2009 List #1: US DVD Premieres

Well, here it is, the first of sure-to-be-many end of the year/decade lists on the blog. As most of the DVD releases for 2009 have already been announced, I figured it safe to cross the Region 1, US DVD premieres off the list early. All of the DVDs below are for films that were previously unavailable on DVD in the States (though it's possible one or two might have had an unofficial bootleg circulating). I strayed from the unauthorized releases, most by the likes of Televista and other companies of that ilk. The list concerns films that are typically two years or older, to spare the recent films that followed the general theatrical release-to-home video standard. Also not included are DVD upgrades, such as Criterion's release of Nagisa Oshima's Empire of Passion and In the Realm of the Senses, sticking solely to films that made their official US DVD premiere in 2009. Certainly there will be some I've overlooked, but all of the major releases should be present below. As organizing the list was troublesome, I decided upon categorizing them in several different ways. Here are the categories in order:

Directors (and actor)
- Roberto Rossellini
- Jean-Jacques Beineix
- Akira Kurosawa
- F.W. Murnau
- Andrzej Zulawski
- Luis Buñuel
- Jean-Luc Godard
- Seijun Suzuki
- Christian Petzold
- Patrice Leconte
- Stanislav Stanojević
- Paul Newman

Isolated Releases
- Masterworks
- Classic Hollywood, Sound Era to the 1960s
- American Independent - International Cinema, Pre-1990
- Contemporary World Cinema, 1990 to Present
- Documentary
- Hollywood, 1970 and Beyond
- Cult
- Silent
- Animation
- WARNUNG: New to DVD in an Unacceptable Package

DVD Box Sets
- Avant-Garde Box Sets
- Double-Featured
- Formerly Available Only in a Set, Now Available Separately
- Martini Movies

The Warner Archive Collection / Universal TCM Vault
Television

Blu-ray

The Blu-ray list is not comprehensive by any mean but should highlight a number of the notable releases making their debut on the High-def format. An alphabetical listing might have proved a better option, but I started organizing them by release date early on. I couldn't find anyone who had actually bought or rented Facets' releases of Hans-Jürgen Syberberg's Ludwig: Requiem for a Virgin King or Karl May, so I didn't include them. Facets has a tendency to cancel/postpone their releases without notice. At the very bottom of the page, I've listed a handful of titles that were once announced for 2009 but have either been delayed or canceled for whatever reason. I hope this list provides some service to you. I've got my fingers crossed that 2010 will be the year of Ken Russell on DVD... We shall see.

Roberto Rossellini

- Rossellini's History Films, Eclipse/Criterion, 13 January
-- Blaise Pascal, 1972
-- The Age of the Medici [L'età id Cosimo de Medici], 1973
-- Cartesius [Cartesio], 1974
- The Taking of Power by Louis XIV [La prise de pouvoir par Louis XIV], 1966, Criterion, 13 January
- Il generale della Rovere, 1959, Criterion, 31 March


Jean-Jacques Beineix

- Locked-In Syndrome [Assigné à résidence], 1997, Cinema Libre, 23 June
- Otaku, 1994, Cinema Libre, 23 June
- Roselyne and the Lions [Roselyne et les lions], 1989, Cinema Libre, 14 July
- IP5 [IP5: L'île aux pachydermes], 1992, Cinema Libre, 18 August
- Mortal Transfer [Mortel transfert], 2001, Cinema Libre, 22 September
- The Moon in the Gutter [La lune dans le caniveau], 1983, Cinema Libre, 20 October


Akira Kurosawa

- Dodes'ka-den, 1970, Criterion, 17 March
- AK 100, Criterion, 8 December
-- Sanshiro Sugata, 1943
-- Sanshiro Sugata 2, 1945
-- The Most Beautiful, 1944
-- The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail, 1945


F.W. Murnau

- The Finances of the Grand Duke [Die Finanzen des Großherzogs], 1924, Kino, 17 March
- The Haunted Castle [Schloß Vogeloed], 1921, Kino, 17 March


Andrzej Zulawski

- L'important c'est d'aimer, 1975, Mondo Vision, 16 June
- L'amour braque, 1985, Mondo Vision, 15 October


Luis Buñuel

- The Exterminating Angel [El ángel exterminador], 1962, d. Luis Buñuel, Criterion, 10 February
- Simon of the Desert [Simón del desierto], 1965, d. Luis Buñuel, Criterion, 10 February
- Death in the Garden [La mort en ce jardin], 1956, d. Luis Buñuel, Transflux Films/Microcinema, 27 October


Jean-Luc Godard

- Une femme mariée, 1964, d. Jean-Luc Godard, Koch Lorber, 2 June
- Made in U.S.A., 1966, d. Jean-Luc Godard, Criterion, 21 July
- 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her [2 ou 3 choses je sais d'elle], 1967, d. Jean-Luc Godard, Criterion, 21 July


Seijun Suzuki

- Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards, 1963, d. Seijun Suzuki, Kino, 19 May
- A Tale of Sorrow, 1977, d. Seijun Suzuki, Cinema Epoch, 11 August


Christian Petzold

- The State I Am In [Die innere Sicherheit], 2000, d. Christian Petzold, Project X/Cinema Guild, 28 July
- Ghosts [Gespenster], 2005, d. Christian Petzold, Project X/Cinema Guild, 3 November


Patrice Leconte

- The Hairdresser's Husband [Le mari de la coiffeuse], 1990, d. Patrice Leconte, Severin, 28 April
- The Perfume of Yvonne [Le parfum d'Yvonne], 1994, d. Patrice Leconte, Severin, 28 April


Stanislav Stanojević

- Notorious Nobodies [Illustres inconnus], 1984, Facets, 27 January
- Subversion, 1979, Facets, 26 May
- Diary of a Suicide [Le journal dun suicidé], 1973, Facets, 23 June


Paul Newman

- The Helen Morgan Story, 1957, d. Michael Curtiz, Warner, 17 February
- The Outrage, 1964, d. Martin Ritt, Warner, 17 February
- Rachel, Rachel, 1968, d. Paul Newman, Warner, 17 February
- The Silver Chalice, 1954, d. Victor Saville, Warner, 17 February
- When Time Ran Out…, 1980, d. James Goldstone, 17 February [Note: This is the 104-minute edit]


Masterworks

- Danton, 1983, d. Andrzej Wajda, Criterion, 31 March
- L'innocente, 1976, d. Luchino Visconti, Koch Lorber, 10 March
- The Friends of Eddie Coyle, 1973, d. Peter Yates, Criterion, 19 May
- Man Hunt, 1941, d. Fritz Lang, Fox, 19 May
- Nénette & Boni, 1996, d. Claire Denis, Strand, 16 May
- Wise Blood, 1979, d. John Huston, Criterion, 12 May
- Husbands, 1970, d. John Cassavetes, Sony, 18 August
- Jeanne Dielman, 28 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, 1975, d. Chantal Akerman, Criterion, 25 August
- The Human Condition, 1959-1961, d. Masaki Kobayashi, Criterion, 8 September
- The Exiles, 1961, d. Kent MacKenzie, Milestone, 17 November


Classic Hollywood, Sound Era to the 1960s

- Waterloo Bridge, 1940, d. Mervyn LeRoy, Warner, 27 January
- It's a Pleasure!, 1945, d. William A. Seiter, MGM, 7 April
- A Song Is Born, 1948, d. Howard Hawks, MGM, 7 April
- The King and Four Queens, 1956, d. Raoul Walsh, MGM, 12 May
- North West Frontier, 1959, d. J. Lee Thompson, MGM, 12 May
- Time Limit, 1957, d. Karl Malden, MGM, 12 May
- Young Billy Young, 1969, d. Burt Kennedy, MGM, 12 May
- The Strange One, 1957, d. Jack Garfein, Sony, 16 June
- Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, 1944, d. Arthur Lubin, Universal, 7 July
- Lonely Are the Brave, 1962, d. David Miller, Universal, 7 July
- The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, 1936, d. Henry Hathaway, Universal, 7 July
- Wagon Master, 1950, d. John Ford, Warner, 15 September
- Summer Storm, 1944, d. Douglas Sirk, VCI, 20 October
- Downhill Racer, 1969, d. Michael Ritchie, Criterion, 17 November


American Independent

- A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich, 1978, d. Ralph Nelson, Koch Vision, 13 January
- The Whole Shootin' Match, 1979, d. Eagle Pennell, Watchmaker Films, 24 February
- 13 Most Beautiful… Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests, 1964-1966, d. Andy Warhol, Plexifilm, 7 April
- The GoodTimesKid, 2005, d. Azazel Jacobs, Benten Films, 11 August
- Frownland, 2007, d. Ronald Bronstein, Factory 25, 29 September
- Homicide, d. David Mamet, 1991, Criterion, 8 September
- The Sunchaser, 1996, d. Michael Cimino, New Line, 13 October
- Fear of Fiction, 2000, d. Charlie Ahearn, Brink/MVD, 17 November


International Cinema, Pre-1990

- Bread, Love and Dreams [Pane, amore e fantasia], 1953, d. Luigi Comencini, MYA Communication, 27 January
- Far from the Madding Crowd, 1967, d. John Schlesinger, Warner, 27 January
- The Yellow Rolls-Royce, 1964, d. Anthony Asquith, Warner, 27 January
- The Geisha, 1983, d. Hideo Gosha, AnimEigo, 10 February
- Hobson's Choice, 1954, d. David Lean, Criterion, 17 February
- The Kaiser's Lackey [Der Untertan], 1951, Wolfgang Staudte, First Run, 17 February
- I Love You Rosa, 1972, d. Moshé Mizrahi, VCI, 31 March
- 3 Seconds Before Explosion, 1967, d. Tan Ida, Kino, 19 May
- Revolution, 1985, d. Hugh Hudson, Warner, 26 May
- Last Holiday, 1950, d. Henry Cass, Essential Art House/Criterion, 16 June
- The Bengali Night [La nuit Bengali], 1988, d. Nicolas Klotz, Cinema Libre, 23 June
- High Hopes, 1988, d. Mike Leigh, BFS, 23 June
- Serious Charge, 1959, d. Terence Young, VCI, 30 June
- Le jupon rouge, 1987, d. Geneviève Lefebvre, Strand, 7 July
- Ménage [Tenue de soirée], 1986, d. Bertrand Blier, Koch Lorber, 14 July
- That Hamilton Woman, 1941, d. Alexander Korda, Criterion, 8 September
- The Adventures of Werner Holt [Die Abenteuer des Werner Holt], 1965, d. Joachim Kunert, First Run, 15 September
- Gervaise, 1956, d. René Clément, Essential Art House/Criterion, 15 September
- Le jour se lève, 1939, d. Marcel Carné, Essential Art House/Criterion, 15 September
- Mayerling, 1936, d. Anatole Litvak, Essential Art House/Criterion, 15 September
- We Were One Man [Nous étions un seul homme], 1979, d. Philippe Vallois, Water Bearer, 12 October


Contemporary World Cinema, 1990 to the Present

- Taxi Blues, 1990, d. Pavel Lungin, Koch Lorber, 13 January
- Father, 1996, d. Majid Majidi, Facets, 27 January
- Workers for the Good Lord [Les savates du bon Dieu], 2000, d. Jean-Claude Brisseau, blab out/Facets, 27 January
- December Bride, 1991, d. Thaddeus O'Sullivan, BFS, 10 February
- Man Walking on Snow, 2001, d. Masahiro Kobayashi, Facets, 24 February
- The Pear Tree, 1998, d. Dariush Mehrjui, Irmovies/Facets, 24 February
- Sara, 1993, d. Dariush Mehrjui, Irmovies/Facets, 24 March
- Waiting for the Clouds, 2003, d. Yeşim Ustaoğlu, Facets, 28 April
- Enchanted April, 1992, d. Mike Newell, Miramax, 5 May
- Beyond Rangoon, 1995, d. John Boorman, Warner, 26 May
- On the Beat, 1995, d. Ning Ying, Facets, 26 May
- Nicotina, 2003, d. Hugo Rodríguez, Lionsgate, 9 June
- Blood Rain, 2005, d. Kim Dae-seung, Pathfinder, 8 September
- Who Killed Pixote? [Quem Matou Pixote?], 1996, d. José Joffily, Olive Films Opus, 29 September
- Chinese Odyssey 2002, 2002, d. Jeffrey Lau, Kino, 6 October
- L.A. Without a Map, 1998, d. Mika Kaurismäki, Cinema Guild, 10 November
- Green Fish, 1997, d. Lee Chang-dong, Pathfinder, 24 November
- 36 [36 Quai des Orfèvres], 2004, d. Olivier Marchal, Palisades Tartan, 8 December


