The Criterion Channel

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by Streetlight

How come some movies that were released by Criterion recently like The American Friend (1977) and 1984(1984) are not available on the Criterion Channel?

Probably because Criterion wants to sell discs first.

Then again, To Sleep With Anger was on the Channel the same day it was released on disc (it's no longer on the Channel). Maybe Criterion thought giving people the chance to "preview" a relatively obscure movie (by mainstream standards) on the Channel would increase disc sales? I'm the only one, but I personally loathed the film.

If I'm right, Criterion probably figures that something like 1984 is already well-known and can sell discs without any "help."

I assume both will be on the Channel eventually.

[Akibiyori]

Originally Posted by Streetlight

How come some movies that were released by Criterion recently like The American Friend (1977) and 1984(1984) are not available on the Criterion Channel?

Rights are split up for different things in certain cases. A film like 1984 is owned by MGM. Criterion only got the home video rights, MGM licenses it out for TV and streaming on a case by case basis (it’s available for free on VUDU or one of the other services at the moment.) Criterion can get it for theirs too but they have to make a new arrangement and it would be a limited engagement like the MGM musicals from Warner or the films from various other major studios.

[Cholly]

Originally Posted by Akibiyori

Rights are split up for different things in certain cases. A film like 1984 is owned by MGM. Criterion only got the home video rights, MGM licenses it out for TV and streaming on a case by case basis (it’s available for free on VUDU or one of the other services at the moment.) Criterion can get it for theirs too but they have to make a new arrangement and it would be a limited engagement like the MGM musicals from Warner or the films from various other major studios.

They also want to rotate content so that people have a reason to keep subscribing. The American Friend was on the channel but is not anymore (but it will probably come back again at some point)

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by Cholly

They also want to rotate content so that people have a reason to keep subscribing. The American Friend was on the channel but is not anymore (but it will probably come back again at some point)

American Friend is currently on the Criterion Channel, being promoted in a double-feature with Purple Noon.

Aside from that though, yes, they will rotate titles in order to keep things fresh, plus there are lots of titles on the Channel that they have not released on physical.

[Streetlight]

Do Criterion offer all of the movies in their original aspect ratio? (except for AR changes approved by filmmaker like "The Last Emperor")
Is Man Bites Dog uncut and match the DE BD on caps-a-holic?
Is The Tin Drum the 164 minute version?
Is The Devils the 117 minute Director's cut?
Does The Conversation use the same master as the current US BD?

[kwr212]

Originally Posted by Streetlight

Do Criterion offer all of the movies in their original aspect ratio? (except for AR changes approved by filmmaker like "The Last Emperor")
Is Man Bites Dog uncut and match the DE BD on caps-a-holic?
Is The Tin Drum the 164 minute version?
Is The Devils the 117 minute Director's cut?
Does The Conversation use the same master as the current US BD?

They get what they get. I know for The Devils it was the edited censored cut. Criterion-released titles usually match their physical release. Tin Drum is 164, not sure if the others match.

[alull]

We need a recommendation! We can only watch one film before thd month is out. Which one of the following would be your top choice?

Broadway of Melody (Norman Taurog, 1940)
Easter Parade (Charles Walters, 1948)
The Barkleys of Broadway (Charles Walters, 1949)
On the Town (Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, 1949)

Thanks!

[bradnoyes]

I just bought a 55" OLED to use as a backup TV and PC monitor so I finally have the means to actually use the Criterion Channel. First thing I did was look through the list of movies that are leaving the service tomorrow and I ended up watching Angela. What a great movie. I wasn't terribly impressed with the streaming quality but it was serviceable. I'm just glad I can finally use the channel. Time to catch up on some Ozu!

[DaBargainHunta]

On my wishlist for years and about to expire from The Criterion Channel, I finally watched Robinson Crusoe on Mars last night.

The premise: A man and his pet monkey get stranded on Mars. (Adam West is also in it, but *ahem* don't see it for him!)

The trailer mentions the movie being "science-fact" - and there is something to that. It feels like watching a detailed step-by-step account of what would happen if someone really was stuck on Mars - based on the knowledge that existed back in 1964. The sets, effects, and "science" obviously don't hold up, but that doesn't matter. The movie itself absolutely still holds up, and that's what's important.

