Criterion Random Speculation Vol.2

[Cinephrenic]

With this month's announced releases (including Malle), Criterion has brought 13 new names into the collection. That is quite a number. Hopefully, we get some Rohmer, Rivette, Chabrol, Ophuls, Mizoguchi, Oshima, Clement, Marker, Santis, Bellocchio, Teshigahara, Naruse, Ford, and more soon.

[Narshty]

13 new names? You mean throughout 2005?

[Cinephrenic]

2005, ofcourse.

[Mathieu]

I wonder if Criterion has any plans to release Ingmar Bergman's The Devil's Eye. Chronology-wise, it fits rather nicely alongside The Magician and Sawdust and Tinsel, and the VHS was released through Home Vision.

[flambeur]

I wonder if Criterion has any plans to release Ingmar Bergman's The Devil's Eye. Chronology-wise, it fits rather nicely alongside The Magician and Sawdust and Tinsel, and the VHS was released through Home Vision.

I'm watching Devil's Eye VHS tonight by coincidence...great, great, great.
Even my wife's into it..

Any Bergman is welcome.

[godardslave]

I wonder if Criterion has any plans to release Ingmar Bergman's The Devil's Eye. Chronology-wise, it fits rather nicely alongside The Magician and Sawdust and Tinsel, and the VHS was released through Home Vision.

yes, that would make a nice 2nd bergman 3 dvd set on criterion.

[clutch44]

The collection has films from many worthy directors, yet not one
film from Mikio Naruse. When can we expect this major oversight to be
corrected.
thanks

Dear Frank,

We hope to release some Naruse in the future, but nothing is certain at this
time.

Best,
JM

[Steven H]

That's fantastic news about the Naruse. I think there was a similar response about Rivette a couple/few years ago, and it gave me much exitement only to be (as of today) let down. Though Naruse remains mostly unknown in the west, there are a handful of titles you would consider "canonical" and therefore ripe for Criterion to exploit on video. When a Woman Ascends The Stairs (one of the best "looking" Naruse films, made semi-popular by the World Artists video), Floating Clouds (advertised all over the Toho site for the new DVDs, which leads me to believe they consider it well known), or Sound of the Mountain (which Ritchie made much of in writings, he seems to hold sway over Criterion's Japanese section.)

As I noted in the Naruse thread, I'm particularly fond of his cinemascope films in the 50s and 60s. The more of these the better (though I'll really be very happy with anything.)

[Cinephrenic]

Rights to When a Woman Ascends the Stairs and Repast is owned by Janus films so we might see them as a Criterion.

[Mathieu]

I'm watching Devil's Eye VHS tonight by coincidence...great, great, great.

If you enjoyed The Devil's Eye, you might also want to check out Dreyer's Leaves from Satan's Book.

[ftsoh]

Since Truffaut's daughter is pleased with "Jules and Jim", do you think Criterion would have a chance to get "Day for Night" from the Truffaut's estate?

[backstreetsbackalright]

Since Truffaut's daughter is pleased with "Jules and Jim", do you think Criterion would have a chance to get "Day for Night" from the Truffaut's estate?

The current DVD came out not all that long ago.... I'd understood that the most likely next CC Truffaut was Shoot the Piano Player, which I considered good news indeed.

[backstreetsbackalright]

In the last month or so we've seen strong indications that a vertiable swarm of previously New York Films-owned titles have been acquired by Criterion. Obviously NY is still releasing DVDs from their large catalog of films, but perhaps we'll see more Criterion grabbing. What all is in the unreleased NY collection these days? Jeanne Dielman?

[ftsoh]

Since Truffaut's daughter is pleased with "Jules and Jim", do you think Criterion would have a chance to get "Day for Night" from the Truffaut's estate?

The current DVD came out not all that long ago.... I'd understood that the most likely next CC Truffaut was Shoot the Piano Player, which I considered good news indeed.

Yeah, but it'd been OOP for over a year.
Anyway, any Truffaut is good news for me.

[backstreetsbackalright]

Since Truffaut's daughter is pleased with "Jules and Jim", do you think Criterion would have a chance to get "Day for Night" from the Truffaut's estate?

The current DVD came out not all that long ago.... I'd understood that the most likely next CC Truffaut was Shoot the Piano Player, which I considered good news indeed.

Yeah, but it'd been OOP for over a year.
Anyway, any Truffaut is good news for me.

Good call. I hadn't noticed that.

[Arcadean]

IMDb has the New Yorker listings (I don't know how accurate this in anymore): http://imdb.com/company/co0036600/

[Cinephrenic]

Wasn't Les Films du Carrosse (rights owner) the ones who sued Warner over pressing large quantities of Day for Night before the rights expired?

