How do I love thee, Criterion Collection? Let me count the ways. Today they're releasing the newly spangled and bedecked Heaven Can Wait (that's 1943, Warren Beatty fans). Features include:

—New video conversation between film critics Molly Haskell and Andrew Sarris
—Creativity with Bill Moyers: A Portrait of Samson Raphaelson (1982), a 30-minute program exploring the screenwriter's life and career
—Audio seminar with Raphaelson and film critic Richard Corliss recorded at the Museum of Modern Art in 1977
—Lubitsche home piano recordings
—Original theatrical trailer
—A new essay by film scholar William Paul

And, says Digitally Obsessed:

A surprising amount of supplemental material rounds out this release. In typical Criterion fashion, an insert containing information about the DVD's transfers and credits starts things off. Featuring an essay by William Paul, the insert is a welcomed addition as the essay gives a good introduction to the film for those who may not be familiar with Ernst Lubitsch's work. On the disc itself, there are a variety of features showcasing 20th Century Fox's publicity campaign for the movie. The theatrical trailer is presented with its original narration by Robert Benchley, who delivers some very clever taglines for the film.

I'm excited to see Sarris and Haskell, who were my undergraduate film teachers (along with the aforementioned superscholar and overall mensch Tim Clinton). It might also interest you that the special features on Warner's Night at the Opera DVD include one "How to Sleep," one of Benchley's fun instructional shorts. On the other hand, if you just you put a few of his essay titles in a list, you get a pretty good idea of how a typical bout of Benchley insomnia might have progressed: How to Get Things Done, Picking French Pastry; a Harder Game Than Chess, The Tortures of Week-End Visiting, A Word About Hay Fever, Imagination in the Bathroom, Malignant Mirrors, Uncle Edith's Ghost Story, The Mystery of the Poisoned Kipper, The Mysteries of Radio, Tiptoeing Down Memory Lane, Browsing Through the Passport, The Dying Thesaurus, How I Create, The Sunday Menace, Looking Shakespeare Over, The Questionnaire Craze, First—Catch Your Criminal, The Wreck of the Sunday Paper, The Correspondent-School Linguist, Naming Our Flowers, Isn't It Remarkable?, Do Dreams Go By Opposites?, Back to Mozart, Cocktail Hour, Weather Records, Word Torture, My Five- (Or Maybe Six-) Year Plan, My Subconscious, The Menace of Buttered Toast.

Categories: Movies, Benchley