The Criterion Collection

[Taylor3978]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Not sure where you heard that from.

I heard it on the Internet, so it must be true.

[dvining]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

Very nice selection and the guy has great tastes. (Love his shirt) He already has some of these films, so I'm thinking this was more of just letting people know what's important according to him. A couple of years ago he was asking for help in finding Onibaba and Kwaidan on Blu-ray and he was directed towards the Criterion releases as he didn't know they existed and he ended up buying them.

He's huge Kobayashi fan, so kinda wish he would put some pressure on Criterion to release Samurai Rebellion.

Maybe *fingers crossed* he was there for an interview on the Samurai Rebellion upgrade.

[ShellOilJunior]

Somehow Kojima was able to return to Japan by hiding in a cardboard box and waiting a few minutes.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Thank goodness those shelves are made of metal in order to hold all that gear. Solid choices by Kojima

How come we didn’t get any video of Roger Corman’s picks? What is Criterion hiding from us?

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

How come we didn’t get any video of Roger Corman’s picks? What is Criterion hiding from us?

Kojima was in the closet June 17th, while Corman was there September 7th. There's several others that also visited in between then. I don't know if they do them in the order of their visits, but I'm sure they will get to Corman's video eventually I'm sure.

[Scottie]

I love Hideo Kojima. That is all.

[NeilZ]

Kojima's the greatest. Never disappoints.

[Scottie]

Janus update. And it's a Czech film. Maybe they didn't forget about the 30 films.

The Cassandra Cat (1963, Vojtěch Jasný)
https://www.janusfilms.com/films/2145

[Danespina]

Originally Posted by latehong

So when Criterion announced Jackie Chan: Emergence of a Superstar 6-film set this year, four long years after their Police Story/Police Story 2 set, again, I could not help but think, 'Aren't you guys a little late for the game?'

And even if we limit this discussion to the US-only labels, I belive Shout! Factory did much more to Jackie Chan fans than Criterion this year.

Criterion, Arrow, 88, and yes especially Shout, all working together to get the majority of Jackie Chan’s 70 to early 90s titles out on Region 1. It’s been wild. Sorry I misunderstood you earlier though. On Criterion’s end specifically I’m still quite happy. It even seems like they may do Miracles next.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Kojima was in the closet June 17th, while Corman was there September 7th. There's several others that also visited in between then. I don't know if they do them in the order of their visits, but I'm sure they will get to Corman's video eventually I'm sure.

I have no more thumbs up/thanks allowed me at the moment, so don’t think I don’t appreciate your post. Thanks for the info.

[latehong]

Speaking of (neglected) closet picks, Park Chan-wook visited the closet in October last year but Criterion had never released his video until about a month ago. Even then, they uploaded it only on their website & Vimeo and not YouTube.

https://www.criterion.com/shop/colle...s-closet-picks

https://vimeo.com/853427660

[Röckzilla]

I've been fairly underwhelmed and disappointed with The Criterion Collection's number of (pre-1980s) Japanese films released on Blu-ray/4K UHD lately, especially this past year.
Was really hoping that they would finally upgrade either Jigoku (1960) or The Face Of Another (1966) in time for October/Halloween at the very least.
Oh well.
Hopefully next year they can start to release one of their previous Eclipse Series/DVD only titles on Blu-ray each month or something like that.

[Show spoiler]Although I unfortunately doubt it.

:

1. Giant Space Monster Guilala “a.k.a. The X From Outer Space” (1967)
2. Goke Body Snatcher From Hell (1968)
3. The Living Skeleton (1968)
4. Genocide (1968)
5. Samurai Spy (1965)
6. Sword Of The Beast (1965)
7. Samurai Rebellion (1967)
8. Kill! (1968)
9. Crazed Fruit (1956)
10. Stray Dog (1949)

Even better would be some "new" titles:

1. The Birth Of Japan "a.k.a. The Three Treasures" (1959)
2. Red Lion (1969)
3. Eagle Of The Pacific (1953)
4. Black Lizard (1968)
5. Super Giant “a.k.a. Starman” (1957) [Perhaps a complete 9 film box set? ]
6. The Great Thief "a.k.a. The Lost World Of Sinbad" (1963)
7. The Lady Vampire (1959)
8. Samurai Banners (1969)
9. The Rainbow Man (1949)
10. The Vampire Moth (1956)

But alas, I digress...

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by Röckzilla

I've been fairly underwhelmed and disappointed with The Criterion Collection's number of (pre-1980s) Japanese films released on Blu-ray/4K UHD lately, especially this past year.
Was really hoping that they would finally upgrade either Jigoku (1960) or The Face Of Another (1966) in time for October/Halloween at the very least.
Oh well.
Hopefully next year they can start to release one of their previous Eclipse Series/DVD only titles on Blu-ray each month or something like that.

[Show spoiler]Although I unfortunately doubt it.

