Être Queer à Cannes

Following in the traditions of both the Berlinale and Venice International Film Festival, the very first Queer Palm will be handed out at the Cannes Film Festival this year. Though in its first year, the award isn't yet an "official" prize... but it will be given to any film screening across the panels (the Official selection, Un Certain Regard, Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, Semaine de la Critique). The Teddy Award in Berlin has been around since 1987, formed by German filmmakers Wieland Speck and Manfred Salzgeber; the first Teddy's were given to Pedro Almodóvar's Law of Desire [La ley del deseo] in the feature category and Gus Van Sant's Five Ways to Kill Yourself and My New Friend in the shorts section. The Queer Lion of the Venice Film Festival has only been around for three years, with the first prize going to Edward Radtke's The Speed of Life in 2007; Tom Ford's A Single Man won last year. "Fathered" by directors Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau (Jeanne et le garçon formidable, Crustacés et coquillages), the Queer Palm will be announced at a ceremony on the 22nd. For more information, here's an interview with the organizer, Franck Finance-Madureira, with English subtitles. Ducastel and Martineau won a Teddy Jury Award in 2000 for The Adventures of Félix [Drôle de Félix].

Unfortunately, the official Queer Palm site doesn't mention which titles are eligible for the award, but with three notable queer cinéastes presenting their latest films this year, I'd imagine they'll have their pick of Gregg Araki's Kaboom! (which played out of competition at a midnight screening), Xavier Dolan's Heartbeats [Les amours imaginaires] (which has gotten a lot of great feedback and was just acquired by IFC Films) and (possibly) Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (which hasn't screened yet and may not be as queer as, say, Tropical Malady). I suppose there's a possibility in Cam Archer's Shit Year (like Weerasethakul's, it may lack the queerness of the director's previous Wild Tigers I Have Known), but gauging a film's queerness is a challenge (for those reading synopses and reviews just as much, I'd imagine, as those who've actually seen the films).

Looking at the Semaine de la Critique line-up today, I just now noticed that another (queer) short directed by James Franco, The Clerk's Tale, will be closing the Court-Métrange section of the Semaine (along with a short directed by Kirsten Dunst called Bastard, with Juno Temple, Brian Geraghty, Lukas Haas, Lee Thompson Young and L.M. Kit Carson). A little over a year after acting in a Gus Van Sant film (Milk, of course), Franco seems to be carrying on the queer cinema torch. Another short he directed called Feast of Stephen, about a teenage boy's black-and-white fantasies, took home the Teddy for Short Film earlier this year; Franco also played that homo Allen Ginsberg in Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's Howl, also part of the 2010 Berlinale. If no other Queer Palm information surfaces in the next few days, you'll hear back from me when the jury hands out their prize. Until then, check out the charming, smutty interview BUTT magazine conducted with Dolan back in April.

Criterion in August

Criterion's newly announced titles for August range from "well, finally" to "thanks, but..." The most obvious "finally" is a three-film set of Josef von Sternberg silents–Underworld, The Last Command and The Docks of New York–which had been speculated to be on their way for years. Still under the "finally" category is Maurice Pialat's L'enfance nue. After Criterion released Pialat's amazing À nos amours in 2006, we might have expected a number of the director's other films to surface, but so far only a crummy disc of Loulou and an out-of-print one for Van Gogh are the only other Pialat's on home video in the US (Masters of Cinema in the UK have been putting out most of his oeuvre on DVD over the past couple years). While I wouldn't necessarily throw Terry Zwigoff's Crumb or his first film, a documentary called Louie Bluie, into the "no thanks" category, as long as these releases don't lead to Criterion putting out any of his fiction features. And, well, as there's only one other title left (on the main line), you can guess my feelings toward Marcel Camus' Black Orpheus [Orfeu Negro], which will get a remastered reissue DVD release as well as a Blu-ray on the 17th. The Eclipse set will be the First Films of Akira Kurosawa–Sanshiro Sugata, Sanshiro Sugata 2, The Most Beautiful and The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail–all four of which were first issued last December in the AK 100 box set. Aside from Black Orpheus, Crumb will be the only other Blu-ray release in August. I have a non-Criterion DVD update coming up soon.

The 2010 Cannes Film Festival in Posters, Round 1

With the 63rd annual Cannes Film Festival beginning shortly, I decided to unveil the posters for the films playing (in all the sections) that I've come across so far. Though I didn't find a poster for it, Ken Loach's Route Irish, a film dealing with the British's involvement in Iraq, was added to the competition line-up, making the grand total of films in competition nineteen; ten of which (Biutiful, Burnt by the Sun 2, Copie conforme, The Housemaid, Des hommes et des dieux, Outrage, Poetry, Un homme qui crie, La nostra vita and Tournée) I did find posters for. In total, there's 26 in this round (I had more before realizing they were just cover sheets for the press booklets), including a collage of posters for Im Sang-soo's The Housemaid and Xavier Dolan's Les amours imaginaires. The rest: Abel, Alting bliver godt igen, Blue Valentine, Carancho, Copacabana, Draquila - L'Italia che trema, Illégal, L'autre monde, Año bisiesto, Life, Above All, Petit tailleur, Rubber, Film socialisme, Somos lo que hay and Wall Street 2.

