The Criterion Collection

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Sad to hear the news about David Lynch passing.

One of the great things Criterion has done over the past 40 years was to mend fences with Lynch and get his movies released. He will be missed.

RIP

He was a visionary filmmaker and worked during times when few others in the industry were or even understood what it meant.

[DrasticHandprint]

Lynch was such a formative director for me, discovering him with Blue Velvet as a mid-teen and diving into the rest of his [film-not-tv] filmography, and a few years later watching Twin Peaks at a turning point in my life. Crazy to think that he's gone, always felt like he'd be around forever (which, in a sense I suppose he will be with his work). RIP.

[EinCB128]

RIP to one of the greatest. The Straight Story is my favorite of Lynch's filmography and I do hope it gets an American release soon.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by EinCB128

RIP to one of the greatest. The Straight Story is my favorite of Lynch's filmography and I do hope it gets an American release soon.

I think LOST HIGHWAY is my favorite because I love that Robert Blake was so great in it and that Lynch thought to cast him in the first place.

Really though, it's tough to pick a favorite as his entire filmography, save for DUNE, was like a welcome acid trip, all different, but all as mesmerizing and transcendent.

[Areyakiddin]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

How do you know this? Did the KLI ever specifically state that Criterion pulled the rug out from under them and legally demanded they stop selling these titles on 4K? I'm not doubting what you say is true, I just haven't seen that information definitively confirmed anywhere without any speculation or equivocation.

They were talking about doing a Kubrick 4K boxset that fell through because they lost the license and mentioned that those rights for all three of those movies are now with Criterion.

[Ishai]

Originally Posted by DimitriL

I certainly can blame them. When has this ever happened, where one boutique had HD and another had 4k? One company should have all the SE physical media rights and this was a cheap loophole. It should’ve been either Kino or Criterion with all the SE rights and it’s entirely bc of bs situations like this. I don’t care if they had the rights to do that. I resent it as a consumer.

I'm not sure who you're blaming and for what. Was MGM supposed to leave money on the table in the 5 years it took Criterion to get into 4K? Was Criterion supposed to pay extra for the 4K rights when they had no plans to get into 4K? Was Kino supposed to stay away from these great movies because Criterion might one day decide they do want to release 4Ks?

It's a shame Criterion took so long to start releasing in 4K and it's a shame they have this completionism need to have these 4Ks in their collection because those resources could've been spent on new to 4K releases, but it's not a big deal, especially if they still make money on these so they can keep releasing other movies as well.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Ishai

I'm not sure who you're blaming and for what. Was MGM supposed to leave money on the table in the 5 years it took Criterion to get into 4K? Was Criterion supposed to pay extra for the 4K rights when they had no plans to get into 4K? Was Kino supposed to stay away from these great movies because Criterion might one day decide they do want to release 4Ks?

It's a shame Criterion took so long to start releasing in 4K and it's a shame they have this completionism need to have these 4Ks in their collection because those resources could've been spent on new to 4K releases, but it's not a big deal, especially if they still make money on these so they can keep releasing other movies as well.

Dimitri has a point in hinting at perhaps just a bit of unethical operations on the part of Johnny Come Lately Criterion trying to monopolize these MGM films on 4K after the fact. They might have been more diplomatic about it and perhaps shared production credit on the KINO proposed Kubrick 4K set rather than maybe imposing a ban on it mid-production.

Then again it's hard to disagree with Ishai's second paragraph quoted above and the idea of wasting resources now when they might have been able to put all these out in the first place and not taking up precious real estate for new production. I see so many movies still buried in Criterion Eclipse sets that I would have preferred even just on Blu-ray, compared to yet another copy of SOME LIKE IT HOT on 4K, but as others have said, Criterion doesn't want to be caught sleeping again.

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by Ishai

I'm not sure who you're blaming and for what. Was MGM supposed to leave money on the table in the 5 years it took Criterion to get into 4K? Was Criterion supposed to pay extra for the 4K rights when they had no plans to get into 4K? Was Kino supposed to stay away from these great movies because Criterion might one day decide they do want to release 4Ks.

Yes, I do blame MGM. You think they were the only studio in that situation? *No one else* executed that kind of loophole, even though they’re all in it for the money. Any number of Criterion’s early 4k upgrades could’ve gone to any rival for a quick and lucrative buck. But everyone else apparently said, the physical rights are the rights. So yes, I find it all kind of disreputable.

