The Criterion Collection has posted their full roster of Blu-ray releases for December 2011. Titles include Ernst Lubitsch's
Design for Living, Alfred Hitchcock's
The Lady Vanishes, and two films from Seijun Suzuki:
Branded to Kill &
Tokyo Drifter.
The Lady Vanishes,
Branded to Kill, and
Tokyo Drifter are existing Criterion entries receiving a Blu-ray upgrade;
Design for Living is new to the Criterion Collection.
Quoted below are Criterion's release date and disc specifications for each film.
Design for Living (December 6th, 2011) —
- New high-definition digital restoration, presenting the film in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- "The Clerk," starring Charles Laughton—director Ernst Lubitsch's segment of the 1932 film If I Had a Million, which he made just before Design for Living
- Selected-scene commentary by film professor William Paul
- Play of the Week: A Choice of Coward, a 1964 British television production of the play Design for Living, introduced on camera by playwright Noël Coward
- New interview with film scholar and screenwriter Joseph McBride on Lubitsch and Ben Hecht's screen adaptation of the Coward play
- A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Kim Morgan
The Lady Vanishes (December 6th, 2011) —
- High-definition digital restoration presenting the film in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio
- Audio commentary by film historian Bruce Eder
- Crook's Tour, a 1941 feature-length adventure film starring Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne as Charters and Caldicott, their beloved characters from The Lady Vanishes
- Excerpts from François Truffaut's legendary 1962 audio interview with director Alfred Hitchcock
- Mystery Train, a video essay about Hitchcock and The Lady Vanishes by Hitchcock scholar Leonard Leff
- Stills gallery of behind-the-scenes photos and promotional art
- A booklet featuring essays by critic Geoffrey O'Brien and Hitchcock scholar Charles Barr
Branded to Kill (December 13th, 2011) —
- New high-definition digital restoration, presenting the film in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Video piece featuring new interviews with director Seijun Suzuki and assistant director Masami Kuzuu
- Interview with Suzuki from 1997
- New interview with actor Joe Shishido
- Original theatrical trailer
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic and historian Tony Rayns, author of Branded to Thrill: The Delirious Cinema of Suzuki Seijun, and a statement by the film's art director, Sukezo Kawahara
Tokyo Drifter (December 13th, 2011) —
- New high-definition digital restoration, presenting the film in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Video piece featuring new interviews with director Seijun Suzuki and assistant director Masami Kuzuu
- Interview with Suzuki from 1997
- Original theatrical trailer
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Howard Hampton