The Criterion Collection

[joy-division]

Originally Posted by Martin_31

I think the issue isn’t necessarily statistical, meaning a comparison of white to Black filmmakers..

I think it can be statistical when you look at the problems black film makers faced due to civil right & such. Segretation played a part in the non-indie film industry. Just compare how many there were during the golden age of cinema. It's not like it was easy for them & they could get backing from the large film companies. I mean, even A raisin in the Sun & The Color Purple were made by White Directors

Am I just digging myself further in the hole

[Poya]

Ok, I think we’ve all covered each side of this for all to read. Can we move on from this? It’s already being worked on and it’s not up to us regarding their future choices. I don’t want this to get ugly.

[TheSandman83]

I've been waiting for Criterion to upgrade the following films to HD since I purchased my Blu-ray player in 2012:

[Show spoiler]
Pygmalion (1938)
Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne (1945)
I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)
Great Expectations (1946)
Oliver Twist (1948)
Unfaithfully Yours (1948)
Crazed Fruit (1956)
Kanal (1957)
Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960)
Viridiana (1961)
Divorce Italian Style (1961)
Seduced and Abandoned (1964)
Kill! (1968)
The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)
The Last Wave (1977)

I have no complaints about the rate that Criterion is releasing upgrades, and being region free has helped a lot!

But does anyone know if Criterion intends to upgrade everything they have to Blu-ray?

[bergman864]

Just to add a few thoughts to this conversation. It is worth mentioning (again) that a film like A Raisin in the Sun, in the Criterion Collection, has a white director. I think it's a fantastic film. I don't expect this to be the case around here but some who buy the film just because of the C on the label probably don't realize the director is white. For some people it may never be an issue. The same could be said for the upcoming release of Claudine.

While Criterion may be limited by what they can license, some of the companies they work with regularly have plenty of films by African American directors they could, presumably, choose. And it's not just an issue of "what sells well" because the upcoming Girlfriends and the previously mentioned Claudine aren't exactly "mainstream" choices, even compared to other recent titles.

[WBMakeVMarsMovieNOW]

Originally Posted by jw007

[*]The Criterion Collection will get cancelled, their reputation destroyed, and a growing movement will pressure them to shut down and close their business of releasing "white supremacist" movies.[/LIST]

I don't think there are enough of the cancel culture types who even know what Criterion or physical media are. Sure, that doesn't mean they might not strike it (that happens all the time, like say the podium girls they, and by they I mean like literally two people, cancelled from Formula 1, cancelled by two people who have never even watched the sport- they picked out one stills shot where some celebratory champagne ended up in the eyes of one of the podium girls making her face cringe and said that they were torturing and abusing women, never mind that the girls in question afterwards said they had loved getting to be a part of the celebration and had loved the whole thing and were now really upset that they would never get such an experience again and that you could also find tons of frames where the drivers were also cringing for an instant as some bubbly got into their eyes for a second), but I can't see it have much impact on sales at all and thus I don't see Criterion, in reality, getting cancelled.

[DaBargainHunta]

Did this get posted? Honestly, it looks like bad fan art.

If someone had told me that was a rejected Elvira: Mistress of the Dark cover, I might have half-believed it. Is Cher supposed to be a member of the undead?

[Rayjg]

So which will be the first Tyler Perry film to enter the collection? He seems to have been a pretty prolific director. Must be a wacky C title somewhere in his filmography.

[KMR]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

So which will be the first Tyler Perry film to enter the collection? He seems to have been a pretty prolific director. Must be a wacky C title somewhere in his filmography.

Ugh. I've only seen one Tyler Perry movie, and it was more than enough. Prolific and popular does not equate to talented and artistically significant. (Yes, he can probably be considered "culturally significant", but there must be certain ways of measuring that significance...)

[moreorless]

Originally Posted by jayembee

I think the chances of Criterion getting "cancelled" are virtually nil. They may get complaints from some folks, but ultimately, I suspect that the majority of their customers hadn't given any thought to the gaps in Criterion's catalog, and probably don't care beyond being irritated that The Big C isn't giving them more of the filmmakers they jones for.

Quite frankly, the whole issue of "cancel culture" is blown way out of proportion. A bunch of people get riled up, their rile-up gets public attention, there's a call to cancel whatever it is that they're focused on, and then everyone moves on to the next target, and their previous target keeps on keeping on.

I get it that some people think it's beyond belief that Criterion could pass on releasing Daughters of the Dust. I remember going to see that during its initial release -- I believe it was at the Coolidge Corner (one of Greater Boston's major art houses) and was blown away. But eventually Kino Lorber put it out on DVD, and some more eventually later, it was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Cohen. Did it need to be from Criterion? Maybe, maybe not, but it wasn't. It is what it is.

I would say the main issue with "cancel culture" is not the reaction something gets on social media but rather how the mainstream media choose to cover it and also how the companies involved react in terms of PR. I mean people posting on twitter or whatever aren't the ones actively doing the "cancelling" are they?

I'd agree its unlikely to have too much effect on Criterion though, maybe it could a bit more on their streaming service but the people buying disks seem unlikely to be swayed by this kind of coverage.

