The Criterion Collection

[Egbert Souse]

Originally Posted by DimitriL

And people had been saying the same thing about Fox and Disney at that point. They’ve been saying it since at least 2019. I’m not saying that they’re exactly shoving them out to the marketplace at a blistering pace, but the whole bunch of messages has been, “well, Disney is just not going to let this kind of release happen anymore,” and then, like, they do. We got All of Us Strangers from Searchlight last year after a flurry of speculation that it would never be released on physical media because Disney was trying to kill physical media. Then boom, there it is. There had been hot and heavy rumormongering that they’d even pulled the plug on Wes Anderson releases because it had been so long since Mr. Fox and Grand Budapest. It’s kind of exhausting.

I'm counting seven Disney licenses, all to Criterion (plus the Anderson 4K upgrades) from 2022-2025 so far.

Compared to Paramount, Warner, Universal, MGM, and even Lionsgate and StudioCanal... it's kind of pathetic. And I don't even think Wall-E and The Shape of Water really count as much as the Andersons and All of Us Strangers since they're sort of unnecessary retreads that already had 4K and Blu-ray releases with most of the same extras.

I don't know how anyone can interpret Disney's licensing strategies for the last five years as anything but pathetic compared to all the other majors. They seem to be trying to improve, but come on, you can't even buy most of their classics on Blu-ray because they're out of print or never even got a release.

[Areyakiddin]

Originally Posted by Egbert Souse

I'm counting seven Disney licenses, all to Criterion (plus the Anderson 4K upgrades) from 2022-2025 so far.

Compared to Paramount, Warner, Universal, MGM, and even Lionsgate and StudioCanal... it's kind of pathetic. And I don't even think Wall-E and The Shape of Water really count as much as the Andersons and All of Us Strangers since they're sort of unnecessary retreads that already had 4K and Blu-ray releases with most of the same extras.

I don't know how anyone can interpret Disney's licensing strategies for the last five years as anything but pathetic compared to all the other majors. They seem to be trying to improve, but come on, you can't even buy most of their classics on Blu-ray because they're out of print or never even got a release.

And if you want a movie that isn't a stone cold classic or very popular in the Disney library there's still no reason to think it will ever come out on Blu-ray.

Something like The Brasher Doubloon, for instance, doesn't seem like something Disney or Criterion would put out.

It'd make sense to license to a boutique label or if Disney set up their own MOD line, but there's no reason to think either of those things will happen based on the publicly available information we have.

[Gacivory]

If we’re listing movies we want Disney to give to Criterion. I hope Quiz Show gets a release!

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by Areyakiddin

And if you want a movie that isn't a stone cold classic or very popular in the Disney library there's still no reason to think it will ever come out on Blu-ray.

Something like The Brasher Doubloon, for instance, doesn't seem like something Disney or Criterion would put out.

It'd make sense to license to a boutique label or if Disney set up their own MOD line, but there's no reason to think either of those things will happen based on the publicly available information we have.

I mean, you could argue the same about Paramount too, to a lesser extent. They’re not exactly releasing deep cuts with Warner-like frequency. (All of Us Strangers could be argued as neither extremely popular or a proven classic. Wild cards like this are what make this a little more of a question mark than might be obvious.)

Anyway, Disney did sign a replication deal with Sony, supposedly with the express intent of releasing titles from their catalog, according to Bill Hunt. So we’ll see.

[Areyakiddin]

Originally Posted by DimitriL

I mean, you could argue the same about Paramount too, to a lesser extent. They’re not exactly releasing deep cuts with Warner-like frequency. (All of Us Strangers could be argued as neither extremely popular or a proven classic. Wild cards like this are what make this a little more of a question mark than might be obvious.)

Anyway, Disney did sign a replication deal with Sony, supposedly with the express intent of releasing titles from their catalog, according to Bill Hunt. So we’ll see.

I mean, Paramount, even after the Skydance merger, is still a lot better at releasing in both number and variety of catalog titles. I would be very surprised if I saw titles like Donovan's Reef, The Golden Child, Posse, Teacher's Pet escape the Disney vault onto physical media these days if Disney owned them.

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by Areyakiddin

I mean, Paramount, even after the Skydance merger, is still a lot better at releasing in both number and variety of catalog titles. I would be very surprised if I saw titles like Donovan's Reef, The Golden Child, Posse, Teacher's Pet escape the Disney vault onto physical media these days if Disney owned them.

I think any title from Eddie Murphy’s prime era would be fodder whoever owns them. (The Golden Child is an interesting example, as it had roughly the same box office gross as Tombstone, not exactly earth shattering, yet Disney gave Tombstone a stellar and surprising release this year.) I agree about your rough comparison with the rest of the films, though.

[yoloswegmaster420]

Criterion will be releasing Kubrick's Lolita, as a new 4K restoration screening at Venice has been credited to them and WB.

[dwk]

The first (Do Bigha Zamin/Two Acres of Land) of those Bimal Roy restorations announced 5 or 6 years ago also is part of that line up.

[MovieBuff647]

Originally Posted by yoloswegmaster420

Criterion will be releasing Kubrick's Lolita, as a new 4K restoration screening at Venice has been credited to them and WB.

We are getting so f**king close to EYES WIDE SHUT 4K…

[darrellmaclaine]

Originally Posted by DimitriL

I think any title from Eddie Murphy’s prime era would be fodder whoever owns them.

