Criterion Random Speculation Vol.2

[Cinesimilitude]

Innocence has Marion Cotillard in it, right? I would totally be down with that in the collection.

[HerrSchreck]

I asked about WKW a while back, and he just said 'no plans to release'.
This does sound positive. I'm hoping for at least Chungking and Days of Being Wild. They both need good releases (his entire oeuvre pre 2000 needs re-releasing) - although my R2 Chungking isn't too bad.

Do not ever look for CC to trump an active Kino release-- these two titles are locked in via Kino & Buena Vista (& available together in Kino's Wong box which is relatively new to R1) and you'll be waiting a long time. These two co's have worked closely together in the past and never seem to tweek each other's turf (save for the VAMPYR fiasco).

[ByMarkClark.com]

Apropos of nothing, which Bergman film will join the Collection next? SAWDUST AND TINSEL? SUMMER WITH MONIKA? THE MAGICIAN, perhaps? Any rumors, clues or random guesses?

[richast2]

I've been waiting for Criterion to release a DVD of The Magician since I first bought a DVD player 5 years ago. I really, really hope that's coming soon.

[nyasa]

I've been waiting for Criterion to release a DVD of The Magician since I first bought a DVD player 5 years ago. I really, really hope that's coming soon.

I bought Tartan Video's The Virgin Spring last year, and just days later the CC version was announced. Last week I bought Tartan Video's The Magician, so my guess is you won't have long to wait.

[scotty]

I'm in paralysis over Monika. The Tartan is out there, but I just have a feeling it will be CC'd soon.

[pzman84]

Maybe Sony will give the rights of Night of the Hunter to Criterion. Bonuses will include a commentary by Dick Cheney

[godardslave]

thats enough Dick Cheney jokes for 1 day.

[nyasa]

I'm in paralysis over Monika. The Tartan is out there, but I just have a feeling it will be CC'd soon.

I bought the Tartan Monika at the same time as The Magician, so in all likelihood that's also a CC dead cert.

(Btw, Dick Cheney's favourite Bergman film? The Silence.)

[godardslave]

thats enough Dick Cheney jokes for 1 day.

[toiletduck!]

So Dick Cheney walks into a bar... shoots the bartender, tells him to go fuck himself and has a heart attack.

That should about cover it.

-Toilet Dcuk

[tryavna]

You can never have enough good Cheney jokes.

For a man who seems to be in a constant state of bitterness, he's a remarkably endless source (target?) for humor!

[kappoka]

Don't know if this belongs in the Malle thread--maybe it does but one of the supplements on the Malle Set which has a new street date of March 28 is Chaplin's 'The Immigrant'---does anyone find that weird? It's a great Chaplin short but how does Criterion get this?

look--
Supplements Include:
New interviews with actor and Louis Malle widow Candice Bergen and biographer Pierre Billard
Excerpts from a French TV program featuring the director on the sets of Murmur of the Heart and Lacombe, Lucien
Audio interviews with Malle from 1972, 1980, and 1988

The Immigrant, Charlie Chaplin's 1917 short comedy, featured in Au revoir les enfants

A profile of the provocative character of Joseph from Au revoir les enfants, created by filmmaker Guy Magen in 2005

Louis Malle filmography

[oldsheperd]

I believe certain prints of this are Public Domain. Plus, Image are the ones who released the Chaplin Mutual and Essanay boxset.

[Cinephrenic]

Janus films has Chabrol's debut Le beau serge. It is playing at American cinematheque. No sign of a new print, but would love to see it released along with Les Cousins, two films in need of a Criterion edition.

http://www.americancinematheque.com/arc ... nglois.htm

Playing here too:
http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/film_me ... _vigo.html

Also, did Godard's Breathless go to New Yorker Films from the same page? It is tragic if true:

À bout de souffle (Breathless). 1960. France. Directed by Jean-Luc Godard. Screenplay by Godard, based on an original treatment by François Truffaut. With Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg. Iconic, stylish, and often cited as inaugurating the French New Wave, Breathless is also a distinctively modern romance: three parts ambivalence, one part love. Courtesy New Yorker Films. 95 min.

[zedz]

Does anybody have any ideas what's up with Criterion's release schedule? In the past two and a half months only two titles have been added to their 'Coming Soon' list (Elevator and Late Spring), while others have been removed (Viridiana) or shimmered for a moment but failed to materialise (Harlan County, A nos amours, Grey Gardens revamp, probably more). Right now, in terms of number of releases, they're tracking far behind where they were at by this time last year.

