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I don't think it's a question of old versus new additions to the collection. My most anticipated releases for the year are the Diabolique and Solaris reissues, along with The Great Dictator. It's them cleaning house as I said previously, or releasing minor stuff they've been sitting on or 80's rom coms. Which isn't to discount all of it, as there are dozens of movies I'd love to see that they've put out this year, but... all I've purchased so far are Amarcord and Yi Yi.

felipe wrote:Have you imagined that maybe it was different people who bitched about those two months... Just because some people disliked blu-ray upgrades and whatnot, doesn't mean releasing 6 new spines will all of a sudden please everyone.

I assumed it was different people. It wouldn't make any sense for the same person to complain about too many upgrades one month and then complain about the lack of them the following month. That is why I said that Criterion can't win. No matter what they do, there will somebody who isn't happy.

Well, shee-it, I've been buried in work all day and come home to see Criterion's announced these titles! I take back my snarky comment from a few days earlier about only releasing upgrades and IFC titles. IMHO, this is Criterion's best month in quite some time!

It'll definitely be an expensive month for me, as almost all the CC-line releases are must-buys, and the Eclipse set looks intriguing, too.

Perkins Cobb wrote:Even the one Blu upgrade is one of the very few films I'd watch again just because it's on Blu.

Which Blu upgrade?

Kiss Me Deadly.

Jeff wrote:The last few months, people have bitched because Criterion was releasing too many Blu-ray reissues and recent IFC films.

I have never done this. In fact, what you described 'the others bitching about' is the root of my disappointment this month.

I think everyone wants a reasonable balance between new titles and Blu-ray upgrades, and between classic and contemporary films, but unless Criterion ramps up production considerably, you're rarely going to find this balance in a given month. So are you (not necessarily just you, aox) going to complain every month the scales tips away from you? If you look at the last three months of announcements combined, we have 5 Blu-ray upgrades, 2 reissues, 12 brand new titles in the mainline (8 of which are new to R1), and an Eclipse set. Looking at it by decade, we have at least a couple from each decade since the '30s (only the '80s feel a little over-represented with 5 titles). Is this not a good balance?

swo17 wrote:I think everyone wants a reasonable balance between new titles and Blu-ray upgrades, and between classic and contemporary films, but unless Criterion ramps up production considerably, you're rarely going to find this balance in a given month. So are you (not necessarily just you, aox) going to complain every month the scales tips away from you?

I love it when Swo waxes rhetorical.

to be fair, I get what SWO is saying, and I sympathize (I see internet bullshit whining daily, so I try not to contribute to that perceived entitlement). I am happy people are happy. Maybe I had a long day and this month just rubbed me the wrong way. I don't know why this month in particular struck out to me. I am just one person and my opinion really doesn't mean anything. I hope I find a gem in these releases. I guess I am just kind of more excited about the "BD Reissue" block nowadays which isn't represented all that well this month (and I don't think I have complained in the past; meaning that I am not one of 'those people'). I shouldn't complain: I have Solaris and Diabolique coming. But there is a part of me still excited about the original 500 films which I have grown to love and want to see on BD. Throw me just one Bergman, Ozu, Renoir, Kurosawa, etc in the monthly hive.....

I am sure many find that zzzzzzzzzz

The Eclipse set this month looks great.

EDIT: I get the irony that my post could have occurred at the release of spine #100, #200, #300, #400, #500 etc....

Perkins Cobb wrote:…I wish every month could be like this.

Same here. Given a choice between CC introducing me to new films and getting an upgrade on films I've already seen 10 times (and loved), I'll generally prefer the former.

Jeff wrote:…That is why I said that Criterion can't win. No matter what they do, there will somebody who isn't happy.

I think less complaining happens when there's a mix of both new spine numbers and upgrades. And anyways, a lot of the complaining has more to do with the particular films in question, which
I gather are not really A-list releases (Kiss Me Deadly aside, of course). Unless these films really don't deserve to be in the collection, I'm happy to see it expanding, even if Makioka Sisters is no An Actor's Revenge. Not that I would know, I'm just going off of the general vibe here.

Jun-Dai wrote:

Perkins Cobb wrote:…I wish every month could be like this.

Same here. Given a choice between CC introducing me to new films and getting an upgrade on films I've already seen 10 times (and loved), I'll generally prefer the former.

Jeff wrote:…That is why I said that Criterion can't win. No matter what they do, there will somebody who isn't happy.

