Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

[Minkin]

The Cannes Classic lineup has been announced

Upgrades:
Masculin féminin
Ugetsu monogatari

Speculation:

Decakolog - already confirmed
A Man and a Woman - certainly must be part of the WB deal
One Eyed Jacks - New Years Clue was most likely for Jellyfish Eyes, but this was often mentioned.

Most everything else looks like something Criterion would release, so who knows which will come to fruition.

when does WCP announce their newest restorations? It used to be Cannes, then switched to Venice/Berlin, now I'm not sure. They did add a new restoration recently that I hadn't previously noticed: Raid into Tibet (1966)

[onedimension]

Re: Carnival of Souls, the director's cut on the original DVD was an inferior master, very fuzzy.. So even a decade and a half ago it seemed to be treated as more of a curio than a genuine alternative. Would love to see it brought up to the same bar of quality, but resources are limited..

[onedimension]

Also, since this is 'random speculation' and wish-listing, I'm going to repeat my perennial dreams of:

1. a Josef von Sternberg/Marlene Dietrich box set
2. an Anthony Mann/Jimmy Stewart box set

Both are unlikely because they would require rights deals with multiple studios- off the top of my head, I don't think there's any precedent for that.

[Noiradelic]

They have box sets with films licensed from different rights-holders, but a box with films from multiple major studios like a Mann-Stewart set would be unprecedented. The Naked Spur is with Warner, The Man From Laramie's Sony -- Blu released by Twilight Time -- and the rest are with Universal.

The Blue Angel is with Kino. I believe Universal has the rights to the others, so a set with the rest is theoretically possible, but I wouldn't hold your breath since Criterion has such a logjam of licensed films right now -- box sets are resource-intensive -- and the omission of Blue Angel might be a deal-killer for them.

[onedimension]

Ah, forgot about 'Angel', that's public domain, but best version with Kino. Could do a von Sternberg/Dietrich in Hollywood... The Scarlet Empress might be Paramount, or just still under license to Criterion (IIRC the rights transferred from Paramount to Universal at some point?) because the rest are out on DVD or DVD-R in so-so transfers. They really could use a good treatment, and I think there may be new prints on some. I saw a screening of 'The Devil Is A Woman' a few years ago which I recall looking nice. That's a box set I'd put money toward with a Kickstarter, though I don't think that's really something Criterion would want associated with their brand.

Re: the Mann-Stewart, unprecedented, but is it impossible? Rights headache, negotiation headache, never been attempted, or something studios would never agree to?

[Noiradelic]

Forgot that Blue Angel's public domain -- the fact that Kino has a Blu currently available might still put a damper on a set at least for a while. With a few exceptions, the pre-1948 Paramount catalog is with Universal. A "In Hollywood" set is a possibility.

The Mann set isn't an utter impossibility rights-wise, but Criterion had access to so many films right now that they will most likely just focus on sets with films that are easier to line up. There are so many director-themed set possibilities out there and Criterion can only do so many boxes. Man From Laramie is tied up with Twilight Time for at least another two years more or less. Warner may not want license a color Western with a big star like The Naked Spur to someone else etc. etc.

[onedimension]

Huh.. that's good news, to me. I was hoping for Rossellini-Bergman for years before it came to fruition, these two seem like other logical possibilities.

Partly they have so much access, like you say, that I'd like to see them continue making informal claims for certain films and directors as 'canonical', even as they put out a broader slate of stuff. Those two actor-director pairings are that, to me, and there's no redundancy with existing releases because most of the films (apart from the two Manns you named) haven't received good restorations/masters or definitive treatments.

Hope they keep both in mind as things like the Dekalog set wind down. I assumed 'The Naked Spur' would be the toughest to get.. But unless the market shifts and there's a boom in 4K UHD disc sales, the streaming/boutique dichotomy still greases the skids for Criterion to do a lot of things they couldn't do before.

[jmj713]

With Laurie Anderson's "Heart of a Dog" coming, would love to also see the 1988 Russian film of the same name in the Collection. An official and subtitled copy in two parts is up on YouTube. Awesome film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whHySar4EoY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2usMQPheilU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[motefuzz]

Election is being removed from Netflix at the end of the month. We already knew this was coming, but that's at least an indication things are moving along.

[flyonthewall2983]

How?

[Luke M]

We knew Election was coming?

[Cinephrenic]

Who is we?

[domino harvey]

Who is we?

Confirmed: Frears' the Queen is coming from Criterion

[Jobla]

I'm hoping that Criterion will consider releasing the Joseph Losey remake of M (1951). The film was restored a year or two ago after reverting to the family of the original producer. It has been released on French Blu-ray, but reportedly there are burned-in French subtitles. Also, the French BD is said to look more like cleaned up video than like film.

[Minkin]

Election was confirmed in a podcast.

I noticed that The Player is being added to Criterion's Itunes releases (the WB version will be expiring soon &Criterion's will be up on the 24th of May) - thus further proving that WB no longer owns the rights (and that Criterion didn't "waste one of their WB licenses on this" as some have said). Itunes credits the film to Avenue Entertainment - which was one of the production companies. I'm assuming the rights reverted to Spelling or some producer, and somehow Rehab Entertainment now handles the distribution. Oddly though, Avenue Pictures also produced Mister Johnson and Short Cuts (which I assume we'll probably see an upgrade of soon - probably not licensed from WB). Still not sure what all Rehab owns or what role they play in all of this.

[Buttery Jeb]

Oddly though, Avenue Pictures also produced Mister Johnson and Short Cuts

They also produced Drugstore Cowboy, which makes for an intriguing prospect.

[ianungstad]

The Kino insider Mr.Lime on the bluray.com forums also said that MGM no longer has the rights to Altman's Images. Wonder who owns that one.

[Ashirg]

Doesn't mean anything except explain why Election is being removed from Netflix - on May 1 it's being added to Hulu.

[JCox]

I noticed on Janus Films page they are starting to show the new print of Jeanne Dieleman perhaps criterion is going to release an upgrade?

[AfterTheRain]

Who is we?

Confirmed: Frears' the Queen is coming from Criterion

But what does Sybil think about this?

[Orlac]

Night of the Living Dead? - http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuk ... -Criterion" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[John Doe]

Seem like one of those unfounded rumours perpetuated by random bloggers.

[Cinephrenic]

It's public domain, but so is Carnival of Souls. If they have access to a decent print, they might as well release it. I'd pick up a Criterion edition.

[solaris72]

Romero is working with Scorsese on a new restoration of NOTLD from a recently discovered 16mm workprint that is 9 minutes longer. If they release a longer version, that could be copyrighted.

[dwk]

I ran across the Cinema Arcana/Mondo Digital listing for Night of the Living Dead a couple weeks ago but i couldn't find any other rumors about it. Still, that upcoming list tends to be pretty accurate, so I wouldn't dismiss it as wishful thinking.