The Criterion Collection

[DukeTogo84]

If Criterion has A Simple Plan, I hope it's announced tomorrow. Also hoping for Flowers of the Killer Moon.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by DimitriL

Here’s what it is for me. They’re ambassadors for the film industry, or should be. There are a LOT of people in the industry who have no respect for film history; there are a lot of them in the business for the buck. When you see people at the top of their career arc and talk about their *emotional* connection - I don’t care about their free discs. They are bringing value to film. Seeing Channing and Zoe rave about A Woman Under the Influence and Harlan County USA and Paris is Burning? That breaks open these titles for a new generation. Some TikToker is gonna stop and say, huh, that’s interesting.

There are really few things I love more than seeing a working professional discuss the ART of that business. So if they wanna take those discs home, put them on the shelves, give them to friends, I don’t know - I don’t resent it. I think it’s a service.

I wish it did work like this, but I just don't know how many "unconverted" or random people, especially younger ones, would invest in the closet videos anyway. Some of the invitees don't inspire a lot of confidence either as many folks likely have no idea who some of them are in the first place nor why their opinions should matter. But I do watch just about every video on YouTube that features Scorsese and Friedkin and others talking about their favorite movies and that indeed does inspire me a lot because I have inherent respect for them, so your point is well taken anyway. I hope what you postulate is true and there are some TikTokers tuning in and getting something out of it.

But my original post was not questioning the efficacy of the closet videos or doubting their potential impact, just the irony that many of the guests claim this or that movie is extremely meaningful to them, yet until they were offered it for free, they did not own it.

[UHDLoverForever]

The Letterboxd videos with Scorsese's recommendations were extremely popular. Same for Great Gerwig's video as well. Scorsese is even having success on TikTok. He seems to be the inspirational cool grandfather figure to so many younger filmmakers.

[Scottie]

Seven Samurai stills updated.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Scottie

Seven Samurai stills updated.

You sure? They look the same on my end.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

You sure? They look the same on my end.

I could have sworn that I saw these Janus stills on their site.

https://www.janusfilms.com/films/1015

In any case, all existing stills remain there. Maybe I’m just losing it.

Anyway, sorry folks.

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

I wish it did work like this, but I just don't know how many "unconverted" or random people, especially younger ones, would invest in the closet videos anyway. Some of the invitees don't inspire a lot of confidence either as many folks likely have no idea who some of them are in the first place nor why their opinions should matter. But I do watch just about every video on YouTube that features Scorsese and Friedkin and others talking about their favorite movies and that indeed does inspire me a lot because I have inherent respect for them, so your point is well taken anyway. I hope what you postulate is true and there are some TikTokers tuning in and getting something out of it.

But my original post was not questioning the efficacy of the closet videos or doubting their potential impact, just the irony that many of the guests claim this or that movie is extremely meaningful to them, yet until they were offered it for free, they did not own it.

Yeah, I know it’s a hopeful stance, but some of these people have hundreds of thousands of followers or more, so I can see it moving the needle sometimes. Heck, I was admittedly already a film buff and Criterion collector, but I was still pretty young when I saw PTA’s aside in a fluff piece about John Sturges’ Bad Day at Black Rock commentary and it honestly reshaped how I looked at movies. I wish that for every kid, you know?

As for your original point - I mean, not an unfair point at all. But I’m a film professional, and I see how busy so many of these people are, often working 6 days a week, 14-16 hours a day and then maybe raising a family, hustling between projects. They live and breathe film but mostly don’t build collections of films they love. (Or being mostly in LA, they get their fix by going to revivals at the New Beverly or whatever.)

That said, I can usually tell when someone is really into the collection. Like, I see a lot of people who will just grab the DVD edition of something and I roll my eyes. OTOH, I’m delighted when I see ppl like Ayo Edibiri or Channing/Zoe actively scan for the latest edition of a film, and then it’s like, ahhhh, they just didn’t get around to it yet. I admit, I give a little cheer.

[MifuneFan]

Sorry if it was mentioned before, but Janus/Sideshow has picked up Leos Carax's It’s Not Me (2024). It'll have its NA premiere at the New York Film Festival

https://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2024/da...ght-announced/

Edit: Scottie did post about it here. Had a feeling it must have been posted, but the title is somewhat generic, and it was bringing up a lot of false hits for the keywords.

