The Criterion Collection In July

From "Raging Bull" (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

A bit tardy to the party this month, I suppose. But it's all good, as the folks at Barnes & Noble are still running their 50% off Criterion sale right now, and the last of July's releases have just come out. So, you know, get some cheap new Blu-rays and UHDs. And there are some good ones coming to market in July, including a couple of reissues in new formats, the best film of the 70s (don't @ me), and one of the best movies of 2021.

July 5

I remember being really stoked on Bong Joon Ho's follow-up to "Snowpiercer", 2017s "Okja", when it was announced. His second English language feature, with Tilda Swinton opposing the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal and Paul Dano, all with An Seo Hyun and a genetically modified superpig caught in the middle.

Pretty high concept, no? But then I went and never finished the movie. Life very much got in the way, not to mention that my days of watching movies solo have run out. So I still have about an hour left to watch.

I suppose the excuses have run thin, with this finally coming to home video after a long, exclusive run on Netflix. You get your choice of UHD/Blu-ray combo pack, Blu-ray, or DVD. And what comes with it? Bong oversaw a 4K digital master of the print, and supervised the Dolby Atmos soundtrack on both the UHD and Blu-ray. While it's missing a director's commentary, this release does provide new interviews between Bong and producer Dooho Choi, as well as a one-on-one featuring lead actor An and supporting actor Byun Hee Bong. Especially in the context of coming between "Snowpiercer" and Academy Award winner "Parasite", we're primed for a closer look at "Okja". I'm ready for it.

"The Virgin Suicides" was Sofia Coppola's debut in 1999. It got the Criterion treatment in 2018 with a lovely Blu-ray and DVD release. However, if you've been holding out for an ultra high definition release, then wait no further. Criterion now has issued a 4K UHD/Blu-ray combo pack, featuring the same great 4K digital restoration in gleaming 4K for that super expensive curved TV you watch all your movies on. Right, you got money, right? Can I have a loan? A gift?

Anyway, you get a bunch of extras, including a making-of documentary from Coppola's mother Eleanor, the "Playground Love" video directed by Coppola, and one of Coppola's earlier short films. Truth be told, this isn't a must have for me; I'm not a huge fan of "Suicides". But if it means we might see a "Lost In Translation" or "Bling Ring" Criterion release, then I'm all for this.

July 12

Dude, it's "Raging Bull". Do I really need to spell out why you, a fan not only of film but of physical media, need to own this? It's the firs time this has come out as a UHD (also featuing a Blu-ray in the combo pack). It's not just one of Scorsese's many master works; it's arguably the best film of the 70s, and one of the greatest films of all time. It's a movie that I can watch time and time again and discover something new about, whether it's a newly-discovered influence in the cinematography that leads me off on a new dive into, say, Russian cinema, or reveling in something previously unnoticed in the performances of Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, and Joe Pesci. I'm not going to whip out my DVD copy from the "Scorsese Collection" to compare extras. I'm just going to buy a combo pack and watch it again.

The second reissue of July is David Lean's "Summertime", starring Katherine Hepburn as an American tourist in Italy who falls in love with a native shop owner. Criterion originally released this on DVD all the way back in 1998, so the re-release, featuring a great new cover by Lauren Tamaki, is long overdue. Criterion has performed a 4K restoration on this classic, a more intimate affair compared to the sprawling Lean epics that followed in the coming years. Also new to this edition: an interview with historian Melanie Williams. She literally wrote the book on David Lean back in 2014.

A nice little bonus appears on the secondary market when Criterion releases one of these revised editions. The earlier versions suddenly become a lot cheaper to acquire, giving us, the viewer, a chance to check out something like this at a really low price. So, whether you cop this new version, or hunt down a $5 copy on eBay, check this one out.

July 19

I don't have anything clever to say about "Drive My Car", Ryusuke Hamaguchi 2021 masterwork, nominee for Best Picture at last year's Academy Awards, and generally regarded as a mighty fine film. I have yet to watch the film; I fully admit that I'm a bit intimidated by the three hour run time (no explosions? no boobs? NO!). And I've been shying away from subtitled films recently; the unfortunate outcome from eye strain bordering on farsightedness. I just haven't been able to hang with the idea of watching a 180 minute adaptation of Haruki Murakami stories. It's a failing; I acknoledge it.

