Criterion and StudioCanal

[Napier]

So this OOP list is eventually going to contain ALL of the Studio Canal holdings in the CC.

[tojoed]

These are all StudioCanal titles, right?

No. These other titles are StudioCanal licensed according to the listings on this site:

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Bid Deal on Madonna Street
Diary of a Chambermaid
Billy Liar
That Obscure Object of Desire
Bob le Flambeur
Hopscotch
Le cercle rouge
Touchez pas au grisbi
The Proud Valley / Native Land (from Paul Robeson box)

Can anyone confirm if this is accurate?

I think it's accurate. Those titles have been released in the UK by Optimum, which is Canal's DVD distribution arm here.

[Brian C]

No. These other titles are StudioCanal licensed according to the listings on this site:

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I realize that the newly OOP titles aren't the totality of Canal titles in the CC. I was simply asking for a confirmation that all of the newly OOP titles are StudioCanal.

Army of Shadows, Last Year at Marienbad, and The Man Who Fell to Earth are also StudioCanal. Those are simply three I thought of off-hand, sure there are others.

[tartarlamb]

This would have to coincide with the end of the DD sale.

[knives]

No. These other titles are StudioCanal licensed according to the listings on this site:

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I realize that the newly OOP titles aren't the totality of Canal titles in the CC. I was simply asking for a confirmation that all of the newly OOP titles are StudioCanal.

Army of Shadows, Last Year at Marienbad, and The Man Who Fell to Earth are also StudioCanal. Those are simply three I thought of off-hand, sure there are others.

Anchor Bay is part of Studio Canal?

[Brian C]

Anchor Bay is part of Studio Canal?

Well, this may be an interesting case (assume you're referring to Man Who Fell to Earth). I don't have it in front of me, but if I'm not mistaken it has a StudioCanal logo on the back as well as StudioCanal listed in the copyright info.

Of course, Third Man has the same arrangement, although the credited licensor (i.e., "Under exclusive license from...") is Rialto instead of Anchor Bay. This is the primary reason I was asking about sub-licensing above.

[captveg]

Ugh - Army of Shadows going OOP and not getting eventually a Criterion Blu would be awful.

Is Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast StudioCanal as well? I seem to recall that offhand.

[Richard]

Is Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast StudioCanal as well? I seem to recall that offhand.

StudioCanal released it on DVD in France, but I don't think they own it.

edit: it does seem that they paid for the restoration that was done a few years ago, so I am not sure.

[captveg]

Is Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast StudioCanal as well? I seem to recall that offhand.

StudioCanal released it on DVD in France, but I don't think they own it.

edit: it does seem that they paid for the restoration that was done a few years ago, so I am not sure.

I guess it may be Janus, but with the recent restoration a joint funding effort.

[Brian C]

Obviously, the task tonight for Criterion owners everywhere is to go to their DVD shelves, pull the Criterion titles, look at the copyright info on the back, and report any StudioCanal titles that aren't already listed in this thread. It's the only way to turn depressing news like this into a confused angry panic as we realize that so many of our most trusted treasures are going to Lionsgate.

[tojoed]

There is no mention of Studio Canal on the Criterion DVD of Cocteau's "Belle".

[dad1153]

Ugh - Army of Shadows going OOP and not getting eventually a Criterion Blu would be awful.

Even if "Army of Shadows" doesn't go OOP, Criterion would be rightfully gun-shy about releasing another StudioCanal Blu-ray only to have the license yanked a few months into its (expectedly long) shelf life after their experience with "The Third Man" and "Pierrot le fou." If there were any plans (even remote) for an "Army of Shadows" BD today's announcement relegates it firmly to the backburner.

[Tribe]

Nothing about Studio Canal either on the box of the second edition of Beauty and the Beast or at the beginning of the movie....just Janus and HVE.

[aox]

Ugh - Army of Shadows going OOP and not getting eventually a Criterion Blu would be awful.

