Criterion and Sony

[cdnchris]

Wow, did anyone see Anatomy coming? One of my all-time favorites.

It was mentioned that there was another round of Sony titles coming, which possibly included Anatomy, and of course happened after I finally picked up the Sony DVD.

[swo17]

It was also confirmed here.

[cdnchris]

Ah, that's right.

And if they did get Vanya from the Classics division then I hope this bodes well for The Spanish Prisoner.

[Cronenfly]

Ah, that's right.

And if they did get Vanya from the Classics division then I hope this bodes well for The Spanish Prisoner.

Haynes' Safe would be a nice addition too.

[Jeff]

Crumb came from Sony Pictures Classics, so their library is certainly fair game.

[cdnchris]

Ah, didn't know that. I knew Sony distributed it on DVD in the US but didn't realize it was under Sony Pictures Classics (I had the Canadian Alliance DVD at one point, which made no mention of that.) That makes me more hopeful then.

[ianungstad]

A company called Mayfair Entertainment owns the streaming rights to Vanya, so I don't think they licensed the title from SPC.

[cdnchris]

A company called Mayfair Entertainment owns the streaming rights to Vanya, so I don't think they licensed the title from SPC.

The sell sheets state Sony and Sony Pictures Classics so hopefully this opens the vaults to other SPC titles.

[ianungstad]

I'm just hoping that we'll see a batch of Sony/Columbia titles this time around. (In the past they seemed to be on a case by case basis)

[BillWatkins]

I'm surprised Sony let them handle a high profile classic of theirs like Anatomy of a Murder. I hope this bodes well for On the Waterfront.

[zedz]

I'm surprised Sony let them handle a high profile classic of theirs like Anatomy of a Murder. I hope this bodes well for On the Waterfront.

Maybe it's just a case of Sony being smart enough to realise that a Criterion release is more likely to add value to their property in the long term. Considering how flummoxed most of the big studios seem to be about what to do with their classic film holdings, I'm surprised more of them haven't exploited that option. They'll still own the film (with which they most likely were never going to do anything so elaborate and high-profile), but in the meantime its cultural cachet can be enhanced, leading to further revenue downstream.

[jedgeco]

Maybe it's just a case of Sony being smart enough to realise that a Criterion release is more likely to add value to their property in the long term. Considering how flummoxed most of the big studios seem to be about what to do with their classic film holdings, I'm surprised more of them haven't exploited that option.

I've been surprised by this as well, and that new Criterion imitators haven't started to spring up to try to license studio classics for Blu that the studios don't seem to know how to handle. It seems that with the price premium that CC can command that there's money to be made. I bet that the BBS box set sold twice as many copies on Criterion than it would have sold if Sony released it directly and returned higher margins.

[cdnchris]

When I heard Anatomy was a possibility, as well as the fact Sony was licencing more to them after seeming to be a bit reluctant, I wondered if the BBS set exceeded expectations in the terms of sales as well and Sony sees a benefit with other catalogue titles being released by them. Obviously this would be more of a marketing thing to Sony, cashing in on a brand that's obviously built up a following (similar to what happened with Benjamin Button) but if it allows Criterion to get at (great) titles they never would have before and are able to do their thing with them then I'm all for it.

I guess Anatomy maybe isn't as popular and as well known as something like Lawrence of Arabia (and I'm pretty sure Sony would hold something like that to themselves) but I'm interested in what else Sony is letting them at. I think we could get some nice surprises.

[kinjitsu]

Lawrence of Arabia would certainly be more than a nice surprise.

[Brian C]

We know Lawrence of Arabia is coming from Sony anyway, though, because Robert Harris has been talking it up for awhile now. And AFAIK they've always done good work with their flagships.

[Matt]

I've been surprised...that new Criterion imitators haven't started to spring up to try to license studio classics for Blu that the studios don't seem to know how to handle.

Such as Twilight Time or Olive Films?

[Jeff]

I'm not sure that these Sony titles are part of a new agreement, or the results of success with the BBS set.

You may recall that when word came down three years ago that a Sony deal was in place, our inside man said that there was "more than one and there's diversity and it's all cause for celebration." That was after Bottle Rocket had already been released and when Sony was supposedly still working on the BBS set themselves. The only Sony title to come out shortly after that news broke was Repulsion, but we knew that that there would be a least a few more. Later, Crumb was released, then came the BBS set. I really think that the BBS set was a side deal not part of the initial group of titles. Sony had produced the set themselves and contracted for its release with Criterion to boost its profile.

That leaves us with the original quote from February of 2009..."more than one and there's diversity and it's all cause for celebration." I can't believe that quote referred only to Repulsion and Crumb, so my guess is that Anatomy and Vanya were part of that group too and something delayed their release.

Hopefully there are many more Sony titles to come. The first few pages of this thread are an interesting read, as they offer lots of speculation (including a couple of ridiculous lists made by yours truly) as to what those titles might be.


Sony Product Currently Under License to Criterion
Bottle Rocket
Repulsion
Crumb
The BBS Story
Anatomy of a Murder
Vanya On 42nd Street

[justeleblanc]

Weren't there rumors about CALIFORNIA SPLIT as well?

[captveg]

The first few pages of this thread are an interesting read, as they offer lots of speculation (including a couple of ridiculous lists made by yours truly) as to what those titles might be.

If anything, I really want Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould. The DVD been OOP forever and I never got around to picking it up.

[domino harvey]

Aren't most of the early Dogme films OOP now? Wonder if they'd pick up Mifune from Sony for a R1 equivalent of the OOP Nordic Dogme box?

[Arthur House]

Weren't there rumors about CALIFORNIA SPLIT as well?

Yeah. Here's the mooting of that release from earlier (page four, Feb. 2009) in this thread:

I asked Mike at Sony about a few titles. ... He also said that Altman's California Split has been put back into print.

However to my knowledge, that repress never actually happened, and--unless "Classics By Request" starts doing repressed reissues ala Warner Archive--I don't see it happening. ](*,)

That said, I've heard reports that Netflix and/or Hulu are streaming the original cut of the film, which has never appeared legitimately on any home video format. Which could bode well for something.

[Mr. Ned]

I watched California Split on Netflix in late June 2009; not sure if it was the original cut or not but it was taken down at the end of the month and I've not seen it on Instant Views since.

[ianungstad]

I would be happy if Sony would let Criterion have that Capra/Stanwyck set that never materialized. Meh, Sony had an impressive run for awhile there; I guess those box sets and martini movies didn't sell very well.

[MoonlitKnight]

Still hoping for Losey's "The Go-Between" the most.

[Perkins Cobb]

Yeah, restoring the music cuts to California Split would be an essential Criterion chore. Here's hoping.