Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films

[redbill]

[quote="kinjitsu"]Most likely in reference to this:

The 44th New York Film Festival
September 29 – October 15, 2006

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

[Cinephrenic]

They did not!!!

Damn that is a beautiful box. I wonder if they consider selling it without the discs for people like me. Love the box and book from what I see.

[rumz]

Not sure if this has been mentioned anywhere, but I found out this will be a travelling show. Its coming to the Brattle in Cambridge (Boston area) this fall.

From what I gather (and this pertains to the Janus retro elsewhere), it's an abbreviated tour, yes? I've only noticed a few of the films from the NYFF/Janus retro coming to the Brattle.

[toiletduck!]

From what I gather (and this pertains to the Janus retro elsewhere), it's an abbreviated tour, yes? I've only noticed a few of the films from the NYFF/Janus retro coming to the Brattle.

Which few, if I may inquire? I'm assuming this'll make it's way to the Music Box, what can I hope for?

-Toilet Dcuk

[redbill]

Which few, if I may inquire? I'm assuming this'll make it's way to the Music Box, what can I hope for?

From the website (of the Brattle) it sounds like all of them, but they only have the first week's schedule up:

his series will take up an unprecedented 4 weeks of the Brattle schedule, running from October 25 through November 23, and encompasses films from 10 countries and work by 25 world-class directors. What follows is only the first week of programming - stay tuned for the full line-up!

Wednesday, October 25 & Thursday, October 26
New Restoration! Jean Renoir's RULES OF THE GAME
THE EARRINGS OF MADAME DE…

Friday, October 27
SEVEN SAMURAI

Saturday, October 28
Jean Cocteau's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE

Sunday, October 29
New Restoration! Carl Th. Dreyer's DAY OF WRATH
SANSHO THE BAILIFF

Monday, October 30
Nicolas Roeg's WALKABOUT

Tuesday, October 31
KWAIDAN

[Cinesimilitude]

Sorry, I've been waiting to use that for months.

That is going in the Miscellaneous section for sure, haha.

[oldsheperd]

Maybe they did want to give these out as gifts to employees and other company faves, but they got a better deal if they printed in bigger volume.

[zedz]

But do we know they're really going to be released individually? Any guesses on when we might see them?

I think it's a safe bet that they're in the pipeline. This is clearly a vanity project, but springing for nice new transfers of films that will otherwise go unreleased is taking vanity too far, and those three films are no-brainers for Criterion release. Miss Julie is a simply brilliant film, and I'd love to see even more Sjoberg released.

The Turell documentaries are an unknown quantity for me - can anybody report on them? They don't exactly sound like contenders for stand-alone release from Criterion, more like extras (Showboat, anyone?), and the earlier two, at least, seem so broad in focus it's hard to imagine them comfortably attached to any individual film.

Another possibility to consider is that this set might contain the first airing of new transfers for some of the older titles. I don't think that any of the films included have notoriously inadequate transfers, but The Third Man could be new, since a rerelease is apparently in the works, and The Seventh Seal must be showing its age by now (and is another obvious contender for a future redo).

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

The Turell documentaries are an unknown quantity for me - can anybody report on them? They don't exactly sound like contenders for stand-alone release from Criterion, more like extras (Showboat, anyone?)

Or The Emperor Jones, which the Robeson doc was paired with on LD. The current bare-bones edition is from Image, so Criterion could probably reissue it if they wanted to. The Love Goddesses actually was a standalone release on LD (albeit from Voyager, not Criterion), but I agree -- I don't see Criterion going that route. For the uninitiated, here's a decent bio of Turell that goes into his history with Janus.

[hammock]

Just got this e-mail:

Hi Christian,

Thank you for your email. We really appreciate getting feedback and suggestions from our customers. I understand your frustration, but we are only licensed to sell the Janus Box in the United States. However, it will be availble from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and DVD Planet. These other etailers may be able to offer additional shipping options. Thank you for your commitment to The Criterion Collection, and I hope this information helps! Please feel free to contact us again with questions and concerns.

Sincerely,

The Criterion Collection Store

[montgomery]

This set is so utterly ridiculous that it would be a crime to buy it.
It's for 2 types of people: Brainwashed completists, and rich people who, with one expensive purchase, can buy themselves good taste in films, i.e. culture.

[Dr. Mabuse]

This set is so utterly ridiculous that it would be a crime to buy it. It's for 2 types of people: Brainwashed completists, and rich people who, with one expensive purchase, can buy themselves good taste in films, i.e. culture.

And in a free world, your problem is?

[Antoine Doinel]

Uh, perhaps I'm getting myself set up to be shot, but I am getting this set. I am neither rich, nor a completist but my girlfriend and I will split the cost and it will act as a Christmas gift.

