Criterion July releases announced: Raging Bull, baby

Another great batch of titles will be released in July, including my #1 favorite film from last year, Drive My Car. And I’m thrilled to be “appearing” on the new 4k digital master of Raging Bull.

A video-essay I wrote and narrated – on the three main characters and the actors who played them – will be included in the special features. And boy are there are a lot of special features, including three commentary tracks. My pal Glenn Kenny, who wrote a wonderful book on Robert De Niro (Anatomy of an Actor: Robert De Niro), as well as the superb Made Men, about the making of Goodfellas, has also contributed an essay for the booklet. The poet Geoffrey O’Brien – also the author of a book I just read, literally last month, called Sonata for Jukebox, which blew my fucking mind – has also done a video-essay about Scorsese’s filming techniques, which I can’t wait to see (and hear). I am proud and honored to be in such company. Also, “Marty” approved everything that appears on this release, from the new master on down to the essays included. He had to give the a-okay for everything. So. You know. That’s huge.

This is my second time having back to back assignments for Criterion – the first being writing booklet essays for The Great Escape and Dance Girl Dance – the most unlikely double bill in cinema history. I was basically working on them at the same time, whip-sawing from POWs and Nazis to burlesque and ballerinas on the same day. It was hilarious. So I wrote the booklet essays for Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World, to be released in June, and then this one, about Raging Bull back to back. Both needed approval from the director. Normally I write about people who are long dead, so this was a nice change!