In May, Criterion will offer a dazzling lineup of dramas, important touchstones from some of our greatest cinematic icons. First, three intensely emotional films that deal in some way with the power and consequences of addiction: Charlie Chaplin’s tender classic Limelight, about a washed-up vaudeville star who tries to reboot his career; Mark Rydell’s The Rose, featuring a no-holds-barred, Oscar-nominated performance by Bette Midler as a rock star on a downward spiral; and The Merchant of Four Seasons, Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s tale of a fruit seller who can barely cope with work and family life. Also presented, for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray in the U.S., two feverish political thrillers from the great Costa-Gavras, The Confession and State of Siege, both starring Yves Montand and featuring the same brilliantly visceral filmmaking style as his Oscar-winning Z. And finally, Make Way for Tomorrow, Leo McCarey’s unparalleled Hollywood tearjerker, comes to Blu-ray.
May 12: Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
May 19: Limelight (1952)
May 19: The Rose (1979)
May 26: The Confession (1970)
May 26: State of Siege (1972)
May 26: The Merchant of Four Seasons (1971)
