Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

News on Criterion and Janus Films.
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John Doe
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2351 Post by John Doe » Mon Jul 16, 2018 3:33 pm

I see. Thx.

KJones77
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2352 Post by KJones77 » Mon Jul 16, 2018 3:35 pm

John Doe wrote:
Mon Jul 16, 2018 3:29 pm
How dis you guys find Shampoo ans Princess Bride?
Refresh the shop the collection page. The site shows a cover next to the label for "coming soon". If you keep refreshing, it'll show a cover for one of this months announcements.

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DarkImbecile
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2353 Post by DarkImbecile » Mon Jul 16, 2018 4:04 pm

Though they're all interesting on some level, it's pretty rare that I'm more interested in picking up the upgrades than any of the new titles

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FrauBlucher
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Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2354 Post by FrauBlucher » Mon Jul 16, 2018 4:29 pm

Well, thankfully my wallet catches a break for the month of October. Especially with what’s coming and what I suspect to come in November. I still have a decent size list to get between now and then.

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zedz
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2355 Post by zedz » Mon Jul 16, 2018 4:49 pm

movielocke wrote:
Fri Jul 13, 2018 5:48 pm
dwk wrote:
Fri Jul 13, 2018 5:37 pm
Why not both? Koker Trilogy early in the year and big set in November.
doubtful they'd do both like that.

But if they do put out just the Koker trilogy, in spite of reports from his son that they're putting out a complete works set, that opens the window for the Bergman blu-only box to be a template for an Akira Kurosawa box in November 2019.

It would be ten years after the DVD only AK100 box, and they could possibly approach an AK110 release the same way as the Bergman box, only putting out a bluray and including extras this time, with a film-festival ordering.
With a quick tally, I figure they could do a complete works for Kiarostami on a dozen discs, with room for plenty of extras, but I reckon it would make a lot more sense to package them as a series of boxes.

The Koker Trilogy and the early educational films (basically the 70s and 80s all in one package)

The Nineties: Close Up, Taste of Cherry, The Wind Will Carry Us, plus stray shorts and extras

Then it gets complicated, with a LOT of uncommercial work in the 21st century. You could try for a straight chronological split -

The Ditch Years: Film and Experiment, 2000-2009: ABC Africa, Ten, Five Dedicated to Ozu, Shirin, Roads of Kiarostami, the Erice Correspondences - this one will be a hard sell, but it's a large body of work that doesn't really line up with what came before or after.

The 2010s: International Arthouse: Certified Copy, Like Someone in Love, 24 Frames (though that probably belongs in the previous set, and his episode of Tickets might make more sense here).

- or you could shunt ABC Africa off to be an extra on the preceding set and make one big final set built around the biggest titles:
Ten (plus 10 on Ten, Five Dedicated to Ozu)
Shirin (plus 'Where Is My Romeo?', Correspondences and shorts)
Certified Copy
Like Someone in Love
24 Frames (plus Roads of Kiarostami etc.)

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fdm
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2356 Post by fdm » Mon Jul 16, 2018 4:51 pm

I was just wondering (again) about Shampoo yesterday. (Among others, nice to see Sisters finally get the blu bump.)

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dda1996a
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2357 Post by dda1996a » Mon Jul 16, 2018 5:02 pm

It's a fine film and has some great set-pieces, but am I the only one not too blown away by Sisters? (the cover us great though)

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Ribs
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2358 Post by Ribs » Mon Jul 16, 2018 5:07 pm

It’s my least favorite of the “major” De Palma’s, but I’ll revisit it with this release, I suppose.

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dda1996a
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2359 Post by dda1996a » Mon Jul 16, 2018 5:10 pm

It's the usual De-Palma silliness done well, and definitely worth a watch. But it's far from essential. Would much rather see a release of Hi, Mom!

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Minkin
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2360 Post by Minkin » Tue Jul 17, 2018 3:35 am

Speculation Round-up time:

Eight Hours Don't Make a Day - Janus tour

The Princess Bride - Was confirmed, and was rumored for awhile with the whole "not sure what we might add" line from Criterion; former laserdisc title

Shampoo - oddly enough, was "possibly confirmed" from Criterion at the same event where they said they weren't sure what they would add to a Princess Bride release! Somebody has a sense of humor with playing their release schedule - well played Criterion. Former laserdisc.

Sisters - Upgrade, had been rumored /speculated for awhile, but nothing definitive to pin down.

