'Forthcoming' Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.1

[ellipsis7]

Asked JM for an update on LA NOTTE...

We plan to release "La Notte" at some point in the future, but a specific date has not yet been scheduled.

[movielocke]

I'd point out this information was never posted at HTF, I searched through all the posts there pertaining to their studio visits and Wings was never mentioned in relationship to criterion. rather it was posted here first after someone corresponded via PM with someone from HTF, hardly the forum's fault, and if there had been plans to make this a criterion the leak here could have easily scuttled those plans ala the lack of Lynch on Criterion due to speculation/leaks.

but I came here to wonder aloud if criterion is going to take a new tack with eclipse this year. with the combo of a criterion rossellini and an eclipse rossellini I wonder if they're going to push a connected release pattern this year for the two lines? I know that one example is hardly indicative of a trend, but it made me pause. Certainly rumoured upcoming titles dovetail nicely with an eclipse release:
a criterion of Exterminating Angel and an eclipse of Mexican Bunuel, for instance
A criterion of Vivre sa Vie and an eclipse of minor Godard as another possibility
a criterion of The Only son and an eclipse of Ozu's war & postwar films (There was a Father, a Hen in the Wind, Record of a Tenement Gentleman, Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family)

this could be done for a lot of different directors, Naruse, Imamura and many more, and I think the concept would expand easily to non-director sets.

seems a shame that we didn't get a criterion of Story of the Last Chrysanthemum or Life of Oharu when we got the mizoguchi set.

And it'll probably wind up being nothing, just a relatively one-off occurance of criterion and eclipse matching up for january.

[Cinephrenic]

I'd point out this information was never posted at HTF, I searched through all the posts there pertaining to their studio visits and Wings was never mentioned in relationship to criterion. rather it was posted here first after someone corresponded via PM with someone from HTF, hardly the forum's fault, and if there had been plans to make this a criterion the leak here could have easily scuttled those plans ala the lack of Lynch on Criterion due to speculation/leaks.

but I came here to wonder aloud if criterion is going to take a new tack with eclipse this year. with the combo of a criterion rossellini and an eclipse rossellini I wonder if they're going to push a connected release pattern this year for the two lines? I know that one example is hardly indicative of a trend, but it made me pause. Certainly rumoured upcoming titles dovetail nicely with an eclipse release:
a criterion of Exterminating Angel and an eclipse of Mexican Bunuel, for instance
A criterion of Vivre sa Vie and an eclipse of minor Godard as another possibility
a criterion of The Only son and an eclipse of Ozu's war & postwar films (There was a Father, a Hen in the Wind, Record of a Tenement Gentleman, Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family)

seems a shame that we didn't get a criterion of Story of the Last Chrysanthemum or Life of Oharu when we got the mizoguchi set.

And it'll probably wind up being nothing, just a relatively one-off occurance of criterion and eclipse matching up for january.

There will be several Mizoguchi, Ozu, and probably Naruse, etc... The next Criterion line Mizoguchi is highly likely to be Life of Oharu.

[What A Disgrace]

Having only seen Repast...I think the ideal; or at least most obvious solution to, the Naruse problem would contain his Fumiko Hayashi films. I imagine Eclipse would be most likely for such a project, but it'd be much nicer if Criterion went all out with a six disc Naruse box in the main line.

[Aqua Narc]

Hi guys, just wanted to share this email I got from Jon Mulvaney. I asked "if there is a possibility of releasing any of Yimaz Guney’s film or any films from Iran or India, perhaps some Abbas Kiarostami, Bahamn Ghobadi, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, or the great Satyajit Ray?" and I got this answer:

To the best of my knowledge, we have no plans for any of Yimaz Guney's films at this time. We do plan to release another Kiarostami film in the future, but a release date has not yet been scheduled. Feel free to check back, and thanks for your email!
Sincerely,
Jon Mulvaney

Hm, that's odd. I emailed him no more than two months ago to ask specifically about Kiarostami and he said there were no plans to release any of his stuff. I certainly hope the answer you got is the real one. A Where is the Friend's Home Criterion would make my life complete (though I guess I'd settle for Olive Trees or something else).

[Matt]

I imagine Eclipse would be most likely for such a project, but it'd be much nicer if Criterion went all out with a six disc Naruse box in the main line.

It's been almost 2 years since Criterion released When a Woman Ascends the Stairs. If a full-featured Naruse box necessitates more waiting, I'd rather have an Eclipse set. Personally, I'd rather just have the Eclipse anyway. My kevyip is too big and my attention span too short to bother with supplements anymore.

[HerrSchreck]

I imagine Eclipse would be most likely for such a project, but it'd be much nicer if Criterion went all out with a six disc Naruse box in the main line.

It's been almost 2 years since Criterion released When a Woman Ascends the Stairs. If a full-featured Naruse box necessitates more waiting, I'd rather have an Eclipse set. Personally, I'd rather just have the Eclipse anyway. My kevyip is too big and my attention span too short to bother with supplements anymore.

You and me both, Matt. Sadly, excitement over extras a la Eisenstein; The Sound Years or Early Summer almost never recreated. You can't go home no more.

Though someone like Borzage & the coming box will see me tearing full bore into it...

