MoC Forthcoming, Wishlist, and Random Speculation

[1kult]

Aaaaargl : via the official MoC facebook :

Some release date news, our release of IF.... has been delayed until 9 June 2014, NASHVILLE moves to the 16 June 2014, and THE ROCKET moves to the 30 June 2014. We sincerely apologise for these changes but to make sure the releases are packed with as much great content as possible we've had to delay them slightly. To give you an idea of what you can expect, here are the confirmed extras for our release of IF...., as you can see it's packed to bursting point:
• Commentary with film critic and historian David Robinson, and actor Malcolm McDowell
• Three of Lindsay Anderson’s short films: Three Installations, Henry, and Thursday’s Children
• Over two hours of new and exclusive interviews with Producer Michael Medwin, Writers David Sherwin and John Howlett, Editor David Gladwell, Production Manager Gavrik Losey, Cameraman Brian Harris, and Actors David Wood, Hugh Thomas, Geoffrey Chater, Philip Bagenal, and Sean Bury
• Two trailers for the film
• A 56-page containing new writing by David Cairns; a new interview with actor Brian Pettifer; a self-conducted interview with Lindsay Anderson; notes on the three short films; and rare and archival imagery.
Our releases of TOO LATE BLUES and HAROLD AND MAUDE are also expected to be put back until July, revised release dates for these two titles to be confirmed shortly.
In response to all these changes we have decided NOT to make a quarterly announcement for the months of July, August and September 2014. Rest assured there are some exciting releases planned for the period; we’ll just be announcing them individually rather than in one big announcement. We hope to make our next quarterly announcement late summer, when will be announcing our Christmas line up.

[swo17]

Several recent releases were starting to feel light in the extras department. I'll gladly accept some delays if it means they're being more vigilant in this regard.

[Minkin]

Several recent releases were starting to feel light in the extras department. I'll gladly accept some delays if it means they're being more vigilant in this regard.

No kidding. Most of their 2014 releases still feel like watered-down/diet Criterion releases (what with all the overlap). But at least now the Region-B folks have something that is at least worth considering against the Criterion release (whereas before, I don't think anybody was excited for some of these that only had a booklet vs lavish editions elsewhere - I assume that MoC has now realized this).

I really hope the remainder of 2014 actually gives us something interesting and different. The last must-get MoC for me was Nosferatu - and there hasn't been anything since that I will be purchasing. I'm sure some of the unannounced for R1 titles that MoC have announced for 2014 are exciting if you are impatient, but as is the case with Red River - I think you are all better off waiting. I know there will eventually be overlap with everything and even Criterion does this too much and even puts out pathetic releases (Like Someone in Love) - but sheesh, MoC needs to step up their 2014 releases (and these delays are a step in the right direction - with adding special features).

Is there some reason Universal UK won't allow access to the RKO titles? Imagine MoC blus of the Val Lewton titles or well, anything from RKO - and you'd have amazing must-get titles (especially since Warner would rather dump their RKO titles in the archive (Gaslight) than ever bother with blus).

[Tommaso]

Well, I have no problem if they make all the relevant information available for easy reference in a hefty booklet instead of video interviews, but otherwise I agree. It may be coincidence, but ever since Nick's departure, MoC have become terribly 'mainstream' (for lack of a better word, and I know it's somewhat unfair), duplicating CC releases or at least not catering to the 'less safe route' cinephiles as much as they used to in their early days. Okay, we all know that Naruse Vol.1 was probably a financial desaster, and so we have to face reality here. But I still wonder why there's no effort to bring us "The Spiders" - or those other early Langs that Kino released - in a decent edition with original intertitles, for instance. I'd really assume that the name of Lang alone would be enough to make them sellable. All in all, I can only say that the last MoC releases I was really interested in were the Yamanaka set and the Rivette; not really 'commercial' perhaps, but exactly the kind of stuff that one would expect from this label and for what it was set up originally, I think.

Whatever, in the meantime I hope for an announcement of the restored "Caligari" which will hopefully outdo the forthcoming German dvd/blu-release (due in June already!) in any conceivable respect; and if they want to demonstrate some real style, they will NOT put that totally embarassing 'documentary' on it that was shown as an accompaniment to the German TV premiere of the resto and which will certainly be on the German release. But somehow I'm sure they'll put that one out...

[Drucker]

I'm glad this point has been raised, as I've wanted to several times but never really saw the chance.

The weird thing is I still find myself interested in the same proportion of MOCs I always have been. Le Pont Du Nord has no extras, but neither did Coeur Fidele. Bakumtasu and the Yamanaka sets are also interesting and unique releases. And the Mizoguchi set is something we'll all be thankful for doing, especially in a way designed not to lose money, and it's already fetching Naruse-like dollars.

That said, there are little things that just make MoC much less sexy than they used to. I guess it just doesn't seem like they are doing stuff nobody else could do. I really don't know quite how to put my finger on it. I know you can only release Sunrise and Joan and Blue Angel once, obviously. Maybe the UK labels are being more difficult to work with in licensing out some exciting stuff. If MoC seem less exciting than they once did, it's mostly because of the ridiculously high bar they had set for themselves. It's the little things, I guess. Serpico being 1.78 instead of 1.85. That run of lackluster artwork. Their batting average has just taken a bit of a hit I guess.

I don't want to seem whiny and this was probably a bit more stream of conscious than it should have been. But in Arrow they really do have some competition now.

[tenia]

But I still wonder why there's no effort to bring us "The Spiders" - or those other early Langs that Kino released - in a decent edition with original intertitles, for instance.

