New Yorker

[drdoros]

How does this news affect Milestone, Dennis? Will you be looking for a new distributor?
Although your discs seemed to be mixed in with other New Yorker titles on their website, I assume they are separate from the library that is being auctioned?

Thanks for asking. Milestone is fine and for the present we will be distributing our own Milestone Cinematheque titles. Everything, of course, is still 20% off at our Milestone Films site. And the next title, The Exiles will be out in the summer in a deluxe edition as planned, with Araya coming to theaters and then DVD after that.

As for some of the other comments regarding the concept that Criterion can cure all ills, I know what this Forum is called, but there are MANY titles that New Yorker has brought out that most of us in the business would not have considered -- or probably will consider. And the things they did for Fassbinder, Herzog, Sembene, Zhang Yimou and up to Sandi Dubowski (who has a lovely tribute on Facebook's Save New Yorker, Nathaniel Kahn and Yu Li can't be measured. Any dancing on their grave is just tacky and wrong. What Janus Films was in the 1950s and 1960s, New Yorker was in the 1970s and 1980s. It spawned numerous other film companies that went out into the world including Milestone. Dan and Jose kept a small art-house distribution company going for 44 years (the second oldest after Janus) with incredible artistic integrity, risk-taking and honesty. They were wrong at times, but I could speak for hours on our own mistakes and every other film company on earth. There is nothing good about their demise.

[skweeker]

Sad news.

[HerrSchreck]

How does this news affect Milestone, Dennis? Will you be looking for a new distributor?
Although your discs seemed to be mixed in with other New Yorker titles on their website, I assume they are separate from the library that is being auctioned?

Thanks for asking. Milestone is fine and for the present we will be distributing our own Milestone Cinematheque titles. Everything, of course, is still 20% off at our Milestone Films site. And the next title, The Exiles will be out in the summer in a deluxe edition as planned, with Araya coming to theaters and then DVD after that.

As for some of the other comments regarding the concept that Criterion can cure all ills, I know what this Forum is called, but there are MANY titles that New Yorker has brought out that most of us in the business would not have considered -- or probably will consider. And the things they did for Fassbinder, Herzog, Sembene, Zhang Yimou and up to Sandi Dubowski (who has a lovely tribute on Facebook's Save New Yorker, Nathaniel Kahn and Yu Li can't be measured. Any dancing on their grave is just tacky and wrong. What Janus Films was in the 1950s and 1960s, New Yorker was in the 1970s and 1980s. It spawned numerous other film companies that went out into the world including Milestone. Dan and Jose kept a small art-house distribution company going for 44 years (the second oldest after Janus) with incredible artistic integrity, risk-taking and honesty. They were wrong at times, but I could speak for hours on our own mistakes and every other film company on earth. There is nothing good about their demise.

amen.

[Ted Todorov]

As for some of the other comments regarding the concept that Criterion can cure all ills, I know what this Forum is called, but there are MANY titles that New Yorker has brought out that most of us in the business would not have considered -- or probably will consider. And the things they did for Fassbinder, Herzog, Sembene, Zhang Yimou and up to Sandi Dubowski (who has a lovely tribute on Facebook's Save New Yorker, Nathaniel Kahn and Yu Li can't be measured. Any dancing on their grave is just tacky and wrong. What Janus Films was in the 1950s and 1960s, New Yorker was in the 1970s and 1980s. It spawned numerous other film companies that went out into the world including Milestone. Dan and Jose kept a small art-house distribution company going for 44 years (the second oldest after Janus) with incredible artistic integrity, risk-taking and honesty. They were wrong at times, but I could speak for hours on our own mistakes and every other film company on earth. There is nothing good about their demise.

Agreed completed about the 70s and 80s -- they were a great, indeed fantastic distributor. But surely you understand the hostility they engendered in the DVD era, with their endless PAL to NTSC conversions instead of proper transfers. There were a number of distributors (Facets, Fox Lorber) and unfortunately New Yorker, that made my heart sink every time they got their claws into a movie I love, because that meant a bad DVD.

If the Rivette, Eustache, Bresson, Deville, Godard and a few other films in their collection end up at Criterion or another high quality DVD house, then New Yorker's demise will be worth celebrating. If they end up rotting in a cellar, then we will mourn. Which will happen is as of yet unknown.

[HerrSchreck]

If they end up rotting in a cellar, then we will mourn.

Don't speak for "we". Speak for thee.

