February 2011 Criterion Collection New Releases Announced! Fish Tank, Sweet Smell Of Success, Senso, Amarcord, Still Walking!

Double Life Of Veronique

Krzysztof Kie?lowski

Criterion #359, Blu-ray on 2/1/2011

Krzysztof Kie?lowski’s international breakthrough remains one of his most beloved films, a ravishing, mysterious rumination on identity, love, and human intuition. Irène Jacob is incandescent as both Weronika, a Polish choir soprano, and her double, Véronique, a French music teacher. Though unknown to each other, the two women share an enigmatic, emotional bond, which Kie?lowski details in gorgeous reflections, colors, and movements. Aided by Slawomir Idziak’s shimmering cinematography and Zbigniew Preisner’s haunting, operatic score, Kie?lowski creates one of cinema’s most purely metaphysical works. The Double Life of Véronique is an unforgettable symphony of feeling.

http://www.criterion.com/films/214-the-double-life-of-veronique

Amarcord

Federico Fellini

Criterion #4, Blu-ray on 2/8/2011

In this carnivalesque portrait of provincial Italy during the Fascist period, Federico Fellini’s most personal film satirizes his youth and turns daily life into a circus of social rituals, adolescent desires, male fantasies, and political subterfuge, all set to Nina Rota’s classic, nostalgia-tinged score. The Academy Award’“winning Amarcord remains one of cinema’s enduring treasures.

Still Walking

Kore-Eda Hirokazu

Criterion # , DVD and Blu-ray on 2/8/2011

Beloved director Kore-Eda Hirokazu (AFTER LIFE, NOBODY KNOWS) returns to the forefront of world cinema with STILL WALKING – an exquisitely detailed family drama that shines with warmth and understanding. The film was one of the most critically acclaimed works at the Toronto, Tribeca, and San Francisco International Film Festivals. Lushly photographed, and with an expert script that incorporates elements of director Kore-Eda’s personal experience, STILL WALKING is a quiet pleasure unlike anything else you will see this year.

Fifteen years ago, Junpei, the youngest son of the Yokoyama family died while rescuing a boy from drowning. On the anniversary of his death, the remaining siblings visit the quaint home of their parents with their families in tow. Over the course of a beautiful day, new relatives become acquainted telling stories and squabbling over sizzling tempura and an elegant graveside ritual is performed for Junpei. Recalling the delicate splendor of Yasujiro Ozu’s TOKYO STORY, Kore-Eda shows complete mastery of his characters while revealing the complex dynamics of an ultimately loving family with humor and warmth.

Disc Features

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION:

• New high-definition digital transfer, approved by director Hirokazu Kore-eda and director of photography Yutaka Yamazaki (with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
• New video interviews with Kore-eda and Yamazaki
• Making ‘Still Walking’
• Trailer
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by film critic Dennis Lim and recipes for the food prepared in the film

Fish Tank

Andrea Arnold

DVD and Blu-ray on 2/22/2011

Fifteen-year-old Mia (Katie Jarvis) is in a constant state of war with her family and the world around her, without any creative outlet for her considerable energies save a secret love of hip-hop dance. When she meets her party-girl mother’s charming new boyfriend Connor (Michael Fassbender), she is amazed to find he returns her attention, and believes he might help her start to make sense of her life. A clear-eyed, potent portrait of teenage sexuality and vulnerability, FISH TANK confirms writer/director Arnold’s status as one of the leading figures of new British cinema.

Sweet Smell Of Success

DVD and Blu-ray on 2/22/2011

J.J. Hunsecker, a powerful New York newspaper columnist, is dead set against his sister’s marrying a jazz musician. Sidney Falco, a sleazy PR man, will do anything to get publicity for his clients, and he sees Hunsecker’s situation as an opportunity to win the writer’s favor. So, he sets out to break up the affair anyway he can.

Senso

Luchino Visconti

DVD and Blu-ray on 2/22/2011

1866. Venice is the target of Italian patriots who want to liberate the city from the Austrians. Lieutenant Ussoni challenges an Austrian officer, Mahler, to a duel but then Countess de Serpieri enters the picture. She becomes Mahler’s mistress and helps him to desert.