Criterion has announced their September slate and it’s a whopper, with special editions of Terrence Malick’s acclaimed “The Thin Red Line” and Nagisa Oshima’s POW drama “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence” (starring David Bowie) being prepped for DVD and BluRay, along with some classics getting spit shined for Blu and an Eclipse release of films by undersung filmmaker Allan King.
Of course, we don’t have to tell you that a special edition of Terrence Malick’s “The Thin Red Line” is topping our DVD shopping list. The WWII film famously underwent lengthy and severe editing, with several stars (and soon-to-be stars) finding their roles significantly reduced or eliminated in the final cut. However, we’ll soon get a peek a behind the curtain of what was excised from the film as audition footage and outtakes from the film will lead the lengthy set of special features. Among the other extras on the two-disc DVD, single-disc BluRay is: an audio commentary with cinematographer John Toll, production designer Jack Fisk, and producer Grant Hill; Video interviews with several of the film’s actors, including Kirk Acevedo, Jim Caviezel, Ben Chaplin, Tom Jane, Elias Koteas, Dash Mihok, and Sean Penn; an interview with composer Hans Zimmer; original WWII newsreels featuring footage from Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands and well as a booklet with essays.
Another hotly anticipated title long missing from a proper region 1 release is Nagisa Oshima’s 1983 film “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.” The WWII POW drama, starring David Bowie and featuring the first dramatic role by Takeshi Kitano, tells the story of a high-ranking British officer (Bowie) interned by the Japanese as a POW, and the relationship that he develops with the camp commander (music composer Ryuichi Sakamoto). The two-disc DVD, single-disc BluRay set will feature “Hasten Slowly,” an hour long long documentary about Laurens van der Post, whose real-life experience served as a basis for the film; “The Oshima Gang” a making-of featurette, numerous interview, essays and more.
Some Criterion catalog titles are being refreshed with BluRay releases in September. Jean-Luc Godard’s iconic “Breathless” and Stanley Donen’s crafty comedy “Charade” will both hit BluRay featuring the same extras as their DVD counterparts.
Finally, Criterion will shine a light on little known Canadian director Allan King with the Eclipse set, “The Actuality Dramas Of Allan King.” These films are some of King’s cinema-verité documentaries that dispensed with narration or interviews in favor of immersing the viewer in the lives of its subjects. The films featured are: “Warrendale,” “A Married Couple,” “Come On Children,” “Dying At Grace” and “Memory For Max, Claire, Ida And Company.” As usual with Eclipse, no extras are featured.