First of all, thanks to Blu-ray.com for allowing me to do this cut and paste job from their site to ours. I appreciate helping to cater to my laziness. Secondly, while I look forward to Rushmore on Criterion Blu-ray, when the hell is Fantastic Mr. Fox going to be released? Sheesh!
Fanny and Alexander, 1982 (November 8th, 2011)
- High-definition digital restorations of the television and theatrical versions of Fanny and Alexander
- High-definition digital restoration of Ingmar Bergman’s feature-length documentary The Making of Fanny and Alexander
- Ingmar Bergman Bids Farewell to Film: A sixty-minute conversation between Bergman and film critic Nils Petter Sundgren recorded for Swedish television in 1984
- Audio commentary on the theatrical version by film scholar Peter Cowie
- A Bergman Tapestry: A documentary featuring interviews with cast and crew
- Costume sketches and footage of the models for the film’s sets
- Stills gallery
- Theatrical trailer
- Optional English-dubbed soundtrack for the theatrical version
- Booklet featuring essays by documentarian and film historian Stig Björkman, novelist Rick Moody, and film scholar Paul Arthur
Three Colors Trilogy, 1993-1994 (November 15th, 2011)
- Three cinema lessons with director Krzysztof Kieślowski
- New interviews with composer Zbigniew Preisner, writer Krzysztof Piesiewicz and actors Julie Delpy, Zbigniew Zamachowski and Irène Jacob
- Selected-scene commentary for Blue with actress Juliette Binoche
- Three new video essays, by film writers Annette Insdorf, Tony Rayns and Dennis Lim
- Kieślowski’s student short The Tram (1966) and his fellow student’s short from the same year The Face, which features Kieślowski in a solo performance
- Two short documentaries by Kieślowski: Seven Women of Different Ages (1978) and Talking Heads (1980)
- Krzysztof Kieślowski: I’m So-So . . . (1995), a feature-length documentary in which the filmmaker discusses his life and work
- Two multi-interview programs, Reflections on Blue and Kieślowski: The Early Years, with film critic Geoff Andrew, Juliette Binoche, filmmaker Agnieszka Holland, cinematographer Sławomir Idziak, Insdorf, Jacob and editor Jacques Witta
- Interviews with producer Marin Karmitz and Witta
- Behind-the-scenes programs for White and Red, and Kieślowski Cannes 1994, a short documentary on Red’s world premiere
- Original theatrical trailers
- New and improved English subtitle translations
- Booklet featuring essays by critics Colin MacCabe, Nick James, Stuart Klawans and Georgina Evans, an excerpt from Kieślowski on
- Kieślowski and reprinted interviews with cinematographers Sławomir Idziak, Edward Klosinski and Piotr Sobocinski
The Rules of the Game, 1939 (November 15th, 2011)
- Introduction to the film by Jean Renoir
- Audio commentary written by film scholar Alexander Sesonske and read by filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich
- Version comparison: side-by-side analysis of the film’s two endings, and an illustrated study of Renoir’s shooting script
- Selected-scene analysis by Renoir historian Christopher Faulkner
- Excerpts from Jean Renoir, le patron: La Règle et l’exception (1966), a French television program directed by Jacques Rivette
- Part one of Jean Renoir, a two-part 1993 BBC documentary by David Thompson
- Video essay about the film’s production, release, and later reconstruction
- Jean Gaborit and Jacques Durand discuss their reconstruction and re-release of the film
- Interviews with Renoir’s son and assistant cameraman Alain Renoir, set designer Max Douy, and actress Mila Parély
- Written tributes to the film and Renoir by J. Hoberman, Kent Jones,Paul Schrader, Wim Wenders and others
- Improved English subtitle translation
- Booklet featuring writings by Sesonske, Renoir, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bertrand Tavernier, and François Truffaut
Rushmore, 1998 (November 22nd, 2011)
- New high-definition digital transfer of the director’s cut supervised by director Wes Anderson
- Audio commentary by Anderson, co-writer Owen Wilson and actor Jason Schwartzman
- The Making of Rushmore: An exclusive behind-the-scenes documentary by Eric Chase Anderson
- Max Fischer Players Present: Theatrical “adaptations” of Armageddon, Out of Sight and The Truman Show, staged for the 1999 MTV Movie Awards
- Episode of The Charlie Rose Show featuring Anderson and actor Bill Murray
- Cast audition footage
- Wes Anderson’s hand-drawn storyboards, plus a film-to-storyboard comparison
- Props, posters, behind-the-scenes photos and other graphic ephemera
- Original theatrical trailer
- Collectible poster
- Booklet featuring an essay by film critic Dave Kehr
12 Angry Men, 1957 (November 22nd, 2011)
- Twelve Angry Men: From Television to the Big Screen: A video essay by film scholar Vance Kapley comparing the Sidney Lumet and Schaffner versions
- Frank Schaffner’s 1955 television version, with an introduction by Ron Simon, director of the Paley Center for Media Studies
- Archival interviews with Lumet
- New interview about the director with writer Walter Bernstein
- New interview with Ron Simon about television writer Reginald Rose
- New interview with cinematographer John Bailey in which he discusses cinematographer Boris Kaufman
- Tragedy in a Temporary Town (1956), a teleplay directed by Lumet and written by Rose
- Original theatrical trailer
- Booklet featuring an essay by writer and law professor Thane Rosenbaum
I am absolutely NOT digging the designs for 12 Angry Men or the Three Colours DVD covers. Rare to see Criterion do a double-fail in so short a span.