You get a director's approved special edition when you pick up your copy of "Drive My Car". Hamaguchi signed off on a 2K digital master (sadly, a UHD wasn't released initially), and contributed an exclusive interview as a bonus. There's also a making-of featurette, press coverage from Cannes 2021, and a new English language SDH translation. You can probably tell this isn't at the top of my list, but I anticipate that, for those of us who still buy physical media, I'm probably in the minority.

Last, but certainly not least in July, comes the second Criterion/Denzel Washington release of 2022: 1995's "Devil In A Blue Dress", directed by Carl Franklin. I didn't appreciate it during its initial run, but "Devil" is one of my favorite neo-noirs of the past 40 years, a film that's up there with "The Nice Guys", "Blood Simple", and "Bound" in my rolls. Denzil's portrayal of Easy Rawlins has had me tracking down Walter Mosley paperbacks regularly over time; the cast also includes an iconic Don Cheadle role, as well as standout work by Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, and Maury Chaykin. It also has a killer Elmer Bernstein score, and a soundtrack populated with 40s jump blues, R&B, and bop.

Franklin approved this special edition, which replaces Twilight Time's 2015 Blu-ray release. There are a ton of new features, from the new 4K restoration and sound mix, to new interviews with Franklin, Mosley, and Cheadle, to Cheadle's screen test. And I might be mistaken, but it sure looks to me like Carver Center graduate, Ziggy Sobotka himself, James Ransome contributed the cover. Cool as hell.

From "Okja" (Bong Joon Ho, 2017)

I cannot tell a lie; it was with some relief that I viewed July's release lineup, especially after a jam-packed last few months of Criterion releases. Sure, I could save some bread getting these now via Barnes & Noble, but the titles I'd typically buy Day 1 ("Raging Bull", "Devil In A Blue Dress") are ones that I already own in previous editions. There's a nice little gap of three weeks between "Devil" and "Drive"s releases, and the first August drops. It's a perfect time to stack some paper and get excited for an early Safdie Brothers film, a cult favorite from a longtime Safdie collaborator, a pair of French and Mexican cinematic luminaries, and an all-time classic from the late, great Sidney Poitier. I may even be back to preview them ahead of the first of August. Watch this space to find out!

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!

The Criterion Collection in November

From "The Irishman" (Martin Scorsese, 2019)

I've been thinking a lot about the long-time effects of COVID-19 on film exhibition. I know, I know; me and everyone else. I'm really not sure it'll have any effect on my own viewing habits. There's only been a small handful of movies I've had to see in in a theatre in the past five years. Even movies like the last two "Avengers" releases or the last two "Star Wars" films, movies that, in my 20s and 30s, I would have broken my neck to see opening night, have been easy to wait out for a home video release. What I'd love to see is for programming to become less corporatized. I think it'd be good for theatres to become home for the best of the best. Let all but the most cinematic end up on a streaming platform. Save the movie theatre experience for the likes of a "Parasite", a revival of "The Godfather", for any of this month's Criterion releases. That would get me back into a theatre, mask and all.

November 10

There's an off week between the release of "Parasite" and the first release in November. So, you'll have plenty of time to dive into the extras on that "Parasite" set, to watch the black & white version as well as the color release, and to revisit the Bong Joon Ho filmography. Go on, get it out of your system. It's good for you.

This week's release has me asking, "Why don't I know about Claudia Weill?" To be fair, there weren't a lot of teachers repping women in cinema when I went to school 20 years ago, and Weill's filmography is a lot less extensive than, say, a Tamra Davis or an Ida Lupino. But her two features, 1978's "Girlfriends" and 1980's "It's My Turn", are still well regarded, if underseen, and her story and direction on the former earned her admission to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. It set a blueprint for making independent film, utilizing grants from both the NEA and the AFI to get made over the course of nearly three years. It was named to the National Film Registry in 2019. So, yeah, it's a work worth knowing.

Weill sat with director of photography Fred Murphy to supervise the 4K digital transfer and restoration of this indie classic, presented here for the first time. There are also two early short films by Weill on the disc, dating from 1970 and 1972. The cast and crew interviews look pretty great as well. There's a one on one between Weill and Joey Soloway ("Transparent", "Six Feet Under"), as well as a separate interview with the Criterion team. There's also an interview with screenwriter Vicki Polon, who worked with Weill to shape her story into the script. And there's a feature on the cast, with lead Melanie Mayron, Bob Balaban, and Christopher Guest all dropping in to talk about the movie. It's a great chance to discover something new.

