criterionforum.org

Georges Franju: Judex (1963) & Nuits rouges (1974)

Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but they were recently released together in France, so there is a chance. I would love to see Thomas l'imposteur too, but I guess that's more unlikely...

ANY Franju from anyone would be mindblowing at this point

This is a really vague teaser, and therefore, very mean to those of us who previously had some hope of getting some sleep tonight!

How about narrowing it down thusly: are any new countries being introduced to the MoC line, and if so, which are they?

Another shot in the dark: D + 1997 = La Vie de Jésus.

That's a good guess and would be an excellent addition. Mr. Wrigley is a Dumont fan, after all...

What A Disgrace wrote:Please let the 1931 film be Mario Peixote's Limite.

I asked Nick about that one a couple of years ago, and he did say they hoped to do it at some point. Man, that would make my year...As exciting as this thread is, I think I'll need to avoid it until announcements become official as it just might drive me mad!

fiddlesticks wrote:No "N" = No "Naruse Vol. 2," at least not in 2008.

I shed a few (discreet) tears at that omission.

That's 20 films in the last half of 2008, which has to be some sort of volume record for MoC. I'm thrilled because I was under the impression you guys were cutting down on the releases.

Viva MoC!

Just a hunch, but I think there will be no major Visconti releases this year now that Rocco and His Brothers has been released. So probably the upcoming 1924 film will be Dziga Vertov's Kino-Glaz.

Whoever mentioned The Red Desert - I am afraid this is being released by BFI.

I had already made this prediction in the wishlist thread V+1965 = Vaghe stelle dell'Orsa..., I'm agreeing with - R+1932 = La Nuit de Carrefour and A+1976 = Jeanne Dielman. Though I would also love that R to be Rosi, Rivette, Rocha, Rossellini and both Rays! Also Medea seems like a safe bet.

You are a real tease Mr. Wrigley. Thanks for the information (what there is of it!) it looks like 2008 is going to be a great year. So when can we expect the new catalogue, May? Because this is going to drive me mad.

Ok, I think we know the following:

1932 - D = Vampyr

I put a wild guess at

1931 - J = Berlin Alexanderplatz (Jutzi) , and I hope I'm wrong...

Now 1924 is difficult, if it's not "Nibelungen". I still dream of seeing Pabst's "Freudlose Gasse", but I think this is from '25...
So, I go for the unlikely, but very welcome "Berg des Schicksals" by Fanck.

And now, please let G be for Greenaway. Either 1992, "The Baby of Macon",
or even better, 2004 = "Tulse Luper Suitcases".

I'd prefer G = Ritwik Ghatak with 1965, Subarnarekha

G could also be Vent d'Est, though I'm still vainly hoping that 1969 is going to be Rocha's Antonio das Mortes, however I would also like R to be Rivettes Out 1: Spectre, having said that 1972 could also be Anger's Lucifer Rising coupled with Scorpio Rising from 1964. 1964 could still be Parajanov's Shadows of our Forgotten Ancestors, though I doubt it, P could also Pabst's Kameradschaft and 1931 could be Limite or La Chienne, P could also still be Pasolini's Medea or Arabian Nights from 1974, which could be India Song and D could also be Davies' The Long Day Closes. A could be Macunaima, though I am hoping for more Antonioni. What a nightmare! Am I thinking about this too much?

What gives me a nightmare is that you mention so many films that are already out somewhere in classy editions, so I hope you're wrong about "Medea", Anger and Paradjanov at least

Seriously, I fear that Rivette is out if I interpret Nick's reply correctly. If not, then of course please, please, PLEASE: R= Rivette=1994= Jeanne La Pucelle.

I mean, Nick, you can't leave Rivette to the guys at AE or, even worse, Bluebell. You just can't.

Sick day. Take this for speculation.

King Vidor’s Street Scenes, 1931
Bimal Roy's Bandini, 1963
Mario Monicelli’s I Compagni, 1963 or
Parenti serpenti, 1992
Glauber Rocha’s Black God, White Devil, 1964
Oldrich Lipsky’s Lemonade Joe, 1964
Ritwik Ghattak’s The Golden Thread, 1965
or Reason, Debate and a Story, 1974
Francesco Rosi’s Matter of Truth, 1965 or
Cadaveri eccellenti, 1976
Pietro Germi’s Signore & Signori, 1965 (though all the Criterion Germis also qualify)
Frantisek Vlacil’s Valley of the Bees, 1968 or
Adelheid, 1969 or
Smoke on the Potato Fields, 1976
Juraj Jakubisco’s Birds, Orphans and Fools, 1969
Dariush Mehrjui’s The Cow, 1969 or
The Cyclist, 1978
Leila, 1996 or
The Pear Tree, 1998
Zoltan Fabri’s The Boys of Paul Street, 1969 or
The Fifth Seal, 1976
Miklos Jancso’s Sparkling Winds. 1969 or
Sirocco, 1969 or
Red Psalm, 1972
Metodi Andonov’s The Goat’s Horn, 1972
Djibril Diop Mambéty’s Touki Booki, 1973 or
Hyenas, 1992
Tomas Guiterrez Alea’s The Last Supper, 1976 or
Strawberries and Chocolate, 1994
Francesco Rosi’s Cadaveri eccellenti, 1976
Jiri Menzel’s Seclusion Near a Forest, 1976
Eric Rohmer’s Percival, 1978
João César Monteiro’s Recollections of a Yellow House, 1989 or
The Last Dive, 1992
Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Vidheyan, 1992
Billie August’s The Best Intentions, 1992
Lucien Pintille’s Balanta, 1992 or
An Unforgettable Summer, 1994
Terminus paradis, 1998
Zhang Ke Jia’s Still Life, 2004

I quit.

