Criterion Random Speculation Vol.2

[blindside8zao]

that would be kind of silly of them. There's other bergman waiting and plenty of other film waiting.

btw, that ozu box is gorgeous on the outside.

[Doctor Sunshine]

all the MGM Bergmans in the set have commentaries/documentaries, there's no reason for Criterion to re-release them

For the record, they have some of the worst commentaries and documentaries available. Their Bergman "scholar" (sporadically) reveals insights that would be obvious to a retarded monkey and the best the documentaries can offer is a brief history of Bergman's sex life.

[Cinesimilitude]

regardless, sony and criterion dont mix. never have, probably never will.

[djali999]

For the record, they have some of the worst commentaries and documentaries available. Their Bergman "scholar" (sporadically) reveals insights that would be obvious to a retarded monkey and the best the documentaries can offer is a brief history of Bergman's sex life.

Anybody who values film and wants to be annoyed, pissed off and slightly amused, watch the first few minutes of Persona with the commentary on (turn it off before be get to Liv & company). I have no idea what he's doing, he has no idea what he's doing, and it's some kind of high water mark for useless commentating. P. Bog, move over!

[sevenarts]

yea but lack of good features aside the quality on those dvds is quite good, i'd really rather see criterion tackle stuff that's not already readily available on a totally decent dvd set.

[justeleblanc]

yea but lack of good features aside the quality on those dvds is quite good, i'd really rather see criterion tackle stuff that's not already readily available on a totally decent dvd set.

Agreed.

And to move to a new topic, has anyone heard anything about the fate of Zentropa? That sucker's been OOP for a while now. Originally Criterion had no plans to release it, but that was a good three years ago.

[miless]

I recently heard a rumor that they are working on a Resnais boxed set... and have heard other rumors about them releasing Ivan's Childhood and possibly Nostalghia, along with potential re-issues of Andre Rublev(!) and Salo(!!)

[Cinephrenic]

I recently heard a rumor that they are working on a Resnais boxed set... and have heard other rumors about them releasing Ivan's Childhood and possibly Nostalghia, along with potential re-issues of Andre Rublev(!) and Salo(!!)

Non of this makes any sense??? What is your source/info from?

Resnais box of what?

[justeleblanc]

I recently heard a rumor that they are working on a Resnais boxed set... and have heard other rumors about them releasing Ivan's Childhood and possibly Nostalghia, along with potential re-issues of Andre Rublev(!) and Salo(!!)

Yes yes, maybe say a bit more if you can, or maybe the source of your rumor, or maybe what would be in the Resnais box..... etc

[sevenarts]

and not to keep harping, after getting shut out of that other thread, but whats the word on Sans Soleil? last year New Yorker was telling anyone who asked that Criterion were the ones working on it, so when can we expect that do you think?

[justeleblanc]

Part of the fifty years of Janus festival, The Crimes of M. Lange will be shown with what I'm guessing is a new print. There was a talk here about what the next Renoir film would be, and it looks like it might be M. Lange afterall. Maybe not.

[zedz]

Part of the fifty years of Janus festival, The Crimes of M. Lange will be shown with what I'm guessing is a new print. There was a talk here about what the next Renoir film would be, and it looks like it might be M. Lange afterall. Maybe not.

Further to this, here are the films from that festival yet to be released. Start drooling:

The Phantom Carriage / Korkärlen - Victor Sjöstrom, Sweden, 1921
Zero for Conduct / Zéro de conduite – Jean Vigo, France, 1933
The Crime of Monsieur Lange / Le Crime de Monsieur Lange – Jean Renoir, France, 1935
Daybreak / Le Jour se lève – Marcel Carné, France, 1939
Miracle in Milan / Miracolo a Milano – Vittorio de Sica, Italy, 1951
The Earrings of Madame de... / Madame de... - Max Ophuls, France, 1953
Monika / Sommaren med Monika – Ingmar Bergman, Sweden, 1953
Sansho the Bailiff / Sanshô Dayû – Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan, 1954
Death of a Cyclist / Muerte de un ciclista – Juan Antonio Bardem, Spain, 1955
Fires on the Plain / Nobi – Kon Ichikawa, Japan, 1959
The Organizer / I Compagni – Mario Monicelli, Italy, 1963
W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism / W.R. – Misterije organizma – Dusan Makavejev, Yugoslavia, 1971
Cria! / Cría Cuervos – Carlos Saura, Spain, 1976

[backstreetsbackalright]

and not to keep harping, after getting shut out of that other thread, but whats the word on Sans Soleil? last year New Yorker was telling anyone who asked that Criterion were the ones working on it, so when can we expect that do you think?

