Criterion Collection

The Red Balloon (Released by Janus Films, in association with the Criterion Collection)

The late French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse made this classic, 1956 short work about a lonely little Parisian boy (Pascal Lamorisse) befriended by a large red balloon, which seems to have a will of its own. As with his preceding short, 1952's White Mane, Lamorisse took home a grand prize from the Cannes Film Festival for The Red Balloon, and the latter film also won an Academy Award. There have been some stimulating pieces of film criticism (some pro, some con) written about the aesthetics of this little movie over the years, but there's no question it makes for a touching, allegorical piece always certain to prompt conversations among viewers of any age. --Tom Keogh

Newly restored and available for the first time on DVD Albert Lamorisse's exquisite The Red Balloon remains one of the most beloved children's films of all time. In this deceptively simple nearly wordless tale a young boy discovers a stray balloon which seems to have a mind of its own on the streets of Paris. The two become inseparable yet the world's harsh realities finally interfere. With its glorious palette and allegorical purity the Academy Award-winning The Red Balloon has enchanted movie lovers young and old for generations.System Requirements:LENGTH: 34 minutes Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY UPC: 715515028820 Manufacturer No: CC1746DDVD

The Furies - Criterion Collection

Barbara Stanwyck and Walter Huston are at their fierce finest in master Hollywood craftsman Anthony Mann's crackling western melodrama. In 1870s New Mexico Territory megalomaniacal widowed ranch-owner T. C. Jeffords (Huston in his final role) butts heads with his daughter Vance (Stanwyck) a firebrand with serious daddy issues over her dowry choice of marriage and finally ownership of the land itself. Both sophisticated in its view of frontier settlement and ablaze with searing domestic drama The Furies is a hidden treasure of American filmmaking boasting Oscar®-nominated cinematography and vivid supporting turns from Judith Anderson Wendell Corey and Gilbert Roland.SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:New restored high-definition digital transferAudio commentary featuring film historian Jim Kitses (Horizons West)A rare 1931 on-camera interview with Walter Huston made for the movie theater series Intimate InterviewsNew video interview with Nina Mann daughter of director Anthony MannStills gallery of rare behind-the-scenes photosTheatrical trailerPLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Robin Wood a 1957 Cahiers du cinema interview with Mann and a new printing of Niven Busch's original novelMore!System Requirements:Running Time: 109 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: WESTERN/COWBOYS Rating: NR UPC: 715515030229 Manufacturer No: CC1755DDVD

Seconds into Anthony Mann's hardboiled horse opera, Barbara Stanwyck absent-mindedly plays with a pair of scissors. Not to worry: she'll put them to use soon enough. Until that time, Stanwyck's volatile heiress, Vance, alternately flatters and manipulates her egotistical father, T.C. Jeffords (a feisty Walter Huston in his final performance). It's the 1870s and T.C.'s ranch, the Furies, inspires envy throughout the New Mexico territory. If Vance picks a suitable husband, T.C. promises her a handsome dowry. Unfortunately, she chooses brutal gambler Rip Darrow (Rear Window's Wendell Corey). If it wasn't for Vance's friendship with Mexican-American squatter Juan (Gilbert Roland), she wouldn't inspire much sympathy, but Vance stands up for the Herreras when financiers pressure the Jeffords to throw them off their land. Then, T.C. takes up with scheming socialite Flo (Rebecca's Dame Judith Anderson), and the tense relations between father and daughter explode into all-out war. By the end, those scissors end up in someone's face, leading to a cycle of revenge-oriented violence. Adapted from Niven Busch's novel by Red River's Charles Schnee, The Furies isn't as deliriously over-the-top as Busch's Duel in the Sun, but it plays more like Shakespearean tragedy than Technicolor camp, and Stanwyck owns the screen from start to finish. The excellent extras include erudite commentary from film historian Jim Kitses, a terrific 1967 interview with Mann for British TV, a playful 1931 chat with Huston, remembrances from Mann's daughter Nina, an essay from critic Robin Wood, and a new printing of Busch's original novel. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters - Criterion Collection

