Criterion and IFC

[Jacey Cockrobin]

The company said an IFC Midnight branded line of Blu-ray and DVD product will be distributed through an arrangement with MPI Media Group.

So I guess this means IFC's genre fare is less likely to receive the Criterion treatment. Too bad.

[CSM126]

Oh fiddlesticks. No Peter Cowie commentary on The Human Centipede, then.

[Tom Hagen]

Surprised that the Noe isn't a Criterion (when something like FISH TANK is).

The Noe is (and will be) incredibly divisive, but it seemed like a no-brainer Criterion Blu to me.

[Nothing]

Enter the Void is a genre title..?!! + Enter the Void on VOD = fail.

Surprised that the Noe isn't a Criterion (when something like FISH TANK is).

Indeed.

[Perkins Cobb]

Good. I can't quibble with a Criterion Summer Hours, but on the whole, IFC should be distributing on its own, not tying up Criterion's slate.

[Jacey Cockrobin]

Good. I can't quibble with a Criterion Summer Hours, but on the whole, IFC should be distributing on its own, not tying up Criterion's slate.

Would have liked a Criterion "In The Loop." IFC disc was just Ok. The half hour of deleted scenes were hysterical, but would have liked more bonus content.

[kaujot]

Via Ebert's newsletter:

Sundance Channel and IFC Films have announced plans for a multi-platform release of filmmaker Olivier Assayas's "Carlos." The five-and-a-half-hour epic - a portrait of the renowned international terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal - will debut first on the Sundance Channel as a three-part mini-series in October. Then shortly afterward, IFC Films will distribute both the full 330 minute version, as well as shorter 140 minute theatrical version, nationally. IFC will also make the shorter version available through its video-on-demand service. The 140 minute version is screening out of competition today, May 19th, in the Official Selection at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.

Perhaps a Che-like release? Not that it's certain that Criterion would release it, but they've now got a history with Assayas, and they seem to get along just fine with IFC.

[perkizitore]

I am now waiting for a 2012 Criterion release of 'Unabomber' ](*,)

[kaujot]

I'm not quite sure I follow.

[Anhedionisiac]

I'm sure he'll explain himself better but I think perkizitore would rather Criterion didn't distribute pictures with the which he disagrees on ideological terms since they are, you know, about Che and Carlos the Jackal. Men of violence and all that.

[zedz]

I'm sure he'll explain himself better but I think perkizitore would rather Criterion didn't distribute pictures with the which he disagrees on ideological terms since they are, you know, about Che and Carlos the Jackal. Men of violence and all that.

You mean like Fanfan la Tulipe? I'd rather they'd left that one alone too.

[Anhedionisiac]

Oh yes I do mean like Fanfan.

[perkizitore]

Regardless of my ideological leanings (i endorse Che, for your information), i never judge a movie on grounds of morality and righteousness. I just would like Criterion to stay away from bloated modern biopics.

[kaujot]

Todd McCarthy says it's just about perfect. He wrote up a great review of it.

[Jeff]

Carlos got great notices all around today. If it really is that good, I would love for Criterion to release it. As long as they're releasing good films, I really don't care about the running time, year of release, or subject matter of those films. Here's what McCarthy said:

Carlos is everything Che wanted to be and much, much more -- a dynamic, convincing and revelatory account of a notorious revolutionary terrorist's career that rivets the attention during every one of its 321 minutes," be begins. "In what is certainly his best work, Assayas adopts a fleet, ever-propulsive style that creates an extraordinary you-are-there sense of verisimilitude, while Edgar Ramirez inhabits the title role with arrogant charisma of Brando in his prime. It's an astonishing film.

[knives]

I'm not sure if that's what Che wanted to be, but liking what I'm hearing nevertheless.

[ola t]

It looks like the long version of Carlos will be released on DVD in France on June 3. That must be some kind of record! Probably no English subtitles.

[ianungstad]

IFC picked up North American rights to Abbas Kiarostami's Certified Copy at Cannes. Good news!

[Harmonov]

IFC picked up North American rights to Abbas Kiarostami's Certified Copy at Cannes. Good news!