The Naked Prey - Upgrade, and a surprise one
===============================================================
I was wondering what they would do for "horror" titles this month - as apart from a surprise studio license, there weren't many candidates (unless you want to categorize Notorious as such). Didn't think it would end up being upgraded horror titles. Between the above two and the three from the Bergman box announcement (Trilogy + Sawdust + Magic Flute), there's 251 blu upgrades remaining. Turns out my S/O is a bigger fan of The Princess Bride than I had realized - so that will be an easy first buy of the November sale.

@Zedz - That organization makes way more sense than a big box of everything - especially as some of the lesser known films will be harder sells on their own.

Noodles1984
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2361 Post by Noodles1984 » Tue Jul 17, 2018 10:52 am

Toby Dammit:I'm very excited about this news!!!
It would be awesome if "Death in Venice" came out in the november annoucements in occasion of the birthday of his director (2 November 1906).
Any thoughts about that possibility?
I'm really looking out to see this movie in the restored splendor!

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Toby Dammit
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2362 Post by Toby Dammit » Tue Jul 17, 2018 12:08 pm

I don't think "Death in Venice" will be released on BluRay before 2019.
For sure it will be considered for a tour of Janus Films -the artwork of the poster will be probably the cover as on other occasions-

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kcota17
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2363 Post by kcota17 » Tue Jul 17, 2018 12:23 pm

But it belongs to Warner Bros. so it probably wouldn’t get a Janus tour.

Noodles1984
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2364 Post by Noodles1984 » Tue Jul 17, 2018 2:53 pm

kcota17 wrote:
Tue Jul 17, 2018 12:23 pm
But it belongs to Warner Bros. so it probably wouldn’t get a Janus tour.
Do you think there is a little bit of hope for a caouple release of also "The Damned"?
It's also a Warner title...
About "Death in Venice",when do you predict it will be released(only for curiosty, maybe it's a stupid question),usually when a restoration did'nt take part of the Janus tour when it's released?after some months or sometimes years?

Gerald Christie
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John Mulvaney

#2365 Post by Gerald Christie » Sat Jul 21, 2018 6:57 pm

So what's the deal with Criterion's customer service? I had a problem with a case that came broken and I also wanted to ask some general questions on a release and I never got a reply. In the contact page it clearly says the following: "To report a technical problem with your DVD or Blu-ray disc; for television, public performance, and nontheatrical sales; for queries, threats, or bribes related to our future release schedule; for praise and/or criticism of our releases or the state of the film world in general; to report that a DVD booklet has been mauled by a dog or baby; for clarification of the information on our FAQ page; to gripe about region encoding; or for any and all Criterion-related anecdotes or curiosities, please e-mail: Jon Mulvaney (he lives for this stuff!) mulvaney@criterion.com". I sent like five emails and got nothing, one was a more general question concerning My Man Godfrey which ended up being resolved (the whole 4k thing), the other was some film suggestions and another one was me basically saying that in a screwball release Molly Haskell was basically a must (although they should generally use her more) and that Todd Mccarthy was also a no brainer while dealing with Howard Hawks. Anyway, it seems like others have no problem getting replies and I always get ignored for some reason.
I tried with my two gmail accounts, is that the problem? Do I need to use another email or something? I know I sound like a conspiracy nut, but I find it a bit frustrating to be honest.

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bearcuborg
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Re: John Mulvaney

#2366 Post by bearcuborg » Sat Jul 21, 2018 7:05 pm

For what it’s worth, I doubt you’ll be ignored here...

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Morbii
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Re: John Mulvaney

