by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: Discs: 13, The Film: 4.5/5, The Extras: 4.5/5, Overall: 9/10
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Cast:
Various
Intro:
... a heaping helping of masterpieces from one of the most unique, brilliant and – it bears repeating – unflinching modern filmmakers.
The Film(s):
“Unflinching” is the best word to describe the work of filmmaker Michael Haneke. In topic, tone and technique, he is consistently unflinching, a clear-eyed social commentator who is unafraid, even enthusiastic, about mining the dark depths of the human soul for fresh ways to fill audiences with existential dread, tension and sorrow. It’s fair to say, then, that ol’ mate Mikey isn’t always a hit with general audiences. But for those attuned to his minimalist, severe yet profoundly human vision, he remains one of the very best.
Haneke appreciators will most certainly want to check out the brand spanking new boxset, the Michael Haneke Collection, which features fifteen (!) of his films, representing a near-complete collection of work from 1976 to 2017.
Contained in this beefy collection is: Three Paths to the Lake (1976), Lemmings Part 1 & Part 2 (1979), Seventh Continent (1989), Benny’s Video (1992), The Rebellion (1993), 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance (1994), The Castle (1997), Funny Games (1997), Code Unknown (2000), The Piano Teacher (2001), Time of the Wolf (2003), Hidden (2005), The White Ribbon (2009), Amour (2012) and Happy End (2017).
Obviously, choosing the best of these is a subjective exercise, but in terms of the more memorable ones, we’ve got… Benny’s Video, a slowburn story of a 14-year-old boy obsessed with violent movies who decides to make one of his own, sans the benefit of special effects and stunties. What his parents do next is the true horror. Then there’s Funny Games (your humble scribe’s personal favourite), the story of a vicious home invasion that becomes stranger as it goes along, eventually breaking the fourth wall and the rules of reality itself. And of course, you can’t forget The Piano Teacher, where an icy, vicious Isabelle Huppert begins a relationship with a student that is so toxic it could mutate local flora and fauna. But beyond these, you’ve also got the heartbreaking Amour, the tense and paranoid masterpiece Hidden, and the master’s most recent film, the divisive Happy End.
The Extras:
Every single film here has a bunch of extras attached, so to list everything would take a month. However, this set contains nine (!) audio commentaries, and twelve brand spanking new video essays from the likes of David Michael Brown, Nadine Whitney and Alexandra Heller Nicholas. There’s also a huge bundle of archival features, including interviews with Haneke himself, plus cast and crew interviews, deleted scenes, featurettes and four full documentaries.
There’s also a solid raft of physical extras including a 100+ page booklet with articles from the always incisive Jack Sargeant, an interview by Nick Antosca and much more. The whole thing comes in a very fancy (albeit appropriately subdued) looking box that is subtly menacing and icily beautiful. Which is apt.
Verdict:
Put simply, if you’re obsessed with Michael Haneke, this is the ultimate collection available and a convenient way to experience all the dismay, discomfort and lingering horror at the state of humanity that the revered director is so deft at bestowing. Perfect for slumber parties where no one actually sleeps but just stares up at the ceiling wondering what it’s all about and moaning softly.
In short, the Michael Haneke Collection is a heaping helping of masterpieces from one of the most unique, brilliant and – it bears repeating – unflinching modern filmmakers. It’s not necessarily a good time, but it’s one you’ll find bloody hard to forget.
