This month, Criterion expands into 4K UHD market with David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr., Albert and Allen Hughes’s Menace II Society, and Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane, the title that launched Criterion’s laserdisc line 37 years ago. On Blu-ray, they are releasing Tsui Hark’s quintology Once Upon a Time in China: The Complete Films and a standalone edition of Federico Fellini’s La strada. Read on to learn more about them.
La strada (#219) out Nov 2
With this breakthrough film, Federico Fellini launched both himself and his wife and collaborator Giulietta Masina to international stardom, breaking with the neorealism of his early career in favor of a personal, poetic vision of life as a bittersweet carnival. The infinitely expressive Masina registers both childlike wonder and heartbreaking despair as Gelsomina, loyal companion to the traveling strongman Zampanò (Anthony Quinn, in a toweringly physical performance), whose callousness and brutality gradually wear down her gentle spirit. Winner of the very first Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film, La strada possesses the purity and timeless resonance of a fable and remains one of cinema’s most exquisitely moving visions of humanity struggling to survive in the face of life’s cruelties.. The Special Features are:
- 4K digital restoration, undertaken in collaboration with The Film Foundation and the Cineteca di Bologna, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Alternate English-dubbed soundtrack, featuring the voices of Anthony Quinn and Richard Basehart
- Audio commentary from 2003 by Peter Bondanella, author of The Cinema of Federico Fellini
- Introduction from 2003 by filmmaker Martin Scorsese
- Giulietta Masina: The Power of a Smile, a documentary from 2004
- Federico Fellini’s Autobiography, a documentary originally broadcast on Italian television in 2000
- Trailer
- PLUS: An essay by film critic Christina Newland
Once Upon a Time in China: The Complete Films (#1103) out Nov 16
One of the pinnacles of Hong Kong cinema’s 1990s golden age, the Once Upon a Time in China series set a new standard for martial-arts spectacle and launched action star Jet Li to international fame. It brings to vivid life the colorful world of China in the late nineteenth century, an era of immense cultural and technological change, as Western imperialism clashed with tradition and public order was upended by the threats of foreign espionage and rising nationalism. Against this turbulent backdrop, one man—the real-life martial-arts master, physician, and folk hero Wong Fei-hung—emerges as a noble protector of Chinese values as the country hurtles toward modernity. Conceived by Hong Kong New Wave leader Tsui Hark, this epic cycle is not only a dazzling showcase for some of the most astonishing action set pieces ever committed to film but also a rousing celebration of Chinese identity, history, and culture. The Special Features are:
- 4K digital restorations of Once Upon a Time in China and Once Upon a Time in China II and III, and new 2K digital restorations of Once Upon a Time in China IV and V, all presented with their original Cantonese theatrical-release sound mixes in uncompressed monaural or stereo
- Alternate stereo Cantonese soundtracks for Once Upon a Time in China and Once Upon a Time in China II, featuring the original theatrical sound effects, and monaural Cantonese soundtrack for Once Upon a Time in China III
- Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997) in a 2K digital transfer, featuring 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio and monaural Cantonese soundtracks, along with a stereo Mandarin track with the voice of actor Jet Li
- New interviews with director Tsui Hark, Film Workshop cofounder Nansun Shi, editor Marco Mak, and critic Tony Rayns
- Excerpts from audio interviews with Li conducted in 2004 and ’05
- Deleted scenes from Once Upon a Time in China III
- Documentary from 2004 about the real-life martial-arts hero Wong Fei-hung
- From Spikes to Spindles, a 1976 documentary about New York City’s Chinatown featuring uncredited work by Tsui
- Excerpts from a 2019 master class given by martial-arts choreographer Yuen Wo-ping
- Archival interviews featuring Tsui and actors John Wakefield, Donnie Yen, and Yen Shi-kwan
- Behind-the-scenes footage for Once Upon a Time in China and Once Upon a Time in China and America
- Making-of program from 1997 on Once Upon a Time in China and America
- Trailers
- New English subtitle translations
- PLUS: An essay on the films by critic Maggie Lee and an essay on the cinematic depictions of Wong by novelist Grady Hendrix
Mulholland Dr. (#779) out Nov 16
A love story in the city of dreams . . . Blonde Betty Elms (Naomi Watts) has only just arrived in Hollywood to become a movie star when she meets an enigmatic brunette with amnesia (Laura Harring). Meanwhile, as the two set off to solve the second woman’s identity, filmmaker Adam Kesher (Justin Theroux) runs into ominous trouble while casting his latest project. David Lynch’s seductive and scary vision of Los Angeles’s dream factory is one of the true masterpieces of the new millennium, a tale of love, jealousy, and revenge like no other. The Director-Approved Special Features are:
- In the 4K UHD edition: New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director David Lynch and director of photography Peter Deming, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack (4K UHD disc only)
- In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- On the Blu-ray and DVD: Restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by Director David Lynch and director of photography Peter Deming, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Interviews from 2015 with Lynch; Deming; actors Naomi Watts, Justin Theroux, and Laura Harring; composer Angelo Badalamenti; production designer Jack Fisk; and casting director Johanna Ray
- On-set footage
- Deleted scene
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an interview with Lynch from the 2005 edition of filmmaker and writer Chris Rodley’s book Lynch on Lynch
