Criterion New Year's Card Hints at Upcoming Blu-ray Titles

The Criterion Collection asked resident “wacky” artist, Jason Polan, to help them ring in the New Year. The result is a cryptic e-card that features numerous obscure references to upcoming titles. Members of the blu-ray.com forum and other boards have tried to decipher the clues and concluded that the studio will soon release such titles as Fritz Lang's 'M', Powell and Pressburger's 'The Red Shoes', and Visconti's 'The Leopard'.


Criterion New Year's card.

Here is the list of hints and what they may refer to:

• Desert drawn in red: 'The Red Desert' (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1964)
• Locusts: 'Days of Heaven' (Terrence Malick, 1978) (announced for March 23)
• Hotel sign: 'Vivre sa vie' (Jean-Luc Godard, 1962)
• Big Baby: 'Colossal Youth' (Pedro Costa, 2006)
• Direction signs:
  • Germany, Rome, Po Valley: 'Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy' (announced only on standard definition)
  • The Idlewild Home For Ladies: unknown
  • Paris, Texas: 'Paris, Texas' (announced for January 26)
• Leopard: 'The Leopard' (Luchino Visconti, 1963)
• Woman: 'Lola Montès' (Max Ophüls, 1955) (announced for February 16)
• Che T-Shirt: 'Che' (Steven Soderbergh, 2008) (announced for January 19)
• Pitcher: 'Bigger than Life' (announced for March 23)
• Samurai with blue sword: 'Seven Samurai', 'Yojimbo' and 'Sanjuro' (Akira Kurosawa, 1954-1962) (two of them announced for March 23)
• Red dancing shoes on samurai: 'The Red Shoes' (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1948)
• Feather: 'The Four Feathers' (Zoltan Korda, 1939)
• Man riding bike: 'Close-Up' (Abbas Kiarostami, 1990) and/or 'Ride with the Devil' (Ang Lee, 1999)
• M mark on man's sleeve: 'M' (Fritz Lang, 1931)
• Contraption on ground: 'Summer Hours' (Olivier Assayas, 1998)
• Dog-headed man: 'By Brakhage' (Stan Brakhage, 1954-2001)
• Tree stump and axe: 'Revanche' (Götz Spielmann, 2008) (announced for February 16)

Note that all of the above is sheer speculation. Note also that, even if the guesses are correct, some of the titles may be released in standard definition only and not on Blu-ray.

Thanks to all who contributed and relayed ideas on the dedicated Criterion thread on the blu-ray.com forum.