US DVD Update, 16 January

In taking time off from film writing for the past few weeks, I've been surprised how much I don't particularly miss doing it. At least, not yet. So, I apologize for the only updates on here being DVD announcements, but I'll be returning to actual writing soon. So for now, here's probably the most exciting release update so far this year, with dates announced for Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox, Serge Bozon's La France (one of my favorite films of the past decade), Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Tokyo Sonata, Jennifer M. Kroot's It Came from Kuchar and Ondi Timoner's We Live in Public. Also, Blu-rays for Death Race 2000 and William Friedkin's hilariously awful Jade (in its unavailable-on-DVD director's cut, as far as I've heard), as well as Michael Mann's Collateral. And Sony has also announced a Hammer box-set, including Joseph Losey's These Are the Damned (also known as The Damned) with Oliver Reed, which is posted below the Blu-rays.

DVDs

- Bitch Slap, 2009, d. Rick Jacobson, 20th Century Fox, 2 March
- We Live in Public, 2009, d. Ondi Timoner, Indiepix, 2 March
- Gentlemen Broncos, 2009, d. Jared Hess, also on Blu-ray, 20th Century Fox, 2 March
- Dread, 2009, d. Anthony DiBlasi, Lionsgate, 23 March
- Fantastic Mr. Fox, 2009, d. Wes Anderson, also on Blu-ray, 20th Century Fox, 23 March
- Hidden [Skjult], 2009, d. Pål Øie, Lionsgate, 23 March
- An Education, 2009, d. Lone Scherfig, also on Blu-ray, Sony Pictures, 30 March
- Focus/Refocus: When Porn Kills, 2009, d. Tony DiMarco, Breaking Glass Pictures, 30 April [A "softcore" edit of the most expensive gay porn film of 2009]
- AIR: The Musical, 2009, d. Jeremy Osbern, Cinema Epoch, 6 April
- Five Minutes of Heaven, 2009, d. Oliver Hirschbiegel, also on Blu-ray, IFC Films, 6 April
- La France, 2008, d. Serge Bozon, Lorber Films/Kino, 6 April
- All My Friends Are Funeral Singers, 2010, d. Tim Rutili, Indiepix, 13 April
- Evening Primrose, 1966, d. Paul Bogart, Koch Vision, 20 April, w. Anthony Perkins
- The Horse Boy, 2009, d. Michel O. Scott, Zeitgeist, 20 April
- Mammoth, 2009, d. Lukas Moodysson, IFC Films, 20 April
- Uncertainty, 2008, d. Scott McGehee, David Siegel, IFC Films, 20 April
- Dark Nature, 2009, d. Marc de Launay, also on Blu-ray, Troma, 27 April
- Raging Sun, Raging Sky [Rabioso sol, rabioso cielo], 2009, d. Julián Hernández, TLA Releasing, 27 April
- Matinee, 1993, d. Joe Dante, Universal, 4 May
- No Time for Sergeants, 1958, d. Mervyn LeRoy, Warner, 4 May, w. Andy Griffith
- Tokyo Sonata, 2008, d. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, here! Films, 4 May
- The World Unseen, 2007, d. Shamim Sarif, here! Films, 4 May
- Misconceptions, 2008, d. Ron Satlof, here! Films, 18 May
- Murder in Fashion [aka Fashion Victim], 2008, d. Ben Waller, here! Films, 18 May
- It Came from Kuchar, 2009, d. Jennifer M. Kroot, Indiepix, 15 June


Blu-ray

- Collateral, 2004, d. Michael Mann, DreamWorks/Paramount, 30 March
- Jade, 1995, d. William Friedkin, Lionsgate, 6 April
- Lords of Dogtown, 2005, d. Catherine Hardwicke, Sony Pictures, 6 April
- The Natural, 1984, d. Barry Levinson, Sony Pictures, 6 April
- The Relic, 1997, d. Peter Hyams, Lionsgate, 6 April
- Rock 'n' Roll High School, 1979, d. Allan Arkush, Joe Dante, Jerry Zucker, Shout! Factory, 4 May
- Death Race 2000, 1975, d. Paul Bartel, Shout! Factory, 22 June


Icons of Suspense: Hammer Films, Sony Pictures, 6 April

- Stop Me Before I Kill! [aka The Full Treatment], 1960, d. Val Guest
- Cash on Demand, 1961, d. Quentin Lawrence, w. Peter Cushing
- Never Take Candy from a Stranger [aka Never Take Sweets from a Stranger], 1960, d. Cyril Frankel
- Maniac, 1963, d. Michael Carreras
- The Snorkel, 1958, d. Guy Green
- These Are the Damned [The Damned], 1963, d. Joseph Losey, w. Oliver Reed

Another Quick DVD Update

I didn't notice anything worth mentioning on the Blu-ray horizon (as usual), so here are some newly announced titles, three noir box sets and a couple of new titles in the Warner Archive.