Luther Price's Meat Screening in NYC

For those of you in the Big Apple, my friend Bradford Nordeen is presenting a video screening of queer experimental filmmaker Luther Price's super-8 Meat at Louis V E.S.P. in Brooklyn tomorrow night at 8pm (the screening starts at 9). I certainly encourage you to go if you're in the area. Here's a description of Meat from Canyon Cinema:

"Meat is viscerally consuming in its sterile, antiseptic and static giving over of the flesh. Poked, prodded, pinched and disgraced, the humiliated body is sacrificed and the metamorphosis begins ... the fly becomes the shit ... the maggot becomes the bone ... the bone becomes the food ... the food becomes shit and the body becomes the wound ... the institution becomes teeth ... throat and stomach."

Le joli mai

Yeah, yeah... I know I've pulled the post-a-photo-of-Grace-Jones-as-Mayday-on-May-1st business before, but when you've found something that works, stick with it (as my father always said). Now that the weather has improved, my mental well-being has ventured out of the red, and I'll be returning full-ish time to the blog. What you can expect from me this month: reviews of Kentucker Audley's two latest films, Holy Land and Open Five, which both premiered last month; the early stages of a new regular feature on the blog; more DVD updates (Mulholland Drive is supposedly making its way to Blu-ray this fall by the way); a rather messy criticism of Up in the Air, which started as an unsuccessful side-by-side-by-side comparison of that piece of shit, another overpraised turkey (An Education) and Andrea Arnold's magnificent Fish Tank (portions of the latter films still show up, but it really didn't work as a whole); likely some links to writings about the films screening at Cannes (as I won't be in attendance); the Cannes poster update (which is looking grim so far, but it usually isn't until halfway through the festival that the posters start showing their faces); many unnecessary references to Liz Lemon; an appreciation post for Téa Leoni; some press for a good friend's NYC show coming up; a belated 2009 music post; some of this; and hopefully plenty of other (quasi-)exciting things. Getting back into "the swing of things" is more difficult than I had imagined, but the (non-breeding-related) post-partum depression is slowly vanishing...

Rise Above

The Girl on the Train
La fille du RER

2009, France
André Téchiné

When Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy came out, many people found it to be a rather telling portrait of the economic crash of 2008, though many others noted that the film was made (and even premiered) before that had happened. What was fascinating though about the label placed upon it was that the film concerned a woman in her mid-20s, played by Michelle Williams, while the media focused on those individuals who were being laid off from jobs they’d had for years. André Téchiné’s latest film, The Girl on the Train, is one of the first films to really address this age group, the students who graduated at a time when the work field was grim to say the least, with that in mind… though what’s most appealing about the film is that it never directly approaches the subject.

Twentysomething Jeanne (Émilie Dequenne) is a charming, naïve young woman who lives with her mother Louise (Catherine Deneuve) and spends most of her afternoons rollerblading through Paris. The first moment we see Louise, she’s sitting in front of a computer, looking online for jobs to which her daughter could apply. The scene comes across as rather benign, trivial moment within the film. Louise nags her daughter about finding a job, Jeanne agrees with her while trying to change the subject, Louise adds that the particular job she’s found is working for someone she used to know and offers to revise Jeanne’s résumé. At first, the scene appears to exist in order to establish the relationship between the mother and daughter, who otherwise carry on like the best of friends, but it also establishes a generational gap and places context for the film’s driving act, midway through the film.

For a filmmaker approaching 70, Téchiné has a rather astounding grasp of what it means to be young in this economy. Jeanne lives comfortably with her mother and finds distraction with her iPod and rollerblades, while still harboring a hint of shame about her unemployment, as she lies to Franck (Nicolas Duvauchelle), the boy who fancies her, about working at the job for which she interviewed and (evidently) didn’t get. The other significant youth in the film is the grandson of Samuel Bleistein (Michel Blanc), the lawyer whose secretarial position Jeanne applied for. Nathan’s (Jérémy Quaegebeur) situation is a bit different. He’s 13, approaching his bar mitzvah and consistently bossed around by his quarrelling, liberal parents (Ronit Elkabetz and Mathieu Demy) even though they happen to think their actions are in sync with their son’s wishes. Despite the age difference between Jeanne and Nathan, he’s the only one who seems to understand her situation, or at least the only one willing to lend an ear without imposing judgment upon her, another example of the miscommunications between generation.