[Perkins Cobb]

I mean, that's really one of the tragedies of the DVD era: important indie film distributors who just didn't adapt to the baseline quality standards of DVD. These companies were heroes to people who saw their output in theaters, and a dirty word to those who saw it on DVD (or wanted to, but couldn't, because only a fraction of their acquisitions made it to DVD in the first place). And neither point of view is incorrect.

It's easy to assume that Facets or New Yorker couldn't have made a profit by doing acceptable DVD transfers of their titles, but there are other tiny labels (like Project X, which NY'er distributed) that somehow managed, at least for a while.

[GringoTex]

Dan and Jose kept a small art-house distribution company going for 44 years (the second oldest after Janus) with incredible artistic integrity, risk-taking and honesty.

During the 90s, I programmed close to a thousand art house films and they were easily the worst distributor I had to work with. They consistently lied about their print quality (and refused to refund on screenings that I refunded due to lousy print quality), charged above market value, and, worst of all, objected when I would grab an overseas print for a film that they had the rights to but distributed an unacceptable print of, even though I offered to pay them a rights fee. Maybe they were great in the 70s and 80s and 00s (I wasn't in the business), but they were horrible in the 90s.

[accatone]

High Tech/Retailing versus Cultural diversity?
I for one go for the latter.

[Matt]

High Tech/Retailing versus Cultural diversity?
I for one go for the latter.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by that, but they don't have to be mutually exclusive.

[accatone]

High Tech/Retailing versus Cultural diversity?
I for one go for the latter.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by that, but they don't have to be mutually exclusive.

hmm...now i do not know what you mean? However, i can just speak for myself as someone who really drove miles just for the possibility to SEE certain films in whatever condition they were and besides few horrible experiences it was always a pleasure for me. I am not that much on the "high tech/restoration bandwagon (exclude AR here, which is a different story) so i personally find it sad that is some peoples main concern. Its imo the same with little cinemas around my city when they go down-whatever equipment they had (and i have attended many terrible screenings). I want high tech for maybe my iphone on which i am writing this (sorry for typos) but not for cinema if that means less diversity-again, just m opinion - no offense intended!

[HerrSchreck]

They may not always have to be mutually exclusive, but in many cases beyond a certain clip of releasing they absolutely do. Do you think it's a coinidence that the companies which release the most obscure hardcore & avant titles can't maintain CC quality (I'm talking companies which do more than the Ed. Filmmuseums of the world, who put out one or two titles per quarter)? Or conversely, that genuine niche CC releases like Painleve (forget about silents) have slowed to a dribble? There quite simply arent companies who release that kind of marginal material at a rate of three to four titles every 4 weeks or so, that can run their own local HD transfers exclusively for their own release, etc. CC doesn't do it, MoC (which piggybacks on other native transfers for the most part) doesn't do it-- nobody can do it.. especially if they're a small private enterprise not connected to a state or federal entity.

In before "I'd rather the company slowed down to a few titles a year but put out in highest possible quality". Personally I want to see more than just a few of the most obvious arthouse titles per year that I've seen a thousand times already. And if your criteria for being willing and able to watch a film is that it MUST be at CC levels, you would have blown your brains out and watched nothing if you grew up watching TV up to the 1990's!

That said, of course it'd be a dream come true if the Facets, and the NYers, and the Kinos & Milestones of the world could maintain CC budgets for every release. But the comparison is grapes to peanuts.

[Matt]

Oh, I get it. We're talking about the market. Fair enough.

Back to the original topic: if you guys want any New Yorker DVDs, get them now, if you can find them.

[beamish13]

Maybe now we'll finally get some Alain Tanner out on DVD.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

Oh, I get it. We're talking about the market. Fair enough.

Back to the original topic: if you guys want any New Yorker DVDs, get them now, if you can find them.

I ordered a copy of Watkins' The Freethinker just in case. I'm probably going to get La Belle Noiseuse next. Any Cinema Novo fans should probably get How Tasty Was My Frenchman asap.

[Gregory]

Any Cinema Novo fans should probably get How Tasty Was My Frenchman asap.

And don't forget Vidas Secas.

