Criterion Random Speculation Vol.4

Message

Cinephrenic · #76 Post by **Cinephrenic** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 8:39 pm

I suppose, but I don't see anything wrong with discussing it further here. It may not be new news, but it's far from irrelevant.

Don't take it as an attack on your post, just thought everyone is getting exciting because it just leaked or so. I misunderstood you, sorry.

Yes, I wish they'd release this by now because their March announcements were a downer.

Jobla · #77 Post by **Jobla** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 3:35 am

I hope the rumor I have heard is true, that Criterion will be releasing John Huston's great film WISE BLOOD.

stroszeck · #78 Post by **stroszeck** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 9:32 pm

Does anybody know who owns the rights to his THE DEAD? That one i've been dying to own...

HerrSchreck · #79 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 9:46 pm

Check here for DVDs and threads.

Also of note is John Huston and the Dubliners, which is a great and very poignant docu about the making of the film, shot on the set of The Dead while it was being made and with total access to everyone in the cast. I don't know if Kino in R1 or anyone else anywhere has any plans to get this thing out on dvd (the doc and the film would be a perfect pairing for a SE, a no brainer really... would make a great 2-disc CC), but in lieu of that, the vhs is all we have at the moment, along I guess with the Network R2 of The Dead. (The Huston thread lists the Network disc as an r1 but it's listing here sure looks like an R2 to me.

Tommaso · #80 Post by **Tommaso** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 7:35 am

It's definitely R2, and definitely needs to be redone by another company. Better than the VHS, though.

Thinking of classic films that need to be updated urgently, does anyone know whether some company is working on a new edition of "The Quiet Man"? Given all the recent SE's of Ford films (not to speak of Ford at Fox), why must we still live with that truly abominable transfer, which seems to be the same worldwide? I'd love to see this from Criterion...

starmanof51 · #81 Post by **starmanof51** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 1:17 pm

Tommaso wrote:Thinking of classic films that need to be updated urgently, does anyone know whether some company is working on a new edition of "The Quiet Man"? Given all the recent SE's of Ford films (not to speak of Ford at Fox), why must we still live with that truly abominable transfer, which seems to be the same worldwide? I'd love to see this from Criterion...

Several years ago, Robert Harris assured us that when the rights reverted from Artisan to Paramount, that Paramount had the right materials and would take care of us (High Noon as well). The rights reverted, but for some reason only for a few months and since then they've been with Lionsgate, who probably don't have anything better to work with than Artisan did. This doesn't seem to have a chance to get fixed until Paramount well and truly gets the rights back. This little Paramount/Lionsgate fiasco was one of the true disappointments a couple years ago - remember Paramount even got as far as announcements for Johnny Guitar and Letter From An Unknown Woman and it was all undone by the Lionsgate "deal"?

Tommaso · #82 Post by **Tommaso** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 1:37 pm

Thanks, I didn't know about the rights situation, but it explains a lot. So Lionsgate has the rights and, if I understand correctly, the film's neg is at the Paramount vaults? A more than stupid situation indeed.

criterionsnob · #83 Post by **criterionsnob** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 2:44 am

According to the Beaver:

Upcoming Criterions? in 2008: A Woman Is a Woman (Jean-Luc Godard), Shanghai Express (Marlene Dietrich), Maurice Chevalier/Jeanette MacDonald Boxset (Eclipse?), Jour de Fete (Jacques Tati) and The Furies (Anthony Mann, 1950).

#84 Post by **domino harvey** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 2:50 am

They must mean A Married Woman, which is out under a questionable license by NYFA in R1-- the A Woman is a Woman Criterion is already one of their best lower-tier titles and I can't imagine any reason to reissue it.

Tommaso · #85 Post by **Tommaso** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 7:28 am

I hope this announcement for "Shanghai Express" is definitive, I think there were rumours about it for a long time now without anything materialising. I could somehow never bring myself to buy either the R1 Glamour Collection or the R2 Screen Goddess set because either "Shanghai" or "Morocco" were missing. Now this would make the decision for the R1 set easy.

justeleblanc · #86 Post by **justeleblanc** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 12:16 pm

domino harvey wrote:They must mean A Married Woman, which is out under a questionable license by NYFA in R1-- the A Woman is a Woman Criterion is already one of their best lower-tier titles and I can't imagine any reason to reissue it.

Yes, clearly a mistake, but A Married Woman is not the most obvious answer. We know 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her is coming via Rialto, and there was also speculation that My Life to Live would be coming. It's possible Beaver got confused.

Edit: Actually Beaver's thoughts are just weird. The Eclipse set is already announced via the Lubitsch box (and Chevalier isn't in Monte Carlo), so I'm not sure what the hell he's talking about.