On a purely superficial level, Téchiné cinematically captures personal exchanges via the Internet in a totally magnificent, compelling way. One of the biggest hurdles filmmakers have had to tackle in recent years is how to make an online conversation visually stimulating, and it’s an obstacle at which most have failed. Favoring online video chat over phone calls, Jeanne and Franck communicate with one another as most kids would, and without a word spoken, Téchiné manages to make their exchanges as dynamic, sexy and engaging as if they were talking back and forth in person. He even adds a surprising touch with Jeanne and Franck’s first sexual experience together happening through the video chat, which could be chalked up to avoiding the interference from Jeanne’s mother or Franck’s roommate or the comfort Jeanne feels through the impersonal medium, avoiding the likely awkwardness of first having sex with someone (or both, naturally).

Jeanne’s situation, the one that only Nathan is able to understand, is not the pangs of being young but specifically the film’s central act in which Jeanne lies to the police claiming to have been a victim of an anti-Semitic attack. Jeanne isn’t Jewish, but she’s living in a world (the film world, that is; I’m not sure whether this is true in the real one or not) where anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise. Her recognition of this fact is probably brought upon through Bleistein, a Jew who’s gained media attention for defending the victims in court. Téchiné spends a great deal of time building up to Jeanne’s act, diving the film into two chapters, “Les circonstances” (Circumstances) and “Les consequences” (Consequences). No single moment, even the apparent one, gives explanation to why Jeanne did what she did. It’s best understood as a product of realities of her life (obviously) and her struggle not to disappear. Jeanne’s entire relationship with Franck provides the biggest clue to this. On most levels, Franck doesn’t seem like the sort of guy Jeanne would normally be attracted to. He’s rough, streetwise and has a family history of crime… not to mention that Louise seems to disapprove of him (which may be one of his appeals, I’m not sure). What Jeanne finds appealing in Franck is the attention he gives her; he appears dedicated and loyal to her, even if he’s rather shady and manipulative otherwise.

Jeanne never really gives a reason for what she did, and it’s very possible that she isn’t even aware of it in the first place. She doesn’t appear to be a racist toward Jews or the North Africans she claimed attacked her. She seems oblivious to a lot of things, including her own motives. The choice of casting Dequenne as Jeanne doesn’t seem to be an accident. Jeanne shares quite a few similarities with the title character in Rosetta, the role Dequenne is famous for. Both young women feel the weight of the economy crushing them, and both have unorthodox (and morally grey) ways of surviving through it. While Rosetta’s situation is one of singularity, Jeanne’s however is a sentiment that’s, unfortunately, considerably widespread.

La fille du RER will hit DVD from Strand Releasing in the US on 18 May; it is already on DVD in Canada (from Mongrel Media) and France (from UGC Vidéo) and will be released theatrically in the UK in June.

A final pre-fest update for Cannes 2010

In addition to Olivier Assayas' Carlos (I think they've dropped the Jackal in the title), seven more films have been added to the Cannes roster. In competition, Wang Xiaoshuai's (Beijing Bicycle, Shanghai Dreams) Chongqing Blues and Kornél Mundruczó's (Delta, Johanna) Tender Son: The Frankenstein Project will bring the count to eighteen films competing for the Palme d'Or. Pablo Trapero's (Rolling Family, Lion's Den) Carancho and Jia Zhang-ke's (Still Life, The World) I Wish I Knew will be screening in the Un Certain Regard section. Andrei Ujică's The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceauşescu, Lucy Walker's Countdown to Zero and an omnibus film from Brazil entitled 5xFavela will be shown out of competition.

I realized that I forgot to mention the rest of the jury members that will be (hopefully) pushing Tim Burton in the right direction. They are actors Kate Beckinsale, Benicio del Toro and Giovanna Mezzogiorno; directors Victor Erice (The Spirit of the Beehive), Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth) and Emmanuel Carrère (La moustache); and Alberto Barbera, director of the National Museum of Cinema. Claire Denis will head the jury of the Un Certain Regard section.

Quinzaine des Réalisateurs / Semaine Internationale de la Critique

The line-ups for both the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs (Directors' Fortnight) and Semaine Internationale de la Critique (International Critics' Week) for Cannes this year. Both schedules are dominated by first-time filmmakers and, perhaps not surprisingly, slim on American features. Of the two American films playing during the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, Cam Archer's follow-up to his lovely Wild Tigers I Have Known, entitled Shit Year, will screen. The film stars Ellen Barkin, Melora Walters, Luke Grimes and Theresa Randle. Christoffer Boe, who won the Caméra d'Or in 2003 for his (lousy) Reconstruction, has his latest, Everything Will Be Fine [Alting bliver godt igen], screening during the Quinzaine. Another short directed by actor Louis Garrel, Petit tailleur, will also be showing during the Quinzaine; his first outing as a director, a short called Mes copains, played in 2008. Frederick Wiseman's latest, Boxing Gym, will premiere at the Quinzaine as a "special screening." The feature film line-ups are below:

Quinzaine des Réalisateurs

- Algeria, d. Marina Méliande, Felipe Braganca, Brazil
- All Good Children, d. Alicia Duffy, UK
- Alting bliver godt igen [Everything Will Be Fine], d. Christoffer Boe (Reconstruction, Allegro), Denmark/Sweden/France, w. Paprika Steen
- Año bisiesto, d. Michael Rowe, Mexico
- Benda Bilili!, d. Renaud Barret, Florent de la Tullaye, France
- La casa muda [The Silent House], d. Gustavo Hernandez, Uruguay
- Cleveland vs. Wall Street, d. Jean-Stéphane Bron, Switzerland/France
- Des filles en noir, d. Jean-Paul Civeyrac (À travers le forêt), France
- Illégal, d. Olivier Masset-Depasse (Cages), Belgium/Luxembourg/France
- The Light Thief, d. Aktan Arym Kubat (Beshkempir), Kyrgyzstan
- Little Baby Jesus of Flandr, d. Gust Vandenberghe, Belgium
- La mirada invisible [The Invisible Eye], d. Diego Lerman (Tan de repente), Argentina/France/Spain
- Picco, d. Philip Koch, Germany
- Pieds nus sur les limaces [Lily Sometimes], d. Fabienne Berthaud (Frankie), France
- Le quattro volte, d. Michelangelo Frammartino (Il dono), Italy/Germany/Switzerland
- Shit Year, d. Cam Archer (Wild Tigers I Have Known), USA, w. Ellen Barkin, Melora Walters, Luke Grimes, Theresa Randle
- Somos lo que hay [We Are What We Are], d. Jorge Michel Grau, Mexico
- Tiger Factory, d. Woo Ming Jin, Malaysia
- Todos vós sodes capitáns, d. Oliver Laxe, Spain
- Two Gates of Sheep, d. Alistair Banks Griffin, USA
- Un poison violent, d. Katell Quillevéré, France
- The Wanderer, d. Avishai Sivan, Israel

Special Screenings

- Boxing Gym, d. Frederick Wiseman, USA
- Stones in Exile, d. Stephen Kijak, UK

Semaine Internationale de la Critique

- Armadillo, d. Janus Metz, Denmark
- Bedevilled, d. Jang Cheol So, South Korea
- Belle épine, d. Rebecca Zlotowski, France, w. Léa Seydoux, Johan Libereau
- Bi, dung so! [Bi, Don't Be Afraid!], d. Phan Dang Di, Vietnam/France/Germany
- The Myth of the American Sleepover, d. David Robert Mitchell, USA
- Sandcastle, d. Boo Junfeng, Singapore
- Sound of Noise, d. Ola Simonsson, Johannes Stjärne Nilsson, Sweden/France

Special Screenings

- Le nom des gens [The Names of Love], d. Michel Leclerc, France, w. Jacques Gamblin, Sara Forestier
- Copacabana, d. Marc Fitoussi, France, w. Isabelle Huppert, Lolita Chammah
- Rubber, d. Quentin Dupieux, w. Stephen Spinella, Jack Plotnick, Roxane Mesquida

Olivier Assayas' Carlos Will Be at Cannes

While it wasn't included in the competition selection, it was announced the other day that Olivier Assayas' latest, Carlos the Jackal, will play at Cannes after all. The film, about Venezuelan revolutionary Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, will be released in two formats: as a television mini-series and as a two-ish hour long feature. The mini-series is set to air in the US on The Sundance Channel at some point this year, and the shorter version will be released theatrically by IFC Films. The line-ups for both the Semaine Internationale de la Critique and the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs should be unveiled soon.

DVD Coming Attractions, Part 2

Instead of sorting through what I'd already mentioned on the DVD updates, I've made it (hopefully) a little easier by dividing the notable releases by week. Some of the highlights include a Blu-ray release of Paul Verhoeven's masterpiece Showgirls in a "15th Anniversary Sinsational Edition," a surprise DVD release of Manoel de Oliveira's Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl [Singularidades de uma Rapariga Loira] from Cinema Guild in September and a number of European titles from Olive Films Opus for late 2010 and early 2011. I may be doing the same thing for Region 2 titles later this week.