Paul Schrader's visually stunning structurally audacious collage-like portrait of acclaimed Japanese author and playwright Yuko Mishima (played by Ken Ogata) investigates the inner turmoil and contradictions of a man who attempted an impossible harmony between self art and society. Taking place on Mishima's last day when he famously committed public seppuku (ritual suicide) the film is punctuated by extended flashbacks to the writer's life as well as gloriously stylized evocations of his fictional works. With its rich cinematography by John Bailey exquisite sets and costumes by Eiko Ishioka and unforgettable highly influential score by Philip Glass Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is a sincere tribute to its subject and a bold investigative work of art in its own right.DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES:New restored high-definition digital transfer of the director's cut supervised and approved by director Paul Schrader and cinematographer John BaileyOptional English and Japanese voice-over narrations the former by Roy Scheider the latter by Ken OgataNew audio commentary featuring Schrader and producer Alan PoulThe Strange Case of Yukio Mishima a 55-minute BBC documentary about the authorNew interviews with Donald Richie and John Nathan collaborators and friends of Yukio MishimaNew interviews with Bailey producers Tom Luddy and Mata Yamamoto composer Philip Glass and production designer Eiko IshiokaA new audio interview with coscreenwriter Chieko SchraderA video interview excerpt featuring Mishima talking about writingTheatrical trailerNew and improved English subtitle translationPLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Kevin Jackson and a piece on the film's censorship in JapanSystem Requirements:Running Time: 120 minutes Language: Japanese Subtitles: EnlishFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/COMING OF AGE UPC: 715515029728 Manufacturer No: CC1752DDVD

With Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, Paul Schrader constructs a puzzle-box portrait of the controversial author (1925-1970) who turned his life into a work of art. Presented by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, Schrader outdoes his benefactors in sheer audacity alone. In the opening sequence, which weaves throughout the film, Yukio Mishima (riveting Shohei Imamura regular Ken Ogata) prepares for death as the director cuts to pivotal moments from his past. Shot by American Gigolo's John Bailey and designed by The Cell's Eiko Ishioka, stately black and white footage alternates with eye-popping color sequences. With an assist from Leonard and Chieko Schrader, his brother and sister-in-law, the filmmaker blends Mishima's fiction into his biography, and splits the whole four ways: beauty, art, action, and harmony of pen and sword (the brothers also wrote Sydney Pollack's Japanese thriller The Yakuza). Encouraged by his controlling grandmother, Mishima becomes a conflicted figure, torn between mind and body, pain and pleasure--men and women. As he states, "All my life I have been acutely aware of a contradiction in the very nature of my existence." (This collector's edition includes separate voice-over tracks by Ogata and Roy Scheider.)

The first disc houses a gorgeous transfer of the film, the theatrical trailer, and comprehensive commentary from Schrader and producer Alan Poul; the second offers a making-of featurette (with Bailey, Ishioka, and composer Philip Glass), audio and video interviews (including translator and biographer John Nathan), a 1966 chat with Mishima for French TV, and a 1985 John Hurt-narrated documentary for the BBC. Unlike Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima, which found favor in the East, Paul Schrader's risk-filled endeavor resulted in a ban in his subject's home country--and the director's crowning achievement. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

The Thief of Bagdad - Criterion Collection

Often hailed as the greatest fantasy film ever made, The Thief of Bagdad (1940) was producer Alexander Korda's crowning achievement. Deservedly winning Academy Awards for art direction, color cinematography, and special effects, this Arabian Nights adventure appeals to all ages with its fantastical tale of Abu (Sabu), the little thief who befriends the prince of Bagdad (John Justin) and foils the nefarious plans of the evil grand vizier (Conrad Veidt), who seizes control of Bagdad and covets the princess of Basra (Joan Duprez). From its gorgeous, epic-scale sets to flying horses, magic carpets, and, best of all, Rex Ingram's towering jinni of the bottle, this Thief has all the magic of the tales that inspired it, and vibrant Technicolor brings it all to life in dazzling style. Six esteemed directors worked on this infamously troubled production, but the final result exceeded all expectations, becoming an instant classic that endures to this day. --Jeff Shannon

The Thief of Bagdad legendary producer Alexander Korda's Arabian Nights marvel is one of the most spectacular fantasy films ever made an eye-popping effects pioneer brimming with imagination and technical wizardry. When Prince Ahmad (John Justin) is blinded and cast out of Bagdad by the nefarious Jaffar (Conrad Veidt) he joins forces with the scrappy thief Abu (the incomparable Sabu in his definitive role) to win back his royal position as well as the heart of a beautiful princess (June Duprez). With its luscious Technicolor vivid sets and unprecedented visual wonders The Thief of Bagdad has charmed viewers of all ages for decades.SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES:Restored digital transferTwo audio commentaries: one featuring renowned directors Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese and one with film and music historian Bruce EderNew interviews with special-effects experts Ray Harryhausen Dennis Muren and Craig Barron about the technical achievements of The Thief of BagdadThe Lion Has Wings (1940) Alexander Korda's propaganda film for the English war effort made during The Thief of Bagdad's production hiatusExcerpts from codirector Michael Powell's audio dictations for his autobiographySelections of music by composer Miklos Rozsa not used in the final filmStills gallery featuring rare Dufaycolor images of the film's productionTheatrical trailerPLUS: a booklet featuring new essays by critics Andrew Moor and Ian ChristieSystem Requirements:Running Time: 106 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY/FANTASY Rating: NR UPC: 715515029926 Manufacturer No: CC1754DDVD

