MoC Forthcoming, Wishlist, and Random Speculation

[rapta]

If Toho (or most any other licensor) told Criterion to license their master to another company, Criterion would.

Really? That's interesting to know. Perhaps there will be one or two more Toho titles coming to MoC in 2018 then. I assume they wouldn't just go to the trouble of upgrading one Toho title. Of course an MoC upgrade of Kwaidan was also up for debate in recent years so perhaps they'll do the same as House but with that one (and I love Kobayashi so I'd be very happy).

Even better would be some Teshigahara, but most likely to be sourced from Criterion would be Woman of the Dunes, the UK rights of which may still be with BFI. Pitfall or The Face of Another would be welcome upgrades, but clearly dependant on quality of the masters (as would any other Toho upgrades, but that goes without saying).

[dwk]

Yeah. Jonathan Turell said that even though they've pretty much stopped licensing their master, they will do it if a licensor or filmmaker requests it. And Toho is too important (and too prickly) of a licensor for Criterion to ignore such a request.

[Drucker]

I find it hard to believe that House would be seen as a low-seller, too. Don't horror movies of all stripes sell very well? Wasn't Onibaba one of MOC's best selling discs at one point?

[rapta]

I find it hard to believe that House would be seen as a low-seller, too. Don't horror movies of all stripes sell very well? Wasn't Onibaba one of MOC's best selling discs at one point?

I could just be making that up based on the reluctance for them to upgrade it; I couldn't actually find a quote that implied it wasn't a strong seller. Then again, I do remember it coming up multiple times and Kevin (ex-MoC) repeatedly implied it wouldn't be worth the upgrade - maybe he thought the most impatient fans would have imported the Criterion, but there are plenty of us stubborn Region B-ers left.

From memory, House was actually my very first MoC purchase, and I'm sure a lot of other people got into them the same way (or Japanese horrors anyway; my second was Kuroneko).

[ermylaw]

According to their Twitter, there will be an announcements for (an) April release(s) tomorrow.

[rapta]

April titles leaked on Amazon, for those interested:

Spoiler

MARTY (Eureka Classics) [Dual Format Edition] - April 9th
EARLY HOU HSIAO HSIEN: THREE FILMS 1980-1983 [Blu-ray Edition] - April 16th
CURE (Masters of Cinema) [Dual Format Edition] - April 23rd

That last one is a particularly pleasant surprise. I had wondered if they'd get more from that director, but had incorrectly assumed his older stuff would be the kind of thing Arrow Video would announce at some point. Glad to see Eureka pull that one out of the hat.

[mfunk9786]

Glad to see Cure getting a Blu release, maybe a Criterion is on the way! It's been on their streaming services forever (or at least it was on Hulu for a long time). And of course, Marty is in Kino hell over here.

[ermylaw]

April titles leaked on Amazon, for those interested

Thanks!

[Ribs]

...yet another title I'm not *entirely* sure couldn't have been released under the MoC imprint. (I know this delineation doesn't actually matter, and I don't even really like the film this time around, but will look forward to the full details).

[rapta]

Glad to see Cure getting a Blu release, maybe a Criterion is on the way! It's been on their streaming services forever (or at least it was on Hulu for a long time). And of course, Marty is in Kino hell over here.

As someone noted over at Blu-ray.com, it'll be interesting to see what they do about the aspect ratio. Perhaps they will offer different options, like they did for Shane, though that ended up spilling onto a second disc (and was Limited Edition; still one of my favourite MoC editions).

And yes, Cure is a brilliant surprise! I was wondering if more Kiyoshi Kurosawa would arrive on Blu-ray soon after Arrow's brilliant Pulse release, but figured MoC were more interested in his contemporary efforts (especially as they're probably both easier to sign, and be in better shape transfer-wise). So I'm very happy to be able to finally get this through MoC of all labels.

I found a copy of David Kalat's book on J-horror in Oxfam last year, and this film was obviously mentioned a lot, so I'm looking forward to seeing it for the first time. And whilst we're talking J-horror, my favourite to date would have to be Takashi Shimizu's Ju-on: The Grudge, which I noticed was one of the 'most wanted' titles in this Arrow's 2017 poll, so I'm hoping they'll deliver that eventually (maybe even with its sequel, and/or the previous TV movies).

