jbeall wrote:No need to be a jerk about it! As mikeohhh and buttery jeb explained, total control over [La Haine's[/i] dvd release clearly wasn't entirely in Foster's hands.
I've seen lots of great foreign films at festivals and the like that never see the light of day on R1 dvd, and I'm usually just grateful that somebody (like Jodie Foster) took the time and effort to make it available in a limited theatrical release. If a dvd release eventually follows, that's a bonus.
I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to be quite so obnoxious about it. I shouldn't have taken out my frustration on you, and I appologize.
It's maddening that La Haine is only now becoming available, when its consistently been named as one of the most important films to come out of France in the last fifteen years. Even beyond the merits of the film on its own, Kassovitz and Cassel have become major figures in cinema worldwide, and I've always been stunned that the film that launched their careers has never been available here.
True, there are dozens of wonderful festival films that never see the light of day after their initial run. However, when a film wins Best Director at Cannes amidst a storm of controversy, and is shown to the French government as a warning of what might happen if the tension in the Paris ghettos doesn't improve, the situation is a little different. The best director at Cannes the following year was Joel Coen. The next, it was Wong-Kar Wai.
Putting a movie like La Haine in a few theaters isn't really a favor. This is a major work, and If Foster hadn't picked it up, I'm sure that someone else would have. If we can be critical of any other distributor not seeing the potential in a movie and botching the release, why would we defend this instance?