Posted Thu Jul 17, 2014 at 08:15 AM PDT by Steven Cohen
The distributor has revealed its upcoming slate of October releases, including Federico Fellini's 'La dolce vita' and Orson Welles' 'F for Fake.'
In an early announcement to retailers, Criterion is preparing 'My Darling Clementine,' 'F for Fake,' 'La dolce vita,' 'The Complete Jacques Tati,' and 'The Vanishing' for Blu-ray throughout the month of October.
'My Darling Clementine' (October 14) - John Ford takes on the legend of the O.K. Corral shoot-out in this multilayered, exceptionally well-constructed western, one of the director's very best films. Henry Fonda cuts an iconic figure as Wyatt Earp, the sturdy lawman who sets about the task of shaping up the disorderly Arizona town of Tombstone, and Victor Mature gives the performance of his career as the boozy, tubercular gambler and gunman Doc Holliday. Though initially at cross-purposes, the pair ultimately team up to confront the violent Clanton gang. Affecting and stunningly photographed, 'My Darling Clementine' is a story of the triumph of civilization over the Wild West from American cinema's consummate mythmaker.
The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, an uncompressed mono soundtrack, and supplements will include: High-definition presentation of the 103-minute prerelease version of the film; New audio commentary featuring John Ford biographer Joseph McBride; New interview with western historian Andrew C. Isenberg about the real Wyatt Earp; Comparison of the two versions by the UCLA Film & Television Archive’s Robert Gitt; New video essay by Ford scholar Tag Gallagher; A Bandit’s Wager, a 1916 short costarring Ford and directed by his brother, Francis Ford, featuring new music composed and performed by Donald Sosin; NBC broadcast reports from 1963 and 1975 about the history of Tombstone and Monument Valley; Lux Radio Theatre adaptation from 1947 starring Henry Fonda and Cathy Downs; Trailer; PLUS: An essay by critic David Jenkins.
'F for Fake' (October 21) - Trickery. Deceit. Magic. In 'F for Fake,' a free-form documentary by Orson Welles, the legendary filmmaker (and self-described charlatan) gleefully reengages with the central preoccupation of his career: the tenuous line between illusion and truth, art and lies. Beginning with portraits of the world-renowned art forger Elmyr de Hory and his equally devious biographer, Clifford Irving, Welles embarks on a dizzying journey that simultaneously exposes and revels in fakery and fakers of all stripes—not the least of whom is Welles himself. Charming and inventive, 'F for Fake' is an inspired prank and a clever examination of the essential duplicity of cinema.
The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, an uncompressed mono soundtrack, and supplements will include: Audio commentary from 2005 by cowriter and star Oja Kodar and director of photography Gary Graver; Introduction from 2005 by filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich; Orson Welles: One-Man Band, a documentary from 1995 about Welles’s unfinished projects; Almost True: The Noble Art of Forgery, a fifty-two-minute documentary from 1997 about art forger Elmyr de Hory; 60 Minutes interview from 2000 with Clifford Irving about his Howard Hughes autobiography hoax; Hughes’s 1972 press conference exposing Irving’s hoax; Extended, nine-minute trailer; PLUS: An essay by critic Jonathan Rosenbaum.
'La dolce vita' (October 21) - The biggest hit from the most popular Italian filmmaker of all time, 'La dolce vita' rocketed Federico Fellini to international mainstream success—ironically, by offering a damning critique of the culture of stardom. A look at the darkness beneath the seductive lifestyles of Rome's rich and glamorous, the film follows a notorious celebrity journalist—played by a sublimely cool Marcello Mastroianni—during a hectic week spent on the peripheries of the spotlight. This mordant picture was an incisive commentary on the deepening decadence of the European 1960s, and it provided a prescient glimpse of just how gossip- and fame-obsessed our society would become.