We should try to name all the New Yorker titles that are currently in print and are worth purchasing. Most of those I've watched were from various libraries and relatively few of them are not available in better R2 editions.
Off the top of my head, I'd recommend the Watkins discs, Belle Noiseuse, Herzog's Signs of Life, Times of Harvey Milk, How Tasty, and Vidas Secas. I also have Jazz on a Summer's Day, which I don't think is really worth the normal $25 cost to get a New Yorker disc. Quilombo is worth mentioning because it's one of their better-looking releases, although I had some problems with the film itself.
For the Sembene titles the best thing is probably the French "Collection Sembene Ousmane." There is also a better Moolaadé from AE.
Hmm, what else?

[vertovfan]

I would add Herzog's Land of Silence and Darkness and Straub-Huillet's Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach to that list.

[tartarlamb]

I suppose there is 6 in Paris and The Stationmaster's Wife. But I'm reminded why I never bought their stuff very often -- its damn expensive. Aside from the handful of essentials (L'atalante for the subs, the Bressons that now have better AE releases, Vida, Belle, Project X, etc), it really wasn't/isn't worth it.

And Christ, this quote from Dan Talbot almost gave me an overdose of schadenfreude:

This is an audience that generally knows at least one foreign language, that has done a certain amount of traveling, that is probably interested in wine and foreign cars and that is fed up with all the junk that comes out of the West Coast.

Still, I'll always remember discovering Bresson on VHS. And I'm still going to cling for dear life to my now well-worn tape of A Gentle Woman. Fond memories of a crappy, crappy company.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

Still, I'll always remember discovering Bresson on VHS. And I'm still going to cling for dear life to my now well-worn tape of A Gentle Woman. Fond memories of a crappy, crappy company.

I had the same experience and it reminds me of the tragedy of this situation. Bresson's Une Femme Douce is still not on R1 DVD and it now hardly looks likely. (Granted, there is non-R1 DVD but I still do not have a region free player and my point is the disadvantage the R1 market still exists in regarding this title and other NYer properties.)

[Matt]

Bresson's Une Femme Douce...there is non-R1 DVD

There is?

[HerrSchreck]

No way. I don't even think it's out on VHS anywhere else. It's a rare title.. have no idea why this never made dvd.

[Floyd]

I suppose this does away with Project X and the other great Peter Watkins films that could have came out. I was really hoping to see enormously epic (873 minutes) The Journey. Without Project X it seems it might be difficult to see anyone else approach releasing Watkins amazing output which is really upsetting. I can still hold out hope Masters of Cinema will get to it sometime since they have released 2 of his films I guess.

[tojoed]

... but I still do not have a region free player and my point is the disadvantage the R1 market still exists in regarding this title and other NYer properties.)

Jean-Luc, I'm not being impertinent but wouldn't it be a simple matter to go region-free?

It's just that, with New Yorker gone, your best chance of seeing Rivette, Bresson, etc on DVD rests more with Artificial Eye and MK2 in Europe. You might be an old man before Criterion get round to them.

[drdoros]

I suppose this does away with Project X and the other great Peter Watkins films that could have came out. I was really hoping to see enormously epic (873 minutes) The Journey. Without Project X it seems it might be difficult to see anyone else approach releasing Watkins amazing output which is really upsetting. I can still hold out hope Masters of Cinema will get to it sometime since they have released 2 of his films I guess.

Nothing of the sort. Oliver Groom up in Toronto and I have been talking all week and Project X will continue to do their excellent work. The same for Cinema Guild who brought out their last two DVDs through New Yorker. While you're ordering all those New Yorker titles, it would be great if everybody would buy titles from our three companies directly. We all took financial hits this week.

[Jerry the Mole]

I suppose this does away with Project X and the other great Peter Watkins films that could have came out. I was really hoping to see enormously epic (873 minutes) The Journey. Without Project X it seems it might be difficult to see anyone else approach releasing Watkins amazing output which is really upsetting. I can still hold out hope Masters of Cinema will get to it sometime since they have released 2 of his films I guess.

Nothing of the sort. Oliver Groom up in Toronto and I have been talking all week and Project X will continue to do their excellent work. The same for Cinema Guild who brought out their last two DVDs through New Yorker. While you're ordering all those New Yorker titles, it would be great if everybody would buy titles from our three companies directly. We all took financial hits this week.

Since the subject of The Journey has come up, let it be known that Project X is currently working on a DVD release with Peter Watkins (and also Evening Land). The grand idea is a 5-disc set including the French and German versions so that it can be made available internationally as widely as possible. However, this New Yorker business is a big financial smack in the face, so don't hold your breath.

Oliver