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Criterion April Blu-ray titles: Harold and Maude, Late Spring, The Organizer, Alambrista, Hollis Frampton

Brenden — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:40:15 +0000

Wow, this last month has just rocketed by. It feels like I was just posting about Criterion‘s March titles a few days ago and here we are already, talking about this funky line-up of releases for April. I hate to say it, but I’m not that familiar with this batch (see what happens when you don’t go to film school, kids?) but that actually makes me all the more anxious to sink my teeth into them. I love a new discovery! And that pack of Hollis Frampton shorts looks like it’ll easily sate my desire for unusual and experimental cinema. Both The Organizer and ¡Alambrista! appear to be compelling commentaries on the power of people and human spirit, which makes for great filmmaking at times but more often than not results in being delivered with a fist of ham. I trust Criterion, though, and expect the former while fearing the latter. So, I guess I’m most excited to get my hands on Ozu‘s classic Late Spring (with a feature-length Wim Wenders doc on the director!) and Ashby‘s cult-fav Harold and Maude, which, according to Devin Faraci, sports a cover by cartoonist extraordinaire, Jordan Crane! Huzzah!

HAROLD AND MAUDE
(April 17, 2012 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 1.85:1 1080p
Audio: uncompressed monaural

Special Features:

New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
Optional remastered stereo soundtrack
Audio commentary by Hal Ashby biographer Nick Dawson and producer Charles B. Mulvehill
Illustrated audio excerpts of seminars by Ashby and writer-producer Colin Higgins
New interview with songwriter Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens)
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Michael Wood; a 1971 New York Times profile of star Ruth Gordon; and excerpted transcripts of two interviews, one from 1997 with star Bud Cort and director of photography John Alonzo and one from 2001 with executive producer Mildred Lewis

A HOLLIS FRAMPTON ODYSSEY
(April 9, 2012 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 1.33:1 1080p
Audio: uncompressed monaural

Special Features:

Early Films
Manual of Arms (1966 • 17 minutes • Black & White • Silent)
Process Red (1966 • 3 minutes, 30 seconds • Color • Silent)
Maxwell’s Demon (1968 • 4 minutes • Color/Black & White • Silent)

Surface Tension (1968 • 9 minutes, 30 seconds • Color • Monaural)
Carrots & Peas (1969 • 5 minutes • Color • Monaural)
Lemon (1969 • 5 minutes • Color • Silent)
Zorns Lemma (1970 • 60 minutes • Color • Monaural)

Films from Hapax Legomena
(nostalgia) (1971 • 36 minutes • Black & White • Monaural)
Poetic Justice (1972 • 31 minutes, 30 seconds • Black & White • Silent)

Critical Mass (1971 • 25 minutes, 30 seconds • Black & White • Monaural)

Films from Magellan
The Birth of Magellan: Cadenza I (1977–1980 • 6 minutes • Color • Monaural)
Pans 0–4 and 697–700 (1974 • 1-minute each • Color • Silent)

INGENIVM NOBIS IPSA PVELLA FECIT, Part I (1975 • 5 minutes • Color • Silent)
Magellan: At the Gates of Death, Part I: The Red Gate I, 0 (1976 • 4 minutes, 20 seconds • Color • Silent)

Winter Solstice (1974 • 33 minutes • Color • Silent)
Gloria! (1979 • 9 minutes, 30 seconds • Color • Monaural)

Audio commentary and remarks by filmmaker Hollis Frampton on selected works
Excerpted interview with Frampton from 1978
A Lecture, a performance piece by Frampton, recorded in 1968 with the voice of artist Michael Snow
Gallery of works from Frampton’s xerographic series By Any Other Name
PLUS: A booklet with an introduction by film critic Ed Halter and essays and capsules on the films by Frampton scholars Ken Eisenstein, Bruce Jenkins, and Michael Zryd

¡ALAMBRISTA!
(April 17, 2012 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 1.66:1 1080p
Audio: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio

Special Features:

New high-definition digital restoration, with 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
New audio commentary featuring director Robert M. Young and coproducer Michael Hausman
New interview with actor Edward James Olmos
Children of the Fields, a 1973 short documentary by Young, accompanied by a new interview with the director
Trailer
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film historian Charles Ramírez-Berg

LATE SPRING
(April 17, 2012 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 1.33:1 1080p
Audio: uncompressed monaural

Special Features:

High-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
Audio commentary by Richard Peña, program director of New York’s Film Society of Lincoln Center
Tokyo-ga (1985), filmmaker Wim Wenders’s ninety-two-minute documentary about director Yasujiro Ozu
PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by critic Michael Atkinson and Japanese-film historian Donald Richie

THE ORGANIZER
(April 24, 2012 – MSRP $29.95)
Video: 1.85:1 1080p
Audio: uncompressed monaural

Special Features:

New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
Introduction by director Mario Monicelli from 2006
Trailer
PLUS: An essay by film critic J. Hoberman

[VIDEO] The Rocketeer Blu-ray clips

Brenden — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 02:49:23 +0000

The Rocketeer finally hits Blu-ray tomorrow! In honour of this, the film’s 20th Anniversary and it’s debut on the format, the studio has released a number of clips from the film. Now, I know you’re all geared up to get your hands on the disc but don’t think for a moment that what you’re seeing here is representative of the HD presentation on the Blu-ray. These compressed clips pale in comparison.