Who knows. I'm confident it's coming (Lord knows I'm excited for it), but the matter of when is no less uncertain than any of the other rumored Criterion titles. In the meantime, the French and UK Sans Soleil/La Jetee discs are well worth the money (more details here).

[tryavna]

The Phantom Carriage / Korkärlen - Victor Sjöstrom, Sweden, 1921
Zero for Conduct / Zéro de conduite – Jean Vigo, France, 1933
The Crime of Monsieur Lange / Le Crime de Monsieur Lange – Jean Renoir, France, 1935
Daybreak / Le Jour se lève – Marcel Carné, France, 1939
Miracle in Milan / Miracolo a Milano – Vittorio de Sica, Italy, 1951
The Earrings of Madame de... / Madame de... - Max Ophuls, France, 1953
Monika / Sommaren med Monika – Ingmar Bergman, Sweden, 1953
Sansho the Bailiff / Sanshô Dayû – Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan, 1954
Death of a Cyclist / Muerte de un ciclista – Juan Antonio Bardem, Spain, 1955
Fires on the Plain / Nobi – Kon Ichikawa, Japan, 1959
The Organizer / I Compagni – Mario Monicelli, Italy, 1963
W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism / W.R. – Misterije organizma – Dusan Makavejev, Yugoslavia, 1971
Cria! / Cría Cuervos – Carlos Saura, Spain, 1976

Since we know Criterion has mini-Renoir and -Bergman industries going for itself, I suppose the most likely candidates off this list are M. Lange and Monika -- as well as W.R., which we've heard more definite rumblings about.

What else are likely possibilities? Daybreak would add another Carne title and Sansho would add another Mizoguchi, which I'd say is likely since Ugetsu must have performed really well for CC. And if Criterion is going to keep up their track record of squeezing out one pitifully lonely silent per year, I guess the Sjostrom is a possibility (and a welcome one at that!). But when, oh when, are they going to get around to releasing that Ophuls?!

I don't know about anyone else, but I can't see them releasing Vigo's Zero any time soon. Since New Yorker still holds the rights to L'Atalante, what on earth would CC package it with? Perhaps a double-feature with Renoir's Day in the Country?

[zedz]

I don't know about anyone else, but I can't see them releasing Vigo's Zero any time soon. Since New Yorker still holds the rights to L'Atalante, what on earth would CC package it with? Perhaps a double-feature with Renoir's Day in the Country?

It could fit with A Propos de nice and Taris as a 'Short films of Jean Vigo' set. On the other hand, Zero de conduite is one film that could surely support a stand-alone lower-tier release in they ever want to do another Night and Fog (and La jetee is another such film).

[Cinephrenic]

I see them releasing it with L'atalante one day with all his shorts in a 2-disc set. Afterall, it was the only feature film he was able to make before his early death.

[Derek Estes]

Part of the fifty years of Janus festival, The Crimes of M. Lange will be shown with what I'm guessing is a new print. There was a talk here about what the next Renoir film would be, and it looks like it might be M. Lange afterall. Maybe not.

Further to this, here are the films from that festival yet to be released. Start drooling:

The Phantom Carriage / Korkärlen - Victor Sjöstrom, Sweden, 1921
Zero for Conduct / Zéro de conduite – Jean Vigo, France, 1933
The Crime of Monsieur Lange / Le Crime de Monsieur Lange – Jean Renoir, France, 1935
Daybreak / Le Jour se lève – Marcel Carné, France, 1939
Miracle in Milan / Miracolo a Milano – Vittorio de Sica, Italy, 1951
The Earrings of Madame de... / Madame de... - Max Ophuls, France, 1953
Monika / Sommaren med Monika – Ingmar Bergman, Sweden, 1953
Sansho the Bailiff / Sanshô Dayû – Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan, 1954
Death of a Cyclist / Muerte de un ciclista – Juan Antonio Bardem, Spain, 1955
Fires on the Plain / Nobi – Kon Ichikawa, Japan, 1959
The Organizer / I Compagni – Mario Monicelli, Italy, 1963
W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism / W.R. – Misterije organizma – Dusan Makavejev, Yugoslavia, 1971
Cria! / Cría Cuervos – Carlos Saura, Spain, 1976

That list is blowing my mind! If even 1/4 of the films listed were released in the next couple years, I'll be ecstatic!

[davida2]

Further to this, here are the films from that festival yet to be released. Start drooling:


Miracle in Milan / Miracolo a Milano – Vittorio de Sica, Italy, 1951
Sansho the Bailiff / Sanshô Dayû – Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan, 1954
Fires on the Plain / Nobi – Kon Ichikawa, Japan, 1959

These are very highly anticipated, by me at least, and I think Sansho will do well - Ugetsu sold unexpectedly well in my neck of the woods - hardly a major city, which I would thus assume to be an indication of strong sales (by Criterion standards) nationally. The Saura and Bardem films look interesting as well.

