Criterion has announced a trio of films that will join their Blu-ray Disc Criterion Collection with all new filmmaker approved high definition transfers this October.
The first film, Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding, will be released on October 13 with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. A week later on October 20 will see the release of staff favorite Wings of Desire, also with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, and Howards End with Helena Bonham Carter and uncompressed 5.1 Dolby Digital audio.
Complete disc specs for each release are as follows:
Wings of Desire
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Wim Wenders
- Audio commentary featuring Wenders and actor Peter Falk
- The Angels Among Us (2003), a documentary featuring interviews with Wenders, Falk, actors Bruno Ganz and Otto Sander, writer Peter Handke, and composer Jürgen Knieper
- Excerpt from “Wim Wenders Berlin Jan. 87,” an episode of the French television program Cinéma cinémas, including on-set footage
- Interview with director of photography Henri Alekan
- Deleted scenes and outtakes
- Excerpts from the films Alekan la lumière (1985) and Remembrance: Film for Curt Bois (about the actor who plays Homer in Wings of Desire)
- Notes and photos by production designer Heidi Lüdi and art director Toni Lüdi
- Trailers
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Michael Atkinson and writings by Wenders and Handke
Howards End
- High-definition digital transfer, supervised by cinematographer Tony Pierce-Roberts
- New appreciation of the late Ismail Merchant by director James Ivory
- Building Howards End, a documentary featuring interviews with Ivory, Merchant, Helena Bonham Carter, costume designer Jenny Beavan, and Academy Award–winning production designer Luciana Arrighi
- The Design of Howards End, a detailed look at the costume and production designs for the film, including original sketches
- The Wandering Company (1984), a 50-minute documentary about the history of Merchant Ivory Productions
- Original 1992 behind-the-scenes featurette
- Original theatrical trailer
- PLUS: An essay by critic Kenneth Turan
Monsoon Wedding
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director Mira Nair and director of photography Declan Quinn
- Audio commentary featuring Nair
- Nair’s short documentaries So Far from India (1983), India Cabaret (1985), and The Laughing Club of India (2001), featuring video introductions by the director
- Nair’s short fiction films The Day the Mercedes Became a Hat (1993), 11’09″01—September 11 (Segment: India) (2002), Migration (2007), and How Can It Be? (2008), featuring video introductions by the director
- New video interview with actor Naseeruddin Shah, conducted by Nair
- New video interviews with Quinn and production designer Stephanie Carroll
- Theatrical trailer
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: An essay by critic and travel writer Pico Iyer
Criterion has set retail pricing for all three new additions to the Blu-ray Criterion Collection at $39.95. Cover art for all but Monsoon Wedding are below, and Amazon.com pre-order information is forthcoming.