[devin]

Does anyone who has seen the sell sheets for January know if El Norte was licensed from Lionsgate/Artisan Entertainment, or is it listed as being a Janus release? Artisan did the theatrical rerelease back in 2001ish. It's possible that they have the rights and were the licensor, which might mean more lionsgate/artisan titles. Sorry if this has been asnwered elsewhere on the forum. It's most likely Janus but it would be nice to know for sure.

[Jeff]

Does anyone who has seen the sell sheets for January know if El Norte was licensed from Lionsgate/Artisan Entertainment, or is it listed as being a Janus release?

It is listed as a Janus release.

[What A Disgrace]

Sony's disc of Pialat's Van Gogh seems to be OOP, as is New Yorker's Loulou...is there a possibility that Criterion would release the films, I wonder?

[domino harvey]

A lot of New Yorker titles are OOP, I think they just can't afford to reprint their titles

[Gregory]

Sony also lets huge portions of their catalog (the majority?) drop of out print after a few years -- maximum profitability and all that.

[Narshty]

To the best of my knowledge, we have no plans for "Holiday On The Buses" at this time. Feel free to check back, and thanks for your email!

Sincerely,
Jon Mulvaney

[tojoed]

Maybe not, but he hinted to me that an Eclipse Reg Varney set is coming soon.

[Cinephrenic]

Maybe not, but he hinted to me that an Eclipse Reg Varney set is coming soon.

Could you elaborate on this??? What did you ask and what was the answer?

[ellipsis7]

This is British 70's ITV comedy, which was so successful at the time it had a movie spinoff like many other small screen hits... Reg Varney played the bus driver, and was thus something of a cult figure... It was typically non PC and of its moment, and I suspect ages pretty badly... A fansite... Eclipse set is no doubt in jest, and not a feed from Criterion!...

[tojoed]

This is British 70's ITV comedy, which was so successful at the time it had a movie spinoff like many other small screen hits... Reg Varney played the bus driver, and was thus something of a cult figure... It was typically non PC and of its moment, and I suspect ages pretty badly... A fansite... Eclipse set is no doubt in jest, and not a feed from Criterion!...

Yes. I was just entering into the spirit of Narshty's post, which actually made me laugh out loud.

[Person]

This is a good representative clip from On the Buses:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_4w3otVP_zY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Apologies for the windowboxing.

"I hate you, Criterion."

[kaujot]

So will the February releases be announced on Friday with Saturday being the 15th or should I expect it to arrive between Saturday and Monday? God I hope Vivre sa Vie is coming.

The 15th is not a hard and fast rule. Friday is certainly possible, but I wouldn't rule out Monday either. Then again, I think we already know everything that's going to be announced:

The Exterminating Angel
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover
My Dinner With Andre*
The 400 Blows on Blu-ray

*OK, this is a joke.

I don't think My Dinner With Andre is that far of a stretch. We know they've been working on it for at least a year now.

[PimpPanda]

Out 1: Noli me Tangere, maybe!? =P~

If only!

[HerrSchreck]

More Ozu, Naruse, Kobayashi's Human Condition of course... where in fluck's sake is Renoir's M. Lange (and my guess/hope is that La Chienne is coming too)? Dodeska'den and I thought Shanghai Express was on the schedule finally??

Speaking of Sternberg, E of course...

I've almost given up on Gremillon. If they didn't license Gueule D'Amour's beautiful Rene Chateau digibeta for a full fledged CC release, all is wrong with the world!

[devin]

More Ozu, Naruse, Kobayashi's Human Condition of course... where in fluck's sake is Renoir's M. Lange (and my guess/hope is that La Chienne is coming too)? Dodeska'den and I thought Shanghai Express was on the schedule finally??

Speaking of Sternberg, E of course...

I've almost given up on Gremillon. If they didn't license Gueule D'Amour's beautiful Rene Chateau digibeta for a full fledged CC release, all is wrong with the world!

I don't know who updates the company information on IMDB but Shanghai Express IS listed as a 2009 release when you click on the credits for Criterion. If Criterion updates their own profile on IMDB it might mean that it will be coming very soon.

[feihong]

I might be on my own here...

My favorite film is BLACK ORPHEUS. Criterion had a lovely DVD of it, but I've since seen it in a restored film print. I wonder if they would release that title as part of their new blu-ray line? Seeing WALKABOUT on the schedule gives me hope...

[tojoed]

I don't think My Dinner With Andre is that far of a stretch. We know they've been working on it for at least a year now.

"My Dinner With Andre" is being released in the UK on January 1st by Optimum. Does this augur well or badly for a Criterion release?

[Tommaso]

. where in fluck's sake is Renoir's M. Lange (and my guess/hope is that La Chienne is coming too)?

I could imagine they do "Monsieur Lange" as a full-scale CC and at the same time release an accompanying Eclipse set with his early sound films: "On purge Bébé" "La chienne", "Carrefour", "Bovary". At least that's what I hope for.

And I think the time is due for more Antonioni in the collection. "Signora senza camelie", "Il grido", "Le Amiche", (though I think one of these films is out on Kino or Image, don't remember which one), or "Oberwald" coupled with Cocteau's "L'aigle a deux tetes".