While 2020 forced many of us to rely on streaming more than ever before, due to cinemas shutting down, physical media remains both relevant, and the best way to acquire and watch films. This is to say that the monthly release announcements by The Criterion Collection are always worth being excited about, and April 2021 is no different.
Hold on to your butts, because one of the best Korean films of all time is coming to the Criterion Collection next month. A year after Director Bong Joon-ho won Best Picture for “Parasite” and made us believe 2020 could be a good year, his exceptional 2003 crime drama “Memories of Murder,” is getting a new release based on a 4K restoration of the film supervised by cinematographer Kim Hyung Ku and approved by Director Bong himself. In case you’ve never seen this seminal film, Roxana Hadadi wrote about “Memories of Murder” when it was re-released in theaters late last year, writing “its consideration of the murky morality that is shared by both accusers and accused remains a compelling example of Bong’s cinematic portraits of power.”
But there are even more films getting released in April and asking for your cash. Criterion is also releasing Olivier Assaya‘s “Irma Vep,” a film about the behind-the-scenes chaos of a film set that occurs when a Hong Kong action movie star arrives to remake a classic French silent film. Maggie Cheung gave one of the best performances of her career in this film, which is reportedly getting a TV adaptation on HBO with A24 and Sam Levinson producing, and Alicia Vikander set to star.
READ MORE: Alicia Vikander To Star In Olivier Assayas’ ‘Irma Vep’ Series Remake For HBO & A24
Antony Mann‘s western/noir film “The Furies” is also joining the Criterion collection, bringing the tale of a father and daughter butting heads over her choice of husband and, eventually, ownership of the land itself. Likewise, Frank Borzage‘s classic love story “History is Made at Night,” which is about a love triangle between a possessive shipping magnate, his wife, and a French headwaiter, as well as Jean-Luc Godard‘s satirical exploration of youth culture in 1960s Paris, “Masculin Féminin,” are getting new 4K restorations for their Criterion releases.
As always, you can pre-order these new offerings from Criterion’s website.