On this issue specifically I would say its not really "left" so much as it is "establishment liberal", a culture were tokenism has become the primary focus because it allows them to ignore the much broader issues of inequality which would be a hell of a lot more expensive and status quo altering to deal with. Criterion don't feature many black directors because of individual and systemic racism across society from the media, education, etc going back decades means fewer black directors exist in the kind of content they offer.

[robtadrian]

The fact that "The Beastie Boys Collection" is a Criterion title says it all.

[disco1979]

Personally, I would love Criterion to issue Mudbound, but most of all, Eve's Bayou by Kasi Lemmons, which has never received a Blu-ray release. And Cheryl Dunye's The Watermelon Woman.

I think eventually both Barry Jenkins' Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk will need lavish Criterion reissues. The current discs look terrific but I wish there were more bonus features.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

So which will be the first Tyler Perry film to enter the collection? He seems to have been a pretty prolific director. Must be a wacky C title somewhere in his filmography.

To address your sarcastic point seriously, he's one of the producers on Precious - and I can see that getting in.

Will his other movies be in the Collection? Probably not. Are they fun and do they have an audience? Yes. I like Tyler Perry.

With that said, I've heard For Colored Girls is quite good and acclaimed. I haven't seen it though.

Originally Posted by disco1979

Personally, I would love Criterion to issue Mudbound, but most of all, Eve's Bayou by Kasi Lemmons, which has never received a Blu-ray release. And Cheryl Dunye's The Watermelon Woman.

I bought Eve's Bayou on DVD a couple of years ago. I still need to watch it, but from what I've heard, it's excellent.

Watermelon Woman is on The Criterion Channel and is something I'll make a point to watch before it expires (whenever that is). I was very excited when it was added because I've been wanting to watch it for a long time.

What do you guys think of the following African-American titles as potential future Criterions?

South Central: To me, this is the best - and most underrated - of the "black gangsta" flicks that were a genre unto themselves in the 1990s. Warner has the rights, so it seems unlikely, but who knows.

Down in the Delta: This used to be on the Channel, and it's quite good. Boasts an all-star cast of prominent black actors, including Alfre Woodard and Wesley Snipes, and it was directed by no less than Maya Angelou. I believe this is with Lionsgate.

[DaBargainHunta]

Insomnia is a hell of a drug...



Art from The New York Times

[robtadrian]

Originally Posted by BluProofie

The article linked above my post. I don’t think the article is coming from a place of extreme anger, but a lot of posts(even some from filmmakers like Ava Duvernay) are quite harsh. Demanding people be fired, etc.

The article itself also doesn’t really take the realities of licensing and releasing physical media into consideration.

Where in the article does it mention demanding people getting fired?..It doesn't. Criterion is like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...determined to show the world what is cool! But Wes Anderson, Sofia Coppola, Spike Jonze, Noah Baumbach and Lena Dunham have no worth in my life and I certainly don't equate them with Chaplin, Hitchcock, etc.

[malakaheso]

Originally Posted by KMR

Ugh. I've only seen one Tyler Perry movie, and it was more than enough. Prolific and popular does not equate to talented and artistically significant. (Yes, he can probably be considered "culturally significant", but there must be certain ways of measuring that significance...)

Yes. Culturally significant artifacts of any kind are not necessarily 'masterpieces', but they have tapped into a certain mood, attitude, feeling, spirit etc, that makes them important for whatever reason. Is Saturday Night Fever a masterpiece of film making? No it isn't, but at the same time, it's a time capsule film that captures certain aspects of the era well enough to be of some note. I feel the same about the films of John Hughes and many other popular directors.

[cgpublic]

As a follow-up to yesterday's piece, NYTs has created a form to collect readers's suggestions for Black directors to be included in the Collection.

When it comes to future editions of African-American filmmakers’ work, Becker said “The Learning Tree” by Gordon Parks is due next year, and that he hoped to add “Medicine for Melancholy” by Barry Jenkins. What would you include?

[yhzmr]

Originally Posted by I*heart*Criterion

Criterion say that their job is to release "important classic and contemporary films" I don't care if the director is black, white, male, female, straight or gay, as long as the film is good, that is all that should matter.

We'll know if Criterion has caved when we start seeing quotas : 4 monthly releases : 1 white director, 1 black, 1 Asian, 1Hispanic and don't forget female, transgender etc.

[CinemaBlu]

Originally Posted by cgpublic

As a follow-up to yesterday's piece, NYTs has created a form to collect readers's suggestions for Black directors to be included in the Collection.

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song

directed by Melvin Van Peebles

[Yami]

What I can't get my head around is the number of people that read the article then took to social media to respond with outrage that Criterion should release Moonlight or Get Out or one of a number of prominent African-American directed films that already have releases by a company not named Criterion. A film can be great, a film can be canonical and not need to be released by Criterion. If the article had a good point at all it was that Criterion could be doing more with its power (that has been given to them by the people that see a film released by Criterion as automatically worth their time) to raise the profile of films and filmmakers who haven't got their due. Barry Jenkins and Ava DuVernay are not filmmakers that need its help. Hopefully this submission form will find films that would genuinely benefit from a Criterion release and not just films that are available in great editions from other companies.

[Yami]

Originally Posted by CinemaBlu

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song

directed by Melvin Van Peebles

There's already a fabulous Blu-Ray release