Posted Mon Apr 18, 2011 at 11:00 AM PDT by Tom Landy
The ever-expanding Criterion Blu-ray library adds Solondz and more Kurosawa and Melville at the end of July.
The first of three Criterion releases debuting on Blu-ray on July 26 is Akira Kurosawa’s 'High and Low' starring the legendary Toshiro Mifune.
Mifune is unforgettable as Kingo Gondo, a wealthy industrialist whose family becomes the target of a cold-blooded kidnapper in Akira Kurosawa’s highly influential 'High and Low,' a compelling race-against-time thriller and a penetrating portrait of contemporary Japanese society.
The Blu-ray will feature a 1080p transfer, an DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, and supplements include: Audio commentary by Akira Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince; Documentary on the making of High and Low, created as part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create; Rare video interview with actor Toshiro Mifune; Video interview with actor Tsutomu Yamazaki, who plays the kidnapper; Theatrical trailers from Japan and the U.S.; and a booklet featuring an essay by critic Geoffrey O'Brien and a reprinted on- set account by Japanese film scholar Donald Richie.
Criterion will also bring the 1963 drama 'Léon Morin, Priest' on the same day.
Jean-Paul Belmondo dons clerical robes and delivers a subtly sensual performance for the hot-under-the-collar Léon Morin, Priest, directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, about a devoted man of the cloth who is the crush object of all the women of a small village in Nazi-occupied France.
The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, an uncompressed mono soundtrack, and supplements will include: Archival interview with director Jean-Pierre Melville and actor Jean-Paul Belmondo; Visual essay by French film scholar Ginette Vincendeau; Original theatrical trailer; and a booklet featuring an essay by critic and novelist Gary Indiana.
And lastly we have the 2010 drama 'Life During Wartime' starring Shirley Henderson, Allison Janney, and Ally Sheedy.
In 'Life During Wartime,' independent filmmaker Todd Solondz explores contemporary American existence and the nature of forgiveness with his customary dry humor and queasy precision.
The Blu-ray will feature a 1080p transfer, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements include: Making "Life During Wartime," a new documentary featuring interviews with actors Shirley Henderson, Allison Janney, Michael Lerner, Paul Reubens, Ally Sheedy, and Michael Kenneth Williams, and on-set footage of the actors and crew; New video piece in which Lachman discusses his work on the film; Original theatrical trailer; and a booklet featuring an essay by film critic David Sterritt.
Suggested list price for each Blu-ray is $39.95.
You can find the latest specs for 'High and Low,' 'Léon Morin, Priest' & 'Life During Wartime' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they are indexed under July 26.
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