Criterion Random Speculation Vol.3

[blowout]

They clear the home page. Maybe news from the eclipse line.

[Cinephrenic]

New print on Ivan's Childhood has been playing in retropectives this last year, hopefully they have it on schedule and cleared up any technical crap over the film. Also, where the hell is Nostalghia? Maybe they are waiting for a box set of his films from Kino. Either they totally gave up on the Soviets or their Criterion producers were radioactively poisoned while conducting interviews. Who knows...

[blindside8zao]

I'm glad to hear about Ivan's Childhood and would rejoice if it ever got finished, but it is probably my least favorite Tarkovsky.

[LightBulbFilm]

How about Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 (1976)?

[Michael Kerpan]

How about Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 (1976)?

If you don't want to wait on Criterion -- the Swiss/French DVD set (paired with "Millieu du monde) is subtitled -- and decent.

[ByMarkClark.com]

What's the status on the rest of the former Fox-Lorber Truffauts? At one pont, these were listed under the "Distinct Possibilities" section on the Forthcoming thread, but they seem to have vanished.

I'm still dreaming of a TWO ENGLISH GIRLS SE and perhaps a "Late Truffaut" boxed set of THE LAST METRO, THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR and CONFIDENTIALLY YOURS. That would leave only THE SOFT SKIN out there.

[justeleblanc]

What's the status on the rest of the former Fox-Lorber Truffauts? At one pont, these were listed under the "Distinct Possibilities" section on the Forthcoming thread, but they seem to have vanished.

I'm still dreaming of a TWO ENGLISH GIRLS SE and perhaps a "Late Truffaut" boxed set of THE LAST METRO, THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR and CONFIDENTIALLY YOURS. That would leave only THE SOFT SKIN out there.

These could make a decent Eclipse box for sure. I can't see them getting a full Criterion treatment, only because (and I don't want to piss too many people off when I say this) most Truffaut films are pretty unremarkable. His first three are good, but (and I haven't seen THE LAST METRO) the rest are kind of just "there." But I can see them on Eclipse.

Also didn't Fox Lorber also release THE MAN WHO LOVED WOMEN?

[Matt]

Unless Criterion signed an agreement with Wellspring (formerly Winstar formerly Fox Lorber) before the Weinstein's bought it and turned it into the ironically named Genius Entertainment, I wouldn't expect anything soon. Criterion are probably waiting for Genius/Wellspring's rights to the films to lapse (if that's even going to happen) so they can pick them up from MK2.

[Narshty]

All the recent Truffauts (Jules, Piano Player) have been licensed directly from MK2 (indeed, the single-disc re-release of The 400 Blows has no mention of Wellspring anywhere, unlike the boxset). I think Wellspring's (five year?) license to the Truffaut catalogue has now lapsed, so Mark's queries are a definite possibility.

[ByMarkClark.com]

These could make a decent Eclipse box for sure.

My thought exactly, although you could make an argument for THE LAST METRO as a potential Criterion, since it was Truffaut's greatest box office success.

Also didn't Fox Lorber also release THE MAN WHO LOVED WOMEN?

No, that was MGM/UA. MGM (I think) also released THE GREEN ROOM on VHS but not on DVD. So I assume that one's also out of reach.

[Cinephrenic]

With the exception of The Soft Skin, I think an Eclipse set of "Late Truffaut" is a wonderful idea. Two English Women, The Last Metro, Confidentially Yours, The Woman Next Door.

[backstreetsbackalright]

Crappy as the Fox Lorber discs are, I can't see much appeal to Criterion issuing already available 70s-80s Truffaut in a no-frills package. Films like Two English Girls and Story of Adele H could really use a commentary track, some director comments, and/or some comments and context from a critic or two. An Eclipse set would simply improve image quality, chapter breaks, and maybe subtitling. While that's certainly something, it doesn't have much to do with excavating "lost, forgotten, or overshadowed films."

[Cinephrenic]

I see your point, but I do think Criterion would want to cash in some money by releasing these with their label. They know most of us will buy them regardless of superior quality.

[justeleblanc]

I see your point, but I do think Criterion would want to cash in some money by releasing these with their label. They know most of us will buy them regardless of superior quality.

not necessarily, they did still release 400 blows AFTER the box, knowing many people wouldnt buy the box.

[ByMarkClark.com]

While that's certainly something, it doesn't have much to do with excavating "lost, forgotten, or overshadowed films."

That's why I posted this speculation on the Criterion thread instead of the Eclipse one. TWO ENGLISH GIRLS, imho, is a definite Criterion candidate, and a "Late Truffaut" three-firlm set could easily be Criterion-ized, especially since there should be a wealth of supplemental material for those films (especially THE LAST METRO).

Also, ADELE H is currently an MGM/UA title, so I assume that one's also out of the question. Which is too bad, because it's one of Truffaut's more underrated pictures.

[Ted Todorov]

It would not make sense to release any of the MK2 Truffauts in Eclipse. The MK2 transfers are good, and they all have commentary tracks and other extras. What would be the benefit of a bare bones release other than a different region code?

Anyway, IMO all the remaining MK2s are Criterion worthy. The MGM transfers as watchable, the tragedy there is the The Green Room which is a great film without a DVD anywhere. Which leaves Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me, which has a P&S no subtitles Spanish DVD, and could sure use an improvement. Who has the US rights?

The remaining Fox-Lorber Rohmer films are a better candidate for an Eclipse box presuming that Criterion grabbed the rights.

[fdm]

Which leaves Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me, which has a P&S no subtitles Spanish DVD, and could sure use an improvement.

Another option if you're looking for English subtitles (don't know about the improvement part): DVDBeaver

[Antoine Doinel]

Given we're going to see the Scorsese shorts soon from Criterion I wonder if they also are going to release My Voyage To Italy as well. I've been dying to see it and it would be nice in a set with Made In Milan and Street Scenes.

So maybe a Scorsese Shorts set and a Scorsese Documentary set? One can dream.....

[tavernier]

"My Voyage to Italy" is out from Miramax on DVD...

[justeleblanc]

I would imagine a Scorsese's shorts would appear on DVDs as added features, if say they were to release another Scorsese film, or if they were to release some Rossellini.

[arsonfilms]

June titles will be announced in about a week and a half, but we're obviously already getting some advance notice on both June and July:

June
If...

July
Ace in the Hole
Ivan's Childhood

Anything else I'm missing? Do you think we should expect Sans Soliel and La Jetee in June? Obviously this is a pretty short list, so are there any other theories?[/b]

[Antoine Doinel]

"My Voyage to Italy" is out from Miramax on DVD...

Cool, thanks. I checked both IMDB and Amazon.ca (as I'm in Canada) and it didn't show up. I guess I'll have to order it from Amazon.com.

[LightBulbFilm]

I would imagine a Scorsese's shorts would appear on DVDs as added features, if say they were to release another Scorsese film, or if they were to release some Rossellini.

Nah, there are enough to put on a DVD themselves... They did it for W.C. Fields and Brakhage.

[Cinephrenic]

The guy's name itself is enough to sell. Bring them out Criterion!

[kinjitsu]

American Boy: A Profile of: Steven Prince (55 min)
The Big Shave (6m)
Italianamerican (49 min)
It's Not Just You, Murray! (15m)
Street Scenes (75 min)
What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? (9m)