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May 7
Band of Outsiders
(1964) Four years after "Breathless," Jean-Luc Godard reimagined the gangster film even more radically with "Band of Outsiders." In it, two restless young men (Sami Frey and Claude Brasseur) enlist the object of both of their fancies (Anna Karina) to help them commit a robbery -- in her own home. This audacious and wildly entertaining French New Wave gem is at once sentimental and insouciant, effervescently romantic and melancholy, and it features some of Godard's most memorable set pieces, including the headlong race through the Louvre and the unshakably cool Madison dance sequence. New digital master of Gaumont's recent high-definition restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: Visual glossary of references and wordplay found in "Band of Outsiders"; exclusive interviews with cinematographer Raoul Coutard and actor Anna Karina; excerpts from a 1964 interview with director Jean-Luc Godard, including rare behind-the-scenes footage from the film; filmmaker Agnes Varda's 1961 silent comedy "Les fiances du pont Mac Donald," starring Godard and Karina and featuring other members of the "Band of Outsiders" cast; Godard's original theatrical trailer and the 2001 U.S. re-release trailer; booklet featuring an essay by poet and critic Joshua Clover, Godard's character descriptions for the film's 1964 press book, and an interview with the director from the same year. (The Criterion Collection).
Brubaker
(1980) Robert Redford, Yaphet Kotto, Jane Alexander, Murray Hamilton, David Keith, Morgan Freeman. (Fox).
The Great Escape
(1963) Dir.: John Sturges; Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn. Extras: Commentary by director John Sturges, cast and crew; "The Great Escape: Bringing Fact to Fiction"; "The Great Escape: Preparations for Freedom"; "The Great Escape: The Flight to Freedom"; "The Great Escape: A Standing Ovation"; "The Great Escape: The Untold Story"; "The Great Escape: The Untold Story -- Additional Interviews"; "A Real Virgil Hilts: A Man Called Jones"; "Return to The Great Escape"; original theatrical trailer. (MGM/Fox).
One Hour Photo
(2002) Robin Williams, Connie Nielsen, Michael Vartan, Dylan Smith, Gary Cole. Extras: New: Cast rehearsals, "Lensing One Hour Photo," main title test, "Sy's Nightmare Elements," storyboards, poster explorations. Original release commentary by director Mark Romanek and Robin Williams, "The Charlie Rose Show," Sundance: Anatomy of a Scene, Cinemax featurette, trailer and TV spots. (Fox).
Shanghai Noon/Shanghai Knights
(2000/2003) Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson. (Disney).
Sparkle
(1976) Irene Cara, Lonette McKee, Dwan Smith, Mary Alice, Dorian Harewood, Philip Michael Thomas. (Warner).
The Verdict
(1982) Dir.: Sidney Lumet; Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling, Jack Warden, James Mason, Milo O'Shea, Lindsay Crouse, Edward Binns, Julie Bovasso. Extras: "Paul Newman: The Craft of Acting," "Milestones in Cinema History: The Verdict," "Sidney Lumet: The Craft of Directing," commentary with Lumet and Newman, two additional featurettes. (Fox).
Viva Zapata!
(1952) Dir.: Elia Kazan; Marlon Brando, Jean Peters, Anthony Quinn, Joseph Wiseman. (Fox).
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May 14
Jubal
(1956) A trio of exceptional performances from Glenn Ford, Ernest Borgnine and Rod Steiger form the center of "Jubal," an overlooked Hollywood treasure from genre master Delmer Daves. In this Shakespearean tale of jealousy and betrayal, Ford is an honorable itinerant cattleman, befriended and hired by Borgnine's bighearted ranch owner despite his unwillingness to talk about his past. When the new hand becomes the target of the flirtatious attentions of the owner's bored wife (Valerie French) and is entrusted by the boss with a foreman's responsibilities, his presence at the ranch starts to rankle his shifty fellow cowhand, played by Steiger. The resulting emotional showdown imparts unparalleled psychology intensity to this Western, a vivid melodrama featuring expressive location photography in Technicolor and CinemaScope. New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack. Extras: Booklet featuring an essay by critic Kent Jones. (The Criterion Collection).
