This fall and winter are going to be huge for The Criterion Collection and the titles it is churning out on both DVD and Blu-ray. September has titles like Breathless, Charade and The Thin Red Line debuting on Blu-ray. October sees Akira Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai on the high-def format as well as Nobuhiko Obayashi’s House [DVD / BD] and Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory [DVD / BD].
We’ve already reported on what the month of November has in store – fans of Charlie Chaplin and ’70s cinema are sure to enjoy – but what’s next.
Well, before taking a much deserved Christmas break, the folks at The Criterion Collection are releasing two new Blu-ray titles on December 7: Cronos (Guillermo del Toro, 1993) – with a transfer supervised and approved by Del Toro and cinematographer Guillermo Navarro – and Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1993) in its unrated version.
Cronos
- Two audio commentaries:
- Geometría: an unreleased 1987 short horror film by Del Toro, finished by the director in 2010, plus a new video interview with him
- Welcome to Bleak House: a video tour by Del Toro of his office, featuring his collectibles and personal work
- New video interviews with Del Toro, Navarro, and actor Ron Perlman
- Video interview with actor Federico Luppi
- Stills gallery
- Trailer
- A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Maitland McDonagh and excerpts from Del Toro’s notes for the film
- o Guillermo del Toro
- o Producers Arthur H. Gorson and Bertha Navarro and coproducer Alejandro Springall
Videodrome
- Two audio commentaries:
- Camera (2000): a short film starring Videodrome’s Les Carlson, written and directed by Cronenberg
- Forging the New Flesh: a new half-hour documentary featurette by filmmaker Michael Lennick about the creation of Videodrome’s video and prosthetic makeup effects
- Effects Men: a new audio interview with special makeup effects creator Baker and video effects supervisor Lennick
- Bootleg Video: the complete footage of Samurai Dreams and seven minutes of transmissions from Videodrome, presented in their original, unedited form with filmmaker commentary
- Fear on Film: a 26-minute roundtable discussion from 1982 between filmmakers Cronenberg, John Carpenter, John Landis, and Mick Garris
- Original theatrical trailers and promotional featurette
- Stills galleries featuring hundreds of rare behind-the-scenes production photos, special effects makeup tests, and publicity photos
- A booklet featuring essays by writers Carrie Rickey, Tim Lucas, and Gary Indiana
-
o David Cronenberg and director of photography Mark Irwin
o Actors James Woods and Deborah Harry