In Contention

Tag: Criterion

  • ‘White Material’ gets the Criterion treatment

    When you’ve been doggedly championing a film for the better part of 18 months, as I have with Claire Denis’s “White Material,” you do start to feel weirdly parental. So I was oddly touched by the raft of emails and tweets I got from assorted readers to inform me that the film has been revealed as one of Criterion’s April titles — it was as if I was being congratulated for someone else’s triumph.

    I’ve said before that I don’t really do the Criterion thing: US import charges making the discs even more of an indulgence for me, after all. If I make an exception for anything, however, it’ll be for the film that further viewings have established (after an already ecstatic first encounter) as my favorite of the last half-decade or so.

    Each revisit opens up both new avenues of political enquiry and an alternative set of possible answers, while the filmmaking also stuns on rotating, mood-dependent levels. One day, it’s Denis’s still-life camera that seems to lead the rich, fever-dream sound design; another, quite the reverse.

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  • Cover art for ‘Thin Red Line’ Criterion release

    A few weeks ago we told you about the upcoming DVD and Blu-ray Criterion release of Terrence Malick’s “The Thin Red Line,” perhaps one of the most anticipated Criterion announcements yet.  The information came with sell sheet cover art, but today we get a look at the actual cover art, and as one would expect, it’s gorgeous.  Check out the full image after the jump.

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  • Malick’s Pacific theatre makes its way to Criterion

    I haven’t picked up a copy of Terrence Malick’s “The Thin Red Line” on DVD because I’m so OCD.  As in, I can’t stand the “Fox war classics” thing at the top of the case.  It’s the same reason I have a love/hate relationship with my “John Wayne classics” version of “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.” I know, weird, but I also thought Malick’s film, one of the very best ever made, needed a big to-do from Criterion or SOMEONE willing to dig in.

    It looks like I’m finally getting my wish, as Criterion will be releasing the DVD and — ZOMG! — Blu-ray this September.  This follows the recent Criterion release of “Days of Heaven” from the director.  And it’s just in time for all the forthcoming “Tree of Life” buzz.

    Count me stoked.  REALLY stoked.  I’m not sure what the specifics of the release are, actually, but I long for the day someone digs up all the footage and gives us that six-hour cut.  Is all of that lost to the winds?  I’m out of the loop.

    Anyway, the sell-sheet cover art hit today, which typically eschews any poster art in favor of something more singular.  Check it out after the jump, but keep an eye on the official page for the film at Criterion for updates and, eventually, the “official” cover art for the release.

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  • Prince of the city

    I have Chad to thank for pointing me to this Criterion DVD cover (pictured left) for Matteo Garrone’s “Gomorrah,” a film you may remember we kind of liked here at In Contention. Chad is no fan of the cover art (which of course riffs on one of the film’s most widely publicized images), and a number of readers at The Auteurs seem to be with him.

    Criterion cover for GomorrahUK DVD cover for Gomorrah

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  • The Auteurs: Your online cinema, anytime, anywhere

    TheAuteurs.comI’m quite late to the table on The Auteurs, an on demand film streaming and social networking website mentioned briefly in this morning’s round-up.  I probably should have given it a closer look, since I’ve certainly noticed Glenn Kenny’s continued editorial contributions to the site, but I didn’t really get in there and start digging until over the weekend, when I noticed CNN’s story concerning a partnership with Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation to exhibit restored lost classics.

    “The basic ambition behind The Auteurs,” writes CNN’s Mairi Mackey, “is to make high quality cinema accessible to a young, global audience by making it available on demand cheaply…The Auteurs’ particular niche is auteur-driven cinema combined with social networking.”  The site is the brainchild of former Goldman Sachs banker Efe Cakarel and was funded by Argentine millionaire Eduardo Costantini of Costa Films.  It features a novel community component where you can create a profile, designate your favorite films and interact with other users as well, creating a “platform for discovery,” as Cakarel puts it in the CNN piece.

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  • Vote on the next Criterion Blu-ray release

    I’ve gone head-first into the tank for Blu-ray ever since I broke down and bought a player last year.  And despite a high retail tag in most quarters, Amazon.com remains the number one spot for finding the best deals.

    Criterion has slowly been putting together a rather varied slate of titles on Blu, from Wes Anderson’s “Bottle Rocket” to Gregory Nava’s “Norte” to David Fincher’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which will be hitting store shelves tomorrow.  Ingmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal” hits next month, which has me doubly excited, but frankly I’ve been a touch disappointed with the output so far.  Where’s the Malick stuff fer cryin’ out loud?

    Amazon has now partnered with Criterion to give you a say in their release schedule allowing customers to vote for the next Criterion Blu-ray release.  A list of five possible titles has been offered up:

    Together with the Criterion Collection, we’re offering customers the unique opportunity to select an upcoming Blu-ray release from the Criterion Collection. From now until May 25th, select from Au Revoir Les Enfants, Down By Law, Howards End, Kwaidan, and Picnic at Hanging Rock. The winning title will be released later in 2009.

    My vote went to Peter Weir’s “Picnic at Hanging Rock,” but I wasn’t totally impressed by that quintet of possibilities.  Regardless, I’m glad Criterion is in the HD fold and I’m sure the company will continue to deliver, as always.

  • Too much, too soon?

    I’m not as outraged as some are by the news that “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is to be granted a Criterion Collection DVD release in May — as has been pointed out, if not one but two Michael Bay films have made the cut in the past, the label’s aesthetic standards are a bit of a mystery. And “Button” is, at the very least, an immaculate piece of craftsmanship.

    I am, however, a bit puzzled. Why does “Button” get to jump to the front of the queue while an assortment of  classics have to wait years for this seal of approval?  (For the sake of context, other titles in Criterion’s ‘coming soon’ pile include “Last Year at Marienbad” and “The Last Metro.”) And more importantly, isn’t it bizarre that this is David Fincher’s first title to get the royal Criterion treatment? Whether you like the film or not (and I admit I’m in the “not” camp), I haven’t heard many people suggesting that it’s his most significant work.

    If you ever needed a textbook illustration of the difference an Oscar nomination can make, I think we have one right here. Your thoughts?