Criterion has announced its upcoming November 2013 titles and they include some highly coveted films, one of 2013’s better films, an impressive box set and their new dual-format DVD/Blu-ray releases.
To begin, it was a little bit of a shock to see they have abandoned releasing both DVD and Blu-ray versions of their film and instead will now release DVD/Blu-ray, dual-format editions. Note here it says dual format “editions”, not “discs”, which leads me to believe most releases will include both a DVD and Blu-ray disc. Consider in today’s announcement the 27-disc box set of the Zatoichi films. This consists of nine Blu-ray discs and 18 DVD discs. On top of that Criterion confirms features will be available for on both DVD and Blu-ray formats.
As far as this months titles are concerned, I’ll begin with the upgraded Blu-ray release of Yasujiro Ozu‘s Tokyo Story, which was the December 2012 selection for the currently dormant RopeofSilicon Movie Club. The upgrade will hit shelves on November 19 and will feature a new 4K digital restoration along with the following features across three discs.
- New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Audio commentary featuring Yasujiro Ozu scholar David Desser, editor of Ozu’s “Tokyo Story”
- I Lived, But . . . , a two-hour documentary from 1953 about Ozu’s life and career, featuring interviews with critics and former cast and crew members
- Talking with Ozu, a forty-minute tribute to the director from 1993, featuring the reflections of filmmakers Lindsay Anderson, Claire Denis, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Aki Kaurismäki, Stanley Kwan, Paul Schrader, and Wim Wenders
- Trailer
- New English subtitle translation
- A booklet featuring an essay by critic David Bordwell
Next is the latest Charlie Chaplin film to get the Criterion treatment, City Lights, a film in which Chaplin’s tramp character falls in love with a blind flower girl who takes him for a millionaire. Hitting shelves on November 12, this too has a new, restored 4K digital film transfer and comes with the following features:
- New, restored 4K digital film transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- New audio commentary by Charlie Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance
- Chaplin Today: “City Lights,” a 2003 documentary on the film’s production, featuring Aardman Animations cofounder Peter Lord
- Chaplin Studios: Creative Freedom by Design, a new interview program featuring visual effects expert Craig Barron
- Archival footage from the production of City Lights, including film from the set, with audio commentary by Chaplin historian Hooman Mehran; a costume test; a rehearsal; and a complete scene not used in the film
- Excerpt from Chaplin’s short film The Champion (1915), along with footage of the director with boxing stars at Chaplin Studios in 1918
- Trailers
- A booklet featuring an essay by critic Gary Giddins and a 1966 interview with Chaplin
Also arriving on the 12th is Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig‘s critical darling from earlier this year, Frances Ha. If you haven’t read my review you can find it right here. The release will come with the following features:
- New high-definition digital master, with DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio on the Blu-ray
- New conversation between filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich and the film’s cowriter and director, Noah Baumbach
- New conversation between actor and filmmaker Sarah Polley and the film’s cowriter and star, Greta Gerwig
- New conversation about the look of the film between Baumbach, director of photography Sam Levy, and creative director Pascal Dangin
- Trailer
- A booklet featuring an essay by playwright Annie Baker
Finally, now this is the one that will probably have a lot of people in certain corners talking, a 27-disc collection of the popular Zatoichi films, most (if not all) of which are currently available on Hulu Plus. The collection includes The Tale of Zatoichi, The Tale of Zatoichi Continues, New Tale of Zatoichi, Zatoichi The Fugitive, Zatoichi on the Road, Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold, Zatoichi’s Flashing Sword, Fight, Zatoichi, Fight, Adventures of Zatoichi, Zatoichi’s Revenge, Zatoichi and the Doomed Man, Zatoichi and the Chess Expert, Zatoichi’s Vengeance, Zatoichi’s Pilgrimage, Zatoichi’s Cane Sword, Zatoichi the Outlaw, Zatoichi Challenged, Zatoichi and the Fugitives, Samaritan Zatoichi, Zatoichi meets Yojimbo, Zatoichi, The Festival Of Fire, Zatoichi Meets the One Armed Swordsman, Zatoichi at Large, Zatoichi in Desperation and Zatoichi’s Conspiracy all on dual format DVD/Blu-ray discs along with the following features:
- New digital restorations of all twenty-five films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-rays
- The Blind Swordsman, a 1978 documentary about Zatoichi portrayer and filmmaker Shintaro Katsu, along with a new interview with its director, John Nathan
- New interview with Asian-film critic Tony Rayns
- Trailers for all twenty-five films
- New English subtitle translations
- A book featuring an essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien; synopses of the films by critic, novelist, and musician Chris D.; “The Tale of Zatoichi,” the original short story by Kan Shimozawa; and twenty-five new illustrations inspired by the films, by twenty-five different artists
Featured just below are the individual covers for all 25 films. The set hits shelves on November 26.