November 17

I'll be honest (not that I've been lying until now): it's been a minute since I last saw "Moonstruck". It's odd, because Mrs. Ape and I have been slowly going through a lot of the romantic comedies from the 80s that one or both of us haven't seen, and while we've both seen it, this seems like something we'd come across and say, "Let's watch Nicolas Cage romance Cher!" We make weird statements in our house.

Anyway, Cher correctly won the Oscar for this role, and the remainder of the cast is top notch: Cage, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello, Vincent Gardinia, John Mahoney. Screenwriter John Patrick Shanley also wrote "Joe Versus the Volcano", another beloved rom-com in our house. While Norman Jewison directed a lot of movies I don't care about, he helmed this, "Send Me No Flowers", and "The Cincinnati Kid", and he's in his mid-90s, so, you know, mazel tov!

There are a ton of repeat features on this release. I see ones in common with the MGM DVD that's floating around my apartment somewhere. The real draw, in addition to the 4K digital scan, are a new interview with Shanley, an essay by Vox's Emily VanDerWerff, and a feature on the role of opera in the film with NYU professor Stefano Albertini. If you haven't seen this before, or don't own a copy, you should check it out. 

Well, Criterion's back with a new Jim Jarmusch release, and it's 1999's "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai". His seventh feature was a go-to as we were coming down from boozing in my early 20s. Forest Whitaker is so cool as the ronin in a Mafia world. The RZA score is probably the most-underappreciated Wu-related release from the last millenium. And it's one of the last pre-Guiliani, pre-9/11, street level NYC movies; the city is such a great character in the film. A speaking of character: it's one of the last roles for Henry Silva, one of the greats of Euro crime.

I'm really glad to see this get the Criterion treatment; I haven't thought to watch it in about 10 years, so when it was announced, I was like, "YEAH!" Jarmusch oversaw the 4K restoration here; the Blu-ray even gets a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio refurbishment, which should sound dope on a decent soundsystem. RZA's score gets its own isolated audio track, a feature that isn't nearly as prevalent as it should be, as well as a video essay. Whitaker and Jarmusch regular Isaach De Bankolé also sit for a conversation with Michael B. Gillespie. This looks like no worse than the second-best crime movie to release via Criterion this month.

November 24

I have a few mixed feelings about the "Essential Fellini" set coming out here. On one hand, I already own the Fellini films I love. On the other...damn, what a way to celebrate the master's 100th birthday! It's 14 of his 27 films, from his 1950 debut of "Variety Lights" all the way to his penultimate film, 1987's "Intervista". Two of these have never been issued by Criterion before ("Intervista" and 1957's "Il bidone"), and a number of these had not been restored before this release.

The extras are where this set gets wild. His portion of the anthology film "Spirits of the Dead", "Toby Dammit", and his 1969 documentary for NBC, "Fellini: A Director's Notebook", both receive full restorations. There are sooooo many documentaries; I count nine, only one of which I've ever seen available on video. There's also a "La dolce vita"-era feature on Fellini that originally aired on Belgian TV. There's a metric fuck ton of archival material, video essays, trailers, commentaries: the whole nine yards, the whole ball of wax. Apparently, there are also TWO BOOKS in this thing, chock full of images and essays by smarter people than I. The set isn't as comprehensive as the "AK 100" set from a few years back, but it is the sort of thing I'll have no shame in requesting for Christmas.

I was dubious about "The Irishman" when it came out last year. A 3+ hour gangster opus from a beloved director whose last movie I enjoyed came out 15 years before, featuring the kinda-creepy de-aging software to make the likes of Pacino, Pesci, Deniro, and Keitel not look old as hell? It was ostensibly about Jimmy Hoffa? It was only going to stream? There's no way it could be good, right?

Here's one of those times I admit I was wrong. I subconsciously pooped on this because I didn't have Netflix when it came out, couldn't afford streaming, and thus had to lower the excitement of a Scorsese movie. I finally got around to watching it a few weeks ago, over the course of three days, and I really liked it. It was so good to be able to watch in leisure, and the worries about the integration of the visual effects were really overblown. Shit, truth be told: I really should have been into it because Pesci came back for it.

But do I need to own it? That's the $40 question. I suppose it's going to come down to how much I want to listen to Martin Scorsese discuss his craft. I really enjoyed the actor roundtable that's streaming on Netflix; I'm curious to see how that's been recut for this physical release. "The Evolution of Digital De-Aging" also looks like the kind of thing that would make this worth a purchase for me. It's a real toss up; I'm sure I'll end up ordering this, sleep deprived, during a sale in the near future.

