Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol. 4

[Buttery Jeb]

According to Film Forum, Roman Polanski's "Tess" is now distributed by Janus Films.

[ianungstad]

Good catch!

[peerpee]

"NEW DCP RESTORATION
A Pathé Restoration Supervised by Roman Polanski
Image restored by Éclair Group, Audio restored by L.E. Diapason"

I bloody hope Polanski has seen their LES ENFANTS DU PARADIS and LE SAMOURAI handywork!

[TheBeast]

Did anyone know about this?

[Jeff]

Did anyone know about this?

I'd have been a lot more excited about this news before I saw the Children of Paradise "restoration."

[The Narrator Returns]

Well, Polanski is supervising it, and if the Criterion transfers of his films are any examples, he tends to err on the film-like side.

But then again, there's always the chance that Pathe fucks up the master afterwards.

[Saturnome]

Boudu looks good too, I don't think it's all going to end up like Children of Paradise.

[Cinephrenic]

Etaix at Janus

[thelberg]

anyone able to capture this wexner conversation or know if it got archived?

Criterion @ Wexner Center 2012

[flyonthewall2983]

@cigsandredvines just Tweeted "According to PTA,"Punch-Drunk Love" will be released on Blu-ray next year. No word yet on if it will be a @Criterion release. (via xixax)"

[swo17]

Either way, finally! This has been one of the biggest holes in my collection ever since I prematurely sold off the DVD more than three years ago.

[Gregory]

Way too late to sell mine now. I'm seeing like-new copies for $0.75 plus shipping.

[flyonthewall2983]

More about it here.

[ryannichols7]

even moreso, via the guy on Facebook who asked him about it:

He asked the question about the 'Punch Drunk Love' blu-ray & i was the one who asked about the commentaries. I told PTA that i know he wants his movies to speak for themselves & that i don't necessarily want him to explain things about his movies but i asked if he could at least do a technical commentary with maybe him & his cinematographer. They could say how they shot this & what they did in order capture that etc. PTA said "that would be good, that's a good idea".

I really wish PTA would've done this for Magnolia too, but oh well. it's great on the Boogie Nights track.

[rwiggum]

Really? Nobody is going to mention this?

[flyonthewall2983]

I was going to say something, but I think it was in reference to the article they posted just previous to it about Eyes Wide Shut. Would be very happy to be wrong though.

[knives]

I don't see Warners parting with anything so I doubt it means anything.

[Drucker]

The only thing it could mean is Spartacus upgrade. The rest of his catalog on blu ray is spoken for (with plenty of extras, to boot!)

[mfunk9786]

If they part with anything though, Eyes Wide Shut doesn't seem to be too far out of the realm of possibility. Especially because it needs a new HD remaster desperately, and Warner probably wasn't interested in footing the bill for one. It's also in need of more features, the Warner release is on the scarce side. I am actually thinking this is something that could happen.

Which would blow my mind. It's such an underrated masterpiece, even now.

[swo17]

Not to encourage unrealistic expectations, but during the recent Wexner chat I believe it was hinted that there was more to the Warner deal than just Badlands.

[Brian C]

I like the current Blu for Eyes Wide Shut - I don't think it needs an upgrade at all, much less "desperately". I think it looks like it's supposed to look.

But regardless, Warner's not giving it up, so it's a moot point.

[med]

Is that a screenshot? I don't think Kubrick started using Futura until A Clockwork Orange, so that would rule out Spartacus. (Assuming it's a screenshot.)

[knives]

It is from Eyes Wide Shut hence the talk about it, but it was probably just them being witty.

[mfunk9786]

I like the current Blu for Eyes Wide Shut - I don't think it needs an upgrade at all, much less "desperately". I think it looks like it's supposed to look.

But regardless, Warner's not giving it up, so it's a moot point.

Criterion acquired other stuff from Warner that we don't know about. Warner has a boxset out that they can still include their edition of Eyes Wide Shut is, but it needs a revisit from a scholarly perspective. And the Blu-ray has a lot of electronic noise issues, particularly with blacks, etc. The master that they used was from the old DVD, and there were issues with that too. It looks worse than the A Clockwork Orange transfer, which is nothing to write home about either, and is a decades-older film.

[knives]

There's a million arguments you could make for how or why Eyes Wide Shut is or should be in the collection. It certainly is good enough of a film to warrant a higher profile, but the argument of it needing a new edition is bunk for many reasons. Not only do we already have an adequate edition, but there are thousands of other films in more need of editions (not even new considering how many films have never been released to the home video market).