I had my money on Peter Weir. I seriously thought that his brilliant Picnic at Hanging Rock would take the prize and become the next Criterion title to get the Blu-ray treatment. Even Kwaidan seemed like a more likely contender. But from all appearances, and the listing that popped up on Amazon.com earlier today, Merchant Ivory’s Howards End has been voted the winner.
No information about the disc is given, nor is a release date. We’ll have to wait for an official announcement before we know more. Until then, take a gander at the special features of Criterion’s DVD version of Howards End for a preview of what we can expect on Blu-ray disc a few months down the line:
HOWARDS END
(??? 2009 - MSRP $39.95)
Special Features:
In addition, be sure to read our list of the Criterion Collection DVDs that deserve the upgrade to Blu-ray.
Via: Blu-ray.com
I voted for Howards End, but Picnic was my close second. I picked HE because it is magnificently produced and not one frame betrays its very low budget origins. It also has an amazing sound mix that completely envelopes the viewer and recreates the time period and place perfectly (by sheer coincidence, I ended up in the neighborhood and at the house used in the film last March and the environs sound exactly as it does in the film).
I hope Picnic At Hanging Rock will be next, in fact I hope a lot of titles will be hitting Criterion blu-ray soon because no other companies are releasing films worth watching in the format. I wish Criterion would get the legal stuff with Kurosawa’s RAN cleared up, that is a title that would have my full attention on blu-ray.
[...] long last, we finally have our Howards End announcement. We reported ages ago that that film was the winner of the Amazon.com vote to become the next Criterion Collection film. [...]