Criterion and MGM

[Finch]

Kiss Me Deadly on Blu would be a dream come true. Now for an official announcement of The Killing in 2011 please!

[Cinephrenic]

Both have been somewhat confirmed.

[ShellOilJunior]

Is there a particle of truth to the rumor Criterion is trying to acquire rights to Some Like it Hot?

[Jeff]

No

[atcolomb]

I hope maybe Frankenheimer's "The Train"....saw it on MGM HD cable channel and it looked just great...better than the non-anamorphic dvd release!....

[ianungstad]

The Train is an excellent choice for the Criterion treatment. Back when they were teasing titles on Facebook, they said they didn't have any Frankenheimer (MGM or otherwise). I've seen a lot of requests for both The Train and Seconds on various websites. They seem to be pretty popular requests, hopefully Criteron listens.

[beamish13]

Is there a chance of Tony Richardson's super-rare LAUGHTER IN THE DARK being given the Criterion treatment?

[Person]

The Train is an excellent choice for the Criterion treatment. Back when they were teasing titles on Facebook, they said they didn't have any Frankenheimer (MGM or otherwise). I've seen a lot of requests for both The Train and Seconds on various websites. They seem to be pretty popular requests, hopefully Criteron listens.

Indeed, let's hope that John Frankenheimer films mean more to Criterion than a string of pearls does to an ape.

[Jameson281]

THE TRAIN is not among the 20 or so titles Criterion licensed from MGM; sorry. With MGM in turmoil, I doubt any additional titles will be licensed in the immediate future--they'll probably hold off, waiting to see how the new management wants to handle things. (This is purely speculation on my part.)

[flyonthewall2983]

I think it's Fox handling a lot of the MGM titles

[HarryLong]

And then it's Fox who's put most (if not all) of them OOP...

[Jameson281]

I think it's Fox handling a lot of the MGM titles

I don't think that Fox, as distributor, can unilaterally decide to license titles to Criterion; the approval of MGM is still needed as the ultimate owners of the films.

The Fox distribution deal is up for renewal next year; it will be interesting to see what the new management from Spyglass intends to do.

[MoonlitKnight]

The Fixer is a Warner Bros. asset. I saw the film about two years ago on DVD-R. Great film. Powerful. Shamefully overdue on DVD.

OK, then, how about Friedkin's/Pinter's "The Birthday Party"?

[ianungstad]

Not technically MGM either. Walt Disney Company.

[Feego]

I would love to see Delbert Mann's The Bachelor Party released. It's basically the film Revolutionary Road wanted to be.

[blackcauldron]

Is there any word on when, and if, MGM will still release to Criterion their masterpiece "Koyaanisqatsi"? I read that its director told an audience that Criterion would release it, but that was several years ago.

[HistoryProf]

Apparently Terry Zwigoff has been telling people at his recent signings for Louie Blouie/ Crumb that Criterion will be handling the special edition of his film Ghost World:

Ghost World. According to our reader, who spoke with Zwigoff, Criterion has been approached about Ghost World, and it would appear that the ball is rolling on it’s release. It could be anywhere from 6 months, to a year before things get started, but it’s highly likely that this will happen.

I suppose the 6 months to a year before things get started means that they are currently negotiating more titles from MGM? Hopefully that means they grab some Altman/Wilder/Jodorowsky titles that they apparently didn't get the first time. Also, I actually wouldn't mind seeing Bad Santa, if they end up being able to get some Miramax stuff.

wow..I just rewatched this a couple of weeks ago and wondered whether this is a possibility. The MGM disc is okay, and I like that it has the full clip of Jaan Pehechaan Ho, but otherwise it's an underwhelming package of a superb film. This is great news.

[swo17]

Criterion Cast predicts 11 MGM films that will likely enter the collection.

Ryan is an awfully good reporter, but we can't confirm or deny any of these titles right now.

[aox]

Seems like confirmation since they could have said, "Ryan is a shitty reporter talking out of his ass, and we aren't even going to dignify his assertions with a confirmation or denial."

[Howard Roark]

I wasn't expecting Thief. I had my fingers crossed that Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia would be one of the titles, damn!

[Tom Hagen]

Really, a Holocaust movie gets the thumbs up over the '70s Truffauts?

[swo17]

Really, a Holocaust movie gets the thumbs up over the '70s Truffauts?

Europa Europa is a pretty good film though. And Holland also has some cred from directing a few episodes of The Wire.

Also, this is supposedly just what Criterion Cast knows about. Someone commenting on Facebook mentioned that there were probably still 6-10 MGM titles we don't know about.

[Tom Hagen]

In all seriousness, there's not much room to complain here. So far Criterion has been hitting the goldmine of 1950s American cinema with this MGM deal, and this list is pretty outstanding if it pans out.

[Tribe]

I love the comment from the Criterion Cast link: "They pick the most bizarre Kubrick films to include."

[matrixschmatrix]

The Qatsi movies and Burn! have been rumored for a while now haven't they? I'm glad to hear it, the other release of Burn! was pretty weak.