Criterion Newsletter

[tryavna]

Nope, you're all wrong. The newsletter's probably talking about Maurice Tourneur's 1920 version of Last of the Mohicans, which featured both Lugosi and Karloff in bit parts. Why is this the most logical explanation? Because we all know how much of an effort Criterion makes to get silent classics released!

[Cinephrenic]

Even though the bird is just a symbolic reference to death and the movie "The Raven" which had Karloff, I wouldn't read into it too much. I mean they weren't going to put a alligator or mice. We know that Corridors of Blood and The Haunted Strangler was coming from Criterion and seems like the only possible worthy release not on DVD (at least in print) featuring Karloff.

[domino harvey]

I think this is obviously a roundabout way of announcing the Godard box set

[dx23]

I think that these are hints for Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome and some Ed Wood DVDs that Criterion is going to release under the new label Eclipse. They are going to be followed by the Criterion original documentary "Move Over Lugosi; Make Room for Karloff"

[JabbaTheSlut]

Raven is "Cria Cuervos" (Saura)??

[Lino]

A bit of a long shot there. "Cuervos" is the plural for Raven but Karloff is not in the Saura film.

I'm putting my bets on Corridors of Blood.

[JabbaTheSlut]

Yeah, a long shot, but that´s my bet, or a wish...

http://www.filmlinc.com/wrt/onsale/janu ... ervos.html

[Ashirg]

From DVD Savant:

In other brief news, a hint in this week's Criterion newsletter says 'move over Lugosi, make room for Karloff,' which we guess is their way of leaking the news that Richard Gordon's English thrillers The Haunted Strangler and Corridors of Blood are on the way in presumably terrific Criterion editions. Corridors has some legendary surgical scenes that the existing Image DVD ellipses with a crude splice; it'll be interesting to get the straight dope on that picture. And if I remember correctly Christopher Lee has fun with a Bill Sykes-like thug character named Resurrection Joe. Tom Weaver has said that the discs may be out in January or February.

[ByMarkClark.com]

Far be it from me to say I told ya so, but I posted eons ago that CORRIDORS OF BLOOD and THE HAUNTED STRANGLER were coming from Criterion (or from the apparently-abandoned Eclipse imprint). I got the news directly from Dick Gordon, confirmed by Tom Weaver.

I suspect these discs have been completed for some time. A friend of mine who conducted some of the interviews that will be included on these discs, sent me a VHS copy of that material close to 2 years ago now. I think these will be superb discs.

Criterion also owns SEs of Dick's FIRST MAN INTO SPACE and his brother, Alex's, THE ATOMIC SUBMARINE, both of which will hopefully street the same time as the Karloff discs.

[ByMarkClark.com]

I have just been informed by an entirely reliable source that all four Gordon Criterions -- CORRIDORS OF BLOOD, THE HAUNTED STRANGLER, FIRST MAN INTO SPACE and THE ATOMIC SUBMARINE -- will be released in mid-January.

[Cinesimilitude]

I have just been informed by an entirely reliable source that all four Gordon Criterions -- CORRIDORS OF BLOOD, THE HAUNTED STRANGLER, FIRST MAN INTO SPACE and THE ATOMIC SUBMARINE -- will be released in mid-January.

Has this source told you releases before and got them right?

[Cinephrenic]

It would of been nice if they had Fiend Without a Face in a boxset of all of Richard Gordon produced films. I wonder if they will include Return to Glennascaul (a short with Orson Welles). I haven't seen it, but looks interesting.

http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0043964/

[alandau]

move over lugosi
make room for karloff

a hint of Edgar Ulmer's THE BLACK CAT which has already been released by Universal in a pristine bare-bones edition in the Lugosi set, however, which would be nice in a special edition, with commentary and extras.

[LightBulbFilm]

To get off track from the Lugosi/Karloff discussion, did anyone notice a certain film missing from Lurie's top 10? ie. Down By Law... Did Lurie and Jarmusch have a falling out or something? Because it sure is strange he mentions his own series before the far superior in all shapes and forms Down By Law.

