The Criterion Collection

[Trekkie313]

So now that Walker (1987) has been released on Blu-ray in Germany, who is going to give it the proper treatment in the US? Does Criterion still own the rights?

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Trekkie313

So now that Walker (1987) has been released on Blu-ray in Germany, who is going to give it the proper treatment in the US? Does Criterion still own the rights?

Since their DVD edition of it is still in print, I'd say, "Yes, most likely."

[Ned Brainard]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Does Criterion have rights to some Laurel and Hardy shorts?

That is the question I was pondering yesterday when I saw this clip. What's odd is that this clip is noted on the youtube page as being courtesy of Sonar Entertainment. Up until now, it was common knowledge that a company named Corinth Films had the domestic home video rights to the silent Laurel and Hardy films (and of course they were doing nothing with them). Sonar does have the rights to bulk of the Hal Roach catalog (non-L&H silents, sound shorts and features, etc.). I'm wondering if perhaps Corinth lost the rights or relinquished them and Sonar somehow got them. While the clip may have been merely posted to go along with the article on the Lost and Found cinema workshop, I am hoping that this may portend a Criterion release of the L&H silents (which have long been overdue for blu-ray - the DVDs have been long out of print).
For that matter, if Criterion is dealing with Sonar, then let's see Topper! TCM in the past has shown the UCLA restoration which looks much better than the version that Hallmark released on DVD (let's all be glad that Hallmark is no longer connected with the Hal Roach library - to this day I refuse to purchase Hallmark products because of the contempt and indifference that the company showed to the Roach catalog).

[spanky87]

YouTube

Ben Wheatley is a G. I like this guy more than I like his films. Such an unpretentious director with an eclectic taste in cinema and knows his shit. A stoner who devoured films all day, got his shit together in his 30s and and decided to become a filmmaker. Love it.

[jw007]

That was a great Criterion closet video! He snatched one of my guilty pleasures (Fishing With John) too! Cool picks, Wheatley.

[AaronJ]

OK, let's see ...

1) I hate these videos, since I don't connect at all with them.

2) I think that Ben does a horrible job choosing,

3) My choices are NEVER chosen.

[obscurelabel]

Originally Posted by javy

I'm thinking of picking up Belle de Jour. I've never seen it and It doesn't really sound like my kind of thing, but it sounds like some good sleaze to watch with the wife. What are your thoughts?

Originally Posted by llj

Belle de Jour is too arty to be sleaze. Don't go into it looking for that. It's a very good film though.

I always struggle to find the right words to describe films, but yeah, "sleaze" doesn't fit for Belle de Jour. I'd use detached, cold, mysterious, unsettling, provocative. And when trying to think of any films with a similar feel, the first thing I thought of was Blowup crossed with Klute, if that helps any.

[Cutter_]

Just watched a lot of the supplements for RumbleFish last night. Great quality, and interesting interviews as usual. Very glad to have them!

Also in some of the archive footage, it is such a difference in video quality with this movie proper. This release compared to a DVD, I would say you can probably see about 20% more of the film, that in crappier releases were just black, because the resolution could not show the detail, in the darker areas of a shot. I love it when Black and White films get restored, as you can see so much more of the film.

[MifuneFan]

For anyone in the NYC area, BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) will be having a spotlight on Agnes Verda in California from May 31st - June 13th. Criterion released an Eclipse set of the same name and titles, and these upcoming screenings are courtesy of Janus.

http://www.bam.org/film/2017/varda-in-california

[Dean learner]

Originally Posted by spanky87

https://www.youtube.com/watch?ebc=AN...&v=vago4fXtJvw

Ben Wheatley is a G. I like this guy more than I like his films. Such an unpretentious director with an eclectic taste in cinema and knows his shit. A stoner who devoured films all day, got his shit together in his 30s and and decided to become a filmmaker. Love it.

Lots of love for Wheatley here too. Although I love his films more than you do by the sound of it. His Q&As are a delight if you get a chance to see them and he never fails to mention how important his partner/co-editor/co-writer Amy Jump is to his films. She just hates doing publicity. But it would be easy to say "Yeah, I'm a bloody genius!" and push her to the sidelines.

In the UK there are some very annoying insurance commercials which it turns out were directed by Ben Wheatley. Dude's gotta eat!

[octagon]

Have we officially given up on The Big Clock? Did that clock in the New Year's clue turn out to be something else? I have a hard time keeping up with this stuff sometimes.

And if we have given up, any rumblings that it might be coming from somebody else?

[Quake1028]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

OK, let's see ...

1) I hate these videos, since I don't connect at all with them.

2) I think that Ben does a horrible job choosing,

3) My choices are NEVER chosen.

Eh, I don't know about any of that. From his list I would like to own:

- TWO-LANE BLACKTOP
- ZATOICHI box set
- SECONDS
- SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS
- RUMBLE FISH

And I already do own Seven Samurai. So, I would like to see a lot of his picks.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

OK, let's see ...

1) I hate these videos, since I don't connect at all with them.

2) I think that Ben does a horrible job choosing,

3) My choices are NEVER chosen.

I realize that you're not saying anything about Ben Wheatley here at all, but if you haven't seen Kill List, you really should. With all your Nic Refn love, I'd say it is right up your alley. I guess some have said that the movie is somewhat derivative (derivative of films I, personally, have not seen,) but nevertheless it was some bizarre, nightmare-ish fun. I liked it a lot.

maybe you'd give Ben a pass after seeing that one?

[MifuneFan]

Toshiro Mifune was just a clue on Jeopardy!, in relation to his role in The Seven Samurai

[Scottie]

If Criterion is going to release Fire Walk with Me, I wonder what the chances of them releasing the entire series is.

Criterion, if I understand correctly, has a solid relationship with Paramount Pictures. If they were to release The Entire Mystery, it would be the first television series to be released by the studio. Furthermore, if they released the upcoming Showtime series, too, it would certainly be surprising.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by iScottie

If Criterion is going to release Fire Walk with Me, I wonder what the chances of them releasing the entire series is.

Criterion, if I understand correctly, has a solid relationship with Paramount Pictures. If they were to release The Entire Mystery, it would be the first television series to be released by the studio. Furthermore, if they released the upcoming Showtime series, too, it would certainly be surprising.

Wasn't Dekalog a TV series?

[senseabove]

Dekalog did have theatrical screenings, so that one kinda cuts both ways.

But they've also released Fishing with John and Tanner '88.


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[malakaheso]

Ben Wheatley is not the most exciting film maker in the world, so it isn't surprising that his choices were rather ho-hum.

I can't prove it, but I still maintain that he spent some time watching Serra's Honor of The Knights before making A Field In England. There are at least 2-3 shots that look like direct lifts.

He isn't a bad director though. Kill List and High Rise are extremely watchable.

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by senseabove

Dekalog did have theatrical screenings, so that one kinda cuts both ways.

Fanny and Alexander was both too.

[mja345]

The current BD of the "Twin Peaks" series is very good, so re-releasing it would be absolutely pointless. It wouldn't even be a case like "Dr. Strangelove" where they could improve the packaging because the packaging for the "Twin Peaks" series is about as elaborate as it gets.