I think less complaining happens when there's a mix of both new spine numbers and upgrades. And anyways, a lot of the complaining has more to do with the particular films in question, which I gather are not really A-list releases (Kiss Me Deadly aside, of course). Unless these films really don't deserve to be in the collection, I'm happy to see it expanding, even if Makioka Sisters is no An Actor's Revenge. Not that I would know, I'm just going off of the general vibe here.

I would say, apart from the Eclipses, this month has three top tier releases and three lesser works- Kiss Me Deadly, People on Sunday, and Zazie dans le metro in the former, the rest in the latter. Since we've had several months lately with no more than three new releases total, complaining about that situation seems a bit silly.

I mean, I've been excited by Kiss Me Deadly for months, and I'm glad to see it coming, but to me People on Sunday is an even bigger deal- for anyone interested in that corner of movies, it's hard to imagine thinking it anything but Grade A Tier 1 material.

I just want "big" films. I am extremely excited for People on Sunday, I just think this year has been very minor compared to last year, which is not to say anything "unworthy" has been released. When I see aox posting about the upcoming Diabolique and Solaris releases, I feel as if we're in the same boat. It's not new or old, but major and minor. I'm glad they're pushing more stuff out, I just wish they had more canon interspersed monthly. I'm waiting for Rashomon and Tokyo Story on Blu, the Bergmans everyone has been expecting for awhile, more Chaplin, L'Atalante, etc. If we could get one of those every month, as opposed to every two or three, I'd be a happy camper. I think things will shape up in the fall though, per usual.

Are you suggesting that Zazie, People on Sunday, the Naruse's, and Senso are minor just to give a few examples. There have been many major films released this year some of which looked like they never would have. I'd put those films I just listed in the same stratosphere as the ones you listed. It's not like we are only getting stuff like Broadcast News or Blow Out(both of which I like) and we have gotten no Border Radios to the best of my knowledge.

honestly, I haven't had any real beef with anything Criterion has done since September when they went all blu for every title. I think they've had a truly wonderful array of releases since then. I would like them to release 7 or more eclipse sets a year rather than 5-6 but hey, I'm thrilled at what they've done with the line even still. I would like them to release more Chaplin, akin to the rate Kino is releasing Keaton, but I still haven't watched the copy of Modern times I bought on release day, so I'm not bothered (and I still have my image set). Would it be nice if Tokyo Story, Rules of the Game, and Lady Vanishes were on blu? sure, but I can survive with my dvd copy. I do hope they continue pushing out blu upgrades at the wonderful rate they established in Jan-April but only because I was a poor student, or new to the workforce when most of the collection from 090-450 was released so I bought maybe five titles in that entire span and because I know that my next home monitoring situation will be a projection system that will really show off how 1080p and the color curve of of HD can get a much more filmlike experience in the home.

Flike wrote:I just want "big" films. I am extremely excited for People on Sunday, I just think this year has been very minor compared to last year, which is not to say anything "unworthy" has been released. When I see aox posting about the upcoming Diabolique and Solaris releases, I feel as if we're in the same boat. It's not new or old, but major and minor.

Agreed. So far, this year hasn't brought anything comparable to the Rossellini or the Sternberg set. And you can have 'major' without necessarily having to rely on upgrades of titles already in the collection. Just think Rivette. Or Erice.
That said, I also think this is the year's best month by far. At least we get something new and interesting, and well, "People on Sunday" really is major.

Zazie is as "major" a French film as they come...

knives wrote:Are you suggesting that Zazie, People on Sunday, the Naruse's, and Senso are minor just to give a few examples. There have been many major films released this year some of which looked like they never would have. I'd put those films I just listed in the same stratosphere as the ones you listed. It's not like we are only getting stuff like Broadcast News or Blow Out(both of which I like) and we have gotten no Border Radios to the best of my knowledge.

I've heard the name Zazie so many times that I assume it's major I'm extremely excited about People on Sunday. I would consider Senso a minor Visconti, however. It's much better than the story it's based on, but it's still no Ossessione, La Terra Trema, Il Gattopardo, Death in Venice, etc., etc.

And anyone not excited about the Naruse set needs to turn in their film geek credentials straightaway.

Jun-Dai wrote:And anyone not excited about the Naruse set needs to turn in their film geek credentials straightaway.

Amen!

Apart From You is one of the only films I've watched (virtually) frame-by-frame -- it took about 14 hours -- and was worth every second.

