Criterion and Paramount

News on Criterion and Janus Films.
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justeleblanc
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#876 Post by justeleblanc » Tue Nov 17, 2020 12:07 pm

I imagine any Paramount deal would also include Real Life.

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Roscoe
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#877 Post by Roscoe » Tue Nov 17, 2020 12:33 pm

I'd be on board for Criterions of von Stroheim, damn right. There's a new restoration of FOOLISH WIVES that I can't wait to check out.

FlickeringWindow
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#878 Post by FlickeringWindow » Tue Nov 17, 2020 1:35 pm

Paramount only owns The Wedding March - Foolish Wives was a MoMA restoration, Queen Kelly is owned by Kino

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captveg
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#879 Post by captveg » Fri Jan 15, 2021 3:21 pm

With The Furies getting a Blu-ray upgrade that just leaves White Dog as the lone DVD-only Paramount licensed release.

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domino harvey
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#880 Post by domino harvey » Wed Mar 03, 2021 5:12 pm

Just so we keep discussion confined to one thread, multiple Paramount titles have gone OOP out of nowhere. We are discussing this over here for now. Please do not use this thread to discuss the OOP titles

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Matt
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#881 Post by Matt » Mon Apr 05, 2021 12:12 am

I was really hoping we’d get a Criterion edition of A Place in the Sun someday. I refuse to settle for that gray-on-gray Imprint release.

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Finch
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#882 Post by Finch » Tue Apr 06, 2021 4:20 am

I emailed Jon Mulvaney specifically about the Sternberg silents and The Furies, and got a reply from Justin at Criterion:
While we do not typically disclose titles that are going out of print in advance, I can assure you that there are no additional titles in our catalog that are going OOP in the near future. That said, if there are titles you've had an eye on for your next purchases, it's always a good idea to purchase it sooner than later, since we do not announce upcoming OOP or packaging changes.

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Ribs
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#883 Post by Ribs » Wed Aug 11, 2021 12:25 pm

The forthcoming release of The Piano further complicates the question of Criterion's relationship with Paramount. Seems really weird for them to be pulling some licenses altogether while entering new agreements in new formats for their catalog. (Though it's cool to know Miramax is on the table from them, properly).

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captveg
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#884 Post by captveg » Wed Aug 11, 2021 12:47 pm

Might be that Paramount is willing to license titles from the Miramax library but not their own, similar to how they've treated the Republic library holdings over the years.

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cdnchris
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#885 Post by cdnchris » Wed Aug 11, 2021 12:57 pm

Might be that Paramount is willing to license titles from the Miramax library but not their own, similar to how they've treated the Republic library holdings over the years.
That's more than likely possible.

But if THE PIANO is coming from Paramount (I've admittedly always been confused around the Miramax titles that were distributed initially by C/FP in Canada, though I see it had the Miramax branding under Lionsgate) I wouldn't doubt Paramount is still open to licensing out titles, but probably only for titles they see having limited appeal. That is what they did initially with Criterion, Days of Heaven being the outlier in that it was the only early title with a previous DVD release if I recall correctly (and the Blu-ray indicates the license is "non-exclusive," suggesting Paramount was hesitant on that one at first).

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Ribs
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#886 Post by Ribs » Wed Aug 11, 2021 1:09 pm

Obviously the question then becomes if, like, Tarantino counts as "we're keeping that" level from the studio. I, for one, and likely only for one, would love a UHD release of Shakespeare in Love, one of the best movies to ever win the Oscar. But I don't see Criterion being that willing to go into a rehabilitation project for a movie as roundly despised by filmic circles as that one. :)

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#887 Post by therewillbeblus » Wed Aug 11, 2021 2:07 pm

I like Shakespeare in Love, as do at least a few others here! There are so many great Paramount titles left to release on blu in the states though, Paper Moon, Starting Over, and Hail the Conquering Hero! being a few of the most glaring

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jazzo
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#888 Post by jazzo » Wed Aug 11, 2021 3:43 pm

Little Darlings!

I mean, not really. But really.