#87 Post by **domino harvey** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 2:39 pm

I just meant because both titles have the word "Woman" in them-- I agree that 2 or 3 Things or Vivre se vie would be the most likely next Godard Criterion, which makes this whole announcement all the more confusing-- it really reads like a speculative post from the .com forum, doesn't it?

criterionsnob · #88 Post by **criterionsnob** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 2:56 pm

It's now changed to: "A Woman Is a Woman Re-issue?" and he's added "I Live in Fear (Kurosawa)", which has already been announced for Eclipse. Weird.

#89 Post by **domino harvey** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 3:03 pm

Did Feng crack Gary's password or something?

Seriously, what in the world could they add to the already packed A Woman is a Woman? If there's new Anna Karina bonus features, those would go on any of the Godard/Karina titles Janus owns but hasn't released yet, not on a reissue. If there's new Jean-Claude Brialy feautures, those would go on the Les Cousins/Le Beau Serge release. The picture quality is already pretty fantastic and though it's one of my favorite early-period Godards, it's always been my impression that this title isn't one of his most popular/best-selling Crits.

chaddoli · #90 Post by **chaddoli** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 4:46 pm

domino harvey wrote: it's always been my impression that this title isn't one of his most popular/best-selling Crits.

This seems strange to me as well, but I think it is a very popular film. Every female I know loves it.

Nuno · #91 Post by **Nuno** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 4:49 pm

It's one of his best ones, for sure.

CSM126 · #92 Post by **CSM126** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 7:21 pm

criterionsnob wrote:It's now changed to: "A Woman Is a Woman Re-issue?" and he's added "I Live in Fear (Kurosawa)", which has already been announced for Eclipse. Weird.

This is idiotic enough to make we wonder why I trust that site.

Cinephrenic · #93 Post by **Cinephrenic** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 7:38 pm

I wonder if his drugs are his sources. =P~

justeleblanc · #94 Post by **justeleblanc** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 7:53 pm

If any Godard would get the re-issue it would be Alphaville, if only for special features and a better transfer.

jbeall · #95 Post by **jbeall** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 1:27 am

justeleblanc wrote:If any Godard would get the re-issue it would be Alphaville, if only for special features and a better transfer.

I emailed Turell awhile back about reissues of Alphaville and Black Orpheus, and he said no plans to re-do either one anytime soon. (Of course, he also told me they were planning on releasing Huston's The Dead, and now that's apparently off, so who knows.)

ianungstad · #96 Post by **ianungstad** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 1:52 am

Was just reading on IMDB that William Friedkin's The Boys In The Band is suppose to be coming to DVD in May. I couldn't find any specs or further details about the forthcoming DVD besides a few quotes from Friedkin saying the disc was coming this year.

It's not a film that I would have thought would be a huge priority for Paramount to release but it did strike me as something Criterion might have asked about when they set up the Paramount deal.

Just food for thought. Anyone else think it's a likely Criterion?

Cold Bishop · #97 Post by **Cold Bishop** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 6:40 am

ianungstad wrote:Was just reading on IMDB that William Friedkin's The Boys In The Band is suppose to be coming to DVD in May. I couldn't find any specs or further details about the forthcoming DVD besides a few quotes from Friedkin saying the disc was coming this year.

It's not a film that I would have thought would be a huge priority for Paramount to release but it did strike me as something Criterion might have asked about when they set up the Paramount deal.

Just food for thought. Anyone else think it's a likely Criterion?

I very much doubt it... Sorcerer is also coming. I'm guessing after Cruising, there is some interest to get his films out over there.

DRSchwarz · #98 Post by **DRSchwarz** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 7:41 pm

Maybe I just haven't been keeping up with the forum and have missed something but I seem to remember a while back a bunch of buzz about She's Got to Have in the works for a criterion release. Now today on Amazon I see it listed as coming soon from MGM. Does anyone know what happened? That could have been a pretty cool criterion title.

CSM126 · #99 Post by **CSM126** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 7:43 pm

DRSchwarz wrote:Maybe I just haven't been keeping up with the forum and have missed something but I seem to remember a while back a bunch of buzz about She's Got to Have in the works for a criterion release. Now today on Amazon I see it listed as coming soon from MGM. Does anyone know what happened? That could have been a pretty cool criterion title.

What happened is it was owned by MGM, who are pretty strongly against licensing their titles out (with the exception of House of Games, which was apparently traded for Criterion's commentary from the LD of Raging Bull).

Feego · #100 Post by **Feego** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 3:00 am

I just saw Things to Come (1936) on TCM the other night, and it had a Janus logo at the beginning. It was a tad longer and cleaner than the print used on Image's old DVD release. Could this possibly be released by Criterion in the future?