The whole business of Blu-ray regional coding just got a whole lot more painful for UK based horror fans, as Criterion announce the Blu-ray release of two modern genre classics, David Cronenberg's 1983 Videodrome and Guillermo del Toro's 1993 Cronos, both with some mouth-watering extra features.

Videodrome

When Max Renn goes looking for edgy new shows for his sleazy cable-TV station, he stumbles across the pirate broadcast of a hyperviolent torture show called Videodrome. His attempts to unearth the program's origins send him on a hallucinatory journey into a shadow world of right-wing conspiracies, sadomasochistic sex games, and body modification. Starring James Woods and Deborah Harry in an early film role, Videodrome is one of the most original and provocative works from writer-director David Cronenberg, and features groundbreaking special makeup effects by Academy Award winner Rick Baker.

This director-approved special edition Blu-ray features a restored high-definition digital transfer of the unrated version, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack, and the following extras:

• Audio commentaryfeaturing director David Cronenberg and director of photography Mark Irwin;
• Audio commentary with actors James Woods and Deborah Harry;
• Camera (2000), a short film by Cronenberg;
• Forging the New Flesh, a half-hour documentary by filmmaker Michael Lennick about Videodrome's video and prosthetic makeup effects;
• Effects Men, an audio interview with makeup effects creator Rick Baker and video effects supervisor Lennick;
• Bootleg Video: the complete footage of Samurai Dreams and seven minutes of other transmissions from Videodrome, presented in their original, unedited form and with filmmaker commentary;
• Fear on Film, a roundtable discussion from 1982 among Cronenberg and fellow filmmakers John Carpenter, John Landis, and Mick Garris;
• Original theatrical trailers and promotional featurette;
• Stills gallery featuring rare behind-the-scenes production photos and posters;
• A booklet featuring essays by writers Carrie Rickey, Tim Lucas, and Gary Indiana.

Videodrome will be released on Criterion Blu-ray on 7th December 2010 at the SRP of $39.95. A Criterion DVD release is already available.

Cronos

Guillermo del Toro made an auspicious, audacious feature debut with Cronos, a highly unorthodox tale about the seductiveness of the idea of immortality. Kindly antiques dealer Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi) happens upon an ancient golden device in the shape of a scarab, and soon finds himself possessor and victim of its sinister, addictive powers, as well as the target of a mysterious, crude American named Angel (a delightfully deranged Ron Perlman. Featuring marvelous special makeup effects and the unforgettably haunting imagery for which del Toro has become world-renowned, Cronos is a visually rich and emotionally captivating dark fantasy.

Featuring a new, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Guillermo del Toro and cinematographer Guillermo Navarro, including optional audio with the film's original Spanish-language voice-over introduction as well as DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray edition, both discs will have the following extras:

• Audio commentary with Guillermo del Toro;
• Audio commentary with producers Arthur H. Gorson and Bertha Navarro and co-producer Alejandro Springall;
• Geometria, an unreleased 1987 short horror film by del Toro, finished by the director in 2010, plus a new video interview with him;
• Welcome to Bleak House, a video tour by del Toro of his office, featuring his collectibles and personal work;
• New video interviews with del Toro, Navarro, and actor Ron Perlman;
• Video interview with actor Federico Luppi;
• Stills gallery;
• Trailer;
• New and improved English subtitle translation, approved by del Toro;
• A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Maitland McDonagh and excerpts from del Toro's notes for the film.

Cronos will be released by Criterion on Blu-ray and DVD on 7th December 2010 at the SRP of $29.95 for the DVD and $39.95 for the Blu-ray.