The Criterion Collection Thread

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

In this chilling adaptation of the best-selling novel by Thomas Harris, the astonishingly versatile director Jonathan Demme crafted a taut psychological thriller about an American obsession: serial murder. As Clarice Starling, an FBI trainee who enlists the help of the infamous Hannibal “the Cannibal” Lecter to gain insight into the mind of another killer, Jodie Foster subverts classic gender dynamics and gives one of the most memorable performances of her career. As her foil, Anthony Hopkins is the archetypical antihero—cultured, quick-witted, and savagely murderous—delivering a harrowing portrait of humanity gone terribly wrong. A gripping police procedural and a disquieting immersion into a twisted psyche, The Silence of the Lambs swept the Academy Awards (best picture, best director, best screenplay, best actress, best actor) and remains a cultural touchstone.


New 4K digital restoration, approved by director of photography Tak Fujimoto, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
Alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray
Audio commentary from 1994 featuring director Jonathan Demme, actors Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, screenwriter Ted Tally, and former FBI agent John Douglas
New interview with critic Maitland McDonagh
Thirty-five minutes of deleted scenes
Interview from 2005 with Demme and Foster
Inside the Labyrinth, a 2001 documentary
Page to Screen, a 2002 program about the adaptation
Scoring “The Silence,” a 2004 interview program featuring composer Howard Shore
Understanding the Madness, a 2008 program featuring interviews with retired FBI special agents
Original behind-the-scenes featurette
Trailer
PLUS: An essay by critic Amy Taubin along with, in the Blu-ray edition, a new introduction by Foster; an account of the origins of the character Hannibal Lecter by author Thomas Harris; and a 1991 interview with Demme

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

In the early 1960s, at the height of the British New Wave, a movement whose gritty realism they had helped establish, director Tony Richardson and playwright John Osborne set out for more fanciful narrative territory. Tom Jones brings a theatrical flair to Henry Fielding's canonical eighteenth-century novel, boisterously chronicling the misadventures of the foundling of the title (Albert Finney, in a career-defining turn), whose easy charm seems to lead him astray at every turn from his beloved, the wellborn Sophie Western (Susannah York). This spirited picaresque, evocatively shot in England's rambling countryside and featuring an extraordinary ensemble cast, went on to become a worldwide sensation, winning the Oscar for best picture on the way to securing its status as a classic of irreverent wit and playful cinematic expression.


New 4K digital restorations of the original theatrical version of the film and the 1989 director's cut, both supervised by director of photography Walter Lassally, with uncompressed monaural and stereo soundtracks on the Blu-ray
New program on the film's cinematography featuring a conversation between Lassally and critic Peter Cowie
Excerpt from a 1982 episode of The Dick Cavett Show featuring actor Albert Finney
New interview with actor Vanessa Redgrave on director Tony Richardson, to whom she was married from 1962 to 1967
New interview with film scholar Duncan Petrie on the movie's impact on British cinema
Illustrated archival audio interview with composer John Addison on his Oscar-winning score for the film
New interview with the director's-cut editor, Robert Lambert
PLUS: An essay by scholar Neil Sinyard

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

In this psychologically rich character study, written and directed by Satyajit Ray, Bengali film star Uttam Kumar draws on his real-world celebrity to play Arindam Mukherjee, a matinee idol on the brink of his first flop. When Mukherjee boards an overnight train to Delhi to accept an award, a journalist (Sharmila Tagore) approaches him seeking an exclusive interview, which initiates a conversation that sends the actor reeling down a path of self-examination. Seamlessly integrating rueful flashbacks and surreal dream sequences with the quietly revelatory stories of the train's other passengers, The Hero is a graceful meditation on art, fame, and regret from one of world cinema's most keenly perceptive filmmakers.


New, restored 2K digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
Interview from 2008 with actor Sharmila Tagore
New program featuring film scholar Meheli Sen
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: An essay by author Pico Iyer and a 1980 tribute to Kumar by Ray

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

A uniquely prolific and chameleonic figure of world cinema, Kon Ichikawa delivered a burst of stylistic bravado with this intricate tale of betrayal and retribution. Set in the cloistered world of nineteenth-century kabuki theater, the film charts a female impersonator's attempts to avenge the deaths of his parents, who were driven to insanity and suicide by a trio of corrupt men. Ichikawa takes the conventions of melodrama and turns them on their head, bringing the hero's fractured psyche to life in boldly experimental widescreen compositions infused with kaleidoscopic color, pop-art influences, and meticulous choreography. Anchored by a magnificently androgynous performance by Kazuo Hasegawa, reprising a role he had played on-screen three decades earlier, An Actor's Revenge is an eye-popping examination of how the illusions of art intersect with life.


New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
Rare 1999 Directors Guild of Japan interview with director Kon Ichikawa, conducted by critic and filmmaker Yuki Mori
New interview with critic, filmmaker, and festival programmer Tony Rayns
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: An essay by critic Michael Sragow

[Derrick King Waterfall Puncher Find all posts View Profile Close Derrick King]

Ian beat me to it. February is a he'll of a month and that Night of the Living Dead release looks amazing.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

It really does. I'm in for that and probably Silence of the Lambs. Haven't seen the other four, but I'm marginally intrigued by them.

[agent999 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close agent999]

I'm interested in seeing the Anubis cut of NOLD (hopefully it won't have that horrible jump cut in the cellar), but I'll wait for reviews before I decide. I saw An Actor's Revenge on a double bill with In the Realm of the Senses, but I wouldn't buy it.

[enandalusiskhund An Andalusian Dog Find all posts View Profile Close enandalusiskhund]

Silence of the Lambs and Night of the Living Dead from Criterion. In the same month! What a time to be alive.

[Dark Horse 77 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dark Horse 77]

Silence of the Lambs looks like it not only ports over all the great extras from the 2-disc edition already available plus adds some great stuff!
Night of the Living Dead doesn't gather everything so I'll have to keep my Birth of the Living Dead disc + the 2008 disc which had the One For The Fire documentary. I'll combine both the Criterion and these for a five-disc monster.
My one quibble: I'm a little worn out on the painting covers from Criterion. Some films really shouldn't be marketed too closely to comic books, Night being one of them. That said, the Silence of the Lambs cover is great.

[Derrick King Waterfall Puncher Find all posts View Profile Close Derrick King]

One for the Fire might be included. According to Michael Felsher, The Weinstein Company has the rights until next year, so maybe Criterion can't mention it yet (hence the "More!" under the special features.)

[Dark Horse 77 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dark Horse 77]

One for the Fire might be included. According to Michael Felsher, The Weinstein Company has the rights until next year, so maybe Criterion can't mention it yet (hence the "More!" under the special features.)

Ahh good, I hadn't noticed that.

[Derrick King Waterfall Puncher Find all posts View Profile Close Derrick King]

I wouln't sell my 2008 disc just yet, but, yeah, the specs aren't 100% finalized.

[Dark Horse 77 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dark Horse 77]

Who would've thought that one day Criterion would be giving us 3, yes 3 discs of Night of the Living Dead greatness!!

[Derrick King Waterfall Puncher Find all posts View Profile Close Derrick King]

According to Michael Felsher One for the Fire isn't going to be included. He said Criterion wanted it but for what ever reason they couldn't get. So save your disc.

[bgart13 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bgart13]

It's under Weinstein for two more years, per Russ Streiner.