Directorial debuts from Sidney Poitier and the Safdie Brothers highlight August additions to the Criterion Collection

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Coming off the heels of the July Barnes and Noble sale, the August selections for the Criterion Collection bring home an important western from one of the greatest actors of all time, the first film from indie darling directors Benny and Josh Safdie, alongside a enchanting documentary from Ethiopian, an underrated working class drama from France, and a nightmarish comedy set in New York City.

First up is Buck and the Preacher, the directorial debut from Academy Award winner Sidney Poitier, in which co-stars alongside Harry Belafonte. The film follows a wagon master and a pistol-packing preacher who come together to take on white bounty hunters threatening a caravan carrying recently emancipated slaves. With two fantastic performances, this western changed the genre for good, opening it up to Black audiences all around the world, allowing them to see themselves on the big screen as the hero. Hilarious and action packed, Buck and the Preacher subverts every expectation and is a must own.

Next is the first film from indie darling directors Josh and Benny Safdie, Daddy Longlegs. Set in Manhattan, we follow an unhinged projectionist trying to raise his kids and keep his life together. Using stories and memories from their childhood, the brotherly duo arrived on the scene with an honest, blistering takes on humanity and fatherhood. Daddy Longlegs demonstrates that while life isn’t perfect, if you fight for what is yours, then everything will work out for the best.

Also included this month is Faya dayi, the lavish, mesmerizing documentary about two small communities in Ethiopian, whose one commodity holds the key to everything in everyone’s life. Made as if you were taking the drug itself, director Jessica Beshir’s film is an unconventional, tantalizing experience. Another wild film entering the collection this month is Frownland, from Safdie Brothers collaborator Ronald Bronstein. A visceral, darkly comical debut about a misfit decent into madness within the New York City underground, Frownland laid the groundwork for the Safdie’s Good Time and various out independent films that are equal parts manic and unforgettable.

The final film of the August Criterion slate is the 1938 film Hôtel du Nord from France. Following an assortment of individuals throughout the hotel, we see their lives come together through romance, betrayal, competition, and an act of violence that shakes everyone to their core. Featuring an outstanding ensemble, Marcel Carné’s opus of the working class and their more than ordinary lives is a forgotten little gem that embodies the essence of what makes the Criterion Collection important in making the modern public consume this underappreciate film.

All of these are available to purchase this month. Below are all the special features contained within the August 2022 releases.

BUCK AND THE PREACHER Special Edition Features:

• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack

• New interview with Mia Mask, author of Black Rodeo: A History of the African American Western

• Behind-the-scenes footage featuring actor-director Sidney Poitier and actor Harry Belafonte

• Interviews with Poitier and Belafonte from 1972 episodes of Soul! and The Dick Cavett Show

• New interview with Gina Belafonte, daughter of Harry Belafonte

• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• PLUS: An essay by critic Aisha Harris

DADDY LONGLEGS Director Approved Special Edition Features:

• New 4K digital transfer, approved by directors Josh and Benny Safdie, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack

• New interviews with actors Sage and Frey Ranaldo and their parents, photographer Leah Singer and musician Lee Ranaldo

• Documentary from 2017 about the Safdies

• Footage of Sage and Frey Ranaldo’s first meeting with actor Ronald Bronstein Making-of program

• There’s Nothing You Can Do (2008), a short film by the Safdies featuring members of the Daddy Longlegs cast and crew

• Deleted scenes

• Promotional films and trailer

• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• PLUS: A 2009 print interview with the Safdies

FAYA DAYI Director-Approved Special Edition Features:

• New 4K digital master, approved by director Jessica Beshir, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray

• Three short films by Beshir: He Who Dances on Wood (2016); Heroin (2017); and Hairat (2017), featuring an introduction by Beshir

• Trailer

• PLUS: An essay by film scholar Yasmina Price

FROWNLAND Director-Approved Special Edition Features:

• New 2K digital transfer, supervised by director Ronald Bronstein, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack

• Introduction by Bronstein

• Conversation between Bronstein and filmmaker Josh Safdie

• Deleted scenes

• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• PLUS: An essay by critic Richard Brody and an oral history of the making of the film

HÔTEL DU NORD Special Edition Features:

• New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray

• New conversation between filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amélie) and journalist Philippe Morisson

• Television program from 1972 on the making of the film

• Documentary from 1994 on the life and career of director Marcel Carné

• Trailer

• New English subtitle translation • PLUS: An essay by film and theater scholar Edward Baron Turk