If you're like us,you love collecting movies, and that means there's a special place in your heart for The Criterion Collection, those distributors of some of the best DVD and Blu-rays on the market. Earlier today they announced their July slate, and if you were excited about the release of Whit Stillman's 'Damsels in Distress,' their summer slate should tickle your fancy.

Most of the upcoming releases are Blu-ray upgrades, which means if you are thinking of trading up, now's the time to liquidate these titles. First up is 'Down By Law,' Jim Jarmusch's classic comedy about three men who get sent to jail at the same time. Those three men? Tom Waits, Roberto Benigni and John Lurie.

Down By Law
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Specs are such:

  • High-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
  • Thoughts and reflections on the making of the film from director Jim Jarmusch in 2002
  • Interview with director of photography Robby Müller from 2002
  • Footage from the 1986 Cannes Film Festival, including a press conference featuring Jarmusch and actors John Lurie, Roberto Benigni, and Nicoletta Braschi, and an interview with Lurie, with commentary
  • Sixteen outtakes
  • Music video for Tom Waits’s cover of Cole Porter’s “It’s All Right with Me,” directed by Jarmusch
  • Q&A with Jarmusch in which he responds to fans’ questions
  • Recordings of phone conversations between Jarmusch and Waits, Benigni, and Lurie
  • Production Polaroids and location stills
  • Isolated music track
  • Optional French dub track, featuring Benigni
  • Trailer
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Luc Sante

Then comes thematically-linked 'Le Harve' from director Aki Kaurismäki, who was seen as a big influence on Jarmusch - who also appeared in Aki's film 'Leningrad Cowboys Go America"

Le Havre
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Specs are such:

  • New high-definition digital transfer, approved by director Aki Kaurismäki, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
  • New interview with actor André Wilms
  • Cannes Film Festival press conference from 2011, featuring cast and crew
  • French television interview with Kaurismäki, Wilms, and actors Jean-Pierre Darroussin and Kati Outinen
  • Concert footage of Little Bob, the rock group featured in the film
  • Trailer
  • New English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Michael Sicinski

Then comes a double feature from Whit Stillman. With these two (and the likely release of 'Damsels' on Blu-ray), that would make Stillman's filmography at 75% for 1080p releases. First comes his feature debut 'Metropolitan':

Metropolitan
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Specs include:

  • Restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director Whit Stillman and cinematographer John Thomas, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
  • Audio commentary by Stillman, editor Christopher Tellefsen, and actors Chris Eigeman and Taylor Nichols
  • Rare outtakes and alternate casting, with commentary by Stillman
  • PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Luc Sante

And then his third film 'Last Days of Disco':

The Last Days of Disco
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Specs as such:

  • Restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Whit Stillman, with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
  • Audio commentary featuring Stillman and actors Chloë Sevigny and Chris Eigeman
  • Four deleted scenes with commentary by Stillman, Eigeman, and Sevigny
  • Audio recording of Stillman reading a chapter from his book The Last Days of Disco, with Cocktails at Petrossian Afterwards
  • Behind-the-scenes featurette
  • Stills gallery with captions by Stillman
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • PLUS: An essay by novelist David Schickler

That's a nice slate for any month, though fewer new titles than most months. Still, it's good to see them get into the Stillman mood.

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