Steve Soderbergh’s ‘Traffic’ Goes Blu
Is your Grandma, or maybe a distant Aunt or perhaps a creepy Uncle sending you some money for Christmas? Well, before blowing it on New Year’s Eve booze, you might want to sock it away because in January, The Criterion Collection will be offering up some nice post-holiday treats.
As was first revealed at the end of the summer with a bit of hoopla, “Godzilla” is getting the wacky C stamp of approval and has been formally announced to be arriving in January. And even better, superfans will be getting two versions. Firstly, and most important, Criterion will be unveiling the original, 1954 Japanese version in all its glory. But for those of you who grew up with the re-edited version starring Raymond Burr entitled “Godzilla, King of the Monsters” that will be included as well. Of course, that’s not all, as there will be a commentary track, a host of interviews including one with composer Akira Ifukube, various featurettes on different aspects of the production and as always, a booklet with an essay. It’s pretty much all you could want and more.
But if monster movies aren’t your thing, Criterion hasn’t forgotten about their arthouse fans, as Luis Buñuel‘s masterpiece “Belle De Jour” arrives in a brand new edition. The movie that contains the defining performance of Catherine Deneuve‘s career, gets the treatment it deserves including a commentary; video piece featuring writer and sexual-politics activist Susie Bright (!) and film scholar Linda Williams; new and archival interviews and more. Not too shabby.
Also arriving: Francesco Rosi‘s bullfighting biopic “The Moment of Truth“; French New Wave pioneer Jean-Pierre Gorin gets an Eclipse set with “Poto And Cabengo,” “Routine Pleasures” and “My Crasy Life” included and finally Steven Soderbergh‘s sprawling drug war drama gets the hi-def treatment with a brand spanking new BluRay edition featuring all your favorite extras from the DVD.