Well, it looks like some of those New Year’s Criterion Collection teases are coming true. The boutique label has unveiled their slate for April, and as always, it will cause your accountant worry about the cash you’re spending on DVDs.
Rumored for a while now, Lars von Trier‘s heartbreaker “Breaking the Waves” gets the wacky C, and it’s coming loaded with extras. The newly restored film will feature selected-scene audio commentary with von Trier, editor Anders Refn, and location scout Anthony Dod Mantle, brand new interviews, Emily Watson‘s audition tape, deleted and extended scenes, and much more. Not too shabby at all for one of von Trier’s finest accomplishments.
Meanwhile, the rest of the month will see Criterion digging into classic cinema. Fans of hardboiled drama will be very pleased to see Don Siegel‘s “Riot In Cell Block 11” enter the collection. The prison flick won’t have much aside from an audio commentary by film scholar Matthew Bernstein, but just having this in a crisp edition on your shelf will be worth it.
If road trips are more your thing then pick up “Il Sorpasso,” starring Vittorio Gassman and Jean-Louis Trintignant as a couple of pals who travel from Rome to rural Southern Italy. Dini Risi‘s film will come packed with extras, including a couple of documentaries, interviews and much more.
If you want to watch the masters at work, then Carl Theodor Dreyer‘s silent drama “Master of the House” will fill that niche. It’s not overflowing with extras, but an gem from the silent era given the treatment is worth the attention.
Lastly, “The 400 Blows” is getting an upgrade to Criterion’s new dual format, Blu-ray and DVD-style release.
