Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.3

[Harmonov]

Criterion Cast just posted the trailer for White Material...

[Oedipax]

And they're up.

[domino harvey]

Turns out we were right after all

[Finch]

Well, I guess I'm going to have to double-dip on the Melville for the extras (I bought the French Blu a while back). Other than the DePalma, there's nothing else of interest for me in there, unless there's an Eclipse set still to come.

[James]

Turns out we were right after all

I'm pleased. I forgot all about Kes and it's actually one I want to see (and on Blu-ray no less), and it will be nice to finally see how White Material stacks up next to 35 rhums.

[kaujot]

Of all the films to upgrade, they chose Sweetie?

[TMDaines]

Guess it's all good if you were excited for these hinted at releases but it's dull month in terms of surprises.

[Napier]

Of all the films to upgrade, they chose Sweetie?

At least they'll get the color timing of the Melville right.

[Finch]

British directors are very well represented this year: first the Dearden Eclipse and McKendrick (I know, Hollywood film but still) in the mainline, now the Leigh in March and Loach over Easter. Would be very pleased if they reissued A Night To Remember on Blu later this year with a featurette devoted to Baker.

[SpiderBaby]

I'm glad we are getting our 2nd blu-ray release of Fear and Loathing. Guys we really needed it. Rivette has been asking for it.

[Tom Hagen]

You're not going to get any disagreement from me. The one positive spin, of course, is that it is allegedly Criterion's top selling title. So if the cash influx helps get us to Out 1 in some small way, I suppose that's a consolation.

[HistoryProf]

wow...My favorite Melville on blu and White Material on my birthday this year! seriously excited about both. Don't for a second understand upgrading Sweetie though. That makes almost zero sense...must be someone's pet fave or something.

[andyli]

Does the release of Fear and Loathing mean someday we could get a criterion blu-ray of Spartacus?

[Brian C]

wow...My favorite Melville on blu and White Material on my birthday this year! seriously excited about both. Don't for a second understand upgrading Sweetie though. That makes almost zero sense...must be someone's pet fave or something.

They're just trying to make sure none of us ever buy one of their DVDs again for fear of imminent upgrade. Nothing is safe ... I guess Sweetie wasn't the least likely title to get a Blu, but the odds of it could not have been high.

[What A Disgrace]

Yeah, Sweetie was completely unexpected. But that something like that could be released on Blu-ray, then maybe Il Posto or When a Woman Ascends the Stairs isn't out of the question. Maybe nothing is safe.

[Cinephrenic]

Why Sweetie? High on sales charts? Not saying it's bad, just don't get Criterion's upgrade priority logic.

[Jun-Dai]

I certainly don't mind the Blu upgrades, and all the Eclipse sets we've been getting are welcome, but it's starting to feel like it's going to take nearly forever for Criterion to get to #1000.

But in all seriousness, I'm wondering if they've pushed back a lot of projects so as to include Blu, and if they're filling some of those gaps with Blu upgrades. That might help explain why the number of recent films in the collection seems to be increasing (since those probably would have been Blu projects from the start). I know that someone said that doing a Blu release is as much effort as doing a new DVD release, but I can't help thinking that that wouldn't necessarily be true anymore—i.e., that it would be possible to streamline that process on some level, especially if the HD transfer they're drawn from is relatively recent and doesn't need to be redone.

Anyways, I'm just speculating. But it does seem like the spine numbers are not going up as quickly as they used to.

[SpiderBaby]

Sweetie is a ? Why not Sweet Movie instead? Or go back to a dvd only release when they started blu-ray like Dillinger is Dead or 2 or 3 Things?

Also, I completely understand Criterion wants to go back and re-release things for blu-ray so fans don't complain, but isn't hard to look at a 2nd Fear and Loathing blu in the span of a year or so, adding on the fact people seem to think physical media will no longer be around soon, while the likes of Rivette, Rocha, my want Hopper's The Last Movie, Garrel, Bruce Conner, etc hasn't even seen the light of day on even dvd here in America? I understand rights and money, but IF physical media ends, I would never have the chance at ALOT of great films. But darn it, I'll have my choice between 2 Fear and Loathing blus, and most likely Fantastic Mr. Fox, which is likely.

[matrixschmatrix]

Anyways, I'm just speculating. But it does seem like the spine numbers are not going up as quickly as they used to.

Well, the BBS set (and to a lesser degree Von Sternberg) pushed a bunch of new titles out at once- maybe they're staggering months with a small number of totally new releases with big box sets.

In other words, I'm really hoping they put out a bigass box set, soon. I really hope that's how they get the Chaplins out, because if it's one every six months it's going to be goddamn forever before some of the smaller titles make it.

[Gregory]

Sweetie is a ? Why not Sweet Movie instead? Or go back to a dvd only release when they started blu-ray like Dillinger is Dead or 2 or 3 Things?

If they announced Sweet Movie on Blu, a baffled forum member could just as easily ask, "Why not Sweetie instead?" And if they upgraded Dillinger Is Dead, people would surely complain that they'd just bought the DVD less than a year ago, and Criterion is trying to trick them into double-dipping. In response to the multiple comments above regarding Sweetie: They probably want to upgrade as much of the DVD list to Blu as they can, and I don't think it can always be expected to follow a pattern or cater to most peoples' tastes. Possibly some of the DVDs sold so poorly that they'll be ruled out for Blu upgrade, but apparently Sweetie was not among these, even though there are "VG" copies sitting on Amazon Marketplace for around $8, which is really low for a Criterion outside of the Buena Vista stuff.

[domino harvey]

You'd think Angel At My Table before Sweetie though, wouldn't you?

[Cinephrenic]

They should just drop the DVD releases. It is just stupid because its equal price with Blue.

[Jeff]

They should just drop the DVD releases. It is just stupid because its equal price with Blue.

They still sell about 50% of their product to DVD-only consumers, and their profit margins are considerably higher for their DVD sales. They would literally be slashing their profits by more than half. Doesn't make much business sense.

[Noiradelic]

I wouldn't be surprised if Sweetie has outsold any Bresson or Mizoguchi title. It's a contemporary English language film by a name director -- and color, which a preponderance of the Blu upgrades have been.

[mrmarbach]

How soon does Amazon normally list the "announced as forthcoming" discs for pre-order? I remember there was one month (Seven Samurai/Videodrome was it?) when the pre-orders were up before the announcement, and there was discussion her about whether someone was guessing or if it was a leak.

As a non-US buyer I can't buy from Criterion direct (AFAIK), so need Amazon.