The Criterion Collection

[rock, stone]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

At this point I'd rather see the films of other Japanese directors make the transition to Blu-ray. And Stray Dog and Drunken Angel are, in my opinion, the best choices for 2012.

On the other hand, not all Kurosawa samurai films are "classics", though this seems to be a popular notion on this forum. So, Criterion "should have their way" because there are plenty of other important directors whose films deserve to be in the collection. Frankly, I find it quite bizarre that there are so many Japanese films in the collection but not a single Spanish film.

Pro-B

To be fair, a much, much more popular notion on this forum is to say exactly this. It is like everyone is taking a turn to declare the emperor has no clothes and waits for the collective mind of the internet to be blown.

Kurosawa gets named checked a lot, one, because he is good at what he does, and two, because he has crossover appeal. He is the Beatles of japanese cinema. To declare he is overrated in the hearts of the plebs while there are better, more obscure movies waiting to be discovered is as common as eating fries with a hamburger.

[Show spoiler](at this point, a hundred fingers begin to type that they don't even like hamburgers...)

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by yojoeski

The last part of that is pure crap. You can't tell me there was absolutely nothing they could've done to retain them. I wouldn't blame them if they at least tried to do something but they didn't even try. That's what pisses me off about it.

How do you know that Criterion didn't try? Are you privy to insider information about Criterion, or are you just speculating that they "didn't try" because Studio Canal didn't renew Criterion's license? I'm just wondering where your holiest of information is coming from? You speak like you have the hard facts over there, but you're not sharing any kind of factual information with us. I'm sure Criterion could've thrown millions upon millions of dollars at Studio Canal to try and coerce them into renewing their licenses, but that's not likely to happen. It's obvious that Studio Canal wanted to try and create their own piece of the pie with classic films under The Studio Canal Collection branding.

[The Dark Uniter]

So far, I'm only interested in Godzilla, Traffic, and Three Outlaw Samurai. Traffic and Three Outlaw Samurai, I haven't seen, but going by my gut, they look pretty good.

[EricJ]

And wait, when did they announce the Eclipse: Sabu box?
Thief of Baghdad, I knew, but I was wondering when Criterion's Alexander Korda fetish would get around to rescuing "Jungle Book" from a slow death of public domain.

(Okay, so I never usually pay attention to the Eclipse-box announcements. )

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by EricJ

And wait, when did they announce the Eclipse: Sabu box?
Thief of Baghdad, I knew, but I was wondering when Criterion's UK-Technicolor fetish would get around to rescuing "Jungle Book" from public domain.

(Okay, so I never usually pay attention to the Eclipse-box announcements. )

They announced the Sabu set 3 months ago (since it comes out this month).

[neo_reloaded]

Originally Posted by yojoeski

The last part of that is pure crap. You can't tell me there was absolutely nothing they could've done to retain them. I wouldn't blame them if they at least tried to do something but they didn't even try. That's what pisses me off about it.

How do you know what they did and didn't do? Surely any and all negotiation would be kept private between Criterion and Studio Canal.

And even if they did attempt to regain the license, the only tool they'd have is persuasion - Studio Canal OWNS the rights, and has merely licensed them to Criterion. When the old license ran out, Studio Canal would have had to agree to re-license them. They did NOT agree, so Criterion was NOT able to re-license. There's no way around it.

And this isn't even about something Criterion did or didn't do. Around that time, Studio Canal was beginning a WORLDWIDE initiative, across all the territories it has a stake in, to consolidate their rights and launch a new Studio Canal-centric brand. So this issue is much larger than Criterion, and they just unfortunately suffered some negative side effects because of what Studio Canal wanted to do with the movies that they own.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by rock, stone

To be fair, a much, much more popular notion on this forum is to say exactly this. It is like everyone is taking a turn to declare the emperor has no clothes and waits for the collective mind of the internet to be blown.

Kurosawa gets named checked a lot, one, because he is good at what he does, and two, because he has crossover appeal. He is the Beatles of japanese cinema. To declare he is overrated in the hearts of the plebs while there are better, more obscure movies waiting to be discovered is as common as eating fries with a hamburger.

