Sundance Channel Reprises Summer Film Series "Classic World Cinema From The Criterion Collection"

For the second year in a row, Sundance Channel will partner with The Criterion Collection, the preeminent home entertainment resource for classic and restored films, to present landmark works of world cinema in Sundance Channel Presents Classic World Cinema from The Criterion Collection. And don't worry if you missed one you can always order the Video or DVD by clicking on the Title, The Criterion Collection is one of the foremost important libraries of which every create industry mind should watch, says Mike Freni, CEO of Dealmemo, Inc. "When people think of foreign films from the 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and even 70, 80's, they inevitably imagine snoozers that are outrageously incomprehensible and bizarre. Though they're often right, this Collection is here to prove them wrong". Says Mike Freni

Responding to the popularity of the Summer 2001 series, this year Sundance Channel and The Criterion Collection have expanded the series to include 17 titles that represent a cross-section of cinema touchstones. 

 Classic World Cinema will air every Saturday and Sunday night at 9:00pm in July and August 2002, offering viewers something fresh and different for their summer pleasure.  Titles include Akira Kurosawa's hugely influential and utterly spellbinding Rashomon; Liliana Cavani's controversial erotic drama The Night Porter, starring Charlotte Rampling and Dirk Bogarde; and Fritz Lang's M, one of the most exciting and disturbing thrillers ever made.    "These films epitomize the innovative, passionate approach to filmmaking that is at the heart of Sundance Channel's mission," said Paola Freccero, Senior Vice  President of Film Programming for Sundance Channel.  "We are delighted to continue our partnership with The Criterion Collection, a company whose superb work reflects its bedrock respect for the filmmaker's vision." Peter Becker, President of The Criterion Collection said "We're proud to be associated with the Sundance Channel, whose bold commitment to inventive cinema continues to bring new audiences to these groundbreaking, and in many cases hard-to-find, classics." Sundance Channel Presents Classic World Cinema from The Criterion Collection" airs at 9:00pm every Saturday and Sunday night in July and August.  The lineup is as follows, in chronological order:

Juliet of the Spirits (Giulietta degli spiriti) (Federico Fellini, Italy, 1965) - In Fellini's dazzling first color feature, an unhappy housewife (the great Giulietta Masina, Fellini's wife) is launched on a hallucinatory journey of self-discovery after her philandering husband forgets their wedding anniversary.  Airs Saturday, July 6th at 9:00pm.

The Last Wave (Peter Weir, Australia, 1977) - Weir conjures an atmosphere of otherworldly mystery in this story of a lawyer (Richard Chamberlain) who begins having disturbing visions after he agrees to represent a group of aborigines accused of murder.   Airs Sunday, July 7th at 9:00pm.

Branded to Kill (Kiroshi no rakuin) (Seijun Suzuki, Japan, 1967) - Suzuki's brilliantly gonzo yakuza thriller follows the blood-soaked travails of Number 3 Killer, a gangster whose last, botched job has made him the target of Number 1 Killer.  Airs Saturday, July 13th at 9:00pm.

Alphaville (Jean-Luc Godard, France, 1965) - Godard's one-of-a-kind fusion of film noir, science fiction and dystopian allegory stars Eddie Constantine as Lemmy Caution, a special agent whose latest mission leads him into the lonely streets of Alphaville, a city ruled by a supercomputer.  Airs Sunday, July 14th  9:00pm.

Cries and Whispers (Viskningar och rop) (Ingmar Bergman, Sweden, 1972) -In Bergman's beautiful, haunting masterpiece, a dying woman (Harriet Andersson) transcends the pettiness of her squabbling sisters (Liv Ullmann and Ingrid Thulin) as she recalls moments from the lives they shared.   Airs Saturday, July  20th at 9:00pm.

The Passion of Joan of Arc (La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc) (Carl Theodor Dreyer, France, 1928) - Dreyer's artistic milestone uses actual records to recreate the 15th Century trial of the French martyr, and star Maria Falconetti.  Falconetti gives one of cinema's greatest performances.  Airs Sunday, July 21st at 9:00pm.

Loves of a Blonde (Lásky jedné plavovlásky) (Milos Forman, Czechoslovakia, 1965) - Forman helped kick off the vibrant Czech New Wave with this sexy and subtly subversive comedy about a young woman (Hana Brejchova) looking for love in a drab factory town.  Airs Saturday, July 27th  9:00pm.