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Shrew
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#889 Post by Shrew » Wed Aug 11, 2021 4:51 pm

I think Hail the Conquering Hero is with Universal, while Miracle of Morgan's Creek is with Paramount. (Both would be nice one day)

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The Fanciful Norwegian
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#890 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Wed Aug 11, 2021 6:55 pm

captveg wrote:
Wed Aug 11, 2021 12:47 pm
Might be that Paramount is willing to license titles from the Miramax library but not their own, similar to how they've treated the Republic library holdings over the years.
See also Disney's odd willingness to license titles from the ABC Pictures catalog (Straw Dogs, Notorious, Rebecca, The Touch, Indiscretion of an American Wife), which is all the more striking given that Disney is otherwise the most licensing-averse studio out there.
therewillbeblus wrote:
Wed Aug 11, 2021 2:07 pm
I like Shakespeare in Love, as do at least a few others here! There are so many great Paramount titles left to release on blu in the states though, Paper Moon, Starting Over, and Hail the Conquering Hero! being a few of the most glaring
MOC's Paper Moon is supposedly going OOP at the end of this year, so I'm guessing that's one of the titles Paramount has decided to keep in-house despite their record of neglect. (Of course the alternative possibility is that Eureka's license is expiring and Criterion is getting the UK rights instead, but I feel that's less likely.)

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The Elegant Dandy Fop
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#891 Post by The Elegant Dandy Fop » Wed Aug 11, 2021 7:35 pm

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote:
Wed Aug 11, 2021 6:55 pm
captveg wrote:
Wed Aug 11, 2021 12:47 pm
Might be that Paramount is willing to license titles from the Miramax library but not their own, similar to how they've treated the Republic library holdings over the years.
See also Disney's odd willingness to license titles from the ABC Pictures catalog (Straw Dogs, Notorious, Rebecca, The Touch, Indiscretion of an American Wife), which is all the more striking given that Disney is otherwise the most licensing-averse studio out there.
Hasn't Kino licensed a bunch of Hollywood Pictures and Touchtone Pictures titles? It doesn't seem like they're completely averse. I am still sort of surprised to think that Disney also licensed titles like Condorman to Anchor Bay back in the day.

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The Fanciful Norwegian
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#892 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Wed Aug 11, 2021 8:46 pm

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote:
Wed Aug 11, 2021 7:35 pm
Hasn't Kino licensed a bunch of Hollywood Pictures and Touchtone Pictures titles? It doesn't seem like they're completely averse. I am still sort of surprised to think that Disney also licensed titles like Condorman to Anchor Bay back in the day.
You're right, I forgot about those. Those aforementioned Anchor Bay titles (The Black Hole was the big one) are the last time I think they licensed anything released under the main Disney brand.

beamish14
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#893 Post by beamish14 » Wed Aug 11, 2021 8:47 pm

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote:
Wed Aug 11, 2021 7:35 pm
The Fanciful Norwegian wrote:
Wed Aug 11, 2021 6:55 pm
captveg wrote:
Wed Aug 11, 2021 12:47 pm
Might be that Paramount is willing to license titles from the Miramax library but not their own, similar to how they've treated the Republic library holdings over the years.
See also Disney's odd willingness to license titles from the ABC Pictures catalog (Straw Dogs, Notorious, Rebecca, The Touch, Indiscretion of an American Wife), which is all the more striking given that Disney is otherwise the most licensing-averse studio out there.
Hasn't Kino licensed a bunch of Hollywood Pictures and Touchtone Pictures titles? It doesn't seem like they're completely averse. I am still sort of surprised to think that Disney also licensed titles like Condorman to Anchor Bay back in the day.

Disney is known to be controlling when it comes to titles they license out. I recall that Anchor Bay wasn't allowed to include a prologue from The Watcher in the Woods that played during its initial theatrical release, although they were given access to its alternate endings.

It's such a shame that a studio known to be so unbelievably meticulous with its preservation and archival work just won't release a lot of material, particularly from films made during Ron Miller's tenure as its head (e.g. shorts like Fun with Mr. Future, Jack Clayton's original cut of Something Wicked This Way Comes, the unedited version of The Black Cauldron, etc.). Never Cry Wolf, one of the most beautiful and brilliant films to ever be produced by the studio, is languishing as well.

