Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol. 6

[Werewolf by Night]

Wow, this might be the first month in several years where I buy every release. Happy birthday to me!

[Minkin]

Great set of releases. I was worried My Winnipeg would never happen.

Extras are rather disappointing, hopefully more stuff will be added (Petra von Kant is the only two disc dvd set- which indicates that for the others- we're not getting much in terms of special features overall).

. Criterion really needs to drop Sword of Doom down to $30 - as this is becoming absurd at this point (commentary+trailer does not equal Lonesome or My Darling Clementine levels of supplements). That said, I'm very happy Sword of Doom actually has extras now (did it even have a leaflet before?). It is annoying when they put out a bluray with 30mins or less of content, and then charge premium prices for it (See The Uninvited for a top level $30 release).

[barryconvex]

...a film with ridiculous balls? For me, it's on a short list with other narratives like Bigger Than Life or Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia that have the undiluted courage of their convictions, that follow their own ideas so much further than you think they will go -- all the way to the end if not beyond.

Amen!! i could not agree more-The Rapture is a masterpiece..i was talking about it and The New Age on the 90s list thread the other day...high time for fresh or first look for everyone...

[DeprongMori]

Criterion really needs to drop Sword of Doom down to $30 - as this is becoming absurd at this point (commentary+trailer does not equal Lonesome or My Darling Clementine levels of supplements).

Agreed on the pricing model. A Blu re-issue with just a commentary is not a premium $40.00 release. It sucks that they do this. At minimum, they should develop more robust supplements when re-issuing older titles if they want a $40.00 price.

My recommended rule of thumb for Criterion pricing: If it takes two DVDs to hold the film and its supplements, the Blu should be $39.95. Otherwise $29.95. (Allowing exceptions for certain special cases like a very expensive restoration.)

[Rolad]

. Criterion really needs to drop Sword of Doom down to $30 - as this is becoming absurd at this point (commentary+trailer does not equal Lonesome or My Darling Clementine levels of supplements). That said, I'm very happy Sword of Doom actually has extras now (did it even have a leaflet before?). It is annoying when they put out a bluray with 30mins or less of content, and then charge premium prices for it (See The Uninvited for a top level $30 release).

It would definitley be nice. For someone like me who owns and really likes Sword of Doom, bare bones pricing would be enough to to get me to purchase the upgrade. As is unless it goes on sale or I find a used copy at some point I'll probably just stick with the dvd.

Personally I prefer packed releases and don't mind paying extra for them, but the low pricing on barebones releases has been a good incentive for me to pick up titles I might not have otherwise.

[movielocke]

Is this the first film from Argentinia in the collection?

[albucat]

I believe it's not only that, but the first from South America period.

[SpiderBaby]

And hopefully if/when they get around to a 2nd WCF set, we can finally get a Brazilian title with Limite.

[Noiradelic]

Extras are rather disappointing, hopefully more stuff will be added (Petra von Kant is the only two disc dvd set- which indicates that for the others- we're not getting much in terms of special features overall).

Criterion really needs to drop Sword of Doom down to $30 - as this is becoming absurd at this point (commentary+trailer does not equal Lonesome or My Darling Clementine levels of supplements). That said, I'm very happy Sword of Doom actually has extras now (did it even have a leaflet before?). It is annoying when they put out a bluray with 30mins or less of content, and then charge premium prices for it (See The Uninvited for a top level $30 release).

A commentary, fairly or not, has traditionally been justification for a higher-tier release (see the American Jules Dassins). Many 1-disc DVDs were higher-tier. If you recall, Criterion initially released The Uninvited as a higher-tier and then quickly changed it after the resulting outcry.

[Minkin]

Very disappointing that there was no mention of any more forthcoming Universal properties.

Was something specifically said about Universal titles? Or is this just lamenting that no Universal films were mentioned? If the latter, most of Criterion's 2015/16 releases weren't mentioned either, so it seems a silly complaint. Universal is likely Criterion's strongest major studio partner (since Universal barely releases anything, and a Universal release doesn't exclude a future Criterion release-like Brazil, etc, etc - which isn't even a luxury to be had with Sony!) and I expect titles to keep rolling in

Also, re:supplements - the other films are rather pathetic as well - hopefully that "more" on La Cienaga will be worthwhile. Palm Beach Story in particular seems like it could use some serious help.

Uninvited was strange, since it only had a booklet + the visual essay, then people complained, and the price was dropped to $30, and then the trailer + two radio adaptations were added. So, it seems like this forum should do some more complaining

[warren oates]

I feel like the individual release of The Palm Beach Story puts to bed the idea that Criterion would somehow be issuing a fully loaded Blu-ray version of the Universal Sturges set. We can likely expect Sullivan's Travels, The Lady Eve and perhaps someday Unfaithfully Yours to be upgraded, but maybe not much more.

[JAP]

Hopefully a lot of New Line titles will be part of the deal too.

It would make me very happy if Little Odessa, The Cell and Birth were under consideration.

[zeroism]

Criterion really needs to drop Sword of Doom down to $30 - as this is becoming absurd at this point (commentary+trailer does not equal Lonesome or My Darling Clementine levels of supplements). That said, I'm very happy Sword of Doom actually has extras now (did it even have a leaflet before?). It is annoying when they put out a bluray with 30mins or less of content, and then charge premium prices for it (See The Uninvited for a top level $30 release).