3:10 to Yuma
(1957) In this beautifully shot and acted, psychologically complex western, Van Heflin is a mild-mannered cattle rancher who takes on the task of shepherding a captured outlaw, played with cucumber-cool charisma by Glenn Ford, to the train that will take him to prison. This apparently simple plan turns into a nerve-racking cat-and-mouse game that will test each man's particular brand of honor. Based on a story by Elmore Leonard, "3:10 to Yuma" is a thrilling, humane action movie, directed by the supremely talented studio filmmaker Delmer Daves with intense feeling and precision. New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack as well as an alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio. Extras: New interviews with author Elmore Leonard and Glenn Ford's son and biographer, Peter Ford; booklet featuring an essay by critic Kent Jones. (The Criterion Collection).
May 21
Captain America: Collector's Edition
(1990) Matt Salinger, Ronny Cox, Ned Beatty, Darren McGavin, Michael Nouri, Scott Paulin.Extras: New interviews: "Looking Back at Captain America With Director Albert Pyun and Actor Matt Salinger." (Shout! Factory).
Cleopatra
(1963) Dir.: Joseph L. Mankiewicz; Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison, Hume Cronyn, Cesare Danova, Martin Landau, Roddy McDowall. Two-disc 50th Anniversary edition features the 243-minute premiere version of the film -- meticulously restored -- with never-before-seen missing footage. A limited edition comes packed in a full-color book featuring rare images from the making of the film. The historical epic shot in 70mm was the highest grossing film of 1963, bringing in more than $24 million in its initial release ... but the film cost an unprecedented $42 million to make (equivalent to over $300 million today) and nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox. In addition to elaborate sets and costumes, production delays and the relocation of principal filming from London to Rome added to the skyrocketing budget. A very public love affair between Taylor and Burton that blossomed during the three-year production meant that there was as much romance and intrigue off-screen as on-screen. The film later won four Academy Awards, and was nominated for five more, including Best Picture. Extras: "Cleopatra Through The Ages: A Cultural History"; "Cleopatra's" missing footage; "Fox Movie Channel presents Fox Legacy With Tom Rothman"; commentary with Chris Mankiewicz, Tom Mankiewicz, Martin Landau and Jack Brodsky (author of a book "The Cleopatra Papers"); "The Cleopatra Papers: A Private Correspondence"; "Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood"; "The Fourth Star of Cleopatra"; Fox Movietone News: archival footage of the New York premiere, archival footage of the Hollywood premiere; trailers. (Fox).
Howl's Moving Castle
(2004) Dir.: Hayao Miyazaki; voices of Jean Simmons, Christian Bale, Lauren Bacall, Blythe Danner, Billy Crystal. Two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo. (Studio).
Little Caesar
(1931) Dir.: Mervyn LeRoy; Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Glenda Farrell, Sidney Blackmer. (Warner).
Medium Cool
(1969) It's 1968, and the whole world is watching. With the U.S. in social upheaval, famed cinematographer Haskell Wexler decided to make a film about what the hell was going on. His debut feature, "Medium Cool," plunges us into that moment. With its mix of scripted fiction and seat-of-the-pants documentary technique, this story of the working world and romantic life of a television cameraman (Robert Forster) is a visceral, lasting cinematic snapshot of the era, climaxing with an extended sequence shot right in the middle of the riots surrounding the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. An inventive commentary on the pleasures and dangers of wielding a camera, "Medium Cool" is as prescient a political film as Hollywood has ever produced. New 4K digital restoration, approved by Wexler, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Extras: Two audio commentaries, one featuring Wexler, actor Marianna Hill, and editor Paul Golding, the other featuring historian Paul Cronin; new interview with Wexler; "Look Out Haskell, It's Real!" a 55-minute documentary about the making of "Medium Cool," produced by Cronin and featuring interviews with Wexler, Golding, actors Verna Bloom, Peter Bonerz and Robert Forster, Chicago historian Studs Terkel, and others; excerpts from "Sooner or Later," a documentary by Cronin about Harold Blankenship, who plays the adolescent Harold in the film; original theatrical trailer; booklet featuring an essay by film critic and programmer Thomas Beard. (The Criterion Collection).
