Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

[Stefan Andersson]

+1 vote for a Satyajit Ray box set. But he was born in 1921, so it´s probably too late for a 2021 centenary box set.

[beamish14]

+1 vote for a Satyajit Ray box set. But he was born in 1921, so it´s probably too late for a 2021 centenary box set.

The AMPAS restorations are stunning. The Adversary was such a revelation.

[therewillbeblus]

The Adversary was such a revelation.

I would kill to see a restoration of this, my favorite Ray film

[justeleblanc]

We need a Fassbinder set.

We do. Is there a comprehensive list of all the Fassbinder titles that have received restorations so far and which ones are planned?

Is this it?

Thanks! This seems to be a list of only the titles that Janus is currently distributing theatrically. It appears to be missing some titles that Janus holds the rights to (such as Chinese Roulette and Querelle) as well as titles that have been given 2k and 4k restorations over the last few years (Third Generation, Martha, and Year of 13 Moons, to name a few).

Given the rate that Criterion releases Fassbinder films on Blu ray (one a year, at best), it doesn't seem likely that they would ever roll out individual releases of titles like Fear of Fear or Satan's Brew. These and the vast majority of the other former Wellspring titles would likely only be released if Criterion would ever produce a Fass box. Mother Kuster is maybe the one exception, IMHO.

[Hogfather]

Here are a couple things that I know that relate to some of the most recent discourse:

On Nagisa Oshima: Janus has several of his films that they haven’t released yet. They are:
- The Ceremony
- The Man Who Left His Will on Film
- Boy
- Diary of a Shinjuku Thief
Most notably, Diary of a Shinjuku thief had a ghost page on Criterion’s website last year. Aside from that, Gohatto is on the Criterion Channel.

On Yasujiro Ozu - some of his work is owned by Janus, and hasn’t been released by Criterion or is included in an Eclipse Set, so a box set or a couple individual releases might be in the future. The films that Janus owns but Criterion hasn’t released are:
- I Graduated, But...
- I Flunked, But...
- Where Now Are The Dreams of Youth?
- Women of Tokyo
- A Mother Should Be Loved
- An Inn in Tokyo
- Record of a Tenement Gentleman
There was also a restoration of Floating Weeds not all that long ago, so it may be upgraded with A Story of Floating Weeds.

On Rainer Werner Fassbinder - Janus owns five films that haven’t been released by Criterion. They are:
- Effi Briest
- Fear of Fear
- Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven
- Satan’s Brew
- Chinese Roulette (you can see it on Janus’ website on the laptop I’m using, but not on a phone)
Aside from that, there are several Fassbinder films on the Criterion Channel that aren’t on Janus’ website. They are:
- Martha
- In a Year of 13 Moons
- The Third Generation
- Querelle (I’ve heard that Janus owns this one, but it’s not on their website)

On Satyajit Ray - All of his movies on Janus’ website have been released by Criterion so far, but there are several others on the Criterion Channel. They are:
- Devi
- Three Daughters
- Rabindranath Tagore
- The Elephant God
- The Holy Man

Now remember, these guys made other movies that might make their way into the collection, and these are just the ones on Janus Films’ website and the Criterion Channel.

[Trond Trondsen]

Did any one notice that they sort of confirmed this a month ago? They posted a Tarkovsky stamp on their Instagram and someone in the comments asked "Mirror 2021?" and they replied "Yes".

Also I'm glad my semi-prediction on another thread came true. Considering the color of the sky in the poster, It seems like Criterion has taken some liberty with their release of Mirror.

Andrei Tarkovsky Jr. is involved, contact has been made with the original color grader (who's still alive), the original 'color passport' still exists, what I have seen so far looks absolutely stunning. There will be some killer bonus materials, too. I think the pink in the poster will be toned down. Everybody agrees it's a bit over the top and not what AT intended.

[justeleblanc]

Now remember, these guys made other movies that might make their way into the collection, and these are just the ones on Janus Films’ website and the Criterion Channel.

Thanks! And yes, there are other movies that will likely make it into the collection. Fassbinder's Third Generation and 13 Moon, for example, were just given top-notch restorations thanks to his estate, and given Criterion's relationship to his estate I imagine that these too will become part of Janus's future holdings (along with all other Fassbinder restorations paid for by his estate). Still, I'm puzzled that films like Rio Das Mortes and Niklashauser Fart are excluded from the Janus catalogue, considering that they were likely part of the same deal that gave Janus the other Wellspring titles. But I guess, given that they were not included in the Eclipse set, Janus simply opted to pass on them.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

I'm pretty sure In a Year of 13 Moons and The Third Generation are with Canal, along with Martha and Germany in Autumn which they acquired via their purchase of Kinowelt in 2008. Thankfully that's no longer the impediment to a Criterion release that it once was. It's possible Janus has Rio das Mortes and Die Niklashauser Fart and simply don't have any copies on hand—as has been noted before, the Janus site only lists holdings for which they have actual materials—but while those were among the films previously released by Wellspring, they aren't owned by the estate like the others and are instead part of the Beta Film library. So it's plausible that Janus were for some reason unable to acquire them along with the rest of the ex-Wellspring titles.

