The Criterion Collection

[octagon]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

This looks cheap and uninspired and rushed, and not on the level of Picasso.

I don't know a lot about art but I'm going to play it safe and give you that last one.

I don't know about the rest though. It certainly doesn't look rushed. There's quite a bit going on in the images. For my money, the 'unsmiley face' in the chalice alone elevates it beyond cheap and rushed.

Which is not to say I particularly like it, mind you.

[ShellOilJunior]

I see there's some speculation Head is going out of print because the doc on the BBS disc was moved to the Five Easy Pieces individual release.

There's going to be a lot of unhappy people if Head is no longer available.

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by jayembee

The only StudioCanal titles they've issued since losing the rights are the Tati films, and that was a special case: the Tati estate twisted SC's arm into letting Criterion do it (probably becau##se they realized that Lionsgate never would).

Isn't Lord of the Flies in that same group as Third Man and Man Who Fell to Earth? (British Lion films). I thought there were a couple more, not that went OOP but that were actually newly licensed through StudioCanal even after those other ones went OOP. Also I've seen some mention Man Who Fell to Earth actually coming back. Is that a rumor of substance or wishful thinking?

It seems like at least for catalog titles the deal between Lionsgate and Studiocanal is mostly dead. Maybe the terms go out for years or they keep working on new films, but their actual back-catalog release activity is dead - particularly for the films in question here. When is the last time they even released an art-house or foreign film in the U.S? All I know is I go to the http://studiocanalcollection.com/ website and it says "New Titles Available 2012" in the header - and that's for Studiocanal proper, it's even more futile in the U.S. since these then get filtered through Lionsgate. (i.e. we never got Elephant Man and a bunch of others).

For all I know Lionsgate is completely intransigent about sub-licensing these films (or maybe StudioCanal deal won't allow sublicensing or creating some other complexity). But I have to think something will happen eventually. Either Lionsgate will give one last ditch effort with their "StudioCanal Classics" (considering StudioCanal also does nothing overseas anymore, that would be tough), or they will find a partner to get back to licensing them individually (likely Criterion, or maybe a newcomer like Arrow or someone else).

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

This seems like an apologist post. I'm sure they come up with multiple designs, and I'd actually bet they don't have a lot of time to design the covers, doesn't mean the end result is great. This looks cheap and uninspired and rushed, and not on the level of Picasso. It doesn't have much color at all.

Criterion get 3rd party designers in and they do have a lot of development time to work on the designs - it's the same for any design job :-)

And didn't mean for it to come across as an apologist post, I wasnted to defend it because it's more than just a quick drawing ^^

I guess we all like different thibgs :-)

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

I see there's some speculation Head is going out of print because the doc on the BBS disc was moved to the Five Easy Pieces individual release.

There's going to be a lot of unhappy people if Head is no longer available.

Ba-da-DUM-bum! I think we can infer, though that the movie Head will never get a standalone release. Just don't tell the Big Victor.

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

But I have to think something will happen eventually. Either Lionsgate will give one last ditch effort with their "StudioCanal Classics" (considering StudioCanal also does nothing overseas anymore, that would be tough), or they will find a partner to get back to licensing them individually (likely Criterion, or maybe a newcomer like Arrow or someone else).

That would be funny, if StudioCanal starts licensing them back to Criterion to try to get some money out of those films, this will probably cost more to Criterion than it would have originally to keep the rights, i am not sure why StudioCanal got all those films in the first place if they don't seem to think they are worth releasing, like those titles they decided to release as MOD with DVD-R, they clearly don't think they would sell enough with a proper release.

Or maybe their other titles didn't sell well, maybe having the Big C does make a difference after all and they didn't realized that at the time.

