Im November 2009 veröffentlicht Criterion vier Filme auf DVD und einen davon – “Gomorrah – Reise in das Reich der Camorra / Gomorra / Gomorrah” [I 2008, Matteo Garrone] – auch auf Blu-ray.

10. November 2009
DVD #492: “Un conte de Noel / A Christmas Tale” [F 2008, Arnaud Desplechin]
2 Discs
$39.95
2.35:1
French

In Arnaud Desplechin’s beguiling A Christmas Tale (Un conte de Noël), Catherine Deneuve brings her legendary poise to the role of Junon, matriarch of the troubled Vuillard family, who come together at Christmas after she learns she needs a bone marrow transplant from a blood relative. That simple family reunion setup, however, can’t begin to describe the unpredictable, emotionally volatile experience of this film, an inventive, magical drama that’s equal parts merriment and melancholy. Unrequited childhood loves and blinding grudges, brutal outbursts and sudden slapstick, music, movies, and poetry, A Christmas Tale ties it all together in a marvelously messy package.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director Arnaud Desplechin
• L’aimée, Desplechin’s 2007 documentary about the selling of his family home
• New documentary featuring interviews with Desplechin and actors Mathieu Amalric and Catherine Deneuve
• Original theatrical trailers
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Philip Lopate

 
24. November 2009
Blu-ray #493: “Gomorrah – Reise in das Reich der Camorra / Gomorra / Gomorrah” [I 2008, Matteo Garrone]
1 Disc
$39.95
2.35:1
Italian

Matteo Garrone’s Gomorrah is a stark, shocking vision of contemporary gangsterdom, and one of cinema’s most authentic depictions of organized crime. In this tour de force adaptation of undercover Italian reporter Roberto Saviano’s best-selling exposé of Naples’ Mafia underworld (known as the Camorra), Garrone links five disparate tales in which men and children are caught up in a corrupt system that extends from the housing projects to the world of haute couture. Filmed with an exquisite detachment interrupted by bursts of violence, Gomorrah is a shattering, socially engaged true-crime story from a major new voice in Italian cinema.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New high-definition transfer, supervised and approved by director Matteo Garrone
• Uncompressed stereo soundtrack
• Five Stories, a 60-minute documentary on the making of Gomorrah
• New video interviews with Garrone and actor Toni Servillo
• Interviews with writer Roberto Saviano and actors Gianfelice Imparato and Salvatore Cantalupo
• Deleted scenes
• Theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Chuck Stephens

 
24. November 2009
DVD #493: “Gomorrah – Reise in das Reich der Camorra / Gomorra / Gomorrah” [I 2008, Matteo Garrone]
2 Discs
$39.95
2.35:1
Italian

Matteo Garrone’s Gomorrah is a stark, shocking vision of contemporary gangsterdom, and one of cinema’s most authentic depictions of organized crime. In this tour de force adaptation of undercover Italian reporter Roberto Saviano’s best-selling exposé of Naples’ Mafia underworld (known as the Camorra), Garrone links five disparate tales in which men and children are caught up in a corrupt system that extends from the housing projects to the world of haute couture. Filmed with an exquisite detachment interrupted by bursts of violence, Gomorrah is a shattering, socially engaged true-crime story from a major new voice in Italian cinema.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New high-definition transfer, supervised and approved by director Matteo Garrone
• Five Stories, a 60-minute documentary on the making of Gomorrah
• New video interviews with Garrone and actor Toni Servillo
• Interviews with writer Roberto Saviano and actors Gianfelice Imparato and Salvatore Cantalupo
• Deleted scenes
• Theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Chuck Stephens

 
17. November 2009
DVD #494: “Schussfahrt / Downhill Racer” [USA 1969, Michael Ritchie]
1 Disc
$29.95
1.78:1
English

Astonishing Alpine location photography and a young Robert Redford in one of his earliest starring roles are just two of the visual splendors of Michael Ritchie’s visceral debut feature, Downhill Racer. In a beautifully understated performance, Redford is David Chappellet, a ruthlessly ambitious skier competing with an underdog American team in Europe for Olympic gold, and Gene Hackman provides tough support as the coach who tries to temper the upstart’s narcissistic drive for glory. With a subtle screenplay by acclaimed novelist James Salter, Downhill Racer is a vivid character portrait buoyed by breathtakingly fast and furious imagery that brings the viewer directly into the mind of the competitor.

DISC FEATURES

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer
• New video interviews with screenwriter James Salter; film editor Richard Harris; production manager Walter Coblenz; and former downhill skier Joe Jay Jalbert, who served as technical adviser, a ski double, and a cameraman
• Audio excerpts from a 1979 American Film Institute seminar with director Michael Ritchie
• Theatrical trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Todd McCarthy

 
24. November 2009
DVD #495: “The Golden Age of Television” [USA 1981 - 1982]
3 Discs
$49.95
1.33:1
English

The hugely popular live American television plays of the 1950s have become the stuff of legend. Combining elements of theater, radio, and filmmaking, they were produced at a moment when TV technology was advancing and making art accessible to a newly suburban postwar demographic. These astonishingly choreographed, brilliantly acted, and socially progressive “teleplays” constituted an artistic high for the medium, bringing Broadway-quality drama to homes across the country. The following award-winning programs—curated for PBS in the early 1980s as the series The Golden Age of Television, with recollections from key cast and crew members—were conceived by such up-and-comers as Rod Serling and John Frankenheimer, and star the likes of Paul Newman, Mickey Rooney, Rod Steiger, Julie Harris, and Piper Laurie.

SPECIAL EDITION THREE-DISC SET

• The live kinescope broadcasts of Marty (1953), Patterns (1955), No Time for Sergeants (1955), A Wind from the South (1955), Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956), Bang the Drum Slowly (1956), The Comedian (1957), and Days of Wine and Roses (1958)
• Commentaries by directors John Frankenheimer, Delbert Mann, Ralph Nelson, and Daniel Petrie
• Interviews with key cast and crew, including Frankenheimer, Andy Griffith, Julie Harris, Kim Hunter, Richard Kiley, Piper Laurie, Nancy Marchand, Jack Palance, Cliff Robertson, Mickey Rooney, Carol Serling, Rod Steiger, and Mel Torme
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by curator Ron Simon and his extensive liner notes on each program