Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

[hearthesilence]

Lonergan was in the closet - I wonder if we'll be getting the director's cut of Margaret on Blu-ray at long last?

If it's not one of his own films, it's probably Dodsworth which was recently restored by the Film Foundation.

[dwk]

According to the FilmForum Nov-Feb poster, Fellini's The White Sheik is being distributed by Rialto. Will this be a part of a possible Fellini box set?

It is still a StudioCanal title, but I believe Kino said they didnt get any Fellini films. So, maybe.

[Close The Door, Raymond]

According to Deadline.com, it seems likely that The White Sheik is going to be released by Studiocanal in 2020. They also announced other blu-ray titles will be 4k restorations of Le Cercle Rouge (which is already out-of-print from Criterion) and Breathless which is still in-print from Criterion but maybe not for long.

The Criterion DVD of The White Sheik has been out-of-print for a while now.

However, the article did not specify if any of the titles is set for US and/or international regions. Even though it is unlikely, I hope that maybe Criterion will release it in the US, and Studiocanal will release it in Europe.

[Blutarsky]

According to Deadline.com, it seems likely that The White Sheik is going to be released by Studiocanal in 2020. They also announced other blu-ray titles will be 4k restorations of Le Cercle Rouge (which is already out-of-print from Criterion) and Breathless which is still in-print from Criterion but maybe not for long.

The Criterion DVD of The White Sheik has been out-of-print for a while now.

However, the article did not specify if any of the titles is set for US and/or international regions. Even though it is unlikely, I hope that maybe Criterion will release it in the US, and Studiocanal will release it in Europe.

Most likely this will be impacting the United Kingdom/European nations. In regards to the 4K Restoration of Breathless, StudioCanal has released restorations of films on a Criterion that did not effect its print status. Belle De Jour, Plein Soleil are just a few who received abysmal 4K restorations that did not affect Criterion’s prints. As for The White Sheik and Le Cercle Rouge, both have been unaccounted for by Kino, and with Fellini’s centennial next year, I can expect a situation similar to StudioCanal restoring these films and then packaging them in box sets a la the Tati set.

I expect a Federico Fellini’s Cinema set as the sequel to Bergman and maybe a Late 60s Melville set with a 1970 movie added for fun, who knows!

[jwd5275]

According to the FilmForum Nov-Feb poster, Fellini's The White Sheik is being distributed by Rialto. Will this be a part of a possible Fellini box set?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but White Sheik has been distributed by Rialto for over 10 years...

[dwk]

Yeah, Rialto has handled US theatrical distribution for StudioCanal for a long time.

[FrauBlucher]

But the two companies are not mutually exclusive. Are we positive that SC owns the US rights for the The White Sheik?

[jwd5275]

It went OOP with the other StudioCanal titles back in 2010...

[FrauBlucher]

I looked on IMDB to see what companies were listed for The White Sheik and didn’t see SC listed at all. Which I found curious.

[FrauBlucher]

One of the early phantom pages was Robert Rossen. It seems like The Hustler is OOP. You can get off the marketplace for cheap but it's possible we can see a Criterion edition coming.

[domino harvey]

One of the early phantom pages was Robert Rossen. It seems like The Hustler is OOP. You can get off the marketplace for cheap but it's possible we can see a Criterion edition coming.

That ended up being for Alexander the Great, which never materialized despite having a full page— I think consensus was it was an intern messing around, possibly as practice on the website

[FrauBlucher]

I smell Domino's resistance to the possibility of this happening

[domino harvey]

The Hustler would of course be a worthy Criterion, and after they snatched up All About Eve, it’s as plausible as any other Fox already on Blu title. I just don’t think the phantom page is a clue one way or the other on it!

[FrauBlucher]

I wouldn't discount the phantom pages. There are still phantom pages from 2012 that are coming out. Stephen Roberts, Bruno Dumont and Ritwak Ghatak all with recent releases

[dwk]

I recall a Varda box set being mentioned, and someone on twitter asked Rosalie Varda about a Criterion set and she said it is scheduled for 2020

[criterionsnob]

There have been hints at three big box sets now for 2020 (Fellini, Wong Kar-wai, and Varda). That is incredible if true.

[Ribs]

While I’d appreciate the box set rescuing some of the Eclipse stuff to BD I can also just imagine an upgrade of the extant box set with Varda by Agnes added to fit the description of a celebratory box as she seems to suggest.

[dwk]

I dont think the Wong Kar-wai films are going to be boxed up. Heck I'm not even sure they are going to get released on disc in 2020, especially if they don't tour in the first or second quarter.

[KJones77]

There have been hints at three big box sets now for 2020 (Fellini, Wong Kar-wai, and Varda). That is incredible if true.

Have there actually been any hints about Fellini beyond idle speculation due to it being his 100th birthday next year?

[criterionsnob]

There was a video interview with someone at Criterion saying he thought 2020 would be the year of Fellini.

Wong Kar-wai confirmed he's working on 4K restorations with a 2020 tour in mind. I suppose those may not arrive on disc until 2021, or later.

[dwk]

The Lee Kline HTF interview hinted at it and Peter Becker liked this tweet that referenced the interview hinting at a Fellini set

[Joe Zombie]

Wong Kar-wai confirmed he's working on 4K restorations with a 2020 tour in mind. I suppose those may not arrive on disc until 2021, or later.

Absolutely devastating if that will be the case.

[colinr0380]

Scorsese apparently confirmed that ITALIANAMERICAN is coming to Criterion at a post screening discussion tonight.

Wonder if it will be packaged with something else.

And re-confirmed in this ABC interview with Peter Travers

[GiggityGoo]

Any John Waters fans out there? I saw his Christmas show last night. During the Q&A portion, I asked my annual question about what his next Criterion release would be. In 2017 he said "Female Trouble", in 2018 he said "Polyester"...

But this time, his answer surprised me. He said that Criterion approaches HIM. He's been incredibly happy working with them, and if they want to do another release, he's all for it. That stunned me. I was assuming a more robust relationship, where Criterion had contracted for a specific number of films. But that doesn't seem to be the case.

One interesting thing, though: he finished his answer by bringing up the DVD of "Pink Flamingos", and how they exhausted all the existing bonus material with the 25th anniversary release. But it seemed like there was a... a wink in his tone of voice? Like he was dropping a hint without really dropping a hint? I dunno, I may have been reading too much into it.

Anyway, apparently there is no next John Waters Criterion release. Damn!

[domino harvey]

I imagine Waters' movies sell very well, I doubt you'll have to wait too long for another. Then again, noirs sell well and Criterion hardly releases any of those anymore, so who knows