The Criterion Collection

[RobertLuketic]

Absolutely fabulous announcements! Stoked about Hiroshima and The Killers collection. The other titles sound great too!

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Ok least we won't get where's moonrise kingdom posts.

I look forward to Where's the grand Budapest posts.

The "Where's Moonrise Kingdom?" posts will give way to the "Why Moonrise Kingdom?" posts, which will eventually be replaced by the "Where's Grand Budapest Hotel?" posts and the cycle will begin again.

So it was written in the ancient scripture.

[JoeBuck]

Originally Posted by octagon

Things like Moonrise Kingdom or The Fantastic Mr. Fox aren't all that interesting and already have what seem to be perfectly adequate BD releases so I agree they seem like a waste of resources.

OTOH I doubt we're talking about a ton of resources so if a 'special relationship' with Wes Anderson makes somebody (or several somebodies) in New York happy then so be it.

Actually according to a lot of sources the original BD for Moonrise was f*cked up colour wise (was too dark or something).
So not totally a waste in the PQ department either,

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Fabs

I don't even know why Criterion is putting that motto about being "a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films" when the films that follow those guidelines are release few and far between. At this point, they just release whatever the hell they want to release.

No, it's just that you have a differing opinion than they do about what constitutes "a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films". Now, we might question whether something like The Black Stallion or Moonrise Kingdom are "important", but that doesn't mean they aren't. Certainly, the others announced for this month are "important" films, whether you or I or anyone else happens to like them or not.

And as for those two specific films...Wes Anderson may not be to my (or your) liking, but the popularity and praise for his films makes him a significant contemporary American filmmaker. So, yes, I would argue his films qualify as "important". As for The Black Stallion, it's not something that floats my boat, but I can say that Deschanel's cinematography for it is spectacular.

Bottom line, Criterion releases what they decide are "important films". And since they're the ones that are spending the money to produce the releases, their opinion is the only one that really matters. After all, their motto says "a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films", not "a continuing series of what Fabs thinks are important classic and contemporary films" or "a continuing series of what jayembee thinks are important classic and contemporary films" or "a continuing series of what that guy over there in the corner thinks are important classic and contemporary films".

[lordmorpheus72]

Looks like an upgrade for The Killers and Moonrise Kingdom for me. Interested in Hiroshima mon amour as well.

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by octagon

Things like Moonrise Kingdom or The Fantastic Mr. Fox aren't all that interesting and already have what seem to be perfectly adequate BD releases so I agree they seem like a waste of resources.

There's very little in the way of supplementary material on the existing Moonrise Kingdom Blu-ray. Given how great the other Criterion Wes Anderson discs are, which would suggest that he cares a great deal about the home video releases of his films, it would be a great shame if the Fox Blu-ray of Moonrise Kingdom was the only disc that made it out.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by jacobsever

Hmm....Here is Your Life and not Tree of Life? Who would have thunk it?

I have to admit, as petty and childish as this is, I always love when dead-bang, take-it-to-the-bank predictions turn out to be busts.

And this is why people love the word Schadenfreude...it makes being petty sound so much less, well, petty

[rdandura]

Darn it, and I already have Moonrise Kingdom on Blu-Ray!

But the real question is: The Black Stallion?!?. Oh well. My Beautiful Laundrette and Hiroshima Mon Amour sound interesting

[The Great Owl]

I don't like Wes Anderson's movies, but I do like how his movies help to bankroll The Criterion Collection so that people like me can get crazy cool underrated movies like Letter Never Sent, Jubal, or Pale Flower on Blu-ray.

[pedromvu]

4 of the 6 releases this time are Director Approved editions

[Fabs]

Originally Posted by JoeBuck

And as someone else already pointed out, the sales generated from the Anderson films help pay for all the restoration work on all those old classics.

But some directors have been waiting years for another release of their work. I realize restoration takes a while, but Criterion is a company who makes a good amount of money and restoration shouldn't take this long on some films.

The last Edward Yang release was 9 years ago.
The last Eric Rohmer release was 9 years ago.
The last Mikio Naruse release was 8 years ago.
The last Billy Wilder release was 8 years ago.
etc

It's a matter of that these are important directors whose films are not available in the US (and OOP in the rest of the world). And for films they don't have rights to, they could use the money from the sales of the films of Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach, Terry Gilliam, etc to securing them.

Originally Posted by jayembee

No, it's just that you have a differing opinion than they do about what constitutes "a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films".

...

And as for those two specific films...Wes Anderson may not be to my (or your) liking, but the popularity and praise for his films makes him a significant contemporary American filmmaker.

But most people agree on what are considered the best films of both the classic and contemporary eras. It's not like I'm asking for some obscure films to be released. Just some directors who are important in the world are having their works being slighted.