:

[Show spoiler]

1. Giant Space Monster Guilala “a.k.a. The X From Outer Space” (1967)
2. Goke Body Snatcher From Hell (1968)
3. The Living Skeleton (1968)
4. Genocide (1968)
5. Samurai Spy (1965)
6. Sword Of The Beast (1965)
7. Samurai Rebellion (1967)
8. Kill! (1968)
9. Crazed Fruit (1956)
10. Stray Dog (1949)

Even better would be some "new" titles:

1. The Birth Of Japan "a.k.a. The Three Treasures" (1959)
2. Red Lion (1969)
3. Eagle Of The Pacific (1953)
4. Black Lizard (1968)
5. Super Giant “a.k.a. Starman” (1957) [Perhaps a complete 9 film box set? ]
6. The Great Thief "a.k.a. The Lost World Of Sinbad" (1963)
7. The Lady Vampire (1959)
8. Samurai Banners (1969)
9. The Rainbow Man (1949)
10. The Vampire Moth (1956)

But alas, I digress...

I think most of their Japanese releases depend on what masters are available to them from Japanese studios. I don't know if they do a large number of in-house restorations of Japanese films. Also some studios like Toho are rumored to have become a lot more difficult / expensive to deal with.

[MifuneFan]

Based on UK cover art, the Blu-ray edition for GDT's Pinocchio will likely be a standard case here as well.

[speedracer5]

Originally Posted by Shanghai Express

I know the feeling. I'll end the year with only three releases from them. Two were already available on Blu-ray... in North America, no less. One of those was available from Criterion themselves and was just a low-hanging-fruit 4K upgrade. Their classic Hollywood treatments have fallen off a cliff this year. I know you feel the same about the Japanese offerings. Hopefully 2024 sees them back on track for both of us!

As someone who primarily collects Classic Hollywood, and maybe some New Hollywood, Criterion is saving me a bundle this year. I have almost all the titles I want and they're not releasing anything new that interests me. I'm going to get the upgrade of "The Last Picture Show" that drops in November. I might look at "Freaks" but I'm going to watch it on my DVR first. I have a hunch that I'm going to find it interesting, but it isn't going to be something I'd want to watch over and over, as this typically isn't the type of story that interests me. That's kind of like Criterion's release of "The Island of Lost Souls." My husband and I saw this movie in the theater last year. While it was interesting, I cannot see myself wanting to watch this film again. The only new releases I got this year were "Targets," "Thelma and Louise," and "Imitation of Life." I hope some of the films in the "Gaslight Noir" series find their way to physical media. I know "Gaslight" won't, because it has a Warner Archive blu ray that I have. But I'd love to see "Ladies in Retirement" and "Ivy" get released. These seem more like Kino films versus Criterion.

Kino has been on a roll with Classic Hollywood, so they've been getting most of my business.

[milo bloom]

As someone who has moved their focus to vintage horror/scifi and Jackie Chan stuff, Criterion hasn't been releasing much for me either. I feel bad about not supporting them, but it seems they have plenty of other fans.

The only thing I'm really interested in is the new Jackie Chan set they're doing.

[lukas741]

I'm not one to talk and cause any additional drama than there needs to be, but, wouldn't it be better for the CRITERION COLLECTION to, also, fill that niche as well, they are very well established, respected, and have been around for years, plus had great success with a 3D film...PINA...why NOT more?

[Taylor3978]

Originally Posted by speedracer5

I might look at "Freaks" but I'm going to watch it on my DVR first.

FWIW I'm not a huge fan of Tod Browning's other films, including (gasp) Dracula.

But Freaks is a freaking masterpiece. It has got to have been a big influence on the horror comics in the 1950s that got us the Comic Code. You'd almost believe it's a film that grew out of EC Comics, but Freaks came out twenty years earlier.

[speedracer5]

Originally Posted by Taylor3978

FWIW I'm not a huge fan of Tod Browning's other films, including (gasp) Dracula.

But Freaks is a freaking masterpiece. It has got to have been a big influence on the horror comics in the 1950s that got us the Comic Code. You'd almost believe it's a film that grew out of EC Comics, but Freaks came out twenty years earlier.

I've seen "Dracula" and it's okay. But I much prefer James Whale's films like Frankenstein and The Old Dark House. I'll have to watch "Freaks." Maybe I'll try to watch it when I get closer to Halloween. I think it'd make a good companion to the 1947 version of "Nightmare Alley." Maybe I'll do a double feature.

[speedracer5]

Originally Posted by milo bloom

As someone who has moved their focus to vintage horror/scifi and Jackie Chan stuff, Criterion hasn't been releasing much for me either. I feel bad about not supporting them, but it seems they have plenty of other fans.

The only thing I'm really interested in is the new Jackie Chan set they're doing.

While I'm sure there are a lot of great foreign films out there, I own a handful of French New Wave, but for the most part, none of these films interest me. I don't want to watch a depressing movie about poverty or some horrible accident, or whatever other topic. Not to say that these films aren't worthy and don't have merit, but that's not the subject matter that draws me to a film. I wonder if they're having problems getting rights to Classic Hollywood because the studios either want to release their own films, or companies like Kino who has secured deals for a lot of the Paramount/Universal libraries, are getting to the rights first. It's interesting that Kino has released 4K versions of a lot of films that have a Criterion blu ray.