'Forthcoming' Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.2

[eerik]

Didn't see it posted:

Usually, titles from The Criterion Collection are first officially announced and then come up for preorder. But this time, the opposite has happened and five major titles are apparently coming soon from the studio: Antichrist (Lars Von Trier, 2009); The Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson, 2007); The Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954); The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick, 1998); and Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1982).

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=4563" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[souvenir]

Didn't see it posted:

Usually, titles from The Criterion Collection are first officially announced and then come up for preorder. But this time, the opposite has happened and five major titles are apparently coming soon from the studio: Antichrist (Lars Von Trier, 2009); The Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson, 2007); The Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954); The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick, 1998); and Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1982).

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=4563" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Interesting that the Amazon page has misspelled the Anderson film as The Darjeeling Express.

[Flike]

Have the links been pulled? Very surprised about The Darjeeling Limited.

[Brian C]

I expected Darjeeling at some point, since Fox only issued a bare-bones DVD and no Blu-ray, leaving room for a Criterion release. I wouldn't expect Fantastic Mr. Fox, though, since they put out an SE and Blu.

[CSM126]

I wouldn't expect Fantastic Mr. Fox, though, since they put out an SE and Blu.

I wouldn't expect it because it's animated. That's a dirty word in Criterion Land.

[Antoine Doinel]

Didn't see it posted:

Usually, titles from The Criterion Collection are first officially announced and then come up for preorder. But this time, the opposite has happened and five major titles are apparently coming soon from the studio: Antichrist (Lars Von Trier, 2009); The Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson, 2007); The Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954); The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick, 1998); and Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1982).

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=4563" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Criterion confirms all these titles are coming this fall: http://theplaylistnation.blogspot.com/2 ... -line.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

All in BluRay too.

[knives]

Videodrome is a Universal, unless something's changed in the intervening years, so I guess that means all of our worrying has been for naught. Though I don't see how they'll make a Blu as good as the original packaging.

[Antoine Doinel]

Stanley Donen's "Charade" is coming on Blu as well. We just updated our story.

[foofighters7]

Videodrome is a Universal, unless something's changed in the intervening years, so I guess that means all of our worrying has been for naught. Though I don't see how they'll make a Blu as good as the original packaging.

Just like they used a video format that was defunct to make the original CC version, this time for the blu-ray package they will use a dvd case.

[mfunk9786]

If you've got Amazon Prime, make sure you preorder all of these now, even if your membership to Prime runs out, it'll carry over for these orders.

And re: Videodrome, I agree about the packaging, but making it a DVD case would make no sense, the whole plot of the film is centered around VHS. I trust Criterion to realize how cool the case for the original is and to just make a stubbier version of it. Fingers crossed.

[foofighters7]

I was just being ridiculous.

btw-- haven't seen it in awhile, wasn't it beta?

[aox]

The Antichrist cover is awful and obvious.

[jaredsap]

The Antichrist cover is awful and obvious.

It's not actual cover art.

[captveg]

now we just wait to see if it's eclipse or a full blown set a la The War Trilogy. any guesses? opinion on the fb post seems to be the latter, while I always figured it for eclipse because of their lack of enthusiasm for silents.

I've never seen Criterion's "lack of enthusiasm" for silents. What I've seen is a lack of access to silent films.

[Finch]

Since Hausu (I second the calls for a Blu) is more or less official for September, I wonder if Cronos will be lined up for October (Halloween)? I'm also hoping that another IFC title, the wonderful Still Walking, is still going to make the 2010 line-up, perhaps late autumn or as one of the two or three December releases.

[captveg]

Videodrome is a Universal, unless something's changed in the intervening years, so I guess that means all of our worrying has been for naught. Though I don't see how they'll make a Blu as good as the original packaging.

I always figured that Universal would release those titles that they figured would sell more prominently for themselves (Spartacus, Do the Right Thing, Traffic, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, etc.) and let Criterion release the more "obscure" art house fair (Videodrome, Brazil, etc.).

[Gregory]

now we just wait to see if it's eclipse or a full blown set a la The War Trilogy. any guesses? opinion on the fb post seems to be the latter, while I always figured it for eclipse because of their lack of enthusiasm for silents.

I've never seen Criterion's "lack of enthusiasm" for silents. What I've seen is a lack of access to silent films.

