The Criterion Collection
announced its June slate of DVD and Blu-ray film restorations this past week
and without question, the number one selection for the month is cult filmmaker
John Waters’ Female Trouble.
You ask why? Back in the early 1970s I was VP of Great
Western Theatres, a Southern California operation that at its peak had
something like 30 screens … it was fun, great fun.
It was during this time
that we obtained an option on the Las Palmas Theatre in Hollywood and had all
sorts of sugar cane and lollipop visions of it becoming the West Coast arthouse
of arthouses … it was a gay porn venue when we took it over, so we cleaned it
up and readied it for the grand reopening and we had the very good fortune of
landing the Hollywood premiere of John Waters newest film for the occasion, Female
Trouble!
That’s the reason why The
Criterion Collection’s June 26 Blu-ray and DVD release of Female Trouble is the
lead film selection for the month … it carries with it fond memories and a night
in Hollywood like none other.
 |
| The Cycle Sluts at the West Coast premiere of Female Trouble |
We had Las Palmas Avenue
closed for the evening from Selma Avenue to Hollywood Blvd., we had one of
those giant Kleig lights out front, we had Divine arrive in a limo and we had
an honor escort for the film’s star to make her grand entrance … the Cycle
Sluts! It was amazing, the film was
amazing, Divine was amazing, but the whole idea of making the Las Palmas
Theatre an arthouse just didn’t work out.
As to the June 26 DVD and
Blu-ray release of Female Trouble, The Criterion Collection has a new 4K
restoration of the uncut 97-minute version of the film, which comes with bonus
goodies that include a vintage commentary track by filmmaker John Waters and a
1975 interview session with Waters, Divine, Mink Stole and David Lochary.
Other bonus delights
include a newly prepared video session with John Waters (one of the funniest
men on the planet) and author/critic Michael Musto (“Downtown,” “Manhattan on
the Rocks” and “Fork on the Left, Knife in the Back”), on-set footage, deleted
scenes and alternate takes.
Getting a new 2K
restoration on June 26 is director Ingmar Bergman’s 1960 Best Foreign Language
Oscar-winner, The Virgin Spring … DVD and Blu-ray editions will be available.
Bonus features include a
vintage (circa 2005) commentary option with Ingmar Bergman and film scholar
Birgitta Steene (author of “Ingmar Bergman: A Reference Guide”), filmmaker Ang
Lee’s 2005 introduction to the film and newly found video sessions (also 2005)
featuring actors Gunnel Lindblom and Birgitta Pettersson.
Rounding out the June
selections from The Criterion Collection are Manila in the Claws of Light
(June 12, 1975 … directed by Lino Brocka, presented in Tagalog), El
Sur (June 19, 1983 … directed by Victor Erice, presented in Spanish)
and Michael Moore’s 2002 film, Bowling for Columbine (June 19).
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