criterionforum.org

There is certainly a better message in The Sixth Sense than there was from The Eye (for instance) - at least Sixth Sense suggests seeing ghosts is a burden but one which you have to carry in order to help them pass on. In The Eye seeing ghosts is a burden that can only be alleviated by:

Spoiler

becoming beatifically blind again. Well, that makes everything better!

Colin, see "new films in production" for this EYE discussion.

I think a lot of movies on the "Forthcoming Criterion list" can be deleted. Who is going to buy a Criterion version of Cronenberg's "Crash" when it is likely available on Blu-Ray. Malle's "Damage" is another that could be deleted...these films are usually released early on a new format when a new technology is introduced...

...Why buy a Criterion version of a movie when it's likely to be on Blu-Ray? It makes sense to buy Pierrot Le Fou 'cause you'll not see it in the new format for a good 3-4 years...

Who is going to buy a Criterion version of Cronenberg's "Crash" when it is likely available on Blu-Ray.

I'd buy a Criterion Crash in a heartbeat... And it doesn't seem to me to me the kind of title that is gonna be out on HD anytime soon.

But I do guess how much longer we can believe these titles are in the pipeline is questionable.

I'd buy a Criterion Crash in a heartbeat...

I'd snap 'em up in a heartbeat, too. My TV and computer are non-HD compatible, and my living room isn't big enough for an HD TV. Once the economy starts improving, maybe I can buy a new house and a bigger TV and on down the line, but until THAT happens I'm "stuck" buying SD releases that won't be seen on HD for a while anyway.

I e-mailed Jonathan about both The Thin Red Line and The Darjeeling Limited. Here was the response.

Hey Tom -

No plans at the moment but always hard to say on Wes' films.

J.

Seems that Criterion may be about to announce their new titles or something (or some sort of HD release). I went to the site and saw the list in a sort of fucked up state:



Clicking the Brazil link seemed to just lead to the actual Brazil boxset.

Hmm.. Perhaps they've just edited the page - going to the original Brazil shows the 1 discer with a link to the one linked in the picture.

Does anyone think there's a possibility that Criterion would release some films by Aki Kaurismäki? I have no idea who has the US rights but, being one of my favorite directors, I would love to see more of his films on dvd in region-one land. Perhaps an Eclipse release...?

I keep hoping for a Criterion two-fer of What Did the Lady Forget and its post-war quasi-remake Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice. Sort of an Ozu Lubitsch homage set...

Has anyone requested that Criterion consider releasing COME BACK TO THE FIVE AND DIME, JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN? That is one of the few Altman films not available on DVD. I suppose that the music rights might present a clearance problem. Most of the cast are still in show business, and with the film's theme of reunion, I'd love to have an audio commentary "reunion" track with as many of the actresses as possible.

pauling wrote:Does anyone think there's a possibility that Criterion would release some films by Aki Kaurismäki? I have no idea who has the US rights but, being one of my favorite directors, I would love to see more of his films on dvd in region-one land. Perhaps an Eclipse release...?

They've given out pretty discoutaging "No"s in the past. Outside of R1, however, his work has been lovingly DVD'd.

Jobla wrote:Has anyone requested that Criterion consider releasing COME BACK TO THE FIVE AND DIME, JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN? That is one of the few Altman films not available on DVD. I suppose that the music rights might present a clearance problem. Most of the cast are still in show business, and with the film's theme of reunion, I'd love to have an audio commentary "reunion" track with as many of the actresses as possible.

I've brought it up to them before. It's owned by Viacom, so it's part of the Paramount library.

So, what does everybody think is going to get announced on Friday for May?

I'm thinking that The Thief of Baghdad is a lock (although I thought that for April as well), The Furies (not quite so sure),
Mishima (a man can dream), and a boxset (I'm personally hoping for The Human Condition Trilogy). Could be Europa/Zentropa instead of one of the above (and my own personal hope for Wise Blood). As for Eclipse, I'm thinking Imamura/Mizoguchi (though I thought they were likely for last month too, so who knows).

