Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

[colinr0380]

From a recent Guardian article on Welcome II The Terrordome:

The film itself, meanwhile, is available to watch on BFI Player as part of We Are Parable’s Black British film season, and a Criterion re-release is in the works.

We had a bit of a debate about this during the 1990s list a few years back. Whilst I had qualms about it back then (mostly the interchangeability of African American and Black British experience without getting into specifics, though as Satori mentioned in their response that may be the point), its certainly a film that (sadly) seems just as relevant to the current climate as it did back in the 1990s.

I would expect an Ashley Clark liner notes essay on this edition at the very least, since he helped to rediscover the film for US audiences in recent years! And there are a lot of short films by Onwurah that it would be wonderful to have a chance to see.

[beamish14]

Hopper/Welles, a conversation between Dennis Hopper
and Orson Welles courtesy of the creative team that finished The Other Side of the Wind, is hitting festivals soon. Seems like a plausible
reason for why TOSOTW hasn't been released on Criterion just yet.

[FrauBlucher]

Atom Egoyan confirms on the latest episode of the Criterion Now podcast that his films that appeared this month on the Criterion Channel will be receiving a physical release sometime in the future. He says this around the 32 minute mark.

Do we see these releases as a boxset?

[Pavel]

I suspect so; doubt Criterion will release all eight of the added films separately (especially, say, Adoration or Next of Kin).

[willoneill]

I suspect so; doubt Criterion will release all eight of the added films separately (especially, say, Adoration or Next of Kin).

I'm going to disagree slightly; of the 8 Egoyans currently playing on the Criterion channel, 7 are his first 7 features, and then they skip 3 films and show Adoration. So if anything, the first 7 might be a box set and then Adoration separate. Or even more likely, the first four in a set, because they used to have/still have the same U.S. rights holder (Zeitgeist), and then the other four separately or in a second set.

[yoloswegmaster]

Someone on the blu-ray.com forum is claiming that Criterion will be releasing 'West Side Story' next year with some new extras.

[domino harvey]

Someone on the blu-ray.com forum is claiming that Criterion will be releasing 'West Side Story' next year with some new extras.

Not a surprise, was hinted in the new year’s clue a few years ago, but one I think many assumed was stalled

[CSM126]

Someone on the blu-ray.com forum is claiming that Criterion will be releasing 'West Side Story' next year with some new extras.

Not a surprise, was hinted in the new year’s clue a few years ago, but one I think many assumed was stalled

To be fair, the clue was a Cuban flag and some music notes, which could just as easily have been referencing Buena Vista Social Club.

[Never Cursed]

If it at all comes out (and of course it is a big 'if,' thank you left Twitter for that), hopefully they can use the original 6-track mix.

[domino harvey]

Oh lord, what now? Is Natalie Wood canceled for being Maria? Is “Gee Officer Krupke”’s mockery of bleeding heart liberals too hot to handle these days?

[Big Ben]

My memory is absolute trash right now but I don't recall West Side Story being offensive to the point that anyone would complain about it to the point of denying it a release. I mean it's dated in some respects and "Gee Officer Krupke" may cause some eye rolls here and there but I don't think that's a deal-breaker. I mean even Gone With the Wind came back with a simple disclaimer and that's a way, way worse film to discuss in the current zeitgeist.

[domino harvey]

It made my eyes roll so far back into my head I could see my brain trying to come up with the perfect quip when it was revealed they cut “Krupke” from the remake for a song called “ACAB”— oh dear me, we can’t have any self-criticism from the left, let’s change the target to the current zeitgeist of flipping off cops from a safe distance instead

[Never Cursed]

It's mostly stuff relating to the brownface/white actors playing Puerto Rican-Americans. I've seen the pushback from people both online and in the real world, with many of the people I personally know to be against the film entrenched in left/film twitter circles

[Ribs]

I would not be surprised if the other MGM/UA Best Picture winners that aren’t Rocky are all on the docket - Kramer vs Kramer, Ordinary People (no Blu anywhere in the world, weirdly!), and Terms of Endearment all seem like things they’d go after.

[Big Ben]

It made my eyes roll so far back into my head I could see my brain trying to come up with the perfect quip when it was revealed they cut “Krupke” from the remake for a song called “ACAB”— oh dear me, we can’t have any self-criticism from the left, let’s change the target to the current zeitgeist of flipping off cops from a safe distance instead

Did you read that somewhere else? I could have sworn it was just a joke a user here made. But again my brain is mush.

[domino harvey]

Now that Roman Holiday is finally coming, Ordinary People has to be the most inexplicable MIA title from Blu-Ray world wide. But it’s with Paramount, which I remember because my DVD copy of it came with one of those dumb 80s mix CDs for some reason

[domino harvey]

It made my eyes roll so far back into my head I could see my brain trying to come up with the perfect quip when it was revealed they cut “Krupke” from the remake for a song called “ACAB”— oh dear me, we can’t have any self-criticism from the left, let’s change the target to the current zeitgeist of flipping off cops from a safe distance instead

Did you read that somewhere else? I could have sworn it was just a joke a user here made. But again my brain is mush.

Without checking I’m pretty sure it was Never Cursed who posted it? If it was a joke, then that was a big woosh on me

[Ribs]

Whoops! Memory failed me, suppose that kind of explains why no one has done it anywhere. Still think the other two seem likely for revisits, from Criterion or from others, MGM seems to be making a real effort at new go-rounds for its classics.

[Never Cursed]

It made my eyes roll so far back into my head I could see my brain trying to come up with the perfect quip when it was revealed they cut “Krupke” from the remake for a song called “ACAB”— oh dear me, we can’t have any self-criticism from the left, let’s change the target to the current zeitgeist of flipping off cops from a safe distance instead

Did you read that somewhere else? I could have sworn it was just a joke a user here made. But again my brain is mush.

Without checking I’m pretty sure it was Never Cursed who posted it? If it was a joke, then that was a big woosh on me

I think you're referring to the following (which I'm 99% is a joke)

The song "Gee, Officer Krupke" has been replaced by the newly-written "ACAB."

[domino harvey]

Sorry for impugning you! I am only too glad to be the victim of eating the Onion on this because I’d much rather live in a world where that didn’t happen

[therewillbeblus]

I just bought the 50th anniversary blu of West Side Story last month, so there ya go. Considering Kindergarten Cop has been getting canceled lately for being something related to police, Criterion needs to think about how woke it wants to be and draw some lines in the sand before getting swallowed up by the zeitgeist entirely.

[willoneill]

I would not be surprised if the other MGM/UA Best Picture winners that aren’t Rocky are all on the docket - Kramer vs Kramer, Ordinary People (no Blu anywhere in the world, weirdly!), and Terms of Endearment all seem like things they’d go after.

Terms of Endearment is, like Ordinary People, a Paramount film, and Kramer is Sony.

[Ribs]

Ha, don’t mind me, I guess I just imagined some weird miracle run for MGM for several years, sorry!

[Calvin]

After Rocky, UA did win again with Annie Hall - another film (with a recent restoration, not yet released) that could go to Criterion if they ignore Film Twitter.

[Blutarsky]

After Rocky, UA did win again with Annie Hall - another film (with a recent restoration, not yet released) that could go to Criterion if they ignore Film Twitter.

If by some miracle Annie Hall was released by Criterion, it would seem like a waste. Allen is notorious on having no special features. Maybe he’ll relent if Criterion decide to release his most popular film.

I know this isn’t related to the UA discussion but is Mean Streets OOP by Warner Bros. ? Could we assume Criterion has access to early Scorsese features sans Taxi Driver?