edited by Jonathan Doyle

Classe tous risques (The Criterion Collection, 6.17.2008) Claude Sautet is best known for subtle interpretations of French bourgeois life in such films as Un coeur en hiver and Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud. Yet the director began his career with genre films. Classe Tous Risques, released in 1960, is considered the best of his early work and it's a fascinating companion to similar crime movies made around the same time by Jean-Pierre Melville. (continued)

Upcoming

July 2

Hancock

July 3

The Whackness

July 4

Diminished Capacity

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson

Holding Trevor

Kabluey

We are Together

July 9

Full Battle Rattle

July 11

A Man Named Pearl

August

Eight Miles High

Garden Party

Harold

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Meet Dave

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

The Stone Angel

July 18

A Very British Gangster

Before I Forget

The Dark Knight

The Doorman

Felon

Lou Reed's Berlin

Transsiberian

July 22

Two Tickets to Paradise

July 23

Boy A

"Becket" finally arrives

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The ridiculously drawn-out Becket saga (thanks to those ass-dragging dilletantes at MPI Home Video) is at an end, thank fortune. Peter O'Toole's Oscar campaign team -- i.e., the Miramax publicists pushing his Best Actor candidacy for Venus -- will be comforted to know that this 1964 multi-Oscar nominated film, in which O'Toole arguably gave the finest performance of his career as King Henry II, will open at Manhattan's Film Forum on 1.26.07 and then L.A.'s Nuart on 2.9.07.

O'Toole's Venus performance must sink or swim based on its own merits, of course, but reminding Academy voters what a brilliant, world-class performance he gave 42 years ago (plus the fact that he was flat-out robbed of the Best Actor Oscar when My Fair Lady's Rex Harrison took it instead) clearly enhances the brief.

Peter Glenville and Hal Wallis's widescreen historical epic, which was remastered in '03 by the Motion Picture Academy's Bob Pogorzelski, will also open in several Landmark theatres in February, March, April and May via Marty Zeidman's Slow Hand Releasing, which was hired by MPI to handle theatrical as a promotional prelude to the Becket DVD release.

MPI spokesperson Christie Hester stated earlier this year -- disingenuously -- that MPI "intends" to release the Becket DVD in the first quarter of '07. The more likely release will be next fall. Perhaps MPI should announce a release during the first quarter of '08, just to give themselves a little leeway? Make it the summer of '08 -- then they'll really be covered.

Eller does Lesher<< previous | next >>Tracking developments

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on October 30, 2006 at 12:37 PM

comment #1

nemo says ...

Maybe MPI should make a joint announcement with George Bush. An end to US involvement in the Iraq War? Release of the "Beckett" DVD? Those are jobs for future generations.

Posted by nemo at October 30, 2006 02:19 PM

comment #2

ZacharyTF says ...

I was going to complain that you never mention Peter's performance in Lawrence of Arabia, but then I remembered that he lost to Gregory Peck for To Kill a Mockingbird. While I think that Peter was better, I really can't argue against Gregory's best performance by far.

Posted by ZacharyTF at October 30, 2006 04:45 PM

comment #3