criterionforum.org

Oh God, not more Ozu!

MyNameCriterionForum wrote:January 2009 Titles:

Andrei Rublev
Black Narcissus
Grand Illusion

Which would make this the best CC month for ages, even if I still can't find much fault with the existing "Grand Illusion" disc. They could follow it up in February with IKWIG (my God, how long must we still go with that godawful flickering disc?) and "Good Morning". Ahm, sorry, Ozu...

Anyone else hear that White Dog will be released sometime JAN '09?

Street Dude wrote:Anyone else hear that White Dog will be released sometime JAN '09?

Where did you hear this?

From a clerk at the Facet's Rental store in Chicago. He said that the release was rumored for Dec '07 or Jan '09.

I'm hoping December will be Sam Fuller month, myself. I'll know exactly what to ask for this Christmas.

Street Dude wrote:From a clerk at the Facet's Rental store in Chicago. He said that the release was rumored for Dec '07 or Jan '09.

Tell Miggy I said 'Hi!'

After recently viewing Playtime, would there be any chance Mon Oncle or M. Hulot's Holiday would get a re-issue? I'm guessing this is a big no, not sure if there are many things they could improve except maybe picture quality?

psufootball07 wrote:After recently viewing Playtime, would there be any chance Mon Oncle or M. Hulot's Holiday would get a re-issue? I'm guessing this is a big no, not sure if there are many things they could improve except maybe picture quality?

Probably not, because it took them forever to get the reissues out. But crazier things have happened. Insert snide Border Radio joke here.

Does anyone know the status of Mystery Train?

And to clarify, MGM's rights to Stranger Than Paradise (and did they own Night on Earth, too?) reverted back to Jarmusch, right?

Napier wrote:

psufootball07 wrote:After recently viewing Playtime, would there be any chance Mon Oncle or M. Hulot's Holiday would get a re-issue? I'm guessing this is a big no, not sure if there are many things they could improve except maybe picture quality?

Probably not, because it took them forever to get the reissues out. But crazier things have happened. Insert snide Border Radio joke here.

Don't know about Holiday, but Uncle looks like no brainer to re-issue - just compare CC with MK2's edition.

In general - the best Tati's films are getting the worst editions. Look at the great extras they are putting into Traffic - they should be on either Holiday or Uncle disks (my personal opinion)

kaujot wrote:Does anyone know the status of Mystery Train?

And to clarify, MGM's rights to Stranger Than Paradise (and did they own Night on Earth, too?) reverted back to Jarmusch, right?

there's probably a few more years on Jarmusch's contract with MGM for Stranger Than Paradise. Jarmusch generally always owns the rights to his films and licenses them for distribution (I'm not sure about Broken Flowers, as it is his first non-independent feature... and Year of the Horse is owned by Neil Young). Jarmusch, too, owns the original negatives of his films (except Year of the Horse, again), which makes it easy for Criterion.

and Night on Earth was New Line.

miless wrote:there's probably a few more years on Jarmusch's contract with MGM for Stranger Than Paradise. Jarmusch generally always owns the rights to his films and licenses them for distribution (I'm not sure about Broken Flowers, as it is his first non-independent feature... and Year of the Horse is owned by Neil Young). Jarmusch, too, owns the original negatives of his films (except Year of the Horse, again), which makes it easy for Criterion.

and Night on Earth was New Line.

Ah, thanks.

Jon Mulvaney wrote:We do plan to release "Odd Man Out" at some point, but a specific date hasn't yet been scheduled. Feel free to check back, and thanks for your email!

Figured as much...OOP Image DVD from a director already twice represented in the collection.

fortunato wrote:How about Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant? It has a pretty lame R1 release, but I don't know who owns the rights to it, etc. etc.

I think that'd be a pretty nice Criterion release, yeah?

I believe this was released by Artisan and Lionsgate now has the rights to all of their films. I supposed they are going to make a re-release of this one when the remake comes out to theaters.

solaris72 wrote:

Jon Mulvaney wrote:We do plan to release "Odd Man Out" at some point, but a specific date hasn't yet been scheduled. Feel free to check back, and thanks for your email!