Here's an article from May when they first acquired it at Cannes:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/mo...ca-1235909039/

Sideshow and Janus Films scooped up another buzzy title out of Cannes, acquiring It’s Not Me from French auteur Leos Carax (Holy Motors, Annette) for North America.

An autobiographical collage of old and new footage, referencing everything from silent movies and Hollywood Golden Age classics to scenes from his own work and personal home movies, It’s Not Me pays direct homage to the late, great Jean-Luc Godard in its deconstruction of the language of cinema and the treacheries of auto-fiction.

Commenting on his cinematic “self-portrait,” Carax said: “Lots of painters have done theirs, of course. I tried to make mine without any mirror. A self-portrait seen from behind. Or, like in a dream dreamed many years ago: How come I can see myself in that mirror, even though my eyes are closed? And when I check in the mirror, my eyes are indeed closed.”

It’s Not Me debuted in the Cannes Première sidebar. It’s a CG Cinéma, Théo Films and Arte France Cinéma co-production made with the participation of Arte France, Chanel and Les Films du Losange. Les Films du Losange is selling the film worldwide and distributing it in France.

“Leos Carax is one of the visionary filmmakers of our time,” said Sideshow and Janus Films in a statement. “He created one of the most thrilling and inventive films of the entire festival that manages to transcend our already high expectations.”

The deal for It’s Not Me was negotiated by Alice Lesort for Les Films du Losange on behalf of the filmmakers with Sideshow and Janus Films.

Sideshow and Janus have had a busy Cannes, also snatching up Payal Kapadia’s well-received competition title All We Imagine as Light; Gints Zilbalodis’ 3D animated eco-fable Flow, which screened in Un Certain Regard; and Alain Guiraudie’s queer crime thriller Misericordia, another Cannes Première title

[bergman864]

I hope Janus also picked up Annette.

[starman15317]

Originally Posted by Watershipdownisgood

I just noticed this article and well it’s very interesting about blaxploitation films including premieres of Coffy, Foxy Brown, and Black Caesar which has me thinking this at the moment. Is a blaxploitation box set from Criterion coming out in the near future like say next year?

https://www.criterion.com/current/po...loitation-baby

I could definitely see it since Kino, Arrow, and MVD won’t touch this genre very much I could see Criterion doing it. They already did Shaft so I could see Black Caesar, Foxy Brown, and Coffy 4Ks in the near future which sounds crazy. They just posted this article August 13th so they definitely have a huge interest in blaxploitation films.

I would love this. I could also see Criterion releasing Cotton Comes to Harlem (here's hoping!)

[jshaide]

I’d buy that set in a heartbeat*

*At the sale most recent to the release.

[mande2013]

Originally Posted by Scottie

I could have sworn that I saw these Janus stills on their site.

https://www.janusfilms.com/films/1015

In any case, all existing stills remain there. Maybe I’m just losing it.

Anyway, sorry folks.

The stills were posted on the Janus site, but they seem to be new on the Criterion website. Maybe that’s where the confusion is.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by mande2013

The stills were posted on the Janus site, but they seem to be new on the Criterion website. Maybe that’s where the confusion is.

The ones at Criterion have been there for a long time.

[mande2013]

I preordered the BFI edition of Seven Samurai already, so nothing shouts day one for me.

On a side note, The Shape of Water? Really?��

[MifuneFan]

Holy crap

Godzilla / Gojira (1954) 4K UHD

https://www.criterion.com/films/27755-godzilla

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
• High-definition digital restoration of Godzilla, King of the Monsters, Terry Morse’s 1956 reworking of the original, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Audio commentary for both movies by film historian David Kalat
• Interviews with actors Akira Takarada and Haruo Nakajima and special effects technicians Yoshio Irie and Eizo Kaimai
• Interview with legendary Godzilla score composer Akira Ifukube
• Featurette detailing Godzilla’s photographic effects, introduced by special effects director Koichi Kawakita and special effects photographer Motoyoshi Tomioka
• Interview with Japanese-film critic Tadao Sato
• The Unluckiest Dragon, an illustrated audio essay featuring historian Greg Pflugfelder describing the tragic fate of the fishing vessel Daigo Fukuryu Maru, a real-life event that inspired Godzilla
• Trailers
• PLUS: An essay by critic J. Hoberman
  