20 April

DVD Only
- 200 Motels, 1971, d. Tony Palmer, Frank Zappa, Tony Palmer Films/MVD
- 35 Shots of Rum [35 rhums], 2008, d. Claire Denis, Cinema Guild
- The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela, 2008, d. Olaf de Fleur Johannesson, here! Films
- Cloud 9 [Wolke 9], 2008, d. Andreas Dresen, Music Box Films
- Ex Drummer, 2007, d. Koen Mortier, Palisades Tartan
- The Horse Boy, 2009, d. Michel O. Scott, Zeitgeist
- Knife Edge, 2010, d. Anthony Hickox, E1, w. Joan Plowright, Hugh Bonneville, Natalie Press, Jamie Harris
- Mammoth, 2009, d. Lukas Moodysson, IFC Films
- Uncertainty, 2008, d. Scott McGehee, David Siegel, IFC Films

DVD and Blu-ray
- Crazy Heart, 2009, d. Scott Cooper, Fox
- Summer Hours [L'heure d'été], 2008, d. Olivier Assayas, Criterion
- Vivre sa vie, 1962, d. Jean-Luc Godard, Criterion
- The Young Victoria, 2009, d. Jean-Marc Vallée, Sony

Blu-ray
- The Basketball Diaries, 1995, d. Scott Kalvert, Palm Pictures
- Battleship Potemkin, 1925, d. Sergei M. Eisenstein, Kino
- Fist of Legend, 1994, d. Gordon Chan, Yuen Woo-ping, Dragon Dynasty


27 April

DVD
- The Barbara Stanwyck Collection, Universal
- The Descent: Part 2, 2009, d. Jon Harris, Lionsgate
- Dialogues of the Exiled [Diálogos de exiliados], 1975, d. Raoul Ruiz, Cinemateca/Facets
- Dinah East, 1970, d. Gene Nash, VCI
- The End of Poverty?, 2008, d. Philippe Diaz, Cinema Libre
- The Fugitive Kind, 1959, d. Sidney Lumet, Criterion
- How to Live in the German Federal Republic [Leben - BRD], 1990, d. Harun Farocki, Facets
- Milton Glaser: To Inform & Delight, 2009, d. Wendy Keys, Arthouse Films
- Possible Films, Volume 2: New Short Films by Hal Hartley, d. Hal Hartley, Possible Films/Microcinema
- Roy Cohn/Jack Smith, 1994, d. Jill Godmilow, Facets
- Surviving Desire, 1991, d. Hal Hartley, Possible Films/Microcinema
- The Unquiet Death of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, 1974, d. Alan Moorman, Facets
- The Voyeur [L'uomo che guarda], 1994, d. Tinto Brass, Cult Epics
- William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe, 2009, d. Emily Kunstler, Sarah Kunstler, Arthouse Films

DVD and Blu-ray
- District 13 Ultimatum [Banlieue 13 - Ultimatum], 2009, d. Patrick Alessandrin, Magnet Releasing/Magnolia
- Five Minutes of Heaven, 2009, d. Oliver Hirschbiegel, IFC Films
- The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, 2009, d. Terry Gilliam, Sony
- Ride with the Devil (Director's Cut), 1999, d. Ang Lee, Criterion

Blu-ray
- Dune, 1984, d. David Lynch, Universal
- Elizabeth, 1998, d. Shekhar Kapur, Universal
- Elizabeth: The Golden Age, 2007, d. Shekhar Kapur, Universal
- Out of Africa, 1985, d. Sydney Pollack, Universal
- Tombstone, 1993, d. George P. Cosmatos, Touchstone
- Traffic, 2000, d. Steven Soderbergh, Universal


4 May

DVD
- 9 to 5: Days in Porn, 2008, d. Jens Hoffman, Strand Releasing
- California Dreamin' [California Dreamin' (Nesfârşit)], 2007, d. Cristian Nemescu, IFC Films
- The Lost Coast, 2008, d. Gabriel Fleming, Breaking Glass Pictures
- The Muse, 1999, d. Albert Brooks, Universal
- Paper Covers Rock, 2008, d. Joe Maggio, IFC Films
- Suburbia, 1984, d. Penelope Spheeris, Shout! Factory
- Tokyo Sonata, 2008, d. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, here! Films

DVD and Blu-ray
- Chelsea on the Rocks, 2008, d. Abel Ferrara, Empire Pictures/Hannover House
- Doctor Zhivago, 1965, d. David Lean, Warner
- Dogora [Dogora: Ouvrons les yeux], 2004, d. Patrice Leconte, Severin
- Rock 'n' Roll High School, 1979, d. Allan Arkush, Joe Dante, Jerry Zucker, Shout! Factory
- Tetro, 2009, d. Francis Ford Coppola, Lionsgate

Blu-ray
- Seven Swords, 2005, d. Tsui Hark, Dragon Dynasty


11 May

DVD
- Daria: The Complete Series, 1997-2001, Paramount
- One Deadly Summer [L'été meurtrier], 1983, d. Jean Becker, Bayview Films, w. Isabelle Adjani

