The September releases of Breathless on Blu-Ray and The Thin Red Line on Blu-Ray and DVD aren't so much of a surprise. A high-def Breathless release was inevitable and the Malick title leaked out a while ago. Also, Charade is the sort of classic Hollywood auterist fare that Criterion often deals in. No, the big surprise here is Oshima's Happy Birthday Mr. Lawrence. Both this release and the recent Oshima DVD box indicate that Criterion is seriously intent to digging deeper into the director's filmography. Finally, it would be a mistake not to mention the Eclipse box set of Allan King films. The Canadian director's documentaries have never been readily available in the U.S. so this box should expose his work to an entirely new audience (including this writer).
THE CRITERION COLLECTION 2010 RELEASE CALENDAR (Covers January through September 2010, up-to-date as of July 7, 2010)
(SANSHIRO SUGATA/THE MOST BEAUTIFUL/SANSHIRO SUGATA, PART TWO /THE MEN WHO TREAD ON THE TIGER'S TAIL), 4 DVD BOX, 8/3/10. US & Canada
Yasujiro Ozu, THE ONLY SON/THERE WAS A FATHER: TWO FILMS BY YASUJIRO OZU, 2 DVD BOX, 7/13/2010, US & English speaking Canada
Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, BLACK NARCISSUS, DVD & BD, 7/20/10, US & Canada
Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, THE RED SHOES, DVD & BD, 7/20/10, US & Canada
Abdellatif Kechiche, THE SECRET OF THE GRAIN, DVD & BD, 7/27/10, US Only
Sacha Guitry, ECLIPSE SERIES 22: PRESENTING SACHA GUITRY (THE STORY OF A CHEAT/THE PEARLS OF THE CROWN/DÉSIRÉ/QUADRILLE), 4 DVD BOX, 7/27/2010, US & English speaking Canada
JUNE 2010
Jim Jarmusch, MYSTERY TRAIN, DVD & BD, 6/15/10, US & Canada
Abbas Kiarostami, CLOSE-UP, DVD & BD, 6/22/10, US Only
Michelangelo Antonioni, RED DESERT, DVD & BD, 6/22/10, US & English-speaking Canada,
Carol Reed, NIGHT TRAIN TO MUNICH, DVD & BD, 6/22/10, US & Canada
Jan Troell, EVERLASTING MOMENTS, DVD & BD, 6/29/10, US Only
Luchino Visconti, THE LEOPARD, DVD & BD, 6/29/10, US & Canada
MAY 2010
Stan Brakhage, BY BRAKHAGE: AN ANTHOLOGY, VOLUME TWO, 3 DVD BOX, 5/25/10 US & Canada
Stan Brakhage, BY BRAKHAGE: AN ANTHOLOGY, VOLUMES ONE AND TWO, 3 BD BOX, 5/25/10, US & Canada
Fritz Lang, M, BD, 5/11/10, BD, US Only
John Ford, STAGECOACH, DVD & BD, 5/25/2010, US Only
Nicolas Roeg,WALKABOUT, DVD & BD, 5/18/2010, US & English-speaking Canada
Various, ECLIPSE SERIES 21: OSHIMA'S OUTLAW SIXTIES (PLEASURES OF THE FLESH/VIOLENCE AT NOON/SING A SONG OF SEX /THREE RESURRECTED DRUNKARDS), 5 DVD BOX, 5/18/2010, US & English-speaking Canada