'Forthcoming' Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.2

[Harmonov]

Spine Numbers 524 & 525? Where are they?

The individual movies in the Ozu set have those spine numbers...it doesn't appear that the box will have a spine number...which is uncharacteristic for Criterion.

That's what confused me. Not so hard these days. Thanks for pointing that out.

[aox]

I was really hoping we would see Ozu debut on Blu Ray

An Autumn Afternoon on Blu, please!

[Finch]

Ozu and P&P double-bills what a month! July will be tough on my wallet since I've also got the Noir 5 set and the BFI's Blu of Early Summer on my purchase list.

[Finch]

Hate to undercut Criterion's Ozu releases, as I'm glad Region 1 is getting these pre-war Ozu films - but The Only Son is already confirmed to be part of BFI's awesome Ozu lineup (paired with a Blu-Ray of Late Spring, who could pass that up?), and There Was a Father is surely forthcoming (likely attached to another excellent Blu). Aside from the extras, which look nice, I'm not sure I can justify buying these.

Other people's mileage may vary but I think CC's release is worthwhile for me for the excellent covers and more so for the supplementary material. The Only Son etc serve as a bonus on the BFI releases and I reckon will only get Eclipse-style notes at best. The only question I have is, didn't Ritchie record a commentary for The Only Son for CC some time ago?

[Svevan]

Funny that this set is being released on the same exact day as BFI's first round of Blus - Ozu day! We'll get some comparisons up a few days before from Beaver and maybe some users here; I'm hopeful that with 32 films in the pipeline from Ozu, BFI will provide more than just "Eclipse-style notes" for those "bonus" films. If not, that video on the Criterion had better be EXCELLENT.

[HistoryProf]

damn, i had actually typed Red Shoes/Black Narcissus double bill on BD in my guess but went w/ Rashomon instead

[Perkins Cobb]

We should really create a "Criterion futures market" and start putting money on these guesses.

[HistoryProf]

a grid pool would be fun. need someone to handicap the various possibilities!

[Minkin]

So, Zaitochi eclipse or 26 disc boxset?

[Perkins Cobb]

Great, so now I can finally see Zatoichi's Pilgrimage ... on my crummy laptop screen, with commercials. The march of technology....

[bigP]

I'm guessing they would only be able to show / release the Image / HVE titles as Animeigo hold the US rights to seven of the 26. I became a bit lax in collecting these and only have up to 13 with 14, at the time, being totally unavailable in the US & UK from either HVE or Animeigo or Artsmagic(?) (so it's great to see that here in the lineup), and 16 is an Animeigo licensed release which really broke up the HVE collection having the running catalogue 1-13, 15-19 which I was a little bummed about because I adore the HVE posters that came with each release. I'm kicking myself now that they are OOP and going at outrageous prices (although the posters are almost worth the cost for me) so if Criterion were to spring these I would be eternally grateful - although breaking the releases up into boxsets of 5 or 6 films (Eclipse or otherwise) would make me alot happier than a complete (or damn near complete) set - for very selfish reasons.

[fdm]

It would really suck for those of us who may be missing just the one title to have it only availalbe in a box set.

[HistoryProf]

Am I alone in thinking it's weird that they have 12 Zatoichi flicks + Knife in the Water on there? seems a rather odd combination.

And it's time Hulu became available on my roku player. As it is Netflix has so much more content now that hulu is quickly becoming a very distant 2nd option.

[zitherstrings]

Has there been any talk of a Brazil blu release?

[Brian C]

Haven't heard any myself, but Universal has thus far seemed reluctant to let Criterion release BDs of their more high-profile licenses. See Traffic, Do the Right Thing, Spartacus, Fear and Loathing, maybe one or two others that I'm not remembering off hand. I think Monsoon Wedding and Ride with the Devil are the only Univeral-licensed Blus from Criterion thus far.

Wouldn't count on it soon, at any rate.

