151 Traffic

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Dr. Mabuse · #26 Post by **Dr. Mabuse** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 5:39 pm

Do you mean you contacted one of the Mulvanies...?

ellipsis7 · #27 Post by **ellipsis7** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 5:41 pm

Likely that the TRAFFIC licence briefly lapsed, although supplies may still have been in stores...

There's an issue whereby the CC is coming to a point where the CC has dealt with a substantial part of the best of major filmmakers' work (Godard, Fellini, Truffaut, Renoir, Bergman, Antonioni, Powell, Dreyer, Cocteau, Cassavetes) and now they are seeking to extend those franchises beyond encompassing Malle (so so) and Mizoguchi (great for some)... And there lots of Ozu (really good) to come! Makes some sense to promote the back catalogue big time, highlighting the multitude of gems, for those who have not discovered them yet... And this is inevitably can't happen each time with an HD remaster, new format etc...

kappoka · #28 Post by **kappoka** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 5:52 pm

Thanks for posting the Video Business article. I had not seen it and has clarified alot. I guess if sales go up as a result it is good for all of us. I just did not like the idea that Criterion was now going to escalate the double dipping that is rampant these days with studios. But with the conversion to HD we might not have a choice on some titles.

exte · #29 Post by **exte** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 6:05 pm

Well, with Image's money, I hope they recycle some OOPs like RoboCop, Silence of the Lambs, etc...

justeleblanc · #30 Post by **justeleblanc** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 6:17 pm

Releasing Soderbergh's Traffic....

That's just as obnoxious as the DoD releasing Ace In The Hole!!!!

toiletduck! · #31 Post by **toiletduck!** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 6:28 pm

Is anyone else assuming that this Traffic rerelease is for oddball licensing purposes only and that Criterion won't make a big deal of it and probably won't even toss it in the coming soon section on the site?

-Toilet Dcuk

justeleblanc · #32 Post by **justeleblanc** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 6:30 pm

toiletduck! wrote:Is anyone else assuming that this Traffic rerelease is for oddball licensing purposes only and that Criterion won't make a big deal of it and probably won't even toss it in the coming soon section on the site?

Unless they are promoting it to line up with the buzz from Syriana.

Toshiro De Niro · #33 Post by **Toshiro De Niro** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 10:04 pm

you sure it's not the Tati's Trafic that's being released?

stroszeck · #34 Post by **stroszeck** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 10:17 pm

You know, it's so funny. Here I am imaging all the sort of wonderful stuff we'll be seeing in '06 from Jodorowsky to Pabst to Ozu etc etc... and then we get a re-release of Traffic, a film that I saw in theaters and is available EVERYWHERE for like $5. Is this the end of our Criterion as we knew it? Did Image really shake things up that much? I for one feel this was straight from outta nowhere - who would've thunk it?

Not to sound disappointed about other news like the Malle boxset (would've rather had OZU or EISENSTEIN show up) which was an anticipated thing, but seeing as how Criterion stated this year that they will par down titles in order to "avoid competing with themselves," its kind of a letdown. I gotta say, I'm looking forward to the Kurosawa re-releases (SEVEN SAMURAI is about time) but then again that's like 3 more titles filling in spine numbers which might've been replaced by movies that have completely never ever been on DVD - or video for that matter. Just something to think about.

#35 Post by **Jeff** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 12:11 am

I don't see anything to be disappointed about, and I don't really think that this has much to do with Image (except maybe from a marketing standpoint). As others have pointed out, Criterion's license for Traffic from USA Flms had most likely expired, and they had to renew it with Universal. Normally, we wouldn't have heard anything about this, but because of the way Image lists prebooks to retailers, it looks like a new title. I certainly don't think that we're getting a "re-release" of Traffic in place of something else. Criterion is releasing five other films (including a three-disc Arkadin!) in March, and I suspect that Viridiana will be delayed to join them. That's a fine month by any standard.

kappoka · #36 Post by **kappoka** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 12:33 am

I have to agree with Jeff. Initially I was alarmed but if the volume of CC's increases (even if they are re-issues) it can mean mostly good things. I have a feeling that production will increase and we will see at least one or two extra CC's each month--hopefully more. A 3 disc Arkadin is much more than we hoped for! Plus Malle! It makes for a great March.

Andre Jurieu · #37 Post by **Andre Jurieu** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 12:36 am

stroszeck wrote:Is this the end of our Criterion as we knew it?

Yes.