Documentary

- Our Daily Bread [Unser täglich Brot], 2005, d. Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Icarus Films, 13 January
- Adam Clayton Powell, 1989, d. Richard Kilberg, New Video, 20 January
- Black Is… Black Ain't, 1994, d. Marlon Riggs, New Video, 27 January
- Private Practices: The Story of a Sex Surrogate, 1986, d. Kirby Dick, Zeitgeist, 27 January
- FTA, 1972, d. Francine Parker, New Video, 24 February
- Restless Conscience: Resistance to Hitler in Nazi Germany, 1992, d. Hava Kohav Beller, New Video, 31 March
- Painters Painting, 1973, d. Emile de Antonio, Virgil Films, 14 April
- H-2 Worker, 1990, d. Stephanie Black, New Video, 28 April
- A Grin Without a Cat [Le fond de l'air est rouge], 1977, d. Chris Marker, Icarus Films, 5 May
- Inquiring Nuns, 1968, d. Gordon Quinn, Kartemquin Films/Facets, 26 May
- Bergman Island [Ingmar Bergman - 3 dokumentärer om film, teater, Fårö och livet av Marie Nyreröd], 2004, d. Marie Nyreröd, Criterion, 16 June
- The Ister, 2004, d. David Barison, Daniel Ross, Icarus Films, 17 November


Hollywood, 1970 and Beyond

- El Norte, 1983, d. Gregory Nava, Criterion, 20 January
- Cannery Row, 1982, d. David S. Ward, Warner, 27 January
- Yentl, 1983, d. Barbra Streisand, MGM, 3 February
- Cross Creek, 1983, d. Martin Pitt, Lionsgate, 10 February
- Hard Country, 1981, d. David Greene, Lionsgate, 17 February
- Howard the Duck, 1986, d. Willard Huyck, Universal, 10 March
- Homer & Eddie, 1989, d. Andrei Konchalovsky, Lionsgate, 14 April
- Doc, 1971, d. Frank Perry, MGM, 12 May
- Catlow, 1971, d. Sam Wanamaker, Warner, 19 May
- M. Butterfly, 1993, d. David Cronenberg, Warner, 26 May
- Zabriskie Point, 1970, d. Michelangelo Antonioni, Warner, 26 May
- Lookin' to Get Out, 1982, d. Hal Ashby, Warner, 30 June
- Homeboy, 1988, d. Michael Seresin, Lionsgate, 1 September


Cult

- Yellow Fangs, 1990, d. Sonny Chiba, Cinema Epoch, 13 January
- Kiss Napoleon Goodbye, 1990, d. Babeth Mondini, Cult Epics, 27 January
- The Maniacs [I maniaci], 1964, d. Lucio Fulci, MYA Communication, 27 January
- Mr. Mike's Mondo Video, 1979, d. Michael O'Donoghue, Shout! Factory, 27 January
- Four Flies on Grey Velvet [4 mosche di velluto grigio], 1971, d. Dario Argento, MYA Communication, 24 February
- A Cat in the Brain [Un gatto nel cervello], 1990, d. Lucio Fulci, Grindhouse Releasing, 31 March
- The Cremator [Spalovač mrtvol], d. Juraj Herz, Dark Sky Films, 31 March
- The Escapees [Les paumées du petit matin], 1981, d. Jean Rollin, Redemption, 31 March
- Exposed [Exponerad], d. Gustav Wiklund, Synapse, 31 March
- The Sinful Dwarf [Dværgen], 1973, d. Vidal Raski, Severin, 31 March
- Slaughter High, 1986, d. George Dugdale, Mark Ezra, Peter Mackenzie Litten, Lionsgate, 14 April
- Glen and Randa, 1971, d. Jim McBride, VCI, 24 April
- The Centerfold Girls, 1974, d. John Peyser, Dark Sky Films, 28 April
- Deadly Sweet [Col cuore in gola], 1967, d. Tinto Brass, Cult Epics, 28 April
- Johnny Got His Gun, 1971, d. Dalton Trumbo, Shout! Factory, 28 April
- Passion [Simona], 1974, d. Patrick Longchamps, MYA Communication, 28 April
- Psychos in Love, 1987, d. Gorman Bechard, Shriek Show, 28 April
- Horrible [Rosso sangue], 1981, d. Joe D'Amato, MYA Communication, 30 June
- Door into Silence [Le porte del silenzio], 1991, d. Lucio Fulci, Severin, 14 July
- The Howl [L'urlo], 1970, d. Tinto Brass, Cult Epics, 28 July
- All the Sins of Sodom, 1968, d. Joseph W. Sarno, Alternative Cinema/Secret Key, 11 August
- Gradiva, 2006, d. Alain Robbe-Grillet, Mondo Macabro, 25 August
- Phantasm 2, 1988, d. Don Coscarelli, Universal, 15 September
- Attraction [Nerosubianco], 1969, d. Tinto Brass, Cult Epics, 29 September
- The Storm Riders, 1998, d. Andrew Lau, Discotek Media, 29 September
- The Stepfather, 1987, d. Joseph Ruben, Shout! Factory, 13 October
- Hardware, 1990, d. Richard Stanley, Severin, 13 October
- Night of the Creeps, 1986, d. Fred Dekker, Sony, 27 October
- The Art of Love [Ars amandi], 1983, d. Walerian Borowczyk, Severin, 24 November


Silent

- Poil de carotte, 1925, d. Julien Duvivier, Arte Vidéo/Facets, 24 February
- Au bonheur des dames, 1930, d. Julien Duviver, Arte Vidéo/Facets, 28 April
- Sherlock Holmes, 1922, d. Albert Parker, Kino, 7 July
- Miss Mend, 1926, d. Fyodor Otsep, Boris Barnet, Flicker Alley, 15 December


Animation

- Jetsons: The Movie, 1990, d. William Hanna, Joseph Barbera, Universal, 28 April
- The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie, 1981, d. Friz Freleng, Warner, 28 April


WARNUNG: New to DVD in an Unacceptable Package

Thanks to DVDVerdict for altering us all; not only was Lionsgate's package art for John Huston's final film The Dead hideous, to say the least... but Lionsgate also "left out" eight minutes of the film and adjusted its aspect ratio. Apparently the outcry was loud enough that the disc, which came out two days ago, has been pulled out of circulation. Lionsgate made another grand fumble with Ironweed, in what DVDVerdict called "perhaps the single most pathetic DVD release I've seen by a major distributor" (keep in mind, this was reviewed before The Dead). Warner apparently made a mistake in only releasing Peter Bogdanovich's 2006 re-edit of Directed by John Ford, which you can read more about at Filmbo's Chick Magnet.

- Ironweed, 1987, d. Hector Babenco, Lionsgate, 24 February
- Directed by John Ford, 1971, d. Peter Bogdanovich, Warner, 15 September
- The Dead, 1987, d. John Huston, Lionsgate, 3 November


DVD Box Sets

Note that for the bigger sets, I've neglected to list the films included that have already appeared on DVD separately.

Dušan Makavejev, Free Radical, Eclipse/Criterion, 13 October
- Man Is Not a Bird [Čovek nije tica], 1965
- Love Affair, or the Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator [Ljubavni slucaj ili tragedija sluzbenice P.T.T.], 1967
- Innocence Unprotected [Nevinost bez zastite], 1968


Pigs, Pimps & Prostitutes: 3 Films by Shohei Imamura, Criterion, 19 May
- Pigs and Battleships, 1961
- The Insect Woman, 1963
- Intentions of Murder, 1964


The Samuel Fuller Colletion: The Collector's Choice, Sony, 27 October
- It Happened in Hollywood, 1937, d. Harry Lachman
- Adventure in Sahara, 1938, d. D. Ross Lederman
- Power of the Press, 1943, d. Lew Landers
- Shockproof, 1949, d. Douglas Sirk
- Scandal Sheet, 1952, d. Phil Karlson
- The Crimson Kimono, 1959, d. Samuel Fuller
- Underworld U.S.A., 1961, d. Samuel Fuller


Nikkatsu Noir, Eclipse/Criterion, 25 August
- I Am Waiting, 1957, d. Koreyoshi Kurahara
- Rusty Knife, 1958, d. Toshio Masuda
- Take Aim at the Police Van, 1960, d. Seijun Suzuki
- Cruel Gun Story, 1964, d. Takumi Furukawa
- A Colt Is My Passport, 1967, d. Takashi Nomura


Alexander Sokurov, 3 Films, Medici Arts, 31 March
- Oriental Elegy, 1996
- Dolce, 2000
- Humble Life, 1997


Travels with Hiroshi Shimizu, Eclipse/Criterion, 17 March
- Japanese Girls at the Harbor, 1933
- Mr. Thank You, 1936
- The Masseurs and a Woman, 1938
- Ornamental Hairpin, 1941


The Sidney Poitier Collection, Warner, 27 January
- Edge of the City, 1957, d. Martin Ritt
- Something of Value [aka Africa Albaze], 1957, d. Richard Brooks
- A Warm December, 1973, d. Sidney Poitier


Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics, Volume 1, Sony, 3 November
- The Sniper, 1952, d. Edward Dmytryk
- Five Against the House, 1955, d. Phil Karlson
- The Lineup, 1948, d. Don Siegel
- Murder by Contract, 1958, d. Irving Lerner


The William Castle Film Collection, Sony, 20 October
- 13 Frightened Girls, 1963
- The Old Dark House, 1963
- Zotz!, 1962


Alexander Korda's Private Lives, Eclipse/Criterion, 12 May
- The Private Life of Henry VIII, 1933, d. Alexander Korda
- The Rise of Catherine the Great, 1934, d. Paul Czinner, Alexander Korda
- The Private Life of Don Juan, 1934, d. Alexander Korda


Natalie Wood Collection, Warner, 3 February
- Bombers B-52, 1957, d. Gordon Douglas
- Cash McCall, 1960, d. Joseph Pevney
- Sex and the Single Girl, 1964, d. Richard Quine [Also available separately]
- Inside Daisy Clover, 1965, d. Robert Mulligan


Icons of Screwball Comedy, Volume 1, Sony, 4 August
- If You Could Only Cook, 1935, d. William A. Seiter
- Too Many Husbands, 1940, d. Wesley Ruggles
- My Sister Eileen, 1942, d. Alexander Hall
- She Wouldn't Say Yes, 1945, d. Hall


Icons of Screwball Comedy, Volume 2, Sony, 4 August
- Theodora Goes Wild, 1936, d. Richard Boleslawski
- The Doctor Takes a Wife, 1940, d. Alexander Hall
- A Night to Remember, 1943, d. Richard Wallace
- Together Again, 1944, d. Charles Vidor


Doris Day Collection - TCM Spotlight, Warner, 7 April
- April in Paris, 1952, d. David Butler
- It's a Great Feeling, 1949, d. David Butler
- Starlift, 1951, d. Roy Del Ruth
- Tea for Two, 1950, d. David Butler
- The Tunnel of Love, 1958, d. Gene Kelly


Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Volume 3, d. William A. Wellman, Warner, 24 March
- Other Men's Women, 1931
- The Purchase Price, 1932
- Frisco Jenny, 1932
- Midnight Mary, 1933
- Heroes for Sale, 1933
- Wild Boys of the Road, 1933


Pre-Code Hollywood Collection, Universal, 7 April
- The Cheat, 1931, d. George Abbott
- Merrily We Go to Hell, 1932, d. Dorothy Arzner
- Hot Saturday, 1932, d. William A. Seiter
- Torch Singer, 1933, d. Alexander Hall, George Somnes
- Murder at the Vanities, 1934, d. Mitchell Leisen
- Search for Beauty, d. Erle C. Kenton


The Claudette Colbert Legacy Collection, Universal, 3 November
- Three-Cornered Moon, 1933, d. Elliott Nugent
- Maid of Salem, 1937, d. Frank Lloyd
- I Met Him in Paris, 1937, d. Wesley Ruggles
- Bluebeard's Eighth Wife, 1938, d. Ernst Lubitsch
- No Time for Love, 1943, d. Mitchell Leisen