Figured as much...OOP Image DVD from a director already twice represented in the collection.

Wasn't this originally in the Janus catalog at one time?

Cinephrenic wrote:

solaris72 wrote:

Jon Mulvaney wrote:We do plan to release "Odd Man Out" at some point, but a specific date hasn't yet been scheduled. Feel free to check back, and thanks for your email!

Figured as much...OOP Image DVD from a director already twice represented in the collection.

Wasn't this originally in the Janus catalog at one time?

Nope. But I do remember Mulvaney anwsering the same thing when the Image disc went OOP. This film has been on the Forthcoming list for a long time. I really hope that they finally release it next year.

Does anyone thinks there's a shot of Fassbinder's Deutschland im Herbst being brought into the Collection?

I've never seen it, but I'm incredibly interested in it. It sounds fascinating and I only see that it's available in Region 2 (I don't have a region-free player anymore - mine went tits up).

Thoughts?

Harmonov wrote:Does anyone thinks there's a shot of Fassbinder's Deutschland im Herbst being brought into the Collection?

I've never seen it, but I'm incredibly interested in it. It sounds fascinating and I only see that it's available in Region 2 (I don't have a region-free player anymore - mine went tits up).

Thoughts?

It's more Kluge's than Fassbinder's (he only directed a section of it) and it strikes me as an unlikley choice for a standalone Criterion release (but possible as an extra feature for a relevant film?), though it could certainly do with the solid contextualization a standalone release would bring.

Sort of related, I've wondered for a while whether Criterion have considered releasing any portmanteau films as an Eclipse box. There was a real rash of them in the 1960s, including many big name directors, and amongst all the patchiness are some real gems, but to date Criterion has only gone for fragments (e.g. Antoine et Colette, La Ricotta).

Any news on Face to Face? I've been dying to see the film even though I have a bootleg, but I'm wondering when Criterion would release it?...also anything on Vivre sa Vie?

canti10 wrote:Any news on Face to Face? I've been dying to see the film even though I have a bootleg, but I'm wondering when Criterion would release it?...also anything on Vivre sa Vie?

Have you looked here.

Cash Flagg wrote:I was wondering if you had any plans to release Pasolini's "Trilogy of Life" - Decameron, Canterbury Tales, and Arabian Nights.

John Mulvaney wrote:Yes we are planning to release that but a date hasn't been scheduled yet.

Cash Flagg wrote:

Cash Flagg wrote:I was wondering if you had any plans to release Pasolini's "Trilogy of Life" - Decameron, Canterbury Tales, and Arabian Nights.

John Mulvaney wrote:Yes we are planning to release that but a date hasn't been scheduled yet.

Excellent news considering I was just thinking about e-mailing them regarding the same titles. Hell, Criterion needs to get the rights to all of Pasolini's work. I recently had the unfortunate time of viewing some of the Pasolini releases from Waterbearer Films (their release of Porcile is one of the worst transfers I've ever encountered) and I fear even bothering to attempt watching their editions of Accatone or Oedipus Rex.

Accatone has impossible to read subtitles. White on white with no outline. Oedipus Rex was watchable, but what you would expect from the rest of the releases. However, the UK boxsets more than make up for them. Really, the Trilogy are the only ones I can think of without a decent (and not to mention, in-print) release, so this should fill out the availability for Pasolini-on-DVD nicely, save for someone subtitling the gorgeous Gospel... transfers currently floating around Europe so I can toss out the serviceable but lackluster Tartan.

Yes davidhare, an Eclipse box with portmanteau films would be nice! I´m all for the titles you mention, they would be first choices. There´s also THE DEVIL AND THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (early 60s, French all-star film), an early-Fifties, French TEN COMMANDMENTS, and a mid-Eighties French SEVEN DEADLY SINS movie (one segment by Akerman if I don´t misremember).