What would prevent Criterion from securing the rights to more silents the way a company like Milestone or Flicker Alley does? Where there's a will there's a way.

[Svevan]

I've never seen Criterion's "lack of enthusiasm" for silents. What I've seen is a lack of access to silent films.

Sorry, no. Of all the major studios and smaller orgs that Criterion licenses from, they have had access to many many many silent films. They've put 6 (repeat 6) silent films on the main line. That's hardly the maximum amount available to them, esp. when compared with Kino. There's a reason Kino grabs the vast majority of silent film rights in the U.S. - no one else wants them, including Criterion. The big studios aren't releasing their own silents for the same reason Criterion isn't licensing them - they don't sell. It's not like Kino has some sort of god-sent ability to snatch up all silent films under the noses of major companies like Crit. Of course, Kino's business model is much different than Criterion's. They're not churning out a boutique product that fits into a perceived mould of "great cinema," with packaging and extras to match. Kino is a tad more assembly line, and they get the product out there, and thank God for them (obviously there are some stellar exceptions, and their Blu-ray lineup is top notch). I think, in a way, Criterion is screwed by their own high standards - silent films often need to be interlaced and the materials are often in poor shape, and that doesn't jive with their high quality French New Wave releases, or any other post 40s film in the main line. Yet Kino releases silent films at very high standards as well, its just not appreciated because those standards are different. Flicker Alley is trying to fill the gap between the two business models by being classier than Kino and financing major restos; that they always seem to be hanging by a thread is an indication of why Criterion doesn't do the same.

This is without mentioning the public domain silents that need digital restoration, or the restorations done by other companies that Criterion passes over. Imagine if Crit had released a Mauritz Stiller box, instead of Kino? Would that have been impossible for them? I doubt it. Would it have been completely out of character? Yes.

[zedz]

They've put 6 (repeat 6) silent films on the main line.

Eight, but who's counting? Still nothing to brag about.

EDIT: Might as well list them, since a couple always seem to drop off (I assume it's the Robesons, since nobody's seen them):

Nanook of the North, The Passion of Joan of Arc, Haxan, A Story of Floating Weeds, King of Kings, Pandora's Box, Body and Soul, Borderline.

[knives]

Still nothing to brag about, but the Science is Fiction set had a few silents and I think the three Ozu eclipses should count.

[triodelover]

I've never seen Criterion's "lack of enthusiasm" for silents. What I've seen is a lack of access to silent films.

Sorry, no. Of all the major studios and smaller orgs that Criterion licenses from, they have had access to many many many silent films. They've put 6 (repeat 6) silent films on the main line.

Well, to be pedantic, it's eight - Nanook of the North, Häxan, King of Kings, La passion de Jeanne d'Arc , Pandora's Box, Body and Soul, Borderline, and A Story of Floating Weeds. You get to nine silent feature-length presentations by including Lubitsch's Das fidele Gefängnis which is included as an extra in the Trouble in Paradise box. Of course there are a few silent shorts - the Clairs - and Chaplin's The Immigrant, included in 3 Films by Louis Malle. And there's the Ozu set on Eclipse. But their track record isn't stellar and you are correct to point out it's not because of access.

By comparison, MoC list 99 DVDs as released or announced. Twenty-three of those are silents (with several more barely into the talkie era). In their fledgling Blu-ray line, 2 of 8 are silents. It's a different focus.

Flicker Alley is trying to fill the gap between the two business models by being classier than Kino and financing major restos; that they always seem to be hanging by a thread is an indication of why Criterion doesn't do the same.

But Criterion could more easily absorb a few low-selling silent releases without finding themselves hanging by a thread. Criterion's last silent was #358. Nearly 170 spine numbers have been added since then. It's not unreasonable - especially with the backlog of silents crying for restoration and release - to have expected one or two more in the main line by now - even with the pending von Sternbergs.

[swo17]

There are three silents included on Science Is Fiction (spine 468) and another one in the Shimizu Eclipse set. I think that takes us up to 19 in total, before counting the impending Sternbergs. Go Criterion!

[knives]

I forgot Bucking Broadway, so twenty out of about 550.

[ShellOilJunior]

Charade will be mine.

Hepburn finally on blu-ray

[mteller]

There's a shitload of Brakhage silents too, if you wanna get technical...