The Criterion Collection

[Zen_Amako]

Originally Posted by gwoemul

It would be wonderful if Criterion released 'Princess Racoon' by Seijun Suzuki on blu-ray. Not that anyone asked.

Criterion should really release Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale, which has never had a proper DVD in the US. Supposedly, Toei wants too much money for the license, but Tartan was able to acquire it for the UK (who knows, maybe they're asking for a lot more for the US rights). I think it would make a good addition to the collection.

Princess Raccoon did get a US release on DVD, and it wasn't received all that well. It's really more of a filmed play than a movie. I did enjoy Suzuki's Pistol Opera.

[kndy]

Originally Posted by CassavetesGodard

Interesting to hear YOUR top 5.
Oh, and Chabrol passed away today. RIP.

I think many of us are still wondering why Criterion has never released a Chabrol film... Well, hopefully KINO steps up and possibly release something on Blu.

Originally Posted by Zen_Amako

Criterion should really release Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale, which has never had a proper DVD in the US. Supposedly, Toei wants too much money for the license, but Tartan was able to acquire it for the UK (who knows, maybe they're asking for a lot more for the US rights). I think it would make a good addition to the collection.

Unfortunately, the film is not Criterion caliber. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the film but films like "Battle Royale" I see being released more from Viz Pictures or FUNimation Entertainment. If anything, I would love to see Criterion release a Naruse film.

Originally Posted by italy12

Tonight, I decided to watch one of Criterion's talky two and a half hour Blu rays. The choice came down to "A Christmas Tale" or "Secret of the Grain", two films I had not yet seen.

I went with the latter, and, despite some negative things I've read around this forum and others, I absolutely loved it!!

I absolutely enjoyed "Secret of the Grain". Hafsia Herzi gave an amazing performance and I found the special features of how this girl with no acting experience (and lied during her audition) manage to shine in this film and win two major film awards.

OK, time to watch "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence"...

[SammyJankis]

I finally got around to watching my copy of Paris, Texas that I got from the Barnes and Noble sale.

It blew me away. Haven't felt like this about a film in a while.

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by kndy

I think many of us are still wondering why Criterion has never released a Chabrol film... Well, hopefully KINO steps up and possibly release something on Blu.

I do think they have a short film on M of Chabrols', but that's it.

Originally Posted by kndy

OK, time to watch "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence"...

Be sure to tell us how it looks on blu. Been waiting for that release this month.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by CassavetesGodard

Interesting to hear YOUR top 5.

The year is not over yet, but from what Criterion have released in 2010, these are the ones that I have been impressed the most with:

1. Hunger - Phenomenal film. I had the opportunity to attend a press conference with the director in attendance and everything that I heard him sharing convinced me that Hunger was a very special journey for him. The film's message is real. Criterion's treatment of the film is outstanding.

2. Il gattopardo - Pure Cinema. On a number of occasions I have expressed my dissatisfaction with the fact that we are not seeing enough classic Italian Cinema from Criterion - Antonioni (and Polish director A. Zulawski) is one of my favorite directors - but this is a very special treat from them.

3. The Secret of the Grain - Great film. I saw it long before it came to the U.S. It reminded me about Djamila Sahraoui's Barakat! (Enough!). It has a very unique pulse, and you know that the main characters are real people -- nothing in it feels artificial.

4. The Thin Red Line - perhaps the greatest American war film, bound to be misunderstood and misinterpreted in America. No disrespect to Mr. Spielberg, but his Saving Private Ryan does not even come close to recreating the type of horror The Thin Red Line houses. In America, most viewers equate graphic to authentic/real, but to capture real horror in a film you don't have to show dismembered bodies - you must somehow capture the thoughts and feelings one is bound to struggle with before or after the battle. Dying is easy. Being alive with your soul ripped apart isn't. Criterion's presentation of The Thin Red Line is phenomenal.

5. Lola Montes - This film was just way ahead of its time. Even today I believe that a lot of people have a very difficult time understanding it. While I do not share Andrew Sarris' opinion of Lola Montes, I certainly believe that it is one of the greatest European films ever made. Criterion's release is excellent.

Pro-B

[Zen_Amako]

Originally Posted by kndy

Unfortunately, the film is not Criterion caliber. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the film but films like "Battle Royale" I see being released more from Viz Pictures or FUNimation Entertainment. If anything, I would love to see Criterion release a Naruse film.