Praise is one thing, but popularity is another and you should know that. Anderson has made some great films, but not every single work of his needs to be in the collection. Yes, they have a contract with him. Still, not every single work of his needs to be in the collection.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by Fat Phil

I was waiting for The Killers to be announced but now that it has, I find myself being drawn more to Arrow's releases.

Looks like Criterion are putting both films on one disc which doesn't bother me from a technical standpoint (they're not exactly long movies) but given the option, i'd prefer to have them as stand alone releases with their own artwork. Also look like Arrow beats it in the extras category as well (aside from the Tarkovsky short film)

Plus it'll work out cheaper and I won't have to wait until July to get them. Bullseye.

Yes, again I bet the Arrow releases will be much better!
Both films are in 50GB discs, while here we have one 50GB disc for 2 films!
There's not enough room for the films to breathe.

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

It's been a great year for French cinema on Criterion, and this has the potential to be the highlight.

Feb - Every Man For Himself and A Day In The Country.
March - The Soft Skin
April - The River and Le silence de la mer
June - My Dinner With Andre
July - Hiroshima mon amour.

Indeed! Two Renoirs, Truffault, Godard, Melville, and Resnais = heavyweights of French cinema.

Malle is too, and I hope someday they'll upgrade his older stuff like The Lovers, Elevator to the Gallows, The Fire Within.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by jacobsever

Hmm....Here is Your Life and not Tree of Life? Who would have thunk it?

Originally Posted by octagon

I have to admit, as petty and childish as this is, I always love when dead-bang, take-it-to-the-bank predictions turn out to be busts.

And this is why people love the word Schadenfreude...it makes being petty sound so much less, well, petty

Could still be both , but I freely admit to being wrong and overzealous about it being TToL. Crow tonight

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by Fabs

But some directors have been waiting years for another release of their work. I realize restoration takes a while, but Criterion is a company who makes a good amount of money and restoration shouldn't take this long on some films.

The last Edward Yang release was 9 years ago.
The last Eric Rohmer release was 9 years ago.
The last Mikio Naruse release was 8 years ago.
The last Billy Wilder release was 8 years ago.
etc

It's a matter of that these are important directors whose films are not available in the US (and OOP in the rest of the world). And for films they don't have rights to, they could use the money from the sales of the films of Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach, Terry Gilliam, etc to securing them.



But most people agree on what are considered the best films of both the classic and contemporary eras. It's not like I'm asking for some obscure films to be released. Just some directors who are important in the world are having their works being slighted.

Praise is one thing, but popularity is another and you should know that. Anderson has made some great films, but not every single work of his needs to be in the collection. Yes, they have a contract with him. Still, not every single work of his needs to be in the collection.

Didn't Yi Yi come out in 2011?

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

History has been made! A month without a single purchase by me. I've already got the Arrow Killers, and am set with my Hiroshima DVD. I'll definitely rent Laundrette and Here is your Life though.

Then you would be missing on some great releases.

I have the French Blu-ray release of Hiroshima... and it is in absolute stunner. The 4K restoration is, in my opinion, one of the top 5 done for a classic French film. The Region-B release, however, isn't English-friendly, so we could not post a review.

The word classic is frequently misused (and abused), but in this case it perfectly describes Troell's Here's Your Life.

Black Stallion. The MGM disc isn't bad, but it is quite uneven. I am definitely looking forward to this new 4K transfer. Lovely film.

My Beautiful Laundrette. Outstanding film that sums up everything that was bad about the Thatcher era. Though seeing how Mike Leigh has done a new introduction for Troell's film, I would have preferred to have a piece with him on this disc as well. He would have had plenty to say about Thatcherism.

Pro-B

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by Fabs

The last Edward Yang release was 9 years ago.

But at least A Brighter Summer Day is confirmed.

I love Naruse, but he probably doesn't sell.

As for Wilder, Ace in the Hole was last year.

We are due for Rohmer. I'd love to see the Seasons set.

Edit: shoutout to shadedpain4 for the Yang correction.

[Fabs]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Didn't Yi Yi come out in 2011?

Blu Ray upgrades, while great, really don't count. As the last time they actually released a Yang film was the original Yi Yi DVD in 2006.

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

I love Naruse, but he probably doesn't sell.

True, but like people are saying with the sales of big names like Anderson, they should put out a new Naruse film even if he doesn't sell well because films like Moonrise Kingdom and Fantastic Mr. Fox sell tons of copies apparently.

[MifuneFan]

The Black Stallion might be my favorite Criterion cover, it's mesmerizing

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by Lord Summerisle

Umm. Some people really want the Wes Anderson films.

If this thread is nothing but complaining I will be staying away from it.

Originally Posted by octagon

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