I’ll have a full review posted in our weekly New Release rundown tomorrow. Until then, enjoy the clips!

From the studio:

Celebrate the 20th anniversary of director Joe Johnston’s (Captain America: The First Avenger) action-filled, witty The Rocketeer. Now with state-of-the-art digital restoration and enhanced high definition sound, experience it as it jets off for the first time on Disney Blu-ray™.

The discovery of a top-secret jetpack hurls test pilot Cliff Secord into a daring adventure of mystery, suspense, and intrigue! Cliff encounters an assortment of ruthless villains, led by a Hollywood screen star who is a secret Nazi spy. With the help of his actress girlfriend, the young pilot battles enormous odds to defeat his foes who are anxious to use the device in an evil plan to rule the world. The dangerous mission transforms the ordinary young man into an extraordinary hero.

Spooky Buddies Blu-ray discount and clips

2001_Kamikakushi_Miyazaki_10 — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:28:35 +0000

Our good pals over at Disney have been letting us know about their upcoming release of Spooky Buddies on Blu-ray, hitting shelves tomorrow. I don’t generally follow these sorts of films, but my little niece is a huge fan of this series. You might recall that she and her brother Max reviewed the first film, Santa Buddies way back in December of 2009. Pretty cute, no? So, in honour of her love of dressed up dogs we present the coupon below, good for $5 off the Blu-ray or DVD of Spooky Buddies. Just click on the image and follow the instructions. The offer is good until September 25, 2011 in the USA and Canada.

Disney’s irresistible talking puppies are back in an all-new movie that takes them far across town to a mysterious mansion where something very spooky is going on. With the help of some unexpected new friends including a friendly ghost this exciting adventure is howling-good Buddy fun.
In a race against a no good hound, the Buddies and their new friends, Pip, Zelda, Rodney, and Skip, must stop Warwick the Warlock and save the world from his dastardly deeds.
Overflowing with action, humor, and a bag full of bonus features, Spooky Buddies is a Spooktacular adventure that treats you to a celebration of friendship and teamwork your whole family will enjoy.

Super 8 Blu-ray announced and detailed

Brenden — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 14:45:48 +0000

I’m still kicking myself for missing Super 8 when it was playing in theatres this past summer. It’s this year’s Scott Pilgrim for me – the film I kept making failed efforts to see. Hopefully it’s not going to take me a year to see J.J. Abrams‘ ode to Spielberg and sci-fi films of the ’70s and ’80s, as it did for me to finally see Pilgrim. Thankfully, Paramount is bringing the film to Blu-ray on November 22 to help me out. Thanks, guys! Looking forward to it!

SUPER 8
(November 22, 2011 – MSRP $44.99)
Video: 2.39:1 1080p
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 7.1

Special Features:

Commentary by writer/director J.J. Abrams, producer Bryan Burk and cinematographer Larry Fong
Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes
- The Dream Behind Super 8
- The Search for New Faces
- Meet Joel Courtney
- Rediscovering Steel Town
- The Visitor Lives
- Scoring Super 8
- Do You Believe in Magic?
- The 8mm Revolution
Deconstructing the Train Crash
Deleted Scenes

DVD:

Feature Film
Digital Copy

Farscape: The Complete Series coming to Blu-ray

Brenden — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 02:15:46 +0000

Oh man, I have such fond memories of watching Farscape on TV years ago. When I saw the first promo spots for it back in ’99, I thought it looked like a joke. Space Muppet cable sci-fi series. Yeah, it seemed pretty lame. I wouldn’t be caught dead watching it. And then I visited my parents one afternoon and caught them well into an episode which they refused to switch off, despite my loudest protest. So, I sat through it with them. And I was hooked. I’ve been a fan since then.