[ellipsis7]

THE CRIME OF MONSIEUR LANGE could make for a very interesting package, if the CC go for a commentary by Christopher Faulkner ("The Social Cinema of Jean Renoir"), concentrating on this film as the quintessential example of Renoir's Popular Front influenced cinema of the 1930's... I have the OOP Warner R2 disc, which is decent enough, but would certainly look forward to a CC release!

And if they really wanted to load the package, 'La Vie est à Nous' at 66 minutes would be a suitable fit...

[ByMarkClark.com]

SANSHO, FIRES and MIRACLE have been near the top of my dream list for years.

So has EARRINGS OF MADAME DE... (And LA RONDE!). Is EARRINGS available somewhere and I've missed it?

[tryavna]

I don't know about anyone else, but I can't see them releasing Vigo's Zero any time soon. Since New Yorker still holds the rights to L'Atalante, what on earth would CC package it with? Perhaps a double-feature with Renoir's Day in the Country?

It could fit with A Propos de nice and Taris as a 'Short films of Jean Vigo' set. On the other hand, Zero de conduite is one film that could surely support a stand-alone lower-tier release in they ever want to do another Night and Fog (and La jetee is another such film).

I think both of these suggestions are very interesting. I'm particularly curious how, if at all, Criterion is planning on handling some of their "medium" films (i.e., running 40-69 minutes). I'm quite eager to see them release Zero, Day in the Country, Simon of the Desert, and Immortal Story. But I also understand why they might be reluctant. At any rate, it's high time that they come up with a feasible (and financially sensible) plan.

[HerrSchreck]

Further to this, here are the films from that festival yet to be released. Start drooling:

The Phantom Carriage / Korkärlen - Victor Sjöstrom, Sweden, 1921
Zero for Conduct / Zéro de conduite – Jean Vigo, France, 1933
The Crime of Monsieur Lange / Le Crime de Monsieur Lange – Jean Renoir, France, 1935
Daybreak / Le Jour se lève – Marcel Carné, France, 1939
Miracle in Milan / Miracolo a Milano – Vittorio de Sica, Italy, 1951
The Earrings of Madame de... / Madame de... - Max Ophuls, France, 1953
Monika / Sommaren med Monika – Ingmar Bergman, Sweden, 1953
Sansho the Bailiff / Sanshô Dayû – Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan, 1954
Death of a Cyclist / Muerte de un ciclista – Juan Antonio Bardem, Spain, 1955
Fires on the Plain / Nobi – Kon Ichikawa, Japan, 1959
The Organizer / I Compagni – Mario Monicelli, Italy, 1963
W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism / W.R. – Misterije organizma – Dusan Makavejev, Yugoslavia, 1971
Cria! / Cría Cuervos – Carlos Saura, Spain, 1976

You mean not yetreleased by CC, right? Just off the top of my head I know CONDUITE for example is out in the BFI COMPLETE VIGO set with all his restored films. That's going to be part of a large upcoming order for some PAL discs, scpecifically in the VIGO case for L'APROPOS NICE, and the swimmer doc. As for CONDUITE itself I've been content so far with the actually quite nice Janus/HVe VHS.

[tryavna]

You mean not yetreleased by CC, right? Just off the top of my head I know CONDUITE for example is out in the BFI COMPLETE VIGO set with all his restored films. That's going to be part of a large upcoming order for some PAL discs, scpecifically in the VIGO case for L'APROPOS NICE, and the swimmer doc. As for CONDUITE itself I've been content so far with the actually quite nice Janus/HVe VHS.

I believe it was Artificial Eye that released the two-disc Complete Jean Vigo set, Schreck. I've heard a number of people refer to at as one of AE's finest, most satisfying releases.

[HerrSchreck]

You are absolutely right! It'd been awhile since I'd looked into it since not having that set is torment. Vigo is one of my all time favorites and every reminder that I don't have the definitive LATALANTE, and have not yet seen NICE, is torment. Which will be reversed shortly. Not with the bfi. Because they don't have the set. At all. Not even a little bit.

With FANTOMAS too.

Yes and the set looks excellent, LATALANTE uncropped and without the off-color tint in the NYer disc. Better than AE's fucking IVAN'S CHILDHOOD I got stuck with prior to the other release-- AE's looks like it was taped offa UHF, with all the rampant snow like someone was vacuuming inna next room on the same circuit and enough chroma to make an acid trip blush.

[Narshty]

The Complete Jean Vigo is a triumphant release, very highly recommended. And that list of new prints is simply eye-watering.