I agree, but even the DVD is out of print and going for crazy prices. So it's great news that it's coming back into print at all. Though of course it's always better for it to be a true 2K or 4K scan. I know it's dorky, but I greatly prefer when they have the specific details for the restoration (when it was done, what resolution it was scanned at, what type of machine was used, etc). When it's a new 2K or 4K scan the results please me like 95% of the time. When it's a DVD master, it's probably not even 50/50.
Someone can correct me if I'm mistaken, but wasn't this another one of the Studio Canal films that was deleted when Criterion lost a bunch of rights simultaneously? I know Playtime was another one, but that box-set was apparently driven by the Tati estate)? Hopefully this is a sign Criterion will start getting more of these individual titles back (and take advantage of the new restorations on some of them).
I believe Le Samourai was never out of print, some other Melville films did and I think they did went to studio canal though.
I believe Le Samourai was never out of print, some other Melville films did and I think they did went to studio canal though.
I just looked it up and you were correct, for some reason I lumped it with the other Melville's that went OOP - but it wasnt on that list nor was it on the original Studio Canal list. I guess it was recently OOP, but that was only because of the pending upgrade.
Too bad.I'm looking for any sign of hope we'll get those Studio Canal films back (not just the films already on blu-ray either, but the ones that need upgrades like La Strada and Nights of Cabiria).
I've never seen Le Samurai - is it worth a blind buy??
I haven't either and I don't have Filmstruck so I'll wait to see the reviews on the pq and such. At the very least, it did inspire me to rewatch This Gun For Hire which made for a nice afternoon.
I haven't either and I don't have Filmstruck so I'll wait to see the reviews on the pq and such. At the very least, it did inspire me to rewatch This Gun For Hire which made for a nice afternoon.
Decent PQ is a requisite but why is everyone raving about it? Is it that awesome of a movie?
Nobuhiko Obayashi's latest film Hanagatami just announced the release date in Japan will be December 16th and revealed the poster.
Hanagatami together with Casting Blossoms to the Sky and Seven Weeks (my favorite film in last few years) will be Obayashi's War Trilogy. Last August, just before he started to shoot Hanagatami, Obayashi was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer and told he only left 3 months to live. Yet he managed to lived the whole shooting process and still living strongly now. However I think this film will very likely be his last one, don't know when I can see it.
Decent PQ is a requisite but why is everyone raving about it? Is it that awesome of a movie?
No. We are all just really excited to see a mediocre film finally come out on Blu...
Nah, it's one of the greatest of all-time! If you want to talk awesome, it's most definitely awesome. But the best word to use is cool. It's the coolest film ever made.
Le Samouraļ and The Philadelphia Story? Awesome! I forgot to put Le Samouraļ on my wish list for this month....so many films I want in the catalog. But that's definitely one I've wanted for a while. I've had the DVD in my hands numerous times.
Criterion is on fire, of late, with the upgrades. I'm loving it. Passion of Joan of Arc and The Lady Eve have to be up very soon. They're knocking out some biggies now.
Is there any way to give feedback to Criterion on releases? I hate to be the guy who writes in saying "gimme this" but, there are a handful of titles that I would absolutely *love* them to restore and release, and I have been a faithful Criterion customer for over ten years.
One of the things I enjoy most about film collecting is discovering wonderful films that I've never heard of before from around the world. In this respect Criterion has done it again; exposing me to another great film. A film so powerful and devastating that it's become one of my favorites, a true stone cold classic.
That film is Canoa: A Shameful Memory, expertly directed by Felipe Cazals. This is a Mexican film which was released in 1976, just about 8 years after the events depicted within. Canoa is taken from the name of the town where this atrocity took place, San Miguel Canoa, which is located a mere 10 miles outside the city of Puebla, Mexico, which itself is approximately 60 miles southeast of Mexico City.
