Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

[Never Cursed]

Could The Game be UHD bound? Just a thought

Ha, I think that's perfect. Between this and the realization that Lost Highway is the French movie, I think this is the slate:

1968 USA: Night of the Living Dead UHD
1944 USA = Laura
1997 France = Lost Highway
1997 Japan = Cure
2019 Guatemala = La Llorona
1997 USA = The Game UHD

[movielocke]

1968 USA
1944 USA
1997 France
1997 Japan
2019 Guatemala
1997 USA

guesses:

1968 USA - Night of the Living Dead UHD
1944 USA - Arsenic and Old Lace
1997 France - Assassin(s) (on the channel)
1997 Japan - Cure
2019 Guatemala - La Llorona
1997 USA - Lost Highway

if 1944 is an upgrade, Canturbury Tales would fit
if 1997 France is an upgrade, La Vie de Jesus would fit.

[Pavel]

La Vie de Jesus getting a UHD upgrade would be the most surprising thing Criterion's done in years

[movielocke]

Could The Game be UHD bound? Just a thought

how busy is Fincher right now, would he have had time to sign off on a new grade?

[Maltic]

A Canterbury Tale is unfortunately very British

[movielocke]

La Vie de Jesus getting a UHD upgrade would be the most surprising thing Criterion's done in years

It made me chuckle just writing it.

A Canterbury Tale is unfortunately very British

doh! how'd I forget half the clue?

[FrauBlucher]

Arsenic and Old Lace on IMDB is listed as 1943.

I just checked an old Arsenic and Old Lace Criterion laserdisc. They have it listed as a 1944 film, so unfortunately I think this will be it.

[Calvin]

Arsenic and Old Lace on IMDB is listed as 1943. How about To Have and Have Not? I do hope it's Laura though

Arsenic and Old Lace was screened for U.S. Armed Forces personnel at overseas bases in 1943 but wasn't released properly to the public until September 1944 and should be considered a 1944 release.

1997 - USA - Eve's Bayou?

[Computer Raheem]

1968 USA
1944 USA
1997 France
1997 Japan
2019 Guatemala
1997 USA

The one time I'm not paying attention and there's an insider spilling the deetz! ](*,)

Jokes aside, here's my (new) predictions (if the forum gods want to delete, that's ok):

1968 USA - Night of the Living Dead UHD (Maybe DiscFather gets it right for once)
1997 France - Lost Highway UHD
1997 Japan - Cure Blu-Ray (No Japanese UHD, so there can't be a US UHD)
1997 USA - 4 Little Girls Blu-Ray (though hoping it's Eve's Bayou, as someone guessed, even if it's with Lionsgate)

1944 USA and 2019 Guatemala are up in the air. Good time to be 1997 this month

[ryannichols7]

1997 Japan - Cure Blu-Ray (No Japanese UHD, so there can't be a US UHD)

that's only known to be an issue with Toho though! Cure is a Daiei (now Kadokawa) title. I don't think that'll stop them, but who knows until Monday. either way, it should look great

[Computer Raheem]

1997 Japan - Cure Blu-Ray (No Japanese UHD, so there can't be a US UHD)

that's only known to be an issue with Toho though! Cure is a Daiei (now Kadokawa) title. I don't think that'll stop them, but who knows until Monday. either way, it should look great

I thought that was an issue with Japanese companies as a whole (due to Region A issues). Then again, I wouldn't put too much stock on Cure being UHD-ready. Just my own hypothesis; I'd love to be proven wrong [-o<

[Finch]

If Cure is only a BD (still keeping fingers crossed for a 4k though), I hope that Pixellogic don't fuck up the encoding. I don't see MoC upgrading their BD for the 4k restoration (as welcome as that would be!). And if we get Night on UHD, please let it be a Scanavo case. I'm so sick of their Digipacks.

I mean, we know Arsenic and Old Lace is happening (unfortunately) but they've never stacked October with this many horror or horror adjacent titles before. Probably hoping against hope that the 1944 title is something else and they're saving the Capra for another month. If it's Laura, it might be UHD? Really though, I'd rather it's Hail The Conquering Hero.

[Marwood]

Could USA 1944 be The Miracle of Morgan's Creek?

[swo17]

I don't see why not

[dwk]

1997 US title could be Rosewood.

[FrauBlucher]

After thinking about the clues and October it's unlikely that every title will be Halloweencentric. Criterion has not done that before. So, with that said, I think with Cure, Lost Highway, Night of the Living Dead and La Llorona being fairly safe bets, I now think that the USA 1944 will either be Laura, although as much as want this to be it it has to be an underdog, or one of the two Preston Sturges films from that year which seems the most likely to me. Criterion loves them some Preston Sturges. As for the USA 1997, if Lost Highway is in fact the French 1997 film, than this will probably be the doc 4 Little Girls which has been confirmed as coming.

