Criterion has announced their August slate, and it’s a doozy for classic film enthusiasts with only two “contemporary” titles in sight that just happen to be a couple of early efforts by Terry Zwigoff. This late summer schedule hearkens back to the label’s early days mostly pre-occupied with cinematic history, so excuse us if we’re feeling some slight deja vu.
Kicking things off, and first revealed in our interview with Criterion last year, cinematic master Josef Von Sternberg makes his debut in the collection with three silent and previously unavailable works. The simply titled set “Three Silent Classics by Josef Von Sternberg” the DVD set includes the director’s influential gangster effort “Underworld,” the historical epic “The Last Command” and the celebrated “Docks Of New York.” The set will feature two different musical scores for each film, two visual essays, a 1968 Swedish television interview with Sternberg and a whopping 96-page booklet featuring essays, the original film treatment for “Underworld” and an excerpt from his autobiography.
Next are two films from cult filmmaker Terry Zwigoff. Making its debut on DVD is Zwigoff’s first feature, the documentary “Louis Blouie.” The film chronicles Howard “Louie Bluie” Armstrong a blues musician, visual artist and member of the last known black string band in America. The set features a commentary by Zwigoff and outtakes/deleted scenes. But the film that put Zwigoff on the map was his follow up, the brilliant “Crumb.” The documentary is about the titular cartoonist Robert Crumb and is a must-see even if you’re not familiar or a fan of his work. Arriving on DVD and BluRay, the set will feature two commentaries, one of which includes Roger Ebert, an early champion of the film as well as outtakes and deleted scenes.
French filmmaker Maurice Pialat returns to the collection as Criterion issues his debut feature on DVD “L’enface nue.” The film chronicles the travails of a foster child with stark, clear-eyed realism. The DVD will include an early short from the director, “L’amour existe” as well as “Choses vue, autour de ‘L’enfance nue'” a documentary about the film that was made shortly after its initial release. An essay and interviews round things out.
Jumping over the Eclipse line, Akira Kurosawa’s early films get compiled in “The First Films Of Akira Kurosawa.” These titles, previously only available in the massive AK: 100 anniversary box set are now available here and include “Sanshiro Sugata,” “The Most Beautiful,” “Sanshiro Sugata Part Two” and “The Men Who Tread On The Tiger’s Tails.” As per usual with Eclipse, there are no extras available.
Finally, Criterion re-issues Marcel Camus’ “Black Orpheus” on BluRay. The disc will feature all the same extras as on the current DVD incarnation, but of course, will be in dazzling high definition.