My Neighbor Totoro
(1988) Dir.: Hayao Miyazaki; voices of Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, Tim Daly, Pat Carroll, Lea Salonga. Two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo. (Studio).
National Lampoon's Vacation
(1983) Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Imogene Coca, Randy Quaid, Anthony Michael Hall, Dana Barron, Eddie Bracken, Brian Doyle-Murray, James Keach, Eugene Levy, John Candy, Christie Brinkley, Jane Krakowski. 30th anniversary edition.Extras: New A&E Special: "Inside Story: National Lampoon's Vacation"; introduction by Chevy Chase, Randy Quaid and Matty Simmons; commentary by Harold Ramis, Chevy Chase, Randy Quaid, Anthony Michael Hall, Dana Barron and Matty Simmons. (Warner).
(1931) Dir.: William Wellman; James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward Woods, Joan Blondell. (Warner)
Sommersby
(1993) Richard Gere, Jody Foster, Bill Pullman, James Earl Jones. (Warner).
Ultimate Gangster Collection Classic
The four films in the Classic Collection have been remastered for their Blu-ray debuts. They include "The Public Enemy" and "White Heat" with the legendary performances of James Cagney; "Little Caesar" with Edward G. Robinson as hoodlum Rico Bandello; and "The Petrified Forest" starring Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis and Leslie Howard. The collection includes a feature-length documentary "Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Drama" which explores the development of the crime genre and the rise of Warner stars like Cagney, Bogart and Robinson. Also discussed are directors such as Walsh, Wellman and Curtiz; the films themselves; their influence on filmmakers worldwide; and Warner’s impact in establishing the genre. Includes a 32-page booklet with images and additional information about each film. $49.99. The titles in the Classic Collection will be available individually as well for $19.98. (Warner).
(1949) Dir.: Raoul Walsh; James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien, Margaret Wycherly, Steve Cochran. (Warner).
May 28
Life Is Sweet
(1990) This moving film from Mike Leigh is an intimate, invigorating, and amusing portrait of a working-class family in a suburb just north of London -- an irrepressible mum and dad (Alison Steadman and Jim Broadbent) and their night-and-day twins, a bookish good girl and a sneering layabout (Claire Skinner and Jane Horrocks). In it, Leigh and his typically brilliant cast create, with extraordinary sensitivity and craft, a vivid, lived-in story of ordinary existence, in which even modest dreams (such as the father's desire to open a food truck) carry enormous weight. Perched on the line between humor and melancholy, "Life Is Sweet" is captivating, and it was Leigh's first international sensation. New high-definition digital restoration, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. Extras: Commentary featuring director Mike Leigh, audio recording of a 1991 interview with Leigh at the National Film Theatre in London, booklet featuring an essay by critic David Sterritt. (The Criterion Collection).
Rolling Thunder
(1977) William Devane, Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Haynes, Dabney Coleman. A Vietnam War POW -- who endured eight years of torture -- returns home to a hero's welcome and a cash reward, but finds that his wife has fallen in love with another man. To make matters worse, a group of thugs go after hiw reward, in the process killing his wife and son; he then teans up with another ex-POW to exact his revenge. Extras: Interview with William Devane, theatrical trailer, TV spot. (Shout! Factory).
This Month's BR
grossing film of 1963, bringing in more than $24 million in its initial release ... but the film cost an unprecedented $42 million to make (equivalent to over $300 million today) and nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox. In addition to elaborate sets and costumes, production delays and the relocation of principal filming from London to Rome added to the skyrocketing budget. A very public love affair between Taylor and Burton that blossomed during the three-year production meant that there was as much romance and intrigue off-screen as on-screen. The film later won four Academy Awards, and was nominated for five more, including Best Picture. Extras: "Cleopatra Through The Ages: A Cultural History"; "Cleopatra's" missing footage; "Fox Movie Channel presents Fox Legacy With Tom Rothman"; commentary with Chris Mankiewicz, Tom Mankiewicz, Martin Landau and Jack Brodsky (author of a book "The Cleopatra Papers"); "The Cleopatra Papers: A Private Correspondence"; "Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood"; "The Fourth Star of Cleopatra"; Fox Movietone News: archival footage of the New York premiere, archival footage of the Hollywood premiere; trailers. (Fox).
