'Au revoir les enfants' and 'Yi Yi' Announced for Blu-ray

Malle and Yang get the Criterion treatment this March!

Criterion has revealed the 1987 war drama 'Au revoir les enfants' for Blu-ray on March 15.

This intensely personal film from Louis Malle ('The Lovers,' 'My Dinner with André') tells a heartbreaking story of friendship and devastating loss concerning two boys living in Nazi-occupied France. At a provincial Catholic boarding school, the precocious youths enjoy true camaraderie—until a secret is revealed. Based on events from writer-director Malle’s own childhood, 'Au revoir les enfants' ('Goodbye, Children') is a subtle, precisely observed tale of courage, cowardice, and tragic awakening.

The Blu-ray will feature a 1080p transfer, a mono soundtrack, and supplements include: Video interviews with biographer Pierre Billard and actress Candice Bergen, director Louis Malle's widow; Joseph: A Character Study – a profile of the provocative character from Au revoir les enfants; The Immigrant: Charlie Chaplin's 1917 short comedy, featured in the film; Audio excerpts from a 1988 AFI interview with Malle; Original theatrical trailer and teaser; and a booklet featuring essays by film critic Philip Kemp and historian Francis J. Murphy.

Criterion will also be bringing 'Yi Yi' to Blu-ray on the same date.

The extraordinary, internationally embraced 'Yi Yi' ('A One and a Two...'), directed by the late Taiwanese master Edward Yang ('A Brighter Summer Day'), follows a middle-class family in Taipei over the course of one year, beginning with a wedding and ending with a funeral. Whether chronicling middle-age father NJ’s tentative flirtations with an old flame or precocious young son Yang-Yang’s attempts at capturing reality with his beloved camera, the filmmaker deftly imbues every gorgeous frame with a compassionate clarity. Warm, sprawling, and dazzling, this intimate epic is one of the undisputed masterworks of the new century.

The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 soundtrack, and supplements will include: Audio commentary by writer-director Edward Yang and Asian-cinema critic Tony Rayns, Video interview with Rayns about Yang and the New Taiwan Cinema movement, US theatrical trailer, and A booklet featuring an essay by film writer Kent Jones and notes from the director.

Suggested list price for each Blu-ray is $39.95.

You can find the latest specs for 'Au revoir les enfants' and 'Yi Yi' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they are indexed under March 15.