DVD and Blu-ray
- Céline: Through the Eyes of the World, 2010, d. Stéphane Laporte, Sony
- Legend of the Tsunami Warrior [aka Queens of Langkasuka], 2008, d. Nonzee Nimibutr, Magnet Releasing/Magnolia

Blu-ray
- The Edge, 1997, d. Lee Tamahori, Fox
- The Karate Kid, 1984, d. John G. Avildsen, Sony
- M, 1931, d. Fritz Lang, Criterion
- The Magnificent Seven Collection, 1960-1972, d. John Sturges, Burt Kennedy, Paul Wendkos, George McCowan, MGM
- The Man in the Iron Mask, 1998, d. Randall Wallace, MGM


18 May

DVD
- Defamation, 2009, d. Yoav Shamir, First Run
- The Disappeared, 2008, d. Johnny Kevorkian, IFC Films
- The Girl on the Train [La fille du RER], 2009, d. André Téchiné, Strand Releasing
- Oshima's Outlaw Sixties, d. Nagisa Oshima, Eclipse/Criterion
- Poliwood, 2009, d. Barry Levinson, Screen Media Films
- Sunrise/Sunset, 2008, d. Vitali Mansky, Alive Mind

DVD and Blu-ray
- Walkabout, 1971, d. Nicolas Roeg, Criterion

Blu-ray
- 9 Songs, 2004, d. Michael Winterbottom, Palisades Tartan
- Carlito's Way, 1993, d. Brian De Palma, Universal


25 May

DVD
- All My Friends Are Funeral Singers, 2010, d. Tim Rutili, Indiepix
- Bottom Land, 1992, d. Ed Radtke, Facets
- Call Me Madame [Appelez-moi Madame], 1986, d. Françoise Romand, Microcinema
- In Desert and Wilderness [W pustyni i w puszczy], 2001, d. Gavin Hood, MGE/Facets
- Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis, 2006, d. Mary Jordan, Arthouse Films
- Kamikaze Hearts, 1986, d. Juliet Bashore, Facets
- No Orchids for Miss Blandish, 1948, d. St. John Legh Clowes, VCI
- Obscene, 2007, d. Daniel O'Connor, Neil Ortenberg, Arthouse Films
- Phyllis and Harold, 2008, d. Cindy Kleine, Breaking Glass Pictures
- Real End of the Great War [Prawdziwy koniec wielkiej wojny], 1957, d. Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Polart/Facets
- True Blood: Season 2, 2009, HBO
- Voyager [Homo Faber], 1991, d. Volker Schlöndorff, Scorpion Releasing
- What's Underground About Marshmallows?, 1996, d. Jill Godmilow, Facets
- The World of Buckminster Fuller, 1974, d. Baylis Glascock, Robert Snyder, Mystic Fire/Microcinema
- Yesterday Girl [Abschied von gestern - (Anita G.)], 1966, d. Alexander Kluge, Facets

DVD and Blu-ray
- By Brakhage, An Anthology, Volume 2, d. Stan Brakhage, Criterion
- City of the Living Dead [Paura nella città dei morti viventi], 1980, d. Lucio Fulci, Blue Underground
- The Messenger, 2009, d. Oren Moverman, Oscilloscope
- Pep Squad, 1998, d. Steve Balderson, Troma
- The Road, 2009, d. John Hillcoat, Sony
- Stagecoach, 1939, d. John Ford, Criterion

Blu-ray
- By Brakhage, An Anthology, Volume 1, d. Stan Brakhage, Criterion
- Class of Nuke 'Em High, 1986, d. Richard W. Haines, Lloyd Kaufman, Michael Herz, Troma
- Spartacus, 1960, d. Stanley Kubrick, Universal


1 June

DVD
- Tony Manero, 2008, d. Pablo Larraín, Kino Lorber

DVD and Blu-ray
- The Red Baron [Der rote Baron], 2008, d. Nikolai Müllerschön, Monterey Video
- The Sun, 2005, d. Aleksandr Sokurov, Kino Lorber

Blu-ray
- Absolute Power, 1997, d. Clint Eastwood, Warner
- Heartbreak Ridge, 1986, d. Clint Eastwood, Warner
- The Man With No Name Trilogy, 1964-1966, d. Sergio Leone, MGM
- The Rookie, 1990, d. Clint Eastwood, Warner


8 June

DVD
- Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 7, 2009, HBO
- Patterns Trilogy and Other Short Films by Jamie Travis, 2003-2006, d. Jamie Travis, Kimstim/Kino Lorber
- Shinjuku Incident, 2009, d. Yee Tung-Shing, Sony
- Stonewall - 25th Anniversary [Before Stonewall / After Stonewall], 1984/1999, d. Robert Rosenberg, John Scagliotti, Greta Schiller, First Run
- Word Is Out, 1977, d. Rob Epstein, Milestone Video/Oscilloscope