[backstreetsbackalright]

Thanks for that link. For some reason I've never been able to find that on IMDB. Probably I just didn't try hard enough....

As has already been said, this info isn't necessarily current. And there's no reason to draw any Criterion-y conclusions, but here are a handful of titles allegedly owned by New Yorker that would nicely fit the ol' CC.

South (Erice, 1983), Edvard Munch (Watkins, 1974), Celine and Julie... (Rivette, 1974), The Mother and the Whore (Eustache, 1973), Ice (Kramer, 1970), A Gentle Woman (Bresson, 1969), Je t'aime, je t'aime (Resnais, 1968), Adieu Philippine (Rozzier, 1962).

Also some Rocha, Marker, Akerman, etc.

This is all apropos of nothing really, but I was curious, and felt the need to share that curiousity with you poor people.

[Cinephrenic]

You forgot El Sur (Erice).

Truffaut heirs sue Warner over DVD release

PARIS, July 9 (AFP) - Heirs of the late French director Francois Truffaut, who died of a brain tumour 20 years ago, have launched legal proceedings against Time Warner and its French subsidiary over the DVD rights to his Oscar-winning 1973 film "La Nuit Americaine", aka "Day for Night".

Lawyers for Laura, Eva and Josephine Truffaut said they were applying for a summary judgement against Time Warner Inc and Warner Bros France for the "illegal production and sale of the DVD" of the movie, which won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film.

The heirs are asking that an expert be named to assess alleged damage and force Warner to pay out a minimum EUR 1 million (USD 1.2 million) provision and EUR 500 per day pending a halt in the production and sale of the DVD, the family lawyer Francois Zimeray told AFP.

"This case is typical of the difficult relations between artists and the giants of world distribution," Zimeray said. Truffaut himself "never made a cent" on the contracts with Warner, who said the account was in the red.

Rights to the film, released in theatres May 24, 1973, were ceded to Warner by the French company Films du Carosse for 30 years, thus expiring May 24, 2003.

But the French plaintiffs claim Time Warner and its subsidiaries produced a DVD of the "New Wave" director's movie "only shortly before" the expiry of the rights. The DVD was released in France on November 20, 2002, and in the United States on March 18, 2003.

The film firms thus "became counterfeiters because they continued to produce and sell (it) posterior to May 24," according to the text of the legal assignation.

A bailiff has reported that the DVD was on sale in Paris stores June 30.

"There is a tolerance allowing editors of books and records to sell stocks after rights expire," Zimeray said. "But when tens of thousands of DVDs are produced shortly before the deadline, that is called abusing the law."

He said Warner had ceded the rights worldwide to television stations, and that in France one channel had screened the film last June 3 after acquiring rights for a nine-month period as from last March 1.

The proceedings have been filed before the Nanterre law court in the western Paris suburbs.

[backstreetsbackalright]

You forgot El Sur (Erice).

It's the first one I mentioned, but I translated the title. Anyone seen it? I wish I could say I have....

[zedz]

You forgot El Sur (Erice).

It's the first one I mentioned, but I translated the title. Anyone seen it? I wish I could say I have....

It's superb. Not as brilliant as his feature for the previous decade or his feature for the subsequent one, but pretty wonderful.

[Andre Jurieu]

... but here are a handful of titles allegedly owned by New Yorker that would nicely fit the ol' CC.

Edvard Munch (Watkins, 1974)

Well, if Criterion doesn't grab hold of the US rights, Project X and Morningstar will probably put this one out in Canada as they did with Punishment Park. Of course, this could result in a MoC release, but I'll let Nick & Co. handle that speculation.

[ByMarkClark.com]

Not that a Criterion DAY FOR NIGHT wouldn't be welcome, but I'm keener to get harder to find titles like THE GREEN ROOM and SUCH A GORGEOUS KID LIKE ME. Not to mention PIANO PLAYER.

[quequeg]

Kurosawa's "THE BAD SLEEP WELL" was shown last night on IFC. It was preceded by a Janus Films logo, so we may expect a Criterion release in the near future.

[zedz]

Kurosawa's "THE BAD SLEEP WELL" was shown last night on IFC. It was preceded by a Janus Films logo, so we may expect a Criterion release in the near future.

This was indicated as far back as the Throne of Blood booklet, in which Linda Hoaglund listed this as one of the films for which Criterion had commissioned her to write subtitles. From that list, only Stray Dog and Ikiru have since appeared. Still awaiting this film, Drunken Angel, I Live in Fear and the rerelease of Seven Samaurai.