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Last I heard, the disc was scheduled to have three versions of the film: the "Corinth" version, the Confidential Report cut Criterion has issued before on LD, and the new Munich version. In addition to the commentary track, I want to say the episode of the Harry Lime radio show ("Man of Mystery") featuring Welles' initial conception of Arkadin will be included as well. What would be nice to see would be material from an Italian show done about the film, which featured various outtakes from Arkadin, including footage of Welles directing Paola Mori during one of her scenes.

"ar-KAH-din"

leo goldsmith wrote:"ar-KAH-din"

I apologize. I didn't have a copy of the film at hand so I was going by memory, which apparently was playing tricks on me.

From Jonathan Rosenbaum:

It will be a three-disc set including the Corinth version of the film
(with a commentary by James Naremore and myself), CONFIDENTIAL REPORT, and a new edit by Stefan Droessler (of the Munich Film Archives) that will draw material from a variety of sources. Each version will have separate liner notes--by me, Francois Thomas, and Stefan, respectively--and I believe the set will also include some radio shows and a reprint of the novel (although there's new and more conclusive
evidence, that will be cited, that Welles didn't write the latter).

Langlois68 wrote:From Jonathan Rosenbaum:

It will be a three-disc set...

Yes! Yes! Yes! =D>

This is without a doubt everything I hoped for and more. When my friends and I debated about the contents of the release, some found it hard to believe Criterion would go so far as 3 discs/versions of the film. I really felt like we had to have all 3 cuts to make this truly definitive, so I was hoping they would hold the set back in order to compliment Drossler's time table. They really went the mile on this one.

The inclusion of the radio show and commentary were pretty much given, but the addition of the book is a delightful surprise. Even though it was mostly a cross-promotional item, it helps to complete the total experience for following the film during the 50's. This movie is one of my favorite Welles and the set definitely follows F for Fake as one of the best editions ever produced for his work. I can't wait to see what they do for The Immortal Story.

Warner (Magnificent Ambersons, Journey Into Fear, etc.) and the other labels really have their work cut out for them to reach the standards achieved here for their own Welles-related DVD packages. This also is quickly becoming one of my favorite years for restorations, as the Drossler cut will be preceeded by the new Pat Garret & Billy the Kid and hopefully followed by Richard Donner's cut of Superman II (both Warner).

Gordon McMurphy wrote:

Langlois68 wrote:From Jonathan Rosenbaum:

It will be a three-disc set...

Yes! Yes! Yes! =D>

And a cheap one, too.

zedz wrote:

Gordon McMurphy wrote:

Langlois68 wrote:From Jonathan Rosenbaum:

Yes! Yes! Yes! =D>

And a cheap one, too.

That's true, it's listing at $39.99.

HOLY CRAP. this will be one to get for sure.

is the 39.99 confirmed from the 2006 booklet?

SncDthMnky wrote:HOLY CRAP. this will be one to get for sure.

is the 39.99 confirmed from the 2006 booklet?

Yes.

Mr Arkadin was probably delayed to include Munich restoration version. =D>

tavernier wrote:

SncDthMnky wrote:HOLY CRAP. this will be one to get for sure.

is the 39.99 confirmed from the 2006 booklet?

Yes.

Mark you, Kind Hearts and Coronets was "confirmed" in the booklet as being $29.95 and is now $39.95.

Ashirg wrote:Mr Arkadin was probably delayed to include Munich restoration version. =D>

And how do we know for sure that it's been delayed...?

bjeggert82 wrote:

Ashirg wrote:Mr Arkadin was probably delayed to include Munich restoration version. =D>

And how do we know for sure that it's been delayed...?

Because it's not on the February release sked.

Just because it isn't coming out in February doesn't mean that it has been delayed. It was never announced for any specific month; it was just given spine number 322. This wouldn't be the first or last time that Criterion released titles out of spine number order. It is likely on tap for March.

Mr. Arkadin - Orson Welles's elusive film presented in three different versions.
SRP: $49.95
Prebook date: 2/21/06
Street date: 3/26/06

$49.95

Ouch! A 3-disc afterall. This might put off all but the hardcore fans, I feel. But what a lavish treat. Another landmark release from Criterion!

Sure to be one of the best releases of 2006. Still no word on extra's, but I would think that Criterion will load it up just the same way they did F for Fake.

http://www.criterion.com/asp/release.asp?id=322

[quote]Orson Welles's Mr. Arkadin (a.k.a. Confidential Report) is one of cinema's great mysteries. How did a globetrotting narrative of espionage, amnesia, and backstabbing come to be itself marked by these qualities? In the film, small-time American smuggler Guy van Stratten is hired by elusive billionaire Gregory Arkadin to investigate the tycoon's past. What follows is a dizzying descent into the Cold War landscape of a Europe trying to erase its history. In making the film, Welles was ultimately banned from the editing room by producer (and undercover Soviet agent) Louis Dolivet. As a result, many versions exist, none of them definitive. The Criterion Collection is proud to collect the many faces of Mr. Arkadin into one box for the first time—from the story's beginnings in radio to the novel published under Welles's name to an all-new “comprehensive versionâ€

Wow!! I didnt know Simon Cowell was a film historian as well as judge and producer of American Idol!(Oh, please I want that RIchard Cranium Award)

Price on CC site is now $39.95 - a mistake probably...

Also the novel is mentioned in the synopsis but not as a special feature/extra, but is still expected as per previous info...

Damn, I was hoping they'd tuck The Immortal Story in there, Slacker-style. Oh well, a must-have regardless.

[quote]the story's beginnings in radio to the novel published under Welles's name to an all-new “comprehensive versionâ€

Callow is on the DVD? After he bashed Welles in "Xanadu." First that horrid Viridiana cover and now this. Criterion is releasing the films I like, but adding a bunch of crap to them!

Wow, Criterion seems to be trying to even top the F for Fake disc and thats pretty tuff to do. Their still listing the set @ $49.99 and there still no word about the book being in with the set, which by now I thought would be up. BTW which book or bio is the best to read about Welles and his life/work. I have on order from Amazon the book Orson Welles: A Critical View that has a foreword by Truffaut and a profile by Cocteau.