The Criterion Collection is working on a 4K box set of Wes Anderson‘s first ten movies. Anderson revealed this himself while speaking with Little White Lies magazine.
“I’ve always tried to treat [my films] as a body of work to some degree, and even now we’re doing a thing with the Criterion Collection, they’re releasing my first ten movies as a box set,” Anderson said. “We’re doing a similar thing with the soundtracks, and we have the books about the films, and so on. I want these movies to all sit together as a set.“
The films set to be included in the Wes Anderson Criterion box set are:
- Bottle Rocket (1996)
- Rushmore (1998)
- The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
- The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
- The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
- Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
- Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
- The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
- Isle of Dogs (2018)
- The French Dispatch (2021)
With the exception of Isle of Dogs and The French Dispatch, the rest of the films have been previously released by the Criterion Collection on Blu-ray. According to Bill Hunt at The Digital Bits, this release will include “newly remastered 4K Ultra HD versions of each of these films.” As the set hasn’t been officially announced, there’s no word on when it might be released, but as Criterion has already revealed its August slate, September would be the earliest it could drop.
Anderson’s latest, The Phoenician Scheme, will be released on May 30. The film stars Benicio del Toro as Zsa-zsa Korda, a shady businessman who survives the latest of six separate assassination attempts and decides to name his estranged, noviciate nun daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton) as his successor. Along with his tutor, Bjørn (Michael Cera), the three set out on a globe-trotting adventure to secure funding for his latest scheme.
Our own Chris Bumbray enjoyed the film, but if you’re not already a fan of Wes Anderson’s meticulously stylized brand of whimsy, it’s likely not for you. “The Phoenician Scheme is made for Anderson devotees and won’t connect with a broader audience the way some of his classics did,” he wrote. “While I’d like to see Anderson do something a little less enamoured with his own style, it can’t be denied that this is another entertaining romp. I’m more than happy to take a trip into his aesthetic every few years or so. If you like his movies, you’ll have a great time.” You can check out the rest of his review right here.
Would you like to add Criterion’s 10-film Wes Anderson box set (in 4K) to your collection?