The Jack Lemmon Film Collection, Sony, 9 June
- Phffft!, 1954, d. Mark Robson
- Operation Mad Ball, 1957, d. Richard Quine
- The Notorious Landlady, 1962, d. Richard Quine
- Under the Yum Yum Tree, 1963, d. David Swift
- Good Neighbor Sam, 1964, d. David Swift


Esther Williams Collection, Volume 2 - TCM Spotlight, Warner, 6 October
- Million Dollar Mermaid, 1952, d. Mervyn LeRoy
- Thrill of a Romance, 1945, d. Richard Thorpe
- Easy to Love, 1953, d. Charles Walters
- This Time for Keeps, 1947, d. Richard Thorpe
- Fiesta, 1947, d. Richard Thorpe
- Pagan Love Song, 1950, d. Robert Alton


Warner Bros. Romance Classics Collection, Warner, 27 January
- Palm Springs Weekend, 1963, d. Norman Taurog
- Parrish, 1961, d. Delmer Daves
- Rome Adventure, 1962, d. Delmer Daves
- Susan Slade, 1961, d. Delmer Daves


Avant-Garde Box Sets

- Science Is Fiction: 23 Films by Jean Painlevé, Criterion, 21 April [DVD Beaver]
- Gaumont Treasures, Kino, 1 September [Full list]
-- Alice Guy
-- Louis Feuillade
-- Léonce Perret
- Avant-Garde 3: Experimental Cinema 1922-1954, Kino, 24 November [Full list]
- Treasures from American Film Archives 4: American Avant Garde Film (1947-1986), Image, 3 March [Full list]
- The Astonishing Work of Tezuka Osama, Kimstim/Kino, 28 July [Full list]


Double-Featured

Philippe Garrel x 2, Zeitgeist, 26 May
- I Can No Longer Hear the Guitar [J'entends plus la guitare], 1991
- Emergency Kisses [Les baisers de secours], 1989

Magnificent Obsession, Criterion, 20 January
- Magnificent Obsession, 1954, d. Douglas Sirk
- Magnificent Obsession, 1935, d. John M. Stahl

The Films of Michael Powell: The Collector's Choice, Sony, 6 January
- A Matter of Life and Death [aka Stairway to Heaven], 1946
- Age of Consent, 1969

Peter Greenaway's Nightwatching Special Edition, d. Peter Greenaway, Koch Vision, 15 September
- Nightwatching, 2007 [Also available separately]
- Rembrandt's J'accuse, 2008

The Lost Films of John Gilbert, Flicker Alley, 7 July
- Bardelys the Magnificent, 1926, d. King Vidor
- Monte Cristo, 1922, d. Emmett J. Flynn

- War Is Menstrual Envy, 1992, d. Nick Zedd, Le chat qui fume, 15 May [Available on the DVD for Llik Your Idols]
- Nickelodeon, 1976, d. Peter Bogdanovich, Sony, 21 April [Paired in a double-feature with The Last Picture Show]


Formerly Released Only in a Set, Now Available Separately

- Back to the Future, 1985, d. Robert Zemeckis, Universal, 10 February
- Back to the Future Part 2, 1989, d. Robert Zemeckis, Universal, 10 February
- Back to the Future Part 3, 1990, d. Robert Zemeckis, Universal, 10 February
- Cleopatra, 1934, d. Cecil B. DeMille, Universal, 7 April
- Beau Geste, 1939, d. William A. Wellman, Universal, 7 July
- Law of Desire [La ley del deseo], 1987, d. Pedro Almodóvar, Sony, 3 November
- Matador, 1986, d. Pedro Almodóvar, Sony, 3 November


Martini Movies, Sony Pictures

- Five, 1951, d. Arch Oboler, 3 February
- Getting Straight, 1970, d. Richard Rush, 3 February
- Gumshoe, 1971, d. Stephen Frears, 3 February
- Our Man in Havana, 1959, d. Carol Reed, 3 February
- Vibes, 1988, d. Ken Kwapis, 3 February
- The Buttercup Chain, 1970, d. Robert Ellis Miller, 8 September
- Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing, 1973, d. Alan J. Pakula, 8 September
- Model Shop, 1969, d. Jacques Demy, 8 September
- The Pursuit of Happiness, d. Robert Mulligan, 8 September
- Summertree, 1971, d. Anthony Newley, 8 September


The Warner Archive Collection / Universal TCM Vault

By no means could I even pretend to know which of the near 400 titles Warner has made available in DVD-R format through their website. Check out the full catalogue if you're interested, but I've pointed out a number of the more notable releases, some of which, like Nicholas Ray's Party Girl and Fritz Lang's Rancho Notorious, probably deserved a better treatment than this. Warner doesn't usually announced titles ahead of time, so there could be another batch of titles added to the collection before the end of the year. I'll keep you posted on that.

- All Fall Down, 1962, d. John Frankenheimer
- Angus, 1995, d. Patrick Read Johnson
- Berlin Express, 1948, d. Jacques Tourneur
- Carny, 1980, d. Robert Kaylor
- The Fox, 1967, d. Mark Rydell
- Get to Know Your Rabbit, 1972, d. Brian De Palma
- Gilda Live, 1980, d. Mike Nichols, Lorne Michaels
- Green Mansions, 1959, d. Mel Ferrer
- I Dood It, 1943, d. Vincente Minnelli
- Kaleidoscope, 1966, d. Jack Smight
- The Kiss, 1929, d. Jacques Feyder
- Made in Heaven, 1987, d. Alan Rudolph
- Men Don't Leave, 1990, d. Paul Brickman
- Mike's Murder, 1984, d. James Bridges
- The Moon Is Blue, 1953, d. Otto Preminger
- Party Girl, 1958, d. Nicholas Ray
- The Rain People, 1969, d. Francis Ford Coppola
- Rancho Notorious, 1952, d. Fritz Lang
- She, 1965, d. Robert Day
- The Story of Three Loves, 1953, d. Vincente Minnelli, Gottfried Reinhardt
- Today We Live, 1933, d. Howard Hawks, Richard Rosson
- Urgh! A Music War, 1981, d. Derek Burbidge
- Wrestling Ernest Hemingway, 1993, d. Randa Haines

- House of Horrors, 1946, d. Jean Yarbrough, 31 October
- The Mad Doctor of Market Street, 1942, d. Joseph H. Lewis, 31 October
- The Mad Ghoul, 1943, d. James P. Hogan, 31 October
- Murders in the Zoo, 1933, d. A. Edward Sutherland, 31 October
- The Strange Case of Doctor Rx, 1942, d. William Nigh, 31 October
- Remember the Night, 1940, d. Mitchell Leisen, 22 November


Television

- The Plot to Kill Hitler, 1990, d. Lawrence Schiller, Warner, 6 January
- George Wallace, 1997, d. John Frankenheimer, Warner, 20 January
- The Secret Policeman's Balls, 1976-1989, d. Roger Graef, Jonathan Miller, Mike Holgate, Julien Temple, Ken O'Neill, Shout! Factory, 20 January
- You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown, 1975, d. Phil Roman, Warner, 27 January
- Dennis Potter: 3 to Remember, 10 February, Koch Vision
-- Cream in My Coffee, 1980, d. Gavin Millar
-- Blade on the Feather [aka Deep Cover], 1980, d. Richard Loncraine
-- Rain on the Roof, 1980, d. Alan Bridges
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame, 1982, d. Michael Tuchner, Sony, 3 March
- A Woman Called Golda, 1982, d. Alan Gibson, Paramount, 24 March
- A Rather English Marriage, 1998, d. Paul Seed, Koch Vision, 7 April
- Snoopy's Revenge, 1991, d. Sam Jaimes, Warner, 7 April
- Ivanhoe!, 1982, d. Douglas Camfield, Sony, 5 May
- Designing Women
-- Season 1, 1986-1987, Shout! Factory, 26 May
-- Season 2, 1987-1988, Shout! Factory, 11 August
- Earthquake in Chile [Erdbeben in Chili], 1975, d. Helma Sanders-Brahms, Facets, 26 May
- The State, The Complete Series, 1993-1995, Paramount, 14 July
- Ally McBeal, The Complete Series, 1997-2002, Fox, 6 October
- The Barbara Stanwyck Show, Volume 1, 1960-1961, Koch Vision, 27 October
- It's Gary Shandling's Show, The Complete Series, 1986-1990, Shout! Factory, 20 October
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Season 4, 1958-1959, Universal, 24 November
- The Golden Age of Television, Criterion, 24 November
-- Marty, 1953, d. Delbert Mann
-- Patterns, 1955, d. Fielder Cook
-- No Time for Sergeants, 1955, d. Alex Segal
-- A Wind from the South, 1955, d. Daniel Petrie, Cordelia Stone
-- Requiem for a Heavyweight, 1956, d. Ralph Nelson
-- Bang the Drum Slowly, 1956, d. Alex Segal
-- The Comedian, 1957, d. John Frankenheimer
-- The Days of Wine and Roses, 1958, d. John Frankenheimer


Blu-ray

- The Last Emperor, 1987, d. Bernardo Bertolucci, Criterion, 6 January
- El Norte, 1983, d. Gregory Nava, Criterion, 20 January
- Dead & Buried, 1981, d. Gary Sherman, Blue Underground, 27 January


- Assault on Precinct 13, 1976, d. John Carpenter, Image, 3 February
- Being There, 1979, d. Hal Ashby, Warner, 3 February
- Office Space, 1999, d. Mike Judge, Fox, 3 February
- Amadeus, 1984, d. Miloš Forman, Warner, 10 February
- Raging Bull, 1980, d. Martin Scorsese, MGM, 10 February
- Gandhi, 1982, d. Richard Attenborough, Sony, 17 February
- Kramer vs. Kramer, 1979, d. Robert Benton, Sony, 17 February
- Truman Capote Double Feature, Sony, 17 February
-- In Cold Blood, 1967, d. Richard Brooks
-- Capote, 2005, d. Bennett Miller
- Akira, 1988, d. Katsuhiro Ôtomo, Honneamise/Bandai, 24 February
- The Bird with Crystal Plumage [L'uccello dale plume id cristallo], 1970, d. Dario Argento, Blue Underground, 24 February
- The French Connection, 1971, d. William Friedkin, Fox, 24 February
- French Connection 2, 1975, d. John Frankenheimer, Fox, 24 February
- Ronin, 1998, d. John Frankenheimer, Fox, 24 February
- Vanishing Point, 1971, d. Richard C. Sarafin, Fox, 24 February


- Pinocchio, 1940, d. Hamilton Luske, Ben Sharpsteen, Disney, 10 March
- Quo Vadis, 1951, d. Mervyn LeRoy, Anthony Mann, Warner, 17 March
- The Robe, 1953, d. Henry Koster, Fox, 17 March
- The 400 Blows [Les quatre cents coups], 1959, d. François Tuffaut, Criterion, 24 March
- The Last Metro [Le dernier métro], 1980, d. François Truffaut, Criterion, 24 March
- An American in Paris, 1951, d. Vincente Minnelli, Warner, 31 March
- Gigi, 1958, d. Vincente Minnelli, Charles Walters, Warner, 31 March
- South Pacific, 1958, d. Joshua Logan, Fox, 31 March
- Two Evil Eyes [Due occhi diabolici], 1990, d. Dario Argento, George A. Romero, Blue Underground, 31 March


- Winged Migration [Le peuple migrateur], 2001, d. Jacques Cluzaud, Michel Debats, Jacques Perrin, Sony, 7 April
- Hellraiser, 1987, d. Clive Barker, Anchor Bay, 21 April
- The Wages of Fear [Le salaire de la peur], 1953, d. Henri-Georges Clouzot, Criterion, 21 April
- In the Realm of the Senses, 1976, d. Nagisa Oshima, Criterion, 28 April


- Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 1986, d. John Hughes, Paramount, 5 May
- Roxanne, 1987, d. Fred Schepisi, Sony, 5 May
- Fargo, 1996, d. Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, MGM, 12 May
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly [Il buono, ill brutto, il cattivo], 1966, d. Sergio Leone, MGM, 12 May
- 3 Days of the Condor, 1975, d. Sydney Pollack, Paramount, 19 May
- Circle of Iron, 1978, d. Richard Moore, Blue Underground, 19 May
- Fast Company, 1979, d. David Cronenberg, Blue Underground, 19 May
- Falling Down, 1993, d. Joel Schumacher, Warner, 26 May


