Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

News on Criterion and Janus Films.
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Malickite
Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2016 5:47 pm
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Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1776 Post by Malickite » Thu Sep 14, 2017 12:39 am

KJones77 wrote:
DeprongMori wrote:Is it time yet to unlock the "Quarantined Guess" thread? Tomorrow's the 13th. With any luck we'll get announcements before the weekend.

I believe the only unannounced releases for a newsletter clue are "The Breakfast Club" and "Tom Jones". Correct?
The pinned post in this forum also includes Midnight Cowboy, but the clue was from 2013 and nothing yet, so who knows if that one is actually coming.
That clue was for Il sorpasso

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kcota17
Joined: Fri Feb 28, 2014 9:05 pm

Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1777 Post by kcota17 » Thu Sep 14, 2017 12:58 am

Was it really? I've always thought that was some ridiculous inside joke on this forum?

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DeprongMori
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Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1778 Post by DeprongMori » Thu Sep 14, 2017 1:39 am

That clue was for Il Sorpasso. Really.

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Minkin
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2009 11:13 pm

Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1779 Post by Minkin » Thu Sep 14, 2017 10:21 am

It looks like Sony is buying FUNimation.

Does FUNimation have any obvious choice films that Criterion would go after? The only thing that comes immediately to mind is the former laserdisc title: Akira and of course Chuck E. Cheese in the Galaxy 5000

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knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1780 Post by knives » Thu Sep 14, 2017 10:26 am

FLCL would be cool. Realistically though Shin Godzilla, Ghost in the Shell, and few other similar things.

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What A Disgrace
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Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1781 Post by What A Disgrace » Thu Sep 14, 2017 10:29 am

FUNimation has the rights to a number of Japanese animated films, some of them highly acclaimed (like Your Name), as well as the WWII propaganda animated feature Momotaro, Sacred Sailors. But I think FUNimation has released, or has plans to release, most of these.

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jedgeco
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2004 11:28 am

Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1782 Post by jedgeco » Thu Sep 14, 2017 12:19 pm

kcota17 wrote:Was it really? I've always thought that was some ridiculous inside joke on this forum?
It began as a serious attempt to explain why Midnight Cowboy hadn't materialized, then it became a joke, then it became a meta-joke, and now I guess is treated as fact since it's been like 2 years now without a Midnight Cowboy release.

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movielocke
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2008 12:44 am

Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1783 Post by movielocke » Thu Sep 14, 2017 12:42 pm

jedgeco wrote:
kcota17 wrote:Was it really? I've always thought that was some ridiculous inside joke on this forum?
It began as a serious attempt to explain why Midnight Cowboy hadn't materialized, then it became a joke, then it became a meta-joke, and now I guess is treated as fact since it's been like 2 years now without a Midnight Cowboy release.
well who would think a picture of an ill, sore opossum was not for midnight cowboy? Only crazy people, that's who.

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Ribs
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Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1784 Post by Ribs » Thu Sep 14, 2017 12:46 pm

Frankly I'd be willing to believe that Criterion stopped doing the annual Wexner Q&A just to avoid addressing the question

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swo17
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Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1785 Post by swo17 » Thu Sep 14, 2017 12:57 pm

movielocke wrote:well who would think a picture of an ill, sore opossum was not for midnight cowboy? Only crazy people, that's who.
And who would think to put those precise adjectives in that order, and to fudge the pronunciation of "opossum" into "passo," to come up with the title for a film that few people had heard of before?

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knives
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Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1786 Post by knives » Thu Sep 14, 2017 12:58 pm

Or to draw an opossum to look like a rat, so...

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movielocke
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2008 12:44 am

Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1787 Post by movielocke » Thu Sep 14, 2017 1:05 pm

swo17 wrote:
movielocke wrote:well who would think a picture of an ill, sore opossum was not for midnight cowboy? Only crazy people, that's who.
And who would think to put those precise adjectives in that order, and to fudge the pronunciation of "opossum" into "passo," to come up with the title for a film that few people had heard of before?
speaking of which, when are we going to get Las Hurdes since we never got anything for that lean, cow herd clue they drew of starving cattle?