- The Films of Amos Gitai [ Kadosh / Kippur / Kedma / Alila / Devarim / Yom Yom], 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 1995, 1998, d. Amos Gitai, Kino, 23 February
- The Informant!, 2009, d. Steven Soderbergh, also on Blu-ray, Warner, 23 February
- Soo, 2007, d. Sai Yoichi, Virgil Films, 23 February
- The Baby Formula, 2008, d. Alison Reid, Wolfe, 9 March
- Breaking Bad, Season 2, 2009, also on Blu-ray, Sony, 9 March
- Wonderful World, 2009, d. Joshua Goldin, also on Blu-ray, Magnolia, 16 March, w. Matthew Broderick, Sanaa Lathan, Michael Kenneth Williams, Philip Baker Hall
- Heinrich Himmler: Anatomy of a Mass Murderer [Heinrich Himmler: Aus dem Leben eines Massenmörders], 2008, d. Michael Kloft, First Run, 23 March
- The Statue, 1971, d. Rodney Amateau, Code Red, 23 March
- Ex Drummer, 2007, d. Koen Mortier, Palisades Tartan, 20 April
- Disgrace, 2008, d. Steve Jacobs, also on Blu-ray, Image, 27 April
- Veronica Decides to Die, 2009, d. Emily Young, First Look, 27 April, w. Sarah Michelle Gellar

Bad Girls of Film Noir, Vol. 1, Sony, 9 February

- The Killer That Stalked New York [aka Frightened City], 1950, d. Earl McEvoy
- Two of a Kind, 1951, d. Henry Levin
- Bad for Each Other, 1953, d. Irving Rapper, w. Charlton Heston
- The Glass Wall, 1953, d. Maxwell Shane, w. Vittorio Gassman

Bad Girls of Film Noir, Vol. 2, Sony, 9 February

- Night Editor, 1946, d. Henry Levin
- One Girl's Confession, 1953, d. Hugo Haas
- Women's Prison, 1955, d. Lewis Seiler, w. Ida Lupino
- Over-Exposed, 1956, d. Lewis Seiler, w. Richard Crenna

British Film Noir Double Feature, VCI, 23 February

- Twilight Women [aka Women of Twilight], 1952, d. Gordon Parry
- The Slasher [aka Cosh Boy], 1953, d. Lewis Gilbert, w. Joan Collins

New Additions to the Warner Archive

- The Boy with Green Hair, 1948, d. Joseph Losey
- The Canterville Ghost, 1944, d. Jules Dassin, Norman Z. McLeod, w. Charles Laughton
- The Enchanted Cottage, 1945, d. John Cromwell
- The Happy Years, 1950, d. William A. Wellman, w. Dean Stockwell
- Hard, Fast and Beautiful, 1951, d. Ida Lupino
- The Hollywood Revue of 1929, 1929, d. Charles Reisner, w. Buster Keaton, Joan Crawford, John Gilbert, Marion Davies, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy
- Sally, 1929, d. John Francis Dillon
- Show Girl in Hollywood, 1930, d. Mervyn LeRoy
- The Strange Love of Molly Louvain, 1932, d. Michael Curtiz
- Untamed Youth, 1957, d. Howard W. Koch, w. Mamie Van Doren

Le mépris, Ran and Others on Blu-ray in the UK This Fall

Despite the bad news that Criterion's planned Blu-rays of Jean-Luc Godard' Contempt [Le mépris] and Akira Kurosawa's Ran were scrapped due to the loss of rights, Optimum Releasing in the UK has both, plus a bunch of other exciting titles, set for a Blu-ray release in September. The other titles include: David Lynch's The Elephant Man, Alain Resnais' Last Year at Marienbad [L'année dernière à Marienbad], Luis Buñuel's Belle de jour, Joseph Losey's The Go-Between (which isn't even out on DVD in the US), Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter, Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta's The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum [Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum oder: Wie Gewalt entstehen und wohin sie führen kann], Luc Besson's Le dernier combat, Angel-A, Léon: The Professional, Le grand bleu [The Big Blue], Atlantis, Subway and Nikita [La femme Nikita].

In August, Optimum will be releasing Blu-rays of Mathieu Kassovitz's La haine, Alan Parker's Angel Heart and Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark; in July, Alexandre Aja's Haute tension (which is called Switchblade Romance in the UK), Roman Polanski's The Pianist, Michael Winterbottom's 9 Songs, Rian Johnson's Brick, Gus Van Sant's Elephant and Stephen Frears' The Grifters. Apparently, the UK is the place for great international cinema in high def.

Also, thanks to Eric for the heads up, Artificial Eye in the UK is releasing a Jacques Rivette box-set, which includes La belle noiseuse, Secret défense and Jeanne la Pucelle I and II. This may be the first official release of the uncut version of Jeanne, but that has yet to be confirmed.