{"id":18682,"date":"2016-06-15T11:49:08","date_gmt":"2016-06-15T15:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/?p=18682"},"modified":"2016-06-16T19:40:59","modified_gmt":"2016-06-16T23:40:59","slug":"the-criterion-collection-announces-september-2016-releases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/2016\/06\/15\/the-criterion-collection-announces-september-2016-releases\/","title":{"rendered":"The Criterion Collection Announces September 2016 Releases"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today The Criterion Collection\u00a0announced their September line-up, which includes six new releases, including the long awaited Dekalog<\/em> by Krzysztof Kie?lowski. Along with the new entries into the collection, they are also upgrading their DVD release of Carol Reed’s Night Train to Munich<\/em> to Blu-ray and releasing a Blu-ray only edition of the 25-film strong Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The blurbs are from The Criterion Collection\u2019s website (so are the links)\u00a0— go there to see the details on the supplements.<\/p>\n

\n

\"NightSeptember 6, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n

Night Train to Munich<\/em>\u00a0(1940)
\nd. Carol Reed<\/p>\n

From The Criterion Collection<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

Night Train to Munich,<\/em> from writers Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat and director Carol Reed, is a twisting, turning, cloak-and-dagger delight. Paced like an out-of-control locomotive, this gripping, occasionally comic confection takes viewers on a World War II\u2013era journey from Prague to England to the Swiss Alps, as Nazis pursue a Czech scientist and his daughter (Margaret Lockwood), who are being aided by a debonair British undercover agent, played by Rex Harrison. This captivating adventure\u2014which also features Casablanca<\/em>\u2019s Paul Henreid\u2014mixes comedy, romance, and thrills with enough skill and cleverness to give the Master of Suspense himself pause.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

\"TheSeptember 13, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Story of the Last Chyrsanthemum<\/em>\u00a0(1939)
\nd. Kenji Mizoguchi<\/p>\n

From The Criterion Collection<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

This heartrending masterpiece by Kenji Mizoguchi about the give-and-take between life and art marked the director\u2019s first use of the hypnotic long takes and eloquent camera movements that would come to define his films. The adopted son of legendary kabuki actor Kikunosuke (Shotaro Hanayagi), who is striving to achieve stardom by mastering female roles, turns to his infant brother\u2019s wet nurse (Kakuko Mori) for support and affection\u2014and she soon gives up everything for her beloved\u2019s creative glory. Featuring fascinating glimpses behind the scenes of kabuki theater in the late nineteenth century, The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum<\/em> is a critique of the oppression of women and the sacrifices required of them, and the pinnacle of Mizoguchi\u2019s early career.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

\"Zatoichi\"September 13, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman<\/em><\/p>\n

From The Criterion Collection<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

The colossally popular Zatoichi films make up the longest-running action series in Japanese history and created one of the screen\u2019s great heroes: an itinerant blind masseur who also happens to be a lightning-fast swordsman. As this iconic figure, the charismatic and earthy Shintaro Katsu became an instant superstar, lending a larger-than-life presence to the thrilling adventures of a man who lives staunchly by a code of honor and delivers justice in every town and village he enters. The films that feature him are variously pulse-pounding, hilarious, stirring, and completely off-the-wall. This deluxe set features the string of twenty-five Zatoichi films made between 1962 and 1973, collected in one package for the first time.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

\"BloodSeptember 20, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n

Blood Simple\u00a0<\/em>(1984)
\nd.\u00a0Joel and Ethan Coen<\/p>\n

From The Criterion Collection<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

Joel and Ethan Coen\u2019s career-long darkly comic road trip through misfit America began with this razor-sharp, hard-boiled neonoir set somewhere in Texas, where a sleazy bar owner sets off a torrent of violence with one murderous thought. Actor M. Emmet Walsh looms over the proceedings as a slippery private eye with a yellow suit, a cowboy hat, and no moral compass, and Frances McDormand\u2019s cunning debut performance set her on the road to stardom. The tight scripting and inventive style that have marked the Coens\u2019 work for decades are all here in their first film, in which cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld abandons the black-and-white chiaroscuro of classic noir for neon signs and jukebox colors that combine with Carter Burwell\u2019s haunting score to lurid and thrilling effect. Blending elements from pulp fiction and low-budget horror flicks, Blood Simple<\/em> reinvented the film noir for a new generation, marking the arrival of a filmmaking ensemble that would transform the American independent cinema scene.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

\"CatSeptember 20, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cat People <\/em>(1942)
\nd.\u00a0Jacques Tourneur<\/p>\n

From The Criterion Collection<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

The first of the horror films producer Val Lewton made for RKO<\/span> Pictures redefined the genre by leaving its most frightening terrors to its audience\u2019s imagination. Simone Simon stars as a Serbian \u00e9migr\u00e9 in Manhattan who believes that, because of an ancient curse, any physical intimacy with the man she loves (Kent Smith) will turn her into a feline predator. Lewton, a consummate producer-auteur who oversaw every aspect of his projects, found an ideal director in Jacques Tourneur, a chiaroscuro stylist adept at keeping viewers off-kilter with startling compositions and psychological innuendo. Together, they eschewed the canned effects of earlier monster movies in favor of shocking with subtle shadows and creative audio cues. One of the studio\u2019s most successful movies of the 1940s, Cat People<\/em> raised the creature feature to new heights of sophistication and mystery.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

