The Criterion Column: April 2010 Releases, Netflix Streaming

The Criterion Collection has announced five new titles for April 2010. The list is the usual mix of vintage and recent films, including Jean-Luc Godard's Vivre Sa Vie, Ang Lee's Ride with the Devil, Sidney Lumet's The Fugitive Kind, and Olivier Assayas' Summer Hours. The full list has been added to the 2010 release calendar, which is featured at the bottom of this post.

In other news, Netflix has added dozens of Criterion titles to their "Watch Instantly" streaming service (United States only). The Criterion Cast site has compiled a list of over 35 titles currently available for streaming on Netflix. In some instances, the streaming titles track or even precede the home video release (Che was streaming before the DVD or Blu-Ray was available) On the downside, these releases don't include the extras that come with the DVDs and Blu-Rays. Also, the highest available resolution for streaming is 720p (called Netflix HD), and Netflix does not identify which of these titles are in HD. Nonetheless, this streaming service provides a convenient way to access some excellent films. 

THE CRITERION COLLECTION 2010 RELEASE CALENDAR (Up-to-date as of 1/22/2010)

JANUARY 2010

Federico Fellini, 8 ½, BD, 1/12/10, US & Canada
Steven Soderbergh, CHE, DVD & BD, 1/19/10, US only
Wim Wenders, PARIS, TEXAS, DVD &  BD, 1/26/10, US & English-speaking Canada
Roberto Rossellini, WAR TRILOGY (ROME OPEN CITY/PAISAN/GERMANY YEAR ZERO), 3 DVD BOX, 1/26/10, US & English-speaking Canada
Chantal Ackerman, ECLIPSE SERIES 19: CHANTAL AKERMAN IN THE SEVENTIES (LA CHAMBRE/JE TU IL ELLE/LES RENDEZ-VOUS D'ANNA) , 3 DVD BOX, 1/19/10, US & English-speaking Canada

FEBRUARY 2010

James Ivory, HOWARDS END, DVD, 2/23/10, US & Canada (DVD) & US only (BD)
Steve McQueen, HUNGER, DVD & BD, 2/16/10, US & Canada (DVD) & US only (BD) 
Max Ophüls, LOLA MONTÈS, DVD & BD, 2/16/10 ,US & English-speaking Canada
Gotz Spielmann, REVANCHE, DVD & BD,2/16/2010,US & English-speaking Canada
Leo McCarey, MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW, 2 DVD SET, 2/23/10, US & Canada
Various,  ECLIPSE SERIES 20: GEORGE BERNARD SHAW ON FILM (MAJOR BARBARA/CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA/ANDROCLES AND THE LION),3 DVD BOX, 2/23/10, US & Canada

MARCH 2010

Marco Ferreri, DILLINGER IS DEAD, DVD, 3/16/10, US & English-speaking Canada
Nicholas Ray, BIGGER THAN LIFE, DVD & BD, 3/23/10, US & Canada
Terence Malick, DAYS OF HEAVEN, BD, 3/23/10, US & Canada
Akira Kurosawa, YOJIMBO & SANJURO, BD &  2 BD BOX, 3/23/10, US & Canada
Pedro Costa, LETTERS FROM FONTAINHAS: THREE FILMS BY PEDRO COSTA (OSSOS/IN VANDA'S ROOM/COLOSSAL YOUTH), 3 DVD BOX, 3/30/10, US & English-speaking Canada

APRIL 2010

Jean-Luc Godard, VIVRE SA VIE, DVD & BD, 4/20/2010, US & English-speaking Canada

Ang Lee, RIDE WITH THE DEVIL, DVD & BD, 4/27/2010, US & Canada

Sidney Lumet, THE FUGITIVE KIND, 2 DVD BOX, 4/27/2010, US & Canada

Olivier Assayas, SUMMER HOURS, DVD & BD, 4/20/2010, US only

Various, ESSENTIAL ARTHOUSE COLLECTION VOL. 5 (BRIEF ENCOUNTER/8 1/2/FLOATING WEEDS/JULES AND JIM/KAPÒ), INDIVIDUAL DVDS & 5 DVD BOX, 4/13/2010, US only