[Show spoiler](at this point, a hundred fingers begin to type that they don't even like hamburgers...)

I don't think you are being fair because, at least in my opinion, not all of Kurosawa's films are "classics". Some are clearly a lot better than the rest, and some are clearly a lot more influential than the rest. So, while the term "classic" could be used in different contexts, it is clear, to me, that Kurosawa's body of work is not exactly what it is generally regarded to be. And I don't think I am the only person who believes so because the esteemed Asian cinema critic Tony Rayns has also commented on the fact that Kurosawa has (and has had) a very different appeal in the West as opposed to in his native country.

Also, I am unsure how you came to the conclusion that Kurosawa was declared "overrated". Clearly he has received the type of attention from Criterion that he deserves. However, as I implied earlier, Japanese cinema has a lot more to offer than Kurosawa films, and certainly plenty beyond his "samurai classics", which is why I am excited to see that Criterion are set to release Stray Dog and Drunken Angel in 2012. Additionally, I really fail to see how one could be truly interested in Japanese cinema and not at least consider the possibility of seeing the work of other Japanese masters on Blu-ray (good thing we have MOC and the BFI to bring some of Shôhei Imamura and Yasujiro Ozu's films).

Really, at the end of the day, as big and as important many of Kurosawa's films are, they are only a drop in the sea Japanese cinema is. That's all.

Pro-B

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

However, as I implied earlier, Japanese cinema has a lot more to offer than Kurosawa films

Yoshishige Yoshida.

[Eny-]

Originally Posted by jcs913

The people in the sale forum, from what I am reading, do not seem like fans or lovers of the films, but rather people that want to get a 'deal'. The fact that they can 'wait' on a film for 6+ months to purchase at a better price (at $15 or less) is pointless if you enjoy the film.

You can't put everyone in the same bag. I also only buy them at the B&N 50% or B3G1F sales and I do it because I couldn't afford them all otherwise and I follow the same behaviour when I want to buy other discs from other studios/distributors. Why should I spend $200 getting 5 titles when I can get 10 titles for the same amount? I can't also understand that "6 month waiting" statement. There isn't a SINGLE title that I couldn't wait 6 months for. There's just too many movies/games/music out there to keep me occupied before the next sale and there's also something call life to keep me busy. It's not like I'm out of entertainment just because I only buy CC titles 2/4 times a year.

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

I'm still counting on

[Show spoiler]Anatory of A Murder

to not be just a rumour. La Jetee looks quite interesting. Never saw it, but I did enjoy 12 Monkeys, and heard a lot of that film "paid homage" to it.

Never seen it. Looks good though and I love Jimmy Stewart. Just sad about no "The Trial".

Btw, I would love that they could pick up "The Hunger". Since it's an MGM movie it's possible no?

[Pyoko]

I don't know why Criterion is cheaping out lately, first squeezing in the 5½ hour version of Fanny & Alexander on one disc, and now 3½ hours of World on a Wire on one disc with documentary-length extras that are probably going to be upscaled and take up way too much space (because that's how they like to do them.) I'll probably get it though as long as it doesn't look anything like the horrendous French Blu-ray.

Although I'm going to e-mail Second Sight first and ask if they don't have any plans to release it on Blu-ray in the UK, since presumably the Criterion version will be slowed down from 25 to 24fps, like Berlin Alexanderplatz.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by gpn

I think I will have an irresistible impulse to get this.

On behalf of the four or five people who got that - well played

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Eny-

Btw, I would love that they could pick up "The Hunger". Since it's an MGM movie it's possible no?

The Hunger would be an excellent addition. Though to be honest, MGM has been doing a pretty decent job with catalog releases lately. I wouldn't be too disappointed if they decided to take it themselves.

[rock, stone]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

I don't think you are being fair because, at least in my opinion, not all of Kurosawa's films are "classics". Some are clearly a lot better than the rest, and some are clearly a lot more influential than the rest. So, while the term "classic" could be used in different contexts, it is clear, to me, that Kurosawa's body of work is not exactly what it is generally regarded to be. And I don't think I am the only person who believes so because the esteemed Asian cinema critic Tony Rayns has also commented on the fact that Kurosawa has (and has had) a very different appeal in the West as opposed to in his native country.

