Thursday 31 July 2008

Le Doulos

Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Doulos has long been one of my favourite films. I have a framed original French poster at home (one of the big ones) and a NTSC video which cost me a small fortune — $50 — when I bought it in New York more than a decade ago. Now, I have a spanking new Criterion DVD edition to look forward to, with the following extras:

New, restored high-definition digital transfer
Selected-scene audio commentary by film scholar Ginette Vincendeau, author of Jean-Pierre Melville: An American in Paris
Video interviews with directors Volker Schlöndorff and Bertrand Tavernier, who served as assistant director and publicity agent, respectively, on the film
Archival interviews with Melville and actors Jean-Paul Belmondo and Serge Reggiani
Original theatrical trailer
New and improved subtitle translation
A new essay by film critic Glenn Kenny

It's out October 7. If you haven't seen it, now's your chance

5 comments:

Gerard said...

You'll punch my face, but I've never even heard of this... Criterion worth the buy, sight unseen? I'm game for a gamble.

Meanwhile, saw Wanted today. I was actually surprised by how much I really got into it! McAvoy was great and Jolie looked oh-my-stars incredible, as well as giving a performance I very much enjoyed. Really enjoyed it; keen to go again, in fact.

I've most of next week off work to take advantage of a press pass I scored for the Melbourne International Film Festival. Have Son of Rambow and Lou Reed's Berlin (shot by Julian Schnabel) tomorrow, with a host great stuff awaiting me in the week ahead (La Antena and Bill Plympton's Idiots and Angels included). Still jealous you've already seen HBII though :P

Mark Salisbury said...

Enjoy. Sounds like fun.

Mark Salisbury said...

Hope you like the film, too.

Gerard said...

I actually read up about it today. I do believe I'll order myself a copy upon its release. It sounds great. And I do love me some Criterion...

Mark Salisbury said...

You won't regret it.