French label MK2 has revealed that it is planning to release on Blu-ray director Michael Haneke's Benny's Video (1992), starring Arno Frisch, Angela Winkler (The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum) and Ulrich Mühe (The Lives of Others). The preliminary release date set by the label is October 3rd.
Winner of the FIPRESCI Award given by the International Federation of Film Critics in 1993, Benny's Video is the second installment of Michael Haneke's (The Piano Teacher, Cache) "emotional glaciation" trilogy.
Note: In the U.S., Benny's Video is currently available only on DVD, courtesy of Kino Video. In the UK, the film is again available only on DVD, courtesy of Artificial Eye (see our listing here).
Hmm. I didn't realize there even was an "Emotional Glaciation" trilogy from Michael Haneke. In any case, Benny's Video is one of favorite films from earlier in the career of one of my favorite directors. I'm glad we're finally starting to see some more of Haneke's earlier work and I'll definitely consider buying this if it's English friendly (though I have no idea if it actually will be) and a US or UK or version doesn't soon become available.
For the longest time I've been wishing that Kino would upgrade it's DVD box of Haneke's film (which includes Benny's Video and many others) to blu — but also upgrade the picture and sound quality and the supplements package. This is a director whose work deserves the best treatment feasible.