The Fanny and Alexander release sounds amazing. But I won’t feel too bad, since Criterion refuses to send their shit over here anyway.
The 12 Angry Men cover is pretty bad I agree.
12 Angry Men should’ve been ripe for an iconic B&W photo image like they’ve been doing with Kiss Me Deadly and NIght of the Hunter and stuff like that. I don’t dislike it as much as you do, but the Three Colours one, yeah. Ugh. It looks like a bundle of electrical and ethernet cables. I don’t recall a server room featuring greatly in those films.
The 12 angry men design means one of the cast is completely out of view do to the labeling. If your going to Brady Bunch the cast atleast make sure everyone is seen.
I loath the rushmoore cover.
The Blu-ray stickers are only on the plastic, though, not on the case. Still messes it up for marketing, though, since all the images online and the box in the store will have the sticker.
I like the Rules of the Game cover! I haven’t seen that since I was like fourteen and got absolutely nothing out of it. I bet I’d get it more now.
If you want to watch Fanny & Alexander, do yourself a favour and go with the full 5 hour version – it’s truly glorious. I first viewed the shorter version and liked it well enough, but shrugged afterwards. The 5 hour one completely enthralled me.
The Three Colours cover is pretty enough, but yeah, it doesn’t represent the film at all. The individual covers for each film are straight screencaps from the films – OK, but would have liked to see something more creative.
I get the idea of the 12 Angry Men one – red and orange are angry colours! – but it doesn’t quite work. I don’t loathe it, but the illustrated images of the men are a bit off-putting.
That’s a helluva slate of films in all though…
“That’s a helluva slate of films in all though…”
Agreed.
But that quite reasonable and efficiently pragmatic train of thought completely rains on our ‘cover design nitpick’ parade, Bob!
The RULES design is alright, but I like the old one better and will probably hang on to that one rather than upgrading (I fear the Dazed and Confused cover will do the same thing to me):
The Rushmore cover is great though. It’s the same as on the standard release. All of Anderson’s Criterion films have those simple child-like drawings; from his nephew or something I think.
Lastly, I really don’t mind the 12 Angry Men cover. It’s a little ostentatious but I like the idea of showing each guy. I’m sick of the minimalist movement so something with a little more flair is welcome. Though I agree the color scheme is a bit much.
FIXED:
Jandy – on the Three Colours cover:
“It looks like a bundle of electrical and ethernet cables. I don’t recall a server room featuring greatly in those films.”
It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen Three Colours Red, but I’m pretty sure that image is actually a bunch of electrical (or at least telephone) cables. I can vividly remember a camera shot where the camera goes into the phone and down the line and that is what is represented on the cover.
But yes, it doesn’t make for a fitting cover for the trilogy. It looks like the cover for an electronica music video compilation or something.
“The Rushmore cover is great though. It’s the same as on the standard release. All of Anderson’s Criterion films have those simple child-like drawings; from his nephew or something I think.”
It is his brother.
David, heh, that actually makes sense for Red. So I may not have been too far off. But my first thought was still server room. And I still think it’s a dumb cover.
Its cool the art is done by a relation to Anderson, but if I wanted a child like drawing on a DVD case, I’d break out my pencil crayons and have at her. I loath all the Anderson Criterion box art.
David’s right- that image for the Three Colors trilogy is from the opening sequence of Red. And call me crazy, but I actually like both that image and the ones for the trilogy’s individual films!
Plus, I’m really impressed by the art upgrade they did on Rules of the Game.
AND I’m absolutely with Bob on Fanny and Alexander’s 5-hour cut. Once I ventured from the 3-hour to the 5-hour, I never looked back. There’s just that much more Good there.
Marc, you were indeed the one to convince me to watch the full 5 hour after I was so-so on the 3 hour. My thanks to you again sir!
Any time, Bob! Glad I made you a convert!
Did 12 Angry Men get it wrong?
http://www.avclub.com/articles/did-12-angry-men-get-it-wrong,83245/
That’s awesome and will be included in my Mondays Suck post.
Cheers!