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

Dimitri has a point in hinting at perhaps just a bit of unethical operations on the part of Johnny Come Lately Criterion trying to monopolize these MGM films on 4K after the fact. They might have been more diplomatic about it and perhaps shared production credit on the KINO proposed Kubrick 4K set.

Then again it's hard to disagree with Ishai's second paragraph quoted above and the idea of wasting resources now when they might have been able to put all these out in the first place and not taking up precious real estate for new production. I see so many movies still buried in Criterion Eclipse sets that I would have preferred even just on Blu-ray, compared to yet another copy of SOME LIKE IT HOT on 4K, but as others have said, Criterion doesn't want to be caught sleeping again.

I’m always in favor of these boutiques playing nice with each other. I mean, we’re all in this for the love of movies first, right?

I do wonder about the wasting resources part. I mean, we got eight releases this month, which is kinda of amazing in a month without a dedicated box. It makes me wonder if all the new money is coming in and allowing them have a wider slate. (And the extras situation seems to be improving too.)

If we wind up with a new MGM every month but still get 6 or 7 other releases, we may be in the best of all worlds.

[DukeTogo84]

I've always felt like Criterion and Kino don't have any love lost between them. Both NY companies that go for the same type of films and not sure if they have ever worked together.

I know Kino has worked with a few other companies, mainly international ones for masters and the such, but not as sure about Criterion.

[Purplenoon]

RIP: DL. "Do it for Van Gogh!"

[Ishai]

Originally Posted by DimitriL

I’m always in favor of these boutiques playing nice with each other. I mean, we’re all in this for the love of movies first, right?

I do wonder about the wasting resources part. I mean, we got eight releases this month, which is kinda of amazing in a month without a dedicated box. It makes me wonder if all the new money is coming in and allowing them have a wider slate. (And the extras situation seems to be improving too.)

If we wind up with a new MGM every month but still get 6 or 7 other releases, we may be in the best of all worlds.

The time spent on getting these re-releases ready is time not spent on another release but these are most likely not big projects and it's a small number of movies. Rationally it's not really an issue, but irrationally, when I look at my Criterion release wishlist my brain blames these releases on not getting all of them already in April...

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by Ishai

The time spent on getting these re-releases ready is time not spent on another release but these are most likely not big projects and it's a small number of movies. Rationally it's not really an issue, but irrationally, when I look at my Criterion release wishlist my brain blames these releases on not getting all of them already in April...

This point is interesting because I think it’s actually a big reason they want this to happen. I think they already did ALL the work. Before the jump to 4k, Peter Becker would be asked about it all the time, and while he wouldn’t comment on future plans, he would also say that they did all the 4k work for if and when they made that leap. So I suspect a big part of this is finally recouping that investment instead of permanently writing it off. Even with the new capital, the level of these titles and the minimal work probably made it a priority.

[Scottie]

Has anyone seen this before?

This awesome piece of artwork was done for a 2022 David Lynch retrospective at Chicago's Music Box Theatre.



The artist: https://x.com/ThatTallGinger

[jw007]

The last David Lynch movie I re-watched was The Straight Story. Oddly enough, it was also the last film I also watched with my mom who died in June 2023. Rest in peace Mr. Lynch. You were one of my top 5 all-time favorite filmmakers. What a massive loss for cinema.

[Rayjg]

It’s such a shame his last feature film was 18 years ago. Sadly not by choice but at least he got The Return off the ground. It felt packed with all the ideas that had been brewing in his head since Inland. I think in another few years he would’ve done a director’s cut of Dune too. He seemed to be warming up to the film of late

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

It’s such a shame his last feature film was 18 years ago. Sadly not by choice but at least he got The Return off the ground. It felt packed with all the ideas that had been brewing in his head since Inland. I think in another few years he would’ve done a director’s cut of Dune too. He seemed to be warming up to the film of late

What's heartbreaking is that they were doing a new series with Netflix called Unrecorded Night, but his producer said COVID hit and they canceled it. Mark Frost was dropping hints at the time, and they hoped Lynch would want to give it another try. But it never happened. (Sabrina Sutherland said he had turned back to his art and music.) What could've been, just one more glorious project.

[MovieBuff647]

So devastated and heartbroken over the David Lynch news, in a way I have not been over a celebrity death in a very, very long time. May he Rest in Peace.

[Detective Flass]

Wonder if we are in for Challengers and Megalopolis announcements soon

[ParamountChris]

Originally Posted by Detective Flass

Wonder if we are in for Challengers and Megalopolis announcements soon

Challengers would actually be a fire addition for Criterion.