The Criterion Collection

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by Shanghai Express

Still absolutely hilarious how they refuse to give a B&W film cover art that isn't itself B&W or a cartoon. Or both.

Are you talking about The Roaring Twenties? Which is neither color nor a “cartoon?”

[trobrianders]

The Roaring Twenties is the most exciting announcement. All we've had is the old Warner DVD. I still have my (unopened) Artificial Eye DVD box of the Rohmer which I guess I can now sell. And I can sell my Criterion disc of McCabe and Mrs. Miller. Each month's anouncements see me selling one or two of my Criterion Blu-rays in anticipation of an upgrade.

[fred25_Ca]

Man, that WB list is getting smaller and smaller. We're getting closer and closer to finally getting Captain Blood. It can't be that far away! Imo, Errol Flynn's best movie!

[supertwix_64]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

Haha. I feel you. If not a Toho film, then maybe one of the nearly 100 Shochiku films they have with good HD masters. Japanese cinema feels like its dead to the Criterion collection.

Still hoping for Blu-ray upgrade of A Colt is My Passport!

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by supertwix_64

Still hoping for Blu-ray upgrade of A Colt is My Passport!

I hope Radiance releases it in the UK at least.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by supertwix_64

Still hoping for Blu-ray upgrade of A Colt is My Passport!

I would love that and Cruel Gun Story. A Japanese noir set would be pretty awesome from Criterion, but again, their interest in Japanese cinema seems nearly dead at this point.

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

I would love that and Cruel Gun Story. A Japanese noir set would be pretty awesome from Criterion, but again, their interest in Japanese cinema seems nearly dead at this point.

You know, I get wanting a steady flow, but between the licensing problems with Toho and print issues and all sorts of crap - like not being able to use the latest master of a title in some cases - it’s kind of remarkable that of the 1200+ spines, there are 105 Japanese titles in the collection, which is a very fine percentage. I get so annoyed with the “they’re just not interested anymore” perspective. Like, they’ve talked in several forums about desperately wanting to do Dersu Uzala and being very hamstrung by the print quality. (I know there are newer materials, but given relations with Moscow and sanctions, we may not see that resolved for some time.

Anyway, it’s not just a “we have the rights” kind of thing. There are dozens of factors which can create a choke point anywhere in the process. I’m sure they’d love to capitalize on it, like when they literally just put out the 4ks of Branded to Kill and Dreams.

[HenryHill]

Originally Posted by ilenewoodsfan99

Not gonna lie, I was rearranging my movie collection last night and was wondering when I could finally upgrade The Roaring Twenties!

Happy to donate the DVD to my library!

I'm going to hold onto my DVD because Criterion didn't port over the Warner Night at the Movies extras.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by DimitriL

You know, I get wanting a steady flow, but between the licensing problems with Toho and print issues and all sorts of crap - like not being able to use the latest master of a title in some cases - it’s kind of remarkable that of the 1200+ spines, there are 105 Japanese titles in the collection, which is a very fine percentage. I get so annoyed with the “they’re just not interested anymore” perspective. Like, they’ve talked in several forums about desperately wanting to do Dersu Uzala and being very hamstrung by the print quality. (I know there are newer materials, but given relations with Moscow and sanctions, we may not see that resolved for some time.

Anyway, it’s not just a “we have the rights” kind of thing. There are dozens of factors which can create a choke point anywhere in the process. I’m sure they’d love to capitalize on it, like when they literally just put out the 4ks of Branded to Kill and Dreams.

I'm actually getting tired of this defense that it's all Toho, etc. If Criterion WANTED to release Japanese films they WOULD. They have nearly more Shochiku films at this point than Toho at this point. Also, guess what? They have good HD masters as well. Labels with a 1/10 of the budget of Criterion are able to release Japanese films at a much faster pace than Criterion. The main issue is that Criterion decided to buy in bulk when it came to Japanese titles and have a lot of good titles. I'm sure other labels might be interested in some of those Shochiku/Nikkatsu titles.

They released two Japanese film in over a year of films that had decent BD's to begin with. Were the 4K an improvement? Sure, but they are dozens of titles that they COULD release that could use the jump from SD to HD before 4K. You might not like to hear it, but again Criterion truly doesn't seem that interested in Japanese cinema at this point. Probably comes down to the films not making them as much money as other titles, but again, they COULD release them if they wanted to. Maybe not all of them, but a lot of them, but releasing a Netflix title is sure going to move more copies than a Japanese noir 60's title that someone like Radiance would release.

