Tom Cruise has finally entered The Criterion Collection. While technically, “Cocktail” has been available on the Criterion Channel in the past (no, really), in announcing its July titles today, Criterion made Cruise’s inclusion with a DVD/Blu-Ray title official today with the addition of 1983’s classic comedy, “Risky Business,” the actor’s breakthrough film. Directed by Paul Brickman, the coming-of-age comedy film, sometimes said to be modeled after a more risqué, “The Graduate,” centers on a Chicago teenager (Cruise) and his sexual exploits while his parents are away on vacation, including spending time with prostitutes.

Continue reading Criterion Adds 4-Disc ‘Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid’ 50th Anniversary Edition & ‘Risky Business’ To July 2024 Releases at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalogue titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This twice-monthly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

Friends, it’s been three weeks since our last installment, and it’s been a busy time for discs and streaming, so here are 27 reviews: 

PICK OF THE WEEK: 

“The Godfather Trilogy”: No one needs to be told, on this 50th anniversary of its release, why “The Godfather” movies are great.

Continue reading The Best Movies to Buy or Stream This Week: ‘West Side Story,’ ‘Red Rocket,’ ‘The Godfather’ on 4K at The Playlist.

Wondering why the Criterion Collection was tweeting out Spotify links to Roy Orbison this afternoon? Well, David Lynch loves the dearly departed blues rocker, his music is featured in several of his movies and “In Dreams,” the song in question, gets quite the spotlight in the director’s seminal 1985 masterpiece “Blue Velvet.” Yep, it was a tease, and “Blue Velvet” is coming to the boutique Blu-Ray DVD label this May.

Continue reading Criterion Adds ‘Blue Velvet’ & New Films To Claire Denis, Michael Haneke & More To The Collection This May at The Playlist.

Has the modern holy grail of cinema been found? There had been much talk over the years of an extended version of Terrence Malick‘s Palme d’Or winning 2011 film, “The Tree of Life.” In fact, in the famous lead up to the movie cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki revealed that the director was putting a together rumored a six-hour cut of the movie, from the over 300 miles of footage he had accumulated, with Malick’s longtime editor Billy Weber later teasing a DVD release.

Continue reading Criterion To Release A Longer Version of Terrence Malick’s ‘The Tree Of Life’ at The Playlist.

You’re not going to be able to leave a galaxy far, far away anytime soon. “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” has been in cinemas for ten weeks, and if you want to have another run through Rian Johnson‘s latest chapter in the saga, you’ll be able to do just that in a matter of weeks.

The home video trailer has landed for ‘The Last Jedi,’ and in addition to showing off all kinds of spoilery footage that the initial promos avoided, it confirms some of the extras fans will be getting.

Continue reading ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Trailer: The Rebellion Is Reborn For Home Video at The Playlist.

Halloween may be behind us, but the folks at The Criterion Collection are ready to send a chill up your spine, as they prepare another excellent slate of films, for February.

Leading the pack is George A. Romero‘s “Night Of The Living Dead.” So, why do you need the Criterion edition, when this has been released countless times? Well, aside from the new 4K restoration, the package will the include previously unreleased 16mm dailies, as well as the unseen “Night Of Anubis” workprint edit of the movie.

Continue reading ‘Night Of The Living Dead’ Haunts The Criterion Collection, ‘Silence Of The Lambs’ Returns at The Playlist.

While The Criterion Collection is generally known for their high-class releases of revered foreign and arthouse films, the boutique label knows how to have fun too. And the company is leading their January wave of titles with everyone’s favorite movie about detention.

John Hughes‘ classic “The Breakfast Club” is coming to The Criterion Collection, with an extra side of bacon. Besides arriving in a new 4K restoration, and being packed with all sorts of extras including commentary by Anthony Michael Hall and Judd Nelson, and interviews with cast members, the highlight is 50 minutes of previously unseen deleted and extended scenes.

Continue reading ‘The Breakfast Club’ Coming To The Criterion Collection at The Playlist.

November is still a ways away — who knows what the hell will have happened in our collective Twitter feed by the time good ol’ Nov. comes around? In the event that we’re all still here in three month’s time, here’s what to expect from Criterion in the penultimate month of 2017.

