Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

[FrauBlucher]

They posted a video on the Summertime page

[ryannichols7]

really intrigued what the source for the restoration will be, it looks really nice and an obvious huge step up from the old DVD. I don't believe a recent restoration has been done at all

[dekadetia]

really intrigued what the source for the restoration will be, it looks really nice and an obvious huge step up from the old DVD. I don't believe a recent restoration has been done at all

There's an HD copy on the Channel right now but the color is much warmer and more saturated there than it is in the clip on the website. Not sure what to make of that.

[black&huge]

is there staff recovering from a cool hand luke 50 boiled easter egg hangover? where are these damn announcements. I'm gonna guess 3 pm PT/6pm ET

[Drucker]

Anecdotally the subways were empty today so yes maybe everyone is taking it easy!

[guyetgenevieve]

My conspiracy theory is that the Coming Soon page's code/layout can't handle more than 20 titles on its page, and since there are currently 16 titles on the Coming Soon page (until tomorrow), they're unable to pull it off right now... this is what I'm telling myself to try to stay sane

[FrauBlucher]

CC tweeted tomorrow with this pic..

[ryannichols7]

that is apparently Raging Bull, for what it's worth

[FrauBlucher]

The pic has to be for the film getting announced. It looks like another laserdisc makes it's return

[eerik]

I was a bit bored so I took a look

The Virgin Suicides 4k
Raging Bull 4k
Okja 4k
Devil in a Blue Dress 4k
Summertime
Drive My Car

[dwk]

My conspiracy theory is that the Coming Soon page's code/layout can't handle more than 20 titles on its page, and since there are currently 16 titles on the Coming Soon page (until tomorrow), they're unable to pull it off right now... this is what I'm telling myself to try to stay sane

It would be absolutely hilarious if this were the case, but I could swear I've seen more than 20 titles on the coming soon page. I just assume that everyone in the office is busy playing with the office dogs and forgot to update the site.

[Ribs]

Really feels strange that after something like an 1000 title gap between Last Temptation of Christ and Age of Innocence we’ve now got Irishman, Rolling Thunder Revue, the shorts release, and the Last Waltz. Especially as I’m sure this won’t slow down the expectation that After Hours or New York New York have to be around the corner!

[domino harvey]

I was a bit bored so I took a look

Okja 4k

Well, we all saw this coming as the first Netflix title to get UHD treatment from Criterion

[Calvin]

I expected Mean Streets to be the next Scorsese, but I'm sure it's not too far away - the old Warner release has been OOP for a while now. I expect that they'll probably do After Hours as well; the only real question marks are Who's That Knocking at My Door and Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More - the former would pair well with Mean Streets, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was an extra if Scorsese allowed it.

[ryannichols7]

I was a bit bored so I took a look

The Virgin Suicides 4k
Raging Bull 4k
Okja 4k
Devil in a Blue Dress 4k
Summertime
Drive My Car

how did you find this?

[therewillbeblus]

If we're gonna list off which Scorsese titles Criterion should prioritize, why not go with his best film not yet on blu*, Bringing Out the Dead

*or, period

[domino harvey]

Nicholas Cage just named that as one of his three favorite starring roles, so he’d probably heartily participate in extras too

[movielocke]

Really feels strange that after something like an 1000 title gap between Last Temptation of Christ and Age of Innocence we’ve now got Irishman, Rolling Thunder Revue, the shorts release, and the Last Waltz. Especially as I’m sure this won’t slow down the expectation that After Hours or New York New York have to be around the corner!

plus introductions for WCP v3.

After the irishmen promotional obligations wrapped and with pre-production on Flower Moon paused/delayed because of the pandemic it must have REALLY opened up Scorsese's schedule and criterion got time scheduled for a lot of (probably) long simmering projects to get approvals. maybe there's a WCP v4 on deck for later in the year.

[Finch]

If eerik's list is accurate, then what is the world coming to if Devil in a Blue Dress gets a UHD ahead of One False Move (or Okja ahead of Mother)? [-(

Seconding TWBB on Bringing Out The Dead.

[ryannichols7]

I also find it hard to believe Devil in a Blue Dress would be the first Sony title licensed to both Indicator and Criterion. or that Paramount will suddenly start licensing out 4K titles out of nowhere, when they haven't licensed anything new to CC in ages

[The Narrator Returns]

Cage said a few months ago that a Bringing Out the Dead restoration was in the works, he didn't specify Criterion doing that but now that seems very likely.

[dwk]

ryannicholas7, Watermelon Man is under license to Criterion in the US and Indicator in the UK.

I am pretty excited about The Virgin Suicides getting a UHD, because it is a Paramount title and they, so far, haven't licensed those rights (although it is possible that American Zoetrope made this happen and not Paramount being open to licensing UHD rights.)

[Ribs]

I also find it hard to believe Devil in a Blue Dress would be the first Sony title licensed to both Indicator and Criterion. or that Paramount will suddenly start licensing out 4K titles out of nowhere, when they haven't licensed anything new to CC in ages

As was established with Watermelon Man, all that Indicator's release indicates is Criterion wasn't interested at the time Indicator licensed it. As Devil in a Blue Dress was initially licensed likely 2+ years ago, prior to Criterion's sharper focus on African-American filmmakers, it seems perfectly reasonable Criterion could have subsequently nabbed the US rights (and, depending how Sony's deals are laid out, possibly the 4K rights in the UK?).

[swo17]

If there really are four UHD releases about to be announced, that's encouraging news (and we already established that Drive My Car only has a 2K master to begin with)

[Finch]

On the plus side, that's four UHD titles in a single month. Let's hope they have enough staff on their QC team and keep them happy!

I wonder if they are going to bother making Virgin Suicides a dual format since the four year old BD which is from the 4k resto still appears to be in print?