'The Red Balloon and Other Stories: Five Films by Albert Lamorisse' - Pre-order available from The Criterion Collection direct for 2 disc Blu‑ray - $63.96 or 2 disc DVD - $39.96

Release date: December 12

"The Red Balloon (1956)
Rarely has the spirit of childhood been evoked as exquisitely as in this Academy Award–winning cinematic fable, a fantasy with the texture of reality. On the streets of 1950s Paris, a young boy (played by director Albert Lamorisse’s son, Pascal) is launched on a miraculous adventure when he’s playfully pursued by a shiny red balloon that seems to have a mind of its own—until the harsh realities of the world interfere, setting the stage for a deeply moving finale. Shot in beautifully muted Technicolor, this beguiling allegory of innocence and transcendence has inspired generations of viewers to let their imaginations take flight.

White Mane (1953)
Possessed of the timeless perfection of a fable, this tale about the unique bond between children and animals is Albert Lamorisse’s ode to the awe-inspiring majesty of nature. Amid the vast flatlands of the Camargue in the South of France lives White Mane, a magnificent wild stallion who refuses to be broken by men and instead forms a connection with a young boy, with whom he embarks on a daring quest for freedom. Fully capturing the rugged beauty of its marsh setting, this extraordinarily photographed treasure of children’s cinema—which won the Grand Prix for Best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival—speaks to the hearts of all creatures yearning to live untamed.

Bim, the Little Donkey (1951)
Featuring narration by celebrated poetic-realist writer Jacques Prévert, Albert Lamorisse’s first fiction film established his stylistic and thematic signatures: elegant simplicity, storybook-like voice-over, and empathetic concern for children and animals. Filmed on the Tunisian island of Djerba, this spirited adventure follows two boys—one poor and good-hearted, the other wealthy and spoiled—who go from rivals to friends as they set out to save a donkey from thieves. From the start, Lamorisse’s gift for bringing forth the inner lives of his nonhuman characters suffuses his art with an otherworldly magic.

Stowaway in the Sky (1960)
Following the international triumph of The Red Balloon, Albert Lamorisse turned to feature filmmaking with another delightful tale of a boy and a balloon. Making spectacular use of Helivision—an innovative aerial photography technique he developed—Lamorisse takes us on the breathtaking odyssey of a young boy (played by his son, Pascal) who sneaks aboard his inventor grandfather’s experimental new hot-air balloon for a voyage across France. Soaring above cathedrals and castles, the Mediterranean and the Alps, Stowaway in the Sky celebrates the natural world and ponders, with surprising existential insight, the place of human beings within it.

Circus Angel (1965)
Albert Lamorisse’s second and final foray into narrative feature filmmaking is a whimsical visual enchantment and an elegant and eccentric comedy. In it, a daring young thief (Philippe Avron)—having been affixed with a pair of wings in order to become a flying circus attraction—finds himself mistaken for an angel, spreading both mischief and goodwill as he travels across the countryside. Lamorisse’s love of flight and his gentle humanism shine through in this work of impish charm and exuberant inspiration."

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New 4K digital restorations of The Red Balloon and White Mane and new 2K digital restorations of Bim, the Little Donkey; Stowaway in the Sky; and Circus Angel, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-rays
• U.S. English-language version of Bim, the Little Donkey
• New interview with actor Pascal Lamorisse, director Albert Lamorisse’s son
• My Father Was a Red Balloon, a 2008 documentary featuring Pascal Lamorisse and his daughter Lysa
• French television interviews with Albert Lamorisse from 1957 and 1959
• English narrations for White Mane, by Peter Strauss, and Stowaway in the Sky, by Jack Lemmon
• English-dubbed track for Circus Angel
• New English subtitle translation and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by critic David Cairns

'Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio' (2022) - Pre-order available from The Criterion Collection direct for 2 disc 4K + Blu-ray combo - $39.96 OR 1 disc Blu‑ray - $31.96 OR 2 disc DVD 2 - $23.96

Release date: December 12

"A classic tale is reborn through the inspired imagination of cinematic dream-weaver Guillermo del Toro, directing alongside Mark Gustafson. Realized through boundary-pushing, breathtakingly intricate stop-motion animation, this dark rendering of the fable of the puppet boy and his maker — which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature — daringly transfers the story to Fascist Italy, where the irrepressible Pinocchio gradually learns what it means to be human through his experiences of war, death, and sacrifice. Featuring the voices of Ewan McGregor, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, and Christoph Waltz, this Pinocchio imbues the oft-told tale with a bold new resonance about living with courage and compassion."

SPECIAL FEATURES

• 4K digital master, supervised by directors Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson
• Handcarved Cinema, a new documentary featuring del Toro, Gustafson, and cast and crew, including the film’s puppet creators, production designers, and animation supervisor
• Directing Stop-Motion, a new program featuring del Toro and Gustafson
• New conversation between del Toro and film critic Farran Smith Nehme
• New interview with curator Ron Magliozzi on The Museum of Modern Art’s 2022 exhibition devoted to the film
• New program on the eight rules of animation that informed the film's production
• Panel discussion featuring del Toro, Gustafson, production designer Guy Davis, composer Alexandre Desplat, and sound designer Scott Martin Gershin, moderated by filmmaker James Cameron
• Conversation among del Toro, Gustafson, and author Neil Gaiman
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing and English descriptive audio
• PLUS: Essays by film critic Matt Zoller Seitz and author Cornelia Funk

@Susan

Why would you post about the US release of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio but completely ignore the UK releases of the film?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Guillermo-T...925742&sr=1-36

Because the UK version isn't mentioned on the Criterion site, and I though we preferred to support and shop from the company direct, rather than using Amazon!

Well if Criterion are releasing things over here i'd trust you'd support the UK arm of the company who sell them cheaper in the UK than importing

Sounds like you actually didn't know about it to be honest and are just making an excuse. ;)

Plus Criterion only ship to the US and Canada anyway so not exactly helpful.

From their website

https://www.criterion.com/faq

Although I stand by what I said - we should try and buy from the company itself rather than something like Amazon

I'm sure we have some American and / or Canadian members on the forum. I was being inclusive!

Don't bullshit. You didn't know that either. :lol: We can't buy from the company. They won't sell them to us!

If I lived in the US or Canada, the Criterion Pinocchio 4K Ultra HD release would be the equivalent of £32.62 without shipping.

Criterion only ships to those two countries.

It's currently available to preorder from Amazon UK for £29.99 with free postage.

The decision of where to buy it from isn't difficult.

Just seen that the excellent Lone Star is out at the end of this month.


A keen observer of America’s social fabric, writer-director John Sayles uncovers the haunted past buried beneath a small Texas border town in this sprawling neowestern mystery. When a skeleton is discovered in the desert, lawman Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper), son of a legendary local sheriff, begins an investigation that will have profound implications both for him personally and for all of Rio County, a place still reckoning with its history of racial violence. Sayles’s masterful film—novelistic in its intricacy and featuring a brilliant ensemble cast, including Joe Morton, Elizabeth Peña, and Kris Kristofferson—quietly subverts national mythmaking and lays bare the fault lines of life at the border.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director John Sayles and director of photography Stuart Dryburgh, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack

New conversation between Sayles and filmmaker Gregory Nava

New interview with Dryburgh

Trailer

English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

PLUS: An essay by scholar Domino Renee Perez
New cover by Jacob Phillips


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lone-Star-C...CNTN9F91&psc=1

I’ve not seen this one but I looked it up when it was announced and it sounds really good!