While it is more commercial than most of the films Criterion releases, I think it qualifies as an important contemporary film. It's more than the B movie it appears to be - there's some pretty vicious social satire underneath the surface. If something like Hausu (or Akira, back in the laserdisc days) can be a part of the collection, I see no reason why Battle Royale wouldn't be a good fit. It has also been an influence on quite a few directors who are working today.

Criterion seems to like releasing films that are controversial, and this movie created quite a stir. I remember people saying that it would never be released in the US after Columbine and other similar tragedies.

[kndy]

Originally Posted by Zen_Amako

While it is more commercial than most of the films Criterion releases, I think it qualifies as an important contemporary film. It's more than the B movie it appears to be - there's some pretty vicious social satire underneath the surface.

Well, anything is possible..there are quite a number of Japanese films I would love to see in the US. May it be from Criterion, Kino, MoC, etc....

I will say that last week, I have had a few discussions with reps of one of Japan's largest entertainment companies. A problem that the Japanese companies have had in the past several years is the lack of distribution deals for live action films. There are a lot of films that don't see the light of day (outside of Japan) and told them that there are good films that would be great for them to pitch to other companies. I did bring up companies like Criterion, Eureka!/MoC, BFI, Oscilloscope Laboratories, etc. and discussion went well but there are things they want to try out first with consumers outside of Japan (will have more details once they give me the permission to make it public).

[nametag]

A while back I think some people were wondering when their BDs from the BN sale would be arriving at their international address - I JUST received my Red Shoes in the UK, which was dispatched on 15th August (and ordered weeks before that) in case anyone is still waiting on theirs.

Looking forward to watching it, though I'm sort of dying for Black Narcissus now as well!

As a side note, I don't suppose anyone knows much about Great Expectations (1946) possibly coming out at some point? I think they did the DVD - do Criterion still own rights or has there been any indication or rumour that they are going to do a BD release? I'm considering buying the ITV one but don't if I'm gonna have to replace it sometime soon.

[horseflesh]

Originally Posted by nametag

A while back I think some people were wondering when their BDs from the BN sale would be arriving at their international address - I JUST received my Red Shoes in the UK, which was dispatched on 15th August (and ordered weeks before that) in case anyone is still waiting on theirs.

Looking forward to watching it, though I'm sort of dying for Black Narcissus now as well!

As a side note, I don't suppose anyone knows much about Great Expectations (1946) possibly coming out at some point? I think they did the DVD - do Criterion still own rights or has there been any indication or rumour that they are going to do a BD release? I'm considering buying the ITV one but don't if I'm gonna have to replace it sometime soon.

My Red Shoes, Black Narcissus and Secret of the Grain shipped on July 28th.
Haven't arrived

[nametag]

Originally Posted by horseflesh

My Red Shoes, Black Narcissus and Secret of the Grain shipped on July 28th.
Haven't arrived

harsh, if it they don't soon I'd contact B&N about a refund!
It's so annoying how importing from the US to Europe seems to take ages (if you choose the cheapest shipping option, anyway) whereas if we sent something from here to the US in standard airmail it'd arrive in only a week or 2, max. Suppose it's just because we have such a smaller country, an doesn't need to have any ground shipping to airports incorporated into the time, or something...

[Neroazzuro]

Originally Posted by nametag

A while back I think some people were wondering when their BDs from the BN sale would be arriving at their international address - I JUST received my Red Shoes in the UK, which was dispatched on 15th August (and ordered weeks before that) in case anyone is still waiting on theirs.

Still waiting for my order shipped August 8 to Germany, the other five orders I made during the sale period arrived in 2-3 weeks.

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by Zen_Amako

Criterion should really release Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale, which has never had a proper DVD in the US. Supposedly, Toei wants too much money for the license, but Tartan was able to acquire it for the UK (who knows, maybe they're asking for a lot more for the US rights).

The blu-ray is from Arrow. Don't know if they aquired from Toei or some other byzantine aquisition channel. While I'm open to a wide variety of World Cinema titles on Criterion (esp. Asian), I think I'd prefer to see them distribute less commercially appealing product. I'm definately going to import the UK blu-ray of BR, unless it gets poor reviews, but I think I'd prefer to see a Dragon Dynasty-like (ie., Asian action/martial arts specialty) label develop a sizeable market with quality releases. Until that day comes, region-free is your best bet.