The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a uncompressed Italian mono soundtrack, and supplements will include: New visual essay by : : kogonada; New interview with filmmaker Lina Wertmüller, who worked as assistant director on the film; Scholar David Forgacs discusses the period in Italy’s history when the film was made; New interview with Italian film journalist Antonello Sarno about the outlandish fashions seen in the film; Audio interview with actor Marcello Mastroianni from the early 1960s, conducted by film historian Gideon Bachmann; Felliniana, a presentation of ephemera related to 'La dolce vita' from the collection of Don Young; PLUS: An essay by critic Gary Giddins.
'The Complete Jacques Tati' (October 28) - Though he made only a handful of films, director, writer, and actor Jacques Tati ranks among the most beloved of all cinematic geniuses. With a background in music hall and mime performance, Tati steadily built an ever more ambitious movie career that ultimately raised sight-gag comedy to the level of high art. In the surrogate character of the sweet and bumbling, eternally umbrella-toting and pipe-smoking Monsieur Hulot, Tati invented a charming symbol of humanity lost in a constantly modernizing modern age. This set gathers his six hilarious features—'Jour de fête,' 'Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday,' 'Mon oncle,' 'PlayTime,' 'Trafic,' and 'Parade'—along with seven delightful Tati-related short films.
The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, uncompressed French mono soundtracks on 'Jour de fête,' 'Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday,' 'Mon oncle,' 'Trafic,' and 'Parade' and an uncompressed French stereo soundtrack on 'PlayTime.' Supplements will include: New digital restorations of all seven short films: On demande une brute (1934), Gai dimanche (1935), Soigne ton gauche (1936), L’école des facteurs (1946), Cours du soir (1967), Forza Bastia (1978), and Dégustation maison (1978); Original 1953 theatrical release version of Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday; My Uncle, the version of Mon oncle that director Jacques Tati created for English-language audiences; Introductions by actor and comedian Terry Jones to Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Mon oncle, and PlayTime; Archival interviews with Tati; In the Footsteps of Monsieur Hulot, a 1989 documentary about Tati’s beloved alter ego; Five visual essays by Tati expert Stéphane Goudet; New interview with film scholar Michel Chion on the sound design of Tati’s films; “Jour de fête”: In Search of the Lost Color, a 1988 documentary on the process of realizing Tati’s original color vision for that film; Two alternate versions of Jour de fête, a partly colorized 1964 version and the full-color 1994 rerelease version; Once Upon a Time . . . “Mon oncle,” a 2008 documentary about the making of that film; Everything Is Beautiful, a 2005 piece on the fashion, furniture, and architecture of Mon oncle; Selected-scene commentaries on PlayTime by Goudet, theater director Jérôme Deschamps, and critic Philip Kemp; Tativille, a documentary shot on the set of PlayTime; Beyond “PlayTime,” a short 2002 documentary featuring on-set footage; An Homage to Jacques Tati, a 1982 French TV program featuring Tati friend and set designer Jacques Lagrange; Audio interview with Tati from the U.S. premiere of PlayTime at the 1972 San Francisco International Film Festival; Interview with PlayTime script supervisor Sylvette Baudrot from 2006; Tati Story, a short biographical film from 2002; Professor Goudet’s Lessons, a 2013 classroom lecture by Goudet on Tati’s films; Alternate English-language soundtracks for Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday and PlayTime; PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by critics David Cairns, James Quandt, Jonathan Rosenbaum, and Kristin Ross.
'The Vanishing' (October 28) - A young man embarks on an obsessive search for the girlfriend who mysteriously disappeared while the couple were taking a sunny vacation trip, and his three-year investigation draws the attention of her abductor, a mild-mannered professor with a diabolically clinical mind. An unorthodox love story and a truly unsettling thriller, Dutch filmmaker George Sluizer's 'The Vanishing' unfolds with meticulous intensity, leading to an unforgettable finale that has unnerved audiences around the world.
The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, an uncompressed Dutch mono soundtrack, and supplements will include: New interview with director George Sluizer; New interview with actor Johanna ter Steege; Trailer; PLUS: An essay by critic Scott Foundas.
Suggested list price for each single-disc Blu-ray is $39.95. Suggested list price for 'The Complete Jacques Tati' 7-disc boxset is $124.95.
You can find the latest specs for all of the titles listed above linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they're indexed throughout the month of October.
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