I’m ecstatic that A&E is bringing The Jim Henson Company‘s Farscape to Blu-ray in November but skeptical of the presentation of the episodes. The press release, which you can read in full over at TVShowsonDVD.com, states that “this definitive collection – optimized for HD from the European PAL masters – the highest quality available source elements – delivers the most optimal viewing experience for the series” but neglects to specify the resolution of their HD presentation. Could these discs possibly be 720p or 1080i? A&E has released some pretty solid transfers of old TV shows in the past and I have no reason to doubt they’ll do the best job possible here. I’m just concerned that the source elements, most of which likely involve special effects that were created at a much lower resolution for standard definition broadcasts, will need to be up-scaled to HD. I don’t want to see another Highlander: The Series fiasco but I’m afraid that might just come to pass, once these discs get into the hands of the fans. Fingers crossed that doesn’t happen. I’ll keep you updated with any info I dig up regarding the tech specs of the discs.

FARSCAPE: THE COMPLETE SERIES
(November 15, 2011 – MSRP $199.95)
Video: TBA
Audio: TBA

Special Features:

20 Blu-ray discs featuring 88 complete and unedited episodes from the four-season run (1999-2003), remastered from the highest quality source material available
Collectible packaging featuring all-new series artwork
29 Episode Commentaries, including “Premiere” with Rockne S. O’Bannon, Brian Henson and Ben Browder; “Jeremiah Crichton” with Claudia Black, Producer/Writer David Kemper, Browder and O’Bannon; “Bone to Be Wild” with Anthony Simcoe; “Relativity” with Lani Tupu (Crais/Voice of Pilot) and Director Peter Andrikidis; and, “Bad Timing” which features Browder, Black and Kemper discussing the series’ final episode.
A BRAND-NEW documentary – Memories of Moya: An Epic Journey Explored featuring revealing new interviews with the cast and creators.
Multiple featurettes and documentaries including “In the Beginning: A Look Back with Brian Henson”; “Making of a Space Opera” and “Inside Farscape: Save Farscape,” on which fans, cast and crew discuss the fate of their beloved series.
Multiple video profiles featuring archival clips and cast/crew discussing their characters and roles on Farscape.
Over 90 minutes of deleted scenes.
Slideshows and archival photo galleries, including character concepts and promo photos.
Production design galleries featuring screenshots, rough drafts and concept slide shows.
Behind-the-Scenes interviews with Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe, Virginia Hey, Gigi Edgley, Paul Goddard (Stark), Wayne Pygram (Scorpius) and more.
Original TV promos and trailers

Straw Dogs Blu-ray announced and detailed

Brenden — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 04:53:55 +0000

When asked what Sam Peckinpah film is their favourite, I have a feeling that most folks lean toward The Wild Bunch. An awesome flik, to be sure. But I’ve always been more of a Straw Dogs kind of guy. There’s just something about the intensity of nerdy, pacifist Dustin Hoffman manning up and kicking the living crap out of the dicks who’ve made his life hell (my description of the plot goes pretty lite on the gory details.) Fox/MGM will be releasing the film on Blu-ray this September 6th in its longer “Unrated” cut that has been “carefully restored and is presented with all-new 5.1 audio.” With only a handful of extras included on the disc, I won’t be giving up my special-feature-packed 2-disc Criterion DVD set any time soon but I’ll be damn pleased to see this amazing film in 1080p on Blu for the very first time.

STRAW DOGS
(September 6, 2011 – MSRP $24.99)
Video: 1.85:1 1080p
Audio: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio

Special Features:

Original Theatrical Trailer
Three Original Television Spots

Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy Blu-ray set coming in October

Brenden — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 23:57:26 +0000

Will you look at that? We (and Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits) were right – the Jurassic Park Trilogy is indeed headed for store shelves this October. Universal has now officially announced the boxed set, along with a special Limited Edition Gift Set which includes a “custom T-rex dinosaur statue”. The discs will feature all the extras from the previous DVDs, so feel free to ditch them and make the upgrade to Blu. In addition, there will be digital copies of all three films and a couple of hours of bonus stuff newly created for this high-def release.

JURASSIC PARK ULTIMATE TRILOGY
(October 25, 2011 – MSRP $79.98, Limited Edition Gift Set $119.98)
Video: 1.85:1 1080p
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Return to Jurassic Park” – this six-part documentary features all-new interviews with the many of the cast members from all three films, the filmmakers and Steven Spielberg.
- Dawn of a New Era
- Making Pre-history
- The Next Step in Evolution
- Finding The Lost World
- Something Survived
- The Third Adventure
The Making of Jurassic Park
The Making of The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The Making of Jurassic Park III
Steven Spielberg Directs Jurassic Park
Early Pre-Production Meetings
The World of Jurassic Park
The Magic of Industrial Light & Magic
Location Scouting
Phil Tippett Animatics: Raptors In The Kitchen
The Jurassic Park Phenomenon: A Discussion with Author Michael Crichton
Industrial Light & Magic and Jurassic Park: Before and After The Visual Effects
Industrial Light & Magic and The Lost World: Jurassic Park Before & After
The Industrial Light & Magic Press Reel
A Visit to Industrial Light & Magic
Hurricane in Kauai Featurette
Dinosaur Turntables
The Dinosaurs of Jurassic Park III
Montana: Finding New Dinosaurs
Animatics: T-Rex Attack
The Special Effects of Jurassic Park III
The Sounds of Jurassic Park III
The Art of Jurassic Park III
Tour of Stan Winston Studio
Feature Commentary with Special Effects Team
Production Archives: Storyboards, Models, Photographs, Design Sketches and Conceptual Drawings
Deleted Scenes
Theatrical Trailers
And MORE!

