CriterionCast

Criterion Link Collection For Friday, August 9th 2013

Catching up on my RSS feeds, here are some stories going around this week that you should check out:

Matthew Dessem has returned to the Criterion Contraption! 

Rififi is the rare example of a director adapting a novel which he not only loathed but would never have chosen to work on at all, except for the fact that he was afraid he’d never work again.

“Access the Disney Animation Vault with New Interactive iPad App”

“Disney Animated, which is available today in the iTunes app store for $13.99, contains 750 interactive illustrations, over 400 short animation clips and 350 backgrounds, concept drawings and storyboards.”

“Werner Herzog Doesn’t Want You to Text And Drive”

Xzavier, Chandler, Debbie, and Reggie all know the horrors of texting & driving firsthand. Watch their stories in this It Can Wait Documentary.

“Ang Lee To Next Helm 3D Film With Classic Boxing Battles Including Ali-Frazier”

“I’ve learned that Lee has set up his next project at Universal Pictures, and it’s described to me as an epic look at the boxing world of the 1960s and 1970s, as seen through the prism of its biggest rivalries and greatest fights. That will include the showdown between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali that was called the Thrilla In Manila. Peter Morgan will write the script.

The movie will have a narrative that connects the 3D depiction of some of boxing’s great fights, and Lee will produce the film with his longtime producing partner James Schamus. Ang Lee set to helm 3D boxing film, re-create classic fights from the ’60s and ’70s”

“Blu-ray Saves the Day – Again, and Again, and Again”

“Clearly, the facts speak otherwise. Blu-ray Disc sales is a healthy, thriving and growing business. And instead of looking back on the gaga days of DVD, when the packaged media business was posting double-digit gains, year after year, we should marvel at Blu-ray Disc’s own success story: coming of age in the Great Recession and consistently posting significant gains quarter after quarter, year after year.”

“Mira Nair to Helm ‘Bengali Detective’”

Story focuses on an an intrepid private eye in Calcutta’s criminal underworld whose dream is to dance on Indian TV.

“Roku iOS app adds supports for video streaming”

“This new feature is supported by version 5.1 of the Roku player firmware which was released for all customers with a Roku 3, Roku 2, Roku HD (model 2500) or Roku LT (models 2400 & 2450) player or the Roku Streaming Stick. In addition to video streaming from iPhone and the usual minor bug fixes and performance improvements, the 5.1 update also adds support for audiophile-requested FLAC and WAV audio file formats. The USB Media Player channel has been updated to support these formats.”

Ryan Gallagher

Ryan is the Editor-In-Chief / Founder of CriterionCast.com, and the host / co-founder / producer of the various podcasts here on the site. You can find his website at RyanGallagher.org, follow him on Twitter (@RyanGallagher), or send him an email: [email protected].