For starters, Criterion is releasing a 4K restoration of “The Philadelphia Story,” the 1940 screwball comedy starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and James Stewart (Stewart ended up winning an Oscar for his performance — the first and last Academy Award of his career).  

Continue reading ‘The Philadelphia Story,’ Terry Gilliam’s ‘Jabberwocky’ & More Coming To Criterion at The Playlist.

October is the season of tricks or treats, but for the folks at Criterion, they’ve only got the good stuff. The boutique label has unveiled their lineup for the year’s scariest month, and it’s pretty damn incredible.

Kicking things off is David Lynch‘s “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.” With the new series set to be wrapped by then, this will be the perfect way to continue uncovering the many mysteries packed into the show.

Continue reading ‘Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me,’ ‘Barry Lyndon,’ ‘Personal Shopper’ & More Coming To Criterion at The Playlist.

Jess Franco was a filmmaker that always liked being on the fringe of mainstream cinema. His films tackled controversial subjects without abandon. He was a director that loved to push the limits of what could be shown on screen, and fans have been loving his work for decades. Now, Severin Films is ready to release one of Franco’s more rare titles on Blu-ray, and it looks like it’s going to be a must-own for anyone who loves Franco’s work.

Continue reading Rare Jess Franco Film ‘Two Female Spies With Flowered Panties’ Coming To Blu-Ray at The Playlist.

An enjoyable comedy, “Wilson” served as a vehicle for its star Woody Harrelson with our critic saying, “…Harrelson appears to be having a blast in a role that he really does make his own, playing Wilson as a mostly benign weirdo who has a certain zestful spirit, and may even be right about the alienation of today’s wired-up, over-connected society.”

Based on the graphic novel by Daniel Clowes, the story follows a lonely, neurotic and honest middle-aged misanthrope who reunites with his estranged wife (Laura Dern) and gets a shot at happiness when he learns he has a teenage daughter (Isabella Amara) he has never met.  

Continue reading Exclusive: Woody Harrelson Stalks His Daughter In Deleted Scene From ‘Wilson’ at The Playlist.

This fall, students across the country will be entering their first year of film school, but The Criterion Collection will be putting on some classes of their own with their lineup of September releases.

Leading the pack is Michael Haneke‘s powerful “The Piano Teacher” starring Isabelle Huppert. The director’s second entry on the boutique label won’t be brimming with too many extras, but we should just be thrilled that the film, long unavailable on DVD, is in print, and coming newly restored as well.

Continue reading Criterion’s September Lineup Includes Michael Haneke’s ‘The Piano Teacher,’ Kelly Reichardt’s ‘Certain Women’ & More at The Playlist.

If you wondering what to spend your summer job money on this summer, The Criterion Collection has a few suggestions, with the boutique label unveiling their August slate. And as per usual, there’s lots to choose from.

First up, Alex Cox‘s “Sid & Nancy,” the company’s twentieth release, is back in print and coming in a new 4K restoration supervised by cinematographer Roger Deakins.

Continue reading Newly Restored ‘Sid & Nancy,’ Mike Leigh’s ‘Meantime’ And More Coming To Criterion In August at The Playlist.

Jordan Peele‘s smash hit “Get Out” is not only still hanging around the top ten at the box office, the film will likely cross $160 million domestic this weekend. Not bad for a movie made for under $5 million. The bold, racially charged horror/thriller has been an absolute sensation, with Peele’s uncompromising picture, built upon racial tension and dynamics, not missing a single moment to go for broke.

Continue reading Darker Alternate Ending To ‘Get Out’ Coming To Blu-ray at The Playlist.

Lucasfilm‘s marketing and release strategy for their “Star Wars” movies has so far fallen into a familiar pattern: December release, followed by a spring home video bow, and concluded by a second home video release in the fall. At least that’s how it played out for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” and it’s safe to say “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is going by the same playbook as Disney has unveiled their “in-home” trailer for the spinoff.

Continue reading Home Video Trailer For ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ Brings You Back To A Galaxy Far, Far Away at The Playlist.

April showers, bring May flowers, and new releases from The Criterion Collection. I know, it’s not my greatest lede ever, but I want to jump right into what’s coming from the boutique label.