- The Graduate, 1967, d. Mike Nichols, MGM, 2 June
- Fatal Attraction, 1987, d. Adrian Lyne, Paramount, 9 June
- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, 1964, d. Stanley Kubrick, Sony, 16 June
- Ghostbusters, 1984, d. Ivan Reitman, Sony, 16 June
- The Seventh Seal [Det sjunde inseglet], 1957, d. Ingmar Bergman, Criterion, 16 June
- Sling Blade, 1996, d. Billy Bob Thornton, Miramax, 16 June
- Last Year at Marienbad [L'année dernière à Marienbad], 1961, d. Alain Resnais, Criterion, 23 June
- Do the Right Thing, 1989, d. Spike Lee, Universal, 30 June


- For All Mankind, 1989, d. Al Reinert, Criterion, 14 July
- Sony Pictures Classics Martial Arts Collection, Sony, 14 July
-- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, 2000, d. Ang Lee
-- Curse of the Golden Flower, 2006, d. Zhang Yimou
-- House of Flying Daggers, 2004, d. Zhang Yimou
- Midnight Express, 1978, d. Alan Parker, Sony, 21 July
- 12 Monkeys, 1995, d. Terry Gilliam, Universal, 28 July
- Inglorious Bastards [Quel maledetto treno blindato], 1978, d. Enzo G. Castellari, Severin, 28 July
- Repulsion, 1965, d. Roman Polanski, Criterion, 28 July
- This Is Spinal Tap, 1984, d. Rob Reiner, MGM, 28 July


- Big Trouble in Little China, 1986, d. John Carpenter, Fox, 4 August
- Bad Boy Bubby, 1993, d. Rolf de Heer, Blue Underground, 11 August
- Starman, 1984, d. John Carpenter, Sony, 11 August
- Go, 1999, d. Doug Liman, Sony, 18 August
- Kagemusha, 1980, d. Akira Kurosawa, Criterion, 18 August
- Playtime, 1967, d. Jacques Tati, Criterion, 18 August


- M*A*S*H, 1970, d. Robert Altman, Fox, 1 September
- Monster, 2003, d. Patty Jenkins, First Look, 1 September
- Creepshow, 1982, d. George A. Romero, Warner, 8 September
- Dead Calm, 1989, d. Phillip Noyce, Warner, 8 September
- Friday, 1995, d. F. Gary Gray, New Line, 8 September
- Menace II Society, 1993, d. Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes, New Line, 8 September
- The New World, 2005, d. Terrence Malick, New Line, 8 September
- Requiem for a Dream, 2000, d. Darren Aronofsky, Lionsgate, 8 September
- Set It Off, 1996, d. F. Gary Gray, New Line, 8 September
- An American Werewolf in London, 1981, d. John Landis, Universal, 15 September
- Army of Darkness, 1993, d. Sam Raimi, Universal, 15 September
- Child's Play, 1988, d. Tom Holland, MGM, 15 September
- The Hannibal Lector Anthology, MGM, 15 September
-- Manhunter, 1986, d. Michael Mann
-- The Silence of the Lambs, 1991, d. Jonathan Demme [Also available separately]
-- Hannibal, 2001, d. Ridley Scott
- Iron Monkey, d. Yuen Woo-Ping, Miramax, 15 September
- Misery, 1990, d. Rob Reiner, MGM, 15 September
- Zatôichi: The Blind Swordsman, 2003, d. Takeshi Kitano, Miramax, 15 September
- Gojira [Godzilla], 1954, d. Ishirô Honda, Classic Media, 22 September
- Pierrot le fou, 1965, d. Jean-Luc Godard, Criterion, 22 September
- Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection, 1989-2008, d. Nick Park, Lionsgate, 22 September
- Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, 1986, d. John McNaughton, Dark Sky, 29 September
- Labyrinth, 1986, d. Jim Henson, Sony, 29 September
- New York Ripper [Lo squartatore di New York], 1982, d. Lucio Fulci, Blue Underground, 29 September
- The Wizard of Oz, 1939, d. Victor Fleming, Warner, 29 September


- Audition, 1999, d. Takashi Miike, Shout! Factory, 6 October
- Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, 1994, d. Kenneth Branagh, Sony, 6 October
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937, d. David Hand, Disney, 6 October
- The Craft, 1996, d. Andrew Fleming, Sony, 13 October
- Hardware, 1990, d. Richard Stanley, Severin, 13 October
- South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, 1999, d. Trey Parker, Paramount, 13 October
- Stop Making Sense, 1984, d. Jonathan Demme, Palm Pictures, 13 October
- Wolf, 1994, d. Mike Nichols, Sony, 13 October
- Easy Rider, 1969, d. Dennis Hopper, Sony, 20 October
- Monsoon Wedding, 2001, d. Mira Nair, Criterion, 20 October
- Night of the Creeps, 1986, d. Fred Dekker, Sony, 27 October
- The Prisoner, The Complete Series, 1967-1968, A&E, 27 October


- Howards End, 1992, d. James Ivory, Criterion, 3 November
- It's a Wonderful Life, 1946, d. Frank Capra, Paramount, 3 November
- North by Northwest, 1959, d. Alfred Hitchcock, Warner, 3 November
- Say Anything..., 1989, d. Cameron Crowe, Fox, 3 November
- Two Girls and a Guy, 1997, d. James Toback, Fox, 3 November [Note: Contains both the NC-17 and R-rated versions]
- Wings of Desire [Der Himmel über Berlin], 1987, d. Wim Wenders, Criterion, 3 November
- The General, 1927, d. Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton, Kino, 10 November
- Heat, 1995, d. Michael Mann, Warner, 10 November
- Monsters, Inc., 2001, d. Peter Docter, David Silverman, Lee Unkrich, Disney, 10 November
- Near Dark, 1987, d. Kathryn Bigelow, Lionsgate, 10 November
- Fight Club, 1999, d. David Fincher, Fox, 17 November
- Galaxy Quest, 1999, d. Dean Parisot, DreamWorks, 17 November
- Gone with the Wind, 1939, d. Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Sam Wood, Warner, 17 November
- Léon, 1994, d. Luc Besson, Sony, 17 November
- sex, lies and videotape, 1989, d. Steven Soderbergh, Sony, 17 November
- Angel Heart, 1987, d. Alan Parker, Lionsgate, 24 November
- The Monster Squad, 1987, d. Fred Dekker, Lionsgate, 24 November
- My Brilliant Career, 1979, d. Gillian Armstrong, Blue Underground, 24 November
- The Sopranos, Season 1, 1999, HBO, 24 November


- Gimme Shelter, 1970, d. Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin, Criterion, 1 December
- 36 [36 Quai des Orfèvres], 2004, d. Olivier Marchal, Palisades Tartan, 8 December


Postponed/Delayed/Recalled/Etc.

Correct me if I'm wrong on any of these. I couldn't find Chantal Akerman's D'Est anywhere online, but it may be available through Icarus Films' website.

- Takeshi Kitano's Takeshis'
- Max Baer's Ode to Billy Joe
- Chantal Akerman's From the East [D'Est]
- Catherine Schorr O'Sullivan's Andy Warhol's Factory People
- Masahiro Kobayashi's Bootleg Film
- Ning Ying's For Fun
- Gérard Mordillat and Nicolas Philibert's His Master's Voice [La voix de son maître]
- Adam Rifkin's Never on Tuesday
- Zhang Xinyan's The Shaolin Temple
- Ron Link's Zombie High
- Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub's Class Relations [Klassenverhältnisse] and Moses and Aaron [Moses und Aron]
- Fernando Di Leo's Vacation Massacre [Vacanze per un massacro]
- Umberto Lenzi's So Sweet... So Perverse [Così dolce... così perversa]
- Bill Haney's The Price of Sugar
- Alain Resnais' Same Old Song [On connaît la chanson]
- Alexander Kluge's The Indomitable Leni Peikert [Die Unbezähmbare Leni Peickert]

November's Film Wikio Rankings!

1 /Film 2 Deadline Hollywood Daily 3 MTV Movies Blog 4 Cinematical 5 FirstShowing.net 6 Twitch 7 Film School Rejects 8 Cartoon Brew 9 Trek Movie Report 10 The House Next Door 11 Some Came Running 12 Shooting Down Pictures 13 Cinema Styles 14 Observations on Film Art 15 GreenCine Daily 16 Ferdy on Films, etc. 17 Only The Cinema

18 Upcoming Pixar 19 The Evening Class 20 Film for the Soul 21 Edward Copeland on Film 22 Coffee Coffee and More Coffee 23 Nick's Flick Picks 24 Big Media Vandalism 25 Critic After Dark 26 Movie City Indie 27 CinemaTech 28 This Distracted Globe 29 Fin de Cinema 30 The IFC Blog Ranking by Wikio

Sony's New Hollywood Set Delayed; the original Scent of a Woman premieres on DVD; and more

While Sony's Rita Hayworth set got a new release date (23 February) for its delay, no date has been listed for the now-delayed New Hollywood box set, which most notably contains the US DVD premiere of Jack Nicholson's Drive, He Said. Sony's Film Noir Classics, Volume 1 released today, but it looks as though Volume 2 has also been postponed indefinitely. Hen's Tooth Video, however, announced the first Region 1 release of Dino Risi's Profumo di donna, which was remade in the 90s as Scent of a Woman with Al Pacino in the Vittorio Gassman role, on 16 February. Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 is set for 12 January but through Sony, not The Weinstein Company... which leads me to wonder if we'll be seeing any more releases from TWC. Universal is releasing Inglourious Basterds in December, but it was a co-production between the studios. Hmm.

Nothing especially enticing on the Blu-ray front, other than Disney's upcoming Beauty and the Beast on 5 October 2010. I do have a soft spot for Renny Harlin's Cliffhanger, which Sony has dated for 12 January; I do not have any warm feelings toward their other Blu-ray release for that day, John McTiernan's Last Action Hero. And finally, bad news for all you Billy Jack fans: Image has yet again pushed its date; this time to 1 May. Gee, and I thought that would have been a film to get people to make the conversion. The DVD releases are listed in descending order of release.

Also, in the next coming day or two, I'll be posting the first of sure-to-be-many end-of-the-year/decade lists. This list will cover the notable Region 1 DVD premieres in 2009, as it looks as though most of the year's releases have been announced by now. One question I do ask: can anyone confirm that the DVDs Facets was releasing of Hans-Jürgen Syberberg's Ludwig: Requiem for a Virgin King and Karl May actually came out? Thanks in advance!

- Cash, 2008, d. Eric Besnard, IFC Films, 12 January, w. Jean Reno, Jean Dujardin, Valeria Golino, François Berléand, Alice Taglioni, Eriq Ebouaney, Ciarán Hands, Jocelyn Quivrin
- Damages, Season 2, 2009, Sony, 12 January
- Halloween 2, 2009, d. Rob Zombie, Sony?, also on Blu-ray, 12 January
- Death in Love, 2008, d. Boaz Yakin, Screen Media, also on Blu-ray, 19 January, w. Jacqueline Bisset, Josh Lucas, Lukas Haas, Adam Brody
- Moscow, Belgium [Aanrijding in Moscou], 2008, d. Christophe Van Rompaey, Terra Entertainment, 26 January
- Profumo di donna [Scent of a Woman], 1974, d. Rino Risi, Hen's Tooth, 16 February
- The Alcove [L'alcova], 1984, d. Joe D'Amato, Severin, 23 February
- Blood on the Flat Track: The Rise of the Rat City Rollergirls, 2007, d. Lainy Bagwell, Lacey Leavitt, Strand, 23 February
- Examined Life, 2008, d. Astra Taylor, Zeitgeist, 23 February
- Power Play, 1978, d. Martyn Burke, Scorpion Releasing, 23 February, w. Peter O'Toole, Donald Pleasence, David Hemmings
- Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day, 2009, d. Mike Clattenburg, Screen Media, also on Blu-ray, 23 February
- The Vicious Kind, 2009, d. Lee Toland Krieger, Image, 23 February, w. Brittany Snow, J.K. Simmons, Adam Scott, Alex Frost

The Decade List: Le voyage du ballon rouge

Le voyage du ballon rouge [Flight of the Red Balloon] – dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien

[Edited together from previous entries]

There are so many singular aspects of Flight of the Red Balloon, Hou Hsiao-hsien’s first film made outside of Asia, to marvel at that it's almost stupefying that the film encompasses them with such ease. Firstly, there's Mark Lee Pin Bing's cinematography, with is so ravishing in its golden hues that my eyes almost couldn't handle it. The Parisian locale glimmers in ways the city never has before, rivaled in its majesty only by Denis Lavant, Juliette Binoche and an array of fireworks on the Pont Neuf in Leos Carax’s Lovers on the Bridge.

