The Criterion Collection

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Can I be the other guy?

I'm confused who is gonna be who, but I wanna be the guy that is riding with the red-mohawk guy!

(of course I wouldn't like to be killed by Mel Gibson)

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Can I be the other guy?

Only if you agree to be very gentle and treat me with respect and dignity.

...listening to Beyonce has taught me that I deserve that.

[Vinyl]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Only if you agree to be very gentle and treat me with respect and dignity.

...listening to Beyonce has taught me that I deserve that.

I see what you did thar. If you like it then you better put a ring on it.

Ps: thinking of those guys married is hilarious to me

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Only if you agree to be very gentle and treat me with respect and dignity.

...listening to Beyonce has taught me that I deserve that.

[zakzak]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Profit is *a* priority for Criterion, but not *the* priority. A look over what they have already released shows that pretty quickly. They long ago mastered the art of releasing a few films that they know will sell well (Wes Anderson, David Lynch, The Graduate) so they can afford to release films they love and not lose sleep over how many copies they sell.

I remember they have 2 Michael Bay titles, The Rock & Armageddon, int heir line-ups. Surprised the hell out of me. They are probably no longer available. Only on Laserdisc I think. Does that mean we are getting Transformers Quadrilogy? Kidding...

But seriously if Criterion needs to do mainstream titles why not pick recent blockbusters that would not be completely out of place among the Kurosawa or the Hitchcock titles. On the other hand, smaller intriguing movies like Under the Skin, Ex Machina, Witch, Drive, Sicario, Russian Ark should be getting some serious consideration. We have Antichrist, why not Melancholia?

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Nuck Horris

I expect this country to be a wasteland by 2116.

I expect to be long dead by then, so I'm going to continue doing what makes me happy in the here and now, and that's watching movies.

Yes, profit is *the* priority for any business owner that wants to keep their business, it has to be. Just because Criterion releases look nice doesn't mean the people behind the company aren't in it to make a living.

There's a lot of leeway between making enough profit to earn a living, and making as much money as you can conceive of. Not everyone feels that they are a failure in life if they're driving a Ford Focus instead of a Lamborghini.

If profit was "the" priority, I would expect the Criterion folks to have listened to their parents and become doctors or lawyers instead of starting a home video company.

In your previous post, you said:

Janus apparently only had a revenue of $6 million in 2007 and Criterion only has 40 employees so I think the math says we will continue to see more 'bigger films' and brand new films released to increase profit rather than smaller films which may not even sell 500 copies.

Which means that they've had eight years to change things around to generate a higher revenue. And yet, their business model seems to be pretty much the same today as it was in 2007. And the same in 2007 as it was in 1999. And so on.

Criterion started in 1984 producing what was then state-of-the-art home video releases in laserdisc format. Laserdiscs were never more than a niche format, so the company was never generating an enviable revenue, which in turn suggests that profit isn't their motivating factor.

While Criterion has released some money-makers, they've never been about focusing on the big-revenue items. I don't expect that to change until they decide to sell the company to Disney or Warner or Amazon or someone on that level.

[SkyAntoine]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Scariest post in this thread.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by Nuck Horris

Janus apparently only had a revenue of $6 million in 2007 and Criterion only has 40 employees so I think the math says we will continue to see more 'bigger films' and brand new films released to increase profit rather than smaller films which may not even sell 500 copies.

The rumor is Armageddon was released to pay for Mulvaney's fat bonus.

[joie]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

[Show spoiler]

Is that biscuits & tea? Are we all invited?

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by joie

Is that biscuits & tea? Are we all invited?

And chocolate mousse! The more the merrier!

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

You have me at a disadvantage bro.

...what is that from?

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by zakzak

I remember they have 2 Michael Bay titles, The Rock & Armageddon, int heir line-ups. Surprised the hell out of me. They are probably no longer available. Only on Laserdisc I think.

No, they were released on DVD as well. And the DVDs are still in print.

But seriously if Criterion needs to do mainstream titles why not pick recent blockbusters that would not be completely out of place among the Kurosawa or the Hitchcock titles. On the other hand, smaller intriguing movies like Under the Skin, Ex Machina, Witch, Drive, Sicario, Russian Ark should be getting some serious consideration. We have Antichrist, why not Melancholia?

Because of rights issues. Seriously, I'm not sure why this keeps getting brought up. Criterion can't just decide that they want to do this movie or that movie. They have to license it from the owners. If the owners don't want to license it out, or choose to license it out to someone other than Criterion, there's nothing that Criterion can do about it.

The release that put Criterion on the map back in the LD days was Blade Runner. I've no doubt that they would absolutely love it if they had been able to keep the rights to that film in the time since, but they weren't. And they also released a lot of other mainstream hits, like Ghostbusters, Annie Hall, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Pulp Fiction, Se7en, and Boogie Nights.

Part of the story about Criterion releasing The Rock and Armageddon had to do with Michael Bay approaching them about releasing those films. It was never a case of Criterion deciding that they needed to branch out into releasing mainstream blockbusters.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

You have me at a disadvantage bro.

...what is that from?

So, you up for it ?

[oildude]

Originally Posted by Nuck Horris

I expect this country to be a wasteland by 2116. People will be eating cats and radioactive potatoes in their mud huts, not watching movies. Dust covered Criterions will line the shelves of the long dead consumers whose ghosts will stare at them wishing they didn't spend half their lives gazing at a box in their living rooms.

Not if they are digipacks.

Only the plastic cases will survive.

Suddenly the thought of Criterion packaging in a post-apocalyptic world over rules my last post about the value of having digipacks in storms and tornadoes. Scanavo cases FTW.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by oildude

Not if they are digipacks.

Only the plastic cases will survive.

Suddenly the thought of Criterion packaging in a post-apocalyptic world over rules my last post about the value of having digipacks in storms and tornadoes. Scanavo cases FTW.

Plastic cases crack and can melt.. at least if digipaks burn you can keep the ashes...

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

So, you up for it ?

[Snicket]

Did anyone read the piece written about women directors in the collection, and Beckers response?


http://moviemezzanine.com/a-response...ampaign=buffer

They are both great reads (the original is linked at the top of the response) and is a huge reason I support Criterion, perfect though they are not.

Expect more high profile women directed films soon!

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Snicket

Did anyone read the piece written about women directors in the collection, and Beckers response?


http://moviemezzanine.com/a-response...ampaign=buffer

They are both great reads (the original is linked at the top of the response) and is a huge reason I support Criterion, perfect though they are not.

Expect more high profile women directed films soon!

Still waiting for Lynne Ramsay's Scifi version of Moby Dick.

[Firecrackker]

What're you cats pickin' up on the next B&N Criterion sale? I got $140 in gift cards to murder

Guaranteed pick-ups:



I may not pick up Manchurian Candidate because I have the regular edition of it. Is it worth the upgrade?

[Arch Stanton]

Originally Posted by Firecrackker

What're you cats pickin' up on the next B&N Criterion sale? I got $140 in gift cards to murder

Guaranteed pick-ups:



I may not pick up Manchurian Candidate because I have the regular edition of it. Is it worth the upgrade?

Kurosawa binge I think.