The Criterion Collection in January

From "Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese" (Martin Scorsese, 2019)

I really didn't think we'd make it. Yet here we are, on the cusp of a new year, with a new slate of Criterion releases to consider. The list of Q1 2021 releases is pretty solid so far, heavy on debuts, with a few reissues salted in. I'm not sure if I'm going to end up broke yet, but I'm really hoping this is the year that I get on the promo list (hint, hint).

January 5

Let's start the new year off with something really iconoclastic. The Criterion Collection has always provided a video home here in the States for Spanish/Mexican provocateur Luis Buñuel. I have laserdiscs of "Belle de jour" and "That Obscure Object of Desire" dating back to the 90s, and Criterion has released nine of the master's films on DVD over the years. Only a couple, though, have received Blu-ray releases until now. So it's pretty cool that Buñuel's last three films are being collected on Blu-ray as "Three Films by Luis Buñuel", a most apt title.

The three-disc set compiles hi-definition transfers of 1972s "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie", 1974s "The Phantom of Liberty", and "That Obscure Object of Desire" from 1977. All three are absurd and political and brutal and really fucking funny, even in a language that isn't native to me. "Discreet Charm" won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Feature in 1973; Buñuel put down the honor, saying it was based on the judgement of "2,500 idiots, including...the assistant dress designer." Pretty tough stuff. In addition to the films, there are a number of new bonus features that didn't appear or exist when Criterion released the DVD counterparts 20 years ago. The featurette on Carole Bouquet and Angela Molina, who both portrayed Conchita in "That Obscure Object of Desire", looks most interesting to me. I may not immediately run out to replace my DVDs, but it's on my short list of cool box sets to keep an eye out for.

January 12

I really got into "Minding The Gap" when we finally regained internet access and a good bud passed me his Hulu password last year. This story of three skateboarding friends, growing up in an Illinois city just shy of the Wisconsin border, really resonated with me. I grew up in a similar place, doing the same kind of shit, finding release and purpose in punk rock. That it spun out of director Bing Liu just shooting he and his friends for fun years ago only added to the appeal; this small thing finding purchase and reaching an audience when it was initially only intended for fucking around. It all reminds me a lot of "Hoop Dreams", following these subjects over the course of a decade through some good times and a lot of shit times. I'm really glad to see this finally get a home release, especially with the wealth of supplemental material added. Liu, along with his co-stars/friends Keire and Zach, provide what I expect to be a really good commentary track. There are featurettes with Liu's producers, as well as Tony Hawk (the Ian MacKaye of skateboard docs), as well as one of Liu's short films. It'll be great to dive further into this one in the coming months.

January 19

How's this for an understatement? I have a really complicated opinion of Bob Dylan. I suppose that's to be expected of someone who'd already had three distinct career arcs before I was born. There's the Village folkie, the poet superstar, and the re-emerged rocker, all leading up to his "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour in 1975 & 1976. The idea was simple: Dylan had never assembled his own band to tour behind him, so do that and play smaller rooms after the "Dylan & the Band" arena tour of '74. Long-time Dylan cinematographer Howard Alk joined the tour to shoot footage for Dylan's self-directed film "Renaldo & Clara". The initial tour wound down post the release of "Desire", having fizzled out in the second leg. "Renaldo & Clara" came out in 1978 to a wet fart's worth of criticism, and was quickly withdrawn. Yet Dylan still continues the "Rolling Thunder Revue", 3,000+ shows and 40 years on.

Like "Minding the Gap", "Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story" debuted on streaming (via Netflix). Unlike "Minding the Gap", Martin Scorsese was given charge to take 40+ year old footage from the tour and turn it into another of his music documentaries. What came out is rightfully described as a magic trick, blending the archival with the modern, along with a fair amount of that ol' Zimmerman mischief. It's crazy, the people who pop up throughout the film: Patti Smith, Ronnie Hawkins, Joan Baez, Sam Shepard, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Roger McGuinn. Everything is underpinned by Allen Ginsberg. It's a wild document. If you're buying this, instead of just streaming it, it's probably for the DTS-HD Master Audio mix on the Blu-ray, the additional concert footage, and/or the interviews with Scorsese, David Tedeschi, and Ratso Sloman. I always thought this was the real beginning of Dylan's "head-up-his-ass" period that only came to an end with "Time Out of Mind", but I guess I have a better handle with age and exposure to other art what was going on here.

January 26

Is it fair to call this re-release of "The Ascent" ("Восхождение") a reissue? I've had the Eclipse Series release of "Wings" & "The Ascent" for a hot minute now, but this...this, with its 4K restoration and uncompressed sound and deeper bench of extras...this, I'm going to buy for Day One. Larisa Shepitko was a Ukranian director who made but four features before she died in a car accident in 1979. However, all four are pretty amazing, with "The Ascent" being foremost amongst them. Along with the 2020 reissue of "Come & See", this is not just a great war movie; it's one of the finest examples of Soviet filmmaking, an allegory about betrayal and loyalty and spiritual value. I've only been able to watch it through twice, because even though I love it, it makes me weep the same way I do when I watch "The Passion of Joan of Arc", and I just cannot finish. Included here are Sheptiko's second film, a short called "The Homeland of Electricity", and her spouse's posthumous tribute, "Larisa". If it seems like I'm being overly effusive about this, it's because I am. I don't typically feel that strongly about a film that doesn't include boobs or gore, but this is art, and I cannot recommend it strongly enough. It'll change your life, man.

From "The Ascent" (Larisa Shepitko, 1979)

So it is written; so it shall be. Go forth, preorder "The Ascent". Those are marching orders. We're back in approximately 30 to review February, what with its Warren Beatty and Laura Dern movies and its world cinema. Be there...aloha!