16 September 2008

Criterion, Griffith, Maggie Cheung and Patti Smith

Criterion has announced their titles for December, which is their slow month of the year: Lars von Trier's Europa (aka Zentropa) and Samuel Fuller's White Dog. Europa will return to its original title, after Miramax was forced to retitled the film as it bared to similar to Agnieszka Holland's Europa Europa, which was made just a year prior. Europa stars Barbara Sukowa, Jean-Marc Barr, Udo Kier, Eddie Constantine and Max von Sydow as the narrator. White Dog showcases your dream team of Sam Fuller directing Kristy McNicol.

Kino has announced a series of D.W. Griffith films set for 18 November. The set includes Abraham Lincoln (1930), The Struggle (1931), The Avenging Conscience (1914), Sally of the Sawdust (1925), and Way Down East (1920), as well as the short film Edgar Allan Poe (1909) and a documentary from 1993 entitled D.W. Griffith: Father of Film.

In other news, Zeitgeist is releasing one of my favorite films of all time, Olivier Assayas' Irma Vep, on 9 December. The film was previously available in a shitty transfer from the early days of Fox Lorber; Maggie Cheung stars as herself, along with Jean-Pierre Léaud, Nathalie Richard, Arsinée Khanjian, Alex Descas, Bulle Ogier and Lou Castel. Palm will have the documentary Patti Smith: Dream of Life available on 13 January. And finally, HBO will release a box-set of The Wire, arguably one of the finest television programs ever, on 9 December.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Maggie Cheung is my fave all the time.