The Criterion Collection Announces Its November Slate Of New Film Restorations Destined For Release As Both DVD & Blu-ray Product Offering During The Month

This past week the Criterion Collection announced its November slate of new film restorations that will filter out during the course of the month as both Blu-ray and DVD product offerings.

 

Leading the way is a new 4K digital restoration (source material not specified) of director Norman Jewison’s 1988 Best Picture candidate, Moonstruck, starring Cher (who won Best Actress laurels) and Nicolas Cage, with Olympia Dukakis (Best Supporting Actress) and Vincent Gardenia (nominated for Best Supporting Actor) in supporting roles.   The street date is Nov. 17.

 

A turn-around in studio fortunes for MGM during the late 1980s was in no small measure due to Alan Ladd, Jr.’s very commercial film production slate, which included Moonstruck, plus the likes of Spaceballs, Overboard, A Fish Called Wanda and Rain Man ... and many more.  With Lee Rich as chairman and Ladd head of production, it proved to be a winning combination that was ultimately betrayed by Kirk Kerkorian, who used the studio’s robust recovery to arranged a billion-dollar sale of the studio to an Italian waiter by the name Giancarlo Parretti … who, of course, had no money.

 

Ah, but that’s another story.   When Moonstruck was first released on VHS, the only “extra” was a “PSA” for Snickers … these new Blu-ray and DVD editions from Criterion are a whole lot sweeter than that.

 

We begin with a vintage commentary track (circa 1998) featuring Cher, filmmaker Norman Jewison and writer John Patrick Shanley (who won the Oscar for his script).   There are also vintage video sessions with Norman Jewison and cast members Cher, Nicolas Cage, Vincent Gardenia, and Olympia Dukakis from 1987, a video session with Danny Aiello (2002), and with John Patrick Shanley in 1989.

New material includes a newly-prepared with session Shanley and film scholar Stefano Albertini.   There also two featurettes — “At the Heart of an Italian Family” and “The Music of Moonstruck.”

 

Also on the November release calendar from the Criterion Collection is director Martin Scorsese’s multi-million box office bomb, The Irishman.   Film production estimates for this bloated vanity piece range from $150 million to well over $200 million.   An inept theatrical release and a meltdown war with major exhibitor saw just an estimated $7,000,000 in box office receipts before going to Netflix as an “event” film.

 

Streeting on Nov. 24 are double-disc DVD and double-disc Blu-ray editions, that yields an ARR of 389 days.

 

The Irishman is a new 4K digital master (approved by Scorsese).   Bonus features include a Making-of documentary, the featurette titled “The Evolution of Digital De-aging” and a video session with film critic Farran Smith Nehme.

 

Also on the release calendar from Criterion in November are filmmaker Claudia Weill’s 1978 film release of Girlfriends (Nov. 10), director Jim Jarmusch’s 1999 film release of Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (Nov. 17) and a 14-film salute to director Federico Fellini on Nov. 24.