Criterion’s December Slate to Include Cronenberg and Del Toro on Blu-ray

Disc Announcements, News

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:
    • o Guillermo del Toro
      o Producers Arthur H. Gorson and Bertha Navarro and coproducer Alejandro Springall
  • 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

Videodrome

  • Two audio commentaries:
    • o David Cronenberg and director of photography Mark Irwin
      o Actors James Woods and Deborah Harry
  • 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
Travis Leamons is one of the Inside Pulse Originals and currently holds the position of Managing Editor at Inside Pulse Movies. He's told that the position is his until he's dead or if "The Boss" can find somebody better. I expect the best and I give the best. Here's the beer. Here's the entertainment. Now have fun. That's an order!