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Napier wrote:

swo17 wrote:Soderbergh's Solaris

Well, hopefully that means the Tarkovsky film will get an upgrade!

That is what is exciting for me. I am not a fan of Soderbergh's film, but if it helps get Tarkovsky on BD, I am all for it.

Napier wrote:

swo17 wrote:Soderbergh's Solaris

Well, hopefully that means the Tarkovsky film will get an upgrade!

I'd imagine that this would most certainly accompany a Tarkovsky upgrade. Interesting news.

that link has been updated: No "Solaris" from Criterion

Yeah, the story has been retracted.

tavernier wrote:that link has been updated: No "Solaris" from Criterion

Perhaps a misunderstanding on which Solaris there's been talk of?

Guy on their Facebook wall: "Why are most of the films you have on netflix instant queue currently set to expire on September 22nd? - Most of the ones on my queue, including Solaris, Amacord, The Passion of Joan D'Arc, M. Hulot's Holiday....."

Were 'Hulot' and 'Jeanne d'Arc' not rumored for blu upgrades? With two strange events about Solaris and these other two, could they be forthcoming blu upgrades alltogether? I may be going a bit Jim Garrison here.

Why would anyone think Soderbergh's Solaris would be forthcoming at all (except maybe for a Blu upgrade)? The existing disc is still in print, nicely stacked, and can be had for under $10.

Werewolf by Night wrote:Why would anyone think Soderbergh's Solaris would be forthcoming at all (except maybe for a Blu upgrade)? The existing disc is still in print, nicely stacked, and can be had for under $10.

Because someone reported to the Playlist blog that Mulvaney had confirmed it, that's why.

Okay, maybe my question should have been: Why would anyone ask Criterion about Soderbergh's Solaris at all (except maybe for a Blu upgrade)? The existing disc is still in print, nicely stacked, and can be had for under $10.

Crazier things have been asked for. In fact, maybe it's not so crazy;

1. Soderbergh (there's a relationship there)
2. Fox (they have licensed films from them)
3. The content (Criterion released the original)
4. The Blu factor (I doubt this is high up on Fox's list of potential blus)

does anyone know the status of "russian ark"? it's not available on amazon and the third party sellers have hiked up their prices, which isn't definitive of it being out of print but has me determined to pick it up if it does come back.

is there any rumor of it getting a spine number?

EchelonSD6 wrote:Guy on their Facebook wall: "Why are most of the films you have on netflix instant queue currently set to expire on September 22nd? - Most of the ones on my queue, including Solaris, Amacord, The Passion of Joan D'Arc, M. Hulot's Holiday....."

Were 'Hulot' and 'Jeanne d'Arc' not rumored for blu upgrades? With two strange events about Solaris and these other two, could they be forthcoming blu upgrades alltogether? I may be going a bit Jim Garrison here.

I'd say that's a good bet. They did indeed mention that both Hulot and Jean d'Arc were Blu candidates for 2011, and they did a new restoration of Amarcord a year or so ago and toured it theatrically. I don't think they'll all come out at once, but I wouldn't be surprised to see all of those make it to Blu next year.

Is there a chance Criterion may ever release John Schlesinger's Darling? I only found out yesterday that they released it on laserdisc back in the day, and it contained a commentary by Schlesinger. The current MGM disc is non-anamorphic and barebones. While it doesnt's seem to be as highly regarded today as Midnight Cowboy or even Billy Liar, I've always thought this was a great film and an interesting look at the "Swinging 60s." And I'd love to hear Schlesinger's thoughts on it.

Just a bit of speculation: I notice that the two Frank Capra films "Lady for a Day" and "Meet John Doe" distributed by Image Entertainment are both out of print. Wouldn't be surprised if Image let the rights lapse and Criterion picked them up, or Criterion licensed them directly from Image. Image has licensed these films as well as some educational shorts Capra directed from the Capra estate since the VHS days. Criterion also released "Lady for a Day" on laserdisc.

Wouldn't be surprised at all to see these two in the pipeline. Vintage Capra in the collection would be nice.

To me it's much more likely that a company like VCI or perhaps Sony will pick these titles up.

Could be wrong, but I thought 'Doe' was public domain..

Yes, it is public domain. If you want the good elements etc. you have to still license the rights from the Capra estate. Which is why the OOP Meet John Doe from Image looked much nicer than the public domain versions. There are numerous examples of this in the collection, most recently with Night Train to Munich. It looks good because Criterion grabbed the rights from Fox and had access to their elements. The public domain releases all use inferior sources.

Thanks for the clarification.. I'd be thrilled to see Meet John Doe from Criterion..

I'd be surprised to see them in the pipeline-- doesn't mean it's not possible, but I just don't see them having the recognition and the pull with hardcore cinephiles and the general buying public to earn a slot in the flagship line in this economy. Maybe an early Capra box from Eclipse-- and this is mere top-of-the-head stuff, not checking if any of these are WB-- with some of the Stanwyck material, and DOE, perhaps, would be do-able.. how nice it would be to see General Yen and Miracle Woman in the line???

Maybe I'm wrong but I don't see them as any more obscure than Night Train to Munich, Make Way for Tomorrow, Design for Living, etc.

If they could get titles like The Bitter Tea of General Yen from Columbia, I don't think they would dump them into an Eclipse set.

I agree with ianungstad that Meet John Doe is probably in the same league as films like Make Way for Tomorrow and Design for Living as far as their appeal to cinephiles and the general public. Certainly not something that would be dumped in the Eclipse line. I believe the best edition of Meet John Doe to date was a 2-disc British edition that is now out of print. It may very well be my favorite Capra, and I'd love to see it in a decent edition (from any company).

My only concern is that I believe the Image DVD has been out of print for several years now. If Criterion hasn't shown any interest by now, I'm not exactly getting my hopes up.

Image doesn't generally take things out of print prior to a Criterion release. Their versions of 8 1/2 and Ivan the Terrible are still available.

If there is anything I would love to see Criterion get would actually be the extremely rare Frank Capra silent films. The silent film organization, The Silent Treatment, actually cajoled Columbia to restore a few Capra prints and they premiered them earlier this year here in Los Angeles. They were Submarine, The Way of the Strong and So This Is Love? which had all had practically flawless prints. If Criterion could work from these beautiful new prints, it would be a dream come true. If worse comes to worse, I really wouldn't mind a Eclipse sets of the silents. These films aren't only excellent silents, but they have the historical value of taking Columbia studios out of skid row.

ianungstad wrote:If they could get titles like The Bitter Tea of General Yen from Columbia, I don't think they would dump them into an Eclipse set.

Read elsewhere on this board where Sony is working to get this out as part of Capra vol 2 (along with Forbidden and The Miracle Woman). Maybe they'll stick the silents in there as well, and perhaps some other goodies. (Suppose Criterion could pull another BBS Story...)

"General Yen" and "Miracle Woman" are in the UK Stanwyck collection, which is a mixture of Universal and Sony titles. Do they do this sort of joint effort in the US?