READ MORE: What We Learned from Watching (Almost) the Entire Criterion Collection
A mixture of equally romantic and creative dramas will become available for cinephiles in the Criterion Collection’s September 2015 collection. All of the films will be released on Blu-ray and DVD and will include special bonus features such as interviews with stars like Agnieszka Holland, Edward Woodward, Pierce Brosnan and Helena Bonham Carter. Check out all of the titles hitting the Criterion Collection in September below:
Synopses are courtesy of Criterion.
“The Blind Chance” (1981)
Before he stunned the cinematic world with the epic “The Decalogue and the “Three Colors” trilogy, the great Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski made his first work of metaphysical genius, “Blind Chance,” a compelling drama about the difficulty of reconciling political ideals with personal happiness. This unforgettable film follows Witek (a magnetic Boguslaw Linda), a medical student with an uncertain future in Communist Poland; Kieślowski dramatizes Witek’s journey as a series of different possibilities, suggesting that chance rules our lives as much as choice. First suppressed and then censored by the Polish government, “Blind Chance” is here presented in its complete original form.
“Breaker Morant” (1980)
At the turn of the twentieth century, three Australian army lieutenants are court-martialed for alleged war crimes committed while fighting in South Africa. With no time to prepare, an Australian major, appointed as defense attorney, must prove they were just following the rules of war and are being made into political pawns by the British imperial command. Director Bruce Beresford (“Driving Miss Daisy”) garnered international acclaim for this riveting drama set during a dark period in his country’s colonial history, and it features passionate performances by Edward Woodward (“The Wicker Man”), Bryan Brown (“The Thorn Birds”), and Jack Thompson (“Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence”), rugged cinematography by Donald McAlpine (“Moulin Rouge”) and an Oscar-nominated script based on true events.
To all Canadians: “Breaker Morant” will be available in English-speaking Canada only.
“Mister Johnson” (1990)
A decade after he broke through with “Breaker Morant,” Australian director Bruce Beresford made another acclaimed film about the effects of colonialism on the individual. In a performance that earned him the Berlin Film Festival’s Silver Bear for Best Actor, Maynard Eziashi (“Bopha!”) plays the title character, a Nigerian villager eager to work as a civil servant for the British authorities, including a sympathetic district officer (Pierce Brosnan), in the hopes that it will benefit him in the future. Instead, his ambition leads to his tragic downfall. “Mister Johnson,” based on a 1939 novel by Joyce Cary, is a graceful, heartfelt drama about the limits of idealism, affectingly acted and handsomely shot.
“Moonrise Kingdom” (2012)
An island off the New England coast, summer of 1965. Two twelve-year-olds, Sam and Suzy, fall in love, make a secret pact and run away together into the wilderness. As local authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing offshore. Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom” stars Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as the young couple on the run, Bruce Willis as Island Police Captain Sharp, Edward Norton as Khaki Scout troop leader Scout Master Ward, and Bill Murray and Frances McDormand as Suzy’s attorney parents, Walt and Laura Bishop. The cast also includes Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman and Bob Balaban. The magical soundtrack features the music of Benjamin Britten.
Special features include audio commentary with Anderson, interviews with cast and crew, Norton’s home videos from the set, auditions and behind the scenes footage.
“The Honeymoon Killers” (1969)
Martha Beck (Shirley Stoler) is sullen, overweight, and lonely. Desperate for affection, she joins Aunt Carrie’s Friendship Club and strikes up a correspondence with Ray Fernandez (Tony Lo Bianco), a charismatic smooth talker who could be the man of her dreams — or a degenerate con artist. Based on a shocking true story and filmed in documentary-style black and white by the confident and inspired first-time filmmaker Leonard Kastle, “The Honeymoon Killers” is a stark portrayal of the desperate lengths to which a lonely heart will go to find true love.
To all Canadians: “The Honeymoon Killers” will be available in English-speaking Canada only.
“A Room with a View” (1986)
To all Canadians: “A Room with a View” will be available in English-speaking Canada only.
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