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captveg
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#894 Post by captveg » Wed Aug 11, 2021 9:58 pm

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote:
Wed Aug 11, 2021 7:35 pm
Hasn't Kino licensed a bunch of Hollywood Pictures and Touchtone Pictures titles?
Yes, they did, but with certain stipulations, such as more prominent titles being made unavailable for license - Three Men and a Baby, Stakeout, etc. Kino also had to take on less desired titles as part of a package that they wouldn't have released otherwise. KL Insider has said several times lately that Disney are "currently not interested in doing any new deals" for their own or 20th Century titles, as recently as Friday.

So, aside from when a filmmaker steps in like Wes Anderson has done before, I feel like we're in another period of no licensing to 3rd party labels from Disney. (Not totally unexpected with their Disney+ and St★r streaming services being their focus).

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

Re: Criterion and Paramount

#895 Post by dwk » Wed Aug 11, 2021 11:15 pm

Not to be too snarky, but I wonder if Disney just isn't interested in doing new deals with Kino, but would still be open to licensing an occasional title out to Criterion. Kino's model of releasing 5 or 6 titles a week ends up with a lot of their releases getting overshadowed or forgotten.

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ryannichols7
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2012 2:26 pm

Re: Criterion and Paramount

#896 Post by ryannichols7 » Mon Jul 17, 2023 4:30 pm

Don't Look Now has returned on UHD. so that certainly means we can discuss the OOP titles in this thread again? Paramount has clearly done a bit of an about face here, licensing to Kino, Arrow, and clearly Criterion, since we have new licenses Romeo and Juliet and Targets in addition to one of the "reclaimed" titles returning. this leaves us with

Nashville
Harold and Maude
La Dolce Vita
Days of Heaven
Rosemary's Baby

the first two got Paramount Plus releases from new 4K restorations/scans, I think they're more likely than any of the others. no Fellini film has been released on UHD anywhere yet, but obviously La Dolce Vita would be a pretty obvious one. Days of Heaven currently only exists on physical disc in the old (2008?) DVD era master that Criterion and Imprint both released, and Paramount's tossed out BD edition also used. I don't believe it's been restored since, unless anyone knows? Rosemary's Baby is apparently the one being retained by Paramount, which of course makes sense...even though I think the popularity of the film (ditto Chinatown and The Pianist) would outweigh Polanski's name being on there.

exciting times to look forward to! may The Wedding March finally see a release! Real Life! UHDs of Johnny Guitar and Paper Moon! one can dream!

Crimlaw25
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#897 Post by Crimlaw25 » Mon Jul 17, 2023 5:20 pm

Maybe we’ll finally get the long-rumored Hud and Catch 22.

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FrauBlucher
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#898 Post by FrauBlucher » Mon Jul 17, 2023 5:26 pm

Ryan, I agree Days of Heaven and La Dolce Vita stand good chances. This return title pretty much ends the idea that they could lose other Paramount titles

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ryannichols7
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#899 Post by ryannichols7 » Mon Jul 17, 2023 5:30 pm

Crimlaw25 wrote:
Mon Jul 17, 2023 5:20 pm
Maybe we’ll finally get the long-rumored Hud and Catch 22.
I think these two are indefinitely held by Criterion. we now have the scenario where it's clear they're holding these titles, as I see no way Kino would've passed on either of them. obviously KLSC has cleared out quite a bit of Paramount titles, including ones wished for in this thread (Marathon Man, Starting Over, etc) but basically any of the ones they haven't I think are pretty clearly being held by CC at this point. we've known about The Wedding March for a ridiculously long time.
FrauBlucher wrote:
Mon Jul 17, 2023 5:26 pm
Ryan, I agree Days of Heaven and La Dolce Vita stand good chances. This return title pretty much ends the idea that they could lose other Paramount titles
I agree completely. I think Paramount's whole thing where they wanted to make a big splash on the physical media market backfired on them big time, as evidenced by all their new licensing deals. the only thing that sucks is that it remains unlikely CC's Rosemary's Baby will come back - I don't see them taking any of their existing Polanski titles out of print, but this one (naturally the largest of them all) just conveniently is gone now

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CSM126
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Re: Criterion and Paramount

#900 Post by CSM126 » Mon Jul 17, 2023 5:34 pm

Does anyone actually think that criterion gives one shit about Polanski being a horrible person? They’ve been releasing his films since the laserdisc era and everyone knew back then that he was a rapist. If they can make a buck off of his films, they will.

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