Could this be ongoing fallout of the Image takeover? I'd assumed that would only impact on distribution rather than production. Could it be the consequence of some strategic sea-change? Simply recalibrating the period of advance notice they're prepared to give doesn't really account for what (hasn't) happened since the December announcements.

I realise there's nothing much we can do about it (which is why I put this in Random Speculation), but it would be nice if we could be squabbling about films for a change instead of squabbling about nothing!

[souvenir]

Does anybody have any ideas what's up with Criterion's release schedule? In the past two and a half months only two titles have been added to their 'Coming Soon' list (Elevator and Late Spring), while others have been removed (Viridiana) or shimmered for a moment but failed to materialise (Harlan County, A nos amours, Grey Gardens revamp, probably more). Right now, in terms of number of releases, they're tracking far behind where they were at by this time last year.

I certainly agree with this point. If my math is correct, there will be 13 releases by the end of April. Multiplied times 3 for a full year and you have 39 films released, far below what we've come to expect. Granted, there might be some stellar months ahead but I think we were spoiled by the output in recent years and 2006 is not shaping up to be as plentiful regarding the number of releases.

[backstreetsbackalright]

Janus films has Chabrol's debut Le beau serge. It is playing at American cinematheque. No sign of a new print, but would love to see it released along with Les Cousins, two films in need of a Criterion edition.

http://www.americancinematheque.com/arc ... nglois.htm

Playing here too:
http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/film_me ... _vigo.html

Interesting indeed. What's the thinking around here about Chabrol's debut? I saw it on VHS once and wasn't wild about it at all.

[Gigi M.]

I certainly agree with this point. If my math is correct, there will be 13 releases by the end of April. Multiplied times 3 for a full year and you have 39 films released, far below what we've come to expect. Granted, there might be some stellar months ahead but I think we were spoiled by the output in recent years and 2006 is not shaping up to be as plentiful regarding the number of releases.

... and don't forget that we're getting four re-releases (Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, and Playtime), which means even less new titles. At lease we've Warner Brother massive catalog coming out this year to fulfill our pains.

[zedz]

What's the thinking around here about Chabrol's debut? I saw it on VHS once and wasn't wild about it at all.

Same here (and I saw a beautiful crisp 35mm print). A nice enough film, but a pretty tentative start to the nouvelle vague.

[pzman84]

JAlso, did Godard's Breathless go to New Yorker Films from the same page? It is tragic if true:

À bout de souffle (Breathless). 1960. France. Directed by Jean-Luc Godard. Screenplay by Godard, based on an original treatment by François Truffaut. With Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg. Iconic, stylish, and often cited as inaugurating the French New Wave, Breathless is also a distinctively modern romance: three parts ambivalence, one part love. Courtesy New Yorker Films. 95 min.

If you look on the Rialto Picture website and click on non-theatrical sales, you will see some prints are aviable for Non-Threatrical booking. Also, New Yorker has a print of Masculine-Feminine yet it is on Criterion DVD. I think, this is just speculation, New Yorker has one, if not the only, aviable 35mm print of Breathless in N. America. However, I think Criterion could easily obtain one from its original French production. Does anyone know who has the N. American rights to Breathless? Is it public domain?

[King of Kong]

I'm in paralysis over Monika. The Tartan is out there, but I just have a feeling it will be CC'd soon.

Summer with Monika was my first Bergman film. I haven't seen it in years, so a Criterion DVD would go down pretty well.

[domino harvey]

the American Region 1 Breathless DVD contains a pretty great (as usual) commentary by David Sterritt that is very informative. Criterion should get him to do a commentary on whichever Godard film they release next, he's already done excellent full-length commentaries for the New Yorker edition of Weekend, and "mini" commentaries for Lorber's "Le Petit Soldat" and "Les Carribieners"

[HerrSchreck]

Does anybody have any ideas what's up with Criterion's release schedule? In the past two and a half months only two titles have been added to their 'Coming Soon' list (Elevator and Late Spring), while others have been removed (Viridiana) or shimmered for a moment but failed to materialise (Harlan County, A nos amours, Grey Gardens revamp, probably more). Right now, in terms of number of releases, they're tracking far behind where they were at by this time last year.

Thank you. I thought it was just me.

[justeleblanc]

Does anybody have any ideas what's up with Criterion's release schedule? In the past two and a half months only two titles have been added to their 'Coming Soon' list (Elevator and Late Spring), while others have been removed (Viridiana) or shimmered for a moment but failed to materialise (Harlan County, A nos amours, Grey Gardens revamp, probably more). Right now, in terms of number of releases, they're tracking far behind where they were at by this time last year.

Thank you. I thought it was just me.

And don't forget the 400 Blows single disc.