Empire of Passion in July [7 May 2005 - updated 15 June]

Though Nagisa Oshima became most widely known in the west of his brilliant cross-culture war story Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, he achieved considerable noteriety some years before with his taboo busting and censor baiting Ai no corrida (In the Realm of the Senses 1976). Ai no borei (Empire of Passion 1978) was seen as a companion piece to that film, but is far less explicit and is actually a ghost story rather than a study of the self-destructive nature of sexual obsession, though it is a passionate love affair that kicks the story off. Stylishly handled and oozing a dark eroticism, the film earned Oshima the Best Director award at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival but remains largely unseen in this country. That is about to be put right by Nouvaux Pictures, who are to release the film on region 2 DVD on 25 July. No details yet on the picture or sound specs (we'll post them when we have them), but the disk will include the documentary 'Erotic Cinema in Japan' and a gallery.

Imamura's Vengeance is Mine in July [1 May 2005]

When I visited the Japan Film Academy in Tokyo last year I was repeatedly told of the respect the students have for one of greatest of modern Japanese directors, Shohei Imamura, who is also a patron of the Academy. Best known in the UK for his 1997 Unagi (The Eel), the 2001 surreal variant on the story Akai hashi no shita no nurui mizu (Warm water Under a Red Bridge), and his contribution to the multi-segment 11'09''01 - September 11 (2002), Imamura has actually been making films since 1958, and his very fine 1966 Jinruigaku nyumon: Erogotshi yori (The Pornographer) is available on DVD as part of the Criterion Collection. But it is his 1979 film Fukushû suruwa wareniari (Vengeance is Mine) that many regard as his finest work. Based on the true story of Iwao Enokizu, a murderous sociopath whose activities started a 78 day nationwide manhunt, the film stars Ken Ogata (who played the title role in Paul Schrader's brilliant Mishima) as Enokizu and has been widely acclaimed the finest films of modern Japanese (and indeed world) cinema. Now Eureka are to release the film as part of their impressive Masters of Cinema series complete with a newly restored anamorphic 16:9 transfer, a commentary track by Asian cinema expert Tony Rayns, a video introduction by Alex Cox and a 32 page booklet with reprints of the original promotional material and a new essay by jasper Sharp from midnighteye.com.

Director's Cut of Cry-Baby in July [28 April 2005]

Good news for fans of the inimitable John Waters - one of his most manically enjoyable films, the 1990 musical comedy Cry-Baby, featuring ever-impressive Johnny Depp (a rare Hollywood star who just keeps on working in interesting and decidedly offbeat indie films), is to be released on region 1 by Universal. But there's more. The release is being heavily flagged as a Director's Cut, featuring an extra 7 minutes not seen in the original theatrical release. Of course whether this is a true Director's Cut or merely a case of the studio inserting the footage is uncertain at present, especially given the disappointing and surprising lack of a director's commentary - Waters is a hilarious comentator on hgis own films, and you would have thought that if this really his own re-cut he would be keen to pass comment on it. For now we'll have to make do with some deleted scenes and a documentary on the making of the film entitled It Came From Baltimore. Street date for the disk is 12 July 2005.

Lukas Moodysson Box Set in May [25 April 2005]

If you've not got around to picking up any of Swedish maestro Lukas Moodysson's films on DVD yet then you're in for a treat come May 16, when Metrodome are to release the Lucas Moodysson Box Set on UK region 2. The set will contain the director's first four features: the wonderful Show Me Love (1998 - original title Fucking Amal), the richly observant Together (2000), the unexpectedly dark Lilya 4-Ever (2002) and his most recent work, A Hole in My Heart (2004). Pleasingly, the 4-disk set set includes all of the extra features found on the original, single disk releases, including Moodysson's first short film Talk, the hour-long Guardian interview with Moodysson at London's National Film Theatre and a Moodysson masterclass. The retail price of £29.99 makes this a tenner a film, which is decent value for such a fine collection, but look on-line and you'll knock that down to around £30, and then it starts to look like a bargain.

The Philedelphia Story - 2 Disk Special Edition [17 April 2005]

Recently I've been surprised just how many people of my generation have put forward High Society as one of their favourite films. I'm not knocking the film - it's enormous fun and has one of the greatest musical numbers in genre history ('Well Did You Evah?') and has a cast that includes such luminaries as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly and the fabulous Louis Armstrong. But fine though the film is, it still stands in the shadow of a very great original in the shape of George Cukor's magnificent 1940 The Philadelphia Story, and if the remake had a mother of a cast then the original had one to die for, including Cary Grant, James Stewart and Katherine Hepburn, plus a sharpness of wit that still provokes outright laughter over sixty years later. Already available on region 1, Warner have announced a region 2 release of a 2-disk special edition of the film for a release on 20 June 2005. Digitally remastered (well of course), disk one also has a commentary by film historian Jeannine Basinger and a George Cukor trailer gallery; disk two features documentaries on Katherine Hepburn and George Cukor, a Robert benchley short film 'That Inferior Short', 'The Homeless Flea' cartoon and 2 radio adaptations of the film featuring three of the film's stars.