#2367 Post by Morbii » Sun Jul 22, 2018 2:13 am

Gerald Christie wrote:
Sat Jul 21, 2018 6:57 pm
So what's the deal with Criterion's customer service? I had a problem with a case that came broken and I also wanted to ask some general questions on a release and I never got a reply. In the contact page it clearly says the following: "To report a technical problem with your DVD or Blu-ray disc; for television, public performance, and nontheatrical sales; for queries, threats, or bribes related to our future release schedule; for praise and/or criticism of our releases or the state of the film world in general; to report that a DVD booklet has been mauled by a dog or baby; for clarification of the information on our FAQ page; to gripe about region encoding; or for any and all Criterion-related anecdotes or curiosities, please e-mail: Jon Mulvaney (he lives for this stuff!) mulvaney@criterion.com". I sent like five emails and got nothing, one was a more general question concerning My Man Godfrey which ended up being resolved (the whole 4k thing), the other was some film suggestions and another one was me basically saying that in a screwball release Molly Haskell was basically a must (although they should generally use her more) and that Todd Mccarthy was also a no brainer while dealing with Howard Hawks. Anyway, it seems like others have no problem getting replies and I always get ignored for some reason.
I tried with my two gmail accounts, is that the problem? Do I need to use another email or something? I know I sound like a conspiracy nut, but I find it a bit frustrating to be honest.
I have noticed that they tend to ignore questions that they don't want to (or can't) answer (see the whole "rewrap fiasco"). I'd be surprised if they bothered replying to schedules/features/encoding/etc.

I sent a query once about a broken case and got a reply. It took like a week or two, though. A query about 5 or so broken cases for a gigantic order on the criterion site was replied to much quicker, though. Also, consider the b&n sale going on right now and how much email that could possibly generate for them.

Did you try ONLY mentioning the case and nothing else? Maybe if you send another mail only asking about a replacement case you'll have better results.

You might also want to check your spam folder.

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tenia
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2368 Post by tenia » Sun Jul 22, 2018 7:35 am

Same experience than Morbii here : most of the very direct questions are answered (damaged cases or booklet, for instance) but as soon as you throw in a more indirect or technical one (possible releases, suggestions, restoration details), the email remains simply unanswered.

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Cinephrenic
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2369 Post by Cinephrenic » Sun Jul 22, 2018 2:59 pm

Anybody have any news on Visconti's The Damned? Does Warner still have rights to this?

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The Fanciful Norwegian
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2370 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Sun Jul 22, 2018 5:03 pm

Warner still has the rights (and in fact produced both it and Death in Venice).

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Toby Dammit
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2371 Post by Toby Dammit » Mon Jul 23, 2018 2:47 pm

The option to choose soundtracks in either English or Italian could be great both for Death in Venice and The Damned

Just the English soundtracks seem to have been recorded by the original cast, but the italian dubbing is far superior and i'm secure the Italian it's closer to the director's intent.

Which language is preferred for these films?
Last edited by Toby Dammit on Mon Jul 23, 2018 2:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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domino harvey
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2372 Post by domino harvey » Mon Jul 23, 2018 2:48 pm

English

Noodles1984
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2373 Post by Noodles1984 » Mon Jul 23, 2018 5:26 pm

Cinephrenic wrote:
Sun Jul 22, 2018 2:59 pm
Anybody have any news on Visconti's The Damned? Does Warner still have rights to this?
The last news i heard about The Damned were about the restoration 7 yrs ago, here is the source http://www.cinetecadibologna.it/evp_col ... -27/h_1430
I expect that they will be published as double release and that the documentary about the casting of DIV (never seen it) called "Searching for Tadzio" will be included in hd as an extra.
These for me are days of trustful waiting, hurry up Criterion!! :)

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Feego
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2374 Post by Feego » Wed Jul 25, 2018 9:36 am

Eisenstein's Strike aired on TCM this morning with a Janus logo (this might be old news, so if so, please forgive me). It was not a restored print, looking a notch below the Kino Blu-ray, although it did feature the original Russian intertitles. I know that Eisenstein silent box has been rumored for a hundred years. Has that completely fallen by the wayside?

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Toby Dammit
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2375 Post by Toby Dammit » Wed Jul 25, 2018 10:35 am

Noodles1984 wrote:
Mon Jul 23, 2018 5:26 pm
Cinephrenic wrote:
Sun Jul 22, 2018 2:59 pm
Anybody have any news on Visconti's The Damned? Does Warner still have rights to this?
The last news i heard about The Damned were about the restoration 7 yrs ago, here is the source http://www.cinetecadibologna.it/evp_col ... -27/h_1430
I expect that they will be published as double release and that the documentary about the casting of DIV (never seen it) called "Searching for Tadzio" will be included in hd as an extra.
These for me are days of trustful waiting, hurry up Criterion!! :)
Did you know that Miguel Bosé, son of the Italian actress Lucía Bosé, was chosen by his godfather Visconti to play Tadzio in the film?
The father - a Spanish bullfighter - objected and this forced Luchino to find a new boy in Scandinavia.
There are many interesting stories about Death in Venice..

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