The CRITERION DVD and Blu-ray Thread

[Susan Foreman]

'Happiness' (1998) - 4K UHD / Blu-Ray combo pre-order available from Amazon UK - UK$29.99

Release date: September 30

"As disturbingly funny as it is audaciously empathetic, auteur of unease Todd Solondz's portrait of damaged souls reaching out for connection reveals the existential void underneath middle-class suburban "normalcy."

An extraordinary ensemble cast-including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jane Adams, Lara Flynn Boyle, Ben Gazzara, and Dylan Baker-embodies an array of loosely connected New Jersey deviants, depressives, and misfits, among them a frustrated phone-sex pest, an all-American dad concealing his paedophilic urges, and a lonely woman with a grisly secret, all of whom want just one thing: to be loved

One of the most controversial films of the 1990s, the unflinching Happiness unnerves precisely because it dares to see the humanity in those most often denied it."

SPECIAL FEATURES

• New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director of photography Maryse Alberti, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
• New conversation between director Todd Solondz and filmmaker Charlotte Wells
• New interview with actor Dylan Baker
• Trailer
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by novelist and screenwriter Bruce Wagner
• New cover based on original poster art by Daniel Clowes

[Susan Foreman]

'Risky Business' (1998) - Blu-Ray pre-order available from Amazon UK - UK$29.99

"A sly piece of pop subversion, this irresistible satire of Reagan-era materialism features Tom Cruise in his star-is-born breakthrough as a Chicago suburban prepster whose college-bound life spirals out of control when his parents go out of town for the week and an enterprising call girl (Rebecca De Mornay) invites him to walk on the wild side

While Cruise boogying in his briefs yielded one of the most iconic pop-cultural moments of the 1980s, it is the film's unexpected mix of tender romance (enhanced by a moody synth score by Tangerine Dream) and sharp-witted capitalist critique that remains fresh and daring."

SPECIAL FEATURES

• New 4K digital restorations of the director's cut and the original theatrical release, supervised and approved by director Paul Brickman and producer Jon Avnet, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks
• Audio commentary for the original theatrical release featuring Brickman, Avnet, and actor Tom Cruise
• New interviews with Avnet and casting director Nancy Klopper
• New conversation between editor Richard Chew and film historian Bobbie O?Steen
• The Dream Is Always the Same: The Story of "Risky Business," a program featuring interviews with Brickman, Avnet, cast members, and others
• Screen tests with Cruise and actor Rebecca De Mornay
• Trailer
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by film curator and critic Dave Kehr
• New cover illustration by Jeremy Enecio

[Susan Foreman]

Turns out the above rumour was wrong !

'Night of the Living Dead' (1968) - 4K UHD / Blu-Ray combo pre-order available from Amazon UK - UK$29.99

Release date: October 7

"Shot outside Pittsburgh on a shoestring budget, by a band of filmmakers determined to make their mark, Night of the Living Dead, directed by horror master George A. Romero, is a great story of independent cinema: a midnight hit turned box-office smash that became one of the most influential films of all time

A deceptively simple tale of a group of strangers trapped in a farmhouse who find themselves fending off a horde of recently dead, flesh-eating ghouls, Romero's claustrophobic vision of a late-1960s America literally tearing itself apart rewrote the rules of the horror genre, combining gruesome gore with acute social commentary and quietly breaking ground by casting a Black actor (Duane Jones) in its lead role.

Night of the Living Dead was restored by the Museum of Modern Art and The Film Foundation, with funding provided by the George Lucas Family Foundation and the Celeste Bartos Preservation Fund. "

SPECIAL FEATURES

• New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director George A. Romero, coscreenwriter John A. Russo, sound engineer Gary R. Streiner, and producer Russell W. Streiner
• New restoration of the monaural soundtrack, supervised by Romero and Gary Streiner and presented uncompressed
• One 4K UHD disc of the film and two Blu-rays with the film and special features
• Night of Anubis, a work-print edit of the film
• Program featuring filmmakers Frank Darabont, Guillermo del Toro, and Robert Rodriguez
• Sixteen-millimeter dailies reel
• Program featuring Russo on the commercial and industrial film production company where key Night of the Living Dead participants got their starts
• Two audio commentaries from 1994 featuring Romero, Russo, producer Karl Hardman, actor Judith O'Dea, and others
• Archival interviews with Romero and actors Duane Jones and Judith Ridley
• Programs about the film's style and score
• Interview program about the direction of ghouls, featuring members of the cast and crew
• Interviews with Gary Streiner and Russell Streiner
• Newsreels from 1967
• Trailer, radio spots, and TV spots
• PLUS: An essay by critic Stuart Klawans

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Delighted about I Walked With a Zombie / The Seventh Victim coming to UK Blu-ray.

It's now gone above anything else as a priority purchase in October.

[Rob4]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Delighted about I Walked With a Zombie / The Seventh Victim coming to UK Blu-ray.

It's now gone above anything else as a priority purchase in October.

Agree - probably the quickest preorder I've ever done

[J Harker]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Delighted about I Walked With a Zombie / The Seventh Victim coming to UK Blu-ray.



It's now gone above anything else as a priority purchase in October.

Initially two of my least favourite Lewtons, repeated viewings has transformed them into two of my favourites. I'll be getting this, it's a shame the Val Lewton films are getting released by different labels over here instead of a boxset. Still all warrant a purchase.

Sent from my SM-G780G using Tapatalk

[J Harker]

Preordered. ?22.99 at Shamazon. Well happy with that price too.
Screenshot_20240801_224000_Amazon%20Shopping.jpg

[Dave Boy]

Yeah, thought I better pre-order I Walked With A Zombie as well.

[J Harker]

HMV currently have 40% off a decent selection of Criterion titles. I really hope it's on for a few days at least.

https://hmv.com/store/film-tv/criter...Q&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Justin101]

There was money off at Amazon but they've all gone back to full price again while I was browsing options