[blu-bry]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

I'm going to go out on a limb and say a lot of people are waiting for at least 1 of these to be upgraded:

Andrei Rublev
Bicycle Thieves
The BRD Trilogy
Brute Force
Elevator to the Gallows
Hiroshima mon amour
Ikiru
Juliet of the Spirits
Kwaidan
La Strada
Le Samourai
Night and the City
Onibaba
The Lady Eve
The Passion of Joan of Arc
The Spirit of the Beehive
The Thief of Bagdad
Thieves Highway
The Virgin Spring
Viridiana

And yes, The Killers would be amazing!

[Polaroid]

I've not seen The Fisher King but I read that it features themes relating to schizophrenia and other disorders. If that's the case the artwork is perfect as it's very similar to artwork created by people who suffer these disorders.

It's also very similar to some of the art you do during therapy session where you use art to express how you feel.

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

I've not seen The Fisher King but I read that it features themes relating to schizophrenia and other disorders. If that's the case the artwork is perfect as it's very similar to artwork created by people who suffer these disorders.

It's also very similar to some of the art you do during therapy session where you use art to express how you feel.

The Fisher King is a very dark film, in terms of the look of the film itself as well as the theme. This cover art is all bright and colourful and cheery and does not represent the film at all. This is not any better than a photoshop job, except that it probably cost a lot more to produce. Enough with the cute stuff already and just use original poster art or at least something close to it.

[Brad1963]

It is only a cover. Do you want packaging or the disc? Get over it already and move on. Regarding Five Easy Pieces, I have heard many times how people wish they had released it as a single disc. So which is it? Is the world ending because of this? It was obviously a decision by Criterion based on requests. I would guess that The Last Picture Show will be coming soon also. And the complaints about "how lame" Criterion has been this year. Really? How did you hear about Criterion in the first place? This is who they are and this slate reflects what they have been about for the past 30 years.

[ShellOilJunior]

May would've been a good month to slip Z out the door on blu-ray. It fits the theme of the month as far as business plan goes.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

The Fisher King is a very dark film, in terms of the look of the film itself as well as the theme. This cover art is all bright and colourful and cheery and does not represent the film at all. This is not any better than a photoshop job, except that it probably cost a lot more to produce. Enough with the cute stuff already and just use original poster art or at least something close to it.

As I said look at artwork created by people who suffer these mental disorders - a lot use bright colours...

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

I see there's some speculation Head is going out of print because the doc on the BBS disc was moved to the Five Easy Pieces individual release.

There's going to be a lot of unhappy people if Head is no longer available.

I'm sure you'd still be able to get Head if you really wanted it, you'd just have to pay more to get it.

I guess the lesson here is if you think you want Head, get it while you can.

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

That would be funny, if StudioCanal starts licensing them back to Criterion to try to get some money out of those films, this will probably cost more to Criterion than it would have originally to keep the rights, i am not sure why StudioCanal got all those films in the first place if they don't seem to think they are worth releasing, like those titles they decided to release as MOD with DVD-R, they clearly don't think they would sell enough with a proper release.

Or maybe their other titles didn't sell well, maybe having the Big C does make a difference after all and they didn't realized that at the time.

I don't follow licensing that close and I know there are some experts on here (or at least poeple that seem to follow it really close with greater detail). But I think Criterion had licensed them from Studiocanal already. Criterion never "owned" these films, they were always licensed from somebody. Somewhere along the line StudioCanal signed a big deal with Lionsgate in the USA (mostly for distribution rights of new films is my guess, but the catalogs got caught up in it). It was the deal with Lionsgate that caused them to go OOP when the Criterion rights expired - I guess the idea was to start up an "art-house" line featuring StudioCanal controlled films - and lionsgate would distribute that line on blu-ray in the U.S. Unfortuantely they abandoned that concept almost immediately, and many titles have been stuck in that limbo ever since. It was basically just Ran, Third Man, Grand Illusion, Ladykillers, and maybe a few others.

No idea who Criterion needs to negotiate with now. But the fact it's been since 2012 since Lionsgate have done ANYTHING in the U.S. with these seems like a giant waste to me. Hopefully they are at least up for negotiation soon (I do see StudioCanal and Lionsgate did yet another deal in 2014, so that probably isn't good for this situation). Hopefully at some point, some of these catalogs of art-house and foreign cinema get carved out of these deals and go back on the market for 3rd party licensing.