The book looks fantastic and I think this is a great way to dive into the Criterion collection. I only own a handful of Criterion titles of which only one is duplicated in the box (La Strada), and with the book, I think this is a wonderful way to watch and learn about some of the films in Criterion's massive catalog that I wouldn't otherwise seek out.

I think the negative reaction this box is getting is somewhat ridiculous. What were you expecting? 50 Criterion DVDs and a book for $100? As someone else mentions it breaks down to $13/disc. Not bad at all for a incredible set of world cinema you would be hard pressed to find elsewhere for the same price along with a book that looks absolutely gorgeous. Could the selections be better? Probably - but I'm not going to nitpick, but enjoy what it has to offer.

[arsonfilms]

Uh, perhaps I'm getting myself set up to be shot, but I am getting this set. I am neither rich, nor a completist but my girlfriend and I will split the cost and it will act as a Christmas gift.

The book looks fantastic and I think this is a great way to dive into the Criterion collection. I only own a handful of Criterion titles of which only one is duplicated in the box (La Strada), and with the book, I think this is a wonderful way to watch and learn about some of the films in Criterion's massive catalog that I wouldn't otherwise seek out.

I think the negative reaction this box is getting is somewhat ridiculous. What were you expecting? 50 Criterion DVDs and a book for $100? As someone else mentions it breaks down to $13/disc. Not bad at all for a incredible set of world cinema you would be hard pressed to find elsewhere for the same price along with a book that looks absolutely gorgeous. Could the selections be better? Probably - but I'm not going to nitpick, but enjoy what it has to offer.

Aside from the wealthy and the completists, you are precisely who this box is intended to interest. The opposition to it from the rest of us isn't meant to reflect on the price per se, it's the idea of a box with 50 discs in it at all. I've already got 15 of the films represented, so I just want the book. If you don't have (m)any of the films represented and you're interested in them all, it's a spectacular bargain at $13 a disc plus a few t-shirts (you and your girlfriend will have to decide whether or not you want to match - could be cute, I vote yes) and a gorgeous looking book. I hope you get a lot of enjoyment out of it, just let us know how it is.

[montgomery]

Yes, it is entirely possible that one of the reasons I am upset is because I own the bulk of the films included in the box, and the cost to me was significantly more than 650.

[dx23]

Uh, perhaps I'm getting myself set up to be shot, but I am getting this set. I am neither rich, nor a completist but my girlfriend and I will split the cost and it will act as a Christmas gift.

The book looks fantastic and I think this is a great way to dive into the Criterion collection. I only own a handful of Criterion titles of which only one is duplicated in the box (La Strada), and with the book, I think this is a wonderful way to watch and learn about some of the films in Criterion's massive catalog that I wouldn't otherwise seek out.

I think the negative reaction this box is getting is somewhat ridiculous. What were you expecting? 50 Criterion DVDs and a book for $100? As someone else mentions it breaks down to $13/disc. Not bad at all for a incredible set of world cinema you would be hard pressed to find elsewhere for the same price along with a book that looks absolutely gorgeous. Could the selections be better? Probably - but I'm not going to nitpick, but enjoy what it has to offer.

The problem is that people want the book, but don't want to pay that high of a price for DVDs that they already have. I think that the 50 Criterion DVDs are unnesecesary, since the target market for this item is people like us, who already own at least 25% of what is included on the set. They should released only the book and nobody would complain. If they want to do a DVD for this special occacion, then it would have been better if they released something similar to the Criterion Goes to the Movies CD-Rom that they produced in their laserdisc days. Or they could have released the new Seven Samurai re-release with a special 50th anniversary banner.

[godardslave]

i am 99.9% sure this box has no special features.
which makes it suck even more.

in summary: this box = #-o

[Antoine Doinel]

I can see both sides of the argument. For the die hard or even casual Criterion-head, the box is extravagant and somewhat pointless. But from Criterion's perspective it makes a great gift for cinephiles and educational institutions and libraries will probably be buying this up as well as it's a much cheaper way for them to add these titles to their film departments or shelves.

I will agree however that Criterion should make the book available seperately.

Sadly, as I live in Canada, there will be no free t-shirts for me. I'm just crossing my fingers that Amazon.ca will be carrying this so I won't have to pay shipping from Amazon US for this thing.

[Noir of the Night]

While I generally agree that the customer base for this thing can't be very large, I don't really think it's decadent or a waste or anything, as some of you do.

As a college student, this is the kind of thing that would make a great Christmas present for me, as a film student. I only own a few of the films in this box, and the set would be a great way to learn about a lot of these films and the art that went into their creation.

