Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films

[arsonfilms]

Since October's slate was announced a month ago and November's will be announced early next week, I find it particularly unlikely that we should be expecting any brand new titles like Pandora's Box or Bottle Rocket. If CRITERION is going to release anything else at all in October, it would have to be something with a lower profile like a collector's set of previously released films (although the idea of a fifty film box is absurd). The only releases that come out with less than three months notice for buyers are rushed cross promotions or re-price efforts.

That said, I wouldn't rule out the possibility that JANUS could put out a one-off release on their own, like the two disc thing mentioned earlier. If it were sold as a book, the three month distributor notification timetable wouldn't apply.

The only other realistic option I can see is that the "coming in october" line itself is the one with the hint. Eisenstein's October could be a potential announcement for Novemeber, for instance.

[Gigi M.]

The folks over at Criterion must be having a ball at this moment. I think they made those stupid “wackyâ€

[toiletduck!]

"That'll teach 'em to mock our covers and ogle our interns' jugs!"

-Toilet Dcuk

[Doctor Sunshine]

Wait, wait, I've got another one. What is the book is the Bible. Then the box could be the Ark of the Covenant. Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford, Apocalypse Now... Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse!

You're welcome.

It would be given a spine number and called (get this): Janus Films: Fifty Years / Fifty Films

As interesting as everyone here might find this I think it would be a little presumptuous to qualify a company doc as an important contemporary film by giving it a spine number. Unless maybe they commissioned Bergman (and 49 others?) to shoot it or something.

[George Kaplan]

I feel confident that all of the nay-sayers will be pleasantly suprised when a box of 50 titles is released.

[Cinephrenic]

Ok, here it is:



SRP: $4599.95

[justeleblanc]

ONE BOOK, ONE BOX.... aren't those lyrics to Queen's "It's a Kind of Magic" and "One Vision" -- I think they're releasing Highlander.

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

If the Box is a title (Pandora's Box) couldn't the Book also be a title??
Leaves of Satan's for example.

[miless]

If the Box is a title (Pandora's Box) couldn't the Book also be a title??
Leaves of Satan's for example.

or maybe they got the rights to Peter Greenaway's Prospero's Books

[Cinephrenic]

Perhaps a Pabst boxset?

G.W. Pabst: Four Films
Pandora's Box
Kameradschaft
The Threepenny Opera
Westfront 1918.

[Narshty]

Once more for posterity: we'll be getting a Janus Films coffee table book and a box containing 50 previously released Criterions at a discount. That's it.

Aside from anything else, o geniuses, it's coming in October. The announcements for October's Criterions were made almost four weeks ago.

If Criterion were upset over the shirt models incident, something tells me they haven't got the same concerns any more...

[Noir of the Night]

Lies!

I predict Pandora's Box and a Coffee Table book, like most others.

I'd love an Anderson box. Not only would it be a nice thing to have (and imagine how it would look, assuming Eric Chase Anderson would do the art) but it would be pretty good validation for me, seeing as I predicted such a thing the day the newletter came and one of my friends told me I was a dumbass for doing so.

[toiletduck!]

Aside from anything else, o geniuses, it's coming in October. The announcements for October's Criterions were made almost four weeks ago.

This is what scares me. Even with reboxes they announce things according to schedule (i.e. Olivier's Shakespeare). Announcing something late due to schedule worries or ongoing legal issues is one thing, but it's already mid-August, this is (potentially) the first we've heard of this, and they're still toying with us this late?

Something's rotten in Mulvaney...

Probably in Lipson, too.

-Toilet Dcuk

[arsonfilms]

Seriously, there won't be any other DVDs in October. It just won't happen. We'd know about it already if there was anything on it's way. Maybe a book, but that's it.

November titles will be announced sometime between Monday and Wednesday, and I'll bet we'll all feel like idiots when it happens. Pandora's Box (already known to be a November title) and Eisenstein's October (the box isn't happening, but we don't know that this single title wasn't already completed) would easily answer the newsletter's riddle.

Or, as I mentioned before, Janus could be doing something on their own.

[Cinephrenic]

Yeah, these are not DVD releases (October already mentioned), but retail items in their new store front celebrating Janus' 50th Anniversary. A book, and a sort of box collectable or something Janus related. Maybe a box containing a hat, shirt, and a book. We'll find out soon.

[Gigi M.]

Pandora's Box (already known to be a November title).

I'm sorry, but where exactly did you find out about this release.

[arsonfilms]

I'm sorry, but where exactly did you find out about this release.

Right here

[hammock]

Maybe they are cooking up something in this direction:

Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Let There Be Lumiere
The Lumiere brothers captured little bits of reality in 50-second nuggets and presented them around the world. To celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the Lumieres, 40 well-known directors were challenged to create their own 50-second films using only the Lumiere camera and their own wit. The results are presented in "Lumiere and Company" released on DVD by FOX LORBER. Directing talents include Wim Wenders, Spike Lee, Liv Ullman, David Lynch, Peter Greenaway and others. The 40 short films presented in the Lumiere challenge are not all "realities" as the Lumiere's typically shot. Some were much more thought out than others. Some very elaborate - some simple. Some political - others merely for sport. Directors are questioned about the nature of film over the course of this presentation. Their remarks are slightly interesting - some too contrived. The only downer is that you must view with all the extra filming. I'd like to just view the 40 films by themselves. Still the 90 minute programming was insightful.

Found this interesting note:

This year the New York Film Festival Retrospective will be “50 Years of Janus Films.â€

[kinjitsu]

[quote="hammock"]Found this interesting note:

This year the New York Film Festival Retrospective will be “50 Years of Janus Films.â€

[hammock]

Where ya been, hammock?

Back peddle to this page which in turn, links to this one.

Oh c..., sorry! I must have been a little dizzy upon producing all those wallpapers. #-o

[Ashirg]

One book, one box, 50 films

Here's the list of titles in this set, but not released individually by Criterion YET:

FIRES ON THE PLAIN (1959), Kon Ichikawa
LE JOUR SE LÈVE (1939), Marcel Carné
MISS JULIE (1951), Alf Sjöberg
THREE DOCUMENTARIES: THE GREAT CHASE (1962), THE LOVE GODDESSES (1965), and PAUL ROBESON: TRIBUTE TO AN ARTIST (1979), Saul J. Turell

[godardslave]

Ah finally, the speculation can end.

If you haven't got many of the films, thats actually a reasonable deal.
50 films for $650 = $13 per film.

I am assuming no extras, however.
And of course most of us already have many of these films, it seems a somewhat arbitrary selection as well.

Its hard to see who this release is aimed at?
As most of the target market i would have thought would already have the respective criterion DVDs.

[domino harvey]

unless I'm missing it, Godard got shut out?

[arsonfilms]

It seems as though they've really limited sales of this by including so many films that are already available. Granted there are a lot in there that I don't have, but the ones in there that I want I think I want for the supplements as well. I'd buy the book WITHOUT the 50 discs, but unless I were brand new to the collection or were a hardline purist, I can't see myself considering spending $650 for this at all. Which really is a shame, because I'd love it if it weren't so... big...

[blindside8zao]

I was just about to post the idea/question fo whether they'd consider selling the book alone. It is quite lovely. Anyone interested in going in with me on it? I'll give you the discs if I keep the book? You pay most of the money of course.