Kicking things off is Terry Zwigoff‘s cult favorite “Ghost World” starring Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson. This one has been in the works for a while now, and while it won’t be coming overflowing with extras, the new 4K restoration should be more than enough to snap this up (along with the lovely cover art, see below).

Continue reading The Criterion Collection Adding ‘Ghost World,’ ‘Dheepan,’ And More In May at The Playlist.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, The Criterion Collection will bring one of the greatest screen relationships of all time to their label, while dotting the rest of the month with more treats for movie lovers.

The boutique label anchors their February 2017 slate with the long expected release of Richard Linklater‘s Before Trilogy containing “Before Sunrise,” “Before Sunset,” and “Before Midnight.” Each film is coming with a fresh 2K restoration, while the box set will contain the 2016 documentary “Dream Is Destiny” about Linklater, the making of “Before Midnight” doc by filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsangari, and much more.

Continue reading Richard Linklater’s ‘The Before Trilogy’ Anchors The Criterion Collection’s February Slate at The Playlist.

Even as The Criterion Collection and TCM gear up to launch their streaming service FilmStruck later this month, that hardly means the boutique label is abandoning hard format releases. And as per usual, mid-month has arrived, and Criterion is revealing what they’ve got coming down the line.

The most iconic movie in the lineup for January 2017 is Howard Hawks‘ screwball comedy classic, “His Girl Friday.” While the terrific movie starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell has been easily available on various formats for year’s now, Criterion’s edition brings with it a new restoration, and paired with 1931’s “The Front Page” (which is based on the same stage play as ‘Friday’), also presented in a new restoration of director Lewis Milestone‘s “preferred version.” And, of course, there will be all kinds of other odds and ends included, too.

Continue reading Screwball Comedy Classic ‘His Girl Friday’ Leads Criterion’s January Lineup at The Playlist.

While you likely already saved your money to buy The Criterion Collection‘s boxset for Krzysztof Kieslowski‘s masterpiece “Dekalog“ this month, the boutique label doesn’t make it easy to be a cinephile on a budget. And their December lineup certainly looks poised to break a few wallets (while randomly revealing one title for February).

Kicking things off is Federico Fellini‘s “Roma,” with the master filmmaker’s 1972 movie newly-restored, to provide an even more breathtaking look at his love letter to the city.

Continue reading Federico Fellini’s ‘Roma,’ John Huston’s ‘Asphalt Jungle’ & More Coming To Criterion In December at The Playlist.

Word has long been that director George Miller always envisioned “Mad Max: Fury Road” as a black and white film. Obviously, the studio wasn’t going to release that version in theaters. However, later this year, fans of ‘Fury Road’ are going to be able to see Miller’s vision when Warner Bros. unveils “Mad Max: Fury Road Black & Chrome Edition.”

The “Black & Chrome Edition” of ‘Fury Road’ will be released in two versions.

Continue reading Warner Bros. Announces ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Black & Chrome Edition On DVD & Blu-ray at The Playlist.

This summer’s “Captain America: Civil War” showed how to pit superheroes against each other, and do it right (sorry, “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice“). Directors Joe and Anthony Russo, along with screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely developed a complex idealogical split between the members of the Avengers, one that isn’t easily solved because some Moms share the same name.

Continue reading The Russos Say The Avengers Will Be “At Their Lowest, At Their Worst, At Their Least Strong” In ‘Infinity War’ at The Playlist.

'Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice' R-Rated Ultimate Cut Sets Summer Release Date

Continue reading ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice’ R-Rated Ultimate Cut Sets Summer Release Date at The Playlist.

'Dr. Strangelove,' Antonioni's 'Le amiche,' 'Clouds Of Sils Maria' & More Headed To Criterion In June

Continue reading ‘Dr. Strangelove,’ Antonioni’s ‘Le amiche,’ ‘Clouds Of Sils Maria’ & More Headed To Criterion In June at The Playlist.

Watch: New Home Video Trailer For 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens,' Hits Blu-ray And More In April, Extras Revealed

Continue reading Watch: New Home Video Trailer For ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ Hits Blu-ray And More In April, Extras Revealed at The Playlist.

Artwork And Extras Revealed For 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Blu-ray

Continue reading Artwork And Extras Revealed For ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Blu-ray at The Playlist.