• Blu-ray/DVD
  • News

Criterion brings “BLUE VELVET” and “FUNNY GAMES” to Blu-ray in May; details and art

Two of the most disturbing and provocative films in history are coming to Criterion Collection Blu-ray; read on for the complete specs and cover art.

Criterion releases Michael Haneke’s original FUNNY GAMES May 14 and David Lynch’s BLUE VELVET (pictured) May 28; both titles will be issued on new DVDs as well. FUNNY GAMES, Haneke’s study of violence involving a family terrorized by a couple of cleancut young men, will be presented in a new 2K digital restoration supervised by the director, presented in 1.85:1 widescreen with 5.1 Surround DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray. Special features are:

  • New interviews with Haneke and actor Arno Frisch
  • New interview with film historian Alexander Horwath
  • Press conference from the 1997 Cannes Film Festival featuring Haneke and actors Susanne Lothar and Ulrich Mühe
  • Trailer
  • New English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Bilge Ebiri

Retail prices are $39.95 for the Blu-ray, $29.95 for the DVD. BLUE VELVET, Lynch’s classic plunge into darkness pitting Kyle McLachlan’s naive young hero against Dennis Hopper’s memorably maniacal antagonist, has been given a new 4K digital restoration in 2.35:1 widescreen, with 5.1 Surround DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray, both supervised by Lynch. The bonus features are:

  • “BLUE VELVET” REVISITED, a feature-length meditation on the making of the film by Peter Braatz, filmed on set during the production
  • “The Lost Footage,” 51 minutes of deleted scenes and alternate takes assembled by Lynch
  • MYSTERIES OF LOVE, a 70-minute documentary from 2002 on the making of the film
  • Alternate original stereo soundtrack
  • Trailer

And more. Retail prices are $39.95 for the Blu-ray, $29.95 for the two-DVD edition. Both titles can be pre-ordered at discounts at the Criterion website.

Read More

Get The Grim Reader.
Rue Morgue's free newsletter.
Editor's notes.
Cultural insight.
Curated horror across film, books, music, and art.
First looks.
Select previews.
No algorithms.
Join Free

Advertisement

In Print Since 1997

Issue 232

Rue Morgue #232 Halloween 2026

Plus

Inside Rue Morgue #232 FEATURES How Weapons director Zach Cregger turned a lifelong obsession with Resident Evil into horror’s most anticipated reboot. Plus: A deep look at the Resident Evil video game franchise and its universe of novelizations, board and card games and more, and a look at Cregger’s long-awaited physical release of Barbarian, his…

Issue 231

Rue Morgue #231 Jul/Aug 2026

Plus

Inside Rue Morgue #231 – Summer Slasher Issue FEATURES Filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun’s TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA guts the slasher formula from the inside out, turning it into a romance about the horror of becoming who you were always meant to be. Plus! GILLIAN ANDERSON and HANNAH EINBINDER unpack Schoenbrun’s radical dismemberment of…

Issue 230

Rue Morgue #230 May/Jun 2026 – RARE

Plus

Inside Rue Morgue #230 FEATURES Filmmaker Curry Barker transforms a simple wish into a spiralling nightmare of love, possession, and bloodshed in his breakout feature OBSESSION. Plus: The story of Barker’s found-footage shocker MILK & SERIAL, which turned a micro-budget experiment into a viral horror breakout. Hollywood made it a monster. History tells a different…

Issue 229

Rue Morgue #229 Mar/Apr 2026

Plus

Inside Rue Morgue #229! FEATURES A nerve-shredding found-footage thriller built around sound, UNDERTONE signals the arrival of a terrifying new voice in Canada’s booming independent horror scene. Plus! Meet the new breed of independent Canadian horror filmmakers behind DREAM EATER, SWEETNESS, HANGASHORE, THE LAND OF NOD and THE CURSE OF GHOST ISLAND. Part post-punk, part…