\"ValleySeptember 27, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n

Valley of the Dolls\u00a0<\/em>(1967)
\nd.\u00a0Mark Robson<\/p>\n

From The Criterion Collection<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

Cutthroat careerism, wild sex, and fierce female protagonists are all on offer in this adaptation of Jacqueline Susann\u2019s sensational and wildly popular novel. Patty Duke, Barbara Parkins, and Sharon Tate star as three friends attempting to navigate the glamorous, pressurized world of big-time show business\u2014the \u201cvalley\u201d is not a place but a narcotized state of mind, and the \u201cdolls\u201d are the pills that rouse them in the morning and knock them out at night. Blending old-fashioned gloss with Madison Avenue grooviness, this slick look by director Mark Robson at the early days of sexual liberation and an entertainment industry coming apart was a giant box-office hit and has become an unforgettably campy time capsule of the 1960s<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

\"BeyondSeptember 27, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls\u00a0<\/em>(1970)
\nd.\u00a0Russ Meyer<\/p>\n

From The Criterion Collection<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

In 1970, 20th Century-Fox, impressed by the visual zing \u201cKing of the Nudies\u201d Russ Meyer brought to bargain-basement exploitation fare, handed the director a studio budget and the title to one of its biggest hits, Valley of the Dolls.<\/em> With a satirical screenplay by Roger Ebert, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls<\/em> follows three young female rockers going Hollywood in hell-bent sixties style under the spell of a flamboyant producer\u2014whose decadent bashes showcase Meyer\u2019s trademark libidinal exuberance. Transgressive and outrageous, this big-studio version of a debaucherous midnight movie is an addictively entertaining romp from one of the movies\u2019 great outsider artists.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

\"Dekalog\"September 27, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dekalog\u00a0<\/em>(1988)
\nd. Krzysztof Kie?lowski<\/p>\n

From The Criterion Collection<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

This masterwork by Krzysztof Kie?lowski is one of the twentieth century\u2019s greatest achievements in visual storytelling. Originally made for Polish television, Dekalog<\/em> focuses on the residents of a housing complex in post-Communist Poland, whose lives become subtly intertwined as they face emotional dilemmas that are at once deeply personal and universally human. Using the Ten Commandments for thematic inspiration and an overarching structure, Dekalog<\/em>\u2019s ten hour-long films deftly grapple with complex moral and existential questions concerning life, death, love, hate, truth, and the passage of time. Shot by nine different cinematographers, with stirring music by Zbigniew Preisner and compelling performances from established and unknown actors alike, Dekalog<\/em> arrestingly explores the unknowable forces that shape our lives. Also presented are the longer theatrical versions of Dekalog<\/em>\u2019s fifth and sixth films: A Short Film About Killing<\/em> and A Short Film About Love.<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today The Criterion Collection announced its September 2016 releases. Read the full post<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"libsyn-item-id":0,"libsyn-show-id":0,"libsyn-post-error":"","libsyn-post-error_post-type":"","libsyn-post-error_post-permissions":"","libsyn-post-error_api":"","playlist-podcast-url":"","libsyn-episode-thumbnail":"","libsyn-episode-widescreen_image":"","libsyn-episode-blog_image":"","libsyn-episode-background_image":"","libsyn-post-episode-category-selection":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_use_thumbnail":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_use_theme":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_height":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_width":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_placement":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_use_download_link":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_use_download_link_text":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_custom_color":"","libsyn-post-episode-itunes-explicit":"","libsyn-post-episode":"","libsyn-post-episode-update-id3":"","libsyn-post-episode-release-date":"","libsyn-post-episode-simple-download":"","libsyn-release-date":"","libsyn-post-update-release-date":"","libsyn-is_draft":"","libsyn-new-media-media":"","libsyn-post-episode-subtitle":"","libsyn-new-media-image":"","libsyn-post-episode-keywords":"","libsyn-post-itunes":"","libsyn-post-episode-itunes-episode-number":"","libsyn-post-episode-itunes-season-number":"","libsyn-post-episode-itunes-episode-type":"","libsyn-post-episode-itunes-episode-title":"","libsyn-post-episode-itunes-episode-author":"","libsyn-destination-releases":"","libsyn-post-episode-advanced-destination-form-data":"","libsyn-post-episode-advanced-destination-form-data-enabled":"","libsyn-post-episode-advanced-destination-form-data-input-enabled":false,"libsyn-post-episode-premium_state":"","libsyn-episode-shortcode":"","libsyn-episode-embedurl":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[798],"tags":[],"coauthors":[505],"class_list":["post-18682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Dekalog.jpg?fit=348%2C490&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pqqvZ-4Rk","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18682"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18697,"href":"https:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18682\/revisions\/18697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18682"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=18682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}