Criterion Random Speculation Vol.4
- kaujot
- Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 6:28 pm
- Location: Austin
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- Antoine Doinel
- Joined: Sat Mar 04, 2006 1:22 pm
- Location: Montreal, Quebec
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Criterion via iTunes?
Apple is expected to announce today same day/date DVD releases available for download from their store. One of the labels/distributors mentioned as signing on is Image Entertainment. I have it from a pretty good source that Criterion was in talks with iTunes at one point but this is definitely an intriguing development. I wonder if it will be film only (as I'm sure Apple bargained the same cost for every film from each studio) as part of Criterion's whole appeal are the care they put into extras.
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- Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 9:42 pm
A Matter of Life and Death will be coming out on DVD from Sony (no date has been announced yet), so a CC DVD will not happen for that title. The other two (One of Our Aircraft is Missing & The Battle of the River Plate) I'm not too sure about.
One film I would just love to see Crierion get their hands on is The Battle of Neretva, though. And hopefully in it's full 175 minute cut.
One film I would just love to see Crierion get their hands on is The Battle of Neretva, though. And hopefully in it's full 175 minute cut.
- Cronenfly
- Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:04 pm
Now that Chungking Express has been confirmed for (at least) BR, does this open up the potential for other Jet Tone (or Miramax/Weinstein Co., whoever owns the US rights to Chungking now) licenses (at least Fallen Angels)? I guess it's hard to know without seeing the licensee(s), and without knowing how BR licenses differ from standard def (all on a case-by-case basis, I'm sure), but I'm interested to know what everybody else thinks.
And the firm, official confirmation of Bottle Rocket will (I hope) commence the flood of Sony-controlled properties.
And the firm, official confirmation of Bottle Rocket will (I hope) commence the flood of Sony-controlled properties.
- Jeff
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:49 pm
- Location: Denver, CO
I hope you're right, but I'm now leaning toward the possibility that Sony's license has expired and this has been licensed directly from either Anderson or James L. Brooks.Cronenfly wrote:the firm, official confirmation of Bottle Rocket will (I hope) commence the flood of Sony-controlled properties.
- kaujot
- Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 6:28 pm
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I always heard that Criterion was granted the rights because they gave Sony the right to use a Python commentary.Jeff wrote:I hope you're right, but I'm now leaning toward the possibility that Sony's license has expired and this has been licensed directly from either Anderson or James L. Brooks.Cronenfly wrote:the firm, official confirmation of Bottle Rocket will (I hope) commence the flood of Sony-controlled properties.
- Jeff
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:49 pm
- Location: Denver, CO
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- Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2007 1:24 am
- Location: Los Angeles
It was licensed directly from Sony. No rights expiration involved.Jeff wrote:I hope you're right, but I'm now leaning toward the possibility that Sony's license has expired and this has been licensed directly from either Anderson or James L. Brooks.Cronenfly wrote:the firm, official confirmation of Bottle Rocket will (I hope) commence the flood of Sony-controlled properties.
- Cronenfly
- Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:04 pm
I remain guardedly optimistic about other Sony titles. I guess I just want to believe that Sony didn't let such a big chunk of its catalogue go OOP (especially barebones titles ripe for CC treatment like The Spanish Prisoner that now go for big-ish money online) for no good reason...although it wouldn't surprise me too terribly if they never really had any intention of licensing out any of their titles to third parties (as they hinted at in a press release a number of years back, I believe) in the first place.Jeff wrote:I hope you're right, but I'm now leaning toward the possibility that Sony's license has expired and this has been licensed directly from either Anderson or James L. Brooks.Cronenfly wrote:the firm, official confirmation of Bottle Rocket will (I hope) commence the flood of Sony-controlled properties.
- Cronenfly
- Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:04 pm
Do you know if it was a one-off?jaredsap wrote:It was licensed directly from Sony. No rights expiration involved.Jeff wrote:I hope you're right, but I'm now leaning toward the possibility that Sony's license has expired and this has been licensed directly from either Anderson or James L. Brooks.Cronenfly wrote:the firm, official confirmation of Bottle Rocket will (I hope) commence the flood of Sony-controlled properties.
