The Criterion Collection in August

It'd be tough to follow up last month's Criterion releases, but somehow the crew in New York City have kept things at a super-high level in August with four brand-new releases and a reissue, all of which are pretty much "must haves". Whether it's a early Jean Renoir sound film, a Paul Schrader movie from the early 90s, or THE comprehensive look at the work of Agnès Varda, this month is worth a deep look. Let's get started.

August 4

Criterion continues to work through their pre-Blu-ray catalog, reissuing their early releases at a pace of one a month. August sees the reissue of 1975's "The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum". While it doesn't look like the DVD has much new to it other than the new Joan Wong cover, the Blu-ray features a 4K restoration overseen by director Volker Schlöndorff and producer Eberhard Junkersdorf (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack, natch). The Blu-ray also receives an exclusive essay from critic Amy Taubin. I've never seen this, which now strikes me as odd, because I'm endlessly interested in stories involving the Baader–Meinhof Gang and the leftist struggle in 1970s West Germany. Apropos of nothing except my juvenile sense of humor: this film features a performance by Hubert Fux.

August 11

Agnès Varda is an under-seen giant of cinema. Whether as a documentarian, a creator of short films, or a feature filmmaker, her body of work stretched over 60 years, and remained vital up until her death last year. Her work predated the French New Wave, but influenced a number of that movement's key characteristics. So it's a great opportunity to celebrate her career with this 15-disc box set, Criterion's biggest (in size) release since their "100 Years of Olympic Films" set. "The Complete Films of Agnès Varda" isn't just a clever name, either. All 39 of her films, from 1955 to 2019, appear in this collection, with two making their first ever appearances in home video. The 2011 documentary series, "Agnès de ci de là Varda", also makes a debut on home video here. It serves no one to rattle off everything in this box set. For me, I'd prefer to start with one of her California films; "Black Panthers" was the one that introduced me to her work, "Lions Love (...and Lies)" is pretty awesome. I'm also looking forward to cracking open the 200+ page book included with this set. The contributors list includes Amy Taubin, Michael Koresky, Ginette Vincendeau, So Mayer, Alexandra Hidalgo, and Rebecca Bengal; a veritable New York Times masthead's worth of critics and writers. If last month's Bruce Lee box set satisfied the heart, this one is a treat for your brain.

August 18

I'd heard of "Town Bloody Hall" long before ever seeing it. I knew it could be read not only an indictment of Norman Mailer as a glib asshole, but also of some of the shortcomings of second-wave feminism. When I finally saw it, I also learned that it was entertaining as hell. Originally shot by D.A. Pennebaker in 1971, it took eight years and the participation of Chris Hegedus to find its narrative and to be released. This first release after Pennebaker's death in 2019 and the first collaboration between the future spouses features a 2K restoration and archival interviews with most of the key participants. There's also Mailer's appearance on "The Dick Cavett Show" in 1971, where he discusses The Prisoner of Sex, his book which led to the town hall. If you have the least interest in how feminism has progressed, or like Pennebaker's or Hegedus's work, or you just want to watch some a dickhead writer get raked over the coals by a quartet of second wavers, this is a must buy.

I never cease to be surprised by the extent of Paul Schrader's body of work. Yeah, I've seen all of his most acclaimed films: "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull", "Hardcore" and "First Reformed". Yet I wasn't at all familiar with 1990's "The Comfort of Strangers" before Criterion announced they were bringing it to Blu-ray this month. So I'm pretty stoked to check out a film starring Natasha Richardson and Christopher Walken, set in Venice, and written by Harold Pinter that I've never seen before. Reading the description, it brings to mind "Don't Look Now" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley". I'm not saying those have anything in common with this, only that that's where my brain went. "Comfort" gets a 4K restoration, overseen by DP Dante Spinotti, as well as new interviews with Spinotti, Schrader, and Walken. I feel like this is one of those "judge a book by its cover" situations. For me, the cover looks super interesting.

August 25

I really thought that the largest portion of Jean Renoir's work was already available via Criterion. So it was a double surprise not only that 1935's "Toni" wasn't already available, and that only about half of his catalog was available through Criterion. It's been years since I initially saw it, and I remember it having an impact on me with its story and cinematography. Wes Anderson calls it a great influence, and the film presages what would come in both Italian neorealism and the French New Wave. "Toni" gets a 4K restoration that was screened to great acclaim in 2019 at Cannes, as well as some great archival material featuring Renoir and his cast. There's also a fresh translation and a new video essay from critic Christopher Faulkner, who pops up regularly on Criterion releases and is always watchable. If you're into pre-war cinema, this looks like a great pickup.

And that's the lineup for August. If you couldn't tell already, I'm all onboard for the Varda box set...provided, of course, I can come up with the bread for it. I'd be remiss to not point out that Barnes & Noble is hip deep in a 50% off sale that ends August 2nd. I've spent a fair amount of money there this month, picking up last month's "Lady Eve" reissue, "Stalker", and a number of other titles that have been on my list for a while. Will I lay low until September? Maybe...but I doubt it.