The Criterion Collection has announced two new titles, two Blu-ray upgrades and a seven-film box set for release this July.
Debuting in the collection are David Cronenberg’s Scanners and Lawrence Kasdan’s The Big Chill as well as a set of Jacques Demy films that includes Lola, Bay of Angels, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Young Girls of Rochefort, Un Chambre en Ville and Donkey Skin. Erik Skjoldbjærg’s Insomnia and Robert Bresson’s Pickpocket, meanwhile, are receiving HD upgrades.
Special features for the new releases are listed as follows:
SCANNERS
– New, restored 2K digital film transfer, supervised by director David Cronenberg, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
– “The ‘Scanners’ Way,” a new documentary on the film’s special effects
– New interview with actor Michael Ironside
– “The Ephemerol Diaries,” a 2012 interview with actor and artist Stephen Lack
– Excerpt from a 1981 interview with Cronenberg on the CBC’s “The Bob McLean Show”
– “Stereo” (1969), Cronenberg’s first feature film
– Trailer
– A booklet featuring an essay by critic Kim Newman
THE BIG CHILL
– New, restored 4K digital film transfer, supervised by cinematographer John Bailey and approved by director Lawrence Kasdan, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
– Alternate remastered 5.1 surround soundtrack, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray
– Reunion with cast and crew, including Kasdan, actors Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, and JoBeth Williams, from the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival
– Documentary from 1998 on the making of the film
– Deleted scenes
– Trailer
– A booklet featuring an essay by writer, director, and actor Lena Dunham
THE ESSENTIAL JACQUES DEMY
– New 2K digital restorations of all six films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-rays of “Lola” and “Bay of Angels” and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 surround soundtracks on the Blu-rays of “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” “The Young Girls of Rochefort,” “Donkey Skin,” and “Une chambre en ville”
– Two documentaries by filmmaker Agnès Varda: “The World of Jacques Demy” (1995) and “The Young Girls Turn 25” (1993)
– Four short films by director Jacques Demy: “Les horizons morts” (1951), “Le sabotier du Val de Loire” (1956), “Ars” (1959), and “La luxure” (1962)
– “Jacques Demy A to Z,” a new visual essay by film critic James Quandt
– Two archival interviews from French television with Demy and composer Michel Legrand, one on “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” and the other on “The Young Girls of Rochefort”
– French television interview from 1962 with actor Jeanne Moreau on the set of “Bay of Angels”
– “Once Upon a Time . . . ‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,’” a 2008 documentary
– French television program about the making of “Donkey Skin”
– “‘Donkey Skin’ Illustrated,” a video program on the many versions of Charles Perrault’s fairy tale
– “’Donkey Skin’ and the Thinkers,” a video program on the themes of the film, featuring critic Camille Tabouley
– New video conversation with Demy biographer Jean-Pierre Berthomé and costume designer Jacqueline Moreau
– New interviews with author Marie Colmant and film scholar Rodney Hill
– Q&A with Demy from the 1987 Midnight Sun Film Festival, as well as an audio Q&A with him from the American Film Institute in 1971
– Archival audio recordings of interviews with Demy, Legrand, and actor Catherine Deneuve at the National Film Theatre in London
– Interview with actor Anouk Aimée conducted by Varda in 2012
– Interview from 2012 with Varda on the origin of Lola’s song
– Video programs on the restorations of “Lola,” “Bay of Angels,” “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” and “Une chambre en ville”
– Trailers
– New English subtitle translations
– A booklet featuring essays by critics Ginette Vincendeau, Terrence Rafferty, Jim Ridley, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Anne Duggan, and Geoff Andrew, and a postscript by Berthom
INSOMNIA
– New 4K digital restoration, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
– New conversation between director Erik Skjoldbjærg and actor Stellan Skarsgård
– Trailer and TV spot
– One Blu-ray and one DVD, with all content available in both formats
– PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Jonathan Romney
PICKPOCKET
– New, 2K digital film restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
– Audio commentary by film scholar James Quandt
– Introduction by writer-director Paul Schrader
– “The Models of ‘Pickpocket,’ a 2003 documentary by Babette Mangolte that features actors from the film
– Interview from 1960 with director Robert Bresson, from the French television program “Cinépanorama”
– Q&A on “Pickpocket” from 2000 with actor Marika Green and filmmakers Paul Vecchiali and Jean-Pierre Améris
– Footage of the sleight-of-hand artist and “Pickpocket” consultant Kassagi from a 1962 episode of the French television show “La piste aux étoiles”
– Trailer
– A booklet featuring an essay by novelist and critic Gary Indiana