[zitherstrings]

That sucks. I neglected to get the anamorphic upgrade for a long time and now just want to wait for the Blu-ray release. I can't watch the non-anamorphic one so the film just sits on my shelf.

[Napier]

So, Zaitochi eclipse or 26 disc boxset?

Well, they're being shown on Hulu with the wacky C logo, so I'd wager these are coming in the main line as a box set.

[eerik]

Regarding Universal's Blu-rays:

Do the Right Thing has wrong colour timing.
Traffic & Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas are old, low quality transfers.
Spartacus is supposed to be a new remaster but we'll have to wait another month to see if that's true. 50th AE or not, I'm sceptical. For the recent Apollo 13's 15th AE Universal jut took the old transfer and used more DNR.

Anyway, maybe I'm just ignorant, but I'm glad that Criterion is not wasting their time on those releases.

[Napier]

I adore the HVE posters that came with each release.

The first film had a poster, and I could be mistaken, but I believe the rest of HVE Ichi titles had trading cards.

[bigP]

It's the other way around; I bought the first eight films in two seperate boxsets - my cases were empty other than the discs, but according to dvdbeaver the first three should have contained 4 trading cards each (he hasn't reviewed the fourth installment) and liner notes (which were also missing). The second boxset, 5 - 8, should have contained liner notes for each title, and from what I understood, a 14x22 replica of the original (Japanese language, barr the HVE logo in the corner) poster for each disc, but my box was void of both of these (I assume this was simply a mistake, but I certainly should have received liner notes at the very least). Zatoichi 9 - 13 are all singular releases and came complete with liner notes and each contains a beautiful 14x22 replica poster of the original Japanese artwork. In a review on DVD verdict, Zatoichi 15, Zatoichi's Cane Sword, it's noted that this release also contains a 14x22 poster. I can't say with any certainty about whether the remaining 3 Zatoichi releases house a poster, but i'd assume that they would follow suit.

It's worth noting that the extra features listed on the back of the all the collections DVD artwork make no mention of trading cards, liner notes or the inclusion of a poster. In this regard, it was always a pleasant surprise to open up the case and find one sitting there.

[colinr0380]

If it is any help I have the first HVe release in the Zatoichi series (only this one - sadly other things took priority at the time) and definitely have trading cards and liner notes in that one!

[Jaymole]

Is there any news on Fincher's THE GAME? I am still deciding whether to buy the region 2 special edition as I am hoping for a Criterion realease.

Thanks!

[Danny Boy]

Hi there. Long time lurker, first time poster. I just found out some bad news about those von Sternbergs we've all been looking forward to. Donald Sosin appeared at a screening of Underworld and The Docks of New York at the Harvard Film Archive on Saturday. There he said he was working on a score for Underworld, but he also admitted that the von Sternbergs (the two I saw, as well as The Last Command) would be released on the Eclipse line instead of the main line. On the bright side, the prints I saw were absolutely gorgeous, and I can't wait to get them, even in Eclipse form.

[movielocke]

Hi there. Long time lurker, first time poster. I just found out some bad news about those von Sternbergs we've all been looking forward to. Donald Sosin appeared at a screening of Underworld and The Docks of New York at the Harvard Film Archive on Saturday. There he said he was working on a score for Underworld, but he also admitted that the von Sternbergs (the two I saw, as well as The Last Command) would be released on the Eclipse line instead of the main line. On the bright side, the prints I saw were absolutely gorgeous, and I can't wait to get them, even in Eclipse form.

It's not as though they were likely to be blu-ray anyway (best special feature is 1080p, which when you think about projection as well as in class settings blu is so much superior to dvd, it is worth it for older films). At least they will be released.

[triodelover]

It's not as though they were likely to be blu-ray anyway (best special feature is 1080p, which when you think about projection as well as in class settings blu is so much superior to dvd, it is worth it for older films). At least they will be released.

I should think MoC's Sunrise and City Girl, CC's and MoC's M and Kino's The General and Battleship Potemkin should definitively answer whether it's worth it to produce older films in Blu-ray.