[colinr0380]

It would of been nice if they had Fiend Without a Face in a boxset of all of Richard Gordon produced films.

It does sound like at least the four new releases would be in a boxset if they're all coming out at the same time. They seem like films that would be more attractive all coming together. I don't know if there is some strange psychic link to Criterion going on - I watched The Blob the day before Equinox was announced and just last week rewatched Fiend Without A Face again! I'm probably just spending too much time watching films!

It would also be a good time when these are released not only to get Fiend but to also check out Synapse's release of
Bizarre (aka Secrets of Sex), which has another great commentary by Richard Gordon and Tom Weaver, plus the William Burroughs shorts The Cut Ups and Towers Open Fire that make an excellent companion to the Naked Lunch disc!

[ByMarkClark.com]

>>Has this source told you releases before and got them right?<<

Yes.

>>It does sound like at least the four new releases would be in a boxset if they're all coming out at the same time.<<

I'm told the current plan is to release them as a pair of double-features: CORRIDORS/STRANGLER and FIRST MAN/ATOMIC SUB. However, Criterion is still considering releasing all four as a boxed set.

Personally, I think the way to go would be to release the two twin bill discs separately AND issue a box that would include all four along with FIEND WITHOUT A FACE. But nobody's asking me!

[ByMarkClark.com]

>>I wonder if they will include Return to Glennascaul (a short with Orson Welles). I haven't seen it, but looks interesting.<<

RETURN TO GLENNASCAUL (aka ORSON WELLES' GHOST STORY) is a wonderful short. But I am unaware of any plans to include it with this set of titles.

[Buttery Jeb]

Criterion included "Return to Glennascaul" on their LD of Orson Welles' "Othello." So it's not outside the realm of possibility.

-BJ

[Theodore R. Stockton]

I got my newsletter yesterday.

[dx23]

Recieved a Janus Film Newsletter with several exciting news:


[quote]FOR FIFTY YEARS, THE PREEMINENT U.S. DISTRIBUTOR OF FOREIGN AND CLASSIC FILMS THAT HAVE COLLECTIVELY SHAPED THE ART OF CONTEMPORARY CINEMA



DEAR CRITERION VIEWERS.

Janus Films' extensive library of classics has always been an important part of the Criterion Collection. Now, we are pleased to announce and celebrate Janus's fiftieth anniversary—and the festivities have already begun. From an upcoming DVD box set to cable-TV series and theatrical road shows, celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of the legendary distributor will be everywhere this fall.

On September 30, the forty-fourth annual New York Film Festival, run by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, kicks off with a monthlong sidebar featuring all-new 35mm prints of classic Janus titles. This series, titled 50 Years of Janus Films, will feature a wide variety of great movies, from the iconic—The Seventh Seal and La strada—to the less well-known, many of which haven't been seen in years and are unavailable on DVD, including Carlos Saura's Cria cuervos and Mario Monicelli's The Organizer. It is rediscoveries like these that continue to make Janus Films fresh and exciting today.

You can read more about the films in this series here, but even if you don't live in New York, you can still see these movies on the big screen: 50 Years of Janus Films will subsequently tour to Boston; San Francisco; Berkeley and San Rafael, California; Chicago; Pleasantville, New York; Seattle; Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; Toronto; and other cities in the United States and Canada in the coming year.

And our friends at Turner Classic Movies are currently presenting a grand selection of Janus films throughout the month of September, from classic Akira Kurosawa to “hidden gemsâ€

[tavernier]

Cria Cuervos, The Organizer and Death of a Cyclist could be expected soon from Criterion.

Pretty much knew that already when the 50 Years slate at the NY film fest was announced months ago.

[Gigi M.]

[jesus the mexican boi]

Olivier in exotic flannels sounds like THE ENTERTAINER. The spiders pulling the cart: Spider's Stratagem?

[tryavna]

Just got this, too.

Probably 49th Parallel, no?

[Derek Estes]

49th Parallel for sure.