First Criterion Collection Selections for 2024: Chantal Akerman Box Set, ‘Lone Star,’ ‘Mudbound,’ ‘Trainspotting,’ Apu Trilogy and ‘Blood Simple’ on 4K

Bringing in the new year means one thing: new additions to the Criterion Collection. With an absolute stacked gathering of titles, there is something here for all cinephiles to love, as important films from notable directors make their way into the collection, as well as updated 4K restorations of previous entries. Starting off this month’s newest titles is the latest box set, Chantal Akerman Masterpieces, 1968–1978, which follows the incredible first decade of cinema for the revolutionary filmmaker. Over the course of ten years, she would explore the form just as well as anyone in cinema, going back and forth from locations in Europe and North America to infuse avant-garde influences into deeply emotional, breathtaking pieces of essientail cinema. In this box set, you will find ambitious shorts, documentaries, and feature films, including Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, the newest number one film of all time according to Sight and Sound.

Up next are three masterpieces of their eras, two from the 1990s and one from just last decade. With Lone Star, writer-director John Sayles, a brilliant observer of the American soul and social fabric, created a haunting examination of the past in his 1996 western mystery masterpiece. Led by an outstanding cast that includes Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Peña, and Kris Kristofferson, Sayles was able to piece through the heart of this story about a small Texas town and make a larger point about creating myths within our country. Within the same decade, Danny Boyle made the signature film of his filmography with Trainspotting, which follows a group of heroin addicts in an economically depressed area of Scotland. Frantically cut to an all-time soundtrack, the film was one of the biggest indie successes of the era. Then there is Mudbound, Dee Rees’s elegant, harrowing adaptation of Hillary Jordan’s incredible novel. Following two families connected by the land that they share and the sons that go off to fight in World War II. Rees and her cowriter Virgil Williams, craft a uniquely, immersive American tragedy, imbuing poisonous historical realities of the Jim Crow South with a timeless message of compassion. Featuring an all-star cast that includes Carey Mulligan, Mary J. Blige, Jason Mitchell, Rob Morgan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Clarke, and Jonathan Banks, this epic went on to get four Oscar nominations including Best Supporting Actress for Blige and Best Adapted Screenplay for Rees and Williams.

Over on the 4K restoration re-release side of things, two previous entries to the collection are getting an upgrade with The Ape Trilogy and Blood Simple. Created by legendary director Satyajit Ray, The Ape Trilogy follows one indelible character from the time he was a child in rural Bengal, through his maturation into a sensitive man of the world. Based on two books by Bibhutibhusan Banerjee, Ray shot all three films, Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road), Aparajito (The Unvanquished), and Apur Sansar (The World of Apu), over the course of five years and created a radical cinematic journey through the one’s life that ranks as one of the greatest trilogies of all time. For Blood Simple, Joel and Ethan Coen’s bring us one of their first masterpieces of their historic career as we dive somewhere in Texas for a hard-boiled neo noir thriller. Featuring the big screen debut of Oscar winner Frances McDormand, and a razor-sharp script alongside cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld immaculate work, Blood Simple is a revelation and reinvention of the film noir genre but is the dawn of the new wave of independent cinema that would come out of the 1990s and change the landscape of modern filmmaking as we know it.

Below are the special features for each other films from the January 2024 Criterion Collection releases.

THE APU TRILOGY Special Edition Features:

• 4K digital restorations of all three films, undertaken in collaboration with the Academy Film Archive at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and L’Immagine Ritrovata, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks

• Three 4K UHD discs of the films and three Blu-rays with the films and special features

• Audio recordings from 1958 of director Satyajit Ray reading his essay “A Long Time on the Little Road” and in conversation with film historian Gideon Bachmann

• Interviews with actors Soumitra Chatterjee, Shampa Srivastava, and Sharmila Tagore; camera assistant Soumendu Roy; and film writer Ujjal Chakraborty

• Making “The Apu Trilogy”: Satyajit Ray’s Epic Debut, a video essay by Ray biographer Andrew Robinson

• “The Apu Trilogy”: A Closer Look, a program featuring filmmaker, producer, and teacher Mamoun Hassan

• Excerpts from the 2003 documentary The Song of the Little Road, featuring composer Ravi Shankar