- Cronenfly
- Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:04 pm
Fair enough; if it is indeed a direct Sony license, then (unless it's the Python commentary one-off scenario, which I think you've just discounted) I'll take that to mean that the door's open at least a crack for more titles...maybe CC's Blu-Ray adoption had something to do with the deal taking so long to bear fruit.jaredsap wrote:I'm going to stop here before I get myself into trouble.Cronenfly wrote:Do you know if it was a one-off?jaredsap wrote:It was licensed directly from Sony. No rights expiration involved.
- Cronenfly
- Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:04 pm
- Cronenfly
- Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:04 pm
In thinking about it some more, CC's also releasing Zentropa must mean there's a multi-film licensing deal of some sort with Miramax...The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, Scandal, Heavenly Creatures, Dead Man, Under the Olive Trees
(to name but a few possibilities), anyone?
(to name but a few possibilities), anyone?
Last edited by Cronenfly on Sat May 10, 2008 7:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- The Fanciful Norwegian
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 2:24 pm
- Location: Teegeeack
- Cronenfly
- Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:04 pm
- denti alligator
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:36 pm
- Location: "born in heaven, raised in hell"
Blu-ray only?Cronenfly wrote:But how do you explain Chungking Express? Miramax's edition is still in print.The Fanciful Norwegian wrote:Miramax announced and then canceled their own DVD release of Zentropa because of unspecified rights issues, so I think it's more probable the rights lapsed and Criterion picked them up.
- Cronenfly
- Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:04 pm
Entirely possible, but I still think, right or wrong, that the Chungking/Zentropa combo allows for the possibility of further Miramax titles. It'll take the confirmation of a title more indisputably under Miramax's control on SD and BR to confirm this, so I guess there's no reason to get so excited yet, but there are a lot of OOP/unreleased on DVD/barebones Miramax titles, and things could be different now, post-Weinstein, vis-a-vis title licensing.denti alligator wrote:Blu-ray only?Cronenfly wrote:But how do you explain Chungking Express? Miramax's edition is still in print.The Fanciful Norwegian wrote:Miramax announced and then canceled their own DVD release of Zentropa because of unspecified rights issues, so I think it's more probable the rights lapsed and Criterion picked them up.
- kaujot
- Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 6:28 pm
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Wasn't The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, & Her Lover an Anchor Bay property?Cronenfly wrote:In thinking about it some more, CC's also releasing Zentropa must mean there's a multi-film licensing deal of some sort with Miramax...The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover, Scandal, Heavenly Creatures, Dead Man, Under the Olive Trees
(to name but a few possibilities), anyone?
- Cronenfly
- Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:04 pm
No, a license from Miramax same as Atame, Working Girls, and Scandal.kaujot wrote:Wasn't The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, & Her Lover an Anchor Bay property?Cronenfly wrote:In thinking about it some more, CC's also releasing Zentropa must mean there's a multi-film licensing deal of some sort with Miramax...The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover, Scandal, Heavenly Creatures, Dead Man, Under the Olive Trees
(to name but a few possibilities), anyone?
Beyond straight licenses from Miramax, there's also the wildcard of rights expiration to see these titles end up at CC (which very well may be the case with Zentropa and certainly was the case with Working Girls, which ended up with First Run Features).
Last edited by Cronenfly on Sun May 11, 2008 1:25 pm, edited 2 times in total.
- justeleblanc
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 6:05 pm
- Location: Connecticut
Dont forget Belle de jour!
It's also possible that Criterion is merely licensing the titles like with Universal (Dazed and Confused) and the only thing preventing Miramax from releasing Zentropa on their own is that they dont care to.
A lot of these art house titles came about through Weinstein anyway, and since the divorce (where he left many titles behind), Miramax probably was open to the idea of a third party company releasing many of the titles.
It's also possible that Criterion is merely licensing the titles like with Universal (Dazed and Confused) and the only thing preventing Miramax from releasing Zentropa on their own is that they dont care to.
A lot of these art house titles came about through Weinstein anyway, and since the divorce (where he left many titles behind), Miramax probably was open to the idea of a third party company releasing many of the titles.