The Criterion Collection

[ShellOilJunior]

Add T. Wiseau to the list.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Add T. Wiseau to the list.

yes.. that's one I thought of, too..
Mark Borchardt has nothing in the Criterion Collection either.

[jw007]

How about:

Emir Kusturica
Neil Jordan
John Sayles

[adamhopelies]

I think the greatest omission from Criterion Collection is Jacques Rivette. It's absolutely mind-boggling that not a single Rivette film is available on Criterion.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I didn't even think about laser discs when I made the list.

...isn't that a dead technology?

Yes, it's a dead technology, but it was the one that Criterion began with, and with which they established both their reputation and their mission statement.

I suppose it all depends on what you're getting at when you start posting a list of great directors that haven't had any Criterion releases. I mean the idea that the Collection doesn't encompass every worthwhile filmmaker is, well, rather obvious.

On the other hand, if the list is to somehow suggest that Criterion is overlooking them, I think pointing out that they had laserdisc releases by some of them tells us that at least those directors haven't been overlooked. And it's not at all unlikely that Criterion would've released on Blu-ray (or DVD) films like The Graduate, Boogie Nights, Bad Day at Black Rock, Swept Away, High Noon, et alia if they hadn't lost the rights to them when the studios decided for the most part to keep DVD releases in house.

[Polaroid]

Haneke.

The Seventh Continent.

[oildude]

For anyone interested in exploring further into Japanese cinema within the boundaries of the Criterion Collection, I highly recommend diving into some of the Eclipse box sets, despite the fact they are DVD only. The quality is high, and the fact is these sets contain many of the best films Criterion has released.

I initially resisted these sets because of my reluctance to buy any more DVDs, But around three years ago I decided to take the plunge, realizing it will be years or never before any of the films in the Japanese sets get upgraded by Criterion to Blu-ray despite the uniformly good quality of the film transfers. I consider many of these Japanese sets to be essential viewing if you want to learn more about works from directors like Ozu, Naruse, Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Kobayashi, Kurahara, Oshima, Suzuki, Shimizu, etc.

A couple of years ago I wrote up my thoughts on three of the Japanese sets (Oshima's Outlaw Sixties, The Warped World of Koreyoshi Kurahara, and Kenji Mizoguchi's Fallen Women). I never got around to writing about Nikkatsu Noir, Travels with Hiroshi Shimizu, Silent Ozu, or Late Ozu, but these are excellent and highly recommended.

I still have a few sets I bought but haven't watched yet - When Horror Came to Shochiku, Masaki Kobayashi Against the System, the two Kurosawa sets, Silent Naruse, and the two I picked up in the current B&N sale (the latest Ozu release and the Kinoshita). I don't have a problem with not having watched these sets yet because it means I still have lots of Japanese awesomeness waiting on my shelf to be discovered.

[ParaOK]

Originally Posted by jw007

How about:

Emir Kusturica
Neil Jordan
John Sayles

They released Mona Lisa on DVD.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by belcherman

Toss in William Wyler, William Wellman, Raoul Walsh, Lewis Milestone and George Stevens.

All these are worthwhile additions, to be sure. With the exception of Zhang Yimou, whose name was the first to pop into my mind in my first response, the ones I listed were all ones represented in their LD releases:

George Cukor: Adam's Rib
Fred Zinnemann: High Noon
Robert Wise: West Side Story
Michael Curtiz: Casablanca
John Sturges: Bad Day at Black Rock and The Great Escape
Woody Allen: Annie Hall and Crimes and Misdemeanors
Alan Parker: Evita
Lina Wertmuller: Swept Away

Although, I suppose I should've included George Stevens because of Swing Time.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by jw007

How about:

Emir Kusturica
Neil Jordan
John Sayles

Sayles is a serious omission. Jordan's Mona Lisa was released by Criterion on DVD (OOP) and LD.

[MifuneFan]

Hayao Miyazaki

[Page14]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

yes.. that's one I thought of, too..
Mark Borchardt has nothing in the Criterion Collection either.

I'm not sure if you're serious about this or not, but American Movie might qualify for a Criterion release.

Many years ago, I met Mark while standing in line for the opening of an independent film at a theater in Milwaukee. (I forget the name of the film, but Mark had a role in it). He seemed to me to be the same person that you see in American Movie.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by ParaOK

They released Mona Lisa on DVD.

Originally Posted by jayembee

Sayles is a serious omission. Jordan's Mona Lisa was released by Criterion on DVD (OOP) and LD.

Yes, an out of print DVD.... doesn't count. I want in-print and I want Criterion blu-ray Jordan. ASAP.

And Sayles, I heard he is difficult to work with for video distribution.

Who is the most difficult director to work with for getting movies out on blu-ray?

My picks:

1. James Cameron
2. Woody Allen
3. John Sayles
4. David Lynch (who finally is embracing Criterion after years of neglect)

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Page14

I'm not sure if you're serious about this or not, but American Movie might qualify for a Criterion release.

Many years ago, I met Mark while standing in line for the opening of an independent film at a theater in Milwaukee. (I forget the name of the film, but Mark had a role in it). He seemed to me to be the same person that you see in American Movie.

I met him, too! We might have had this convo before. If so, apologies to everyone else.

I met him at Ebert's film festival. He smelled like alcohol. I took a picture with him.

[jayembee]

Random factoid: Out of Criterion's first 20 laserdisc releases, only three have not been released on Blu-ray in the US (either by Criterion or anyone else):

Swing Time (we're looking at you, Warner)
The Magnificent Ambersons (with both eyes)
Tunes of Glory / The Horse's Mouth (originally a two-fer, they later got individual releases by Criterion on LD, as well as on DVD)

[Page14]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Sayles is a serious omission. Jordan's Mona Lisa was released by Criterion on DVD (OOP) and LD.

I'm not sure if it's true or not, but I read somewhere (probably in these forums) that John Sayles didn't have any of his films on blu-ray until a couple of weeks ago when Baby It's You was released. FWIW, this is one of the few releases that I have ever pre-ordered. Good coming of age (in the late 60s) movie.



http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Its-Blu-r.../dp/B00Y250HSE

[Page14]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I met him, too! We might have had this convo before. If so, apologies to everyone else.

I met him at Ebert's film festival. He smelled like alcohol. I took a picture with him.

... I had a picture taken with him too, but I don't remember smelling any alcohol. (Then again, my sense of smell isn't that good ... which can be a blessing at times).

EDIT: My apologies too, for that little string on non-Criterion related posts.

[Scottie]

For fans of The Brood

http://mondotees.com/collections/pos...ly-shaw-poster

[Fabs]

Speaking of directors who have no films in the collection, Zhang Yimou is a huge omission. I would love Criterion to put out any of his early films.

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by jayembee

The Magnificent Ambersons

Such a neglected film. Even with the studio cuts the film is great.