With the passing of Tartan Video, many of the works of controversial Austrian director Michael Haneke which had previously been available from Tartan effectively dropped off the UK DVD radar. But all that's soon to be put right by Artificial Eye, who have announced a 10-disc DVD box set for UK release in October. Included is his previously unreleased 1997 film The Castle (Das Schloß) which is an adaptation of an unfinished novel by Franz Kafka. Included on this disc is a documentary called 24 Realities Per Second, a 60 minute documentary on Haneke and which has never been seen before in the UK.
The release of this box-set coincides with Artificial Eye's theatrical release of Haneke's Palme D'Or winning film, The White Ribbon (Das weiße Band). The discs and extras included are as follows:
The Seventh Continent (Der siebente Kontinent, 1989)
Haneke's first feature is a devastating study of a middle class family in emotional freefall, whose grim tone and emotionally punishing finale were to set the tone for things to come. The extras are:
- Michael Haneke interview
- Theatrical trailer
Benny's Video (1992)
The precursor to Haneke's 1997 Funny Games explores both the effects of violence desensitisation and the hypocrisy of middle class family values in disturbing fashion. The extras here are:
- Michael Haneke interview
- Theatrical trailer
71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance (71 Fragmente einer Chronologie des Zufalls, 1994)
Haneke's fabulously titled observational study of lives that are connected through a single true-life event. Extras are, once again:
- Michael Haneke interview
- Theatrical trailer
The Castle (Das Schloß, 1997)
Kafka's unfinished novel is adapted by Haneke for television and has never been released on UK DVD before. Extra features include:
- Documentary '24 Realities per Second'
- Theatrical trailers
Funny Games (original version, 1997)
One of Haneke's most genuinely disturbing and successful films, a nerve shredding study of the relationship between the audience and screen violence that exposes us to the consequences without providing any of the associated pleasures, as two young hoodlums imprison and torture a holidaying middle class family. Extras are:
- Michael Haneke interview
- Theatrical trailer
Code Unknown (Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages, 2000)
Haneke's study of prejudice and the consequences of chance is as fascinating for its fragmented, multi-story narrative as for its technical handling, with each scene covered in a single camera setup involving sometimes complex arrangement of actors and camera movement. The extras are:
- Michael Haneke interview
- Making of documentary
- Theatrical trailer
The Piano Teacher (La pianiste, 2001)
A multiple award winner at Cannes, including gongs for Best Actress (Isabelle Huppert) and Best Actor (Benoît Magimel), this is another widely celebrated but controversial Haneke work that delivers a shattering emotional body blow. The extras are:
- Interviews with Michael Haneke, Isabelle Huppert, Benoît Magimel
- Theatrical trailer
Time of the Wolf (Le temps du loup, 2003)
Haneke's take on the post-apocalyptic survival story stars Isabelle Huppert and paints a grim picture of humankind in a world where survival instincts have taken hold. Only one extra here, and that's a making-of documentary.
Hidden (Caché, 2005)
One of the director's most acclaimed films and another multiple prize-winner at Cannes, this darkly troubling and immaculately made take on Haneke's favourite theme of bourgeois hypocrisy. Slightly more extra features on this one:
- Michael Haneke interview
- Making of documentary
- Theatrical trailer
Funny Games U.S. (2007)
Haneke's own shot-for-shot remake of one of his most celebrated films did not find the English speaking audience he was looking for and is likely to remain in the shadow of the original, despite a stirling cast that includes Tim Roth and Naomi Watts. On board the disc are:
- Michael Haneke interview
- Theatrical trailer
The Essential Michael Haneke will be released as a 10 disc box set by Artificial Eye on 19th October 2009 at the RRP of £74.99.
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