DVD and Blu-ray
- 180° South, 2010, d. Chris Malloy, Magnolia
- Shutter Island, 2010, d. Martin Scorsese, Paramount

Blu-ray
- Happy Together, 1997, d. Wong Kar-wai, Kino Lorber


15 June

DVD
- Antarctica, 2008, d. Yari Hochner, here! Films
- The Blind Menace, 1960, d. Kazuo Mori, AnimEigo
- Born Into Shit [Po hlavě do prdele], 2006, d. Marcel Bystroň, Seminal Films
- Burma VJ, 2008, d. Anders Østergaard, Oscilloscope
- Collapse, 2009, d. Chris Smith, Vitagraph Films
- Happy Tears, 2009, d. Mitchell Lichtenstein, Lionsgate
- Horror Hospital, 1973, d. Anthony Balch, Dark Sky Films
- Sex Positive, 2008, d. Daryl Wein, here! Films
- Unthinkable, 2010, d. Gregor Jordan, Sony, w. Michael Sheen, Samuel L. Jackson, Brandon Routh, Carrie-Anne Moss

DVD and Blu-ray
- Mary and Max, 2009, d. Adam Elliot, IFC Films
- Mystery Train, 1989, d. Jim Jarmusch, Criterion

Blu-ray
- Flash Gordon, 1980, d. Mike Hodges, Universal
- Showgirls, 1995, d. Paul Verhoeven, MGM
- The Stepfather, 1987, d. Joseph Ruben, Shout! Factory


22 June

DVD
- Bluebeard [Barbe Bleue], 2009, d. Catherine Breillat, Strand Releasing
- Le combat dans l'île, 1962, d. Alain Cavalier, Zeitgeist
- Invisible Adversaries [Unsichtbare Gegner], 1977, d. Valie Export, Facets
- The Maid [La nana], 2009, d. Sebastián Silva, Oscilloscope
- Night Train to Munich, 1940, d. Carol Reed, Criterion
- Part-Time Work of a Domestic Slave [Gelegenheitsarbeit einer Sklavin], 1973, d. Alexander Kluge, Facets
- Raging Sun, Raging Sky [Rabioso sol, rabioso cielo], 2009, d. Julián Hernández, TLA Releasing
- Soundless Wind Chime, 2009, d. Wing Kit Hung, TLA Releasing

DVD and Blu-ray
- Close-Up, 1990, d. Abbas Kiarostami, Criterion
- Death Race 2000, 1975, d. Paul Bartel, Shout! Factory
- Red Desert [Il deserto rosso], 1964, d. Michelangelo Antonioni, Criterion
- A Star Is Born, 1954, d. George Cukor, Warner


20 June

DVD
- Alice Neel, 2007, d. Andrew Neel, Arthouse Films
- Bass Ackwards, 2010, d. Linas Phillips, New Video
- Burning Paradise, 1994, d. Ringo Lam, Discotek Media
- Evening Primrose, 1966, d. Paul Bogart, Koch Vision
- First Love [Erste Liebe], 1970, d. Maximilian Schell, VCI, w. Dominique Sanda
- It Came from Kuchar, 2009, d. Jennifer M. Kroot, Indiepix
- Lorna, the Exorcist [Les possédées du diable], 1974, d. Jesús Franco, Mondo Macabro
- New York Confidential, 1955, d. Russell Rouse, VCI, w. Anne Bancroft
- Next: A Primer on Urban Painting, 2005, d. Pablo Aravena, Arthouse Films
- Rem Koolhaas: A Kind of Architect, 2008, d. Markus Heidingsfelder, Min Tesch, Arthouse Films
- Return of the One-Armed Swordsman, 1969, d. Chang Cheh, Dragon Dynasty
- Say Hello to Yesterday, 1971, d. Alvin Rakoff, Scorpion Releasing
- A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory, 2007, d. Esther Robinson, Arthouse Films

DVD and Blu-ray
- The Eclipse, 2009, d. Conor McPherson, Magnolia
- Everlasting Moments [Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick], 2008, d. Jan Troell, Criterion
- The Warlords, 2007, d. Peter Chan, Wai Man Yip, Magnet Releasing/Magnolia
- The White Ribbon [Das weiße Band], 2009, d. Michael Haneke, Sony

Blu-ray
- The Leopard [Il gattopardo], 1963, d. Luchino Visconti, Criterion
- Versus, 2000, d. Ryuhei Kitamura, Tokyo Shock


6 July

DVD
- Pornography: A Thriller, 2009, d. David Kittredge, Wolfe Video

DVD and Blu-ray
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [Män som hatar kvinnor], 2009, d. Niels Arden Oplev, Music Box Films
- Steamboat Bill, Jr., 1928, d. Charles Reisner, Buster Keaton, Kino Lorber