[BarnDoor]

Originally Posted by fred25_Ca

Man, that WB list is getting smaller and smaller. We're getting closer and closer to finally getting Captain Blood. It can't be that far away! Imo, Errol Flynn's best movie!

The primary WB list is down to just 3 films:

Captain Blood
O Lucky Man!
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid

But then there's a secondary list of potential Criterion candidates (based on WA DVD reissues), which appears to include:

The 7th Victim (to add to the long-standing I Walked With A Zombie rumour)
Gummo
The Lusty Men
Petulia
Scaramouche
The Year of Living Dangerously

I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang was also touted based on a Mervyn LeRoy phantom page.

[CelestialAgent]

Originally Posted by DimitriL

Are you talking about The Roaring Twenties? Which is neither color nor a “cartoon?”

Nothing But a Man is also a black and white film with a black and white cover.

I still remember The Philadelphia Story going from a blue to monochrome cover.

Originally Posted by trobrianders

I still have my (unopened) Artificial Eye DVD box of the Rohmer which I guess I can now sell.

The Rohmer interviews don’t appear to be retained.

Originally Posted by trobrianders

Each month's anouncements see me selling one or two of my Criterion Blu-rays in anticipation of an upgrade.

Selling:
Freaks
La Bamba
Apu Trilogy
Blood Simple
Trainspotting

Retaining:
The Trial (StudioCanal)
Walkabout (Second Sight)
Blood Simple (StudioCanal)
Mean Streets (Carlotta)
Blast of Silence (Alamode)
The Red Balloon (Network)
The Roaring Twenties (WB)

Buying from a different label (though not discounting getting the Criterion release in future):
Don’t Look Now (StudioCanal)
Jackie Chan (88 Films/Eureka)
The Last Picture Show (Columbia Classics)
Godland (Curzon Film)
The Eight Mountains (Picturehouse)
Mean Streets (Second Sight)
Days of Heaven (Imprint)

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

I'm actually getting tired of this defense that it's all Toho, etc. If Criterion WANTED to release Japanese films they WOULD. They have nearly more Shochiku films at this point than Toho at this point. Also, guess what? They have good HD masters as well. Labels with a 1/10 of the budget of Criterion are able to release Japanese films at a much faster pace than Criterion. The main issue is that Criterion decided to buy in bulk when it came to Japanese titles and have a lot of good titles. I'm sure other labels might be interested in some of those Shochiku/Nikkatsu titles.

Just because you’re tired of this defense doesn’t make it a whit less true, or you a bit more informed about what’s going on in the inside. And that comparison with other labels is generally awful, considering that Criterion puts out a fraction of most other boutiques in a given month. Japan gets its fair share of titles in the collection and I’m looking forward to many years of additions.

[jcs913]

Nice month. Interesting that 88Films and Arrow typically do the martial arts films, yeah I know CC put out the Chan films....but CC decided to cash in on the craze now too. The cover art also looks like VERY SIMILAR to 88's Magnificent Warriors too...


a.jpg

b.jpg

[hainesdogg]

Originally Posted by jcs913

[Show spoiler]Nice month. Interesting that 88Films and Arrow typically do the martial arts films, yeah I know CC put out the Chan films....but CC decided to cash in on the craze now too. The cover art also looks like VERY SIMILAR to 88's Magnificent Warriors too...


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I think the argument can be made that Criterion was doing the "martial arts craze" before Arrow and 88 Films with the releases of King Hu's "Dragon Inn" and "Touch of Zen". Not to mention they did release John Woo's "Last Hurray of Chivalry" earlier this year.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by DimitriL

Just because you’re tired of this defense doesn’t make it a whit less true, or you a bit more informed about what’s going on in the inside. And that comparison with other labels is generally awful, considering that Criterion puts out a fraction of most other boutiques in a given month. Japan gets its fair share of titles in the collection and I’m looking forward to many years of additions.

Doesn't mean it's true either. Toho is only one Japanese company that Criterion deals with. Let that simmer for a moment, one. Nikkatsu is one of the most accessible companies to deal with, yet Criterion hasn't released a single new to HD of one of the dozens upon dozens of the films they hold the licenses to with Nikkatsu.

Also, what do you mean Criterion puts out a fraction to MOST boutique labels? Can you back that up with some evidence? Maybe Kino and Shout, but that's not most. Criterion has one, if not the largest distribution channel of any of the boutique labels in the world as well.

Japan had its fair share in the DVD era, but not so much anymore. The last time Criterion released a new to HD Japanese film was in October 2022. The fact that they have about 300 Japanese films that don't have HD releases, well, that kind of proves my point.

