Eclipse Discussion and Random Speculation

[MuzikJunky]

Why would they do that?

Well, 12 sets down the line, and the widest they've ever gone so far is 1.66:1. It just seems weird. Peace.

[jojo]

That's actually a very good point, and I could speculate a number of reasons, perhaps even as simple as a "Scope widescreen deserves singles rather than bundled up in cheap set!" attitude at Criterion.

[domino harvey]

It's not even remotely a good point. "There's no German films in the Eclipse line yet, this must mean all German-language films are going to be Criterions." It's just a coincidence that no Eclipse title has been in 'Scope yet, period.

[Tribe]

It's not even remotely a good point. "There's no German films in the Eclipse line yet, this must mean all German-language films are going to be Criterions." It's just a coincidence that no Eclipse title has been in 'Scope yet, period.

You're the one who's wrong. The "a "Scope widescreen deserves singles rather than bundled up in cheap set! attitude at Criterion" totally sold me. Now, in addition to the western cinema-talkie-auterist bias there's an aspect ratio bias too!

[Thomas J.]

Now, in addition to the western cinema-talkie-auterist bias

To deny this so flippantly is to prove the tangentially related point about Criterion's fan base and the attendant mass media attention with regard to both group's reception of Criterion's product.

In other words, thank you kind sir. =D>

[justeleblanc]

Has anyone asked Criterion about Alain Robbe-Grillet? I believe his first four films are all owned by Como Films (if they have not all reverted back to his estate).

I also have some pretty horrendous bootlegs of all four and wouldn't mind the upgrade.

[tavernier]

I just saw those 4 R-G films at BAM and the prints were in decent shape, with OK subtitles (although the ones on The Man Who Lies often were unreadable against a white background).

[dadaistnun]

Has anyone asked Criterion about Alain Robbe-Grillet? I believe his first four films are all owned by Como Films (if they have not all reverted back to his estate).

I also have some pretty horrendous bootlegs of all four and wouldn't mind the upgrade.

I did and never received a reply, but I seldom do. I don't email them often, but the last time I heard back regarding a title inquiry was a year ago (I asked about Poison), although Tamara came though for me last fall when my copy of Juliet of the Spirits was missing its booklet.

[Matt]

Discussion from this thread continues in the 'Forthcoming' Lists Discussion and Random Speculation thread.

[Ribs]

Eclipse line returning

[tenia]

Too many movies, don't want to produce extras : let's resume Eclipse boxsets !

[dwk]

Imogen Sara Smith is the new Eclipse editor (I believe that Michael Koresky was the one running the line before he left the company.)

[Finch]

Nice to see Eclipse back and on Blu-ray as per Smith's blog post. If this means we finally get all the Gosha films they've been sitting on, I'm all the more for it.

[domino harvey]

Great news, they are sitting on so much material that hopefully these match the initial monthly recurrence

[Omensetter]

This is the best (big) news coming from Criterion since the announcement of Janus Contemporaries, and it's likely not a matter of not wanting to produce extras. It's completely unexpected, and it seems to put to bed the well-entrenched notion that the Criterion Channel was the new Eclipse.

[Peacock]

Fabulous news! It’s not like CC was ever going to be able to release all these on the main line with all the other titles they are acquiring. A bit sad the Tanaka set is going to be extras free but oh well, at least we are getting them.

Looks like Second Run have taken too long to put out Extreme Private Eros so may have missed the boat here, unless they can pack it with extras…

Anyway, thank you Criterion for restarting the line and the heads up on what to expect this year. Amazing.

[criterionsnob]

This is very exciting and unexpected, but it does make sense as a place to put out a bunch of films in one go. These might be more exciting announcements than the main line.

In the coming months, you can look forward to Eclipse sets of the six extraordinary features directed by Kinuyo Tanaka, Japan’s first successful woman director; and five searingly radical documentaries from the husband-and-wife team of Kazuo Hara and Sachiko Kobayashi. And we’ll get you singing and dancing with Blu-ray upgrades of Carlos Saura’s electrifying Flamenco Trilogy and Ernst Lubitsch’s joyously risqué pre-Code musicals. Also in the pipeline are sets devoted to the early films of Ruben Östlund and the revolutionary cinema of Sara Gómez.

[Drucker]

Longest yeah boy ever.

This is superb, indeed. And finally a place to put all these films that have only been available on the channel.

[domino harvey]

Have to imagine the Li Li-Hua and Papatakis titles teased several years ago will also be some of these sets (though if Smith is anything like me, she might back burner the Papatakis!)

[Lowry_Sam]

Damn! I had been meaning to put my Flamenco trilogy on Ebay with the Radiance Saura announcement. I never get to time these things well.

[DimitriL]

I think there's also an important point here - Criterion thinks that the physical media market is robust enough that it can support these titles, ones that probably might have just made their home on the Criterion Channel the last few years. That's a real show of support for, if not a resurgence, then the continuing survival of physical media.

[criterionsnob]

They have a backlog of films from Muratova, Chytilová, Zetterling, Eustache, Rozier, Itami. Maybe even the Bimal Roy restorations. I'd love to see all of these in the new Eclipse line.

[beamish14]

Oshima’s Still Radical 1970’s

[criterionsnob]

Based on the Kiarostami cover, they're using the wacky C instead of the wacky 'e' like the Eclipse DVD sets.

[Walter Kurtz]

That's consistent with the rebranding of Janus Contems to Criterion Prems. Gen-Z knows the Crit brand much more than Janus. Antonioni, Fellini, Bergman, Godard etc are their grandpas ages or great-grandpas... and even the relatively recent Eclipse is too old for them.