Michael Powell's controversial 1960 masterpiece Peeping Tom is hitting the Criterion collection on May 14th of 2024 -- and in 4K no less! Of course I'd already snatched up a copy of Studio Canal's UK edition that came out a few weeks ago, but it's not like this isn't a movie I won't triple or quadruple dip on. It's one of the greatest movies ever made! And Criterion is bringing their own round of special features for their disc, including (no surprise here) an intro by Martin Scorsese and an interview with Powell's wife slash Marty's editor Thelma Schoonmaker. This movie was too hard to see properly for far far far too long -- this is only right. Slide this sucker into the tippy top of the canon already!
Anyway yes indeed it's that time again -- our monthly Criterion Announcement Day! Today's news is for May and they're dropping an absolute banger of a global line-up, including two mini-sets from two international masters: the two Floating Weeds films from Yasujiro Ozu (made two decades apart cuz that's how Ozu rolled) and a trilogy of movies from Senegalese auteur Ousmane Sembène; specifcally the movies Emitaï, Xala, and Ceddo, which were all made across the 1970s.
But wait that's not it! We're also getting the great Karyn Kusama's 2000 lady-boxer masterpiece Girlfight on May 28th (which introduced the world to the stylings of Michi Rodriguez), as well as this year's big Oscar whodunit Anatomy of a Fall starring our queen Sandra Hüller as a bisexual writer whose husband ends up on the wrong side of a balcony. I admit I'm a little annoyed Anatomy isn't being released in 4K right off the bat -- I wanna see all of that beautiful Swiss mountain scenery looking its best! Not to mention that lawyer's beautiful hair!
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4 comments:
Along with the 1931 M, Peeping Tom is the scariest movie I've ever seen.
Peeping Tom was a film that left British censors irate in 1960 due to its subject matter.
Powell's film was part of a trio of films released that year considered sadistic by censors, the other films being 'Circus of Horrors' directed by Sidney Hayers and starring Anton Diffring, and 'Horrors of the Black Museum' directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Michael Gough.
It was said the censors were more irate about 'Horrors of the Black Museum' than with 'Peeping Tom' and confused both films. Powell bore the brunt of the censor's anger and the resulting uproar almost destroyed Powell's film career in Britain. Hayers and Crabtree were lucky as they escaped the censor's wrath.
I remember first watching all three films on the 'Fright Night' TV show with horror host Seymour on KHJ-TV 9 in Los Angeles around 1969 when I was a kid. As I recall that show was sponsored by Chicken Delight and Pizza Man.
To have those days of movies and TV back again.:) -Rj
I still haven't seen Peeping Tom. Ive seen everything of P&P except that one and Tales of Hoffman.
What, Shawny??? Those are my faves! I'm so jealous, you have such wonders ahead of you :)
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