Even if "Army of Shadows" doesn't go OOP, Criterion would be rightfully gun-shy about releasing another StudioCanal Blu-ray only to have the license yanked a few months into its (expectedly long) shelf life after their experience with "The Third Man" and "Pierrot le fou." If there were any plans (even remote) for an "Army of Shadows" BD today's announcement relegates it firmly to the backburner.

I'd prefer Le Samourai on Blu before any other Melville films, so this is good news for people that like bad news.

[Flike]

I know a Breathless StudioCanal disc is up for pre-order on amazon.uk so, yeah, that.

Frown.

[captveg]

Thanks for checking Beauty and the Beast guys. I must have been remembering the restoration funding.

[Brian C]

Even if "Army of Shadows" doesn't go OOP, Criterion would be rightfully gun-shy about releasing another StudioCanal Blu-ray only to have the license yanked a few months into its (expectedly long) shelf life after their experience with "The Third Man" and "Pierrot le fou." If there were any plans (even remote) for an "Army of Shadows" BD today's announcement relegates it firmly to the backburner.

Maybe, maybe not ... it would simply depend on their licensing deal, wouldn't it? If the lawyers say the rights are good for a suitable time frame, whatever that may be, why would they hold off?

I mean, none of this is much of a surprise at this point. They put out the Pierrot Blu after Ran and Third Man had already been pulled, so they must have expected that something like this was coming down the pike.

(By the way, Ran also makes for a good sub-licensing question, as according to the back of the box, that was licensed to Criterion from Wellspring with the copyright held by Canal).

[klee13]

I know a Breathless StudioCanal disc is up for pre-order on amazon.uk so, yeah, that.

Frown.

I think Breathless is from from Pretty Pictures. At least, I don't see StudioCanal anywhere on the box.
Major bummer. I wonder if they'll be pulling recently licensed titles like Last Year at Marienbad.

[swo17]

Obviously, the task tonight for Criterion owners everywhere is to go to their DVD shelves, pull the Criterion titles, look at the copyright info on the back, and report any StudioCanal titles that aren't already listed in this thread. It's the only way to turn depressing news like this into a confused angry panic as we realize that so many of our most trusted treasures are going to Lionsgate.

I did a search on my library's website for Criterions tagged with Studio Canal and came up with these that I don't believe have been mentioned yet:

Mafioso
Kind Hearts and Coronets
The Milky Way

[Jeff]

Yuck, Canal of all companies!

Well, they were always StudioCanal titles. It's just that they were previously licensed to Criterion, and now they're licensed to Lionsgate. I'd expect this isn't the end either. There are still quite a few other StudioCanal titles in the collection whose rights must not have expired...yet.

[Brian C]

Way to go, swo17. That's the kind of initiative that we're looking for here.

Here's the relevant copyright info on Army of Shadows, straight from the back of the box:
"Under exclusive license from Rialto Pictures. ©1969 StudioCanal Image/Fono Roma (Italie)."

[Minkin]

I did a search on my library's website for Criterions tagged with Studio Canal and came up with these that I don't believe have been mentioned yet:

Mafioso
Kind Hearts and Coronets
The Milky Way

Add to that:

Le Doulos
A Woman is a Woman

I wonder if the Grand Illusion poster will also be pulled for whatever reason?

Is Studio Canal particularly hit hard by current economic times- and is therefore scrounging for whatever income they can get?

[Adam]

As I understand it, in modern capitalist cultures, all companies do whatever they can to increase their income.

[Tribe]

There are still quite a few other StudioCanal titles in the collection whose rights must not have expired...yet.

I agree...we haven't seen the end of it yet.

[jbaart]

DVD Profiler also spits these out as StudioCanal:

A Woman is a Woman
Touchez pas au Grisbi
That Obscure Object of Desire
Hopscotch
Le Doulos
Le Cercle Rouge
Bob le Flambeur
Big Deal on Madonna Street
Paul Robeson: Citizen of the World