In a perfect world, I'd end up preordering all five of these releases. There's so much about each disc that makes me want to dive in. This, however, is an imperfect world, and, hell, we may not even make it to November 10th as a nation. So I'm planning on hedging my bets. I'll let the missus know that I wouldn't mind a copy of "Ghost Dog" for the holidays, while hoping I pull in some bread from eBay and Discogs to cop her that Fellini set. After all, loving couples share things like movies, right? Provided we're still here and the power's on, we're back in thirty to talk up some Cronenberg, some Iñárritu, and reissues from Bresson and Greaves. Get stoked!

From "Juliet of the Spirits" (Federico Fellini, 1965)

The Criterion Collection in September

John Merrick: Not an animal

I'm watching "Life of Brian" again, maybe for the 10th time, and I start thinking about the duality between comfort and interest. I've watched each of the Monty Python films at least 10 times each (surprise!), yet there remains a long list of well-regarded movies I want to see, yet haven't. And it's not, like, "The Irishman" or "Parasite" or something that's released in the past 12 months that I might have limited access to. It's shit like "On the Waterfront", "Sunset Blvd.", "The Grapes of Wrath"...the films that AFI and Empire and BFI lists are made of. Or, for a more apt example, most of September's Criterion releases. At least I have an appropriate reason to make the time to see them now.

September 8

Let's start off with a pair of reissues for films that I'm already familiar with. I've owned previous Criterion releases of "Brute Force" and "The Naked City" for years now. They helped seal my fandom for the works of Jules Dassin. These, along with "Thieves' Highway" and "Night and the City", make up a quartet of the finest film noir ever released, as well as the last movies Dassin directed before being blacklisted in 1950. Both films rank amongst my top ten favorite crime movies, with the cinematography of William Daniels and Miklós Rózsa's scores being particularly standout. These are primo post-war, naturalist films that I can watch time and again.

But why the reissue? Well, both movies are now available on Blu-ray, with uncompressed soundtracks, 4K scans and restorations courtesy of the folks at Germany's TLEFilms FIlm Restoration & Preservation Services. This gives them the visual and audio edge over the previous Region B Arrow Academy releases. Even the DVDs get some sprucing up, with fresh high-definition transfers.

I would imagine, at the very least, that Criterion will also be providing "Thieves' Highway" with the same restoration treatment, hopefully next year. It would be an excellent capper on a restoration cycle of Dassin's film noirs that began in 2015 with the reissued "Night and the City".

September 15

I've started familiarizing myself with Claire Denis's work since getting blown away by "High Life" last year. I've been slowly watching her work, via everything from laserdiscs to streaming, and really digging what I've seen so far. What's really grabbed me about her body of work is that she focuses as much on the Mise-en-scène as she does the story and character. There's a great balance present that most directors are not able to find. She also works a lot with the theme of colonialism, something I find very interesting at present, due in part to the ongoing decay of the American Empire.

So 1999's "Beau travail" ("Good Work") is one of Denis's most acclaimed films, and one I haven't seen yet, so I guess it's good it's releasing the day after my birthday. A loose adaptation of Melville's Billy Budd, it transports the setting to modern-day Djibouti, and the characters from sailors to members of the French Foreign Legion. Denis's long-time collaborator, cinematographer Agnès Godard, oversaw the 4K scan and restoration for this release, which had previously only been available in North America via a 2002 DVD release from New Yorker Video. Also included are a conversation between Denis and director Barry Jenkins ("Moonlight") and the usual mix of interviews, trailers, and essays. I'm looking forward to finally seeing this.

September 22

I've never been exposed to the films of Francesco Rosi, the Italian director. But I've been digging into Italian film more during the pandemic, thanks in part to the occasional pickup from RaroVideo USA and having found a box of Mrs. Ape's foreign DVDs. I suppose I'm more open now than ever before to watching an almost four-hour film about rural Italy set in the years proceeding World War II.

"Christ Stopped at Eboli" ("Cristo si è fermato a Eboli") was originally made for and released on Italian state television in 1979. A northern anti-fascist artist is banished by Mussolini's government to one of the southern-most regions of Italy, Basilicata. Worlds collide as he encounters peasantry for the first time, leading him to embrace his medical education to aid his fellow villagers. "Christ Stopped at Eboli" makes its debut on Blu-ray with this Criterion release; it's also the first time it's been available as the uncut television version. There are some cool period extras featuring Rosi, who died in 2015, as well as a 2K scan and restoration and a fresh new English translation. This may not be something I immediately go out and buy, but I've now seen and read enough about it to be intrigued.

