05/24/11 Recommended New Releases

Not much today, but thankfully Criterion has us covered:

The Great Dictator (Charles Chaplin, 1940) - Synopsis from the Criterion webpage for the release: "In his controverisal masterpiece The Great Dictator, Charlie Chaplin offers both a cutting caricature of Adolf Hitler and a sly tweaking of his own comic persona. Chaplin, in his first pure talkie, brings his sublime physicality to two roles: the cruel yet clownish “Tomainian” dictator and the kindly Jewish barber who is mistaken for him. Featuring Jack Oakie and Paulette Goddard in stellar supporting turns, The Great Dictator, boldly going after the fascist leader before the U.S.’s official entry into World War II, is an audacious amalgam of politics and slapstick that culminates in Chaplin’s famously impassioned speech."

Format: DVD - Like many others, my Criterion collection began on DVD, and for the time being I see no reason to upgrade. For this release, the only noteworthy distinction between formats is that the Blu-ray sports an uncompressed monaural soundtrack. The DVD is $20.99 at Amazon.

Solaris (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972)* - Originally released by Criterion in 2002, the film has been re-released to correct an issue with the black-and-white scenes in the film, which were supposed to be tinted blue. Synopsis from the Criterion webpage for this release: "Ground control has been receiving mysterious transmissions from the three remaining residents of the Solaris space station. When cosmonaut and psychologist Kris Kelvin is dispatched to investigate, he experiences the same strange phenomena that afflict the Solaris crew, sending him on a voyage into the darkest recesses of his consciousness. With Solaris, the legendary Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky created a brilliantly original science-fiction epic that challenges our conceptions about love, truth, and humanity itself."

* - Not to be confused with the 2002 Steven Soderbergh remake starring George Clooney.

Format: DVD - As with The Great Dictator, the only noteworthy difference between formats is the uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray. The DVD is $21.99 on Amazon.




Finally, here is episode seven of Mortal Kombat: Legacy: