The Criterion Collection

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Reddington

Called my three local B&N stores today (I'm in MA); all are opening for in-store shopping this Friday.

The B&N in Manchester, NH is, I believe, open as of today. I would assume the one in Portsmouth has also re-opened. If I end up popping into the Manchester store in the near future, I will ask about the Criterion sale.

I would, however, think that the status of the sale would depend on which (and how many of the) stores across the country are open or not. There's no reason why B&N can't still have the sale on-line, but while that benefits the corporation as a whole, it doesn't benefit the individual stores. They only benefit directly from in-person shoppers.

On-edit: Just checked, and at least the four NH stores within an hour of me (Manchester, Nashua, Salem, and Portsmouth) are currently open with "reduced hours".

[BenOswald]

The eminent Cinematographer Roger Deakins has been doing a podcast & just announced Lee Kline of Criterion will be on the next episode where they'll discuss film restoration.


https://www.rogerdeakins.com/team-deakins-podcast/
https://teamdeakins.libsyn.com/
https://www.instagram.com/accounts/l.../team.deakins/

Interestingly, only 2x movies he shot have Criterion releases:

1984
Sid & Nancy

[CQD84]

Originally Posted by Reddington

Called my three local B&N stores today (I'm in MA); all are opening for in-store shopping this Friday. I asked each of them if they had any info on the July Criterion 50% event; two said they did not, and one put me on hold to check before coming back and saying they don't know for certain but they have some indication that July will not happen this year and the next one will be November.

Clearly, this needs corroborating. But I thought it worth posting.

I just called my local B&N and the employee I spoke to told me that he doesn't have the Criterion Sale listed as an upcoming sale, which isn't a good sign. He said to call and ask again in a couple weeks as he may have a definitive answer then.

[Cremildo]

Does anyone else have the feeling that Claude Chabrol is underrepresented in the collection - and even on Blu-ray in general?

[Cholly]

I've never understood the whole arguments from people about streaming vs. physical media as if you cant do both, streaming is just the modern day alternative to the video stores (or even worse, watching on TV). Streaming has over taken physical media because a majority of society dont care enough about film to rewatch them very often or at all, I literally worked with a chick who said she never rewatches any movies.
I will always prefer to own because its mine and no one can take it away, I can just pull it out whenever I feel, but Im more than happy to discover new movies through streaming. Its better than when I used to watch them in butchered aspect ratios, censored with tons of commercials back in the day.
And if physical media were in such a threat, why are all the boutique labels now jumping into 4k? With Arrow, Synapse, Blue Underground, Scream and Vinegar Syndrome all jumping in I have no doubts Criterion will follow suit too, its just a matter of time now.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Cremildo

Does anyone else have the feeling that Claude Chabrol is underrepresented in the collection - and even on Blu-ray in general?

Given that he has, what, about 60 feature films to his name, and only two in the Collection, the answer to the first is "yes".

In terms of blu-ray in general, well, about 10 of those 60 are on blu-ray from Cohen alone. Plus the two from Criterion makes at least 20% of his films on blu just in the US. If you think 20% is underrepresentative, then "yes" to that point as well. But in comparison to some other filmmakers, perhaps not.

[NeoNical]

Originally Posted by Cremildo

Does anyone else have the feeling that Claude Chabrol is underrepresented in the collection - and even on Blu-ray in general?

Seems like he is underrated. Might go ahead and start watching his films then.

I think at this point, Criterion is only releasing blu-rays for movies that have new restorations. They don't seem to be doing any more transfers using old DVD restorations which films like, "Seven Samurai" looked wonderful with it. And because of that, there isn't much popular films being released by Criterion unless if they are using a new restoration done recently.

Underrated Directors (In My Opinion):

[Show spoiler]Marguerite Duras who never had an American release of her directed works. Surprisingly, she wrote the screenplay for "Hiroshima Mon Amour" and she made films like "India Song" "La Musica" and "Destroy, She Said" which without those films, the actor Michael Lonsdale probably wouldn't be as famous as he was (He appeared in "Day of the Jackal" and most infamously in "Moonraker"). I think Marguerite Duras is one of the most underrated French directors I have ever seen and it's very rare to find anyone who has seen her work. "India Song" already had a restoration a few years ago and was planned to be shown in theaters back in France but that was cancelled due to the pandemic. Criterion should definitely use the restoration and let it shine on Blu-ray.

Alain Resnais is one of my favorite directors and surprisingly 4 of his films are available on Blu-ray but the rest of his films are unavailable for some reason. For a director well acclaimed, a lot of his later works in the 70s and 80s should get a restoration and get released.

I know there is someone on this website who loves Hideo Gosha and I think he's a wonderful director also. His films aren't restored which may be the only reasons why they're holding back on it. Once one of his films get restored in 4K, there's going to be a release for it most likely. That's the only good reason why I think his works aren't being released on Blu-ray but most of his films could just go with a good repair and a few tweaks and we could have ourselves a good Blu-ray release. But since Gosha is a more underrated director, I would guess that they might give him an Eclipse series THAT IS if they're still doing it which I haven't seen an Eclipse series title in YEARS.

Other good Japanese directors that haven't had much releases were: Shohei Imamura, Kon Ichikawa (Good thing a lot of his films are coming to Blu-ray lately), Masahiro Shinoda, Yoji Yamada, Shunji Iwai, a little bit of Hirokazu Kore-Eda and Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and Juzo Itami (THIS MAN RIGHT HERE)

Since I only have invested a lot of my time researching and watching French and Japanese Cinema, there isn't any other underrated directors that I know of that should be recognized more. NOTE: These are just DIRECTORS, not EDITORS or other crew roles. So quick shoutout to the editors Dede Allen, Marcia Lucas, Sally Menke, and Thelma Schoonmaker.

[FragnitoM]

Originally Posted by CQD84

I just called my local B&N and the employee I spoke to told me that he doesn't have the Criterion Sale listed as an upcoming sale, which isn't a good sign. He said to call and ask again in a couple weeks as he may have a definitive answer then.

Associates instead of managers are not good people to ask. Most of them are clueless about any film you ask them about or criterion release dates, etc and probably don’t know about sales until they are going on. Unlike us, they probably don’t know or remember that this happens every July/November They just opened back up—I wouldn’t worry about it yet. Plus, criterion themselves advertise the sale so I’m sure they will let us know if it is not happening

[dwk]

Originally Posted by BenOswald

The eminent Cinematographer Roger Deakins has been doing a podcast & just announced Lee Kline of Criterion will be on the next episode where they'll discuss film restoration.


https://www.rogerdeakins.com/team-deakins-podcast/
https://teamdeakins.libsyn.com/
https://www.instagram.com/accounts/l.../team.deakins/

Interestingly, only 2x movies he shot have Criterion releases:

1984
Sid & Nancy

Mamet's Homicide

[Cremildo]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Given that he has, what, about 60 feature films to his name, and only two in the Collection, the answer to the first is "yes".

In terms of blu-ray in general, well, about 10 of those 60 are on blu-ray from Cohen alone. Plus the two from Criterion makes at least 20% of his films on blu just in the US. If you think 20% is underrepresentative, then "yes" to that point as well. But in comparison to some other filmmakers, perhaps not.

I counted seven of his films from Cohen, two by Criterion, two by Olive, and one by Kino. A search on Amazon suggests nothing else of his has been released on BD in the US. I would think that just 20% of a bulky filmography is a bit underwhelming for such a well-known auteur among cinephiles, especially when some of his most celebrated films like Le boucher and La cérémonie remain unavailable.

(in the UK it's worse, as even the AE edition of La cérémonie has gone OOP, as did both films released by Eureka.)

Perhaps he's more revered by critics/scholars than by collectors.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Cremildo

I counted seven of his films from Cohen, two by Criterion, two by Olive, and one by Kino. A search on Amazon suggests nothing else of his has been released on BD in the US. I would think that just 20% of a bulky filmography is a bit underwhelming for such a well-known auteur among cinephiles, especially when some of his most celebrated films like Le boucher and La cérémonie remain unavailable.

(in the UK it's worse, as even the AE edition of La cérémonie has gone OOP, as did both films released by Eureka.)

From Cohen:

The Inspector Lavardin Collection contains four films: Chicken with Vinegar, Inspector Lavardin, The Black Snail, Danger Lies in the Words

3 Classic Films by Claude Chabrol contains: Betty, Torment, The Swindle

There are two single-film releases: The Color of Lies and Nightcap

So...nine. Plus the two from Criterion, plus the two from Olive, plus three from Kino (The Third Lover, Line of Demarcation, and The Champagne Murders). So 15 in the US. That pushes it up to about 25%. Plus the one from Artificial Eye (the two from Eureka are the same two released by Criterion), plus two that have so far been released only in France. So 18, or about 30%.

So, sure, not a whole lot, considering. But why haven't more of his films been released in his own country? As I said above, there are only two of his films that have been released in France and nowhere else. None of his films from Cohen have been released there, neither of the two from Olive either, nor has one of the three released by Kino. He's better represented in the US than he is in his own country.

Perhaps he's more revered by critics/scholars than by collectors.

Well, collectors can only collect what's been released by the labels.

But the questions that remain are:

(1) What number qualifies as being representative?

Obviously, you don't think 20% is. So, 25%? 30%? 50%? More than 50%?

(2) How much of what is or isn't in the Collection a case of what films exist, are in need of restoration, or simply not available to Criterion for licensing reasons?

(3) Is Chabrol more or less represented than other revered filmmakers?