Seven Samurai - 3 Disc Remastered Edition (Criterion Collection Spine # 2)

Hailed as the greatest film in the history of Japanese cinema, Seven Samurai is director Akira Kurosawa's undisputed masterpiece. Arguably the greatest of all jidai-gecki (or historical swordplay films), Kurosawa's classic 1954 action drama has never been surpassed in terms of sheer power of emotion, kinetic energy, and dynamic character development. The story is set during the civil unrest of 16th-century Japan, as the cowering residents of a small farming village are seeking protection against seasonal attacks by a band of marauding bandits. Offering mere handfuls of rice as payment, they hire seven unemployed "ronin" (masterless samurai), including a boastful swordsman (Toshiro Mifune) who is actually a peasant farmer's son, desperately seeking glory, acceptance, and revenge against those who destroyed his family. Led by the calmly strategic Kambei (Takashi Shimura, star of Kurosawa's previous classic, Ikiru), the samurai form mutual bonds of honor and respect, but remain distant from the villagers, knowing that their assignment may prove to be fatal.

Kurosawa masterfully composed his shots to emphasize these group dynamics, and Seven Samurai is a textbook study of the director's signature techniques, including extensive use of telephoto lenses to compress action, delineate character relationships, and intensify motion. While the climactic battle against raiding thieves remains one of the most breathtaking sequences ever filmed, Seven Samurai is most triumphant as a peerless example of character development, requiring all of its 2-hour, 37-minute running time to illuminate every essential detail of villagers and samurai alike, including an abundance of humor as Kambei's defense plan unfolds. In terms of its overall impact, Seven Samurai spawned dozens of copycat films (notably the American Western remake The Magnificent Seven) and cannot be adequately summarized by even the most comprehensive synopsis; it must be seen to be fully appreciated, and the Criterion Collection's 2006 DVD reissue is an essential addition to any definitive home-video library. --Jeff Shannon

On the DVDs
According to the accompanying booklet, "the picture has been slightly window-boxed (in correct original 1.33:1 aspect ratio) to ensure that the maximum image is visible on all monitors." The two-disc format was necessary "to maintain optimal image quality throughout the compression process," with dual-layered DVD-9's encoded "at the highest possible bit rate for the quantity of material included." The picture and sound quality are simply amazing compared to Criterion's one-disc release from 1998. The all-new, fully restored high-definition digital transfer takes full advantage of HD's clarity and crispness, resulting in picture detail far surpassing the previous DVD. This also applies to the soundtrack, presented in optional Dolby surround in addition to the remastered original mono track. The new transfer "was mastered in 2k resolution from a duplicate negative created with wetgate processing from the original fine-grain master positive" (the film's original negative is no longer available), and "several different digital hardware and software solutions were utilized for flicker, instability, dirt, scratch, and grain management."

The complete 207-minute film is accompanied by two full-length commentary tracks, including a new track combining the critical insights of film scholars David Desser, Joan Mellen, Stephen Price (author of The Warrior's Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa), Tony Rayns, and the dean of Japanese film experts, Donald Richie (author of The Films of Akira Kurosawa). Each scholar is given approximately 40 minutes of film-time, and their commentaries represent a unique opportunity to appreciate Seven Samurai from distinct yet complementary critical perspectives. The commentary by Japanese film expert Michael Jeck (from Criterion's original 1988 laserdisc release) remains useful as a thorough analysis of Seven Samurai, primarily in terms of visual composition.

The 50-minute "making of" documentary, from Japan's 2002 Toho Masterworks TV series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create emphasizes Kurosawa's collaboration with co-screenwriters Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni, including production footage, crewmember interviews, and a reverent visit to the rural inn where Seven Samurai was written over a six-week period of intense seclusion. The two-hour "My Life in Cinema" interview with Kurosawa was recorded in 1993, with fellow filmmaker Nagisa Oshima serving as a gentle admirer, colleague, and well-informed historian of Kurosawa's career. "Seven Samurai: Origins and Influences" is a richly informative documentary that places Kurosawa's classic in both historical and cinematic context, examining its place in the jidai-gecki (swordplay) genre, its accurate depiction of samurai codes and traditions, and its stature as the prototype for many films that followed. The lavishly illustrated 58-page booklet includes eight brief essays on various aspects of Seven Samurai, each written by noted film scholars or film directors (including Arthur Penn and Sidney Lumet). Also included is a reminiscence by the great actor Toshiro Mifune, excerpted from a conversation recorded in 1993. Taken as a whole, the remastered three-disc Seven Samurai ranks as one of the finest DVD sets ever released. --Jeff Shannon

