Criterion and MGM

[domino harvey]

Okay, guess it's safe to say King of Hearts was one of the long MIA MGM licenses, since it will no longer be coming from Criterion, as according to Variety it's now with Cohen

[beamish13]

I wonder if Marat/Sade is coming, too. The MGM disc has been OOP for years now, and they've already worked with Peter Brook.

[AfterTheRain]

I wonder if Marat/Sade is coming, too. The MGM disc has been OOP for years now, and they've already worked with Peter Brook.

I think I remember that Mister Lime confirmed that it's definitely coming from Criterion as both Kino and Twilight Time passed on it.

[Werewolf by Night]

I wish Criterion (or somebody else) would rescue Bryan Forbes' THE WHISPERERS from M.O.D. purgatory. Fantastic John Barry score, a great, Oscar-nominated performance from Edith Evans, I can't understand why this movie is not more well-known and liked.

[MoonlitKnight]

I'd love to see a couple of Forbes' other early films released as well, namely the still-never-released-on-DVD-or-Blu "Whistle Down the Wind" and "The L-Shaped Room." Sony currently owns the latter; I'm not sure who owns the former. :-k

[domino harvey]

Both of those are out on DVD in the UK

[Jeff]

I'd love to see a couple of Forbes' other early films released as well, namely the still-never-released-on-DVD-or-Blu "Whistle Down the Wind" and "The L-Shaped Room." Sony currently owns the latter; I'm not sure who owns the former. :-k

Janus actually owns the U.S. rights to both Whistle Down the Wind and Séance on a Wet Afternoon. Both have been part of their catalog since the 60s. They released Séance on DVD via Home Vision, but have never, to my knowledge, issued Whistle on any home media format.

[MoonlitKnight]

Yeah, I got the "Séance" DVD not long before it went OOP. These smaller, lesser-known British films always seem to end up falling through the cracks here in the States. :-k

[JSC]

Bumping up this thread because it seems that Sandpiper Pictures are bringing a long overdue release of Marat/Sade
to blu-ray in September.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Marat-an ... ay/363974/

I've seen this company at the peripherals for a while. Does anyone have info on this label? No website or social media footprint.
They seem to have access to a chunk of Twilight Time's back catalog as they've put out most of Woody Allen's films from those
original releases. They've released about seventy titles so far (according to bluray.com)

[beamish14]

Bumping up this thread because it seems that Sandpiper Pictures are bringing a long overdue release of Marat/Sade
to blu-ray in September.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Marat-an ... ay/363974/

I've seen this company at the peripherals for a while. Does anyone have info on this label? No website or social media footprint.
They seem to have access to a chunk of Twilight Time's back catalog as they've put out most of Woody Allen's films from those
original releases. They've released about seventy titles so far (according to bluray.com)

About goddamn time.

[crimlaw]

Marat/Sade was long rumored to be Criterion bound.

I hope Sandpiper doesn’t get its hands on other MGM rumored Criterion titles:

Moulin Rouge ‘53
The Defiant Ones
The Entertainer
Darling
Burn
Carnal Knowledge

However, since Criterion is unlikely to re-release these two other MGM laserdisc titles, Sandpiper could wind up releasing the following:

Last Tango in Paris
Annie Hall

[dwk]

Sandpiper actually announced a number of MGM titles that i would have figured Kino would have gone after: Moby Dick (1956), Lord of Illusions (hell Kino released Rawhead Rex and Underworld on UHD), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), Saving Grace, & Lady in White.

[beamish14]

Marat/Sade was long rumored to be Criterion bound.

I hope Sandpiper doesn’t get its hands on other MGM rumored Criterion titles:

Moulin Rouge ‘53
The Defiant Ones
The Entertainer
Darling
Burn
Carnal Knowledge

However, since Criterion is unlikely to re-release these two other MGM laserdisc titles, Sandpiper could wind up releasing the following:

Last Tango in Paris
Annie Hall

Kino Lorber pretty much outright stated that the reason they could never release Marat is because Criterion sat on it for so long. Very odd. Maybe Lord of the Flies sold poorly on Blu, or the materials jury weren’t up to snuff (although the HD version I saw on MGM Movies looked great)

I thought Carnal Knowledge was Studio Canal. The 4K restoration played at a number of venues last year

[dwk]

MGM has the home video rights to Carnal Knowledge.

[beamish14]

MGM has the home video rights to Carnal Knowledge.

Ah. I remember the DVD from 25 years ago that MGM released. I really hope Moby Dick can capture its truly exceptional color palette

[swo17]

Indicator teased having Carnal Knowledge a couple years ago

[beamish14]

Does MGM still have Kurosawa’s Rhapsody in August? I really wish Criterion would release his two final features

[domino harvey]

Isn’t Huston’s Moulin Rouge with Fox, ie not getting released?

[beamish14]

Isn’t Huston’s Moulin Rouge with Fox, ie not getting released?

Yep. Hold onto the excellent BFI release

[domino harvey]

Yes, we were extremely lucky that BFI eked that unsung masterpiece out before the vaults closed

[beamish14]

Yes, we were extremely lucky that BFI eked that unsung masterpiece out before the vaults closed

I saw a beautiful Technicolor print of it at UCLA’s massive Huston retro a few years ago. Shame very few people came to any of the screenings. Pleibs

[ryannichols7]

Indicator teased having Carnal Knowledge a couple years ago

and it was confirmed it's coming from Canal. I think we've seen this a few times - several films that MGM own the rights to in the US are owned by Canal in the UK. Darling is also definitely one of those titles. I off hand can't remember which catalog that is - Embassy Pictures? Gramercy? I know I could easily Google this, but The Graduate also applies

[dwk]

Embassy.

[crimlaw]

It looks like Studiocanal has, since acquiring the Romulos catalog in 2021, completed a 4K restoration of Moulin Rouge. Hopefully we’ll see a 4K release soon and, maybe a Criterion pickup. Looks like they also have the restored 4K of Carnal Knowledge.

https://www.studiocanal.com/rail/brand- ... torations/

Studiocanal also has Moby Dick and previously released a blu ray, but there is no word whether a 4K restoration is in the works, which is a shame.

[ryannichols7]

I hope Sandpiper doesn’t get its hands on other MGM rumored Criterion titles:

Moulin Rouge ‘53
The Defiant Ones
The Entertainer
Darling
Burn
Carnal Knowledge

However, since Criterion is unlikely to re-release these two other MGM laserdisc titles, Sandpiper could wind up releasing the following:

Last Tango in Paris
Annie Hall

Crimlaw's post in the Vinegar Syndrome thread reminded me of this list. does MGM hold Moulin Rouge in the US? I thought Fox held it and that's why the BFI went OOP? but now that we have Carnal Knowledge and Darling just got a UK 4K, maybe we will see more movement on this list. I could absolutely see Criterion put Darling out and it's been confirmed for eons they have Burn, so maybe this is a list to look at

we won't talk about what happened with Last Tango..