Jun-Dai wrote:

knives wrote:Are you suggesting that Zazie, People on Sunday, the Naruse's, and Senso are minor just to give a few examples. There have been many major films released this year some of which looked like they never would have. I'd put those films I just listed in the same stratosphere as the ones you listed. It's not like we are only getting stuff like Broadcast News or Blow Out(both of which I like) and we have gotten no Border Radios to the best of my knowledge.

I've heard the name Zazie so many times that I assume it's major I'm extremely excited about People on Sunday. I would consider Senso a minor Visconti, however. It's much better than the story it's based on, but it's still no Ossessione, La Terra Trema, Il Gattopardo, Death in Venice, etc., etc.

And anyone not excited about the Naruse set needs to turn in their film geek credentials straightaway.

Someone considers Death in Venice major Visconti? In that case wouldn't everything be major Visconti.

It's minor Dickens.

Tommaso wrote:And you can have 'major' without necessarily having to rely on upgrades of titles already in the collection. Just think Rivette. Or Erice.

Now I'm imagining what The Quince Tree Sun/The Dream of Light would look like in HD! Perhaps that and La belle noiseuse together in order to create an artist themed month!

And I'd suggest Senso is a truly major Visconti, but seemed slightly neglected in terms of home video release before this.

I take the points about the lack of boxsets at the beginning of this year and would certainly be excited if the pace of the Eclipse sets picked up, especially as the material they are releasing is often the most exciting and intriguing of anything that gets announced, but I do think that the mainline is still going strong. For example it has been an excellent year for British cinema that isn't Powell and Pressburger or Lean oriented with the Leigh and Loach as well as the Andrea Arnold (even if I'm still not the biggest fan of Fish Tank).

My only gripe would be that I would like to see commentary tracks appearing more regularly, as they're my favourite extra feature.

In case people don't read the Facebook thread, Life During Wartime has been confirmed for a July release. Paul Reubens and Michael K. Williams enter the Collection!

colinr0380 wrote:Now I'm imagining what The Quince Tree Sun/The Dream of Light would look like in HD! Perhaps that and La belle noiseuse together in order to create an artist themed month!

And I'd suggest Senso is a truly major Visconti, but seemed slightly neglected in terms of home video release before this.

I take the points about the lack of boxsets at the beginning of this year and would certainly be excited if the pace of the Eclipse sets picked up, especially as the material they are releasing is often the most exciting and intriguing of anything that gets announced, but I do think that the mainline is still going strong. For example it has been an excellent year for British cinema that isn't Powell and Pressburger or Lean oriented with the Leigh and Loach as well as the Andrea Arnold (even if I'm still not the biggest fan of Fish Tank).

I have to admit that I still haven't seen "Senso", but it's certainly the release I'm most looking forward to, apart from Silent Naruse. These two indeed excited me much when they were announced. A CC "Noiseuse" would be a letdown for me (at least as a first Rivette for the collection), as I'm not blu, and there are many releases of this particular film on dvd already. No, I'm thinking of "Duelle/Noroit", "Le pont du nord" and of course of "Out 1". And from Erice not just "Quince Tree Sun" (which at least has an English-friendly release in Spain, though that one leaves a lot to be desired), but also "El Sur".

I take your point on British Cinema, even though Leigh and Loach are certainly not my kind of thing. Instead I'm still waiting for Greenaway to enter the collection. The world really needs a watchable disc of "The Pillow Book", and one that gets the aspect ratio(s) of this film right, and some other films of his would deserve much better transfers than those available, too. Quite apart from the fact that I suppose Greenaway is one of the directors whose films would most profit from an HD release.

And where is the IKWIG update?! Or "Elusive Pimpernel" and "Rosalinda"? An Eclipse at least would be nice of those overlooked Powells.

Tommaso wrote:A CC "Noiseuse" would be a letdown for me (at least as a first Rivette for the collection), as I'm not blu, and there are many releases of this particular film on dvd already.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but don't most of these releases include incomplete versions of the film though?

There are two versions of the film, a 240 minute one and a 120 minute version called "Divertimento". The latter consists entirely(?) of unused/alternative shots, so it's not strictly-speaking a shortened version, but an alternative one (though I find it MUCH weaker). This shorter version has seen a release in Germany, but the full-length version is available at least in the UK, in France (the best transfer, but sadly unsubbed), and in Germany. Probably some other releases as well. It's simply his biggest success.