Citizen Kane (#1104) out Nov 23
In the most dazzling debut feature in cinema history, twenty-five-year-old writer-producer-director-star Orson Welles synthesized the possibilities of sound-era filmmaking into what could be called the first truly modern movie. In telling the story of the meteoric rise and precipitous fall of a William Randolph Hearst–like newspaper magnate named Charles Foster Kane, Welles not only created the definitive portrait of American megalomania, he also unleashed a torrent of stylistic innovations—from the jigsaw-puzzle narrative structure to the stunning deep-focus camera work of Gregg Toland—that have ensured that Citizen Kane remains fresh and galvanizing for every new generation of moviegoers to encounter it. The Special Features are:
- New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and three Blu-rays with the film and special features
- Three audio commentaries: from 2021 featuring Orson Welles scholars James Naremore and Jonathan Rosenbaum; from 2002 featuring filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich; and from 2002 featuring film critic Roger Ebert
- The Complete “Citizen Kane,” (1991), a rarely seen feature-length BBC documentary
- New interviews with critic Farran Smith Nehme and film scholar Racquel J. Gates
- New video essay by Orson Welles scholar Robert Carringer
- New program on the film’s special effects by film scholars and effects experts Craig Barron and Ben Burtt
- Interviews from 1990 with editor Robert Wise; actor Ruth Warrick; optical-effects designer Linwood Dunn; Bogdanovich; filmmakers Martin Scorsese, Henry Jaglom, Martin Ritt, and Frank Marshall; and cinematographers Allen Daviau, Gary Graver, and Vilmos Zsigmond
- New documentary featuring archival interviews with Welles
- Interviews with actor Joseph Cotten from 1966 and 1975
- The Hearts of Age, a brief silent film made by Welles as a student in 1934
- Television programs from 1979 and 1988 featuring appearances by Welles and Mercury Theatre producer John Houseman
- Program featuring a 1996 interview with actor William Alland on his collaborations with Welles
- Selection of The Mercury Theatre on the Air radio plays featuring many of the actors from Citizen Kane
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: Deluxe packaging, including a book with an essay by film critic Bilge Ebiri
Menace II Society (#1105) out Nov 23
Directors Albert and Allen Hughes and screenwriter Tyger Williams were barely into their twenties when they sent shock waves through American cinema and hip-hop culture with this fatalistic, unflinching vision of life and death on the streets of Watts, Los Angeles, in the 1990s. There, in the shadow of the riots of 1965 and 1992, young Caine (Tyrin Turner) is growing up under the influence of his ruthless, drug-dealing father (Samuel L. Jackson, in a chilling cameo) and his loose-cannon best friend, O-Dog (Larenz Tate), leading him into a spiral of violent crime from which he is not sure he wants to escape, despite the best efforts of his grandparents and the steadfast Ronnie (Jada Pinkett). Fusing grim realism with a propulsively stylish aesthetic honed through the Hughes brothers’ work on rap videos, Menace II Society is a searing cautionary tale about the devastating human toll of hopelessness. The Director-Approved Special Features are:
- New 4K digital restoration of the directors’ cut of the film, supervised by cinematographer Lisa Rinzler and codirector Albert Hughes, with 7.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- Original 2.0 surround soundtrack, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio
- Two audio commentaries from 1993 featuring directors Albert and Allen Hughes
- Gangsta Vision, a 2009 featurette on the making of the film
- New conversation among Albert Hughes, screenwriter Tyger Williams, and film critic Elvis Mitchell
- New conversation among Allen Hughes, actor and filmmaker Bill Duke, and Mitchell
- Interview from 1993 with the directors
- Deleted scenes
- Film-to-storyboard comparison
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by film critic Craig D. Lindsey
Uncut Gems (#1101) out Nov 23
This jolt of pure cinematic adrenaline affirmed directors Josh and Benny Safdie as heirs to the gritty, heightened realism of Martin Scorsese and John Cassavetes. Adam Sandler delivers an almost maniacally embodied performance as Howard Ratner, a fast-talking New York jeweler in relentless pursuit of the next big score. When he comes into possession of a rare opal, it seems Howard’s ship has finally come in—as long as he can stay one step ahead of a wife (Idina Menzel) who hates him, a mistress (Julia Fox) who can’t quit him, and a frenzy of loan sharks and hit men closing in on him. Wrapping a vivid look at the old-school Jewish world of Manhattan’s Diamond District within a kinetic thriller, Uncut Gems gives us one of the great characters in modern cinema: a tragic hero of competing compulsions on a shoot-the-moon quest to transcend his destiny. The Director-Approved Special Features are:
- 4K digital transfer, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Audio commentary from 2019 featuring writer-directors Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie, writer and editor Ronald Bronstein, and producer Sebastian Bear-McClard
- New interviews with cinematographer Darius Khondji, costume designer Miyako Bellizzi, and casting director Jennifer Venditti
- Documentaries from 2019 and 2020 on the making of the film and soundtrack
- Screen test featuring actors Adam Sandler and Julia Fox
- Goldman v. Silverman, a 2020 short film by the Safdies, featuring Sandler and Benny Safdie
- “Question & Answer,” a 2020 short film featuring the Safdies, Sandler, actor Jason Bateman, and comedy writer Megan Amram
- Deleted and extended scenes, including a full performance of “The Morning” by the Weeknd
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by film critic J. Hoberman and, for the Blu-ray, a 2020 discussion of the film by the editorial staff of Jewish Currents magazine