(Incidentally, I believe the reason for thinking Querelle is part of Janus's holdings is that it was credited to Janus/Criterion when BAMPFA screened it in 2013, with Gaumont credited as the print source.)

[Adam X]

Well I wish someone would release a fully english-friendly edition of Querelle.

[yoloswegmaster]

Andrei Tarkovsky Jr. is involved, contact has been made with the original color grader (who's still alive), the original 'color passport' still exists, what I have seen so far looks absolutely stunning. There will be some killer bonus materials, too. I think the pink in the poster will be toned down. Everybody agrees it's a bit over the top and not what AT intended.

Wait, is this the same Trond Trondsen who is one of the founders of 'Masters of Cinema'?

Also, Roger Vadim's La Ronde is this month's latest Criterion Channel addition that opens with the CC and Janus logos.

[Michael Kerpan]

Wait, is this the same Trond Trondsen who is one of the founders of 'Masters of Cinema'?

Yes, indeed.

[Trond Trondsen]

Andrei Tarkovsky Jr. is involved, contact has been made with the original color grader (who's still alive), the original 'color passport' still exists, what I have seen so far looks absolutely stunning. There will be some killer bonus materials, too. I think the pink in the poster will be toned down. Everybody agrees it's a bit over the top and not what AT intended.

Wait, is this the same Trond Trondsen who is one of the founders of 'Masters of Cinema'?

Hey anonymous friend, I tried to respond to your kind DM but I've apparently been away from this forum for too long (17 years?), and no longer have DM Reply privileges. As my good friend Kerpan-sensei already pointed out, I'm the selfsame TT. Still somewhat maintaining Nostalghia.com and Robert-bresson.com (hoping to update them more frequently now that the kids have left the nest), and I have been consulting Criterion on all their Tarkovsky releases. We're in contact with Tarkovsky's original colorist (she's lovely!) and I'm confident this Zerkalo release will be pretty stellar.

[knives]

I misread that at first and got excited at the idea of a Dovzhenko set.

[Buttery Jeb]

According to Film Forum, Von Trotta's Rosa Luxemburg is a Janus Films title. No word on it having been restored, as it's part of a Barbara Sukowa retrospective.

[eerik]

According to Film Forum, Von Trotta's Rosa Luxemburg is a Janus Films title. No word on it having been restored, as it's part of a Barbara Sukowa retrospective.

There is a new 4K restoration from StudioCanal.

[Pavel]

According to this article Criterion has acquired the rights to 20 Hungarian films, including movies from Károly Makk (presumably Love), Márta Mészáros (safe to say Adoption, since that played on TCM with a Criterion logo a while back), István Gaál, Zoltán Fábri (The Fifth Seal?).

"'Last year we signed a contract for 20 films,' replied György Ráduly, director of the National Film Institute's Film Archive, when we asked if a Hungarian film could be included in the Criterion's collection in the near future.

“Criterion has already received the materials and will start distributing Hungarian films in the United States this year, not only in home distribution, but also in some of the featured films in cinemas across the country. The films include works by Károly Makk, Zoltán Fábri, István Gaál, Márta Mészáros, as well as films such as The Witness, Stop Time, The Rebellion of Job, Psyché or the Criminal Expedition. The agreement with Criterion is the result of a 2-year series of negotiations during which we got to know each other and jointly selected the films while respecting our commitment to the films. ”

[CSM126]

Am I being too greedy if I pray for a Blu-Ray of Szindbád to come out of this?

[yoloswegmaster]

Titles are up for May: Fast Time at Ridgemont High, Nightmare Alley, Flowers of Shanghai, Merrily We Go to Hell, and a seperate release of Trances.

[senseabove]

What a month!

[therewillbeblus]

Criterion wrestled Nightmare Alley away somehow during the Fox drought!? There's gotta be a good story behind this one

[swo17]

Del Toro made it happen?

[Luke M]

Telling myself that Fast Times is setting up a future release of Clueless

[Glowingwabbit]

I cant remember a time when I wanted every title in back to back months (ignoring Trances since I have the WCF box).

[dwk]

Kinda bummed that Fast Times doesn't include a copy of the novel.

[Ribs]

I think it seems fairly apparent that Criterion maintains some kind of basic working relationship with Fox - they’re releasing Darjeeling in the UK soon after Budapest previously and I see no possible way that kind of thing was worked out years in advance. That plus this will be fully a year-plus after any other labels’ last Fox releases (discounting the MoC Fuller standalones). Plus we’re still waiting on Spellbound from Disney also.