• The Creative Person: “Satyajit Ray,” a 1967 documentary short by James Beveridge, featuring interviews with Ray, several of his actors, members of his creative team, and film critic Chidananda Das Gupta

• Footage of Ray receiving an honorary Oscar in 1992

• Programs on the restorations by filmmaker Kogonada

• PLUS: Essays by critics Terrence Rafferty and Girish Shambu, as well as a selection of Ray’s storyboards for Pather Panchali

BLOOD SIMPLE LAMORISSE Director-Approved Special Edition Features:

• Restored 4K digital transfer, approved by cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld and filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack

• One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features

• Conversation between Sonnenfeld and the Coens about the film’s look, featuring Telestrator video illustrations

• Conversation between author Dave Eggers and the Coens about the film’s production, from inception to release

• Interviews with composer Carter Burwell, sound editor Skip Lievsay, and actors Frances McDormand and M. Emmet Walsh

• Trailers

• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• PLUS: An essay by novelist and critic Nathaniel Rich

LONE STAR Director-Approved 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

• In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features

• 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

CHANTAL AKERMAN MASTERPIECES, 1968–1978 Special Edition Features:

• New 4K digital restoration of Les rendez-vous d’Anna and 2K digital restorations of Saute ma ville; L’enfant aimé, ou Je joue à être une femme mariée; La chambre; Hotel Monterey; Le 15/8; Je tu il elle; Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles; and News from Home, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks

• Hanging Out Yonkers, an unfinished film from 1973 by Chantal Akerman 

• Film-school tests

• New program on Akerman featuring critic B. Ruby Rich

• New visual essay on Akerman featuring archival interviews with the director 

• Autour de “Jeanne Dielman,” a documentary made during the filming of Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, shot by actor Sami Frey and edited by Agnès Ravez and Akerman

• Interviews with Akerman, cinematographer Babette Mangolte, actors Aurore Clément and Delphine Seyrig, and Akerman’s mother, Natalia 

• Appreciation by filmmaker Ira Sachs

• PLUS: An essay and notes on the films by critic Beatrice Loayza 

TRAINSPOTTING Filmmaker-Approved Special Edition Features:

• New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director Danny Boyle, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack

• In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features

• Alternate 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack

• Audio commentary featuring Boyle, producer Andrew Macdonald, screenwriter John Hodge, and actor Ewan McGregor

• Nine deleted scenes with commentary from the filmmakers

• Off the Rails: The Making of “Trainspotting,” a documentary featuring archival interviews with cast and crew and behind-the-scenes footage

• Memories of “Trainspotting,” a documentary from 2008 featuring the filmmakers and actors McGregor, Kelly Macdonald, Ewen Bremner, and Robert Carlyle

• Reflections from soundtrack artists Iggy Pop, Jarvis Cocker, Bobby Gillespie, Damon Albarn, Leftfield, Underworld, and more  

• Theatrical teaser and trailer

• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• More!

• PLUS: Essays by critic Graham Fuller and author Irvine Welsh, Welsh’s glossary of terms from the film and book, and glow-in-the-dark packaging for the 4K UHD edition

MUDBOUND Director-Approved Special Edition Features:

• New 2K digital master, supervised by director Dee Rees and director of photography Rachel Morrison, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack on the Blu-ray

• New audio commentary featuring Rees

• New documentary featuring Rees, composer Tamar-kali, editor Mako Kamitsuna, and makeup artist Angie Wells 

• New documentary made on set, featuring members of the cast and crew

• Interview with Morrison

• New interview with production designer David J. Bomba

• Trailer and teaser

• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing and English descriptive audio

• PLUS: An essay by critic Danielle Amir Jackson

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Ryan McQuade

Ryan McQuade is the AwardsWatch Executive Editor and a film-obsessed writer in San Antonio, Texas. Raised on musicals, westerns, and James Bond, his taste in cinema is extremely versatile. He’s extremely fond of independent releases and director’s passion projects. Engrossed with all things Oscars, he hosts the AwardsWatch Podcast. He also is co-host of the Director Watch podcast. When he’s not watching movies, he’s rooting on all his favorite sports teams, including his beloved Texas Longhorns. You can follow him on Twitter at @ryanmcquade77.

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