Criterion and Paramount

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justeleblanc · #126 Post by **justeleblanc** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 8:50 pm

Look at Billy Wilder. Paramount was really only interested in Sunset, Sabrina, and Stalag. They had no interest in Ace which is why they were willing to let Criterion release it.

With Altman, they have already put out Popeye and Nashville, so my guess is if Criterion were to release a Paramount Altman, it would be one that Paramount doesn't care to release on their own, such as Jimmy Dean. To me that's the only Altman title that seems realistic for a Criterion release.

kaujot · #127 Post by **kaujot** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:08 pm

Anyone up for The President's Analyst?

Gigi M. · #128 Post by **Gigi M.** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 2:13 am

Jeff wrote:I can't imagine what they might have cooked up for supplements on Days of Heaven. Malick did allow that New World doc, but you won't find him in it. Perhaps Criterion has the rights to Rosy-Fingered Dawn or Malick's short film, Lanton Mills.

I think great supplement for this disc could be The Visions of Light: The art of cinematography, since it uses Morricone's theme from the film and expends more time admiring the film than any other film if I'm not mistaken.

malcolm1980 · #129 Post by **malcolm1980** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:12 am

Harold Gervais wrote:Love to get this and Nashville from Criterion.

Come to think of it, Nashville has yet to have a definitive DVD release. A Criterion edition of it would be drool-worthy.

flyonthewall2983 · Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:36 am

Major long-shot, but would Once Upon a Time in the West be a possibility since this better transfer was found than on the current disc? I distinctly remember reading an article about it in the forum on the new MGM set, but can't seem to find it now?

TheGodfather · #131 Post by **TheGodfather** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 9:14 pm

flyonthewall2983 wrote:Major long-shot, but would Once Upon a Time in the West be a possibility since this better transfer was found than on the current disc? I distinctly remember reading an article about it in the forum on the new MGM set, but can't seem to find it now?

If that was ever to happen it would be THE ultimate dvd of the year in my book.

flyonthewall2983 · Thu Jun 14, 2007 9:55 pm

TheGodfather wrote:
flyonthewall2983 wrote:Major long-shot, but would Once Upon a Time in the West be a possibility since this better transfer was found than on the current disc? I distinctly remember reading an article about it in the forum on the new MGM set, but can't seem to find it now?
If that was ever to happen it would be THE ultimate dvd of the year in my book.

If they did do it, it would even trump the new Blade Runner in terms of which to buy. And I already own the disc put out already.

patrick · #133 Post by **patrick** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 10:50 pm

Hey, people on the Moebius forum were complaining about Criterion not including westerns in their releases, what could be a better choice?

Cinephrenic · #134 Post by **Cinephrenic** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 11:36 pm

Perhaps they can get El Dorado, Shane, or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance from Paramount and do a redux. I think a perfect contender would be One-Eyed Jacks though.

#135 Post by **Jeff** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 11:50 pm

flyonthewall2983 wrote:would Once Upon a Time in the West be a possibility since this better transfer was found than on the current disc?

TheGodfather wrote:If that was ever to happen it would be THE ultimate dvd of the year in my book.

patrick wrote:Hey, people on the Moebius forum were complaining about Criterion not including westerns in their releases, what could be a better choice?

Maybe something that's not already available in an amazing two-disc edition with a very good transfer, copious thoughtful supplements, and an average retail price of eight dollars?

justeleblanc · #136 Post by **justeleblanc** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 11:56 pm

Seriously, Jeff's right, Paramount is not going to license to Criterion a film that they've already released onto DVD with plenty of special features. And you guys are insane for wanting a 40 dollar Criterion release over a 10 dollar Paramount release that's just as good.

But while we're on the subject... Carl Reiner's THE ONE AND ONLY would be a killer Criterion release.

flyonthewall2983 · Fri Jun 15, 2007 1:53 am

Jeff wrote:Maybe something that's not already available in an amazing two-disc edition with a very good transfer, copious thoughtful supplements, and an average retail price of eight dollars?

Like I said, major long-shot.

#138 Post by **Jeff** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 4:22 pm

There is no date set, but the owner of Home Theater Forum just mentioned in a post over there that they are working on setting up a chat with the Paramount crew sometime in the next four weeks. This is, of course, a great opportunity to interrogate the Paramount brass about how which titles they may have licensed to Criterion.

kaujot · #139 Post by **kaujot** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 9:46 pm

If Paramount is willing to license their currently $5.99 Days of Heaven, perhaps we might also luck out on an updated copy of their currently $5.00 Bringing Out the Dead. One of Scorsese's more underrated films, if you ask me.