A commentary, fairly or not, has traditionally been justification for a higher-tier release (see the American Jules Dassins). Many 1-disc DVDs were higher-tier. If you recall, Criterion initially released The Uninvited as a higher-tier and then quickly changed it after the resulting outcry.

What it boils down to (for most of us here) is whether or not we're willing to pay $5 for a feature-length commentary. Am I? In this case, absolutely. After my first encounter with this film several years ago (via the Criterion DVD), I recall being particularly frustrated by the paucity of extras for a film I felt was crying out for contextualizing, not least because it's adapted from a relatively small portion of a famously lengthy serial novel (about which at the time I was able to find very little in English on the web). I'm confident that Stephen Prince will make good use of the two hours he has to work with here.

Also, this is a Toho license, right? Has their policy changed (i.e. no foreign Blu-ray until they've done one themselves, and then not until theirs has been out for six months)? I can't find any evidence of a Japanese Blu-ray release of this.

[domino harvey]

I feel like the individual release of The Palm Beach Story puts to bed the idea that Criterion would somehow be issuing a fully loaded Blu-ray version of the Universal Sturges set. We can likely expect Sullivan's Travels, The Lady Eve and perhaps someday Unfaithfully Yours to be upgraded, but maybe not much more.

We may very well get more than that, but yeah, definitely this brings to an end the short-lived hopes and dreams of a complete Sturges set or even "Universal title-complete"

[movielocke]

I feel like the individual release of The Palm Beach Story puts to bed the idea that Criterion would somehow be issuing a fully loaded Blu-ray version of the Universal Sturges set. We can likely expect Sullivan's Travels, The Lady Eve and perhaps someday Unfaithfully Yours to be upgraded, but maybe not much more.

I could see them maybe breaking out Hail the conquering Hero or Christmas in July from the Universal set, or after updating Sullivans Travels and the Lady Eve issuing an Etaix like set on bluray with the other films.

[warren oates]

I think the problem is that The Great Moment and The Great McGinty aren't nearly as good as the other films. And Christmas in July, which is pretty great, is short enough to be a bonus film extra on any one of these other titles. I say, if you can't sleep at night, it's not the coffee or the bunk, it's Criterion's release strategy.

[Raymond Marble]

Today's announcement included both The Bitter Tears of Petra Van Kant and My Winnipeg! You should see the size of my boner!

What about all of those New Line John Waters' titles? Only Hairspray has been upgraded to Blu. Are the rest of them even in print on DVD?

As far as I know the John Waters singles are still in print on DVD, though the double feature packs have been gone for some time now. Both Pink Flamingos and Polyester were released by Criterion on laserdisc and have still-exclusive commentaries, so these seem likely candidates, if nothing else. Not to mention the fact that Waters just had that high profile, complete retrospective at Lincoln Center a month ago. (Tricky/impossible rights aside, think of the glut of unreleased early Waters stuff out there! Mondo Trasho and Multiple Maniacs haven't surfaced since VHS, and his early shorts have rarely been seen by anyone under any circumstances. Getting these onto a Criterion disc, either as standalones or special features to other things, would make me so happy...)

Someone else suggested Boogie Nights and Magnolia as being possibly forthcoming, which I certainly like the idea of, but wonder what they could do with that. All of the special features from the old Criterion laserdisc of Boogie Nights have been replicated on later, non-Criterion DVD and blu-ray releases, apart from the footage from the John Holmes doc Exhausted, which I don't expect them to get the rights to again. And while they haven't ever touched Magnolia, it's a good set even without their treatment, though there's always room for improvement, I guess. And of course people have been speculating about a potential release of Hard Eight by Criterion for quite some time now.

[Drucker]

Wouldn't it be really difficult to get the Waters' films on Blu-Ray because of music rights clearance?

[captveg]

Warner could also license a couple long OOP early spine #'s: Dead Ringers and The Unbearable Lightness of Being

[John Doe]

According to Amazon Instant Video page, The Unbearable Lightness of Being is now with MGM..?

Del Toro recently stated that Criterion have been trying to acquire Pan's Labyrinth from WB. So, add that one to the mix too.

Let's not forget Peckinpah's Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, Ride the High Country, The Ballad of Cable Hogue, The Deadly Companions, as well as Linklater's Before Sunset/Sunrise as reportedly WB have zero interest in putting these out on blu-ray.

[flyonthewall2983]

I think PTA said in an interview awhile back he was reconsidering audio commentaries, so maybe he'd do one for Magnolia and it would give Criterion a good chance to jump on it, as it's not a title I'd imagine they'd want to re-release.

Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid would be incredible. One of my favorite Westerns.

[Raymond Marble]

Wouldn't it be really difficult to get the Waters' films on Blu-Ray because of music rights clearance?

It's my understanding that the only film that the music rights are a real issue with is Mondo Trasho. That said, I've been led to believe that it'll be near-impossible to get the proper music rights for that one again.

[mteller]

As far as I know the John Waters singles are still in print on DVD, though the double feature packs have been gone for some time now.

I bought Polyester/Desperate Living and Pink Flamingos/Female Trouble off Amazon a couple of months ago.

[Bruce]

Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid would be incredible. One of my favorite Westerns.

Provided they do the right version, i.e. the 1988 Turner preview version, and not that monstrosity of a 2005 special edition.

[rrenault]

I believe it's not only that, but the first from South America period.

Unless you count Black Orpheus.

But either way, the extras on La Cienaga are rather slight for a 40 dollar MSRP, but I'll buy it anyway probably. Stunning film. What matters is it'll be available in 1080p.