Poking around, Before the Rain sounds like a lock for May. Could be Bottle Rocket too. There are just too many possibilities in the pipeline.

Are any of the spring or summer months notorious for being notably better for retail than the others? That's when I'd expect BOTTLE ROCKET to surface.

I'm still desperately hanging on to the hope that Salo is still on the table. If its been in the pipeline this whole time, Friday is as likely an announcement as any. Has anyone asked about this since we last heard confirmation back in 2006?

This should be a pretty big month, with a major boxset considering the April was such a light month. I'm guessing something else was in the works and wasn't completed in time. The Human Condition trilogy and the Ophuls sets are both likely candidates (although both TOGETHER would be a little much to hope for...).

With the last few months announcements, anything goes really. I just hope it won't be shitty.

Don't forget White Dog and the Fuller re-issues. I'd my money on those plus some stuff we never expected.

Cronenfly wrote:So, what does everybody think is going to get announced on Friday for May?

For about the sixth month in a row, I'll be quietly rooting that the Ophuls set's time has come. Le Jour Se Leve is still owed a standalone release apart from the Janus box, so I'm forever thinking that's an imminent release as well.

I predict no eclipse.

Which reminds me, something something Gorin's Three Popular Films set

But seriously, the next boxed set will probably be a Samuel Fuller one ala Varda: the two reissues plus White Dog plus a fourth title we never knew was on the table: Maybe Park Row? Maybe even Run of the Arrow?

I foresee a big Hollywood Eclipse set: Maybe a set from Mann (I suspect the Furies will be shacked with some more Manns rather than released on its own) or one of the Vons

And wasn't there a title that was for sure revealed as coming in May? An Iranian film maybe? Someone will quote this within five minutes and tell me the title.

Before the Rain is the May shoo-in. It's Macedonian, not Iranian.

I forgot about the Fullers, Gorin, and Salo; so many possibilities.

What other Mann titles could go in an Eclipse boxset? I would think that, unless Paramount owns any more, that Criterion would release The Furies as a standalone (given that they don't seem to like mixing licensees on their boxset releases).

domino harvey wrote:But seriously, the next boxed set will probably be a Samuel Fuller one ala Varda: the two reissues plus White Dog plus a fourth title we never knew was on the table: Maybe Park Row? Maybe even Run of the Arrow?

Oh God don't even think it. If they bury White Dog in a boxset...that would make me an unhappy camper. I don't need to re-purchase Shock Corridor to get a movie I don't have yet.

domino harvey wrote:And wasn't there a title that was for sure revealed as coming in May? An Iranian film maybe? Someone will quote this within five minutes and tell me the title.

From Macedonia. "Before the Rain".

The graphic designer from Austin (forget his name) who did the packages for Walker, Two-Lane Blacktop, Dazed and Confused is designing the package for it.

As for my guesses for the rest of the slate: The Fire Within by Malle, Wise Blood by Houston, Thief of Bagdad by the Kordas

Eclipse: I'm going to go with one of the italian directors, wishful thinking probably.

CSM126 wrote:

domino harvey wrote:But seriously, the next boxed set will probably be a Samuel Fuller one ala Varda: the two reissues plus White Dog plus a fourth title we never knew was on the table: Maybe Park Row? Maybe even Run of the Arrow?

Oh God don't even think it. If they bury White Dog in a boxset...that would make me an unhappy camper. I don't need to re-purchase Shock Corridor to get a movie I don't have yet.

I don't think that they'd mix in White Dog like that... too many rights issues, for one (as a boxset release), and it just wouldn't make sense given how all over the place the films would be as a package.

With the Imamura retrospective still in full swing at the Siskel Film Center (is it stopping any where else after?), I would guess that Eclipse set isn't gonna hit until late summer/early fall at the very earliest -- just judging from the timelines of other major retros to come out.

-Toilet Dcuk