If, like me, your first theatrical experience with a foreign-language film directed by someone other than Mel Gibson was Kung Fu Hustle, a flood of memories are sparked by the news that Criterion will release a 4K edition of Stephen Chow’s movie that is probably as good now as it was to my then-adolescent mind. It’s shipping this February alongside Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, the latter of which got a Blu-ray just six years ago but, having also arrived less than 12 months before Criterion started their 4K line, seems a proper choice for UHD upgrade. Also speaking of choices that surely won’t drive anyone to near-Lovecraftian madness, Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly comes to 4K with a new master that, I assume, involves removing the requisite layer of Netflix sheen. In the meantime, my congratulations to Adam Sandler on his Criterion hat-trick.
February is somehow an even bigger month for Blu-rays: Leo McCarey’s Ruggles of Red Gap, Gus Van Sant’s Mala Noche upgraded from a 2007 DVD, Carla Simón‘s Romería via Criterion Premieres, and—talk about a capstone!—Victor Sjostrom’s Hollywood Masterworks, featuring He Who Gets Slapped, The Scarlet Letter, and The Wind.
See artwork below and find more at Criterion:
