Two new Blu-rays coming in a few months are of special interest to auteur-oriented viewers looking to fill gaps in the collections of two of our greatest living directors. Criterion’s edition of Roman Polanski’s 1968 parenting nightmare Rosemary’s Baby will be released on Oct 30 (details after the cut), and Ridley Scott’s sumptuous 1977 period piece, The Duallists follows three weeks later on Nov 20. Rosemary’s Baby was shot by 6-time Oscar nominee William A. Fraker and Frank Tidy’s misty cinematography in The Duellists was nominated for a BAFTA award.
I keep waiting for someone to remaster more of Robert Altman’s movies in high-def. It’s sad to see his filmography so neglected. Though we’ve heard The Long Goodbye is being released Oct 2 in France where it’s known as Le prive. What are some of your own most coveted titles still MIA on Blu-ray?
Rosemary’s Baby (October 30th, 2012)
- New high-definition digital restoration, approved by director Roman Polanski
- Uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- New interviews with Polanski, actor Mia Farrow, and producer Robert Evans
- Komeda, Komeda, a feature-length documentary on the life and work of jazz musician and composer Krzysztof Komeda, who wrote the score for Rosemary’s Baby
- 1997 radio interview with author Ira Levin from Leonard Lopate’s WNYC program New York and Company on the 1967 novel, the sequel, and the film
- A booklet featuring an essay by critic Ed Park and Levin’s afterword for the 2003 New American Library edition of his novel, in which he discusses its and the film’s origins
