'Kes' and 'Sweetie' Announced for Blu-ray

Loach and Campion get the Criterion treatment this April.

Criterion has revealed the 1969 drama 'Kes' for Blu-ray on April 19.

Named by the British Film Institute as one of the ten best British films of the century, Ken Loach’s Kes, is cinema’s quintessential portrait of working-class Northern England. Billy (an astonishingly naturalistic David Bradley) is a fifteen-year-old miner’s son whose close bond with a wild kestrel provides him with a spiritual escape from his dead-end life. Kes established the sociopolitical engagement and artistic brilliance of its filmmaker, and pushed the British “angry young man” film of the sixties into a new realm of authenticity, using real locations and nonprofessional actors. Loach’s poignant coming-of-age drama remains its now legendary director’s most beloved and influential film.

The Blu-ray will feature a 1080p transfer and supplements include: Making "Kes," a new documentary featuring Loach, Menges, producer Tony Garnett, and actor David Bradley; The Southbank Show: "Ken Loach" (1993), a profile of the filmmaker, featuring Loach, Garnett, directors Stephen Frears and Alan Parker, and other Loach collaborators; Cathy Come Home (1967), a feature directed by Loach and produced by Garnett, with an introduction by film writer Graham Fuller; Original theatrical trailer; and a booklet featuring an essay by Fuller.

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

Though she went on to create a string of brilliant films, Jane Campion will always be remembered for her knockout debut feature, Sweetie, which focuses on the hazardous relationship between the buttoned-down, superstitious Kay and her rampaging, devil-may-care sister, Sweetie—and on their family’s profoundly rotten roots. A feast of colorful photography and captivating, idiosyncratic characters, Sweetie heralded the emergence of this gifted director, as well as a renaissance of Australian cinema, which would take the film world by storm in the nineties.

The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, and supplements will include: Audio commentary featuring Jane Campion, director of photoraphy Sally Bongers, and screenwriter Gerard Lee; "Making "Sweetie," a video conversation between stars Genevieve Lemon and Karen Colston; Campion's early short films An Exercise in Discipline: Peel, Passionless Moments, and A Girl's Own Story; Jane Campion: The Film School Years, a 1989 video conversation between Campion and critic Peter Thompson; Gallery of behind-the-scenes photos and production stills; Original theatrical trailer; and a booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Dana Polan.

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

You can find the latest specs for 'Kes' and 'Sweetie' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they're indexed under April 19.