Miss Julie from Criterion in January
Swedish director Alf Sjöberg's celebrated adaptation of one of his countryman August Strindberg's most famous plays is to be released on DVD by Criterion i the new year.
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This Sporting Life from Criterion in January

3 November 2007

If you're serious about British cinema, about great British cinema, then you'll not only know Lindsay Anderson's magnificent This Sporting Life well, but will probably already have it on DVD. Well come January it may be time to think about an upgrade when it will be released on US DVD as part of The Criterion Collection. For those of you new to the film, and there must be some, here's a little detail from Criterion's own press release:

One of the finest British films ever made, this benchmark of "kitchen-sink realism" follows the self-defeating professional and romantic pursuits of a miner turned rugby player eking out an existence in drab Yorkshire. With an astonishing, raging performance by a young Richard Harris, an equally blistering turn by fellow Oscar nominee Rachel Roberts as the widow with whom he lodges, and electrifying direction by Lindsay Anderson, in his feature-film debut following years of documentary work, This Sporting Life remains a dramatic powerhouse.

Available in the UK as a film only DVD from Carlton, the upcoming Criterion disc looks to be a major leap forward in terms of special features:

  • New, restored high-definition 1.66:1 anamorphic digital transfer;
  • Audio commentary featuring Paul Ryan, editor of Never Apologise: The Collected Writings of Lindsay Anderson, and David Storey, screenwriter and author of This Sporting Life;
  • Theatrical trailer;
  • Lindsay Anderson: Lucky Man? (2004, 30 min), a documentary from BBC Scotland featuring interviews with many of the director's close friends and collaborators;
  • New video interview with Lois Sutcliffe Smith, Anderson's close friend and president of the Lindsay Anderson Memorial Foundation;
  • Meet the Pioneers (1948), Lindsay Anderson's first documentary short;
  • Wakefield Express (1952), Anderson's short-film contribution to England's Free Cinema series, shot in the same town that served as the location for This Sporting Life;
  • Is That All There Is? (1992, 50 min), Anderson's autobiographical, final film;
  • A booklet featuring a new essay by film scholar Neil Sinyard and writings by Anderson.

The DVD will be released by Criterion on 22nd January 2008 at the SRP of $39.95.