MoC Forthcoming, Wishlist, and Random Speculation

[zedz]

If MoC had announced some Alan Clarke today, it would be just one of his films (in an excellent transfer) and a respectable booklet.

If Criterion were doing it, the booklet would be replaced with a ::kogonada:: video essay and cover art featuring Gary Oldman in cartoon form.

I love both of these labels, but I'm glad there are also other ones.

This is true, but the sad thing is that I can't imagine either label releasing an Alan Clarke film at the moment - though, if we're following through on the analogy, an MoC release would most likely be of Scum (theatrical version) or Made in Britain, since they're already available on BluRay.

[Tommaso]

UK-based people buy UK stuff, US-based people buy US stuff.

And those who are elsewhere in Europe buy from both the UK and the US. For the simple reason that - apart perhaps from France -you hardly find releases of the same quality that MoC, Criterion, the BFI or Arrow deliver on a regular basis. In many cases this even goes for the films themselves (you won't find a release of the Apu Trilogy or most of the Rivettes in my country, and even "The Man with a Camera" is OOP and goes for ridiculous prices), but it definitely almost always goes for the extras. I even went for the MoC releases of most of their German silents, because the German releases of "Caligari" or "Frau im Mond" simply can't compete in this respect. The same even goes for newer films, where a UK disc will have perhaps an interview with the director that is missing on the German or any other European release.

I don't know how much of the sales of MoC and Criterion are made to mainland European customers, but I wouldn't entirely underestimate them. And so it's indeed a bit annoying if there are too many overlaps, because basically I don't care that much whether it's a Criterion or an MoC disc I'm playing (though usually I indeed think the MoC's are superior, because they mostly lack CC's blackness boosting), as long as it's either of them.

[tenia]

I don't know how much of the sales of MoC and Criterion are made to mainland European customers, but I wouldn't entirely underestimate them.

I stand corrected for MoC : Kevin told me a "reasonable" part of their sales are not from UK-consumers.
However, for the BFI, Carlotta and Arrow, all 3 labels said that the sales outside of their legal markets (UK, France, UK) are marginal at best, hence my original comment.
Nick also wrote here (it was for the 2 Chabrols, at the time) that really, if you can do a domestic release, even if the movie is available already everywhere else around, even with English subs and in a Region B compatible release, you should do it, because the majority of your selling base will still be waiting for it.

Note that I don't say that our concerns here are not justified. I'm just saying that we're very likely to represent less than 10% of the selling base of these labels.

[FrauBlucher]

This discussion has me thinking of a specific studio title, The Ox Bow Incident. This has no Bluray release in the US, surprisingly. But there is a German, Italian and Spanish blu release (All licensed out by Fox). Would that make it prohibitive for MoC to release a title that has multiple releases in same region? Or even Arrow or BFI releasing it.

At one point I did think MoC was going to release Ox Bow based on a response to my tweet. But maybe I was being overly optimistic and read too much into their reply.

[Finch]

Speaking of Fox, I pointed MoC/Eureka into the direction of Leave Her To Heaven on Facebook months ago, and they said their acquisitions team will look into it.

[rapta]

Any Fox/MGM titles would all come at once as MoC often tend to do multiple-title deals with studios. So if some Fox titles start cropping up, either of those could be one of them. If an off-the-shelf master is already known about, it's much more likely to already be in their sights, and therefore more likely to show up sooner rather than later.

Criterion had Don't Look Now, The Palm Beach Story, An Autumn Afternoon (4K remaster), Ride The Pink Horse, the 3 Morris, Cries and Whispers, The Rose, the Costa Gavras and the Chaplins, The Bridge, Here Is Your Life, My Beautiful Laundrette, Day For Night (brand new 2K resto, much better than the French BD), Blind Chance, A Special Day, Kwaidan, Code Unknown, The Apu Trilogy, Dont Look Back, Ikiru and Speedy. Same as above : elsewhere unavailable on BD, on in inferior releases.

Interesting you mentioned Speedy at the end there - it is one of the Criterion titles Sony have lined up for UK release, along with Tootsie, Grey Gardens, It Happened One Night, L'Avventura, and Polanski's Macbeth. Could this be the start of Criterion UK? That could change things quite a bit as far as imports go. I'm very interested to see what comes of this new Sony venture - whether they replicate the Criterion releases entirely, or tweak them in any way (e.g. ditch the booklets, change the artwork etc). All the extras seem to be intact so far, so there would be little need to import these from the US once they're released.

As for The Apu Trilogy, I expect a UK label to pick that up this year or next (most likely Artificial Eye, who released it before on DVD), and I expect they'll eventually upgrade some more Haneke titles too (including Code Unknown). I also hope BFI will upgrade Ikiru (and maybe some other Kurosawa's, like Red Beard or Stray Dog). And lastly, MoC said they were definitely interested upgrading Kwaidan at some point, which could potentially be part of a multi-picture deal with Toho (which could prove to be very exciting).

[Pipi]

I don't know how much of the sales of MoC and Criterion are made to mainland European customers, but I wouldn't entirely underestimate them.

I stand corrected for MoC : Kevin told me a "reasonable" part of their sales are not from UK-consumers.

I don't think it changes much. I'm almost sure most of these sales outside the UK come from region-locked mainland Europe customers like me. While for us re-releases of titles already released in the US make a lot of sense, I still find the recent lineup of MoC a bit disappointing. There's simply too many big studio titles that could be released by anyone else, while I'd expect them to release region B versions of rare stuff like "A Brighter Summer Day" that can only be expected from a label like MoC.

[rapta]

So Eureka have been dropping visual hints on their Facebook and Instagram accounts over the weekend as they are attending screenings of Fritz Lang's DER MÜDE TOD (1921) and Hou Hsiao-hsien's DAUGHTER OF THE NILE (1987). I think they're hinting at MoC editions of these, but that could be jumping the gun a bit...

One of the photos was a shot of a New Taiwan 1000 dollar note, hinting even more that we'll see some more Taiwanese stuff from them in future. If this is indeed the case, I would love to see them release the recently restored anthology film FOUR MOODS (1970) which features King Hu amongst some of his peers! It seems it was made in between DRAGON INN (1967) and A TOUCH OF ZEN (1971), and would be a great title to get some Asian cinema experts to write and talk about it (Tony Rayns and David Cairns spring to mind) - and probably much easier to license than THE FATE OF LEE KHAN (1973) or THE VALIANT ONES (1975), of which the rights to both are in Hong Kong (I'm fairly sure).

[tenia]

Der Müde Tod seems liks an obvious MoC release, and Eureka posted a text on their FB about their "roving reporter at Berlinale is about to venture on to the red carpet to attend the World Premiere of the digitally restored 2016 version in 2K DCP of Fritz Lang's DUR MUDE TOD (Destiny) ‪#‎mastersofcinema‬ ‪#‎berlinale2016‬ ‪#‎eurekaentertainment‬ ‪#‎fritzlang‬ ‪#‎premiere‬".

[rapta]

Yeah I thought 'MoC' as soon as I heard they were showing it at Berlinale! Very cool to hear they're looking for more Taiwanese/Chinese stuff though, and it sound's like they're setting up at least one Hou Hsiao-hsien film to start with.

I hope with the way DRAGON INN and A TOUCH OF ZEN have sold they will consider some more King Hu though, and I know for certain that FOUR MOODS has been treated similarly to the other two - remastered by the Taiwan Film Institute and the rights with Union Films.

It's been a while since we've had an MoC release with some variety to it - this is essentially like RO.GO.PA.G, in that it's 4 directors each telling a story...an anthology project. It's also interesting because it was apparently made because one of the directors (Li Han-hsiang) was having financial troubles, which reflects the comradery between the Taiwanese/HK filmmakers of that era.

I'm sure there's enough here to warrant at least one more wuxia release for Masters of Cinema - now I'll just have to cross my fingers and hope they're thinking the same thing!

[artfilmfan]

If Eureka/MoC decided to release Hou Hsiao-hsien's films, I hope Dust in the Wind is one of them.

[rapta]

If Eureka/MoC decided to release Hou Hsiao-hsien's films, I hope Dust in the Wind is one of them.

That was one of the titles advertised by the TWI in their press release for this year's Berlinale, the other being A TIME TO LIVE, A TIME TO DIE.