Probably because this would mean exising and up-to-stuff HD material which I believe doesn't exist yet. MoC does not have its own lab and have to rely on proper HD material to do their Blu Rays.
It's also why there are so many duplicates these months : because the same HD material is available for them, Gaumont, Criterion, etc etc.

I'd love to see more different titles because I'm buying from all these markets and am feeling the duplicates but I learnt to live with them. While there are so many movies from Ichikawa or Powell / Pressburger to release, it's always the newly restored one which will be released in 5 different countries over 3 months.

But I've been happy with MoC's releases lately, even if light (to put it gently) on the extras side, but if you look at the releases after Nosferatu, you had 2 nice Fellini upgrades and a loaded Computer Chess, (I still don't know how they ended up with Serpico), for instance. The only disappointing release I see is Wake In Fright, due to the state of the material (so that's not really their fault). I'm less disappointed by Le mani sulla citta' and White Dog but god do they feel empty in terms of extras.

Anyway. I've always been very supportive with MoC (probably the only collection I'm the closest to be a completist) and remains supportive, but yeah, it's become a bit less impressive than it has been. I remember selling all these releases on French forums some years ago. Now, everybody there knows MoC but it's also less enthusiastic.

[1kult]

I remember The Spiders was lost during many years, and the existing print is very damaged...

But it could be logical that one of the next Lang movie could be The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse. The 2 other episodes has been restored - and edited on Bluray - and Mabuse is one of the most known Lang movie (except those who exist on Blu-ray of course). That's why I still don't buy the two ones, a box seems obvious one day, so...

[Der Spieler]

The last Mabuse movie is pretty terrible though.

[matrixschmatrix]

Really? I like it a lot- it's not necessarily the stone classic that Testament is, but it's got an interesting, noirish sense of style, and looks much better than it should, given its budget. I'd certainly rather rewatch it than the Indian Epic, and I like the Indian Epic.

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

Given MoC /Gaumont precedents wondering whether they'll mop up the 2 Ophuls along with the Carlotta Letter. I have just received all three so it's bound to have opened the door.

[Drucker]

If NABOB is right that would be huge/awesome/I would totally be buying those things. I'm hoping for those. Or, perpetually, Magnificent Ambersons on blu-ray.

[Finch]

We're going make a big announcement tomorrow, 11am UK time. Keep your peepers on Twitter

Let speculation commence.

I'm going to be wrong but I'll make a guess for Jean Epstein's THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER in a dual format edition.

[Calvin]

Given MoC /Gaumont precedents wondering whether they'll mop up the 2 Ophuls along with the Carlotta Letter. I have just received all three so it's bound to have opened the door.

Second Sight's DVD releases appear to still be in print, so that's probably unlikely. Gaumont also own Sans lendemain though and I would love to see MoC release that one.

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

Given MoC /Gaumont precedents wondering whether they'll mop up the 2 Ophuls along with the Carlotta Letter. I have just received all three so it's bound to have opened the door.

Second Sight's DVD releases appear to still be in print, so that's probably unlikely. Gaumont also own Sans lendemain though and I would love to see MoC release that one.

I don't think that automatically means they have the dibs on blu restorations and Lendemain only has 'a la demande' level elements.

[Eureka]

I just overheard the press guys talking "shall we announce xxxxxxxxxxxx today?", "yeah, good idea".

Keep an eye on Facebook throughout the day

[Kauno]

xxxxxxxxxxxx = Madame de... (?)

[FrauBlucher]

This was tweeted by MoC about an hour ago.

Busy day at Eureka Towers, but we'll be dropping another announcement at some point today, so keep checking twitter

[Finch]

Faust BD confirmed for 18 August.

[Drucker]

Excellent. Two absolutely essential silent purchases from the company that does them best.

[FrauBlucher]

Excellent. Two absolutely essential silent purchases from the company that does them best.

So true!

[Grisbi]

MoC just announced on Twitter that they have acquired and will be releasing within the next 9 months:

Claude Lanzmann's THE LAST OF THE UNJUST
Sion Sono's TOKYO TRIBE
Alain Resnais' final film LIFE OF RILEY

[Finch]

Sono in the MoC lineup? Now there is a surprise. The Lanzmann is going to be a nice addition as well.

[repeat]

Really glad to see them picking up Life of Riley - was a bit shocked to read about the rude reception it got from the press in Berlin (not to mention the slightly concessional prize). It's a delightful film and in many ways a fitting bookend to the man's career, pursuing further the concerns with theatre and artifice that stretch back throughout his filmography; as those elements have been quite explicitly present in his work since at least the 1990's, I thought it particularly strange that some reviewers saw fit to chastise the man for making such an "un-cinematic" film (as if his whole oeuvre hadn't consistently challenged received ideas about what is and isn't "cinematic"!).

Having said that, I guess the international reviews were largely positive - and the lukewarm ones were to be expected as it's obviously not the sort of Important Film that goes down well on festivals nowadays. Looking forward to revisiting it on Blu!

[Finch]

MoC's Craig Keller posted this on twitter several hours ago:

"Hopefully Eureka can seize UK rights for both Dragon Inn and Touch of Zen - the latter has been released on DVD by Optimum/StudioCanal, so it may not be that easy."

King Hu's films in HD would be a dream come true. If they get the rights for the two above, I hope they'll also acquire The Valiant Ones, Raining in the Mountains etc. Craig did mention on twitter that Touch of Zen is getting restored and may be showing at Cannes next year.

[swo17]

Are we sure these will all be in the MoC lineup, as opposed to simply coming from Eureka? It looks to me like the only one specifically identified as forthcoming from MoC is the Lanzmann. For the other two, it seems like it depends on how you define "We."