Scum Special Edition on region 2 [11 April 2005]

The very best box set of last year, Blue Underground's The Alan Clarke Collection, is set to arrive on UK region 2 in June. Great! Oh wait a minute, there's just one thing - three of the films are missing. Odyssey Quest - who released the original, full frame version of the feature film version on region 2 eons ago - have announced a special edition of Clarke's most famous work, Scum, for release on 13 June as a 2 disk special edition to include both the cinema version and the banned original BBC version. Taking more than just inspiration from Blue Underground's valiant efforts, this edition will feature all of the extras from that release, including a commentary on the original BBC version by producer Margaret Matheson and actors Phil Daniels and David Threlfall, a commentary by Ray Winstone on the cinema version and new interviews with Clive parsons, Davina Belling and Don Boyd. Though it's great to see this made available, we'd still urge Clarke fans to go for the box set, which is region 0 and includes The Firm, Made in Britain (with a Tim Roth Commentary) and the brilliant Elephant (with a Danny Boyle commentary).

The Phantom of Liberty - regions 1 and 2 [23 March 2005]

The Phantom of Liberty is one of Luis Buñuel's most inventive, anarchic and enjoyable films, on the way on both regions 1 and 2, but these are very different releases from different distributors. In the US the film is to be released by Criterion, which pretty much guarantees a degree of quality, though it has to be said this is one of their extras-light disks, which at least keeps the price down. It will feature and anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer, mono sound, a video introduction by screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière, a theatrical trailer and a new essay by culture critic Gary Indiana. Over in the UK, however, the film will be released by Warner Brothers with little in the way of extras, but as part of a box set that will also include two other Buñuel classics, That Obscure Object of Desire and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. This is Warner's second Luis Buñuel box set, and given that the transfers on the first set were first rate we have the right to expect the second set to be as impressive. It would seem to be a no contest here - three classic films for under £30 or one for about £18. Unless, of course, you like me already have the Criterion Obscure Object of Desire and Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. The region 2 Warner Box set is released on April 4, the Criterion region 1 disk will be available on May 24.

The Life Aquatic dual release in May [7 March 2005]

Not exactly known for picking up new releases, Criterion are nonetheless to release Wes Anderson's latest, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou in May in both single disk and two disk versions, a very unusual move for the company that appears to be targeting both their specialist audience and a those who will be looking to buy for the film rather than the extras. Both versions will have high definition transfers and 5.1 and DTS soundtracks, a commentary by Anderson and writer Noah Baumbach, ten deleted scenes, a Starz on the Set behind-the-scenes featurette, and the theatrical trailer. The two disk version will also feature the documentary This is an Adventure, which chronicles the production of the film, Mondo Monda, an Italian talk show featuring an interview with Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach, an interview with composer and Devo front man mark Mothersbaugh, ten complete performances of David Bowie songs in Portuguese by Brazilian recording artist and actor Seu Jorge, Intern video journal by actor and intern Gray Gubler, interviews with the cast and crew, behind-the-scenes footage and photos, original artwork, and a fold-out insert featuring a cutaway of the Belafonte, with Eric Anderson’s original illustrations, and a conversation between Wes and Eric conducted in 2005. Criterion did a spanking job on Anderson's finest film, Rushmore, and this looks set to equal (and probably surpass) that in every way.

Burden of Dreams from Criterion in May [2 March 2005]

Anchor Bay's release of Werner Herzog's magesterial Fitzcarraldo boasted a decent anamorphic transfer, 5.1 German and English soundtracks and a very good commentary by Herzog and producer Luckiu Stipetic. What would have made it a perfect release was if it had been released as a double disk special edition - as with Kurosawa's Ran and Chris Marker's documentary on the film A.K. - that included Les Blank's extraordinary look at the dedication, insanity and conflicts behind the film's construction, Burden of Dreams. Well once again it's the mighty Criterion that have come to the rescue with the announcement that they are to release this mightiest of 'making of' documentaries on 10 May, complete with a sturdy collection of typically impressive extras, which include a commentary by Les Blank, editor and sound recordist maureen Gosling and Werner Herzog, Blank's extraordinary early short, Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe, which follows Herzog as he makes good on one of his insane bets, deleted scenes, a photo gallery, a trailer and a new interview with Herzog. Also included will be a book featuring excerpts from Les Blank and Maureen Gosling's on-set journals and a new essay by film scholar Paul Arthur. It goes without saying that the disk will also feature a new, high definition digital transfer, framed 1.33;1 as originally shot.

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