The Criterion Collection in July

I've been waiting a hot minute for July to come around. It's not that I'm suffering cabin fever, although I'd love to walk around with minimal clothing and no PPE on. No, it's just that the Criterion Collection announced some fantastic releases, and I've been waiting with baited breath for them to arrive. Criterion has applied their magic to some of the most influential movies in my life, will bring out the first home release of one of 2019's best reviewed films, and given a new polish to two catalog greats. LET'S - GET - INTO - IT!

July 7

George Pal's "The War of the Worlds" is the second sci-fi movie I ever seeing, after "Star Wars". There are special effects that remain indelible to me; the hovering saucers, the flair and burning of the observers at the crater's edge. In my memory, it was wonderful and terrifying in a way that had to have established my tastes early on. So it's a huge pleasure to have this 4K restoration lead off the July lineup. This restoration looks pretty damned definitive. There's an all-new 5.1 sound mix created by legend Ben Burtt, as well as featurettes about the effects and restoration of the film. There's also an archive interview with producer George Pal that I've never seen before. Finally, because how could you NOT add it, Criterion's added the original 1938 Mercury Theatre radio production of "War of the Worlds", along with an interview featuring Orson Welles and H.G. Wells. The Patrick Leger artwork on the cover is poster-worthy, which is to say: Hey, Criterion! How about some posters for new releases? I'll pay for them!

July 14

Criterion has always put a lot of attention and care into their collector's sets, but I feel like the ones that have come out over the last two years are next level. The 2018 "Dietrich and von Sternberg in Hollywood" set is, if you have any interest in golden age Hollywood, a must own. Last fall's "Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954-1975" release set the bar not just for content, but for extras and design. While I love those, I'm probably more excited for this week's release. After all, it's not every day that you can repurchase five movies you've already bought in multiple formats.

I'm not a Bruce Lee superfan, but I am a big fan. I paid full retail on the Enterbay 1:6 scale figures. I wear Onitsuka Tigers, even though they're hell on my insteps. I've owned copies of his five films my entire collecting life, going back to shitty VHS transfers in the early 90s. I've ended up with multiple copies of "Enter the Dragon" on DVD across box sets, single editions; I even own two versions on laserdisc. The man remains one of the superheroes of my childhood, alongside Bo Jackson and Bill Sienkiewicz. So will I be buying "Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits"? You're goddamned right I will be.

I'm only going to gloss over the highlights of this set, because they're really comprehensive, and I'm already 200+ words into this single review. I'm looking forward to seeing the restoration work on all five movies; I can only assume how much more vibrant and alive they'll look after getting a once over. The background interviews look great as well. A Golden Harvest featurette, a chat on Brucesploitation, interviews with Linda Lee Caldwell, Nora Miao, and Sammo Hung: it's almost like a syllabus of HK filmmaking in the 70s. All of it adds up to a package I'll be watching on release day.

Also out the 14th is the "first time on Blu-ray" issue of "The Lady Eve", one of the all-time great screwball comedies. Preston Sturges had one of the best runs as a director over his first five movies; "The Lady Eve" falls right in the middle of that run, and it's one of Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck's best roles. The dialogue is so sharp, the gender roles cleverly reversed. There are some new features on this reissue: the now obligatory 4K digital restoration, some new critical essays, and a round table conversation with Peter Bogdanovich, Ron Shelton, Leonard Maltin, and James L. Brooks. I can listen to Bogdanovich talk about movies all day long.

July 21

I gotta say: I'm not a big fan of Noah Baumbach. I know a lot of people think Wes Anderson's movies are as white as it gets. I say Baumbach's work is so white, it's transparent. I've never connected with any of his films. He tells these stories of upper/middle-class New York City life that I just can't relate to. None of that seems to hamper me when I'm watching Wes Anderson or Woody Allen or even Greta Gerwig. There's just something about his movies that really sticks in my craw.

All that said, I expect I'll eventually give "Marriage Story" a shot. While I'm not often swayed by critical acclaim, I do listen to what my friends have to say, and they've all been really complementary of it. But let's be fair: if you're buying this, you're doing so to expand an experience you can already get from Netflix. The extras here look pretty solid. Along with the 4K transfer and lossless soundtrack on the Blu-ray, there are featurettes with the filmmaking team and the actors, as well as a making-of. If you're a fan, you'll be buying this; if you're like me, it'll be low on your list.

On the other hand, I'm pretty interested to check out the new-to-Blu-ray reissue of "Taste of Cherry" ("طعم گيلاس..."). I've owned my DVD copy for almost 20 years, and while I don't watch it super-regularly, I do revisit it from time to time. If you've never seen one of Abbas Kiarostami's films, this is a great opportunity to check out one of the great auteurs of the 20th century. He works in this singular, minimal style that I've never really otherwise experienced. The premise of "Taste of Cherry" is fairly simple: an Iranian man drives through the suburbs of his city, searching for something to bury his body when he commits suicide. What develops over 95 minutes is this pretty incredible mediation on death, spirituality, and the nature of truth. I promise it's not nearly as heavy as that description makes it sound.

So ends our July with Criterion. I'm 100% in for the Bruce Lee box set, and will probably pick up "The War of the Worlds" around release date. August looks to be chock full of great directors. French director Agnès Varda gets a box set featuring her complete works, one of my favorite D.A. Pennebaker docs joins the Criterion Collection, and Jean Renoir's "Toni" gets a full restoration. Should be a good month. See you in 30.