September 29

One of the best parts about these write ups each month is the ability to say, "I know NOTHING about this release, but it seems pretty cool." I know critics love to flex on their knowledge of everything and anything; I can dispense completely with that and just get into the joy of discovery. That's why I'm excited for the third volume of Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project. The previous volumes have opened me up to so many different eras of non-hegemonic filmmaking; I'd never have walked into a theatre to see one of these, but the double recommendation of Scorsese and Criterion is enough to pique my curiosity.

This release is a mix of fascinating Third World cinema, with releases from Cuba, Iran, Mexico, Mauritius, Brazil, and Indonesia. I'm particularly interested to check out "Lucía" (1968, Humberto Solás); its three storylines following women named Lucia through periods of Cuban upheaval sounds enthralling, and my limited exposure to post-revolution filmmaking in Cuba has always been enjoyable.

This set contains six DVDs and three Blu-rays, featuring 4K scans and restorations of each film. Scorsese introduces each film; these have always been really cool, providing insight as to why Marty reps each film and where they influenced him. Additionally, there's a documentary about "Lucía", featuring interviews with the director, his cast, and crew, as well as multiple interviews and essays.

Let's end September with a confession. I've never seen "The Elephant Man". I'll let that sink in.

I really don't even want to admit it. It's not like I don't like David Lynch. It's not like I'm not totally familiar with it. It's not like I haven't had 40 years to see it. But it's like I said at the beginning; there's opposition between comfort and interest. Yes, I totally could have seen "The Elephant Man" by now, but I probably just watched "Porky's" or "Dune" instead.

I suppose I'll rectify that omission now. Criterion's done a bang-up job with its Lynch issues over the past few years ("Blue Velvet" being a personal fav), so I expect this Lynch-approved 4K restoration will look amazing. Lynch and co-author Kristine McKenna also read from a portion of the 2018 memoir Room to Dream. There are a number of archival materials available, as well as trailers and radio spots for the initial release of the film. Finally, the addition of a 1886 letter to the editor of the London Times regarding John Merrick is the nice lil cherry on top.

"The Elephant Man" is my must have from September. The Dassin reissues can wait until a sale, or would make a most excellent gift. It's for the best that I can wait a bit on these, as the October lineup looks to be all must-haves. See us here in 30 for more Criterion.

The Criterion Collection in May

Look: if I have to explain, in 2020, what the Criterion Collection is, you probably don't care about Blu-rays and DVDs. So I won't be offended if you toddle off, looking for some out-of-print music to download. Enjoy!

For those of you sticking around, here's what Criterion has coming in May. I've had mixed feelings about the 2020 lineup so far: my copy of The Grand Budapest Hotel is en route as I write this, and I'm planning on surprising Mrs. Ape with a copy of Leave Her to Heaven for her half birthday. But (and I know this is such a quibbling complaint) there really hasn't been any title released this year that's knocked me on my ass...until May.

May 5

May kicks off with a Blu-ray reissue of the 2006 "Six Moral Tales" box set, featuring the six short and feature-length films in the cycle by the French director Éric Rohmer. It looks like we get 2K remasters of each film, along with the extras that came in the DVD box set: interviews, essays, trailers, and short films.
My expertise on the French New Wave is - well, let's just say I'm familiar with everyone's name, but I'm not really keyed in on everyone's oeuvre. I've been trying to broaden my viewing a lot over the past couple of years, but I'd still prefer to watch someone like Truffaut or Godard take on a genre film than tackle a film like Claire's Knee. This is the perfect example of something I'll pick up used in the future; I recognize the gap in my film viewing, and I know this is important, but I can't be talked into picking it up at full price or right away.
May 12