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Malickite
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Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1788 Post by Malickite » Thu Sep 14, 2017 1:17 pm

fudge the pronunciation of "opossum" into "passo"?
Opossums are also commonly known as "Possums," singular "Possum"

It's a fucking ill sore possum

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swo17
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Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1789 Post by swo17 » Thu Sep 14, 2017 1:32 pm

movielocke wrote:
swo17 wrote:
movielocke wrote:well who would think a picture of an ill, sore opossum was not for midnight cowboy? Only crazy people, that's who.
And who would think to put those precise adjectives in that order, and to fudge the pronunciation of "opossum" into "passo," to come up with the title for a film that few people had heard of before?
speaking of which, when are we going to get Las Hurdes since we never got anything for that lean, cow herd clue they drew of starving cattle?
If you can't tell the difference between the best clue they've ever given and the worst, then let me remind you:

1. Lean/Coward was solved within the day it was given (though it did take a while).
2. It only required the unlocking of one adjective to decipher the clue. (There may be many ways to convey "lean" but there are not that many ways to describe cattle.)
3. The 'h' in "herd" is practically silent so it is a very simple matter to pronounce "cow herd" and have "coward" come to mind.
4. Once the clue was solved it was pretty universally agreed that that had to be the answer, and that it was a great clue.

In contrast, as far as I'm aware,

1. No one guessed "ill, sore possum" until after Il sorpasso had been announced. (Long after?)
2. While most people have eventually come around to this being the solution, it took a while for this to happen--there was never an "a-ha!" moment.
3. While "ill" and "sore" appear to be true of the creature as drawn, there are any number of ways to describe these same conditions, and it's not as though "ill, sore" is any kind of a common phrase.
4. No one has ever described this clue in glowing terms.

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Brian C
I hate to be That Pedantic Guy but...
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Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1790 Post by Brian C » Thu Sep 14, 2017 2:04 pm

You know what they could do to really fuck with us? Release MIDNIGHT COWBOY, that's what.

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HitchcockLang
Joined: Tue May 28, 2013 1:43 pm

Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1791 Post by HitchcockLang » Thu Sep 14, 2017 2:07 pm

Or if they ever do acquire Midnight Cowboy, they should put the exact same "ill, sore..." clue in the newsletter just before they release it. Or are they even that aware of the shenanigans here?

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DeprongMori
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Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1792 Post by DeprongMori » Thu Sep 14, 2017 2:27 pm

FWIW, I wrote to the artist about a year ago and asked him if he could possibly put this one to bed finally, but he never responded. If anyone knows him personally, that's the only way to be sure. (Other than nuking the site from orbit.)

But seriously, it is both "ill" (running a temperature) and "sore" (bandaged tail), and a "possum". The film was announced in a big deal Digipak precisely three months after the newsletter clue dropped, which is in the normal range for reveals of all newsletter clues. On the other hand, more than two years later, still no "Midnight Cowboy".

If you still believe this was a clue for "Midnight Cowboy" rather than "Il Sorpasso", let me assure you the moon landing was real too.
Last edited by DeprongMori on Thu Sep 14, 2017 3:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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DeprongMori
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Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1793 Post by DeprongMori » Thu Sep 14, 2017 2:59 pm

Correction to my previous post: It has been nearly FOUR YEARS since the newsletter clue in question was issued - November 2013 - not two years.

("Il Sorpasso" was announced in January 2014 -- three months after the clue dropped.)

I think we can safely conclude by this time that "Midnight Cowboy" was a reasonable guess at the time that turned out to be wrong.

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Minkin
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Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1794 Post by Minkin » Sat Sep 16, 2017 2:24 am

I spend the day at the Bunny Museum, and come back to find new announcements. Anyway:

Election - Confirmed Feb 16 by a podcast, then several more confirmations more recently

General Idi Amin Dada - Upgrade, complete surprise (as is the usual case with upgrades)

Monterey Pop - Janus tour, confirmed by Criterion for UK
----------------------------------------------------------
Interesting to get a re-release. They've been doing different things this year - like the partial Eclipse upgrade (Good Morning) and now a 2nd blu upgrade. I'll take a guess that Chungking Express will be blu upgrade #3.

268 DVD upgrades remain.

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The Elegant Dandy Fop
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Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1795 Post by The Elegant Dandy Fop » Sat Sep 16, 2017 3:39 pm

Minkin wrote:I spend the day at the Bunny Museum
I'm fairly local to there and actually went to their opening night party for their new location where I got in conversations with some real bunny obsessed folk. Did you enjoy it?

