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Blu-ray Picks for the Week of April 21

By brenden ⋅ April 20, 2009 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

This week is ridiculous! I’m going to have to work overtime to afford all the greatness hitting the shelves on April 21st. It was so tough to pick one disc to highlight among all the gems available but at the end of the day, I’m always going to be a sucker for my favourite home video brand, Criterion.

PICK OF THE WEEK FOR APRIL 14 - THE WAGES OF FEAR

Criterion hits another home run with this weeks release of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Wages of Fear, a gripping existential thriller about four ex-patriot workers in South America paid to drive two trucks loaded with nitroglycerine 300 miles over primitive roads, toward an oil fire. In adapting Georges Arnaud’s novel, Clouzot chose to focus on and illustrate its visceral centre, crafting some of the most taught and exciting scenes in cinematic history. The Wages of Fear would become the template for directors like Peckinpah and Friedkin, who went on to remake Fear in the 1977 Roy Scheider action vehicle, Sorcerer. The disc looks and sounds like a million bucks. Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 in 1080p using the AVC codec, The Wages of Fear appears as film-like and vibrant as a 50 year film should in the home theatre environment. This release lacks a commentary track but makes up for it in the presentation of the 2004 French television documentary “Henri-Georges Clouzot: The Enlightened Tyrant“. A handful of interview featurettes round out the package.

Read a full rundown of the disc specs, previously covered here.

(NOTE: According to the Montreal Mirror film twitter feed, Criterion has not yet been able to clear the Canadian distribution rights to The Wages of Fear. Let’s cross our fingers and hope they sort it out soon.)

ALSO AVAILABLE THIS WEEK

Tags: Criterion, Weekly Picks