Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

[tenia]

That's the issue with this kind of Twitter accounts, posting everything they can from rumors of a rumor to not precising they're talking about French releases.

[EddieLarkin]

All that guy does is scour the forums for tidbits and make educated guesses. People quickly forget his misses (4Ks of Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Near Dark for example). He and other accounts like him are not reliable sources of information.

[tenia]

These accounts are absolute nightmares because they're not only misleading people because any rumor of a rumor ends up having a tweet "release confirmed" when it's not confirmed at all, but because they're also drowning true and truly educated guesses or actual announcements in a pool of hair-pulled guesses that never materialise and are just basically someone twisting a piece of info into something else (for instance, Janus touring a 4K restoration turn into Criterion will release it on UHD). In this case, I might be over-analysing it, but I'd tend to think it's no mistake the tweet doesn't specify it's Carlotta (1) for a French release (2), since it'd have limited the appeal of such a tweet for the US-market this account is made for.

(And this guy has... 14 times more followers than I do, I guess I should also make up my own announcements and mislead people)

[cdnchris]

I believe that account was also the one posting a bunch of nonsense after the WALL-E announcement, claiming it was going to be a complete 4K re-render, a BD-100 disc, Disney would have no say on it, and that the entire library was open to Criterion. While it appears Disney is willing to license stuff (what exactly is still open to question) it's still clear that Disney had some oversight, that Criterion reused the same master that Disney did for their releases, and not only was it not 100GB disc, it was a standard BD-50 disc. The problem was that people spread info based on his BS post that sourced nothing, and when none of it turned out to be true there were people online mad at Criterion for breaking promises they never made.

[ryannichols7]

and isn't the constant guessing of Amadeus on other sites thanks to one of these Twitter accounts or blogs? not that I don't think Criterion would pass that one up, but the "rumor" there I don't think came from much

[tenia]

The problem was that people spread info based on his BS post that sourced nothing, and when none of it turned out to be true there were people online mad at Criterion for breaking promises they never made.

Exactly, everyone loses with BS accounts like these.

[dwk]

and isn't the constant guessing of Amadeus on other sites thanks to one of these Twitter accounts or blogs? not that I don't think Criterion would pass that one up, but the "rumor" there I don't think came from much

No, that rumor started with Bill Huntt/The Digital Bits.

[yoloswegmaster]

Pasolini boxset is now out!

[FrauBlucher]

I'm happy for the boxset but with CC's current state I could see the rest of the announcements for June being on the skimpy side

[chucktatum]

The American Cinematheque is running a short series of John Sayles films, in conjunction with the release of his latest novel (Jamie MacGillivray). I went to the Aero last night to see Sunshine State & Silver City. Before the films, I talked briefly with Mr. Sayles, who is really down-to-Earth and friendly. He signed my Matewan Criterion, Alligator 4K, and UK edition of The Howling 4K (which he hadn't seen before). I asked if he and Criterion are working on anything, and he replied they've just started restoring Lone Star, which is going to take a while. Still, great news!

[SeizureMilk]

That's the issue with this kind of Twitter accounts, posting everything they can from rumors of a rumor to not precising they're talking about French releases.

I think ultimately, the main drive of these accounts are to tell everyone what could or has been announced, for example my favorite, Dawn of the Discs which basically says "This is what's coming" as a way of bringing to people's attention. There's also the idea of sales news, in which, though this is rare, these accounts will post when something has a discount on a place like Amazon. In short, it's like free PR for companies if you do it right, most Tweet men just decide to make their platform a more public form of "X should be in the collection" except without any reasoning and passing it off as real. Thank you for reading.

I'm happy for the boxset but with CC's current state I could see the rest of the announcements for June being on the skimpy side

Yeah if the Heroic Duology rumour is true (which let's just be honest most likely isn't), I imagine that because it's a 2 for 1, then at most we'll probably get a couple interviews, most likely with Michelle Yeoh or a film critic, plus a likely hood of an archival feature and definitely an essay. Thank you for reading

[tenia]

I understand what they do, my issue is that among forwarding stuff that will indeed materialise, either because the source is reliable or because there has been an actual announcement, they're also relaying anything and everything at the same level, meaning that amongst those, there are also plenty of "this is upcoming" that actually, well, isn't and in many cases never will.
That means they're just as reliable as your random non-insider person, ie not really. They could be much better than this, but it'd mean announcing less and double checking more. I guess that's the noise / work ratio they're interested in.

[yoloswegmaster]

Interesting... Someone wrote to the French label that released the Letter From an Unknown Woman UHD about the gamma issue and they replied with the expected "trust us it's fine but we'll look into it," but also:

Indeed this is a new 4K master from a new 4K restoration provided from Paramount and Janus Films, so it is possible there is a difference between the previous 2017 master and the new one your purchased.

Forgot about this but someone who I'm presuming has the French disc said that the restoration notes preceding the film stated that it was done by Paramount and Ignite Films, not Janus. Perhaps the French label got the 2 companies mixed up somehow.

Additionally, I recall Janus being credited alongside MGM on the Some Like It Hot restoration that premiered at festivals a few years ago.

That's strange, I recall the restoration being specifically credited to MGM, Park Circus, and Criterion whenever it was shown at a festival. Maybe I just missed some listings that had Janus' name on it.

[yoloswegmaster]

Titles are up:

Rules of the Game 4K
Time Bandits 4K
Medicine for Melancholy
The Servant

[andyli]

They sure love Gilliam for their 4K ventures. Then it's a crime they didn't prioritize Brazil over these.

[What A Disgrace]

If Brazil doesn't end up on 4K before the end of the year, I will be deeply surprised.

[ryannichols7]

and Fear and Loathing, they'd be silly to not do his two biggest titles since they're clearly prioritizing Gilliam for some reason

since Handmade Films titles are getting UHDs now, when is Withnail and I coming back?

[FrauBlucher]

I hope the next Renoir is a 4k Grand Illusion!

[yoloswegmaster]

As great as that would be, it looks like Lionsgate still have their paws on it. Expect a Best Buy exclusive steelbook from them instead.

[Finch]

My overriding reaction to the June line-up was oh for fuck's sake, yet another Terry Gilliam film..

[FrauBlucher]

As great as that would be, it looks like Lionsgate still have their paws on it. Expect a Best Buy exclusive steelbook from them instead.

We'll see what happens. Have to see it happen to buy into this. Spine #1 is something that I'm sure Criterion wants back (or got back)

[colinr0380]

Is The Rules of the Game in the running for having had the most different Criterion covers now? (I still treasure the blue plastic slipcover one from the first DVD edition)

[ianthemovie]

Is The Rules of the Game in the running for having had the most different Criterion covers now? (I still treasure the blue plastic slipcover one from the first DVD edition)

What's more, the special features and essays have--so far as I can tell--not changed at all over the course of three different editions spread across twenty years. The transfers and the packaging are the only differences. That has to be some sort of Criterion record.

[swo17]

Some minor differences

[yoloswegmaster]

I wonder if they will release 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' and 'Life of Brian' with all these Gilliam 4Ks coming out in rapid succession. I don't know about the former but the latter definitely needs an upgrade.