The Chaos Within Me Exposed

oati:

From a list of words included in the fourteen-page copy-editing style guide for Nicholson Baker’s novel House of Holes, out this month from Simon & Schuster.

asswood
ball-hankie
beardwater
bonky
boobosity
boycone
brimmingness
britneys
cockbrisket
cockitude
crotchal
cuntatious
dickybird
…

criterioncorner:

OCTOBER’S CRITERION LINE-UP ANNOUNCED!

last year, Criterion dabbled in seasonally-motivated releases by unleashing HAUSU to coincide with Halloween. this year, they’ve taken it about 120 steps further. be afraid. be very afraid.

they’re releasing 7 main-line discs (4 new films and 3 blu-ray upgrades) as well as an eclipse set… yikes. alright, in the immortal words of Stanley Tucci… gird your loins:

NEW STUFF:

#583: THE FOUR FEATHERS (dir. Zoltan Korda) 1939

a release rumored since approximately the beginning of recorded time, Criterion is finally getting around to unloosing Zoltan Korda’s technicolor epic from the cinema’s year of years. absolutely gorgeous cover art adorns a package highlighted by an audio commentary and a short film Korda shot while on location. but if this disc isn’t Kate Hudson-approved, i’m not interested.

#584. KURONEKO (dir. Kaneto Shindo) 1968

the inevitable halloween release, this spooky Shindo classic isn’t quite as strong as ONIBABA but it’s a delectable, cat-tastic ghost story in its own right. Sam Smith’s cover art is predictably perfect, but the disc seems a bit light on extras (just interviews, really).

#585 IDENTIFICATION OF A WOMAN (dir. Michelangelo Antonioni) 1982

a real surprise and one of the few revered antonioni films that’s eluded me, this late-era work from the cinema’s reigning king of ennui is the wild card of the month. the shrouded, enigmatic quality of the cover permeates the entire release, which really leaves the film to speak for itself… this is as barebones as Criterion gets.

#586 ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (dir. Erle C. Kenton) 1932

the undisputed champion for cover art of the month, Kenton’s pre-code classic gives us Charles Laughton, panther-women, Bela Lugosi, and a mess of extras like audio commentaries, video interviews, and — most critically — the DEVO interview we’ve all been waiting for.

BLU-RAY UPGRADES

#17. SALO (dir. Pier Paolo Pasolini) 1975

i hate you, Criterion.

#302. HARAKIRI (dir. Masaki Kobayashi) 1962

i heart you, Criterion.

one of the greatest films ever made, already back in the spotlight thanks to Takashi Miike’s supposedly middling 3D remake. Criterion always raises a few eyebrows with the films they elect to fete with Blu-ray upgrades, but every month there’s one that just makes perfect sense… a film that scoffs at the idea of streaming or standard-def. to paraphrase samuel l. jackson’s line from the holy book  CHANGING LANES: “you need this. you need this… for your life.”

#336. DAZED AND CONFUSED (dir. Richard Linklater) 1993

i’m not quite as wild about this early Linklater insta-classic as everyone else seems to be, and didn’t Universal just release their own blu-ray? whatever, you already know if you’re buying this or not. Ben Affleck never should have lost that paddle.

ECLIPSE

Eclipse Series 29: Aki Kaurismaki’s Leningrad Cowboys

big year for Kaurismaki, what with LE HAVRE tearing up the festival circuit, but this is really all you need to know: