ray #218: “Vier im roten Kreis / Le cercle rouge” [F / I 1970, Jean-Pierre Melville]
1.85:1
French
$39.95

After master thief Corey (Alain Delon), fresh out of prison, crosses paths with a notorious escapee (Gian Maria Volonté) and an alcoholic ex-cop (Yves Montand), the unlikely trio plot a heist, against impossible odds. A relentless inspector (André Bourvil) and their own pasts seal their fates. Le cercle rouge, from Jean-Pierre Melville, combines honorable antiheroes, coolly atmospheric cinematography, and breathtaking set pieces to create a masterpiece of crime cinema.

SPECIAL EDITION:

• Restored, complete, uncut version
• Uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Excerpts from Cinéastes de notre temps: “Jean-Pierre Melville”
• Video interviews with assistant director Bernard Stora and Rui Nogueria, the author of Melville on Melville
• Thirty minutes of rare on-set and archival footage, featuring interviews with director Jean-Pierre Melville and stars Alain Delon, Yves Montand, and André Bourvil
• Original theatrical trailer and 2003 Rialto Pictures rerelease trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by film critics Michael Sragow and Chris Fujiwara, excerpts from Melville on Melville, a reprinted interview with composer Eric Demarsan, and an appreciation from director John Woo

 
19. April 2011
Blu-ray #356: “Sweetie” [AUS 1989, Jane Campion]
1.85:1
English
$39.95

Though she went on to create a string of brilliant films, Jane Campion will always be remembered for her knockout debut feature, Sweetie, which focuses on the hazardous relationship between the buttoned-down, superstitious Kay and her rampaging, devil-may-care sister, Sweetie—and on their family’s profoundly rotten roots. A feast of colorful photography and captivating, idiosyncratic characters, Sweetie heralded the emergence of this gifted director, as well as a renaissance of Australian cinema, which would take the film world by storm in the nineties.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION:

• Restored digital transfer, supervised by director of photography Sally Bongers and approved by director Jane Campion
• dts-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• Audio commentary featuring Campion, Bongers, and screenwriter Gerard Lee
• Making “Sweetie,” a video conversation between stars Genevieve Lemon and Karen Colston
• Campion’s early short films An Exercise in Discipline: Peel, Passionless Moments, and A Girl’s Own Story
• Jane Campion: The Film School Years, a 1989 video conversation between Campion and critic Peter Thompson
• Gallery of behind-the-scenes photos and production stills
• Original theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Dana Polan

 
12. April 2011
Blu-ray #560: “White Material” [F / TC 2009, Claire Denis]
2.35:1
French
$39.95

In White Material, the great contemporary French filmmaker Claire Denis, known for her restless, intimate dramas, introduces an unforgettably crazed character. Played ferociously by Isabelle Huppert, Maria is an entitled white woman living in Africa, desperately unwilling to give up her family’s crumbling coffee plantation despite the civil war closing in on her. Created with Denis’ signature full-throttle visual style, which places the viewer in the center of the maelstrom, White Material is a gripping evocation of the death throes of European colonialism and a fascinating look at a woman lost in her own mind.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION:

• New digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Claire Denis and cinematographer Yves Cape
• dts-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• New interviews with Denis and actors Isabelle Huppert and Isaach de Bankolé
• Short documentary by Denis on the film’s premiere at the Écrans Noirs Film Festival 2010 in Cameroon
• Deleted scene
• Theatrical trailer
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by film writer Amy Taubin

 
12. April 2011
DVD #560: “White Material” [F / TC 2009, Claire Denis]
2.35:1
French
$39.95

In White Material, the great contemporary French filmmaker Claire Denis, known for her restless, intimate dramas, introduces an unforgettably crazed character. Played ferociously by Isabelle Huppert, Maria is an entitled white woman living in Africa, desperately unwilling to give up her family’s crumbling coffee plantation despite the civil war closing in on her. Created with Denis’ signature full-throttle visual style, which places the viewer in the center of the maelstrom, White Material is a gripping evocation of the death throes of European colonialism and a fascinating look at a woman lost in her own mind.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION:

• New digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Claire Denis and cinematographer Yves Cape
• New interviews with Denis and actors Isabelle Huppert and Isaach de Bankolé
• Short documentary by Denis on the film’s premiere at the Écrans Noirs Film Festival 2010 in Cameroon
• Deleted scene
• Theatrical trailer
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by film writer Amy Taubin

 
19. April 2011
Blu-ray #561: “Kes” [GB 1969, Ken Loach]
1.66:1
English
$39.95

Named by the British Film Institute as one of the ten best British films of the century, Ken Loach’s Kes, is cinema’s quintessential portrait of working-class Northern England. Billy (an astonishingly naturalistic David Bradley) is a fifteen-year-old miner’s son whose close bond with a wild kestrel provides him with a spiritual escape from his dead-end life. Kes established the sociopolitical engagement and artistic brilliance of its filmmaker, and pushed the British “angry young man” film of the sixties into a new realm of authenticity, using real locations and nonprofessional actors. Loach’s poignant coming-of-age drama remains its now legendary director’s most beloved and influential film.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION:

• New, restored digital transfer, approved by director Ken Loach and director of photography Chris Menges
• Uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Making “Kes,” a new documentary featuring Loach, Menges, producer Tony Garnett, and actor David Bradley
• The Southbank Show: “Ken Loach” (1993), a profile of the filmmaker, featuring Loach, Garnett, directors Stephen Frears and Alan Parker, and other Loach collaborators
• Cathy Come Home (1967), a feature directed by Loach and produced by Garnett, with an introduction by film writer Graham Fuller
• Original theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by Fuller

 
19. April 2011
DVD #561: “Kes” [GB 1969, Ken Loach]
1.66:1
English
$39.95

Named by the British Film Institute as one of the ten best British films of the century, Ken Loach’s Kes, is cinema’s quintessential portrait of working-class Northern England. Billy (an astonishingly naturalistic David Bradley) is a fifteen-year-old miner’s son whose close bond with a wild kestrel provides him with a spiritual escape from his dead-end life. Kes established the sociopolitical engagement and artistic brilliance of its filmmaker, and pushed the British “angry young man” film of the sixties into a new realm of authenticity, using real locations and nonprofessional actors. Loach’s poignant coming-of-age drama remains its now legendary director’s most beloved and influential film.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION:

• New, restored digital transfer, approved by director Ken Loach and director of photography Chris Menges
• Making “Kes,” a new documentary featuring Loach, Menges, producer Tony Garnett, and actor David Bradley
• The Southbank Show: “Ken Loach” (1993), a profile of the filmmaker, featuring Loach, Garnett, directors Stephen Frears and Alan Parker, and other Loach collaborators
• Cathy Come Home (1967), a feature directed by Loach and produced by Garnett, with an introduction by film writer Graham Fuller
• Original theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by Fuller

 
26. April 2011
Blu-ray #562: “Blow Out – Der Tod löscht alle Spuren / Blow Out” [USA 1981, Brian De Palma]
2.40:1
English
$39.95

In the enthralling Blow Out, brilliantly crafted by Brian De Palma, John Travolta gives one of his greatest performances as Jack, a movie sound-effects man who believes he has accidentally recorded a political assassination. He enlists the help of Sally (Nancy Allen), a possible eyewitness to the crime who may be in danger herself, to uncover the truth. With its jolting stylistic flourishes, intricate plot, profoundly felt characterizations, and gritty evocation of early-1980s Philadelphia, Blow Out is an American paranoia thriller unlike any other, as well as a devilish reflection on the act of moviemaking.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:

• New, restored digital transfer, supervised by director Brian De Palma
• dts-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• New hour-long interview with De Palma, conducted by filmmaker Noah Baumbach
• New interview with star Nancy Allen
• Cameraman Garrett Brown on the Steadicam shots featured in the film within the film
• Select on-set photos from photographer Louis Goldman
• Original theatrical trailer
• More!
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Michael Sragow and Pauline Kael’s original New Yorker review

 
26. April 2011
DVD #562: “Blow Out – Der Tod löscht alle Spuren / Blow Out” [USA 1981, Brian De Palma]
2.40:1
English
$39.95

In the enthralling Blow Out, brilliantly crafted by Brian De Palma, John Travolta gives one of his greatest performances as Jack, a movie sound-effects man who believes he has accidentally recorded a political assassination. He enlists the help of Sally (Nancy Allen), a possible eyewitness to the crime who may be in danger herself, to uncover the truth. With its jolting stylistic flourishes, intricate plot, profoundly felt characterizations, and gritty evocation of early-1980s Philadelphia, Blow Out is an American paranoia thriller unlike any other, as well as a devilish reflection on the act of moviemaking.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:

• New, restored digital transfer, supervised by director Brian De Palma
• New hour-long interview with De Palma, conducted by filmmaker Noah Baumbach
• New interview with star Nancy Allen
• Cameraman Garrett Brown on the Steadicam shots featured in the film within the film
• Select on-set photos from photographer Louis Goldman
• Original theatrical trailer
• More!
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Michael Sragow and Pauline Kael’s original New Yorker review