However, it would probably be wise to pick up both of those along with A SUMMER AT GRANDPA'S, seeing as they're part of a loose trilogy. I'm not sure if that one has been restored though...so we may have to wait until that happens before we see these three.

I could be wrong, but it sounds to me like DAUGHTER OF THE NILE is most likely (freshly restored) followed by THE BOYS FROM FENGKUEI (WCP-restored). That said, Eureka have yet to release another WCP-affiliated title since their first box set...and since then, both the BFI and Second Run have released titles from the project (Sembène's BLACK GIRL and BOROM SARRET, Weerasethakul's MYSTERIOUS OBJECT AT NOON).

[Drucker]

Der Müde Tod seems liks an obvious MoC release, and Eureka posted a text on their FB about their "roving reporter at Berlinale is about to venture on to the red carpet to attend the World Premiere of the digitally restored 2016 version in 2K DCP of Fritz Lang's DUR MUDE TOD (Destiny) ‪#‎mastersofcinema‬ ‪#‎berlinale2016‬ ‪#‎eurekaentertainment‬ ‪#‎fritzlang‬ ‪#‎premiere‬".

It still surprises me that Variety hasn't come out via MOC yet. I assume/hope they are commissioning a new score which could take money/time, but I'm going to continue to hold out for a hopeful release of this film.

[artfilmfan]

If Eureka/MoC decided to release Hou Hsiao-hsien's films, I hope Dust in the Wind is one of them.

That was one of the titles advertised by the TWI in their press release for this year's Berlinale, the other being A TIME TO LIVE, A TIME TO DIE.

However, it would probably be wise to pick up both of those along with A SUMMER AT GRANDPA'S, seeing as they're part of a loose trilogy. I'm not sure if that one has been restored though...so we may have to wait until that happens before we see these three...

If Eureka/MoC release them, I hope we'll have the options to purchase them individually, not a boxset only option. Dust in the Wind is the only one among the three I'm interested in upgrading to Blu-ray (hence the reason I don't own the two-film (Dust/Time) boxset that is currently available).

[rapta]

If Eureka/MoC decided to release Hou Hsiao-hsien's films, I hope Dust in the Wind is one of them.

That was one of the titles advertised by the TWI in their press release for this year's Berlinale, the other being A TIME TO LIVE, A TIME TO DIE.

However, it would probably be wise to pick up both of those along with A SUMMER AT GRANDPA'S, seeing as they're part of a loose trilogy. I'm not sure if that one has been restored though...so we may have to wait until that happens before we see these three...

If Eureka/MoC release them, I hope we'll have the options to purchase them individually, not a boxset only option. Dust in the Wind is the only one among the three I'm interested in upgrading to Blu-ray (hence the reason I don't own the two-film (Dust/Time) boxset that is currently available).

I reckon they will release them separately for something like this, unless they got a whole bunch of his films at once. They could do what they did with Mizoguchi - release two separate editions, and then a box set with twice as much content some six months later.

In the case of Hou though, as I said above it would be wise to release his 'Coming of Age Trilogy' together as a set, but that's only assuming it's possible to get hold of all three. It's probably be the case that they just release them one-by-one.

Other than last year's Imamura reissue set, they haven't done a box set since Shoah (which was just an upgrade of sorts, other than The Last of the Unjust), and before that they did two box sets in 2013 (Late Mizoguchi and WCP Vol 1). I swear Kevin said a few months ago that there were one or two box sets in the works for 2016, but I think Hou would be a tricky one to pull together - of course it would be great news if it was, but I'm not holding my breath.

Der Müde Tod seems liks an obvious MoC release, and Eureka posted a text on their FB about their "roving reporter at Berlinale is about to venture on to the red carpet to attend the World Premiere of the digitally restored 2016 version in 2K DCP of Fritz Lang's DUR MUDE TOD (Destiny) ‪#‎mastersofcinema‬ ‪#‎berlinale2016‬ ‪#‎eurekaentertainment‬ ‪#‎fritzlang‬ ‪#‎premiere‬".

It still surprises me that Variety hasn't come out via MOC yet. I assume/hope they are commissioning a new score which could take money/time, but I'm going to continue to hold out for a hopeful release of this film.

Variety was restored by FWMS, wasn't it? As was Destiny? So maybe they're going to license a number of titles from FWMS all at once like they have in the past, like in 2014.