Fabulous news. Hopefully Criterion has their eyes on it for release.

[ianungstad]

IFC picked up Bertrand Tavernier's The Princess Of Montpensier today. They also picked up Gregg Araki's Kaboom.

[HistoryProf]

IFC picked up Bertrand Tavernier's The Princess Of Montpensier today.

I love what i've read about this one - it seems a perfect choice for Criterion, certainly better than Danton! I'm a sucker for period pieces - any period/any place is fine - and this appears to be among the best in recent years. Coup de Torchon remains one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises in the collection for me, so I'd be there day/date for this one.

With this film, Tavernier pokes a real hole in costumed romance. Everything feels all too real here. There is little room for grand gestures or noble sentiments. Combat is nasty and obscene. A wife cheating on her husband is sordid. And when a man truly loves and respects a young woman, that love is not returned.

Despite this -- or perhaps because of it -- "The Princess of Montpensier" is one of the finest costume dramas in a long while. The film should do well with adult audiences in Europe following its November release in France. Its story may be a little too buried in ancient history for North American audiences, but Tavernier does have a solid following there.

In adapting Madame de la Fayette's 17th century novel, Tavernier and fellow writers Jean Cosmos and Francois-Olivier Rousseau may have intended something more traditional. You sense they are invested in their heroine's foolish love for a dashing though unspeakably ambitious ruffian just as they admire her very modern desire to read and write and control her own destiny.

[HistoryProf]

Two other pick-ups: Heartbeats and Prey...

Jonathan Sehring, President of IFC Entertainment said, “It’s with great pleasure that we continue our relationship with REZO with HEARTBEATS and PREY. Xavier Dolan is one of the most exciting young talents working in cinema today and we couldn’t be happier to bring HEARTBEATS to America. We also think audiences are really going to love PREY which is an inventive and wild ride, as welll as an impressive debut by Antoine Blossier.”

HEARTBEATS is the second film in two years for Xavier Dolan at the Cannes Film Festival where his debut I KILLED MY MOTHER won three of the four awards out of Director’s Fortnight. The film tells the story of Francis (Dolan) and Marie (Monia Chokri) who are good friends. One night, they meet Nicolas (Niels Schneider), a young man from the country who has just settled in Montreal. From encounter to encounter, from moment to moment, troubled by innumerable signs — some real, some imagined — Francis and Marie fall deeper and deeper into a fantastical obsession with him. Soon, they find themsleves on the precipice of a love duel that threathens the friendship they once thought indestructible.

PREY tells the story of Nathan (BEAU TRAVAIL’S Gregoire Colin) who is at a countryside retreat for a Fall family reunion that he expects to be particularly stormy. Claire, his wife, has to announce her pregnancy and there are tough decisions that need to be made to prevent the family’s pesticides business from closing down. But on the first night that the family gathers, a terrorized deer mysteriously attacks Claire’s father. The men decide to venture into the surrounding forest to find the reasons for the animal’s odd behavior. Carrying a shotgun for the first time in his life and witnessing the growing tensions between the men in the family, Nathan soon discovers that hunting season is not over yet. Now they’ve become the prey. Marking the debut film for Antoine Blossier, PREY brings together a special effects team from some of Hollywood’s best films.

I think we can safely assume Prey will not be getting a spine #

[Anhedionisiac]

IFC also announced they picked up the rights for Mexico's "Somos lo que hay" (We Are What We Are).
Which is about a family of cannibals so I doubt Criterion'll snatch it up either.

[Fiery Angel]

IFC picked up Bertrand Tavernier's The Princess Of Montpensier today.

Awesome--and it should be released uncut, unlike the debacle that was In the Electric Mist.

[HistoryProf]

IFC picked up Bertrand Tavernier's The Princess Of Montpensier today.

Awesome--and it should be released uncut, unlike the debacle that was In the Electric Mist.

I had no idea Tavernier even directed this until yesterday...I put it in my instant watch queue at Netflix when I happened across it there...but only because I love the Robicheaux character in the James Lee Burke series. I'm not immensely interested in seeing it, but then I hear the word "debacle" here about it? can anyone point me to a link that explains this statement? or just explain it for me here?