Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men (1957) "has become a cultural touchstone, a time capsule of American justice before the civil rights era and the expansion of civil liberties in the 1960s," writes Thane Rosenbaum for Criterion, which releases a new DVD and Blu-ray this week. "Its influence has been vast, and it established Lumet's reputation as an artist at the forefront of social change."
"The crown jewel of the Criterion disc's extras has to be the original television broadcast of 12 Angry Men, written by [Reginald] Rose and directed by Franklin J Schaffner for Studio One in 1954," notes Bill Ryan, and he compares and contrasts the two productions at considerable length. With its "sterling image and extensive extras," this package scores DVD Beaver's "highest recommendation and will be noted in our Year End Poll."
Today and Friday, MoMA is featuring three programs of work by Jack Smith (Flaming Creatures, 1963). Bradford Nordeen for the L: "Smith was a man ahead of his time and there have been attempts to reintroduce him to the world — most prolifically in the 1997 PS1 exhibition Flaming Creature, which yielded a wonderful accompanying catalogue and occasioned the printing, on Serpent's Tail press, of Smith's collected writings, Wait for Me at the Bottom of the Pool. But, for some reason, that didn't quite go off as well as curators had planned. Now, it seems, is the time."
The Playlist's Christopher Bell reports that Ruben Östlund (Play) is planning to shoot Tourist in the spring: "Said to be told in three parts, the French Alps-set movie will center on a father and his cowardly behavior following a monstrous avalanche. Those not sold on the simple premise might like to know that the filmmaker hopes to create 'the most spectacular avalanche in film history' with a combination of live snow-fall and visual effects."
Dennis Cooper is showcasing Toniok's all-encompassing roundup on Iván Zulueta.
Listening (29'25"). Cameron Bailey's interview with Francis Ford Coppola before a live audience in Toronto in September.
For news and tips throughout the day every day, follow @thedailyMUBI on Twitter and/or the RSS feed.