Just Tweeted (god I am a dork):

"It's official: 2010 is going to be a great year for important contemporary films from Criterion!'

This really doesn't mean anything, but I thought I'd share.

It pays to be a fan of Criterion on Facebook. Same line but with a link to this article, which reveals special editions of Y tu mama tambien and Following as part of the IFC deal.

Criterion: Where Special Editions aren't special enough.

Y Tu Mama's DVD is already loaded! And still, only one Naruse. Kore-eda is great news though.

Jan Troell is also fantastic news!!!!! I'm going to cross my fingers that Criterion gets his early masterpieces out as well, which are M.I.A. worldwide as far as I know.

It's nice to see that Koreeda will be entering the collection. One of the greatest contemporary Japanese auteurs in recent cinema. Perhaps they will have a shot a Nobody Knows (another IFC title) as well.

12 Film Deal:
Y tu mama tambien
Following
Everlasting Moments
Summer Hours
Hunger
Still Walking
The Secret of the Grain
Gomorrah
Che Part 1
Che Part 2
A Christmas Tale

1 or 2 more titles?

Yeah, I'm hoping that Criterion could also get their hands on The Emigrants and The New Land from Warner Bros. as well.

Possible with Warner. They sitting on his works there.

I forgot those two were with Warners, and I'm not up with what that means as far as Criterion getting them. But yes, those films are phenomenal!

As pleased as I am that Criterion has picked up Following and Y Tu Mama Tambien (great films from great directors, both of which sure to bolster the Criterion coffers), I'll beat the whiners to the punch by pointing out that both films are currently available in special editions with commentary tracks and other supplements for less than nine dollars each at Amazon. Both are sure to go out of print soon (I think MGM may have already discontinued the unrated version of Y Tu Mama Tambien), so casual fans of these films may wish to pick them up while they can.

i was going to show Y Tu Mama Tambien to the girlfriend in the coming weeks. i guess we'll wait a few months now...

My Winnipeg and The Man from London would be great.

Agreed. Not to mention After Life and Maboroshi no Hikari, but if I remember correctly those were most recently a part of the New Yorker catalogue. Did anyone ever hear a result of that auction? Forgive me if that is posted elsewhere

I'm guess Che counts as 1 title, leaving three more to be announced from the initial batch of titles. But the articles seem to indicate this is going to be a long term relationship.

Could it include IFC films like "The Last Mistress" that has yet to be on dvd in the U.S.? I didn't really care for the film, just wonder if stuff like that could take up a slot, since it has yet to be released, only in Blockbuster stores as rentals.

Criterion seems to have a hard-on for Guy Maddin, so his stuff could also be getting the royal treatment.

I'm totally thrilled about Summer Hours, which seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle this year. I hope Criterion's new-ish emphasis on brand-new films doesn't weight the supplements towards interviews, marketing materials, etc, a la Button, and that they actually gather some weighty material on this rewardingly deep film.

Like Jeff, I'm unsure what Criterion could possibly add to the current edition of Following, but unlike Jeff, I don't consider Christopher Nolan a "great director." His early stuff is a tad better than what he does now, but whatever. It's not worth a discussion, and I look forward to re-examining the flick with Criterion sups, whatever they are.

Colossal waste of resources, unless IFC is doing the production and Criterion is just lending its brand name.

Nice to hear that Following will get more attention by the Criterion label, and I like Y Tu Mama Tambien very much, but agree that I'm not sure what more could be added (though I seem to remember double dipping on the UK disc of Mama for more extras after being disappointed with the MGM Region 1 disc).

The Secret of the Grain was released in the UK by Artifical Eye under its alternate title of Couscous. This is one where I am excited about Criterion improving on the extras beyond just the director interview. Though here's a scathing review from DVD Times on the film.

However I'm extremely excited about Still Walking and Everlasting Moments!

Agreed. This is a really wonderful, emotionally beautiful film. I hope this leads to a good working relationship between Criterion & Assayas, although I have no idea who owns the rights to his earlier, pre-Irma Vep work

I just picked up Hunger at Blockbuster as an exclusive last night...if you're still interested.

IFC is playing May Fools this afternoon, so maybe some more Malle is likely to come in this deal.

Finally, a subtitled Y Tu Mama Tambien commen tary in R1 land!
(MGM forgot to add english subtitles to many of the extras including the commentary)

Both parties would be smart to have signed a one-year deal (with an option to renew) or a deal for a specific number/set of titles. With film distribution and the economy the way they are, it's not a good idea to be signing long-term contracts, especially in a new, untested partnership.

Nice to see Koreeda and Troell coming soon, although I couldn't care less about Nolan and Cuaron. Hopefully we'll see more releases in the future of contemporary east Asian directors entering the collection with this IFC deal, Koreeda and the upcoming Yang are great continuations of it.