Which brings us to the second element, Juliette Binoche, an actress so gifted as to become nearly unrecognizable in nearly every film she appears, a “character actor” and a “leading lady” all at once. Binoche makes acting look effortless, and I think that causes one to underestimate her incredible skill. There’s a moment near the end of the film where, distraught, Binoche, playing an actress/single mother, tries to wipe away her tears as she asks her young son (Simon Iteanu) how his day went. That single moment, the way Binoche provides so much feeling and complexity in a single gesture, is what great acting is made of.

And finally (though you could easily highlight other aspects), there's Hou Hsiao-hsien, the most important ingredient. Commissioned by the Musée d’Orsay to celebrate their 20th anniversary (which also brought us another of the decade’s best films in Olivier Assayas’ Summer Hours), the director uses Albert Lamorisse’s classic fantasy The Red Balloon [Le ballon rouge] as a vivid visual cue, though the balloon itself is absent for a good portion of the film but, more impressively, allows it to uncover a beautiful sadness through the imagination of a young boy. Flight of the Red Balloon is an absolute marvel.

With: Juliette Binoche, Simon Iteanu, Song Fang, Hippolyte Girardot, Louise Margolin, Anna Sigalevitch
Screenplay: Hou Hsiao-hsien, François Margolin
Cinematography: Mark Lee Pin Bing
Country of Origin: France
US Distributor: IFC Films

Premiere: 17 May 2007 (Cannes)
US Premiere: 7 October 2007 (New York Film Festival)

Philippe Grandreiux's Un lac Makes Its North American Premiere 2 November

So I kind of ignored the AFI Film Festival line-up, expecting that it'd follow along the lines of all the year's previous fests, but to my surprise, I found that Philippe Grandrieux's Un lac [A Lake] will be making its North American premiere, after its official unveiling at last year's Venice Film Festival, on 2 November. Grandrieux is such a difficult filmmaker that it's easy to understand why only one of his films have made it stateside, even if it's frustrating to think so. He's brave and cinematic, which makes the fact that I've seen his two previous films, Sombre and La vie nouvelle, on home video so irritating. Though I haven't seen Un lac, I would recommend those in LA to check it out based solely on his previous films, and if you do, let me know how it stands up.

Of interest: Interviewed for Film in Focus' Behind the Blog

For those of you interested in "the man behind the curtain," an interview I did for Film in Focus' blog went up yesterday. All of the questions related to this here blog as part of their Behind the Blog series, which they started little over two years ago with our ol' pal Andrew Grant. Let me know what you think. The goal for the day is to get some more of the Decade List's entries written up, but I've had a cold that's been annoying and wishy-washy (it can't decide whether it wants to turn into a full one or go away) for the past couple of weeks. With just over two months left in the year, I'm trying to wind things down, but I'm still taking suggestions if you think of some films I must see before even attempting to embark on a Best of the Decade list.

Also, I just noticed that the Butt Magazine Blog put up some great photos of Rossy de Palma, one of my favorite of Almodóvar's muses. de Palma, who has an all-too-brief appearance in Broken Embraces [Los abrazos rotos], was interviewed in a recent "straight" issue from Butt.

It's Official; Inset Bad Pun About Finding a Home

I had heard a while back that Lorber Films were looking to, or had already, acquired Ursula Meier's Home, which stars Isabelle Huppert and Olivier Gourmet as bohemian parents of three children whose happy existence is threatened by the opening of a new highway about twenty feet in front of their once secluded abode. Home was selected as Switzerland's official submission for next year's foreign language Academy Award, and according to Variety, Lorber Films will release it in New York on 27 November. I'll be writing about the film soon. Think of a warmer The Seventh Continent. Or... maybe not.

The Decade List: Albums/Singles (2007)

I falsely assumed that the closer I got to the present, the bigger the music posts would get... and while 2007 has 120 individual songs singled out, I couldn't find much more than ten, or eleven, albums worth listing as my favorite. Naturally, PJ Harvey's finest offering this decade, the piano-based, moody, stripped-down White Chalk, topped the list. It's perfect timing, seeing as it's been close to two years and a month since White Chalk was released, and I can think of no better autumn album (though the weather here has been more nasty than mild this year).

By limiting his second full-length album to close to half the self-titled's songs, a single disc and a lot less "Daft Punk Is Coming to My House" obnoxiousness, LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy crafted an amazing, layered electronica album in Sound of Silver. The sole pop album, Kylie Minogue's X, felt disappointing upon its release, but, at least for me, has managed to hold up two years later, certainly better than M.I.A.'s Kala, a step up from her debut (aside from the grudgingly overplayed "Paper Planes") but an album whose delights reveal themselves too quickly. No Age's Weirdo Rippers filled in at the eleventh spot as it technically isn't an album as much as it is a compilation of their previous EPs. The rest of the albums below are listed in vague order of preference.

PJ Harvey - White Chalk
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Blonde Redhead - 23
Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
Benjamin Biolay - Trash yéyé
Justice - † (Cross)
Studio - Yearbook 1
Kylie Minogue - X
Montag - Going Places
M.I.A. - Kala
No Age - Weirdo Rippers*

Assorted Jams for the Year 2007

Again, I've singled out the best songs, in my not-so-humble, extremely-biased opinion. Below you'll find the Top 35, an arbitrary round-ish number, in descending order of preference. Below that you'll find 85 more songs, not organized in any way. Strangely, I have little to say this year.

I will, however, point you to some of the more impressive music videos (some of which weren't released until 2008 with the actual single). Naturally, Feist's lovely "1234" [d. Patrick Daughters], Kanye West's "Flashing Lights" [d. Spike Jonze], Justice's "D.A.N.C.E." [d. Jonas & François] (which was nominated for MTV's Video Music Award for Best Video, only to lose to Rihanna's "Umbrella." Similar to the year the Academy nominated David Lynch for Mulholland Drive, MTV should have just not nominated the video if they weren't going to give it to them), Björk's "Dull Flame of Desire" featuring Antony Hegarty [d. Christoph Jantos, Masahiro Mogari, Marçal Cuberta Juncà] (a collaborative video combining three fan-submitted ideas that works rather seamlessly) and M.I.A.'s "Jimmy" [d. Nezar Khammal].

Special mention for two live-recorded Beirut videos, for "Nantes" and "Cliquout" (with Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear lending his vocals instead of Zach). And for the person who got Beyoncé and Shakira to look like the same damn person!

The Top 35

PJ Harvey - "Dear Darkness" [White Chalk]
LCD Soundsystem - "All My Friends" [Sound of Silver]
Beirut - "Nantes" [The Flying Club Cup]
Björk featuring Antony Hegarty - "Dull Flame of Desire" [Volta]
of Montreal - "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal" [Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?] (note that the link is not the full 12-minute track]
Blonde Redhead - "23" [23]
Architecture in Helsinki - "Heart It Races" [Places Like This]
Jens Lekman - "A Postcard to Nina" [Night Falls Over Kortedala]
Yelle - "Ce jeu" [Pop up]
Dizzee Rascal - "Pussyole (Oldskool)" [Maths + English]
Róisín Murphy - "Overpowered" [Overpowered]
Kanye West - "Flashing Lights" [Graduation]
Feist - "I Feel It All" [The Reminder]
Studio - "No Comply" [Yearbook 1]
Animal Collective - "Fireworks" [Strawberry Jam]
PJ Harvey - "The Mountain" [White Chalk]
Beirut - "Cliquot" [The Flying Club Cup]
Shellac - "End of Radio" [Excellent Italian Greyhound]
Justice - "Genesis" [†]
M.I.A. - "Bamboo Banga" [Kala]
Electrelane - "To the East" [No Shouts No Calls]
No Age - "Every Artist Needs a Tragedy" [Weirdo Rippers]
Benjamin Biolay - "Dans la Merco Benz" [Trash yéyé]
Kylie Minogue - "Stars" [X]
!!! - "Heart of Hearts" [Myth Takes]
Chromatic - "In the City" [After Dark, compilation] (the video is an abridged version)
Escort - "All Through the Night" [All Through the Night EP]
Montag - ">(Plus grand que)" [Going Places]
Simian Mobile Disco - "I Believe" [Attack Decay Sustain Release]
Kevin Drew - "TBTF" [Spirit If...]
Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse (though not in the video) - "Valerie" [Version]
Aesop Rock - "None Shall Pass" [None Shall Pass]
Timbaland featuring Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake - "Give It to Me" [Shock Value]
Air Formation - "Adrift" [Daylight Storms]
Rihanna featuring Jay-Z - "Umbrella" [Good Girl Gone Bad] (also worth listening to: the Umbrella/Cinderella Remix featuring Jay-Z, Chris Brown, Young Platinum & Lil' Mama; I don't know from where it originates, likely an online mash-up of the various remixes)


Les autres 85

Dr. Dog - "Heart It Races" [Architecture in Helsinki - Heart It Races single]
PJ Harvey - "Liverpool Tide" [The Devil single]
Spoon - "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb" [Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga]
LCD Soundsystem - "Get Innocuous!" [Sound of Silver]
Feist - "1234" [The Reminder]
Rekid - "Next Stop Chicago" [Next Stop Chicago]
King Khan & The Shrines - "Le fils de Jacques Dutronc" [What Is?!]
Jens Lekman - "The Opposite of Hallelujah" [Night Falls Over Kortedala]
Beyoncé & Shakira - "Beautiful Liar" [Beautiful Liar single]
Timbaland featuring Keri Hilson & D.O.E. - "The Way I Are" [Shock Value]
Le loup - "We Are Gods! We Are Wolves!" [The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly]


Kylie Minogue - "Wow" [X]
Pieter Nooten - "Head Circles About the Body" [Ourspace]
Deerhunter - "Wash Off" [Fluorescent Grey EP]
Lil' Mama - "Lip Gloss" [Lip Gloss single]
Radiohead - "Reckoner" [In Rainbows]
Blonde Redhead - "Spring and by Summer Fall" [23]
Montag - "No One Else" [Going Places]
No Age - "Neck Escaper" [Weirdo Rippers]
Efterklang - "Mirador" [Parades]
Rich Boy featuring Polow Da Don - "Throw Some D's" [Rich Boy]
PJ Harvey - "Silence" [White Chalk]


Ra Ra Riot - "Dying Is Fine" [Ra Ra Riot EP]
Justice - "D.A.N.C.E." [†]
Deerhunter - "Cryptograms" [Cryptograms]
Matthew Dear - "Deserter" [Asa Breed]
Carla Bruni - "Those Dancing Days Are Gone" [No Promises]
Caribou - "Melody Day" [Andorra]
Rihanna - "Please Don't Stop the Music" [Good Girl Gone Bad]
Benjamin Biolay - "Dans ta bouche" [Trash yéyé]
Beirut - "Cherbourg" [The Flying Club Cup]
Mark Ronson featuring Daniel Merriweather - "Stop Me" [Version]
The National - "Fake Empire" [Boxer]


BARR - "The Song Is the Single" [Summary]
Kylie Minogue - "2 Hearts" [X]
Apostle of Hustle - "My Sword Hand's Anger" [National Anthem of Nowhere]
The Clientele - "Bookshop Casanova" [God Save The Clientele]
Étienne Daho - "L'invitation" [L'invitation]
Eve featuring Sean Paul - "Give It to You" [Give It to You single]
Yeasayer - "Wait for Summer" [All Hour Symbols]
Tracey Thorn - "It's All True" [Out of the Woods]
Tegan and Sara - "Back in Your Head" [The Con]
The Honeydrips - "Fall from a Height" [Here Comes the Future]


Yoko Ono - "Walking on Thin Ice (Pet Shop Boys Electro Remix)" [on both Ono's Open Your Box and Pet Shop Boys' Disco Four]
José González - "How Low" [In Our Nature]
Studio - "West Side" [from Yearbook 1]
Jay-Z featuring Beanie Sigel - "Ignorant Shit" [American Gangster]
Interpol - "The Scale" [Our Love to Admire]
The Shins - "Sleeping Lessons" [Wincing the Night Away] (I hate the lyrics to this song, but it's undeniably pretty hard to resist otherwise)
Glass Candy - "Beatific" [B/E/A/T/B/O/X]
Arcade Fire - "Black Mirror" [Neon Bible]
Queens of the Stone Age - "Sick, Sick, Sick" [Era Vulgaris]
M.I.A. - "20 Dollar" [Kala]