NOW we're cooking. The Great Escape is one of my earliest movie memories; I'm pretty certain that I watched it with my granddad when I was still a toddler, because I've been aware of the motorcycle chase for most of my life. It has such iconic moments and characters, not the least of which is Steve McQueen as "the Cooler King". There are three hour movies that feel like six, and there are three hour movies that feel like 90 minutes. This is the latter. The pacing is so strong, and the performances by the cast so engaging, you never really feel a drag in the film. It's occurring to me that I've never watched this on anything other than a CRT TV, so I'm really excited to see Daniel Fapp's photography shine in widescreen. And the cast: it's such a strong lineup that James Coburn gets billed seventh.
So, whadaya get on this Criterion Edition? How about a 4K restoration of the print, which I think has only been seen at 2019's 75th anniversary screening in London? There's two separate audio tracks on the Blu-ray: an uncompressed mono track, and a DTS-HD 5.1 mix. The commentaries are older, but are still cool, considering how many of the principals are now dead. I'm also jazzed to re-watch "The Great Escape": Heroes Under Ground, because who doesn't love a good stalag escape story from real life?
Oh, and Elmer Bernstein's theme song? Try not to whistle this:

Finish the whole package off with a fantastic Sean Phillips cover, and we have a quintessential Criterion release.
May 19

The third week in May gets a pair of new releases. First up is the debut film from Paul Dano, 2018's Wildlife. I've been racking my brain, trying to figure out why Mrs. Ape & I haven't seen this yet. I probably has everything to do with this being the first home media release of this movie. Everything I've read so far about this makes it seem like a throwback to 1950's style melodrama. I could watch Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan read the phonebook, so I'm willing to give it a go.
This comes with a 2K digital master on the original print, with a DTS-HD 5.1 mix on the Blu-ray audio. I'm probably most interested in hearing Paul Dano share his thoughts on production, editing, and release via the various interviews and conversations contained on the disc. Like the Rohmer box, this isn't something I need to own right away. But it IS something I'll check out from the library once it reopens.

Dance, Girl, Dance is a movie I just kinda tripped over in the past twelve months. I'm always on the lookout for classic Hollywood DVDs when I hit up a thrift store, and I knew nothing about this other than the cast when I found it for $3 at a Goodwill last year. Then I watched it, and discovered this really amazing proto-feminist musical melodrama. It got me reading about director Dorothy Arzner, one of the first successful American female directors. Here's this queer woman, making movies dating back to the silent era, and making money for the studios she works for. But post-Hays Code, she makes two movies and retires with her partner to Palm Springs. It's very sad, yet super fascinating to me.
At first glance, the extras seem a little spare on this reissue. There's a 4K transfer on this release, which tells me it's going to look a lot better than the 2007 Warner Bros. DVD release. There's also an new interview with Francis Ford Coppola included. I'd have liked to see some commentary recorded, helping to place Dance, Girl, Dance within the context of female filmmaking. But, hey, you can't have it all.
May 26

It feels weird to realize that it's been six years since Criterion's last John Cassavetes release (Love Streams, for those of you scoring at home). The "Five Films" box set was the first Criterion release I preordered, and I just assumed that they'd already released the balance of his work. Yet here we are, with the release of Cassevetes' 1970 dramedy, Husbands. I don't remember watching this in class, per se, but I do remember watching it for the first time in college. I'm excited to check this out again, as I'm sure a film about three middle-aged men coming to terms with their mortality for the first time will probably have more of an impact now than it did in my 20s.
There are some cool extras on the release. The commentary and making-of featurette carry over from the 2009 SPHE release, but there are also new interviews with cast and crew members, as a "video essay" featuring audio from Cassavetes talking about directing. Pretty cool. For fans of awkward promotional appearances, there's also a circa 1970 episode of The Dick Cavett Show featuring John Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara, and Peter Falk, all liquored up and giving Dick the business. HIGH-larious.

I was curious, when Criterion acquired the home video rights for The Irishman, what other Scorsese titles might end up getting the Criterion treatment. The 2018 release of The Age of Innocence, while I thought it was a super weird title to add, led me to revisit it for the first time since its theatrical release, and the digital transfer looks incredible. So I'm very curious about the release of Scorsese Shorts, a collection of five short films by the master. It's super cool to have these collected in one place for the first time. There's a pair of student films, his Vietnam War short film "The Big Shave", and a pair of documentaries that I've only ever seen available on VHS. I'm also keen to watch the discussion between the Safdie Brothers and Ari Asher, a group of filmmakers with obvious Scorsese influences who have put out masterworks in the past 12 months.

Here's the part where I say, "visit your local retail outlet for fine media products to pick these up", but who the hell knows when we're all going to be allowed to get out of the house. Instead, go ahead and visit the good folks at www.criterion.com, and cut out the middle man. I'm pretty certain that if you order $50 worth of stuff, it ships for free, and ALL movies are currently 30% off SRP for the month of May. So treat yourself.