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That would be good because maybe then more people would be able to realize that Summer Interlude is far superior to the overrated Summer With Monika

domino harvey wrote:That would be good because maybe then more people would be able to realize that Summer Interlude is far superior to the overrated Summer With Monika

While I like Monika, I do agree about Summer Interlude. For me, it's one of his best and most satisfying films.

Why can't they bring out Bergman that hasn't been done to death. I agree that Face to Face and Marionettes need to be brought to DVD. Don't get me started on that Monika bizzatch. #-o

What we really need is Brink of Life with a John Waters commentary.

they do need to release Brink of Life as well. I can only hope for the best Bergman releases, lets not forget, Criterion won't release every Bergman title we havent seen in 2009, they wont treat us that good. So if we had to choose the titles we wanna see in 2009, it probably would be Face to Face, Summer Interlude, The Magician and Summer With Monika. One thing for certain, they are re-releasing The Seventh Seal, hopefully that wouldnt count as a new Bergman title..

Barmy wrote:Why can't they bring out Bergman that hasn't been done to death. I agree that Face to Face and Marionettes need to be brought to DVD. Don't get me started on that Monika bizzatch. #-o

Oh, go back to your headless woman/brainless director and leave Monika alone.

I ditto the recognition of "Summer Interlude." For me, the best of Bergman's early work, with it's emphasis of natural beauty and the photographic textures supporting both the gloomy present and the sun dappled flashbacks.

I can hardly wait for a Criterion dvd.

Panda

Yes, we plan to release "Rome, Open City" as part of a war trilogy box set (a release date hasn't yet been scheduled). We also plan to release at least one Josef von Sternberg silent film next year.
Sincerely,


Jon Mulvaney

Off topic, I know, but I just wanted to let everyone know that there will be more Rossellini for '09. Also does anybody have any ideas on what Sternberg silent(s) will be released?

AfterTheRain wrote:

We also plan to release at least one Josef von Sternberg silent film next year.
Sincerely,

Jon Mulvaney

Also does anybody have any ideas on what Sternberg silent(s) will be released?

Wow! Underworld and Docks of New York would be the frontrunners for me, and I'll happily take the phrasing above ("at least one") to signal that they have both up their sleeves, but don't know yet whether they'll both be out in 09. Reading even more into it, that uncertainty suggests that they're going to be full-fledged Criterions, not an Eclipse box, since if it were the latter they'd know at the very least that the multiple titles would be released at the same time.

Paging Dr Schreck to the Emergency Room! And don't forget your smelling salts!

Third guess would be The Last Command (1928), which just played at the Telluride Film Festival with an Alloy Orchestra live accompaniment. It was great! But who knows.

Holy shit! The history films of Rossellini and his war trilogy?

all we need now is a Ingrid Bergman-Rossellini set.

2009's lineup is already better than 2008's.

Underworld is Universal, isn't it?

All three of the silents we're made at Paramount, so I figure all three would be in the same licensing situation.

War trilogy and Sternberg!!!!!

Now, only if they'd get to Anatahan!

It's definitely The Last Command and it will have the Alloy Orchestra soundtrack on it. After a screening earlier this week at the New York Film Festival, a guy from Alloy was selling CDs in the lobby. Someone asked if they could buy the Last Command music and the Alloy guy said that it would be available on Criterion in about a year.

2009 is promising 3 Rossellini releases then...

HISTORY FILMS

RISE TO POWER OF LOUIS XIV

WAR TRILOGY

Incredible!

The War Trilogy is the best Criterion news for a long time. They have sorely needed decent releases for a long time.

FSimeoni wrote:The War Trilogy is the best Criterion news for a long time. They have sorely needed decent releases for a long time.

Absolutely. The only question is whether this will be Criterion or Eclipse. If they couldn't find any decent materials, I suspect the latter. What are the latest news from Italy of these being/having been fully restored?

ONE Sternberg next year seems to indicate a full-scale CC release, rather unbelievable considering that it will be a silent film, and definitely great news! Unless it's packed in some themed Eclipse set.

Tommaso wrote:

FSimeoni wrote:The War Trilogy is the best Criterion news for a long time. They have sorely needed decent releases for a long time.

Absolutely. The only question is whether this will be Criterion or Eclipse. If they couldn't find any decent materials, I suspect the latter. What are the latest news from Italy of these being/having been fully restored?

Yes, I was thinking that too - Eclipse would be still great, and especially to have PAISA on DVD with English subs for the first time, great also to the other two in decent editions with proper subs (extant R1 & R2 editions of ROME OPEN CITY fail to translate a lot of the dialogue)...

zedz wrote:Wow! Underworld and Docks of New York would be the frontrunners for me, and I'll happily take the phrasing above ("at least one") to signal that they have both up their sleeves, but don't know yet whether they'll both be out in 09. Reading even more into it, that uncertainty suggests that they're going to be full-fledged Criterions, not an Eclipse box, since if it were the latter they'd know at the very least that the multiple titles would be released at the same time.

I'm not so sure. I know that they were trying to gather supplements for the Lubitsch musicals (or at least The Smiling Lieutenant and One Hour with You) for some time, but the project didn't come off so they were relegated to the Eclipse range.

ellipsis7 wrote:Eclipse would be still great, and especially to have PAISA on DVD with English subs for the first time, great also to the other two in decent editions with proper subs (extant R1 & R2 editions of ROME OPEN CITY fail to translate a lot of the dialogue)...

You're right, of course, Eclipse would be better than nothing. But if any Rossellini films cry out for a massive bunch of extras, then these. And of course these are hardly 'overlooked' films (regarding the Eclipse mission statement). Anyway, I guess what we all crave for is a nice CC box set with a "Bicycle Thieves"-style book, and I don't care whether the "Paisa" print still has a few (or lots) of scratches or not. But even if they can't clean it up completely, I'll bet it will still be superior to any of the existing godawful cheapo discs. Now I'm only waiting for "Stromboli"...

I'm thrilled for the confirmation but a little worried at the same time.. weren't we semi-confirmed for an eclipse box of Sternberg silents already? Does this nix the box? Or does it add to the box (i e The Last Command on CC plus an Eclipse of Docks, Underworld, plus something like Thunderbolt or The Salvation Hunters?)

The Rossellini is of course fabulous news. I can't even watch the "restored" Open City dvd I have, its so bad. A sorely underprouced chunk of work.

I'm baffled by the affection for Summer Interlude (unless it's just typical cf.org contrarianism). It's got nice photography, but it runs pretty shallow. The WTF animated moment is really out of place too.

My most-wanted unreleased (in region 1, at least) Bergmans are The Magician, In the Presence of a Clown, Summer With Monika, Brink of Life, Secret of Women and Face to Face. But I'd be really happy to see an Eclipse set of Bergman's televised plays somewhere down the line. I just watched Markisinnan de Sade last night and it's fantastic.

Summer Interlude was a great movie and it has a great story. I've never seen Summer with Monika but I always hear that it is a great film as well. Like you, I'm hoping for an Eclipse set as well. Let's see what titles Criterion has in store for us Bergman fans.