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Minkin
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Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1796 Post by Minkin » Mon Sep 18, 2017 8:44 am

I was browsing the Janus website, and found both of the following:

Night of the Living Dead:
Shot outside of Pittsburgh at a fraction of the cost of a Hollywood feature by a band of filmmakers determined to make their mark, George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead is one of the great stories of independent cinema: a midnight hit turned box-office smash that became one of the most influential films of all time. A deceptively simple tale of a group of strangers trapped in a farmhouse who find themselves fending off a horde of flesh-eating ghouls newly arisen from their graves, Romero’s claustrophobic vision of a late-sixties America (literally) tearing itself apart rewrote the rules of the horror genre, combined gruesome gore with acute social commentary, and quietly broke ground by casting a black actor (Duane Jones) in the lead role. After decades of poor-quality prints and video transfers, Night of the Living Dead can finally be seen for the immaculately crafted film that it is thanks to a new 4K restoration, scanned from the original camera negative and supervised by Romero himself. Stark, haunting, and more relevant than ever, Night of the Living Dead is back.
Godzilla - of course Criterion has already released this, but they licensed it from Classic Media (who licensed it from Toho). So it appears that Janus/Criterion now have the rights, probably just directly from Toho. This is an interesting development, because Classic Media also had the rights to about 10 or so Toho films, and one of those directors has shown up as a phantom page! I'd expect them to have licensed the other films, which despite some people's concerns over "worth" - will all be big money makers. I've been wanting Godzilla's Revenge for some time now, so I can now hope for a Criterion blu.
The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote:
Minkin wrote:I spend the day at the Bunny Museum
I'm fairly local to there and actually went to their opening night party for their new location where I got in conversations with some real bunny obsessed folk. Did you enjoy it?
It was fantastic! We've been watching the Huell Howser episode for years and always wanted to visit. I'm a bit disappointed that we missed it when it was at their house, but the new location works perfectly for the collection (35,000 bunny items). We spent the majority of the time in the Warren (room with the live rabbits) - which was interesting, since two of the rabbits sat under a large case holding taxidermy versions of the couple's previously living pet rabbits. My favorite was the "chamber of horrors" - with all of the stuff that was too scary /adult to be put out with the rest of the collection (like a terrifying mannequin wearing a rabbit pelt jacket, or some African tribal masks). I'd highly recommend everyone in LA make a stop here. That and The Museum of Jurassic Technology - which the less said, the better (I suspect this forum's Deprong Mori is either connected with it or a fan as well). Or there's also The Velaslavasay Panorama. I'd recommend taking someone to any one of these three places without giving any prior hints.

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dwk
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:10 pm

Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1797 Post by dwk » Mon Sep 18, 2017 9:28 am

Minkin wrote:I was browsing the Janus website, and found both of the following:
...
Godzilla - of course Criterion has already released this, but they licensed it from Classic Media (who licensed it from Toho). So it appears that Janus/Criterion now have the rights, probably just directly from Toho. This is an interesting development, because Classic Media also had the rights to about 10 or so Toho films, and one of those directors has shown up as a phantom page! I'd expect them to have licensed the other films, which despite some people's concerns over "worth" - will all be big money makers. I've been wanting Godzilla's Revenge for some time now, so I can now hope for a Criterion blu.
...
Interesting. All the Classic Media Godzilla titles were streaming on Shout Factory's site, but back in June they were removed.

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knives
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Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1798 Post by knives » Mon Sep 18, 2017 9:31 am

What I would love is a big set of all of the original series films. That is likely to never happen though.

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DeprongMori
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Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1799 Post by DeprongMori » Mon Sep 18, 2017 2:48 pm

Minkin wrote:That and The Museum of Jurassic Technology - which the less said, the better (I suspect this forum's Deprong Mori is either connected with it or a fan as well). Or there's also The Velaslavasay Panorama. I'd recommend taking someone to any one of these three places without giving any prior hints.
Unfortunately I'm not connected with the MJT, but I am a devotee. What David Wilson achieved there is a thing of joy, mystery, and wonder. I also would recommend visiting their unpreposessing storefront museum in Culver City with as little foreknowledge as possible. Vast riches await within. If you are unlikely to ever make a visit, Lawrence Wechsler's book Mr Wilson's Cabinet of Wonders does a fine dance of telling you all about the museum and its origins without disclosing much that would diminish the actual experience of your visit.

Billy Beta
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Re: Forthcoming: Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#1800 Post by Billy Beta » Mon Sep 18, 2017 3:37 pm

In this years London Film Festival (coming up in a couple of weeks) they are playing a restoration of the Maysle Brothers SALESMAN, restored by the
World Cinema Foundation and funded by George Lucas Charity.

If it's still in circulation with Criterion I presume we can expect a Bluray upgrade. Also, Grey Gardens and Gimme Shelter have all been released from new scans,
and With Love from Truman was included on the In Cold Blood bluray.

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