DVD Reviews

Abstract

The French Old Wave: Claude Sautet's Classe tous risques Classe tous risques (1960) France Director Claude Sautet Screenplay Claude Sautet, Jos Giovanni and Pascal Jardin Original Novel Jos Giovanni Producer Jean Darvey Director of Photography Ghislain Cloquet Music Georges Delerue With Lino Ventura (Abel Davos), Sandra Milo (Liliane), Jean-Paul Belmondo (Eric Stark), Marcel Dalio (Arthur Gibelin), Michel Ardan (Henri Vintran), Claude Cerval (Raoul Fargier), Jacques Dacqmine (Blot), Simone France (Thrse Davos) Runtime 108 minutes DVD, 2008, USA Produced and Distributed by The Criterion Collection (region 1) Aspect Ratio 1.66:1 Sound Mix Mono 1.0 Extras New restored high-definition transfer. Excerpts from Claude Sautet ou la magie invisible, a 2003 documentary on the director. Interview with Classe tous risques novelist and screenwriter Jos Giovanni. Archival footage interview with actor Lino Ventura. Original French and US trailers. New and improved English subtitle translation. Booklet with new essays by director Bertrand Tavernier and N. T. Binh, a reprinted interview with Claude Sautet, and a 1962 tribute by Jean-Pierre Melville. Shadows (1959) USA Director John Cassavetes Producer Maurice McEndree Cinematography Erich Kollmar Editing John Cassavetes and Maurice McEndree Associate Producer Seymour Cassel Saxophone solos Shafi Hadi Additional music Charles Mingus Lighting David Simon With Ben Carruthers (Ben), Lelia Goldoni (Leila), Hugh Hurd (Hugh), Anthony Ray (Tony), Dennis Sallas (Dennis), Tom Allen (Tom), David Pokitillow (David), Rupert Crosse (Rupert) Runtime 81 minutes DVD, 2009, USA Produced and Distributed by The Criterion Collection (region 1) Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Extras Restored high-definition digital transfer. Video interviews with actress Lelia Goldoni and associate producer Seymour Cassel. Rare silent 16mm footage of John Cassavetes and Burt Lane's acting workshop. Restoration demonstration. Stills gallery featuring rare behind-the-scenes production photos. Theatrical trailer. English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired. A booklet featuring an essay by critic Gary Giddins and a 1961 article by Cassavetes. Faces (1968) USA Director John Cassavetes Screenplay John Cassavetes Producer Maurice McEndree Cinematography Al Ruban Editing Maurice McEndree and Al Ruban Art direction Phedon Papamichael With John Marley (Richard Forst), Gena Rowlands (Jeannie Rapp), Lynn Carlin (Maria Forst), Seymour Cassel (Chet), Val Avery (Jim McCarthy), Fred Draper (Freddie) Runtime 130 minutes DVD, 2009, USA Produced and Distributed by The Criterion Collection (region 1) Aspect Ratio 1.66:1 Extras Restored high-definition digital transfer. 17-minute alternative opening sequence, from an early edit of the film. Episode of the French television series Cinastes de notre temps, from 1968, dedicated to Cassavetes, featuring rare interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. Making Faces, a 2004 documentary including interviews with actors Lynn Carlin, Seymour Cassel and Gena Rowlands and director of photography Al Ruban. Lighting & Shooting the Film, a short documentary from 2004 in which Ruban explains how he and the crew achieved the distinct look of Faces. English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired. A booklet featuring an essay by Stuart Klawans. Bigger Than Life (1956) USA Director Nicholas Ray Story and Screenplay Cyril Hume, Richard Maibaum Based on an article in The New Yorker by Berton Rouech Producer James Mason Director of Photography Joe MacDonald Art Director Lyle R Wheeler, Jack Martin Smith Set Decorations Walter M. Scott, Stuart A. Reiss Editor Louis Loeffler Music David Raksin With James Mason (Ed Avery), Barbara Rush (Lou Avery), Walter Matthau (Wally Gibbs), Christopher Olsen (Richie Avery), Robert Simon (Dr Norton), Roland Winters (Dr Rune), Rusty Lane (Bob La Porte), Rachel Stephens (Nurse), Kipp Hamilton (Pat Wade), Betty Caulfield (Mrs La Porte), Gus Schilling (Pharmacist), Richard Collier (Milkman) Runtime 91 minutes DVD, 2007 United Kingdom Produced and Distributed by BFI (region 2) Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 (16x9) anamorphic Extras Full feature commentary by Edward Buscombe. New filmed conversation between Jim Jarmusch and Jonathan Rosenbaum. Extracts from 1969 interview with Nicholas Ray. Original theatrical trailer. Fully illustrated booklets with essays by Geoff Andrew, Jeanine Basinger, Susan Ray and biographies. Hopes in the past Fassbinder's Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) Germany Director/Screenplay Rainer Werner Fassbinder Original Novel Alfred Doblin Producer Peter Marthesheimer Director of Photography Xaver Schwarzenberger Art Director/Costumes Barbara Baum With Gunter Lamprecht (Franz Biberkopf), Gottfried John (Reinhold Hoffman), Barbara Sukowa (Emilie Mieze Karsunke), Hannah Schygulla (Eva), Karin Baal (Minna), Annemarie Duringer (Cilly), Elisabeth Trissenaar (Lina), Franz Buchrieser (Gottfried Meck) Runtime 940 minutes DVD USA, 2007 Distributed by The Criterion Collection (region 1) Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Sound Mix Mono 1.0 Extras: New high-definition digital transfer. Documentaries include Hans-Dieter Hartl's Notes on the Making of Berlin Alexanderplatz (45 minutes); Julian Lorenz's Berlin Alexanderplatz Remastered: Notes on the Restoration (35 minutes) and Fassbinder's Berlin Alexanderplatz: A Mega Movie and its Story (60 minutes). Phil Jutzi's 1931 film of Berlin Alexanderplatz (90 minutes). 72-page book with essays by Tom Tykwer, Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Thomas Stenfeld.