criterionforum.org

organica wrote: Sun Dec 01, 2019 4:40 pm It also looks like the price on the US store is about £25 less than via Amazon UK - even including the import fees deposits. Am kind of wondering if there's a catch here, since the seller on the UK site is none other than... Amazon US...

That factoring the shipping costs? It is a really heavy set and I think Amazon charges more to ship it than usual.

Important to note, if you are going to order if from Amazon.com. do it right now, before the Barnes and Noble sale ends and Amazon raises the price back to whatever it usually is.

dwk wrote: Sun Dec 01, 2019 6:11 pm Important to note, if you are going to order if from Amazon.com. do it right now, before the Barnes and Noble sale ends and Amazon raises the price back to whatever it usually is.

It's done.

Didn't specifically say in was a Black Weekend deal, but at $150 plus shipping and import duties I figured there was no point hanging around.

All in, it's working out at £4.24 a film, which is ludicrous value.

March:

Anatomy of a Murder
Antonio Gaudi
The French Lieutenant's Woman

The one I'd want, I have already imported. Cold month.

April UK:

146 The Cranes Are Flying
880 They Live By Night
1022 Prince of Tides

2/3 ain't bad.

As seen in the BBFC thread on the Blu-ray.com forums, it appears that the commentary on The Prince of Tides has gotten the disc an 18 from the BBFC.

Update from Blu-ray.com (originating on Melon Farmers apparently) - the film itself would be an 18 if resubmitted today because of the updated GGFC Guidelines

Spoiler

in respect of scenes of sexual violence.

Confirmation that Janus/Criterion has the UK rights to In the Mood for Love.(They also have the Australian and New Zealand rights.)

dwk wrote: Wed Feb 19, 2020 3:12 pm Confirmation that Janus/Criterion has the UK rights to In the Mood for Love.(They also have the Australian and New Zealand rights.)

Thank God, this must mean we finally get it on Blu-ray. Even better if they have the rights to all the Wong films so we get the upcoming box set! I already have the AE discs for Fallen Angels and Chungking Express - in fact they were two of the first discs I bought on the format - and got Ashes of Time not long after as well. The others I just have on DVD so it's going to be great to upgrade them all, if that's what Criterion are planning.

What's interesting is that I assume this means Tartan lost the rights to In the Mood for Love, then surely they lost the rights to 2046 too. Since it seems Criterion might not be including that film in their box set, I wonder if another label such as Arrow, Eureka or BFI could pick that one up? Would be a shame to get nearly everything in HD but miss out one of his last major efforts. It is curious why Criterion seem to be omitting that one.

May releases:
Lola Montes
Apu Trilogy
Destry Rides Again

Wasn't/isn't Apu with Artificial Eye though?

Finch wrote:Wasn't/isn't Apu with Artificial Eye though?

It was, but their DVD release has been OOP for years

Apu is the time of title I'd never import, but may well pick up over here. Already got Montes.

Up for all three of these titles but particularly keen to get The Apu Trilogy. That said the last couple of triple box sets dropped to just over £40 after a couple of months so I might wait 'til mid/late Summer and see if that happens with this one too.

Calvin wrote: Fri Feb 21, 2020 8:00 am

Finch wrote:Wasn't/isn't Apu with Artificial Eye though?

It was, but their DVD release has been OOP for years

Okay, if AE haven't bothered to bring it back in print, then it looks like they let the rights expire. I'd like to think Criterion gave Sony a bollocking and got them to check the rights situation before announcing Apu.

June:

Scorsese Shorts
Dance, Girl, Dance
Husbands

And the crowd goes... mild.

Come and See please. Or will it get cancelled like the other Russian films that were announced like Andrei Rublev and War and Peace?

L.A. wrote: Mon Mar 30, 2020 3:58 pm Come and See please. Or will it get cancelled like the other Russian films that were announced like Andrei Rublev and War and Peace?

Both cancelled due to BBFC cuts...would Come and See receive the same treatment? If so any Criterion release would certainly end up being cancelled, which would be a shame.

rapta wrote:

L.A. wrote: Mon Mar 30, 2020 3:58 pm Come and See please. Or will it get cancelled like the other Russian films that were announced like Andrei Rublev and War and Peace?

Both cancelled due to BBFC cuts...would Come and See receive the same treatment? If so any Criterion release would certainly end up being cancelled, which would be a shame.

I don't think it has ever been cut in the UK before

It has indeed never been cut, and is most unlikely to be. Indeed, it only got a 15 certificate even under a notionally far tougher BBFC regime.

The UK releases of Andrei Rublev and War and Peace are presumed to have been cancelled because of clearly unsimulated animal cruelty carried out for the film (or at least there's no concrete evidence demonstrating otherwise), and it's illegal to distribute such material under the 1937 Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act. And under the 1984 Video Recordings Act the BBFC is legally required to remove such footage unless it falls under two exemptions: if the apparent cruelty was faked (and this can be proved), or if it would have happened regardless of the camera's presence. Clearly the second loophole doesn't apply here, and it's very unlikely that the first one does either. Criterion clearly had the option to release cut versions, but chose not to.

But I don't recall this being an issue with Come and See, and I suspect the original classification notice would have mentioned this - and it doesn't.

I dont recall anything in the movie that woukd usually get cut by the BBFC.
I'm surprised however it only got a 15 rating.

It's not unusual for the BBFC to give comparatively lenient classifications to films set during wartime that are clearly serious and responsible, even if they deal with extreme material - Platoon, Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan were also 15s, and all passed as such prior to the great BBFC liberalisation of 2000.

No cuts, good to know. Still worried whether some individual comes forward and proclaims ”Nein, nein, nein. You cannot release that, because I own the rights” or something.