The Cranes Are Flying (Letyat Zhuravli) (Mikhail Kalatozov, Soviet Union, 1957) - A sweeping, gorgeously photographed love story about a young couple whose blissful romance is sundered when Russia enters World War II, leaving each alone to cope with fear, loneliness and danger.  Airs Sunday, July 28th  9:00pm.

Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, Japan, 1950) - An electrifying inquiry into subjectivity and truth, Rashomon tells the story of a rape and murder from four different perspectives: the two victims, the perpetrator and the sole witness.  Airs Saturday, August 3rd at 9:00pm. Le Trou (The Hole) (Jacques Becker, France, 1960) - A keen sense of realism pervades this taut thriller (based on a true story) about five prisoners plotting their escape from a Paris jail cell.  Airs Sunday, August 4th at 9:00pm.

Le Million (René Clair, France, 1931) - The very definition of effervescent charm (and ingenious technique), Clair's comedy/musical chronicles the adventures of an impoverished artist who combs the streets of Paris to retrieve a winning lottery ticket.  Airs Saturday, August 10th at 9:00pm.

Day of Wrath (Vredens dag) (Carl Theodor Dreyer, Denmark, 1943) - Set during the witchcraft hunts of 17th Century Denmark, this intense and richly textured melodrama begins with one woman's condemnation and culminates with that of another.  Airs Sunday, August 11th at 9:00pm.

The Firemen's Ball (Horí, má panenko) (Milos Forman, Czechoslovakia, 1967) - The last film Forman made in his native Czechoslovakia, this riotous farce charts the progress of a volunteer firemen's benefit gala, an event that proves good intentions are no match for ineptitude, greed and sundry other forms of human intervention.  Airs Saturday, August 17th at 9:00pm.

Ballad of a Soldier (Ballada o soldate) (Grigori Chukhraj, Soviet Union, 1959) - After vanquishing two German tanks in a World War II battle, a heroic young Russian soldier (Zhanna Prokhorenko) observes hope and devastation alike as he travels home to visit his mother.  Airs Sunday, August 18th at 9:00pm

The Night Porter (Il Portiere de notte) (Liliana Cavani, Italy, 1974) - In 1957 Vienna, a chance meeting between a concentration camp survivor (Charlotte Rampling) and her former captor/lover  (Dirk Bogarde) sparks an obsessive recreation of their sadomasochistic affair.  Airs Saturday, August 24th at 9:00pm.

La Bête Humaine (The Human Beast) (Jean Renoir, France, 1938) - Jean Gabin plays a psychologically troubled train engineer whose affair with the stationmaster's wife (Simone Simon) leads to tragedy.  Airs Sunday, August 25th at 9:00pm.

M (Fritz Lang, Germany, 1931) - Harrowing yet humane, Lang's iconic thriller chronicles the fevered hunt for a child murderer, played by Peter Lorre as a criminal as anguished as he is cunning.   Airs Saturday, August 31st at 9:00pm.

Under the creative direction of Robert Redford, Sundance Channel brings television viewers daring and engaging feature films, shorts, documentaries, world cinema and animation, shown uncut and with no commercials.  Through its original programs, Sundance channel connects viewers with filmmakers, the creative process, and the world of independent film.  Launched in 1996, Sundance Channel is a venture between Robert Redford, Showtime Networks Inc., and Universal Studios.  Sundance Channel operates independently of the non-profit Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, but shares the overall Sundance mission of supporting independent artists and providing them with wider opportunities to present their work to audiences.  Sundance Channel's website address is www.sundancechannel.com

The Criterion Collection is dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them on DVD in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-wining, original supplements.  Each film in the collection is presented uncut, in its original aspect ratio, as its maker intended it to be seen.  The company's supplements enable viewers to appreciate Criterion films in context, through audio commentaries by filmmakers and scholars, restored director's cuts, deleted scenes, shooting scripts, early shorts, storyboards.  To date, more than 35 filmmakers have made the Director's Approved library of laserdiscs and DVDs the most significant archive of contemporary filmmaking available to the home viewer.

From the award-winning classics of world cinema, to cutting-edge works from today's independent filmmakers to art and cultural documentaries from around the globe - Home Vision Entertainment stands for excellence in home entertainment. Since the advent of video technology, Home Vision Entertainment has sought to restore, preserve, and honor the filmmaker's creative vision. By utilizing the best available elements for digital transfers and presenting them in their original aspect ratios, Home Vision Entertainment has succeeded in distributing an exemplary collection of films. Through our arts and documentary collections, we have proven that entertainment can also provide growth and enlightenment. For us the artist is everything. HVE's website address is www.homevision.com