24 April 2008

Delicate, naturalistic, and tinged with a striking mix of nostalgia and menace, Mon oncle Antoine follows the everyday lives of both young Benoit, as he first encounters the twin terrors of sex and death, and his fellow villagers, living under the thumb of the local asbestos-mine owner. Set during one ominous Christmas, Mon oncle Antoine is a holiday film unlike any other, and an authentically detailed illustration of childhood's twilight. In a once-a-decade critics poll held at the Toronto Film Festival since 1984, Mon oncle Antoine has been named the greatest Canadian film of all time three decades in a row.

This summer you can see if you agree when the film is released by Criterion as a Special Edition Double-Disc release, with the following special features:

• New, restored high-definition 1.66:1 anamorphic digital transfer, supervised and approved by director of photography Michel Brault;
• On-Screen: "Mon oncle Antoine," a 2007 documentary tracing the making and history of the film;
• Claude Jutra, an Unfinished Story, a 2002 documentary that attempts to unravel "the Jutra mystery," featuring interviews with Brault, Bernardo Bertolucci, actors Geneviève Bujold and Saul Rubinek, and actor-director Paule Baillargeon;
• A Chairy Tale, a 1957 experimental short co-directed by Jutra and Norman McLaren;
• Theatrical trailer;
• Optional English-dubbed soundtrack;
• New and improved English subtitle translation;
• A new essay by film scholar André Loiselle.

Mon oncle Antoine will be released on US DVD by Criterion in July (exact date to be confirmed) at the SRP of $39.95.