He has two films on blu-ray in the Collection. So does Marcel Carné. So does Jean Cocteau. So does Vittorio De Sica. Andrzej Wajda has four films from Criterion on DVD, none on blu-ray.

Frank Capra has one film in the Collection. John Huston has only one on blu-ray (and another two on DVD). Otto Preminger has only one. Stanley Kramer only has one.

Zhang Yi-mou has no films in the Collection. Nor does Hong Sangsoo, nor Tran Anh Hung, Stanley Kwan, Tsui Hark, Hou Hsiao-hsien.

Satyajit Ray has seven films on blu-ray from the Collection, with another three on DVD in an Eclipse set. Another 19 aren't. Is that representative?

(4) What does "representative" mean?

Zhang Yi-mou has made 23 feature films. Eight of them are on blu-ray in the US (with two of those on UHD as well). But they are all from his later years, the earliest being Hero, and don't really represent the kind of filmmaking he was doing in the 80s and 90s. They are wonderful films, but nothing like what he originally made his name for. So, is he truly represented on blu-ray in the US, even if a third of his films are in that format here?

[Namuhana]

Originally Posted by FragnitoM

Associates instead of managers are not good people to ask. Most of them are clueless about any film you ask them about or criterion release dates, etc and probably don’t know about sales until they are going on. Unlike us, they probably don’t know or remember that this happens every July/November They just opened back up—I wouldn’t worry about it yet. Plus, criterion themselves advertise the sale so I’m sure they will let us know if it is not happening

As a former Barnes & Noble bookseller I find this comment to be fairly insulting, unwarranted, and inaccurate. What a callous thing to say.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by Namuhana

As a former Barnes & Noble bookseller I find this comment to be fairly insulting, unwarranted, and inaccurate. What a callous thing to say.

I love Barnes & Noble, but from my experiences, nothing they said was insulting, unwarranted, or inaccurate. They nailed it.

[Gacivory]

How far Barnes & Noble employees not have every Criterion sale memorized, know every Criterion like the back of their hand know every item they have in stock. Bunch of amateurs. Close down all stores!

[lemonski]

Originally Posted by BenOswald

The eminent Cinematographer Roger Deakins has been doing a podcast & just announced Lee Kline of Criterion will be on the next episode where they'll discuss film restoration.

DEAKINS: Remind me again why The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford isn't in the collection?

KLINE: ...

[acroyear2]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

How far Barnes & Noble employees not have every Criterion sale memorized, know every Criterion like the back of their hand know every item they have in stock. Bunch of amateurs. Close down all stores!

I was fortunate to have a Criterion enthusiast running the music/movies section of my local B&N for a couple of years. During those sales months I'd be excited to discuss what we were planning to purchase. I don't get that in-person interaction with others about Criterions anymore, except the occasional customer browsing along with me. Does anyone else have any such interactions through in-store browsing?

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by acroyear2

I was fortunate to have a Criterion enthusiast running the music/movies section of my local B&N for a couple of years. During those sales months I'd be excited to discuss what we were planning to purchase. I don't get that in-person interaction with others about Criterions anymore, except the occasional customer browsing along with me. Does anyone else have any such interactions through in-store browsing?

Not specifically Criterion, but in my former local store (before I moved 1½ years ago) one of the folks, Andy, who worked primarily in the audio/video section was a film fan, and we'd often talked movies when I was there. He was more into horror -- especially gialli -- than I was, but we shared enough interests film-wise to have some lively conversations. I miss talking with him on a regular basis, though to be honest, I'm not as regular with my B&N excursions these days as I was then.

[liveandletmarblerye]

Originally Posted by jayembee

From Cohen:

The Inspector Lavardin Collection contains four films: Chicken with Vinegar, Inspector Lavardin, The Black Snail, Danger Lies in the Words

This website says the The Inspector Lavardin Collection only contains two films: Chicken with Vinegar & Inspector Lavardin.

I think I found a DVD set of four films but I'm having trouble finding a blu-ray set of four. If you know where one is could you point me in the right direction?

[hariseldon]

Originally Posted by liveandletmarblerye

This website says the The Inspector Lavardin Collection only contains two films: Chicken with Vinegar & Inspector Lavardin.

I think I found a DVD set of four films but I'm having trouble finding a blu-ray set of four. If you know where one is could you point me in the right direction?

The Inspector Collection has 2 Feature films and 2 90 Minutes TV Made For TV Movies. The latter are listed as extras, but are 1080p (I think) are Bonus films -- 1 for each disc.

The Black Snail
Danger Lies in Words

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-I.../95930/#Review

[liveandletmarblerye]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

The Inspector Collection has 2 Feature films and 2 90 Minutes TV Made For TV Movies. The latter are listed as extras, but are 1080p (I think) are Bonus films -- 1 for each disc.

The Black Snail
Danger Lies in Words

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-I.../95930/#Review

That Set looks like a great deal then. Thanks for reading the fine print for me! I just took it at face value.