The Criterion Collection announced its May release calendar of new film restorations this past week and topping the list is clearly director Billy Wilder’s 1944 film noir masterpiece, Double Indemnity, starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson.
This is a new 4K digital restoration for this Best Picture nominee, which lost out to Going My Way … War World II was raging on and audiences, including Academy members, wanted something bright and cheerful, not the genius of the writing of Billy Wilder and none other than Raymond Chandler, who defined the early days of the film noir trend with scripts for Murder, My Sweet, The Blue Dahlia, The Big Sleep and Double Indemnity.
Film buffs and film noir fans will have two purchasing options for Double Indemnity from Criterion on May 31. There will be a 4K Ultra HD/double-disc Blu-ray Combo Pack as well as a double-disc Blu-ray edition.
Bonus features include a vintage commentary option with film critic Richard Schickel, a newly-prepared video session with film scholar Noah Isenberg and a second newly-prepared video conversation with film historians Eddie Muller and Imogen Sara Smith.
Other bonus goodies include the 2006 short film titled Shadows of Suspense, the 1992 German television production, Billy, How Did You Do It?, vintage audio clips with cinematographer John F. Seitz and both the 1945 (MacMurray and Stanwyck) and 1950 (with Robert Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck) radio adaptations.
Also on the May film restoration calendar from the Criterion Collection are a pair of foreign language imports, director Joseph Losey’s 1977 César Awards Best Picture-winner, Mr. Klein, starring Alain Delon (May 10, Blu-ray in French) and Japanese filmmaker Jûzô Itami’s 1984 comedy, The Funeral (May 17 on Blu-ray), plus on May 24 there will be a new 4K film restoration of director Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala (Blu-ray) and lastly, May 31 also will see the Blu-ray release of director Wayne Wang’s Chan is Missing.
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