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

Doesn't mean it's true either. Toho is only one Japanese company that Criterion deals with. Let that simmer for a moment, one. Nikkatsu is one of the most accessible companies to deal with, yet Criterion hasn't released a single new to HD of one of the dozens upon dozens of the films they hold the licenses to with Nikkatsu.

Also, what do you mean Criterion puts out a fraction to MOST boutique labels? Can you back that up with some evidence? Maybe Kino and Shout, but that's not most. Criterion has one, if not the largest distribution channel of any of the boutique labels in the world as well.

Japan had its fair share in the DVD era, but not so much anymore. The last time Criterion released a new to HD Japanese film was in October 2022. The fact that they have about 300 Japanese films that don't have HD releases, well, that kind of proves my point.

Kino and Shout are the only ones that matter in this particular discussion; they are Criterion’s main competitors. Criterion does not have a quantity business model. And what they have the rights to is irrelevant.

Look, we all want them to be focusing on something in our interests. Hell, they spent DECADES basically ignoring black voices, and I’m sorry if they don’t reflect your particular interests often enough, but there are whole swaths of deserving filmmakers that never got any representation in the collection in its ENTIRE HISTORY. There’s still not a Bollywood film! There are more Japanese films in the collection than silent films, or pre-code films. Putting out just six or seven films a month with the odd box, frankly, it’s almost absurd how *overrepresented* Japanese films are in the collection compared to other important kinds of films. And that’s not even counting the individual films in the Zatoichi and Godzilla and Lone Wolf boxes.

[Danespina]

The love for Hong Kong cinema continues. Makes me so happy.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by DimitriL

And what they have the rights to is irrelevant.

See, that's the issue and I wouldn't be having this conversation with you if it wasn't for this very fact. What they have the rights to is very much relevant.

If Criterion completely stopped releasing Japanese films, but didn't have the rights to any titles more Japanese titles, I would hope for them to release more films, but it wouldn't be as much of an issue. If I was a Bollywood film fan, I would want them to release some of those films, but if I knew they actually had the rights to my favorite Bollywood movies and were not releasing them, then the frustration would sink it. That's exactly what's going on here for myself. They have some of the very BEST in Japanese cinema and no other label can get a hold of them, because they have those films. Not only do they have those films, but they are not releasing them either.

It's fine if Criterion want to spread the love to other areas, but the problem is that they have hundreds, and I mean HUNDREDS of Japanese films that will never see the light of day on physical media. People on this forum have wishlists of their favorite films, and most of my favorite films? Criterion has them with almost no indication that they will ever be released. For me, that's frustrating and will never stop being frustrating unless there is some sort small trickle of these films coming out. I want these films to gain the audience they deserve.

I'd rather Criterion release these films in barebones releases rather than not at all.

[NeoNical]

Originally Posted by jcs913

Nice month. Interesting that 88Films and Arrow typically do the martial arts films, yeah I know CC put out the Chan films....but CC decided to cash in on the craze now too. The cover art also looks like VERY SIMILAR to 88's Magnificent Warriors too...


Attachment 296928

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The Magnificent Warriors was done by Sean Longmore, whose style uses the real photos and make them very vivid and exciting. Their most popular works often have a vintage look to it.

Sean Longmore's Works:

[Show spoiler]

The Heroic Trio/Executioners was done by Alice X. Zhang, which are more explosive rushes of colors. It feels like a burst of colors exploding and flowing in front of your eyes like waterfalls.

Alice X. Zhang's Works:

[Show spoiler]

Upon closer look, they are very different approaches because Sean Longmore uses actual photos while Alice X. Zhang seems to draw them out. Still both artists make very vivid and colorful posters. Would hope to see more good ones in the future from them.

Another cool artist I've been seeing in recent years is Tony Stella, which some of his posters have been reaching mainstream audiences lately. Indiana Jones: The Dial of Destiny poster that they did is probably their most popular work at the moment.

Tony Stella's Work:

[Show spoiler]

It's very funny when you look up these artists and their works and how one may have seen so many of them already. Looking these artist up made me realize I have already seen a lot of their works on home video or theatrical releases already. Admittedly, I am a bit afraid of a time when these artists and their style will no longer become interesting because I feel like after seeing enough of these on the markets, people would want to see a new style come in to replace the old ones. Hopefully artists like these three can transform and adapt.

[LaMarAzul]

Beyond excited to see Jimmy Cagney enter the Criterion Collection with my personal favorite performance of his!