For those who have yet to encounter it, Max Ophüls' 1955 Lola Montès is a visually ravishing, narratively daring dramatization of the life of the notorious courtesan and showgirl, played by Martine Carol. With his customary cinematographic flourish and, for the first time, vibrant colour, Ophüls charts Montès's scandalous past through the bombastic ringmaster (Peter Ustinov) of the American circus where she ends up performing.

Ophüls' final film, Lola Montès is at once a magnificent romantic melodrama, a meditation on the lurid fascination with celebrity, and a meticulous, one-of-a-kind movie spectacle.

Lola Montès will be released on US DVD and Blu-ray by Criterion on 16th February 2009 at the SRP of $39.95 each. Both discs will feature a new, restored high-definition digital transfer (with uncompressed stereo soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition) and the following extras:

• Audio commentary featuring Max Ophüls scholar Susan White;
• "Max Ophüls ou le plaisir de tourner," a 1965 episode of the French television program Cinéastes de notre temps, featuring interviews with many of Ophüls' collaborators;
• Max by Marcel, a new documentary by Marcel Ophüls about his father and the making of Lola Montès;
• Silent footage of actress Martine Carol demonstrating the various glamorous hairstyles in Lola Montès;
• Theatrical re-release trailer from Rialto Pictures;
• New and improved English subtitle translation;
• A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Gary Giddins.

You can read L.K. Weston's review of Second's Sight's fine UK release here.