Palisades Tartan announce 36th Precinct Blu-ray

Brenden — Wed, 25 May 2011 16:04:07 +0000

Ex-police officer Olivier Marchal‘s hard-hitting cop drama 36 Quai des Orfèvres was released in 2004 to great acclaim and multiple award nominations. The film, which stars Gérard Depardieu and legendary French actor Daniel Auteuil, has been kicking around on Euro and UK Blu-ray discs for some time now but we here in North America have had to do without…until now! Palisades Tartan have announced that a new Region A Blu-ray edition of the film, now titled 36th Precinct, will hit shops this June 14th. If you’re a fan of Michael Mann‘s Heat you’ll want to check this one out.

From the press release:

A Parisian gang has been targeting armored cars for their bounty and brutally killing their drivers, while always managing to stay one step ahead of the law. Around this time, the senior officer of the 36th Precinct announces his plans to retire and issues a challenge: Whichever officer can apprehend these criminals before their next attack, will be promoted to his esteemed and coveted position. Leo Vrinks (Daniel Auteuil) and Denis Klein (Gerard Depardieu), two former friends who are now bitter rivals, cannot believe their luck, but as the competition heats up between the two, so does the violence, bloodshed and inevitable heartbreaking betrayals.

36TH PRECINCT
(June 14, 2011 – MSRP $24.98)
Video: 2.35:1 1080p
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Special Features:

Making-Of Featurette
Interview with the Director
Weapons Selection Featurette
Wardrobe Selection Featurette
Theatrical trailer & teaser trailer

Sony announces Battle: Los Angeles Blu-ray disc

Brenden — Mon, 09 May 2011 01:13:08 +0000

Was Battle: Los Angeles any good? It totally blew in and out of cinemas before I was even aware it had been released. It looks like some crazy kind of action-movie fun. I might have actually checked it out, you know?! I like Aaron Eckhart a lot and Bridget Moynahanis pretty easy on the eyes. And from what I can tell, the film is chock full of soldier-versus-alien action so, really, how bad can it possibly be? Guess I’ll find out when the film hits Blu-ray on June 14th.

For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world — Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, and China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings will become a terrifying reality when Earth is attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the world’s great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It’s up to a Marine staff sergeant (Eckhart) and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they’ve ever encountered before. BATTLE: LOS ANGELES was written by Chris Bertolini (The General’s Daughter) and produced by Neal H. Moritz and Ori Marmur (The Green Hornet, The Bounty Hunter). Executive producers are Jeffrey Chernov (upcoming Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Star Trek) and David Greenblatt. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures and has a run time of approximately 116 minutes. It has been rated 14-A.

BATTLE: LOS ANGELES
(June 14, 2011 – MSRP $38.96 Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)
Video: 2.39:1 1080p MPEG-4 AVC
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Special Features:

Exclusive playable game demo of the first-person shooter PS3 game Resistance®3
Command Control – Command and control your viewing experience by watching Picture-in-Picture, Storyboard Comparisons and Battle Points within the context of the movie.
Featurettes:
- Behind The Battle
- Aliens in LA
- Preparing for Battle
- Creating L.A. in LA
movieIQ

Official Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray September Release Date Revealed

Brenden — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 20:20:44 +0000

It looks like 20th Century Fox wants to get you your Star Wars Blu-ray discs a week earlier than Amazon had predicted. Back in January, shortly after the announcement of the discs, Amazon posted a pre-order which was quickly updated to include a September 27th release date. Well, Fox and Lucasfilm have now officially set that date more than a week earlier, putting the discs on store shelves on Friday, September 16th.

The studios should be commended for such a forward thinking move, releasing the discs right before the weekend when fans will actually have time to sit and dig into the hours of extra content on the discs, not to mention the the high-def debut of the films themselves. Had the discs been released on a Tuesday, as originally planned, I have a feeling there might’ve been a nasty mid-work-week case of Star Wars-flu going around! Or Wookie-fever. Or Jar-Jar-itis. Or something. You get the gag, right? … People skipping work…y’know…to watch Blu-rays? … Right? (insert Krusty the Clown grumble here.)

The Blu-ray Blog » Uncategorized

Criterion April Blu-ray titles: Harold and Maude, Late Spring, The Organizer, Alambrista, Hollis Frampton

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