Narshty · #140 Post by **Narshty** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 10:07 pm

I wonder if The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance could be an option? Surely no-one could object to that? It's about time John Wayne and James Stewart entered the collection anyway. The only snag I could think of is the current Wayne centennial promotions, but Paramount aren't doing this up in a new edition the way they are with True Grit, etc.

souvenir · #141 Post by **souvenir** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 10:18 pm

Narshty wrote:I wonder if The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance could be an option? Surely no-one could object to that? It's about time John Wayne and James Stewart entered the collection anyway. The only snag I could think of is the current Wayne centennial promotions, but Paramount aren't doing this up in a new edition the way they are with True Grit, etc.

I've wondered about this as well. On the one hand, it's hard to imagine Paramount licensing it out, but then again they haven't given it a definitive release either. The second part of the John Ford Omnibus episode would seem to be an ideal supplement if Criterion did somehow put out their own release.

justeleblanc · #142 Post by **justeleblanc** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 11:32 pm

I wonder if Criterion would ever get their hands on The Godfather. What an amazing release that would be!! =D>

CSM126 · #143 Post by **CSM126** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 12:13 am

justeleblanc wrote:I wonder if Criterion would ever get their hands on The Godfather. What an amazing release that would be!! =D>

Because the five-disc boxset wasn't enough...

miless · #144 Post by **miless** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 12:20 am

CSM126 wrote:
justeleblanc wrote:I wonder if Criterion would ever get their hands on The Godfather. What an amazing release that would be!! =D>
Because the five-disc boxset wasn't enough...

with transfers by Coppola himself, to boot.

CSM126 · #145 Post by **CSM126** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 12:24 am

miless wrote:
CSM126 wrote:
justeleblanc wrote:I wonder if Criterion would ever get their hands on The Godfather. What an amazing release that would be!! =D>
Because the five-disc boxset wasn't enough...
with transfers by Coppola himself, to boot.

And commentary...and a whole disc of just extras.

Yeah. Not enough.

#146 Post by **Jeff** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:08 am

Narshty wrote:I wonder if The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance could be an option? Surely no-one could object to that? It's about time John Wayne and James Stewart entered the collection anyway.

Nice call, Narshty. That one hadn't crossed my mind, but I love the film. I suspect that Paramount may be hesitant to part with it though. Wayne, Stewart, and Ford are on the very short list of names from the classic era that studios think are marketable.

CSM126 wrote:Because the five-disc boxset wasn't enough...

I think justeleblanc is just having a bit of fun with us...I hope.

What A Disgrace · Sun Jun 17, 2007 5:15 pm

As I see it, Criterion does have their eyes on *some* later Ford...otherwise, wouldn't they have included the full BBC Omnibus program from Young Mr. Lincoln? It only covered his earlier work...I believe The Quiet Man or Rio Grande would be more likely candidates than Liberty Valance (and more in need of a re-release; Liberty is in print and looking fine).

Granted, if someone had to do a 45th anniversary edition of Liberty, I would rather Criterion do it than Paramount.

Narshty · #148 Post by **Narshty** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 7:45 pm

What A Disgrace wrote:As I see it, Criterion does have their eyes on *some* later Ford...otherwise, wouldn't they have included the full BBC Omnibus program from Young Mr. Lincoln?

Well, the majority of clips from Ford's later years would have been unclearable for the most part and re-editing it might have rendered it practically incoherent, so I'm not surprised they only included the first half. The second half also isn't really necessary to put Young Mr. Lincoln into context. However, I'm sure they're not yet done with Ford and will be trying to wrangle every bit they can.

dadaistnun · #149 Post by **dadaistnun** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 4:44 pm

How about Demy's Pied Piper? The new print that has made the rounds recently was apparantly the joint venture of Paramount and the Eastman House.

#150 Post by **Jeff** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 10:40 pm

dadaistnun wrote:How about Demy's Pied Piper? The new print that has made the rounds recently was apparantly the joint venture of Paramount and the Eastman House.

Sounds like a reasonable possibility. Perhaps this is why they were visiting Varda.

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