Not saying I'll actually get it, but I do kind of want it.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

i am 99.9% sure this box has no special features.
which makes it suck even more.

I can't share your cynicism on this point, at least not completely. Going through 47 previously-released titles and re-authoring them to eliminate the special features and all references to them (i.e. the menus) would be an amibitious undertaking. That said, I am wondering if the second disc will be included in the case of two-disc sets (the fact that Floating Weeds is listed but not A Story of Floating Weeds doesn't bode well).

[montgomery]

As someone who does DVD authoring, I can tell you that re-authoring all the discs without special features would be quite easy, especially if all the menus for these 50 films are going to resemble each other (which they probably will, if the pictures of the DVDs themselves are any indication).

The real problem with this box set is that anyone who really wants the book probably has at least a handful of these films. Anyway, I think the elaborate packaging is what a lot of people won't be able to pass up--people love elaborate packaging it seems. I also suspect that this set may have been designed to win an award, for best packaging, best reissue, best scholarship, whatever. Although many of the people who give out these awards are unknown to the general public, people in the field love that shit.

[Narshty]

I'm wondering why Kind Hearts and Coronets is in there, when they had to sub-licence it from Anchor Bay just earlier this year. Have the rights issues changed since then?

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

As someone who does DVD authoring, I can tell you that re-authoring all the discs without special features would be quite easy, especially if all the menus for these 50 films are going to resemble each other (which they probably will, if the pictures of the DVDs themselves are any indication).

I was assuming they would keep the original menu designs, which would be a bit of a pain if they really do intend to rip out all the special features, although it wouldn't be more than a few days of work if they still have the original menu art assets sitting around on a hard drive somewhere. A new unified menu design didn't occur to me but it's a possibility. Personally I think these will just be the originals with some new disc artwork.

[j. alfred prufrock]

I think that for those who only own a handful of these title, 25% or less, buying it should be a consideration. Selling your stand alone titles on ebay could generate almost as much money as you paid for them, and that money could go towards the purchase of the box. I guess the real issue is what exactly will be on the disc. Should we ask Matt (Lipson that is)?

[HerrSchreck]

I think that for those who only own a handful of these title, 25% or less, buying it should be a consideration. Selling your stand alone titles on ebay could generate almost as much money as you paid for them, and that money could go towards the purchase of the box. I guess the real issue is what exactly will be on the disc. Should we ask Matt (Lipson that is)?

Why would anyone dispense with their feature-rich CC's to generate cash for barebones versions of the same films?

But from Criterion's perspective it makes a great gift for cinephiles and educational institutions and libraries will probably be buying this up as well as it's a much cheaper way for them to add these titles to their film departments or shelves.

Probable correction: change that to "brand new cinephiles and newly minted film students", as few real deal cinephiles who've been tuned in for a number of years will not already own a massive chunk of the flicks in the box. Same deal with educational institutions-- I can't imagine that any reputable film school, at least those in major cities, would not have the vast central chunk of films in this box in their collections.

Libraries a different story.. I have no idea whether or not a box with this kind of price tag could be approved even if the excited spinster librarian came to the govt purchasing dept with a promise that not only did the box provide all these Culturally Significant, Really Really Good Films, but also came with a Bonus Barbara Eden who popped out the box and did your bidding after a little rub of her flesh...

I think the sense of frustration some of our baffled posters-- the ones wo think we're being mysteriously nasty for resenting the box-- are detecting is this: many here feel a deep connection to this co, who maintain an open line via newsletters and Matt... and with the price tag on their discs, one likes to believe, rightly or wrongly, that these releases, from month to month & year to year, represent the end-result of their interactive operation whereby the products "feel" "right up our alley". This box contains a wonderful looking book that we'd all love but yet zooms right over all of us hardcore central customers who help keep CC afloat and are part of the ongoing product dialog w their company. And it feels a little inconsiderate to cut us all out of the ability to acquire the book without blowing hundreds of bucks on discs we all have in superior editions. They don't seem to have thought about the fact that We The People (very dramatic!) So Important To CC, and for whom the CC Is So Important To Us-- this whole reciprocal relationship seems to have been blooped right over, cutting us out of one of their more unique & interesting products in years. There's absolutely no way somebody like me who owns such a huge chunk of the collection is going to spring for that box. I'd love to grab that book, but there's just no way for me to get it right now.

In fairness, technically it's a Janus box-- not a CC box. But I mean, come on... for all intents & purposes.. where'd they get the film transfers from? I'd like to console myself saying the book will just be fifty booklets presented in extravagant form, but as it's a coffee table book, there's probably tons of non-booklet photgraphs in there, and there's no guarantee that the pictures will only correspond to the 50 flicks in the box.