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It's interesting that for a label that's studiously avoided westerns almost all together, when they do release a western that's not directed by Delmer Daves, they go all out. They should license/release more, since it seems like someone on staff is passionate about the genre (as well they should be)

Hear hear. I'd like to see more recent Westerns come in especially. I wonder if Silverado is in the cards considering the recent Sony deal and the release of The Big Chill.

domino harvey wrote:It's interesting that for a label that's studiously avoided westerns almost all together

If you ask me, Stagecoach, Red River, and My Darling Clementine were a pretty good answer to "Hey Criterion, you don't release enough westerns."

They didn't put out any for a long time previous to those releases, though.

Maybe they'll commission Richard W to write some liner notes for their next Western release.

Richard--W wrote:Broken Arrow incorrectly attributes sympathy points to the serial killers of the Old West and frankly Criterion has proven itself to be a gaggle of nancy-panted libtards by daring to release it. Clearly this label does not understand Westerns. Look at their past output, Stagecoach would not make anyone's list of Top 500 Westerns, why are they wasting their time? Why not release a nice Richard Dix programmer instead? I will write the rest of my comments on West of the Pacos, which is lost so I can pretend it's about what I want it to be about.

flyonthewall2983 wrote:They didn't put out any for a long time previous to those releases, though.

...which is why people were saying "Hey Criterion, you don't release enough westerns."

swo17 wrote:

domino harvey wrote:It's interesting that for a label that's studiously avoided westerns almost all together

If you ask me, Stagecoach, Red River, and My Darling Clementine were a pretty good answer to "Hey Criterion, you don't release enough westerns."

Add The Furies, 3:10 to Yuma, Jubal, and Heaven's Gate and they could actually add a Westerns Theme page

swo17 wrote:

flyonthewall2983 wrote:They didn't put out any for a long time previous to those releases, though.

...which is why people were saying "Hey Criterion, you don't release enough westerns."

I am hoping CC adds another Fox/Fonda western, The Ox-Bow Incident. Unfortunately, Wellman doesn't have a phantom page if PhP are truly indications.

I tweeted MoC with the suggestion that they release the Ox-Bow Incident, especially since they have a good relationship with Fox and they favoirted my tweet. Not really sure what that meant.

Again, for many years it was nothing and then it was I Shot Jesse James and the Furies and then more years of nothing. They've obviously changed their tune of late but it's a recent development

domino harvey wrote:Again, for many years it was nothing and then it was I Shot Jesse James and the Furies and then more years of nothing. They've obviously changed their tune of late but it's a recent development

Indeed, they were into DVDs for nearly a decade before they released a western. Even on laserdisc, I think they only did High Noon, Silverado and Bad Day at Black Rock. They've certainly turned that all around in a big way. Stagecoach, Red River, and My Darling Clementine would probably make most lists of the 10 best westerns.

They've got the two Hellmans coming up soon, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Jarmusch's Dead Man turn up before long.

Here's another vote for The Ox-Bow Incident as the next major American western in need of a 4K overhaul and Blu-ray release from somebody.

Richard--W wrote:Look at their past output, Stagecoach would not make anyone's list of Top 500 Westerns...

Obvious troll. Even if someone doesn't personally like the film, its place in the genre's canon and its widespread admiration is undeniable.

swo17 wrote:

flyonthewall2983 wrote:They didn't put out any for a long time previous to those releases, though.

...which is why people were saying "Hey Criterion, you don't release enough westerns."

But what are they going to do about 2000-2008? Something has to be done.

High Noon was one of the earliest LD releases, if that counts as a western.

It occurs to me that the lack of westerns in the DVD era is probably due to Criterion's relative lack of access to classical studio back-catalog compared to now. Anyway, glad they're making up for it, particularly with Ford.

Though that doesn't go into the lack of foreign westerns. I'm sure The Great Silence would fly off the shelves.

I was thinking the same thing as solaris72. For example, Red River. I would think studios would have been reluctant to license any property involving John Wayne back when dvds were doing brisk business.

I'm not sure whether I'm honored or mortified to suddenly find that I have commented in a thread with this heading.

My favorite part of being a mod is getting to name splintered threads, but this one was all Jeff (and I love it)

I wonder if Criterion could get their hands on some more Sam Fuller westerns. I'd certainly go for a paired spine number release of Forty Guns and Run of the Arrow! (And it would give Criterion extra Barbara Stanwyck, Rod Steiger and Ralph Meeker!)

colinr0380 wrote:I wonder if Criterion could get their hands on some more Sam Fuller westerns. I'd certainly go for a paired spine number release of Forty Guns and Run of the Arrow! (And it would give Criterion extra Barbara Stanwyck, Rod Steiger and Ralph Meeker!)

Forty Guns is Fox, so it's possible, but I wouldn't hold my breath. If you want Stanwyck and Meeker, though, don't miss out on Jeopardy, which has maybe Meeker's best non-Kiss Me Deadly perf as the cracker-chomping bad guy antagonizing the already panicked Stanwyck as she rushes to get help for her slowly drowning husband! (It's Warners, I'm not suggesting a release is imminent, just recommending it for viewing)

This is going to be a great thread. Thanks to the person who created this. I am a huge fan of WESTERN genre (both Classic and Spaghetti), and I would love to see as many as possible westerns titles getting released by Criterion. Its true that they had been really scanty in releasing westerns, but I think they have changed their mind regarding the genre in last couple of years. I am hopeful that we will see some more great titles coming in near future. I already started dreaming about one - The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). if Paramount can give La Dolce Vita to Criterion, why not this one? The other title I was dying to get from them was A Fistful of Dynamite. It could have made sense. They had a phantom page for Leone. I kind of lost hope for this one now. They should also have access to a great list of Sony titles (including Mackenna's Gold ) after their deal with Sony.

domino harvey wrote:

colinr0380 wrote:I wonder if Criterion could get their hands on some more Sam Fuller westerns. I'd certainly go for a paired spine number release of Forty Guns and Run of the Arrow! (And it would give Criterion extra Barbara Stanwyck, Rod Steiger and Ralph Meeker!)

Forty Guns is Fox, so it's possible, but I wouldn't hold my breath. If you want Stanwyck and Meeker, though, don't miss out on Jeopardy, which has maybe Meeker's best non-Kiss Me Deadly perf as the cracker-chomping bad guy antagonizing the already panicked Stanwyck as she rushes to get help for her slowly drowning husband! (It's Warners, I'm not suggesting a release is imminent, just recommending it for viewing)

Hey, another film we can both recommend! A cracking little thriller, with Meeker bracingly vile and Stanwyck bouncing off him exquisitely. And the whole suspense setup is so crazily simple it's like one of those nightmares where you have to complete an urgent task but keep getting waylaid and distracted and carried further and further away from where you have to be.

domino harvey wrote:It's interesting that for a label that's studiously avoided westerns almost all together, when they do release a western that's not directed by Delmer Daves, they go all out. They should license/release more, since it seems like someone on staff is passionate about the genre (as well they should be)

Nice thread cowboy!

Westerns, color or b&w, benefit so much from the hidef format. Criterion can really do them justice. Hopefully, there is more in the pipeline.

How about A Duel in the Sun? It's been restored by the Film Foundation but has not been released for the home market.

It would surely bode well with Criterion releasing 2 versions of their Westerns lately.