The Criterion Collection

Criterion’s warehouse clearance sale has less than a week to go! From now until we launch our new website on November 25, every item in stock is 40% off—T-shirts, posters, DVDs—even today’s new releases! Remember, this sale is strictly while supplies last. Some items are already out of stock, and more will run out today. If you don’t see an “Add to Cart” button by an item, it means we’re all sold out! All titles coming out between now and the end of 2008, including our first four Blu-ray discs, are once again available for preorder at our regular 20% off Criterion store price, but they are not included in the sale.

If you’re looking for a great deal on a truly timeless gift, this is the time to spring for Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films. During this one-time-only 40% off sale, the fifty-disc Janus box is available at a savings of $140 off the everyday Criterion store price of $650. While supplies last, you can buy the Janus box for only $510, and you’ll also get free shipping and automatically earn a $50 Criterion gift certificate for use on the new website after our November 25 launch. Sale ends Monday, November 24, at midnight EST.

Criterion's five debut Blu-ray releases are now set to be released starting December 16. On that day, you'll see The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Third Man, Bottle Rocket, and Chungking Express. The Last Emperor will hit on January 6. Click here for preorder information.

The life and work of American writer and painter Manny Farber, one of the most celebrated and idiosyncratic voices in the history of film criticism, will be honored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center in a two-week film series—simply titled Manny Farber, 1917-2008—beginning Friday, November 14. The program consists of films he championed in his writings for such publications as The Nation and Time, as well as those he presented in classes he taught at the University of California at San Diego, and includes Yasujiro Ozu’s I Was Born, But . . . , Robert Bresson’s Mouchette, and Nicolas Roeg’s Walkabout. Other Farber favorites on the slate come from Jean-Luc Godard, Alain Resnais, Preston Sturges, Don Siegel, Roberto Rossellini, and, of course, Howard Hawks. Farber died in August at the age of 91.

Goetz Spielmann’s Revanche, a 2008 festival favorite and Austria’s submission for the best foreign film Oscar, has found a North American home with sister companies Janus Films and the Criterion Collection. In a rare step into the first-run business, Janus will launch the thriller theatrically early next year, followed by a Criterion DVD release. “This was a staff pick,” explains Criterion president Peter Becker, “We’re not in the habit of acquiring new films before they’re released, but Goetz Spielmann is such a commanding filmmaker that we wanted to be able to present his work in the Criterion Collection. The theatrical arm of Janus Films has made that possible, and we’re very proud to have the opportunity.”