Criterion in December 2017: ELECTION, Olympic Films, and Docs

For the holiday season this year, the Criterion Collection is offering an unusual mixture of films.

Alexander Payne's Election is the outstanding narrative film among the bunch; this edition features a restored 4K digital transfer, as well as new interviews with Payne and Reese Witherspoon.

Documentaries will also demand attention. Barbet Schroeder's General Idi Amin Dada: A Self-Portrait dates back to 1974. It's described as "an unsettling encounter with the murderous, charismatic Ugandan dictator." Criterion's edition features a new, restored 2K digital transfer; the film will be available on Blu-ray for the first time.

A trio of music docs are gathered together in the box set The Complete Monterey Pop Festival. That will include D. A. Pennebaker's concert films Monterey Pop, in a new 4K digital restoration; Jimi Plays Monterey, and Shake! Otis at Monterey. As you'd expect, new supplements and "every available complete performance filmed by Pennebaker and his crew" will be found inside the box.

For those with a more generous allowance, 100 Years of Olympic Films: 1912-2012 showcases 53 (?!) films "from a century of Olympic Games presented together for the first time, as well as a lavishly illustrated, 216-page book." My! That might just keep you occupied for the next four years.

Visit the official Criterion Collection site for more information and to place your orders and/or dream a little Blu-ray dream.