Whit Stillman Trilogy/Dvd, Criterion Collection, DVD

Triple DVD set. Director-Approved Special Edition Collector's Set. Over the course of the 1990s, writer-director Whit Stillman made a trilogy of films about the acid tongues and broken hearts of some haplessly erudite young Americans in New York and abroad. Set in the eighties, these films trace the arc of that decade, led by Stillman's Oscar-nominated debut, Metropolitan, which introduced moviegoers to a strange, endangered species of privileged New Yorker, the "urban haute bourgeoisie." Chronologically, the tale continues with The Last Days of Disco, in which, with an earnest wink, Stillman mourns the close of New York's nightclub era via the story of two young party-going women juggling day jobs in book publishing. Finally, Barcelona plunks down a pair of love-starved upper-class men in a foreign city rife with anti-American sentiment. At once effervescent and melancholy, these are comedies about the ends of cultural moments, social change as seen through the eyes of reluctant, unflaggingly sardonic romantics. Special features: Restored high-definition digital transfer of Metropolitan, supervised by director Whit Stillman and cinematographer John Thomas; restored high-definition digital transfer of The Last Days of Disco, supervised by Stillman; new, restored 2K digital transfer of Barcelona, supervised by Stillman and Thomas. Audio commentaries on all three films, featuring Stillman and cast and crew members; Outtakes, alternate scenes, and deleted scenes, with commentary; New video essay about the trilogy by film critic Farran Smith Nehme; Featurettes about the making of The Last Days of Disco and Barcelona; Appearances by Stillman on The Dick Cavett Show in 1991 and on the Today show and Charlie Rose in 1994; Audio recording of Stillman reading a chapter from his book The Last Days of Disco, with Cocktails at Petrossian Afterwards; Stills gallery for The Last Days of Disco, with captions by Stillman; Trailers for all three films PLUS: Essays by author Luc Sante, novelist David Schickler, and film scholar Haden Guest.