Also, I am unsure how you came to the conclusion that Kurosawa was declared "overrated". Clearly he has received the type of attention from Criterion that he deserves. However, as I implied earlier, Japanese cinema has a lot more to offer than Kurosawa films, and certainly plenty beyond his "samurai classics", which is why I am excited to see that Criterion are set to release Stray Dog and Drunken Angel in 2012. Additionally, I really fail to see how one could be truly interested in Japanese cinema and not at least consider the possibility of seeing the work of other Japanese masters on Blu-ray (good thing we have MOC and the BFI to bring some of Shôhei Imamura and Yasujiro Ozu's films).

Really, at the end of the day, as big and as important many of Kurosawa's films are, they are only a drop in the sea Japanese cinema is. That's all.

Pro-B

Your points seem to be all over the place, with a couple straw men thrown in for good measure. I don't disagree with "esteemed Asian cinema critic Tony Rayns" (even if that has nothing to do with nothing), and despite how much I adore Seven Samurai, I personally like Hidden Fortress and Rashomon less than most people seem to (which again, is completely irrelevant).

The point is not a lot of people (if any) are posting that all Kurosawas are classics. However, every couple days someone decides to say that there is more to life that Kurosawa and WA, and drops the mike. A few posts worth of "rutabaga, rutabaga" follow, and next week it happens again.

But the conceit that "everyone else just doesn't get it" is a fallacy. The majority don't need convincing. And the minority who may be going through their respective "Kurosawa phase" are unlikely to stop watching movies at Madadayo.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by octagon

The Hunger would be an excellent addition. Though to be honest, MGM has been doing a pretty decent job with catalog releases lately. I wouldn't be too disappointed if they decided to take it themselves.

Technically don't you mean Fox?

[octagon]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Technically don't you mean Fox?

Oh, I don't know, do I? (I'm not being a smartass, I really don't know)

I was thinking of releases like The Manchurian Candidate and Midnight Cowboy but whoever handled them did a nice job.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by octagon

Oh, I don't know, do I? (I'm not being a smartass, I really don't know)

I was thinking of releases like The Manchurian Candidate and Midnight Cowboy but whoever handled them did a nice job.

Probably Fox, as my Spinal Tap DVD has Fox video logos/warnings all over it, and it used to be MGM.

[octagon]

Anatomy of a Murder (February 21st, 2012) —

• New high-definition digital restoration
• Two audio options: an uncompressed monaural soundtrack and an alternate 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track
• New interview with Otto Preminger biographer Foster Hirsch
• Critic Gary Giddins explores Duke Ellington's score in a new interview
• A look at the relationship between graphic designer Saul Bass and Preminger with Bass biographer Pat Kirkham
• Newsreel footage from the set
• Excerpts from a 1967 episode of Firing Line, featuring Preminger in discussion with William F. Buckley Jr.
• Excerpts from the work in progress Anatomy of "Anatomy": The Making of a Movie
• Behind-the-scenes photographs by Life Magazine's Gjon Mili
• Trailer, featuring on-set footage
• A booklet featuring an essay by critic Nick Pinkerton and a 1959 Life Magazine article on real-life lawyer Joseph N. Welch, who plays the judge in the film

That alone should be worth the price of admission.

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by DionJP

I am laughing out loud.

So was I DionJP. So was I.

[retablo]

Probably the weakest month I've seen so far, outside of Anatomy of a Murder, which is good but not great. While Malle is a great filmmaker, Vanya isn't near one of his best - where's Alamo Bay, which never even had a DVD release? Underwhelming month, but hey it saves me some cash.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

I feel so dumb for not knowing about the BFI BD.

I'll second the BFI release, too. Not the BD yet because my copy hasn't arrived but I've had the DVD and it looks very good and the extras a terrific, with a video essay and feature commentary by Christopher Frayling, a truly wonderful short film called The Bespoke Overcoat which is a great companion to the main feature and a lovely booklet. Can't see Criterion topping this one. It's region B locked though, so if your player isn't region-free that's a hitch.