Criterion in July 2024: FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE and PERFECT DAYS Coming Soon

Before we get to the 50th anniversary release of Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid -- in 4K, no less -- let's first celebrate Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine, his 1993 classic that has now received a 4K restoration, which played at the Toronto fest last fall.

That's a very good thing. Reviewing a 2016 Blu-ray release, our own James Marsh commented that the film "remains a sumptuous cinematic experience." However, "what the film desperately needs is a brand new 2K or 4K transfer, in order to truly bring the film's radiant colour palette to life. Here the image is too often soft and muted, when it should be leaping off the screen." Here's hoping that the new Criterion release will meet that challenge.

It's all part of the Criterion Collection's July 2024 slate. As is its wont, Criterion has been releasing more recent films, and July will see the release of Perfect Days, which moved our own Zach Gayne to write: "Wim Wenders, whose Palme d'Or winning Wings of Desire helped define a cinematic poetry of observation, returns to the same profound territory in his latest and possibly most spiritually satisfying ode to perspective and the power of connectivity to date."

I know less about Black God, White Devil (1964) by Glauber Rocha, described by Criterion as "the father of Brazil's socially committed Cinema Novo movement." The Blu-ray features a new 4K digital restoration.

Le samourai (1967), on the other hand, I have seen (on a DVD that I intend to upgrade). Jean-Pierre Melville's classic gets a fresh 4K restoration with multiple extras. Alain Delon stars as "a contract killer with samurai instincts,' as Criterion says.

Nowadays, Risky Business (1983) may be best known for Tom Cruise dancing in his underwear in one memorable scene, but I absolutely adore the Tangerine Dream music and Paul Brickman's superb direction of his own script, which elevated the 'coming of age' teen flick far beyond its narrative constraints. It has also received a 4K restoration, of both the release version and the director's cut. Here's hoping that all those nighttime scene truly pop in 4K.

On a similar note, we conclude with news on Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), which always felt confused and rambling to me, but maybe because I never saw the final preview cut or the 50th Anniversary release cut, both of which are included along with the original theatrical release.

Read more about the releases and make purchase decisions at the official Criterion site.