Now streaming on:
One of the best films of 2021, Paul Thomas Anderson’s coming-of-age dramedy is also one of the last awards season flicks to hit the home market. And the release feels a bit like a placeholder with no commentary or deleted scenes. Does this mean a special edition is down the road? Probably. Until then, just pick it up for the movie itself, a lovingly made character study of two people connected by a series of adventures in ’70s Los Angeles. Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman are phenomenal in a movie that provoked some of the most interesting conversations about filmmaking in the last six months. Love it or hate it, the movie got people talking. I wish more films did.
Special Features
Camera Tests – Pre-production camera tests and unused takes
The Handman Scene – A deleted scene from the film
Fat Bernie’s Commercial – An in-universe commercial for Fat Bernie’s as shot by Gary Valentine
Behind the Scenes – A glimpse behind the scenes of Licorice Pizza through a collection on-set photos and videos
Now streaming on:
“Mr. Klein” (Criterion)
Joseph Losey directed this fascinating period drama in the mid-’70s, starring the timeless Alain Delon in the title role. A Kafkaesque study of identity and class, it’s the tale of a Parisian art dealer profiting off the Holocaust when he is mistaken for a Jewish man with the same name. Unable to prove he’s not the Klein being sought by the Nazis, Delon’s character embarks on a doomed journey that won the film the big prize at the Cesar Awards that year. An unexpected choice for Criterion’s 4K treatment, it’s a captivating film, one that’s easy to get lost in, especially with a restoration this detailed. There’s also a powerful documentary on the disc about the real round-up of Jewish people in France that the movie uses as a climax.
Special Features
New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
Interviews with critic Michel Ciment and editor Henri Lanoë
Interviews from 1976 with director Joseph Losey and actor Alain Delon
Story of a Day, a 1986 documentary on the real-life Vél d’Hiv Roundup, a central historical element of Mr. Klein
Trailer
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: An essay by film scholar Ginette Vincendeau
Now streaming on:
Disney is going through something weird with their little brother Pixar, pushing most of their new films off to Disney+ instead of theatrical. That’s how most people watched the latest from the animation giants, Domee Shi‘s clever, sweet coming-of-age comedy about a girl who becomes a giant red panda. The first Pixar film directed solo by a woman, “Turning Red” offers a new voice in the animation world, reaching an audience that hasn’t previously seen themselves in children’s entertainment. Some of the allegory feels a bit too direct but this is an incredibly likable, smart movie, and representation matters.
