wHAT ABOUT the Wim Wender's Road Movies, nobody in America has released the important films like Alice in the Cities and Kings Of the Road. It would be great to see at least an Eclipse Set.

As I had posted in the Darjeeling Limited thread in the "New Films" section, Jason Schwartzman had also told me it would be released on Criterion when I asked him after a screening of the film he attended. This was during the film's normal run, so I was surprised when it ended up being a Fox DVD. I do hope it will end up getting released by Criterion since the Fox release doesn't have very many special features.

Neither did the film.

Someone on this board didn't like The Darjeeling Limited?

SHOCK.

I guess this is where we put the Random Speculations?

My current speculation...seeing that all the New Yorker Bressons are out of print...is that Criterion may have access to the rights to all of Bresson's films; and in my opinion, bunching his five colour films in a boxed set (a proper one; not an Eclipse set).

I'm wondering where is Four Nights of a Dreamer, Une femme douce, The Devil Probably, etc...???

New Yorker should have never started releasing DVDs in the first place. Seems like everybody wants to capitolize on things they just can't seem to get right. I really hope Criterion jumps on top of these films, expecially A Man Escaped. I don't care much for L'argent or Lancelot du Lac, but would love to see them on Eclipse with Angels of the Streets and Proces de Jeanne d'Arc.

I agree about New Yorker's DVD production.

No way is Bresson going to Eclipse.

New Yorker has released some pretty decent DVDs recently. I think it is premature to write their efforts off. I don't think they will ever have the ability to churn releases out as quickly as Criterion, however.

I should edit my statement. Yes, they have put out some good efforts. But overall, I think, their releases fall short.

I'm sure New Yorker could make a mint selling off even a third of their holdings to Criterion, and then use that money to release the films they have left in quality editions and then rake in dough

They did this with their Ozu and Malle titles I thought. I think the Rossellini Eclipse box also comes from them, but I might be wrong.

It is random skepticism, but I think we're a long way off from seeing Four Nights of a Dreamer on DVD. Too bad, since that and A Gentle Woman are two of Bresson's best.

I think the Ozu licenses may just have expired. All Ozu videos from the US and Europe went out of print at roughly the same time. Then everything seems to have been re-licensed around the world around the same time.

I would kill for a Criterion edition of A Man Escaped. I put it in my top five faves of all-time. I have the New Yorker edition, which is sorely lacking. Please, please, please let this happen.

And bring on any of the others mentioned. It's sad to admit, but I've never seen them.

If you have a multiregion player, you can't go wrong with the Artificial Eye Region 2 edition available in the UK: it's a very good transfer and it includes the Dutch documentary Road To Bresson.

I attended a Monte Hellman triple feature at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin last night, which had Monte Hellman in attendance. He told me Criterion would be releasing "The Shooting" & "Ride In The Whirlwind." Unfortunately he said "China 9 Liberty 37" is remaining unavailable as far as he can see due to rights issues.

I had a suspicion that Criterion would be releasing "The Shooting," but it's great to get confirmation. Hopefully they're full releases (surely with Nicholson acting [and perhaps participating in some extras]) and not just Eclipse.

Those old New Yorkers (especially A Man Escaped) desperately need an upgrade. Has anyone emailed Criterion about this?

Criterion already has the rights to the Trial of Joan of Arc, I'd expect them to release that before they sought out picking up more Bresson films.

Indeed we knew these gems were likely on the horizon, but it's wonderful to have ironclad confirmation. No way they go to Eclipse. The VCI editions have commentaries. Criterion has to best them.

We usually get at least one Bresson a year.

Nice news on Hellman. Hopefully they can secure Cockfighter in the future.

God I hated The Trial of Joan of Arc. Bresson's supreme experiment in removing all possibility of entertainment and engagement from a piece of cinema. The only film of his I dislike even more than the rampant dead weight of Mouchette.

This is glorious news - Ride in the Whirlwind is one of the most underrated American films of the 1960s and more Westerns in the collection is no bad thing at all.

Word. I hate the story of Joan of Arc, anyway - only a prize boob would get sucked into that yarn. But Dreyer's film is awesome, I'll grant you that, as it is more about suffering and persecution as a human phenomenon than about the highly dubious angelic chit-chat. Joan was a farm girl and possible ate ergot-infected rye. There are now also whole theories regarding the role the hallucinogenic fungus played in the bringing about of the French Revolution, as 1789 was a pretty poor crop year and people had to make do with bad rye. Food for thought, folks!

Count me as another person who dislikes The Trial of Joan of Arc. It was the first Bresson I ever saw, and it really put me off him for years. I don't think I've ever entirely recovered, as my mind almost always goes immediately back to that unpleasant experience whenever I see the name Bresson on this forum (though I have liked some of his other films much better). I guess it doesn't help that I had already seen Dreyer's masterpiece. Bresson doesn't even try to compete, but the (unavoidable?) comparison only serves to put Bresson at a disadvantage.