[Show spoiler]
The film has an interesting structure. It is told in a semi-documentary fashion with chapter headings of dates, times, and locations that divide up the film. There is also the uncommon use of an omniscient third party narrator who appears in the film. That character is only listed in the cast as el testigo (the witness), played by Salvador Sanchez who appears as a peasant whose lines (according to the interesting supplement with the director) were taken from a recording made of a peasant who had witnessed the entire unfolding atrocity. The actor reportedly recited the recording exactly, even to the point of using the same intonations of speech as the peasant. The addition of this character (I felt) was very important to both give background on the situation in the town of Canoa and also provide a type of Greek chorus; the voice of much needed reason for a world gone insane.
A short plot summary follows, although some exposition is necessary:
Based on an actual historical incident, Canoa opens with shots of Mexican newspapermen calling in stories about an atrocity that had just occurred in San Miguel Canoa. We glean our first bit of information from these sources which give us the bare bones of the event.
A group comprised mostly of workers from the University of Puebla plan a weekend trip to San Miguel Canoa to climb La Malinche, an extinct volcano which lies near the town. They're just kids, looking to be in their twenties, excited about getting out of town on a mild adventure. Recently there had been a lot of publicity surrounding the campus unrest across the country which had spread to the University of Puebla, but most of the group seem to be unconcerned about any ramifications from these disturbances which the press has blamed on Communist infiltrators and agitators among the students.
Unknown to the group, the town of San Miguel Canoa is run with a firm hand by the priest (a chilling performance by a reptilian Enrique Lucero, looking uncannily like Jim Jones, complete with dark glasses and dressed in vestments. In fact, this movie was filmed 2 years prior to the Jonestown massacre). The priest has divided the town; some think he is a savior, doing God's work and working hard for the town. The others think he has used his influence to become defacto dictator of the community, having a financial stake in any civic development and cutting out a large share of the taxes and tithes for himself. He controls the mayor and police chief and rules via his sermons as the hand of God for the obviously illiterate and ignorant peasants that subsist in this dirt poor community.
The narrative shifts between time and locations during the film's run time. However as the University group, who act like the goofy 20 somethings they are, arrives in San Miguel Canoa, tensions begin to mount. Small, seemingly insignificant incidents involving the townspeople and the kids begin building. Things go from bad to worse quickly as the local priest declares the "outsiders" to be Communists who want to steal from the peasants, taking their animals and children, and who want to destroy or steal the revered statue of Saint Michael, the patron saint of the village. This sets the stage.
The climbers arrive in the town during a rain storm and therefore are unable to do their hike. They search, in vain, for a place to stay the night, even turning to the local church and its priest for shelter. Turned away from everywhere, they end up obtaining shelter at the shack of a local peasant, Lucas (a strong performance by Ernesto Gomez Cruz) who is known to the priest and his minions as the town dissident.
As the group of kids gather in the little shack with Lucas, the priest calls the town to arms to defend their faith and their children from the "outsiders". The group sit together with Lucas, unaware of their peril until
[Show spoiler]the townspeople, whipped into a frenzy, batter down the door with an axe and confront the occupants. Lucas tries to tell the mob that the kids aren't students, just vacationing. One of the mob then splits his neck with a machete, leaving him convulsing and gasping on the ground. They then repeatedly pound his genitals with clubs and shoot him point blank in the chest. Then they turn their attention to the rest. . .
Although this film starts out in semi documentary style, it now shifts to full horror mode. There follows a reenactment of such brutality and terror that far exceed what conventional horror and slasher films are able to deliver. I was truly on the edge of my seat during the final act, even though the outcome is never in doubt. The closest film that I can compare Canoa to in its intensity and devastation is the searing Act of Killing, which is, for me, the most horrific film ever made. Most horror, slasher, and torture porn films pale in comparison to the real horror that is mankind as it is depicted in these two films.
Canoa is composed utilizing only static camera shots and unfiltered light. The result gives the film a realistic appearance. The use of a loudspeaker system in the film reminded me again of Jim Jones, 1984, and, perversely, M*A*S*H*.
The ending took my breath away. I can't stop thinking about it.
Mob violence, for me, is one of the most frightening things that I can imagine. It's akin to the hopelessness when one is caught up in a crowd that suddenly panics and stampedes. Both are frightening and impossible to defend against. There is something really terrifying about being helpless as a mob of men and women
[Show spoiler]surrounds, beats and hacks until little is left intact.
