A few DVD announcements

Criterion will be giving Vittorio de Sica's neo-realist masterpiece Ladri di biciclette the double-disc treatment under its direct translation Bicycle Thieves, instead of the singular The Bicycle Thief as it is commonly known in the United States. If you've seen the film, you'll know why this title change is necessary. If you haven't, here's your chance. The old Image disc kinda sucks. [ 13 Februrary 2007 ]

I mentioned this release before, but it's worth mentioning again. Warner will finally be putting out Nicolas Roeg and Donald Cammell's brilliant Performance, starring Mick Jagger and James Fox, this spring. Think of it as Bergman's Persona only with dudes and with a lot more rock n roll. I had always wondered what would have made Persona a better film, and Roeg answered that: Mick Jagger. [ 13 February 2007 ]

Though sadly missing Kika, What Have I Done to Deserve This?, and Dark Habits (the latter two are available from Wellspring now), Sony will be releasing the Viva Pedro! box-set with
six excellent Pedro flicks (All About My Mother, Talk to Her, Bad Education, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Matador, and Law of Desire) and two not-so-great ones (Live Flesh and The Flower of My Secret). The box-set will include a bonus disc. No word yet whether the previously unreleased Matador or Law of Desire will be available separately for those of us who already own the others. Also, no date for Volver as of yet. [ 30 January 2007 ]

You know you wanna see all those sexy people above fucking. Actually, if that's the reason you want to see it, you'll probably be disappointed. Anyway, ThinkFilm will be releasing Shortbus this spring, and as it's likely not to be shelved at Blockbuster, queue it up on Netflix. [ 13 March 2007 ]

I thought there was a bunch more noteworthy releases for early 2007 when I started writing this, but apparently not. You can expect a better release guide once better titles are announced.