Mental Mike · #38 Post by **Mental Mike** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 4:58 am

How can you criticize Malle so much? He was more bleak in most of his films than Truffaut, Godard or Rohmer...and that is probably why he is criticized. People expect French cinema to be light and weave a little "serial tale" that is similar to everything else the director has done...Malle had more range than any other French director...period!

ben d banana · #39 Post by **ben d banana** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 5:42 am

Criterionforum.org: officially no longer able to snigger at criterionforum.com.

#40 Post by **cdnchris** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 4:17 pm

Actually, Traffic was distributed by USA Films in the States (Alliance Atlantis in Canada) and not by Criterion's distributor at the time (like how Buena Vista distributes Life Aquatic and Tenenbaums.) I'm assuming Image is now taking over the distribution of it because USA no longer exists, so to them, technically, it's a new title. I'm sure it's the same DVD.

Narshty · #41 Post by **Narshty** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 7:33 pm

If anything's changed, it'll probably have different small print and logos on the back to reflect the change in licensor (Focus/Universal?).

#42 Post by **zedz** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 8:00 pm

cdnchris wrote:Actually, Traffic was distributed by USA Films in the States (Alliance Atlantis in Canada) and not by Criterion's distributor at the time (like how Buena Vista distributes Life Aquatic and Tenenbaums.) I'm assuming Image is now taking over the distribution of it because USA no longer exists, so to them, technically, it's a new title. I'm sure it's the same DVD.

Tempest in a teapot. I presume the information that was posted on the forum about the March titles came from the distributor and was intended for the retail industry. If Traffic is a new title for Image, then of course they're going to promote it. There's no evidence yet that Criterion are going to do the same (at best, it might rate a mention on the website homepage) and definitely none that the supposed "rerelease" is taking time and effort away from new titles. After all, we're getting eight new discs in March - hardly a slow month.

Back on topic, the existing Traffic package is a pretty exemplary release of a big Hollywood film. Most of the major studios could learn a lot from this and replace their tedious puffery with supplements that actually shed light on the filmmaking process.

jcelwin · #43 Post by **jcelwin** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 11:30 pm

Narshty wrote:If anything's changed, it'll probably have different small print and logos on the back to reflect the change in licensor (Focus/Universal?).

So, I guess that means I have a collectors item?

Anyone want to buy my disc? Bids starting at $500?

exte · #44 Post by **exte** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 12:04 am

True, as dvdbeaver shows us that, but the criterion commentary for Silence of the Lambs is truly phenomenal. I mean, I took notes and had to keep rewinding for that track. (I now have an LD and DVD rip of it...) I just wish that one wouldn't have to pay over fifty for an oop DVD anymore...

Ashirg · #45 Post by **Ashirg** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 8:06 am

Nothing new as far as extras. Here's a review of the re-release.

mrschroeder1982 · #46 Post by **mrschroeder1982** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 5:28 pm

I was just watching "Traffic" last night and discovered a tiny error.
My dad is hard-of-hearing, so whenever my family watches a DVD, we have to put on either the subtitles or the captions so that he can follow along with the dialogue. This habit has rubbed off on me, so I now put on the English subtitles even when Dad's not around. Anyway, I was reading the subtitles along with the movie, and there's a tiny typo near the end of "Traffic."
In one of the last scenes, where Michael Douglas's character is going to his daughter's rehab session with her, he begins speaking and says something like, "We're here to support our daughter, and we're here to listen," but the subtitles say "...we're hear to listen." Not necessarily something terribly important, but I thought I'd throw it out there so you can discuss.

skuhn8 · #47 Post by **skuhn8** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 5:31 pm

We're bad here, but not that bad. What's there to discuss? Typo, next.

toiletduck! · #48 Post by **toiletduck!** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 5:38 pm

skuhn8 wrote:What's there to discuss.

This sentence should end in a question mark.

-Toilet Dcuk

skuhn8 · #49 Post by **skuhn8** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 5:46 pm

toiletduck! wrote:
skuhn8 wrote:What's there to discuss.
This sentence should end in a question mark.

You're right [fixed]; and you should flush more often.

toiletduck! · #50 Post by **toiletduck!** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 6:30 pm

skuhn8 wrote:
toiletduck! wrote:
skuhn8 wrote:What's there to discuss.
This sentence should end in a question mark.
You're right [fixed]; and you should flush more often.

You're also right...

...and fixed. Well, I feel productive!

-Toilet Dcuk