Vera November - "Our Last Night Together" [Four Songs by Arthur Russell compilation]
Mark Ronson featuring Tiggers & Ol' Dirty Bastard - "Toxic" [Version]
Yeasayer - "Sunrise" [All Hour Symbols]
Kylie Minogue - "Like a Drug" [X]
Jens Lekman - "A Little Lost" [Four Songs by Arthur Russell compilation]
Bon Iver - "Flume" [For Emma, Forever Ago]
Pieter Nooten - "Stop Time" [Ourspace]
Mika - "Grace Kelly" [Life in Cartoon Motion]
Kanye West - "Stronger" [Graduation]
Montag - "Softness, I Forgot Your Name" [Going Places]


Sophie Ellis-Bextor - "Me and My Imagination" [Trip the Light Fantastic]
Benjamin Biolay - "Bien avant" [Trash yéyé]
Kevin Drew - "Back Out on the..." [Spirit If...]
Pinback - "Kylie" [Autumn of the Seraphs, bonus track]
Electrelane - "The Greater Times" [No Shouts No Calls]
José González - "Teardrop" [In Our Nature]
Alicia Keys - "No One" [As I Am]
Björk - "Wanderlust" [Volta]
LCD Soundsystem - "Someone Great" [Sound of Silver]
Justin Currie - "Still in Love" [What Is Love]
Yelle - "Je veux te voir" [Pop up]


Pantha du Prince - "Saturn Strobe" [This Bliss]
Shannon Wright - "Everybody's Got Their Own Part to Play" [Let in the Light]
The Field - "A Paw in My Face" [From Here We Go Sublime]
Hilary Duff - "With Love" [Dignity] (Obviously I have none)
Ted Leo and The Pharmacists - "La Costa Brava" [Living with the Living]
Band of Horses - "Is There a Ghost" [Cease to Begin]
Burial - "Archangel" [Untrue]
Dirty Projectors - "Rise Above" [Rise Above]
Kylie Minogue - "Sensitized" [X]
Glass Candy - "Candy Castle" [B/E/A/T/B/O/X]
Soulja Boy Tell 'Em featuring Arab - "Yahh!" [souljaboytellem.com] (Super fucking annoying)

Lots of new IFC titles on DVD for 2010, DVD Update 27 October

Though MPI, IFC Films has announced several more DVD releases for the first part of 2010, most notably Philippe Garrel's Frontier of the Dawn [La frontière de l'aube] for 26 January. The only worthwhile Blu-ray I saw announced was a 20th anniversary edition of Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas from Warner, slated for 16 February. Lionsgate also announced a Joel Schumacher film that I (predictably) haven't heard of, changing the title (predictably) to sound more horrific, from Town Creek to Blood Creek. The film (predictably) stars a trio of British heartthrobs: Dominic Purcell, Henry Cavill and Michael Fassbender. The DVDs below are listed in descending order of release.

- 9, 2009, d. Shane Acker, Focus Features, also on Blu-ray, 29 December
- A Perfect Getaway, 2009, d. David Twohy, Rogue/Universal, also on Blu-ray, 29 December
- Fifty Dead Men Walking, 2008, d. Kari Skogland, Phase 4 Films, also on Blu-ray, 5 January
- Ballad in Blue, 1964, d. Paul Henreid, Lionsgate, 12 January
- Blood Creek [aka Town Creek], 2009, d. Joel Schmacher, Lionsgate, 19 January, w. Dominic Purcell, Henry Cavill, Michael Fassbender
- The Escapist, 2008, d. Rupert Wyatt, IFC, 26 January
- Frontier of the Dawn [La frontière de l'aube], 2008, d. Philippe Garrel, IFC, 26 January
- Heaven's Heart [Himlens hjärta], 2008, d. Simon Staho, IFC, 26 January, w. Lena Endre
- In a Day, 2006, d. Evan Richards, IFC, 26 January
- Mermaid, 2007, d. Anna Melikyan, IFC, 26 January
- Pontypool, 2008, d. Bruce McDonald, IFC, 26 January
- Quiet Chaos [Caos calmo], 2008, d. Antonio Luigi Grimaldi, IFC, 26 January, w. Nanni Moretti, Valeria Golino, Alessandro Gassman
- Warszawa, 2003, d. Dariusz Gajeweski, IFC, 26 January
- Worlds Apart [To verdener], 2008, d. Niels Arden Oplev, IFC, 26 January
- Triangle, 2009, d. Christopher Smith, First Look, also on Blu-ray, 2 February, w. Melissa George
- Flame & Citron [Flammen & Citronen], 2008, d. Ole Christian Madsen, IFC, 9 February
- The Pleasure of Being Robbed, 2008, d. Joshua Safdie, IFC, 9 February
- The Trial Begins [L'ora di punta], 2007, d. Vincenzo Marra, IFC, 9 February
- 20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope, 2009, d. Tukihiko Tsutsumi, Viz Media, 16 February
- Women in Trouble, 2009, d. Sebastian Gutierrez, Screen Media, also on Blu-ray, 16 February, w. Carla Gugino, Marley Shelton, Elizabeth Berkley, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Simon Baker, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Josh Brolin
- Bliss [Mutluluk], 2007, d. Abdullah Oguz, First Run Features, 23 February

Super Scary

I sort of forgot, until I wasted my time watching the movie Trick 'r Treat, which came highly recommended to me by at least three people, that I co-wrote a Halloween-themed short a couple of years ago, with my friends Stewart Copeland and Chris Drummond. It was called Plastic Skeletons, and you can watch it below if you're so inclined. We made it as part of the 48 Hour Film Project. I don't think I particularly like it, but then again, I don't like most of the stuff I've done, film or otherwise. Ha. A self-deprecating plug. It does have at least three references to Bette Midler; but some of it is, as expected, cringe-worthy.

More Fernando Arrabal from Cult Epics: DVD Update 24 October

While I'm not a huge fan of Fernando Arrabal, I'll likely check out Cult Epics' Arrabal Collection, Volume 2, which includes some lesser-known works from the director, including Car Cemetery with Juliet Berto and The Emperor of Peru with (um) Mickey Rooney. I normally wouldn't list something like the new Nia Vardalos film, but I guess since I've listed everything else IFC has been releasing, it's only fair. I believe First Look will be unloading Herzog's Bad Lieutenant in theatres sometime late November, with its DVD and Blu-ray release in February 2010. All for now.

DVD

- Jennifer's Body, 2009, d. Karyn Kusama, 20th Century Fox, also on Blu-ray, 29 December
- End of Love, 2009, d. Simon Chung, Breaking Glass Pictures, 5 January
- Amreeka, 2009, d. Cherien Dabis, Virgil Films, 12 January
- A Man Called Adam, 1966, d. Leo Penn, Lionsgate, 12 January
- Trucker, 2008, d. James Mottern, Monterey, 12 January, w. Michelle Monaghan, Nathan Fillion, Benjamin Bratt
- According to Greta [Greta], 2009, d. Nancy Bardawil, Anchor Bay, 19 January, w. Hilary Duff
- Chevolution, 2008, d. Luis Lopez, Trisha Ziff, Magnolia, 19 January
- Just Like the Son, 2006, d. Morgan J. Freeman, Breaking Glass Pictures, 26 January, w. Mark Webber, Rosie Perez, Brendan Sexton III
- The Last Stage [Ostatni etap], 1948, d. Wanda Jakubowska, Facets, 26 January
- I Hate Valentine's Day, 2009, d. Nia Vardalos, IFC Films, also on Blu-ray, 9 February
- Anna, the Pleasure, the Torment [Anna, quel particolare piacere], 1973, d. Giuliano Carnimeo, MYA, 23 February
- Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, 2009, d. Werner Herzog, First Look, also on Blu-ray, 23 February
- Car Cemetery [Le cimetière des voitures], 1983, d. Fernando Arrabal, Cult Epics, 23 February, w. Juliet Berto, Alain Bashung
- The Fernando Arrabal Collection, Volume 2 [Car Cemetery / The Emperor of Peru / Farewell, Babylon], 1983, 1982, 1992, d. Fernando Arrabal, Cult Epics, 23 February
- Taxi Hunter, 1993, d. Herman Yau, Eastern Star, 23 February

Blu-ray

- Fame, 1980, d. Alan Parker, Warner, 26 January
- The Crazies, 1973, d. George A. Romero, Blue Underground, 23 February
- Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead, 2006, d. Lloyd Kaufman, Troma, 23 February
- Fantasia, 1942, d. Various, Disney, 2 March
- Fantasia 2000, 1999, d. Various, Disney, 3 March

The Decade List: Antichrist (2009)

Antichrist – dir. Lars von Trier

What words could I possibly add to the ones already given to the most notorious film of 2009? Greeted with what those of us not in attendance can only imagine as a fury of loud, mixed reactions at Cannes in May, I begin to wonder if anyone seeing it after that premiere screening could really get the full effect of Lars von Trier’s Antichrist. While some people might be better off knowing about the more salacious aspects of the film before seeing it, I don’t count myself among them. Fueled by an unfortunate curiosity, I couldn’t help but read the various reports from Cannes, all of which expressed in detail the “finer” aspects of Antichrist, so when I finally got my chance to see the film, how could I pretend I didn’t know what lied ahead?

The experience of seeing a film without a single notion of what to expect is an enviable one, especially when considering a film like Antichrist. But, while the real “doozies” hardly even registered, I witnessed something strange and powerful around those elements, a film that certainly was, but never felt like, the film I had read about. With the right spin, the plot specifics of Antichrist could (and did) sound like a two-hour-long fuck-you from von Trier, from its biblical parallels to its dedication to the late Andrei Tarkovsky. But what I saw wasn’t that.

For its first hour, Antichrist unfolds like one, seemingly endless panic attack, made all the more unsettling and human by Charlotte Gainsbourg’s staggering performance. Stricken by the unimaginable guilt that she (or more specifically, her own sexuality) was responsible for the death of her child, Gainsbourg, the “She” to Willem Dafoe’s “He,” suffers a devastating paralysis, leading her husband to aid her in confronting the underlying fears triggering this guilt.

Perhaps the boldest aspect of Antichrist is the way von Trier takes his loudest criticism (misogyny) and magnifies it. Even his detractors should admit one of the director’s finest gifts is his ability to elicit brilliant performances from his actors, even if his methods have raised some eyebrows after his onset spats with Björk, Nicole Kidman and John C. Reilly have been made public. Gainsbourg’s performance, which won the Best Actress prize at Cannes, is what levels the magnification, allowing some of the dubious proceedings to haunt even if they happen to revile at the same time.

I’m not sure how Antichrist brought von Trier out of a serious bout of depression or if pushing the misogynistic claims to their limit succeeds at destabilizing them. I’m not really sure about a lot of things about Antichrist, aside from the fact that it worked for me, with all its idiosyncrasies. Antichrist opens in select theatres in the United States today and bows on IFC On Demand Wednesday, the 28th.

With: Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg
Screenplay: Lars von Trier
Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle
Country of Origin: Denmark/Germany/France/Sweden/Italy/Poland
US Distributor: IFC Films

Premiere: 18 May 2009 (Cannes)
US Premiere: 25 September 2009 (Austin Fantastic Fest)

Awards: Best Actress – Charlotte Gainsbourg (Cannes)

The Decade List: Le temps qui reste (2005)

Le temps qui reste [Time to Leave] – dir. François Ozon

Fans of François Ozon, once dubbed the garçon terrible of French cinema in the late ‘90s, seem to diminish with each passing film. Though few will argue that the year 2000 marked the highest point of his career (with Under the Sand and Water Drops on Burning Rocks both bowing in that year), I haven’t fallen off the bandwagon, despite a number of reservations I have toward his two most widely-seen films, 8 Women [8 femmes] and Swimming Pool, both blissfully entertaining but severely lacking beneath their polished veneer. Ozon’s thematic sequel to Under the Sand, Le temps qui reste (correctly translated as The Time That Remains), shares the same traits that bothered me about 8 Women and Swimming Pool, but they feel like less of a disguise here.

Le temps qui reste, 8 Women and Swimming Pool all follow closely to their own genre allusions; more than its predecessor, Le temps qui reste pays tribute to melodrama, a genre which Ozon has always toiled with in smaller doses. In the film, Ozon gives himself completely over to the idea, dislodging the tongue-in-cheek sensibilities of his previous flirtations with his Sirkian tendencies. While much of the film relies on artifice, I sense a peculiar, refreshing honesty in what Ozon’s trying to do.