The Royal Tenenbaums (The Criterion Collection)

In a fitting follow-up to Rushmore, writer-director Wes Anderson and cowriter-actor Owen Wilson have crafted another comedic masterwork that ripples with inventive, richly emotional substance. Because of the all-star cast, hilarious dialogue, and oddball characters existing in their own, wholly original universe, it's easy to miss the depth and complexity of Anderson's brand of comedy. Here, it revolves around Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman), the errant patriarch of a dysfunctional family of geniuses, including precocious playwright Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow), boyish financier and grieving widower Chas (Ben Stiller), and has-been tennis pro Richie (Luke Wilson). All were raised with supportive detachment by mother Etheline (Anjelica Huston), and all ache profoundly for a togetherness they never really had. The Tenenbaums reconcile somehow, but only after Anderson and Wilson (who costars as a loopy literary celebrity) put them through a compassionate series of quirky confrontations and rekindled affections. Not for every taste, but this is brilliant work from any perspective. --Jeff Shannon

The family of three former child prodigies reunite after learning that their father, Royal Tenenbaum, has a terminal illness.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: R
Release Date: 7-SEP-2004
Media Type: DVD

Patriotism - Criterion Collection

Playwright and novelist Yukio Mishima predicted his own suicide with this ravishing short feature his only foray into filmmaking yet directed with the expressiveness and confidence of a true cinema artist. All prints of Patriotism (Yukoku) which depicts the seppuku (ritual suicide) of a naval officer were destroyed after Mishima's death in 1970 though the negative was saved and the film resurfaced thirty-five years later. New viewers will be stunned at the depth and clarity of Mishima's vision as well as his graphic depictions of sex and death. The film is presented here with a choice of Japanese or English intertitles.SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:New restored high-definition digital transfer of the Japanese and English versions with optional Japanese or English intertitlesA 45-minute audio interview with Yukio Mishima speaking to the Foreign Correspondents' AssociationA 45-minute making-of documentary featuring crew from the film's productionInterview excerpts featuring Mishima discussing war and deathNew and improved English subtitle translationPLUS: A new essay by renowned critic and historian Tony Rayns Mishima's original novella and Mishima's extensive notes on the film's productionSystem Requirements:Running Time: 27 minutes Language: Japanese Subtitles: EnglishFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/COMING OF AGE Rating: NR UPC: 715515029827 Manufacturer No: CC1753DDVD

Author Yukio Mishima's fascination with ritual suicide is at the heart of Patriotism, a 1966 short film co-directed by and co-starring Mishima, and based on one of his many short stories. Self-consciously arty and occasionally laughable, the film nevertheless is sensual, emotionally intense, and well-acted. Mishima stars as Lt. Takeyama, a naval officer who supports an attempted coup of his government, but who is barred by fellow officers--his friends--from participation in it because of his love for Reiko (Yoshiko Tsuruoka). When the coup fails, Takeyama is given the task of executing the rebels. Caught between conflicting points of honor, Takeyama opts for seppuku (suicide), which will make Reiko a lonely widow. The couple decides to commit double suicide, with Takeyama going first. Most of the movie finds the two making love with a unique passion and deep bond that will last beyond death. The black-and-white film blankets the lovers in protective shadows while underscoring their passion and desire through the simplest, most economic gestures. Patriotism's eroticism extends, as Mishima would have it, to seppuku itself. Not that Takeyama's self-disembowelment is a pleasure to watch--in fact, it's horrifying and looks rather realistic. Yet it is another act of the flesh shared between Takeyama and Reiko, a bridge to some place where love and doom meet. This Criterion Collection disc also features a filmed interview with Mishima, as well as an audio recording of a talk he gave. --Tom Keogh