DaBargainHunta's Decree: It's long, slow, and strange, but I was never bored.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by bradnoyes

I just bought a 55" OLED to use as a backup TV and PC monitor so I finally have the means to actually use the Criterion Channel. First thing I did was look through the list of movies that are leaving the service tomorrow and I ended up watching Angela. What a great movie. I wasn't terribly impressed with the streaming quality but it was serviceable. I'm just glad I can finally use the channel. Time to catch up on some Ozu!

I started to watch that yesterday, but I nodded off, some days that's the best I can do if I get started too late. May give it another go since you mentioned it.

What I did get to was the Burning Bush series, which I thought was excellent.

For the Dumont films, I also tried Li'l Quinquin, but didn't make it very far. May give it another shot also. (A few years ago I watched Camille Claudel 1915 on Hulu, thought it was worthwhile at the time, but pretty depressing.) I should probably try to get to Flanders also, may start with that one.

[DaBargainHunta]

Very solid if not spectacular, nothing about I Walk Alone portends that it would be the first of seven pictures Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas would appear in together. Like many from the era, it starts off slowly but picks up toward the latter half. Truth be told, the real highlight here is neither Lancaster nor Douglas but rather the alluring Lizabeth Scott caught between both men.

DaBargainHunta's Decree: I watched the final Lancaster-Douglas film a few years ago - the quintessentially '80s Tough Guys - and now I've seen the first, made four decades earlier. I assume the films in-between are their career highlights. Still, this is a fine and fun introduction to the prolific pairing.
__

Update: According to THIS, it's sticking around in January. While I appreciate last-minute extensions, I wish the Channel would reflect them accurately.

[hanshotfirst1138]

So the Criterion Channel will be hosting THX 1138 next month. Bet they'll sacrifice their integrity and participate in Lucas' historical revisionism like TCM do now. I'd love to be wrong though.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by hanshotfirst1138

So the Criterion Channel will be hosting THX 1138 next month. Bet they'll sacrifice their integrity and participate in Lucas' historical revisionism like TCM do now. I'd love to be wrong though.

If you can answer this without spoiling anything (I've never seen the movie), what was changed?

[hanshotfirst1138]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

If you can answer this without spoiling anything (I've never seen the movie), what was changed?

Almost everything, in typical Lucas fashion; I’d be easier to look it up than for me to explain it.

[hanshotfirst1138]

Apparently it’s the new version . I expected better from Criterion, but then, I expected better from TCM too .

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by hanshotfirst1138

Apparently it’s the new version . I expected better from Criterion, but then, I expected better from TCM too .

It could be that the new version is the only one available in HD?

Is the original version on Blu-ray at all?

[meremortal]

I should probably utilize this service since they have a lot of films I'm unfamiliar with. Right around the time that I started to watch the catalog on Hulu, they pulled their movies from the service not too long afterwards.

[hanshotfirst1138]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

It could be that the new version is the only one available in HD?

Is the original version on Blu-ray at all?

Nope. Lucas has gone to his usual lengths to bury it, the only way to get it is on VHS and laserdisc. I'm sure that since they advertised it, they have to show it, so I don't blame them from the business end of things, it's just disappointing that they'd chose to show it at all if they had to show it that way. But that's Lucas and his Orwellian revisionism for you.

[Fiffy]

Originally Posted by hanshotfirst1138

Almost everything, in typical Lucas fashion; I’d be easier to look it up than for me to explain it.

Here's a scene-by-scene comparison:

https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=541751

The "director's cut" is a very different version, with scenes reordered, removed, added, new CGI effects, scene extensions etc. pp. It's revisionism at its worst. That said, the movie had a storied history even before Lucas made the DC. The original theatrical version (which ran at ~95 minutes) has never been available on any consumer format. Apparently some of the material is lost, and some more suffered water damage during the 1994 earthquake in LA.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by hanshotfirst1138

Apparently it’s the new version . I expected better from Criterion, but then, I expected better from TCM too .

I don't. Criterion seem to acquiesce to the whims of directors with these directors cuts. Their release of Blood Simple is the revised version by the Coen Brothers, the original theatrical cut is nowhere to be seen these days, and Mr. Hulot's Holiday is the 1978 revised version (though the original theatrical is a bonus feature but the PQ isn't as good). I'm sure there are other examples.