My calendar says it's summer in North America, so you know what that means? Yes, the Criterion Collection is getting us ready for spooky season in October!
We must begin with esteemed Canadian auteur David Cronenberg's Videodrome, which still gives me nightmares whenever I see a videocassette in close proximity to a man's stomach. Now imagine the unrated version in 4K. (I'll let that thought sink in.) Two audio commentaries are included, among other special features.
Criterion has been focusing on transferring their collection into 4K, and so we can also look forward to seeing Nicolas Roeg's troubling, transfixing Don't Look Now in 4K, starring Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland at the peak of their youthful powers. The month will also see the release of Alejandro Amenábar's The Others (2001), starring Nicole Kidman, giving another shattering performance in a film that still unnerves. I suspect it will unnerve even more so in 4K, given the abundance of dark shadows and 4K's ability to make the night look even darker.
Nikyatu Jusu's Nanny, one of the better films that emerged last year, is coming to Blu-ray, featuring a new 4K master. Anna Diop stars in a film that gradually gets more unsettling and affecting. Certainly it deserves to be seen by a wider audience.
Director Tod Browning helped to define the early days of horror cinema with his feature films, so Freaks / The Unknown / The Mystic: Tod Browning's Sideshow Shockers provides an essential foundation stone for anyone fascinated by horror, then and now. I've seen Freaks, but not The Unknown, and The Mystic is described as a rarity, so this package sounds like a good place to start for fans both old and new. A slew of special edition features are included on the two-disc collector's set, available on Blu-ray or DVD.
Learn more and place orders at the official Criterion Collection site.