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

As I said look at artwork created by people who suffer these mental disorders - a lot use bright colours...

You're reaching. Just admit it's a crap cover.

Originally Posted by Brad1963

It is only a cover. Do you want packaging or the disc? Get over it already and move on. Regarding Five Easy Pieces, I have heard many times how people wish they had released it as a single disc. So which is it? Is the world ending because of this? It was obviously a decision by Criterion based on requests. I would guess that The Last Picture Show will be coming soon also. And the complaints about "how lame" Criterion has been this year. Really? How did you hear about Criterion in the first place? This is who they are and this slate reflects what they have been about for the past 30 years.

Yes, it's only a cover and when it's on my shelf all I'll be looking at is the spine, but a cover is what sells a film and based on this cover, it's not selling what the Fisher King is all about. Someone who hasn't seen this before might be mistaken for thinking they're getting Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges in the Mister Men Movie.

[pedromvu]

If i remember correctly the previous blu-ray cover of The Fisher King is even worse isn't it? the posters i found don't look very good either.

I don't hate the new one, but also don't think is particularly good.

Edit: I was checking the cover here and hadn't noticed the review in the middle by Playboy: "An Astonishing Comedy" , that may give people the wrong impression.

[jlk5844]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

If i remember correctly the previous blu-ray cover of The Fisher King is even worse isn't it? the posters i found don't look very good either.

I don't hate the new one, but also don't think is particularly good.

It just looks like a kid took a blank piece of white paper and drew on it, obviously it's not a scribbly mess, but it's just very unattractive for a Blu-ray cover. I would've taken the previous BD's cover with the Criterion "c" on it.

[Scottie]

I spent the afternoon watching Marketa Lazarová and this film is a perfect example of what The Criterion Collection is all about.

The best way to describe the film is as a historical epic, a psychological drama, and an avant-garde experimental film, all in one. The film focuses on not only similar clan clashes to those of The Middle Ages, but also on the rejection of religion in favor of freedom. Still, all of this forms the backdrop to the entire film, as its core is definitely the characters and their relationships with one another.

Stylistically speaking, this is one of the greatest films ever made. It feels like a throwback to the Soviet Montage Movement of the 1920s and 1930s and the art cinema movement of the 1950s and 1960s, but still, there is something that feels new to the entire thing. Furthermore, while I disagree that it is the best Czech film ever made (it was voted as such), it is definitely good and its rather long runtime feels remarkably short.

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I spent the afternoon watching Marketa Lazarová and this film is a perfect example of what The Criterion Collection is all about.

The best way to describe the film is as a historical epic, a psychological drama, and an avant-garde experimental film, all in one. The film focuses on not only similar clan clashes to those of The Middle Ages, but also on the rejection of religion in favor of freedom. Still, all of this forms the backdrop to the entire film, as its core is definitely the characters and their relationships with one another.

Stylistically speaking, this is one of the greatest films ever made. It feels like a throwback to the Soviet Montage Movement of the 1920s and 1930s and the art cinema movement of the 1950s and 1960s, but still, there is something that feels new to the entire thing. Furthermore, while I disagree that it is the best Czech film ever made (it was voted as such), it is definitely good and its rather long runtime feels remarkably short.

Agree great film, although i didn't understand most of the plot, did you noticed about two thirds of the movie, that in a very short scene it appears some guy with jeans? that threw me off the movie, i don't know if that was just some mistake in editing or if it was on purpose.

[StLouisRibs]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

May would've been a good month to slip Z out the door on blu-ray. It fits the theme of the month as far as business plan goes.

It was restored in 4K by some independent company through Costa-Gavras himself, so it will probably come around at some point, but I wouldn't expect it until the end of the year at the earliest (a loose trilogy boxset of the Z/Confession/State of Siege would surely have been on the cards if it was ready)