DECEMBER 2007   NEW RELEASES
This holiday season, make Criterion your shopping stop for the film lover in your family. The Seattle Times said it better than we ever could: “Close your eyes and point at any title in the Criterion Collection, and it would be a first-rate gift for anyone who’s into film.” And it’s not just DVDs we’re offering now: there’s a wide variety of stuff at the Criterion store, from all-new canvas tote bags to posters to T-shirts—and more. We’re also pleased to introduce Monte Hellman’s existential drag-racing masterpiece (yeah, you read that right), Two-Lane Blacktop, into the collection this month, in a special, director-approved two-disc edition.
Happy viewing!
TWO-LANE BLACKTOP
Monte Hellman

“The quintessential road movie!”
Village Voice
 
TOP TEN CRITERIONS BY DIABLO CODY CONTEST
Diablo Cody is the author of Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper, and her blog can be accessed here. She is also the screenwriter of the critically acclaimed, Golden Globe–nominated Juno, currently playing in theaters nationwide. Click here to read Cody’s thoughts on her top ten Criterion picks.

1. Do the Right Thing
2. Written on the Wind
3. Schizopolis
4. Sid & Nancy
5. Gimme Shelter
6. Grey Gardens
7. The Blob
8. Pandora’s Box
9. Dazed and Confused
10. The Royal Tenenbaums

A year of Criterion newsletters also means a year of wacky animals clueing readers in to upcoming releases. The animals don’t always come from the films they’re hinting about, but they do relate to movies somewhere in the Criterion catalog. Match the following nine wacky animals with the films they represent or are featured in (not the films they were necessarily announcing). The winner will not only receive a free Criterion DVD of their choice but also an original wacky animal illustration, signed by the artist, Jason Polan. Two runners-up will get Criterion T-shirts. Send your answers to contest@criterion.com.

THE WACKY ANIMALS:



THE FILMS:

A. Le corbeau
B. Days of Heaven
C. The Naked Prey
D. La jetée
E. Mr. Arkadin
F. Au hasard Balthazar
G. Grey Gardens
H. The Royal Tenenbaums
I. The Seventh Seal
 
BALLOONS AND BAGS

We’ve added some new items at the Criterion store, including a newly arrived poster of The Red Balloon and White Mane (currently touring theaters across the country—click here for details) and our brand-new, eco-friendly canvas tote bags, available in black or beige, with either Janus or Criterion silk-screened logos. These make perfect last-minute gifts.

CUSTOMER SERVICE UPDATE




We made a mastering error on our edition of Mala Noche (three color shots, totaling ten seconds and twenty-two frames, appear in black and white). Then the first run of the new collectors’ set Ingmar Bergman: Four Masterworks shipped with the wrong disc—the Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films edition of The Seventh Seal—in the Criterion special-edition package.

If you got one of the problem discs, please send it to us. We’ll replace it and send you a $10 gift certificate (good at criterion.com) to offset the postage. Please don’t send the whole package, just the actual Mala Noche or Essential Art House Seventh Seal disc in an envelope. Send your disc to the Criterion Collection, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10003, and mark it “Attn: Jon Mulvaney.” Be sure to include a mailing address in the U.S. or Canada for the replacement, as we cannot ship outside of North America. Please also include your e-mail address in the package, and we’ll send your gift certificate by e-mail once we’ve mailed your replacement DVD(s).

COMING IN JANUARY


The Naked Prey
Miss Julie
This Sporting Life
4 by Agnès Varda
Eclipse Series 7: Postwar Kurosawa
For further information on Criterion and our products, please visit our website at www.criterion.com. The Criterion Collection Newsletter is e-mailed every month. If you are not already on our e-mailing list and would like to be added, please consult our Newsletter sign-up page. © 2007 The Criterion Collection