While he situates an attractive gay male in central role, a position often held for women in the genre, Ozon doesn’t set his sights on redefining or updating the genre. While spotted with bits of superficiality (Melvil Poupaud seems to get more handsome the closer he gets to death), the moments of beautiful clarity truly resonate. From the point early in the film when Romain (Poupaud) discovers he’s a few months away from death as a result of a spreading tumor, the film follows his grief process through the designed closures Romain concocts for the people closest to him, some successful, others not. For his unhappy, older sister Sophie (Louise-Anne Hippeau) and his younger, German boyfriend (Christian Sengewald), Romain uses his remaining time to sabotage these relationships, while finding a solitary comfort in his grandmother (Jeanne Moreau), the person in the film he finds the closest bond, both in personality and in approximation to death.

While Ozon does strive on some level to avoid overt sentimentality, it’s more accurate to say that he keeps his drama on a low flame. I hope my friend Tom doesn’t mind, but he highlighted one of the biggest complaints I’ve heard about Le temps qui reste in an e-mail exchange earlier this year. He said, “Ozon's formal restraint may have suited his subject matter, but… I thought a showier technique wouldn't be so much inappropriate as less bland.” Perhaps it’s in Le temps qui reste’s blandness that I find the “honesty” I think Ozon is producing. In keeping the film on the subtle(r) side, Ozon delivers a number of rich moments, especially when Moreau is onscreen, that the showiness he painted 8 Women and Swimming Pool with would have only clouded. Le temps qui reste isn’t a grand triumph for the director, but it’s one that has always lingered for me, whether I can successfully defend my feelings or not (likely the latter).

With: Melvil Poupaud, Jeanne Moreau, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Daniel Duval, Marie Rivière, Louise-Anne Hippeau, Christian Sengewald, Henri Le Lorme, Walter Pagano, Ugo Soussan Trabelsi
Screenplay: François Ozon
Cinematography: Jeanne Lapoirie
Country of Origin: France
US Distributor: Strand Releasing

Premiere: 16 May 2005 (Cannes)
US Premiere: 14 July 2006

The Decade List: The Descent (2005)

The Descent – dir. Neil Marshall

Although it has little in the way of competition, The Descent is hands down the decade’s best English-language horror film. More than the “boo” scares or nausea-inducing gore of its peers, Neil Marshall extends The Descent beyond those easy tricks (not to say the film doesn’t have a pair of cheap startles or gross-out effects). A creature feature at heart, The Descent’s real “beauty” is the claustrophobic nightmare Marshall designs around his heroines. Female genitalia analogies aside, the cave, into which the six thrill-seeking gals descend, becomes the malevolent villain, equipped with darkness, daunting cliffs of unknown depth, miniscule crevices of questionable stability and the capacity to destroy its own exits and entrances. That blind, human-looking monsters dwell within it seems like one of its lesser deterrents.

Marshall knows what most horror directors should by now: gore alone won’t disturb your audience. By the time The Descent made its way to the US (with a dumb, but ultimately inoffensive add-on at the end), people were already gearing up for the third installment of the Saw series. The Descent certainly has a bit of disgusting flesh and organ eating, but he recognizes that true horror is made up of more than just an edible spleen. Truly, the most lip-biting, nails-in-the-palms sequences are when the girls have to climb across the ceiling of a pit to get across or when one graphically injures herself after tumbling through one of the cave’s many abysses.

Most of the characters are expendable, except for the Sissy Spacek-looking Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) and the excursion organizer Juno (Natalie Mendoza), but this doesn't make the deaths any less disturbing, even if it was easy to predict that the first to perish would be the overzealous lesbian-in-denial. The monsters do provide one or two moments of fear for the audience, specifically the first time the girls see one (which was stupidly shown in the TV spots), but it’s the frenzied action of the girls’ retaliation that’s more ruthless and exciting that the monsters themselves. Marshall knows that fear rests in the unknown, so editor Jon Harris cuts the action sequences rapidly to a point of raucous frenzy. This may not have worked in Batman Begins, but it does here. Keep your benzodiazepines handy, because The Descent is the sort of grueling film experience most of us have only heard tale of.

I’ll probably spend the remaining days of October looking at the some of the decade’s best offerings in the horror genre, which started over the weekend with Dario Argento’s Mother of Tears. If you want to play Decade List horror movie catch-up before Halloween, I’ve already covered Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV, Alejandro Amenábar’s The Others, Claire Denis’ Trouble Every Day and Marina de Van’s In My Skin [Dans ma peau]. Expect the film adorning the header of my site next.

With: Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, MyAnna Burning, Nora-Jane Noone, Oliver Milburn, Molly Kayll
Screenplay: Neil Marshall
Cinematography: Sam McCurdy
Music: David Julyan
Country of Origin: UK
US Distributor: Lionsgate

Premiere: 11 March 2005 (Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Films)
US Premiere: January 2006 (Sundance)

Awards: Best Director, Best Technical Achievement – Jon Harris, editor (British Independent Film Awards)

The Decade List: La terza madre (2007)

La terza madre [Mother of Tears] – dir. Dario Argento

Nearly 30 years late, Dario Argento, once the maestro of gialli and gothic horror during the 1970s, completed his Three Mothers trilogy, which began with his beloved Suspiria in '77 and Inferno in '80. But is this really what we’ve been waiting for? Bearing little resemblance to either of the previous Mother films and utilizing as little skill as possible in every respect, it’s hard not to wonder what happened to Argento. Where did the beautiful cinematography, lush visuals and vanguard cinema tricks go? In Mother of Tears, they're ousted by something that strangely resembles a made-for-TV movie or, at its worst, a Full Moon direct-to-video release. Did Argento lose it or is he just letting someone else do the "tricks" for him? I could waste my time pondering or even bemoan what happened to such a fine director, but instead, I'll just celebrate the emergence of a new Dario Argento, a man more concerned with hilarious inanity and a vivacious lack of class (not that he ever really exuded much) than effective horror.

Certainly the thought crossed my mind that this might be one of the worst films I’ve ever seen at the helm of a once-respected auteur, but howling bursts of laughter quickly silenced that thought, and I'm not embellishing. Whether this exuberant hilarity is intentional or not doesn't matter, and whether it successfully closes the long open-ended Three Mothers trilogy becomes a remote argument.

Now, with every great cinematic disaster, there’s always the unfortunate casualty, and in Mother of Tears, it’s the director’s poor daughter Asia, whose emanatory humiliation is matched only by her disorientation. Being terribly miscast in daddy’s The Stendhal Syndrome sort of made sense, but by now, after working with some of contemporary cinema’s finest directors (Catherine Breillat, Gus Van Sant, Abel Ferrara, Bertrand Bonello, Tony Gatlif), the younger Argento has graduated from nepotistic roles in her father’s declining oeuvre. If her gratuitous shower scene wasn’t weird enough, her dead mother is played by her actual mother, Daria Nicolodi. Nicolodi did write Suspiria in addition to providing the voice of Mater Suspiriarum, but she too seems to not really give a fuck how the trilogy concluded. Her spirit’s “second death” while protecting her daughter is one of the film’s big laughs. Even old friend Udo Kier, who could never be accused of “slumming,” shows up for a moment as a priest before reaching a gruesome demise; Kier also had a small role in the trilogy’s first installment.

The optimistic Dario Argento fan might come to the false conclusion that in Mother of Tears he addresses his harshest criticisms, like Lars von Trier does in Antichrist, by pushing them to their limit. Of course, I’m talking about his oft-suspected misogyny, something easily deducted from the trail of (naked) dead (attractive) women he’s left behind. In one particular scene, the robed killer massacres a lesbian couple, whose relation to the story I’ve already forgotten. More memorable than their involvement with the course of action is the giant phallic spear that’s shoved in one of their vaginas only to, naturally, come poking out her mouth. To attempt to gauge whether the dyke murders are any worse than anyone else’s in Mother of Tears would be trying to push one of your own buttons. Dario’s ability to offend his audience is on par with his capacity to derive genuine terror out of his film (which is to say, nil).

While it took him nearly three decades to unleash this Mother, the film he bestowed upon us is not the director’s way of addressing, confronting or examining… anything. Mother of Tears will likely have most fans of Suspiria and Inferno puzzled at what it is they’ve waited so long for. In leaving technical dexterity and innovative vision behind, Mother of Tears isn’t left with a lamentable void; it’s the birth of a new Dario Argento, the incongruous humorist who knows how to make bad so terribly good.

With: Asia Argento, Cristian Solimeno, Adam James, Udo Kier, Daria Nicolodi, Moran Atias, Valeria Cavalli, Jun Ichikawa, Robert Madison, Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni, Paolo Stella
Screenplay: Jace Anderson, Dario Argento, Walter Fasano, Adam Gierasch, Simona Simonetti
Cinematography: Frederic Fasano
Music: Claudio Simonetti
Country of Origin: Italy/USA
US Distributor: Myriad Pictures/Dimension

Premiere: 6 September 2007 (Toronto Film Festival)
US Premiere: 25 April 2008 (San Francisco International Film Festival)

The Decade List: (Some of) The Worst Films (2007)

Since it was established with 2006's Worst that the Austin Butt-Numb-a-Thon, hosted by everyone's favorite troll, is a legitimate place for a film to make its world premiere, technically 300 and Black Snake Moan belong in the previous year. But 300 is such a fucking horribleterriblewretched film that I'll just leave it with the '07s for now. Black Snake Moan, however, doesn't even register on the shit list when compared to that garbage I once heard referred to as "gay porn for soccer moms," but it sucks enough on its own, outside of one nicely edited music sequence.

This list does beg the question: which breed of bad movie is worse? The obvious abortions (I Know Who Killed Me, Norbit, Good Luck Chuck) or the respected-foreign-auteur-remakes-himself-in-some-form-or-another-for-his-English-language-debut (My Blueberry Nights, Funny Games U.S.)? It was a real lousy year for both Wong Kar-wai and Michael Haneke, whose '07 offerings reeked of not just complacency but utter laziness. Neither could be accused of losing artistic control as a result of Hollywood's over-the-shoulder glare as both were multinational productions, receiving quite a bit of funding from the French in addition to their native countries. They had otherwise respectable English-speaking actors on board, who either did their usual schtick (Naomi Watts) or just embarrassed themselves completely (Rachel Weisz).

Thankfully, Haneke has recovered from the injury of Funny Games U.S., which was one of the major failures that eventually shut down Warner Independent, with his creepy, elegant Palme d'Or winner The White Ribbon [Das weiße Band]. Wong has yet to truly follow My Blueberry Nights up (Ashes of Time Redux doesn't count), though he has reteamed with Tony Leung for 2010's Bruce Lee/martial arts "biopic" The Grand Master, rumored to also star Gong Li and an out-of-retirement Brigitte Lin.

Some lingering questions/thoughts about a few of the titles below. 1.) Why do my parents insist on watching that manipulative drivel August Rush every time its on television (which can sometimes be thrice daily)? 2.) Aside from Assayas' demonlover (and probably The Wizard, but for altogether different reasons), most films that visually incorporate video games are going to blow (w/r/t Ben X, and possibly its upcoming American remake if that's still in production). 3.) Jodie Foster < style="font-weight: bold;">Diary of the Dead? It retains none of the qualities that made his previous zombie films (even Land of the Dead) so enjoyable. 5.) If Dragon Wars had extended that big Los Angeles destruction scene into its full running time, you might have seen it appear on the actual Decade List (as long as they axed poor Robert Forster in the process).

6.) Lots of nudity apparently does not make a horrible movie that much more tolerable (w/r/t the Uschi Obermaier biopic Eight Miles High). 7.) In the past 10 years, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre received a crappy US remake, a crappier US prequel and a wonderful in-spirit-only French take in Fabrice Du Welz's Calvaire; so why bother with something as lousy as Frontière(s)? 8.) Was anyone else deeply disturbed by Dawn Wiener's death scene in Hostel: Part 2? I've already forgotten the specifics of everything else about the movie, but that scene... I can't get rid of. 9.) I should look up and see what other films were in the running for the Caméra d'Or at the '07 Cannes Film Festival, because there had to be something better than Jellyfish playing that year. 10.) The list has a number of "comedies" that didn't pull a single laugh out of me: Good Luck Chuck, Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, Mr. Woodcock, Molière, Kiss the Bride, Starrbooty and The Ten. I'm pretty sure I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry belongs on that list, but I can vouch that the others didn't provoke even a smirk out of me.

