criterionforum.org

denti alligator wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 4:10 pm Very glad this is a UHD. An upgrade of Colour of Pomegranates would have been a nice pairing...

Mr.DarjeelingLimited wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 4:19 pm Great announcement but why are we getting the WCP branding on a standalone? None of the other World Cinema Project standalones have that. Bizarre choice.

Finch wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 5:10 pm Would it be included in the B&N November sale if the sale starts before the release date?

Mr.DarjeelingLimited wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 4:19 pm Great announcement but why are we getting the WCP branding on a standalone? None of the other World Cinema Project standalones have that. Bizarre choice.

Mr.DarjeelingLimited wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 4:19 pm Great announcement but why are we getting the WCP branding on a standalone? None of the other World Cinema Project standalones have that. Bizarre choice.

DimitriL wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 5:35 pm

Mr.DarjeelingLimited wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 4:19 pm Great announcement but why are we getting the WCP branding on a standalone? None of the other World Cinema Project standalones have that. Bizarre choice.

Unless they've decided to start simply releasing WCP titles individually instead of box sets, which theoretically might get titles out quicker.

DimitriL wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 5:35 pm

Mr.DarjeelingLimited wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 4:19 pm Great announcement but why are we getting the WCP branding on a standalone? None of the other World Cinema Project standalones have that. Bizarre choice.

Unless they've decided to start simply releasing WCP titles individually instead of box sets, which theoretically might get titles out quicker.

The Lilac Wind of Paradjanov (2025), a feature documentary by Ali Khamraev

I caught a few of Uzbek/USSR director, Ali Khamraev’s rarely screened works at Asia Society in NY.

https://asiasociety.org/new-york/easter ... i-khamraev

Fascinating stuff. I Remember You (1985) is a standout for me. “A Proustian memory piece par excellence, Khramaev's autobiographical reverie follows the inner and outer journeys of a man named Kim as he cares for his ailing mother and honors her request to make a pilgrimage to his father's grave. Episodes of life in the ancient Uzbek city of Samarkand intermingle with tender visions of old age and surreal imagistic flourishes, blending past, present and fantasy with indistinguishable ease. From behind his lens, the director calls the action as he remembers it.”

Khamraev was present for some very spirited Q&As. He isn’t well-known outside of the Soviet Union, but he mentioned Antonioni heaping praises upon his films when visiting Uzbekistan (with him being the host), finding his “genius” cinematographer through Kira Muratova’s recommendation, and Tarkovsky encouraging him to shoot I Remember You.

The 35mm release prints screened were in decent condition and housed at the Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam these days. I tried to ask him about where the OCNs are and whether he planned to restore them. Unfortunately, the overworked translator missed that part of my question.

Would be great if Radiance could rescue these gems from obscurity. I imagine at least one of these, The Seventh Bullet (1971), would have a broad appeal and sell well given proper marketing, with it being an “Ostern” (a Western set in the East). Khamraev also mentioned that a few of his earlier works that didn’t screen this time also featured a lot of action.

(Btw, Asia Society filmed all of the Q&As, which are really some of the best I’ve attended because he was just so full of energy and loved to ramble on over his anecdotes working in the Soviet Union. I imagine these would make excellent and very entertaining extra features.)

AxeYou wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 5:43 pm I saw this 4K restoration in a theater last year. What a revelation that was. I didn’t understand a lot of it of course, so I’ll be more than happy to give it a repeat viewing or two.

Also happy to report that the signature Ritrovata yellow tint that overpowered The Color of Pomegranates is very much toned down here. There were still slight traces of a house signature, but overall it did not affect my enjoyment.

The Lilac Wind of Paradjanov (2025), a feature documentary by Ali Khamraev

Didn’t expect this extra! I caught a Khamraev retrospective at Asia Society NY last year too, and it had some of the best hidden gems I’ve seen. Khamraev was present for Q&As at every screening and it was just a blast. The guy was full of energy, full of jokes and anecdotes. I would highly recommend seeking his work out. And now that Criterion has a connection to Khamraev, I hope they consider acquiring and restoring his works.

Below is the blurb I posted at the time to the member suggestion thread on Radiance’s Discord channel:

I caught a few of Uzbek/USSR director, Ali Khamraev’s rarely screened works at Asia Society in NY.

https://asiasociety.org/new-york/easter ... i-khamraev

Fascinating stuff. I Remember You (1985) is a standout for me. “A Proustian memory piece par excellence, Khramaev's autobiographical reverie follows the inner and outer journeys of a man named Kim as he cares for his ailing mother and honors her request to make a pilgrimage to his father's grave. Episodes of life in the ancient Uzbek city of Samarkand intermingle with tender visions of old age and surreal imagistic flourishes, blending past, present and fantasy with indistinguishable ease. From behind his lens, the director calls the action as he remembers it.”

Khamraev was present for some very spirited Q&As. He isn’t well-known outside of the Soviet Union, but he mentioned Antonioni heaping praises upon his films when visiting Uzbekistan (with him being the host), finding his “genius” cinematographer through Kira Muratova’s recommendation, and Tarkovsky encouraging him to shoot I Remember You.

The 35mm release prints screened were in decent condition and housed at the Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam these days. I tried to ask him about where the OCNs are and whether he planned to restore them. Unfortunately, the overworked translator missed that part of my question.

Would be great if Radiance could rescue these gems from obscurity. I imagine at least one of these, The Seventh Bullet (1971), would have a broad appeal and sell well given proper marketing, with it being an “Ostern” (a Western set in the East). Khamraev also mentioned that a few of his earlier works that didn’t screen this time also featured a lot of action.

(Btw, Asia Society filmed all of the Q&As, which are really some of the best I’ve attended because he was just so full of energy and loved to ramble on over his anecdotes working in the Soviet Union. I imagine these would make excellent and very entertaining extra features.)

AxeYou wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 5:43 pm Didn’t expect this extra! I caught a Khamraev retrospective at Asia Society NY last year too, and it had some of the best hidden gems I’ve seen. Khamraev was present for Q&As at every screening and it was just a blast. The guy was full of energy, full of jokes and anecdotes. I would highly recommend seeking his work out. And now that Criterion has a connection to Khamraev, I hope they consider acquiring and restoring his works.

Beloved Aunt wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 8:31 pm The Lilac Wind of Paradjanov does not have good reviews on Letterboxd, although its Letterboxd so I don't know how much stock to put into it. The reviewers want to cancel Khamraev for being a prima donna at a screening lol, and they also complain of Ai-enhanced archival footage, and say its just generally not a particularily good documentary. I feel like this might just be spite, at least partially.

Research Interests
Joshua First is interested in the intersections between cultural and institutions. Previously, he looked at how culture and identity was produced at a Ukrainian film studio, and currently he is examining how Soviet healthcare institutions contended with ideas about biotechnology and cybernetics. He is currently writing a history of Soviet medicine in the period 1960-1990.

Biography
Joshua First is Croft Associate Professor of History and International Studies and specializes in the history of Russia and Ukraine during the 20th and 21st centuries. He came to Mississippi in 2010 after receiving his PhD in History from the University of Michigan. His teaching interests include modern Russia, the Soviet Union, post-war Europe, the welfare state and cinema. Professor First’s latest interests include the history of the Soviet welfare state and the development of health care and public health after Stalin.