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Chicago – “Interpret as you wish,” invites narrator and filmmaker Jean Cocteau prior to his contemporary retelling of the Orpheus legend and the second installment of his Orphic Trilogy, which also includes 1930’s “The Blood of a Poet” and 1960’s “Testament of Orpheus.” Cocteau’s 1950 masterwork, simply titled “Orpheus,” is one of his most emotionally complex and deeply personal projects. It’s also a lot of fun.

Unlike other avant-garde filmmakers, Cocteau sports a immensely playful spirit that causes viewers to wholly embrace his onscreen abstractions rather than dissect them for their intended meaning. The titular protagonist in “Orpheus” is told by another character that the “dreamer must accept his dreams,” and Cocteau expects his audience to follow suit. This results in a picture of unforgettable images as whimsically absurd as they are dramatically resonant.

Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0

Jean Marais stars as Orpheus, the poet famous in Greek mythology for journeying into...

Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases to Blu-Ray Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

The 5th Quarter: Special Edition (2010)

Synopsis: In February, 2006, young Luke Abbate accepted a ride home from a fellow student following his high-school team practice. In a severe case of irresponsible and reckless teen-age driving, and over the objections of Luke and the other young passengers, the driver lost control of the car at nearly 90 miles-per-hour, spinning off a narrow road and landing in an embankment some seventy feet below. Luke suffered irreparable brain damage, and died in the hospital two days later – just four days before his sixteenth birthday. (highdefdigest.com)

Special Features: Making-of Featurette.

Bereavement (2010)

Synopsis: The horrific account of 6 year old Martin Bristol, abducted from his backyard swing and forced to witness the brutal crimes of a deranged madman. (highdefdigest.com)

Special Features:

Commentary track with director/writer Stevan Mena Behind the scenes featurette Deleted...

Orpheus, Jean Cocteau’s 1950 fantastical update of the renowned Greek myth, will receive what’s sure to be a sparkling release by Criterion on Blu-ray and DVD on Aug. 16. The Blu-ray and DVD will carry the list prices of $39.99 and $29.99, respectively.

Jean Marais prepares to step through the mirror in Orpheus.

Cocteau’s film focuses on a famous poet (Jean Marais, Beauty and the Beast) scorned by the Left Bank youth, and his love for both his wife Eurydice (Marie Déa) and a mysterious princess (Maria Casarès). In search of inspiration, the poet follows the princess to the land of the dead through a dazzling mirrored portrayal, where more dreamlike storytelling and visual poetry awaits…

The second movie in Cocteau’s Orphic Trilogy, which also includes 1930’s The Blood of a Poet and Testament of Orpheus from 1959, Orpheus remains one of the surrealist artist’s most mesmerizing, sensual works.

Presented in French with English subtitles,...

It’s so strange, writing this so long after the announcement yesterday. In today’s internet world of instant information, and twenty four second news cycles, yesterday’s August 2011 Criterion Collection new releases may as well have happened last week, or last month. I’m sure that the page views for this post will be markedly smaller than the usual, as I have tried consistently to have the new release post up within minutes of the pages going live on Criterion’s website. I know this all sounds like inside baseball stuff, but it’s on my mind, and darn it, this is my website.

I had a whole, several paragraph long, write up of the August titles, but since I’m finding myself writing this at 10pm on Tuesday evening, I think it’s better if I just scrap that whole thing and start over. I was going on...