This is my last two cents before the announcements.

[ryannichols7]

I also think it would be really funny if we all automatically assumed the 68 US title is gonna be one of the two horror heavy hitters. would any sane person bitch if they shocked us with Once Upon a Time in the West in 4K? I'm sure that's gonna come from Kino though. I also joked about Monterey Pop's re-re-re-re-release, also another one

EDIT: Targets is another one, and that has yet to have a US label confirmed, obviously BFI is doing it in the UK

I agree though, I don't think they'll do an all Halloween month. Arsenic would work fine since it's Halloween-adjecent but not full on. Criterion isn't Arrow, it wouldn't be very them to go all in on the horror. now with Inland Empire confirmed as not part of this group I definitely tend to think we'll get a better mix of titles. I do hope if Laura is the 44 title that we get a 4K, since none have been confirmed from Fox yet, though it is confirmed Criterion is still licensing titles from them, unlike the other labels.

[MitchPerrywinkle]

The Guatemalan film is almost certainly a Jayro Bustamante title, but is there a possibility it could be Temblores instead, which also came out the same year as La Llorona? Or would the former's status as an international co-production between Guatemala and France put the kibosh on that theory?

[fiendishthingy]

Arsenic and Old Lace takes place (entirely, from what I remember) on Halloween, so an October release date would make sense.

[brundlefly]

The Guatemalan film is almost certainly a Jayro Bustamante title, but is there a possibility it could be Temblores instead, which also came out the same year as La Llorona? Or would the former's status as an international co-production between Guatemala and France put the kibosh on that theory?

Don't know if it puts it out of the running for an upgrade, but Temblores has a Film Movement DVD while La Llorona doesn't seem to have any physical release in the U.S. It's October and La Llorona is ripe for supplements (if Criterion bothers) and more marketable. (If likely to disappoint people looking for straight-up horror.) Doesn't even seem to be streaming on Shudder anymore, and I thought it lived there. So it makes sense.

[bad future]

if Lost Highway is the "France" film that would free up a US slot, which opens up everything from Boogie Nights to Gummo

I am sort of surprised we haven't seen anything for Boogie Nights for its 25th anniversary given that it has reportedly had a new master on digital platforms for a few years, and got a DVD-only Warner Archive release not long ago, and a Criterion release would explain why Warner hasn't done anything themselves yet... but I still think that "France" would be a pretty counterintuitive Lost Highway hint to land on even if it is technically accurate, so I expect that to fill the USA slot and something else from France.

Can anyone here comment on Ma Vie En Rose as a possible French '97 title? What little I've read about it makes it seem like it could either serve Criterion's interest in including queer themes in the collection, or it could be a more conciliatory kind of film geared toward a straight audience.. though I guess something could always be both for Criterion.

Really hope the '44 is one or both Sturges! Though Arsenic and Old Lace seems like the best bet with the Halloween connection.

And there's almost zero chance Cure is BD only, right? It has a new 4k restoration, it's a fairly popular horror film, and horror seems to be the most reliable avenue for boutique labels to sell UHD's.

[domino harvey]

Can anyone here comment on Ma Vie En Rose as a possible French '97 title? What little I've read about it makes it seem like it could either serve Criterion's interest in including queer themes in the collection, or it could be a more conciliatory kind of film geared toward a straight audience.. though I guess something could always be both for Criterion.

It was my first guess, it was a crowd-pleaser back in the day and hits Criterion’s interest points of late. But it technically is a Belgian film

[colinr0380]

Not to dissuade anyone from the "1997 Japan" clue meaning Cure, but I was wondering what the possibility there would be of it being Shohei Imamura's The Eel, especially since it is the film that Imamura won the Palme d'Or for (together with Kiarostami's Taste of Cherry)

And whilst Lost Highway seems confirmed, wouldn't it be exciting if that was the "French" film and the "1997 USA" film was Wim Wenders' The End of Violence? Then we could have a month of Bill Pullman psycho-dramas!

[therewillbeblus]

Maybe the '97 French film is My Sex Life... since that's the year it was released everywhere outside of France after another post-Cannes festival run? (Please?)

[Furstemberg]

Streets are saying the '44 is Arsenic. I long for death. Laura, please.