[rapta]

More hints from Eureka...looks like it's the last one.

This time it concerns a title restored by Deutsche Kinemathek by a director they have released as part of MoC in the past. That means it's most likely to be either Dreyer's VAMPYR or Pabst's PANDORA'S BOX, but it could be one of Pabst's other films - THE WHITE HELL OF PITZ PALU, WESTFRONT 1918, or COMRADESHIP.

If this is true, that's great news. VAMPYR is a title many of us had been waiting to be upgraded, and any Dreyer on Blu-ray is a blessing (last year's BFI set was my favourite box set of last year). And PANDORA'S BOX is another that has been requested for years now, and after a supposedly so-so Second Sight DVD release this would be welcome news. THE WHITE HELL OF PITZ PALU certainly sounds interesting too, so that would be a good compromise if it's not either of those first two.

This is only going by my own research, so it would be helpful if others could chime in if they know of any other restorations done by Deutsche Kinemathek that I may have missed!

[Drucker]

Sinice we are talking about hints MOC has dropped, this one appeared a few days ago:

Some movie that starts with an M got a 4k restoration.

The best guess I see in the comments is Fassbinder's Martha which isn't part of the Arrow box.

[Grisbi]

Sinice we are talking about hints MOC has dropped, this one appeared a few days ago:

Some movie that starts with an M got a 4k restoration.

The best guess I see in the comments is Fassbinder's Martha which isn't part of the Arrow box.

Any chance this could be MURIEL?

IIRC that one was ready to go on Blu at some point in the past before being thrown on the backburner indefinitely...

[Finch]

If it is Muriel, it's likely to be a very limited edition of 1000 copies as with the Pasolini double-bill which Kevin said he fought tooth and nails for to get upgraded.

Vampyr would be an odd choice for an HD upgrade as you could argue that the scratches and fluctuations actually add to the atmosphere. I know some people prefer the MoC over the Criterion as the former's had less of a clean-up.

[perkizitore]

I really hope it is Manila in the Claws of Light, but it looks like a film with a much shorter title (unless they wrote just Manila!)

[hearthesilence]

Fassbinder's foundation has been actively restoring his back catalog, so I could see Martha being next. (Also great if it was in 4k - even though it was shot in 16mm, it does make a difference when you go that high, you can see it in the grain.)

To be honest, I'd rather it be Muriel simply because the current transfer is so old and inadequate, and again, if it wasn't Martha, they'd eventually get to it anyway.

[ermylaw]

I haven't been able to keep up with all these teases, but if they're hinting at a possible Dreyer film and a film that starts with "M" then Michael seems to make sense.

[tenia]

Sinice we are talking about hints MOC has dropped, this one appeared a few days ago:

Some movie that starts with an M got a 4k restoration.

The best guess I see in the comments is Fassbinder's Martha which isn't part of the Arrow box.

At the 2016 Berlinale, the best guesses would be Mahlzeiten, Martha or (Der) Müde Tod.
I didn't find any other catalog movies starting with a M and having received a 4K restoration, and I believe Der Müde Tod actually is a 2K restoration.

As for the Kinemathek restoration, Eureka specifically wrote that it's "NOT Fritz Lang's DESTINY. This is a Deutsche Kinemathek restoration, DESTINY was restored by FWMS". Looking at the Kinemathek's website, it could be Dreyer's Vampyr or also Joe May's Asphalt.

[rapta]

Overall, my wishes and/or theories for the Berlinale teases are as follows:

- Red envelope with NT$1000 note / ticket to 4K restored Hou Hsiao-hsien's Daughter of the Nile:
Daughter of the Nile (1987) <-- most likely, as it was directly hinted at
Four Moods (1970) <-- most wanted (King Hu, 4K restored, Union Film Company)
Dust in the Wind (1986) <-- TWI-restored in 2014
A Time to Live, A Time to Die (1985) <-- TWI-restored in 2014
The Boys from Fengkuei (1983) <-- unrelated, but WCP-restored (could be part of a set with other Hou titles)
Love and Duty (1931) <-- a Taiwanese silent film...how could they resist?
Rebels of the Neon God (1992) <-- not seen any Tsai yet (other than a little bit of Stray Dogs before being interrupted), but I can see them being interested
The River (1997) <-- ditto

I think Hou's The Sandwich Man is also available, but not sure it has been restored yet. If they could get that, The Boys from Fengkuei (WCP/Cinematek) and A Summer at Grandpa's (details are vague on that one), then that would be enough for a 1983-1987 box set...probably unlikely though. They might just do separate titles, or even one-at-a-time.