Many of these films were the kind of thing Tartan used to put out on DVD and I'd find somewhere down the line rummaging through the bargain section of Blockbuster, so it's great to finally see the best of them given an HD upgrade, plentiful extras and a decent bit of literature from labels like Arrow, Eureka and Third Window. Let's hope it continues despite the competitive nature of the market, and I'd love to see some Korean stuff from the same era show up (I notice 88 Films are starting to dig into that particular niche).

...yet another title I'm not *entirely* sure couldn't have been released under the MoC imprint. (I know this delineation doesn't actually matter, and I don't even really like the film this time around, but will look forward to the full details).

Why not? They've released three other K. Kurosawa titles under MoC so far, one of which was notably a 'genre' film.

[Ribs]

Maybe I used a double negative which confused the meaning, but I meant why the one Best Picture winning title is not 'worthy' of the MoC imrpint.

[FrauBlucher]

With Criterion hinting at Bull Durham, sigh, I'm thrilled that MoC will give us a Cure. Bluray. Thanks MoC.

[rapta]

Maybe I used a double negative which confused the meaning, but I meant why the one Best Picture winning title is not 'worthy' of the MoC imrpint.

Ah sorry yeah, no idea why they've opted for Eureka Classics on that one...unless that's a typo. I guess we'll find out tomorrow.

Then again, I thought both Fleischer titles would be perfectly acceptable as MoC, and some people even argued for The Party or Rapture to be 'recognised'. Who knows how they make these decisions?

[Costa]

Does anyone have a clue what could be announced on Thursday?

[rapta]

Nope. Though the last few Eureka Classics titles have been things Kino Lorber released in recent years - Marty, The Party, The Vikings - so some of those might be something to consider. We'll find out tomorrow though anyway (or earlier if Amazon spoil the surprise).

[tenia]

I've read they might announce De Broca's King of Hearts, but I'm now unsure if it would be in the Classics line or the MoC series.

[rapta]

I've read they might announce De Broca's King of Hearts, but I'm now unsure if it would be in the Classics line or the MoC series.

I think they already mentioned it was MoC when they soft-announced it, but I just realised it's actually being theatrically released in June, so the announcement is likely for their new acquisition Allure (starring Evan Rachel Wood).

The May announcements have already shown up on Amazon by the way:

Spoiler

Stanley Kramer's Inherit the Wind and Tom Gries' Heartbreak Pass.

[Costa]

Do you think Eureka could release Judgment at Nuremberg too?

[What A Disgrace]

Its a shame that Blake Edwards and Richard Fleischer got shafted by being relegated to Eureka Classics, but Stanley Kramer being denied a MoC spine makes it all worthwhile.

[rapta]

To add to the complications surrounding what constitutes Eureka Classics and MoC, a listing for Yuen Woo-ping's Iron Monkey has just appeared on Amazon and is set for June.

Great news obviously, but curiously it's saying Eureka Classics - making it the first example of a director having films under both the Eureka Classics and MoC banners, as well as the first foreign language title from Eureka Classics (though that's a bit of a grey area, as some foreign language titles from Eureka have just been banner-less).

[Tommaso]

I'm confused: which Yuen Woo-ping film was released as an MoC disc?

[swo17]

Drunken Master

[Tommaso]

Thanks, for some reason I totally missed that one.

[tenia]

Specs for Iron Monkey :

SPECIAL DUAL FORMAT FEATURES

LIMITED EDITION O-CARD (First print run only)
Stunning 1080p presentation from a brand new 2K restoration
Original Cantonese mono audio track (also available in 5.1 presentation)
5.1 English audio track
Isolated Music & Effects track
Interview with Donnie Yen (20 mins)
Interview with producer Tsui Hark (25 mins)
Interview with Yu Rong-kwong (27 mins)
Interview with stuntwoman and actress Li Fai (25 mins)
Interview with actress Angie Tsang (20 mins)
Iron Fist (16 mins) A behind-the-scenes look at the action choreography of Iron Monkey
Shadow Boxing (8 mins) a featurette on Hong Kong action choreography featuring Alex Yip
Footage of Li Fai and Angie Tsang competing at the 2003 Wu Shu Championships
Original theatrical trailer
A collector s booklet featuring a new essay on the film (First print run only)

[Banasa]

That's a very packed list that would have trumped the US releases that did not even offer the film with its original score or language. Looking forward to this!