Well Disney never released The Distinguished Gentleman on Blu-ray so that's not true!

Demand or fitting into a collectable actor/director filmography has never been a factor at any point before for Disney and like clockwork they applied the same strategy to the Fox library once they got that. Otherwise we'd have The Beach, Millions, The Ladykillers remake, Funny Bones, Noises Off, Down And Out In Beverly Hills, What About Bob, Scenes From A Mall etc etc etc!

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by darrellmaclaine

Well Disney never released The Distinguished Gentleman on Blu-ray so that's not true!

Demand or fitting into a collectable actor/director filmography has never been a factor at any point before for Disney and like clockwork they applied the same strategy to the Fox library once they got that. Otherwise we'd have The Beach, Millions, The Ladykillers remake, Funny Bones, Noises Off, Down And Out In Beverly Hills, What About Bob, Scenes From A Mall etc etc etc!

Ha! The Distinguished Gentleman is decently after his prime period. (Which came to a close with Coming to America, and some say that The Golden Child is what killed it.)

Most of the titles you listed - Beverly Hills and Bob excepted - were bomb-o-ramas and wouldn't be top of any major's list, though they certainly might be some other studio's boutique go-tos. But again, as I said, I'm not saying Disney is suddenly churning out physical discs or going on a licensing spree. I'm simply saying, we've gotten enough surprising releases that going, "welp, Disney has that so we'll never ever see that on physical" is wildly premature. Especially after the Sony deal, which if Bill Hunt is to be believed, is specifically targeted to their catalog.

[yoloswegmaster420]

Originally Posted by dwk

The first (Do Bigha Zamin/Two Acres of Land) of those Bimal Roy restorations announced 5 or 6 years ago also is part of that line up.

They fixed the listing and are also crediting Criterion for the restoration.

[darrellmaclaine]

Originally Posted by DimitriL

Ha! The Distinguished Gentleman is decently after his prime period. (Which came to a close with Coming to America, and some say that The Golden Child is what killed it.)

He was a box office draw right up to the end of the 1990s - Distinguished Gentlemen was a hit, and it was between two stratospheric hits. If you mean in terms of quality I'd say that's exceptionally harsh - I love Harlem Nights and enjoy them right through to The Nutty Professor, which was probably the last really entertaining one of that run that really felt like part of his creative output rather than him as a hired gun, but even then Bowfinger was only around the corner.

Originally Posted by DimitriL

Most of the titles you listed - Beverly Hills and Bob excepted - were bomb-o-ramas and wouldn't be top of any major's list, though they certainly might be some other studio's boutique go-tos.

It's not about how they did at the box office though - my list is specifically films which have at least one actor/director with a fanbase who collect their work. Just as there are films which made serious money at the box office which don't sell on disc.

[Scottie]

There are new screenshots for The Hidden Fortress, Ikiru, Red Beard, Stray Dog, and Throne of Blood on Janus's website. They look wonderful.

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by darrellmaclaine

He was a box office draw right up to the end of the 1990s - Distinguished Gentlemen was a hit, and it was between two stratospheric hits. If you mean in terms of quality I'd say that's exceptionally harsh - I love Harlem Nights and enjoy them right through to The Nutty Professor, which was probably the last really entertaining one of that run that really felt like part of his creative output rather than him as a hired gun, but even then Bowfinger was only around the corner.

It's not about how they did at the box office though - my list is specifically films which have at least one actor/director with a fanbase who collect their work. Just as there are films which made serious money at the box office which don't sell on disc.

The Distinguished Gentlemen didn't make it to $50 million. (Bowfinger, from the same period, made almost double that, and Boomerang did even better, making it to $130.) And TDG's gross almost $30 million less than Golden Child, which was considered a disaster.

Without getting too deep into an Eddie analysis, I do tend to agree with you that time has been kinder to Harlem Nights, which was absolutely savaged at the time, even making it to Siskel & Ebert's worst of the year list with them calling it racist, sexist and incompetently directed. (Wow.)

Anyway, yeah. Hopefully the Disney-Sony deal will get more of these titles out. We'll see.

[DukeTogo84]

[Show spoiler]

Originally Posted by Scottie

There are new screenshots for The Hidden Fortress, Ikiru, Red Beard, Stray Dog, and Throne of Blood on Janus's website. They look wonderful.

They all look great. The one I'm most excited for is Red Beard, but worried it might not get a release soon since it's not a 4K restoration, but 2K I believe? It's such a good movie and would love to revisit as it's been years. Same with Stray Dog.

[Dr. Zaius]

Lena Dunham’s Closet Picks - YouTube

[RojD]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Did all your replacement discs play okay?

Yep, all the WKW replacement discs work great (sorry for the delayed response; I was traveling)

[darrellmaclaine]

Originally Posted by DimitriL

The Distinguished Gentlemen didn't make it to $50 million. (Bowfinger, from the same period, made almost double that, and Boomerang did even better, making it to $130.) And TDG's gross almost $30 million less than Golden Child, which was considered a disaster.

Distinguished Gentleman was made on a microbudget though so it made a profit, whereas Golden Child was hugely expensive and made a loss.

Anyway if we're talking Eddie Murphy in a Criterion thread, where is Dolemite Is My Name!

[NeilZ]

Hope that Janus site update means more Akira Kurosawa 4K's incoming!