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December 6
Design for Living
(1933) Gary Cooper, Fredric March and Miriam Hopkins play a trio of Americans in Paris who enter into a very adult "gentleman's" agreement in this continental pre-Code comedy freely adapted by Ben Hecht from a play by Noel Coward and directed by Ernst Lubitsch. A risque relationship comedy and a witty take on creative pursuits, it concerns a commercial artist (Hopkins) unable -- or unwilling -- to choose between the equally dashing painter (Cooper) and playwright (March) she meets on a train en route to the City of Light. "Design for Living" is Lubitsch at his most adroit, an entertainment at once debonair and racy, featuring three stars at the height of their allure. New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Bonus features: "The Clerk," starring Charles Laughton -- Ernst Lubitsch's segment of the 1932 film "If I Had a Million," which he made just before "Design for Living"; selected-scene commentary by film professor William Paul; "Play of the Week: A Choice of Coward," a 1964 British television production of the play "Design for Living," introduced on camera by playwright Coward; new interview with film scholar and screenwriter Joseph McBride on Lubitsch and Ben Hecht's screen adaptation of the Coward play; booklet featuring an essay by film critic Kim Morgan. (The Criterion Collection).
The Lady Vanishes
(1938) In Alfred Hitchcock's most quick-witted and devilish comic thriller, the beautiful Margaret Lockwood, traveling across Europe by train, meets a charming spinster (May Whitty), who then seems to disappear into thin air. The younger woman turns investigator and finds herself drawn into a complex web of mystery and high adventure. Also starring Michael Redgrave, "The Lady Vanishes" remains one of the great filmmaker's purest delights. High-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Bonus features: Commentary by film historian Bruce Eder; "Crook's Tour," a 1941 feature-length adventure film starring Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne as Charters and Caldicott, their characters from "The Lady Vanishes"; excerpts from Francois Truffaut's legendary 1962 audio interview with Hitchcock; "Mystery Train," a video essay about Hitchcock and "The Lady Vanishes" by Hitchcock scholar Leonard Leff; stills gallery of behind-the-scenes photos and promotional art; booklet featuring essays by critic Geoffrey O'Brien and Hitchcock scholar Charles Barr. (The Criterion Collection).
Mission: Impossible -- Extreme Trilogy Collection
Timed for the Dec. 21 release of Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol." "Mission: Impossible"extras: "Mission: Remarkable -- 40 Years of Creating the Impossible," "Mission: Explosive Exploits," "Mission: Spies Among Us," "Mission: Catching the Train." "Mission: Impossible 2" extras: Commentary by director John Woo, " Behind the Mission," "Mission Incredible," "Impossible Shots." "Mission: Impossible 3" extras: Commentary by Tom Cruise and director J.J. Abrams. $29.99. (Paramount).
Tora! Tora! Tora!
(1970) Dir.: Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku and Toshio Masuda (Japanese sequences); Martin Balsam, So Yamamura, Joseph Cotten, Tatsuya Mihashi, E.G. Marshall, James Whitmore, Takahiro Tamura, Eijiro Tono, Jason Robards. Bonus features: Blu-ray book includes the extended "Japanese Cut" containing 10 minutes of previously unreleased footage and rare photos from the Fox Archives. (Fox).
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December 13
Branded to Kill
(1967) When Japanese New Wave bad boy Seijun Suzuki delivered this brutal, hilarious, and visually inspired masterpiece to the executives at his studio, he was promptly fired. "Branded to Kill" tells the ecstatically bent story of a yakuza assassin (Joe Shishido, the chipmunk-cheeked superstar from "Gate of Flesh") with a fetish for sniffing boiled rice who botches a job and ends up a target himself. This is Suzuki at his most extremethe flabbergasting pinnacle of his sixties pop-art aesthetic. New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Bonus features: Video piece featuring new interviews with Suzuki and assistant director Masami Kuzuu; interview with Suzuki from 1997; new interview with actor Joe Shishido; original theatrical trailer; booklet featuring an essay by critic and historian Tony Rayns, author of "Branded to Thrill: The Delirious Cinema of Suzuki Seijun," and a statement by the film's art director, Sukezo Kawahara. (The Criterion Collection).
(2009) Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, David Zayas, Giselle Itie, Charisma Carpenter, Gary Daniels, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke. Bonus features: Includes 11 additional minutes of footage; newly recorded introduction to the film by Stallone; a featurette on Stallone and his directing career, "Inferno"; Spike TV program, "Action: The Expendables"; music video from Sully Erna of Godsmack. (Lionsgate).
Heavenly Creatures: The Uncut Version
(1994) Kate Winslet, Melanie Lynskey. (Lionsgate).
Meet Me in St. Louis
(1944) Dir.: Vincente Minnelli; Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor, Lucille Bremer, Leon Ames, Tom Drake, Marjorie Main, June Lockhart, Hugh Marlowe, Chill Wills. Premium Blu-ray book packaging ($35.99) including more than 40 pages of photos, trivia and more. Bonus features: Introduction by Liza Minnelli; commentary by Garland biographer John Fricke with Margaret O'Brien, screenwriter Irving Brecher, songwriter Hugh Martin and daughter of producer Arthur Freed, Barbara Freed-Saltzman; "Meet Me in St. Louis: The Making of an American Classic" (Narrated by Roddy McDowall); "Hollywood: The Dream Factory" (Emmy-Award winning 1972 MGM-TV special, narrated by Dick Cavett); "Becoming Attractions: Judy Garland" (1996 TCM special); "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1966 TV pilot with Shelley Fabares and Celeste Holm); "Bubbles" (1930 Warner Bros. short featuring Judy Garland at age 7); "Skip to My Lou" (Rare 1941 musical short with "Meet Me in St. Louis" composers Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane); audio vault: "Boys and Girls Like You and Me" outtake (reconstruction using still photographs) and Lux Radio Theater Broadcast from December 2, 1946. (Warner).
The Rocketeer
(1991) Dir.: Joe Johnston; Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton. (Disney).
Tokyo Drifter
(1966) In this jazzy gangster film, reformed killer Phoenix Tetsu's attempt to go straight is squashed when his former cohorts call him back to Tokyo to help battle a rival gang. This onslaught of stylized violence and trippy colors got director Seijun Suzuki in trouble with Nikkatsu studio heads, who were put off by his anything-goes, in-your-face aesthetic, equal parts Russ Meyer, Samuel Fuller and Nagisa Oshima. "Tokyo Drifter" is a delirious highlight of the brilliantly excessive Japanese cinema of the sixties. New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Bonus features: Video piece featuring new interviews with Suzuki and assistant director Masami Kuzuu; interview with Suzuki from 1997; original theatrical trailer; booklet featuring an essay by film critic Howard Hampton. (The Criterion Collection).
Velvet Goldmine
(1998) Dir.: Todd Haynes; Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Toni Collette, Eddie Izzar, Christian Bale. (Lionsgate).
December 20
Moon in the Gutter
(1983 -- French) Dir.: Jean-Jacques Beineix; Gerard Depardieu, Nastassja Kinski. Bonus features: "Mr. Michel's Dog," Beineix's first short film; Beineix's Interview with Tim Rhys, publisher of MovieMaker Magazine; photo gallery. (Cinema Libre).
Underworld Trilogy: The Essential Collection
Includes all three "Underworld" films plus the exclusive never-before-seen three-part anime series "Underworld: Endless War," $45.99. (Sony).
December 27
Sid & Nancy
(1986) Dir.: Alex Cox; Gary Oldman, Chloe Webb. Extras: "For the Love of Punk" featurette, "Junk Love" featurette. (Fox).
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