[ShellOilJunior]

I wonder when the Monty Python rumors will start. I've heard Flying Circus is a distinct possibility. . .

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

I wonder when the Monty Python rumors will start. I've heard Flying Circus is distinct possibility. . .

I would honestly love to see Flying Circus remastered with both the German episodes included, but A&E would never give that up to Criterion, unless their license has an expiration. Also, everything in-studio was shot on standard-definition video.

However, And Now for Something Completely Different on Blu-ray would be a welcome compromise.

[ShellOilJunior]

I'm just hoping for a surprise on Wednesday. It's become relatively too easy to pick titles each month

[kndy]

This may explain why Sony gave Criterion the rights for their Hollywood release... (I wonder if this is the final nail of the coffin for any Sony/Film Foundation releases...I'm guessing so). It appears that for Sony/Columbia are going to go the Warner and Universal route for their classic titles.

Movies-on-Demand Service Featuring Never-Before-Released Deep Catalog from the Columbia Pictures Archive
Debuts September 13th
*
http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/columbiaclassics/
*

CULVER CITY, CALIF. (September 13th, 2010) – Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) opens the Columbia vault on September 13th offering a selection of films never before released on DVD with the launch of “Screen Classics by Request.”* Consumers will now be able to purchase authentic, high-quality DVDs of more than 100 classic movie titles covering a 75 year span from the Columbia Film Library.* Additional titles will be made available monthly through the new “Screen Classics by Request” Web site (http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/columbiaclassics/) and will retail at $19.94 SLP, plus shipping.
*
To order movies, consumers visit http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/columbiaclassics/, make their selection, and upon purchase, a state-of-the-art manufacturing on demand (MOD) system creates a made-to-order DVD showcased with original theatrical art when available.*
*
Among the titles initially available will be The Pumpkin Eater (1964) with Anne Bancroft and Peter Finch, Footsteps in the Fog (1955) starring Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons, Sam Wanamaker’s The Executioner (1970) with George Peppard, The Juggler (1953) starring Kirk Douglas, the Sherlock Holmes mystery A Study in Terror (1965), I Never Sang For My Father (1970) with Melvyn Douglas and Gene Hackman, Genghis Kahn (1965) with Omar Sharif, and Les Voleurs (Thieves, 1996) with Catherine Deneuve.
*
“The launch of Screen Classics By Request is an important step in the evolution of our multiplatform distribution strategy,” said John Calkins, SPHE’s Executive Vice President of Global Digital and Commercial Innovation.* “We look forward to making the rich history of the Columbia archive available in new ways through a variety of retail and distribution partners that best serve the appetite of the discerning movie enthusiast.”
*
Consumers can also visit the http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/columbiaclassics/ Web site for “first looks” at upcoming Blu-ray and DVD releases from the studio, to view “behind the scenes” still photography from some of the initial film productions, and to request their favorite films for release.

[KubrickFan]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

I would honestly love to see Flying Circus remastered with both the German episodes included, but A&E would never give that up to Criterion, unless their license has an expiration. Also, everything in-studio was shot on standard-definition video.

However, And Now for Something Completely Different on Blu-ray would be a welcome compromise.

What rumor? Was there a clue that Criterion would release anything of the Pythons?
How much work can they do on the episodes anyway? I thought that we only have the series now because some broadcasting network in America saved the tapes, while the BBC wiped all the tapes they had (common practice then)

[italy12]

Originally Posted by kndy

Consumers can also visit the http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/columbiaclassics/ Web site for “first looks” at upcoming Blu-ray and DVD releases from the studio, to view “behind the scenes” still photography from some of the initial film productions, and to request their favorite films for release.

Does this mean that they will press Blu rays as well and that we can request them?

[hedliniv]

Has Criterion Collection ever lost a license to distribute a movie and then gained the ability to distribute movie back later?



I ask because how likely will RAN ever be released again under Criterion?



The most important aspect to these movies I believe is the commentary (especially for historical perspective with an unfamiliar culture) This was very important to my experience on Sanjuro / Yojimbo / Seven Samurai.



I want to pick up the blu-ray but it does not contain that essential commentary. Should I hold out and hope?

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by hedliniv

Has Criterion Collection ever lost a license to distribute a movie and then gained the ability to distribute movie back later?

Yes. Off the top of my head... "Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom" is one title.

CC