Vampyr - Criterion Collection

With Vampyr Danish filmmaker Carl Theodor Dreyer's brilliance at achieving mesmerizing atmosphere and austere profoundly unsettling imagery (as in The Passion of Joan of Arc and Day of Wrath) was for once applied to the horror genre. Yet the result-concerning an occult student assailed by various supernatural haunts and local evildoers at an inn outside Paris-is nearly unclassifiable a host of stunning camera and editing tricks and densely layered sounds creating a mood of dreamlike terror. With its roiling fogs ominous scythes and foreboding echoes Vampyr is one of cinema's great nightmares.SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES:New restored high-definition digital transfer of the 1998 film restoration by Martin Koerber and the Cineteca di BolognaOptional all-new English-text version of the filmAudio commentary featuring film scholar Tony RaynsCarl Th. Dreyer (1966) a documentary by Jorgen Roos chronicling Dreyer's careerVisual essay by scholar Casper Tybjerg on Dreyer's influences in creating VampyrA 19TK radio broadcast of Dreyer reading an essay about filmmakingNew and improved English subtitle translationPLUS: A booklet featuring new essays by Mark Le Fanu and Kim Newman Martin Koerber on the restoration and an archival interview with producer and star Nicolas de Gunzburg as well as a book featuring Dreyer and Christen Jul's original screenplay and Sheridan Le Fanu 1871 story "Carmilla" a source for the filmSystem Requirements:Running Time: 75 minutes Language: German Subtitles: English Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR/VAMPIRES Rating: NR UPC: 715515030427 Manufacturer No: CC1757DDVD

Trafic - Criterion Collection

In Jacques Tati's Trafic the bumbling Monsieur Hulot outfitted as always with tan raincoat beaten brown hat and umbrella takes to Paris's highways and byways. For this his final outing Hulot is employed as an auto company's director of design and accompanies his new vehicle (a camper tricked out in all sorts of absurd gadgetry) to an auto show in Amsterdam. Naturally the road is paved with modern-age mishaps. This late-career delight is a masterful demonstration of the comic genius's expert timing and sidesplitting visual gags and a bemused last look at technology run amok.SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES:New restored high-definition digital transferIn the Footsteps of Monsieur Hulot (1969) a two-hour documentary tracing the evolution of Jacques Tati's beloved alter egoInterview from 1971 with the cast of Trafic from the French television program Le journal de cinema"The Comedy of Jacques Tati" a 1973 episode from the French television program Morceaux de bravoureTheatrical trailerNew and improved English subtitle translationPLUS: A new essay by film critic Jonathan RomneySystem Requirements:Running Time: 97 minutes Language: French Subtitles: EnglishFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/BUDDY FILMS Rating: G UPC: 715515030328 Manufacturer No: CC1756DDVD

Classe Tous Risques - Criterion Collection

Claude Sautet's neo-realist Classe Tous Risques (loosely translated as "all-risk insurance") deserves the kind of acclaim accorded classic American noirs, like They Live by Night. As with Nicholas Ray before him, the Frenchman behind the exquisitely restrained chamber pieces Un Coeur en Hiver and Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud combines genre tropes with tenderness. It's a tricky balance, and far too many filmmakers succumb to pathos when making the attempt. Milan-based gangster Abel Davos (former wrestler Lino Ventura, Jean-Pierre Melville's Army of Shadows) won't hesitate to plug a foe, but dotes on his two sons, wife Therese (Simone France), and partner Raymond (Stan Krol). When a robbery goes bad, however, several of those nearest and dearest to Davos lose their lives. In swoops ex-boxer Eric Stark (Jean-Paul Belmondo, just off Breathless) who helps him escape to Paris--by ambulance. Damsel-in-distress Liliane (8 1/2's Sandra Milo) joins the duo on their dangerous journey. Round Midnight's Bertrand Tavernier describes the matter-of-fact ending as "abrupt, unsentimental, and poignant." Written by ex-con José Giovanni (Le Trou) and shot by Ghislain Cloquet (Mouchette), Sautet's first feature, after assisting Georges Franju and Jacques Becker, got lost amidst the French New Wave. It may not surpass Melville for cool, but rivals him in the hood-with-heart department (and Melville greatly admired the film). Supplements include the French and US trailers, interviews with Giovanni and Tavernier from the 2000 documentary Claude Sautet ou la Magie Invisible, and comments from Ventura, circa 1959-1987 about the movie and his career. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Though sentenced to death in France in absentia former gangland chief Abel Davos (Lino Ventura) sneaks back to Paris with his children after hiding out in Milan for nearly a decade. Accompanied by appointed guardian Eric Stark (Jean-Paul Belmondo in his first film after Breathless) and beset by backstabbing former friends Abel begins a journey through the postwar Parisian underworld that's equal parts throat-grabbing and soul-searching. A character study of a career criminal at the end of his rope this rugged noir from Claude Sautet (Un coeur en hiver) is a thrilling highlight of sixties French cinema.System Requirements:Running Time: 103 minutes Language: French Subtitles: EnglishFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLERS Rating: NR UPC: 715515030526 Manufacturer No: CC1758DDVD