'Forthcoming' Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.1

[Dr. Mabuse]

Isn´t Punishment Park already out? Thought New Yorker did this a couple of years ago. I have the MOC edition and it would be hard to top that. An excellent package

[wpqx]

The War Game was released with Battle of Culloden as an R1 dvd. At this point thanks to the work already put out in this country a Watkins criterion set would be completely pointless considering fine DVD's with good transfers and special features already exist.

[miless]

All of Watkins films (or at least the ones that will be released on DVD) are or will be released by Project X, which is distributed by New Yorker (with the exception of La Commune, which is Icarus/First Run). Their releases, so far, have been quite spectacular, other than the occasional interlaced transfer (but even then, it's not too bad).

Of course, Watkins' crowning achievement is the sublime Edvard Munch, which was released twice on Project X (the better theatrical version and the longer television edit). My one gripe is that they were not both included in one package (but if you purchase the boxed set, you can easily purchase the theatrical version, which is not included).

[Harmonov]

Isn´t Punishment Park already out? Thought New Yorker did this a couple of years ago. I have the MOC edition and it would be hard to top that. An excellent package

Yeah - Punishment Park and The War Game are already out. I was just saying they would be great additions to the Collection, adding a little something new to the mix.

Perhaps I should take a 5-day moratorium to think about things before I post...

[kaujot]

Anyone know who owns the rights to David Byrne's True Stories? Michael's Movie Mayhem has it as OOP (though it 's readily available everywhere, in a horrible cropped (1:33:1), fuzzy transfer in a snapcase from Warner's.

[justeleblanc]

When was the last time Criterion released a Renoir title? Was it Boudu in 2006? I know Lange is forthcoming at some point, but is a Renoir Eclipse set out of the question? I'm hazy on his silents (aside from the Lionsgate set) but you can make a pretty decent set of his early sound films:

On purge bébé
La Chienne
La Nuit du carrefour (Night at the Crossroads)
Chotard et Cie (Chotard & Co.)
Madame Bovary

Is it just me or would that be a pretty terrific Eclipse set? I don't think any of these films have been released onto DVD with English subtitles yet anyway.

[domino harvey]

I think it would be, but I wonder if there would be some consumer resistance to a $60+ list price for a bare Renoir box when that Lionsgate Renoir set is ~$20.

[Narshty]

I think most customers who know of and collect Renoir would be grateful for anything they could get, and that by any sane reckoning the Lionsgate set was a mad bargain.

[ByMarkClark.com]

It's been quite a long wait since the last Renoir, yes.

It's also been a while since we received any Truffaut. (The CC went Malle-happy instead.)

I still think a Final Films of Francois Truffaut set would be great: The Last Metro, The Woman Next Door and Confidentially Yours. (Plus a Criterion SE of Two English Girls.)

Wouldn't be as great as a Renoir set, but at this point I'd gladly take either one.

[wpqx]

Yeah but all three of those late Truffaut films already exist on bare bones DVD's (courtesy of Fox Lober I believe) so an Eclipse series of Truffaut's late films would be completely useless imo.

Agreed on the Renoir as La Nuit du Carrefour is certainly among the top films I'm looking for.

[justeleblanc]

Wouldn't a Renoir Eclipse set of five films be 50 bucks? How is that too expensive?

Also, I've seen pictures of the French DVDs for a few of these movies, and the quality of the prints look pretty good. And given the f-ed up DVDs of The Lower Depths and The Golden Coach, I doubt they would hesitate to release a Renoir movie if the print isn't up to snuff.

[domino harvey]

I'm not bitching about the price and I'd obviously buy it, I'm just anticipating why Criterion wouldn't release their own Renoir set right now while the Lionsgate box is still fresh in many customers' memory.

And five films would be sixty because it's twenty for the first film plus ten for every film after that, isn't it?

[reno dakota]

And five films would be sixty because it's twenty for the first film plus ten for every film after that, isn't it?

So far, every 5-film set has been $69.95. The 4-film sets have all been $59.95.

[Harmonov]

Okay, my 5-day posting self-imposed posting moratorium is over.

I was wondering if anyone might think that the Collection will add Polanski's Cul-de-sac. I caught a showing of it at the Siskel Film Center in Chicago a few years back and really loved it. I know it's available in different regions, but my region-free player quit working. Since Knife in the Water is in the Collection, I thought this might be a good companion piece.

What do I know, though...

[Andrian Film Revival]

I love the idea of the "Collection". Most people refer to Criterion releasing this that and the other, but the capitalisation gives the COLLECTION independence. Isn't it more cinematic for a monster-like entity devouring titles?

A big yes to adding Cul-de-Sac, particularly if on Eclipse. The Pre-fugitive Polanski: Cul-de-Sac, Repulsion and Que? [/i]

[swo17]

If Repulsion were to be grouped with anything, shouldn't it be with Rosemary's Baby and The Tenant?

[Gigi M.]

If Repulsion were to be grouped with anything, shouldn't it be with Rosemary's Baby and The Tenant?

I think Rosemary's Baby is way too important (like Chinatown) for Paramount to give away the rights to Criterion. I think Repulsion is a possibility now that the rights appear to be in limbo.

[Cinephrenic]

I think Rosemary's Baby is way too important (like Chinatown) for Paramount to give away the rights to Criterion. I think Repulsion is a possibility now that the rights appear to be in limbo.

You might be right on the rights importance, but they sure don't seem to show it when they released a bunch of their classic catalog in barebones editions. After seeing Days of Heaven release, many things are possible.

[swo17]

I think Rosemary's Baby is way too important (like Chinatown) for Paramount to give away the rights to Criterion.

I agree, and I'm not saying it would be likely, just that they belong together is all.

Though I must admit it made me laugh a little when you said (paraphrased) that Rosemary's Baby is important to Paramount, when the best available edition of the DVD lines the $5 bin at my local grocery store, and they are letting (rumor has it) Michael Bay direct a remake.

[jaredsap]

I think Repulsion is a possibility now that the rights appear to be in limbo.

The rights are not in limbo in the USA. They're owned by Sony.

[justeleblanc]

I think it's the DVD that's in limbo, not the rights.

EDIT:
Also, I've been asking Rialto about Cul-de-sac for a while now. I'm not sure who owns the rights in the US.

What? is a Lionsgate property at this point.

[Andrian Film Revival]

Wikipedia "only" lists my beloved Mr Bay as one of the intended producers... which makes it all okay.

This has got me very excited about Eclipse's 50th anniversary release: Hollywood Movies from the Heart - including Michael Bay's 'Night of the Hunter', 'The Innocents' by George Lucas and Rob Cohen's 'Napoleon'.

Over and out

[jaredsap]

Also, I've been asking Rialto about Cul-de-sac for a while now. I'm not sure who owns the rights in the US.

I'm pretty certain it's MGM.

[Chevy Chase]

If Repulsion were to be grouped with anything, shouldn't it be with Rosemary's Baby and The Tenant?

Paramount's release of "The Tenant" is newly out of print. Hopefully Criterion is on it.

[mfunk9786]

If the long shot of a Polanski boxset with Repulsion, The Tenant, and Rosemary's baby actually were to happen, it wouldn't be an Eclipse set. Polanski (and the films) are way too high profile.