Tommaso wrote:What gives me a nightmare is that you mention so many films that are already out somewhere in classy editions, so I hope you're wrong about "Medea", Anger and Paradjanov at least

Yes but they don't have UK releases (as far as I am aware) so they can't be ruled out unfortunately. I'd like to see more premiere's but we can't have what we want all the time (or the letters would be different in my case - more R's)!

I'm sure what Nick has got planned will be great though!

FSimeoni wrote:D could also be Davies' The Long Day Closes

This will be released by the BFI alongside the Trilogy at some point in the future (hopefully later this year).

FSimeoni wrote:Yes but they don't have UK releases (as far as I am aware) so they can't be ruled out unfortunately.

You're right, of course. But so far MoC thankfully didn't do too many doubles, unless they were necessary (the Langs and Murnaus, "Vampyr")

FSimeoni wrote: I'd like to see more premiere's but we can't have what we want all the time (or the letters would be different in my case - more R's)!

Me too! Rivette, Renoir, Ruttmann, Rossellini's TV films(!!)...
Which gives me the chance for correcting my first post above, as "Vampyr" doesn't count as it's confirmed anyway.

So, then:
1932 -R- La Nuit du Carrefour (Renoir)

I wonder what that T stands for... I'd jump for a definite version of "Mirror", but that seems out of the question due to the damned AE release. Same for "Nostalghia", of course...

FSimeoni wrote:I'm sure what Nick has got planned will be great though!

Yep! I predict a very interesting year, though I'm surprised to see so many relatively new films, and apparently only one silent...
But Nick's teasing is indeed awful!

And another addition, which just struck me like lightning(why didn't I think about it in the first place??) and would make me completely happy, and which IS possible:

1969=P=Powell, "Age of Consent".

Tommaso wrote:Me too! Rivette, Renoir, Ruttmann, Rossellini's TV films(!!)...

Ruttman! Of course what a good choice, how I wish that were a possibility. Plus don't forget the two Rays, Rosi, Rouch and Rocha!

What A Disgrace wrote:Francesco Rosi’s Matter of Truth, 1965 or Cadaveri eccellenti, 1976

[Drool]...

I'm still holding out for one of the M's being a Melville which would account for one of the two director's previously issued and I agree with those who reckon the V is more than likely Visconti. So for my money that's the two likely suspects with previous form guv.

I'm pretty sure it's not correct but i really hop the '89-film is Kira Muratova's Astenicheskiy sindrom.

Aelita could be the 1924 pick.

I would be glad if MoC got any Russian films...I had purposely left off considering any Russian films in my list of speculations (if you must know, I haven't seen any of the films I listed!), since they tend to be in very bad shape, and Ruscico and the like seem very difficult to deal with.

If Russian and Soviet films are possible, though...I'd gladly snatch up Shadows Of Our Forgotten Ancestors, since I've yet to break down and get the Kino set. Or any Ryazanov, Daneliya, Romm, Muratova...whatever Nick and co deem worthy and manage to get. Wouldn't mind seeing Artour Aristakisian's second film, A Place In The World, either. Palms blew me away.

What A Disgrace wrote:I would be glad if MoC got any Russian films...I had purposely left off considering any Russian films in my list of speculations (if you must know, I haven't seen any of the films I listed!), since they tend to be in very bad shape, and Ruscico and the like seem very difficult to deal with.

If Russian and Soviet films are possible, though...I'd gladly snatch up Shadows Of Our Forgotten Ancestors, since I've yet to break down and get the Kino set. Or any Ryazanov, Daneliya, Romm, Muratova...whatever Nick and co deem worthy and manage to get. Wouldn't mind seeing Artour Aristakisian's second film, A Place In The World, either. Palms blew me away.

Well I've only seen one from your list Alea's The Last Supper, which was certainly an interesting film though I far prefer Memories of Underdevelopment, The Last Supper was a bit like Godard's agirprop period, only where he alienated his audience Alea made them understand the political context of his movie by making it very simple (metaphorically and also literally in the film's narrative - the final shot especially). The film also features the titular supper which lasts for about an hour, and the rambling dialogue is quite heavy handed at times and to stage a scene in a single room (not that it hasn't worked before) is tiring.

I'd have to agree about the Paradjanov. I am not going to plump for the Kino as I just plain can't afford it and have no idea what I am going for, a single MoC would be far easier to digest.

FSimeoni wrote:I'd have to agree about the Paradjanov. I am not going to plump for the Kino as I just plain can't afford it and have no idea what I am going for, a single MoC would be far easier to digest.

But you're sure aware that the Kino Paradjanovs are all available on their own? As their "Shadows" first of all seems to be good (I still cling to the FsF, so there you have another alternative) and even has that intriguing documentary on his friendship with Tarkovsky, I can't see any reason why you shouldn't buy that one first and get the other films whenever you find it suitable. This way you could also avoid their old "Pomegranates" disc.

And indeed, more Russian films would be welcome, though not necessarily another "Aelita" (though 1924 makes it likely). But Kozintsev perhaps, or Barnet or Kuleshev?

BTW: All good suggestions so far, though I see this thread rapidly deteriorating into another MoC Wishlist, but of course Nick's teasing is the culprit...