I know I should be more excited to get my hands on these newly announced Blu-ray editions of Cronenberg‘s Naked Lunch, Alex Cox‘s Repo Man and Richard III by Olivier but damn if I’m not super excited to discover what this Pierre Etaix boxed set is all about. I mean, we’ve all seen him acting in films like Le Havre, Micmacs and Henry & June but how many of us have ever had the opportunity to sit down with his own films to see what they’re are all about? I’ve never seen a one and now, thanks to Criterion, we’ll all have a chance to screen his entire filmography. This is amazing! This is why I love this company. Not only do they go the distance to bring these films to North American home video, but they package them all together in one boxed set. I can’t wait!
RICHARD III
(April 9, 2013 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 1.66:1 1080p
Audio: uncompressed monaural soundtrack
Special Features:
- New high-definition digital master of the Film Foundation’s 2012 restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Audio commentary by playwright and stage director Russell Lees and John Wilders, former governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company
- Interview with actor Laurence Olivier from a 1966 episode of the BBC series Great Acting, hosted by theater critic Kenneth Tynan
- Gallery of behind-the-scenes and production stills and posters, accompanied by excerpts from Olivier’s autobiography, On Acting
- Twelve-minute television trailer featuring footage of Olivier, producer Alexander Korda, and other cast and crew from the film
- Trailer
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Amy Taubin in the Blu-ray edition
NAKED LUNCH
(April 9, 2013 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 1.78:1 1080p
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio
Special Features:
- High-definition digital transfer, approved by director David Cronenberg, with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- Audio commentary featuring Cronenberg and actor Peter Weller
- Naked Making Lunch, a 1992 documentary by Chris Rodley about the making of the film
- Special effects gallery, featuring artwork and photos alongside an essay by film writer Jody Duncan
- Collection of original marketing materials
- Audio recording of William S. Burroughs reading from his novel Naked Lunch
- Gallery of photos taken by poet Allen Ginsberg of Burroughs
- PLUS: A booklet featuring reprinted pieces by film critic Janet Maslin, critic and novelist Gary Indiana, filmmaker and writer Chris Rodley, and Burroughs
GATE OF HELL
(April 9, 2013 – MSRP $29.95)
Video: 1.37:1 1080p
Audio: uncompressed monaural
Special Features:
- New digital master of the 2011 2K restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- New English subtitle translation
- PLUS: An essay by film historian Stephen Prince
REPO MAN
(April 16, 2013 – MSRP $39.95)
Video: 1.78:1 1080p
Audio: uncompressed monaural
Special Features:
- New, restored 2K digital transfer, approved by director Alex Cox, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Audio commentary featuring Cox, executive producer Michael Nesmith, casting director Victoria Thomas, and actors Sy Richardson, Zander Schloss, and Del Zamora
- New interviews with musicians Iggy Pop and Keith Morris and actors Dick Rude, Olivia Barash, and Miguel Sandoval
- Deleted scenes and trailers
- Roundtable discussion about the making of the film, featuring Cox, producers Peter McCarthy and Jonathan Wacks, Zamora, Richardson, and Rude
- Conversation between actor Harry Dean Stanton and McCarthy
- Cox’s “cleaned-up” television version of the film
- Trailers
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Sam McPheeters, an illustrated production history by Cox, and a 1987 interview with real-life repo man Mark Lewis
PIERRE ETAIX
(April 23, 2013 – MSRP $59.95)
Video: 1.66:1 1080p
Audio: uncompressed monaural
Special Features:
- New digital restorations of all five features and three short films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks
- New interview with director Pierre Etaix
- New video introductions by Etaix to seven of the films
- Pierre Etaix, un destin animé (2010), a portrait of the life and work of the director by his wife, Odile Etaix
- New English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic David Cairns