• "GODZILLA" (a.k.a. "GOJIRA") (c) 1954 Toho Co., Ltd. "GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS" (c) 1956 Toho Co., Ltd. Godzilla, Gojira, the character designs and King of the Monsters are trademarks of Toho Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cover by Bill Sienkiewicz

[MifuneFan]

Scarface (1932) 4K UHD

https://www.criterion.com/films/32139-scarface

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
• Alternate ending, from the censored version of the film
• New conversation between author Megan Abbott and actor Bill Hader
• New interview with film scholar Lea Jacobs on director Howard Hawks’s innovative use of sound and editing
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith

New cover by Mark Chiarello

[MifuneFan]

Seven Samurai 4K UHD

https://www.criterion.com/films/165-seven-samurai

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New 4K digital restoration, with the original uncompressed monaural soundtrack and an optional 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• One 4K UHD disc of the film (in the aspect ratio of 1.37:1) and two Blu-rays with the film (in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1) and special features
• Two audio commentaries, one featuring film scholars David Desser, Joan Mellen, Stephen Prince, Tony Rayns, and Donald Richie, and the other Japanese-film expert Michael Jeck
• Making-of documentary, created as part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create
• My Life in Cinema (1993), a two-hour conversation between director Akira Kurosawa and filmmaker Nagisa Oshima
• “Seven Samurai”: Origins and Influences, a documentary looking at the samurai traditions and films that helped shape Kurosawa’s masterpiece
• Trailers and teaser
• Gallery of rare posters, behind-the-scenes photos, and production stills
• PLUS: Essays by Kenneth Turan, Peter Cowie, Philip Kemp, Peggy Chiao, Alain Silver, Stuart Galbraith IV, Arthur Penn, and Sidney Lumet, and an interview with actor Toshiro Mifune from 1993

Cover by Neil Kellerhouse

[MifuneFan]

Paper Moon 4K UHD

https://www.criterion.com/films/29964-paper-moon

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
• Audio commentary featuring director Peter Bogdanovich
• Introduction to the film by Bogdanovich
• New video essay by Bogdanovich biographer Peter Tonguette
• Three-part making-of documentary featuring Bogdanovich, production designer Polly Platt, associate producer Frank Marshall, and cinematographer László Kovács
• Archival interview with Platt
• Excerpts from a 1973 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson featuring Bogdanovich and actors Ryan and Tatum O’Neal
• Trailer
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by critic Mark Harris

New cover by Raphael Geroni

[MifuneFan]

Funny Girl 4K UHD

https://www.criterion.com/films/30246-funny-girl

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• 4K digital restoration, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
• New audio interview with actor Barbra Streisand
• New conversation between director William Wyler’s son David and author Alicia Malone
• Directed by William Wyler (1986), a documentary on Wyler’s life and career
• Archival interview with actor Omar Sharif
• Deleted scene featuring Streisand and Sharif
• Featurettes from the original theatrical release
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by author and film critic Michael Koresky

Cover based on an original theatrical poster

[MifuneFan]

The Shape of Water 4K UHD

https://www.criterion.com/films/3433...shape-of-water

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• 4K digital master, supervised by director Guillermo del Toro, with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
• New conversation between del Toro and filmmaker David Lowery
• A Fairy Tale for Troubled Times, a documentary highlighting the film’s production design, performances, special effects, and score
• Anatomy of a Scene: Prologue and Anatomy of a Scene: The Dance, both featuring on-set footage and interviews with del Toro
• Shaping the Waves, an interview with illustrator James Jean
• Masterclass from 2017 on the film’s technical aspects, featuring del Toro, director of photography Dan Laustsen, visual-effects supervisor and co–creature designer Shane Mahan, visual-effects supervisor Dennis Berardi, costume designer Luis Sequeira, and production designer Paul D. Austerberry
• Trailers
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing and English descriptive audio
• PLUS: An essay by film critic Carlos Aguilar

New cover by Greg Ruth