Blu-ray
- Love and Other Disasters, 2006, d. Alek Keshishian, Image


13 July

DVD
- God's Offices [Les bureaux de Dieu], 2008, d. Claire Simon, Synkronized USA, w. Nathalie Baye, Béatrice Dalle, Isabelle Carré, Lolita Chammah, Nicole Garcia
- My Year Without Sex, 2009, d. Sarah Watt, Strand Releasing
- The Only Son, 1936, d. Yasujiro Ozu, Criterion
- Saving Marriage, 2006, d. John Henning, Mike Roth, here! Films
- There Was a Father, 1942, d. Yasujiro Ozu, Criterion

DVD and Blu-ray
- A Single Man, 2009, d. Tom Ford, Sony

Blu-ray
- In Bruges, 2008, d. Martin McDonagh, Universal


20 July

DVD
- The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, 2009, d. Judith Ehrlich, Rick Goldsmith, First Run
- Nollywood Babylon, 2008, d. Ben Addelman, Samir Mallal, Kino Lorber
- A Town Called Panic [Panique au village], 2009, d. Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Zeitgeist

DVD and Blu-ray
- Black Narcissus, 1947, d. Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, Criterion
- The Red Shoes, 1948, d. Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, Criterion
- The Secret of the Grain [La graine et le mulet], 2007, d. Abdel Kechiche, Criterion


27 July

DVD
- Altamont Now, 2008, d. Joshua Brown, Factory 25
- Artists Under the Big Top: Perplexed [Die Artisten in der Zirkuskuppel: Ratlos], 1968, d. Alexander Kluge, Facets
- The Guernica Tree [L'arbre de Guernica], 1975, d. Fernando Arrabal, Cult Epics
- Loos Ornamental, 2008, d. Heinz Emigholz, Filmgalerie 451/Facets
- Memory of Water [La memoria del agua], 1994, d. Héctor Fáver
- Presenting Sacha Guitry, 1936-1938, d. Sacha Guitry, Eclipse/Criterion
- Viva Castro!, 1994, d. Boris Frumin, Facets

DVD and Blu-ray
- Accidents Happen, 2009, d. Andrew Lancaster, Image, w. Geena Davis


August

DVD
- Humanoids from the Deep, 1980, d. Barbara Peters, Jimmy T. Murakami, Shout! Factory
- Sweetgrass, 2009, d. Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Cinema Guild, 3 August

DVD and Blu-ray
- Piranha, 1978, d. Joe Dante, Shout! Factory
- Lost: Season 6, 2010, Touchstone
- Lost: The Complete Series, 2004-2010, Touchstone

Blu-ray
- Deep Blue Sea, 1999, d. Renny Harlin, Warner


September and On

DVD
- Amer, 2009, d. Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani, Oliver Films Opus, 29 March 2011
- A Boyfriend for My Wife [Un novio para mi mujer], 2008, d. Juan Taratuto, Olive Films Opus, 39 March 2011
- Brotherhood [Broderskab], 2009, d. Nicolo Donato, Olive Films Opus, 28 December
- Dancing Across Borders, 2009, d. Anne Bass, First Run, 21 September
- Destricted, 2006, d. Marina Abramović, Matthew Barney, Marco Brambilla, Larry Clark, Gaspar Noé, Richard Prince, Sam Taylor Wood, Revolver, 7 September
- Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl [Singularidades de uma Rapariga Loira], 2009, d. Manoel de Oliveira, Cinema Guild, 21 September
- The Girl [Flickan], 2009, d. Fredrik Edfeldt, Olive Films Opus, 30 November
- Letters to Father Jacob [Postia pappi Jaakobille], 2009, d. Klaus Härö, Olive Films Opus, 22 February 2011
- The Temptation of St. Tony [Püha Tõnu kiusamine], 2009, d. Veiko Õunpuu, Olive Films Opus, 25 January 2011
- Women Without Men, 2009, d. Shirin Neshat, Shoja Azari, Indiepix, 9 November

Blu-ray
- Beauty and the Beast, 1991, d. Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise, Disney, 5 October
- Ben-Hur, 1959, d. William Wyler, Warner, 16 November
- Forbidden Planet, 1956, d. Fred M. Wilcox, Warner, 7 September
- The Goonies, 1985, d. Richard Donner, Warner, 2 November
- The Maltese Falcon, 1941, d. John Huston, Warner, 5 October
- Mars Attacks!, 1996, d. Tim Burton, Warner, 7 September
- Mutiny on the Bounty, 1935, d. Frank Lloyd, Warner, 16 November
- Three Kings, 1999, d. David O. Russell, Warner, 12 October
- THX 1138, 1971, d. George Lucas, Warner, 7 September
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 1948, d. John Huston, Warner, 5 October