The Mystery of the Phantom Web Pages

[FrauBlucher]

Hirokazu Koreeda

[Self]

Bizarre as Still Walking is already in the collection. Seems this name doesn't have the hyphen.

[FrauBlucher]

They had two separate pages (1st page-traffic and 2nd page-Punch-Drunk Love) for Luis Guzman. One with the accent and one without. I emailed Mulvaney and it was corrected next day. This could be same.

[mteller]

Jafar Panahi
Laurent Cantet
Alexander Sokurov
Jia Zhang-Ke

whoa

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

Holy cow! Jia Zhangke would be a big deal for me. It's great that MoC released The World and his last two features are out on Blu from Kino, but his two features shot on film have terrible transfers and could use upgrades. Or even the later stuff shot digital could totally benefit from transfers without ghosting or in HD closer to their native resolution.

[Cremildo]

Count me in for whatever Sokurov they choose to release, especially if it's his biopic trilogy or his Mother/Father and Son diptych.

[chiendent]

I'd love some Panahi films but I can't help but hope his inclusion is for Through the Olive Trees.

[What A Disgrace]

For Panahi, I would be satisfied with nothing short of a boxed set of his five pre-arrest features. I don't think any of them are even in print any longer, and I know The White Balloon and The Circle have never even been released on DVD.

[chiendent]

I agree. His post-arrest films seem more likely to me because they're more easily marketable these days but the scarcity of those first five is a shame. I vaguely remember seeing The White Balloon and The Mirror as a kid and loved Offside as a teenager when I had a slightly better understanding of the politics but it would be great to revisit them.

[Ishmael]

For Panahi, I would be satisfied with nothing short of a boxed set of his five pre-arrest features. I don't think any of them are even in print any longer, and I know The White Balloon and The Circle have never even been released on DVD.

The Circle was actually on DVD at one point, in R1 anyway, but it's long OOP. I think it was Wellspring that released it. But, yeah, it would be great to see a proper edition of that and as many other Panahi films as will fit inside my mailbox.

[beamish13]

Sokurov's Days of Eclipse would be phenomenal.

[spectre]

Hope it's '80s or '90s Sokurov and not just something like Francofonia (but I suspect the latter is more likely). Down for anything from Panahi, but one of his first two films would be especially good.

[swo17]

Francofonia already has a BD out from Music Box Films.

[Cronenfly]

On the Zhangke front, The World (sadly, for those of us who already have the MOC) seems to be the only major title of his that is definitely OOP in the US. Platform, Unknown Pleasures, and Still Life all remain in various stages of availability from Amazon.com, somehow (have not been following what is going on with the New Yorker catalogue, but it would seem, sadly, that they are still holding on to certain titles).

[domino harvey]

On the Zhangke front, The World (sadly, for those of us who already have the MOC) seems to be the only major title of his that is definitely OOP in the US. Platform, Unknown Pleasures, and Still Life all remain in various stages of availability from Amazon.com, somehow (have not been following what is going on with the New Yorker catalogue, but it would seem, sadly, that they are still holding on to certain titles).

Confirmed: Criterion is releasing Cinema Scope magazine!

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

On the Zhangke front, The World (sadly, for those of us who already have the MOC) seems to be the only major title of his that is definitely OOP in the US. Platform, Unknown Pleasures, and Still Life all remain in various stages of availability from Amazon.com, somehow (have not been following what is going on with the New Yorker catalogue, but it would seem, sadly, that they are still holding on to certain titles).

Also worth nothing that I Wish I Knew has never been released in the west and the Hong Kong release of it on DVD and Blu has twenty minutes censored from it.

[Cronenfly]

Jafar Panahi
Laurent Cantet
Alexander Sokurov
Jia Zhang-Ke

whoa

I don't think it is a coincidence that all four of these filmmakers have titles repped by French outfit Celluloid Dreams (who are behind the just-announced late Rivette titles coming soon, in new restorations, from Cohen); as you can see from their site, despite some titles already being spoken for (Russian Ark already has a US Blu release, for instance), I think these four directors getting pages all at the same time would indicate that this is the pool being drawn from.

Mother and Son, Father and Son, and (maybe) Moloch from Sokurov, The White Balloon, The Mirror, The Circle, Crimson Gold, and (maybe) Offside from Panahi, The Sanguinaires, Time Out, and Human Resources from Cantet, and Pickpocket, The World, and (maybe) Platform and Unknown Pleasures from Zhangke. Probably not all these films, mind, but it seems wholly plausible to me that these are the prospective titles that Criterion is looking at/has already selected from.

[Jeff]

I don't think it is a coincidence that all four of these filmmakers have titles repped by French outfit Celluloid Dreams...Mother and Son, Father and Son, and (maybe) Moloch from Sokurov, The White Balloon, The Mirror, The Circle, Crimson Gold, and (maybe) Offside from Panahi, The Sanguinaires, Time Out, and Human Resources from Cantet, and Pickpocket, The World, and (maybe) Platform and Unknown Pleasures from Zhangke. Probably not all these films, mind, but it seems wholly plausible to me that these are the prospective titles that Criterion is looking at/has already selected from.

This seems most likely to me. Celluloid Dreams was Criterion's original partner at The Auteurs (later Mubi), and they licensed Close-up to Criterion. Most of the titles you mention were originally licensed a decade or more ago by now-defunct outfits like Fox Lorber/Winstar/Wellspring, New Yorker, ThinkFilm, etc. I'm sure those deals have expired and the titles have reverted to Celluloid Dreams, who have clearly been looking for new U.S. partners. I'd be thrilled with all of those Panahi films. Offside may still be with Sony, which certainly wouldn't be an impediment to a Criterion release either.

Hirokazu Koreeda

Almost certainly an indicator of Nobody Knows, an IFC property long out of print.

[Cronenfly]

Maborosi and After Life are also in Celluloid Dreams' purview, and seem equally as likely to get the nod.

[Ashirg]

Maborosi is with Milestone.

[mteller]

Athina Rachel Tsangari

Some Lanthimos, perhaps? Or Attenberg?

[Buttery Jeb]

Athina Rachel Tsangari

Some Lanthimos, perhaps? Or Attenberg?

She was a co-producer on Before Midnight.

[Buttery Jeb]

It begins: cast and crew for Jack Garfein's Something Wild are starting to be populated.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

Maborosi is with Milestone.

Didn't rhey promise to reissue this six years ago or am I making that up?

[swo17]

Spoiler

Black Girl
Fox and His Friends