- 4K restoration starting with 'M':
Manila in the Claws of Light (1975) <-- discussed in the past and long-rumoured (WCP restoration)
Masculin Féminin (1966) <-- not part of the recent StudioCanal set...have they lost the rights?
Madame de... (1953) <-- no Ophüls on MoC Blu-ray is criminal
Macbeth (1948) <-- too much botched Welles of late, would appreciate MoC stepping in
Manhunter (1986) <-- recently announced by Shout Factory, could this be in contention for MoC? (though Arrow would obviously be better-suited)
Muriel (1963) <-- asked after for some time now... (I recently managed to get a sealed copy of the DVD for the very, very reasonable price of £3.99)
Missing (1982) <-- talk of Costa-Gavras over on the BR.com forums
Ministry of Fear (1944) <-- we've had plenty of older Lang, now for some Hollywood Lang?
Man Hunt (1941) <-- ditto
Mother India (1957) <-- long shot I know, but imagine!
Man of Iron (1981) <-- ditto, but more likely
Mahlzeiten (1967) <-- was shown at this year's Berlinale

Question is whether it's a German film or not, considering this meeting was in Berlin. But it's a big festival and a lot of representatives obviously take the opportunity to hold sales meetings rather than relying on email/Skype/phone all the time, so theoretically it could be from anywhere. 4K sounds like it'll be a biggy though.

- Deutsche Kinemathek master / director already covered by MoC:
Vampyr (1932) <-- upgrade from their DVD, and following the success of Joan of Arc and BFI's 2015 box set
Pandora's Box (1929) <-- anticipated for a long time, frustrated with the so-so Second Sight DVD
The White Hell of Pitz Palu (1929) <-- sounds interesting, shot and set in Switzerland and stars Leni Riefenstahl (star of The Holy Mountain, aka MoC DVD #1)
Westfront 1918 (1930) <-- less likely, but still Pabst
Comradeship (1931) <-- ditto

And I'm pretty sure that first hint about Lang's Der müde Tod (Destiny) was pretty blunt, but could also mean other FWMS titles such as Murnau's Der letzte Mann (The Last Laugh) and Dupont's Varieté (Variety) could appear along with it. I say this because in the past they've released more than one silent in a row, and usually they've been from FWMS.

PS: don't want to quash anyone's hopes but I think Fassbinder's Martha is with StudioCanal, it seemed to say in the press notes. It probably wasn't in the Arrow set because they couldn't get the rights, or they just renewed the rights to the ones they already had the rights to and acquired whatever else they could.

[Tommaso]

The Deutsche Kinemathek was also involved in the restoration of Pabst's "Die freudlose Gasse" (starring Greta Garbo AND Asta Nielsen), which already exists in a perfect dvd release from Edition Filmmuseum. The film is every way as important as "Pandora", but the latter is the more likely choice because it is higher profile. Of course it already exists in an equally perfect dvd edition from Criterion. Both films would deserve to get the blu treatment, obviously, but I'd really wish for something less well known instead. Of directors already in the MoC collection, Joe May's striking "Heimkehr" comes to mind immediately, available for online viewing at the European Film Gateway. That version comes from the Bundesarchiv, though.

On an additional note: I've just watched the arte broadcast of "Der müde Tod". Looks very fine, with very carefully chosen new tintings. Speed looked just right to me. Some speckles and tramlines remain, but all in all it's a great restoration of what is probably Lang's first really important film. I never realised before how tongue-in-cheek the Chinese episode is, btw. The new orchestral score is nothing to get excited about and felt somewhat generic to me; I would have wished for something gloomier here and there, and also for a more detailed following of what was going on on screen. But compared to other recent music commissions by FWMS (and I'm not just talking about the infamous "Varieté"-score here) this one at least never feels intrusive and carries you through the film reasonably well. So nothing should stand in the way of an MoC release in this case.