This film does an outstanding job of depicting the hysteria of a mob which increases until it reaches a screeching, blood soaked climax.
I've never liked crowds and this film does nothing to ameliorate that.
The fact that I am familiar with Puebla, Mexico was the deciding factor when I chose to blind buy this release. One of the best choices that I've ever made.
Canoa was awarded the Silver Bear, Special Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1976.
Highly recommended for viewers who are interested in real horrors and those who are interested in films concerning mob actions and mentality.
The PQ and AQ are excellent to my untrained eye considering the age of the film. Supplements include an introduction by Guillermo del Toro and a fairly interesting segment with director Alfonso Cuaron interviewing the director of Canoa, Felipe Cazals. My only complaint about this supplement is that Cuaron talks too much, often interrupting Cazals.
Highest recommendation for this important and still timely film.
Again, this review is strictly my humble opinion.
Based on your review, I decided that Canoa: A Shameful Memory should be in my collection.
The sale is over, but I grabbed the Blu-ray for $25 and change from Amazon Prime.
Is there any way to give feedback to Criterion on releases? I hate to be the guy who writes in saying "gimme this" but, there are a handful of titles that I would absolutely *love* them to restore and release, and I have been a faithful Criterion customer for over ten years.
They have an email address specifically for suggestions. Likely a response will be forthcoming from the one and only Jon Mulvaney:
You know what I think would be a cool Criterion release? A compilation of music videos directed by famous directors.
For example: David Fincher directed George Michael's "Freedom '90" and Madonna's "Vogue", Gus Van Sant directed Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Under the Bridge", Brian De Palma directed Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark", Martin Scorsese directed Michael Jackson's "Bad", Spike Jonze directed Beastie Boys' "Sabotage", etc.
You know what I think would be a cool Criterion release? A compilation of music videos directed by famous directors.
For example: David Fincher directed George Michael's "Freedom '90" and Madonna's "Vogue", Gus Van Sant directed Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Under the Bridge", Brian De Palma directed Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark", Martin Scorsese directed Michael Jackson's "Bad", Spike Jonze directed Beastie Boys' "Sabotage", etc.
Have you heard of the Directors Label series of DVDs? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directors_Label They were pretty cool and I wish they did more of them. I mean, I know it's not Blu-ray and doesn't have the Criterion name attached to them but they're worthwhile if you're into music videos.
And the "Sabotage" video is part of Criterion's Beastie Boys Video Anthology DVD release, along with many other Beasties' videos of course.
But yeah, a brand new Blu-ray set of a bunch of great/classic music videos from some of the brightest directors who worked in that field would be a welcome Criterion addition, IMO. Get some Michel Gondry up in there, too.
My understanding regarding Le samouraļ is that the elements for a complete remaster or restoration are not available. Criterion's resistance to release it on Blu-ray for many years is that they did not want to release it with the elements or masters they had available to them. I also believe that the French version is not a restoration per say, but more of digital remastering of what was available to them. My guess is that Criterion worked on improving what they could based on what they had before them. It will most likely be a big improvement over the French version, but how much we will not know until late October when reviews start rolling out.
My understanding regarding Le samouraļ is that the elements for a complete remaster or restoration are not available. Criterion's resistance to release it on Blu-ray for many years is that they did not want to release it with the elements or masters they had available to them. I also believe that the French version is not a restoration per say, but more of digital remastering of what was available to them. My guess is that Criterion worked on improving what they could based on what they had before them. It will most likely be a big improvement over the French version, but how much we will not know until late October when reviews start rolling out.
Aren't there 2 French versions? The initial poorly received one, and a 2nd improved one? If that is accurate, do you think the Criterion will be an improvement over the 2nd French release?
Aren't there 2 French versions? The initial poorly received one, and a 2nd improved one? If that is accurate, do you think the Criterion will be an improvement over the 2nd French release?
There a 2nd 'improved' French version. I think they just used the master they had and brought down the DNR a bit. It is supposed to be a better version to watch, but nothing to write home about.
I tend to think Criterion's will look quite good. They know not to f--k this title up or else they will have to deal with the wrath. :-)
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