- 300 - d. Zack Snyder - USA [also here]
- August Rush - d. Kirsten Sheridan - USA
- Ben X - d. Nic Balthazar - Belgium/Netherlands
- Beowulf - d. Robert Zemeckis - USA
- Black Snake Moan - d. Craig Brewer - USA
- The Brave One - d. Neil Jordan - USA/Australia
- City of Men [Cidade dos Homens] - d. Paulo Morelli - Brazil
- Diary of the Dead - d. George A. Romero - USA
- Dragon Wars [D-War] - d. Shim Hyung-rae - South Korea
- Eight Miles High [Das wilde Leben] - d. Achim Bornhak - Germany
- Elizabeth: The Golden Age - d. Shekhar Kapur - UK/France/Germany
- Frontier(s) [Frontière(s)] - d. Xavier Gens - France/Switzerland
- Funny Games U.S. - d. Michael Haneke - France/UK/Austria/Germany/USA/Italy [also here]
- Good Luck Chuck - d. Mark Helfrich - USA
- Hannah Takes the Stairs - d. Joe Swanberg - USA
- Happily N'Ever After - d. Paul Bolger, Yvette Kaplan - USA/Germany
- Hostel: Part 2 - d. Eli Roth - USA
- I Can't Think Straight - d. Shamim Sarif - UK
- I Know Who Killed Me - d. Chris Sivertson - USA
- I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry - d. Dennis Dugan - USA
- In the Valley of Elah - d. Paul Haggis - USA
- Into the Wild - d. Sean Penn - USA [also here]
- Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer - d. Jon Knautz - Canada
- Jellyfish [Les méduses] - d. Shira Geffen, Etgar Keret - Israel/France
- Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten - d. Julien Temple - UK/Ireland
- Kiss the Bride - d. C. Jay Cox - USA
- Lost in Beijing - d. Li Yu - China
- Molière - d. Laurent Tirard - France
- Mr. Woodcock - d. Craig Gillespie - USA
- My Blueberry Nights - d. Wong Kar-wai - Hong Kong/France/China
- Norbit - d. Brian Robbins - USA
- The Orange Thief - d. Vinnie Angel, Boogie Dean, Arthur Wilinski - USA
- Poor Boy's Game - d. Clément Virgo - Canada
- Schoolboy Crush - d. Kôtarô Terauchi - Japan
- Sex & Breakfast - d. Miles Brandman - USA
- Starrbooty - d. Mike Ruiz - USA
- Sunshine - d. Danny Boyle - UK/USA
- Teeth - d. Mitchell Lichtenstein - USA
- The Ten - d. David Wain - USA
- Then She Found Me - d. Helen Hunt - USA

DVD Update - 18 October

Multiple titles of varied interest and appeal. Highlights include Lorna's Silence on 6 January, a new Flicker Alley release in Miss Mend, also known as The Adventures of the Three Reporters, and Gurinder Chadha's Agnus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging on 22 December (which a friend of mine recommends highly... we'll see about that). Disney has re-announced their 3-disc DVD of Like Stars on Earth, a Bollywood feel-gooder, for 12 January.

- The Private Lesson [Lezioni private], 1975, d. Vittorio De Sisti, Sinful Mermaid/MVD, 20 October
- The Sex Is Crazy [El sexo está loco], 1981, d. Jesús Franco, Sinful Mermaid/MVD, 20 October
- Kleinhoff Hotel, 1977, d. Carlo Lizzani, Obsession/MVD, 17 November
- Drop Dead Rock, 1996, d. Adam Dubin, MVD, 8 December, w. Adam Ant, Debbie Harry
- Miss Mend, 1926, d. Fyodor Otsep, Boris Barnet, Flicker Alley, 2-DVD Deluxe Edition, 15 December
- Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, 2008, d. Gurinder Chadha, Paramount, 22 December
- Lorna's Silence [Le silence de Lorna], 2008, d. Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Sony Pictures, 5 January
- In Praise of Older Women, 1978, d. George Kaczender, Koch Vision, 12 January, w. Tom Berenger, Karen Black, Helen Shaver, Alexandra Stewart, Alberta Watson
- Pretty Ugly People, 2008, d. Tate Taylor, Osiris, 12 January
- My Führer: The Truly Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler [Mein Führer - Die wirklich wahrste Wahrheit über Adolf Hitler], 2007, d. Dani Levy, First Run Features, 19 January
- Whisper & SHOUT! [flüstern & SCHREIEN], 1998, d. Dieter Schumann, First Run Features, 19 January
- Bad Biology, 2008, d. Frank Henenlotter, Shriek Show, 26 January
- Give 'em Hell, Malone, 2009, d. Russell Mulcahy, National Entertainment Media, also on Blu-ray, 26 January, w. Thomas Jane, Ving Rhames
- The Higher Force [Stóra planið], 2008, d. Olaf de Fleur Johannesson, Vanguard, 26 January, w. Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson, Hilmir Snær Guðnason, Michael Imperioli
- Like a Dragon, 2007, d. Takashi Miike, Tokyo Shock, 26 January
- Malcolm X, 1992, d. Spike Lee, Warner, 2 February
- The End of the Line, 2009, d. Rupert Murray, New Video, 23 February

Blu-ray

- Dogtown and Z-Boys, 2001, d. Stacy Peralta, Sony, 5 January
- Riding Giants, 2004, d. Stacy Peralta, Sony, 5 January
- The Deadly Duo, 1971, d. Chang Cheh, Tokyo Shock, Blu-ray, 19 January
- Dumbo, 1941, d. Ben Sharpsteen, Disney, 23 February

Artificial Eye's Agnès Varda Collection, Volume 2

Artificial Eye in the UK has already announced volume 2 of their Agnès Varda Collections. The first set hits stores on 19 October and contains La pointe-courte, Cléo from 5 to 7 [Cléo de 5 à 7], Les glaneurs et la glaneuse [The Gleaners and I] and Le bonheur. The second will include Vagabond [Sans toit ni loi] and The Beaches of Agnès [Les plages d'Agnès], as well as the harder-to-find Jacquot de Nantes, a film inspired by the childhood of her late husband Jacques Demy, and L'une chante, l'autre pas [One Sings, the Other Doesn't], both available for the first time on DVD with English subtitles. Here's hoping Volume 3 contains the works Varda did with Jane Birkin in the 1980s (Jane B. par Agnès V., Kung-fu master!), Les créatures with Catherine Deneuve, Michel Piccoli and Eva Dahlbeck and her exceptionally rare Lions Love, which features Varda along with Viva, Eddie Constantine, Shirley Clarke, Jim Morrison, Peter Bogdanovich, Gerome Ragni and James Rado.

Artificial Eye announced a few other titles for 2010 in addition to the Varda set and Antichrist, which I mentioned before: Peter Strickland's Katalin Varga (22 February), Marco Bechis' Birdwatchers (25 January) and Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank (25 January). The latter brings me to the topic of the ongoing Decade List project, which (conceivably) only has two-and-a-half months left to go. So far, Fish Tank is my favorite official 2009 release, and I plan to write about it soon, which means that all the years from 00-09 are fair game. There are some significant omissions on the list so far, but I'm still open to more suggestions as the year approaches its close. I've already got a number of entries lined up, and a stack of DVDs ready for watching... so don't hesitate to throw a suggestion or seven my way.

And, just so you know, Lars von Trier's Dogville, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Tropical Malady, Andrew Bujalski's Mutual Appreciation, the Dardenne brothers' L'enfant, Cristi Puiu's The Death of Mr. Lazarescu [Moartea domnului Lăzărescu], Claire Denis' L'intrus [The Intruder], Richard Linklater's Before Sunset, Michael Haneke's Caché, François Ozon's Le temps qui reste [Time to Leave], Kim Ki-duk's Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring, Bertrand Bonello's Tiresia and Andrei Zvyagintsev's The Return are all on their way.

January Criterions and More!

January always poses an exciting month for Criterion releases, as it (hopefully) kick-starts the year with a bang, especially after their typically slow month of December. And with the January 2010 titles, Criterion crossed the 500 threshold, with Robert Rossellini's War Trilogy box set marking spine number 500, the trilogy being Rome, Open City [Roma, città aperta], Paisan [Paisà] and Germany Year Zero [Germania anno zero]. Steven Soderbergh's Che will finally bow on DVD and Blu-ray, as well as a resorted version of Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas (on DVD and Blu-ray). Federico Fellini's 8½ will premiere on Blu-ray, which might be the first release of the film in high-definition anywhere.

More exciting than the mainline Criterion titles though is their new Eclipse set, available 19 January: Chantal Akerman in the Seventies. The set includes La chambre, Hotel Monterey, News from Home, Je tu il elle and Les rendez-vous d'Anna.

IFC also announced several titles for January. Jean-Claude Brisseau's À l'aventure, Paco Cabezas' The Appeared [Aparecidos], David Zellner's Goliath, Spike Lee's Passing Strange, Alan Brown's Superheroes and Armando Iannucci's hysterical In the Loop, which will also come in Blu-ray. All are set for 12 January. MPI, who releases IFC's titles, set a new date for The House of the Devil for 2 February, for those concerned.

DVD Update - 14 October

I'm suffering a seasonal malady, so there may be a lag in posting for the next few days. We'll see. For now, here's a DVD update. It looks as though Magnolia acquired a number of Netflix's former distribution studio Red Envelope Entertainment's releases and are making them available again come 3 November. All of the titles were previously released by Genius and sadly does not include the two Lukas Moodysson films, Lilja 4-ever and A Hole in My Heart, which Netflix had for rental only.

Some changes: As expected, both Pandorum and Capitalism: A Love Story have vanished from Amazon. The original November date I provided for Moon is obviously not accurate, and I'm told it's now sometime in January. District 9 is now 15 December. Tokyo Shock's Five Element Ninjas has been pushed to 26 January, and Sony's Rita Hayworth box will now be released on 23 February.

- 4, 2005, d. Ilya Khrjanovsky, Magnolia, 3 November
- The Bituminous Coal Queens of Pennsylvania, 2005, d. Judy Eldred, David Hunt, Magnolia, 3 November
- C.R.A.Z.Y., 2005, d. Jean-Marc Vallée, Magnolia, 3 November
- Cowboy del amor, 2005, d. Michèle Ohayon, Magnolia, 3 November
- Favela Rising, 2005, d. Matt Mochary, Jeff Zimbalist, Magnolia, 3 November
- Heading South [Vers el sud], 2005, d. Laurent Cantet, Magnolia, 3 November
- Mana: Beyond Belief, 2004, d. Peter Friedman, Roger Manley, Magnolia, 3 November
- Memron, 2004, d. Nancy Hower, Magnolia, 3 November
- The Orchestra of Piazza Vittorio [L'orchestra di Piazza Vittorio], 2006, d. Agostino Ferrente, Magnolia, 3 November
- The Puffy Chair, 2005, d. Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass, Magnolia, 3 November
- Rank, 2006, d. John Hyams, Magnolia, 3 November
- Small Town Gay Bar, 2006, d. Malcolm Ingram, Magnolia, 3 November
- Street Fight, 2005, d. Marshall Curry, Magnolia, 3 November
- This Film Is Not Yet Rated, 2006, d. Kirby Dick, Magnolia, 3 November
- Yo soy Boricua, pa'que tu lo sepas!, 2006, d. Liz Garbus, Rosie Perez, Magnolia, 3 November
- Diagnosis: Death, 2009, d. Jason Stutter, Lionsgate, 29 December, w. Bret McKenzie, Jermaine Clement
- Dark Rage, 2008, d. Lee Akehurst, Cinema Epoch, 12 January
- The Hurt Locker, 2008, d. Kathryn Bigelow, Summit, 12 January
- Onimasa: A Japanese Godfather, 1982, d. Hideo Gosha, AnimEigo, 12 January
- The Brotherhood V: Alumni, d. David DeCoteau, here! Films, 9 February
- Eleven Minutes, 2008, d. Michael Selditch, Robert Tate, here! Films, 9 February
- The Pit and the Pendulum, 2009, d. David DeCoteau, here! Films, 9 February
- The Song of Sparrows, d. Majid Majidi, here! Films, 9 February
- $9.99, d. Tatia Rosenthal, here! Films, 23 February
- Breakfast with Scot, 2007, d. Laurie Lynd, here! Films, 23 February