MoC Forthcoming, Wishlist, and Random Speculation

[sidehacker]

...or The Woman Who Touched the Legs, or perhaps even something that we're not even aware of. In any case, very very exciting news. I was worried that MoC was "done" with classic Japanese cinema for awhile.

[Queiroz]

Exciting news about Ichikawa. Thanks for the reply. I'm hoping for Tokyo Olympiad because I never got around to purchasing the Criterion, but Kagi and The Makioka Sisters are the ones I'd most like to see.

[Steven H]

Exciting news about Ichikawa. Thanks for the reply. I'm hoping for Tokyo Olympiad because I never got around to purchasing the Criterion, but Kagi and The Makioka Sisters are the ones I'd most like to see.

The Makioka Sisters is pretty weak, especially compared to his masterful late 50s and early 60s stuff. Hopefully his dark comedies like Kagi, A Full Up Train, and Ten Dark Women are on deck (and there's something darkly comic about Nakadai in Enjo, which kinda floats it in there as well.)

[Perkins Cobb]

Ichikawa is a favorite, underrated director, and I too am tremendously excited to see what MOC will have on offer. Hopefully it won't duplicate Criterion's meager offerings, which don't, to my mind, represent Ichikawa's best or most characteristic work.

I imagine Bridge of Japan, The Men of Tohoku, Bonchi, Alone on the Pacific, and I Am a Cat are too obscure ... but the slightly better known Ten Dark Women or the Mr. Pu/A Billionaire/Full-Up Train trilogy would be discerning choices.

I wouldn't object to seeing Enjo or Kagi in the mix either, since the "inevitable" Criterions (both were Home Vision VHS releases, I believe) don't seem so inevitable any more.

[Michael Kerpan]

I liked Ana / The Hole -- but, perhaps, mostly because Machiko Kyo (seemingly channeling Nancy Drew) was so darned cute in this. So, maybe, this would need a nice long interview with her....

;~}

[What A Disgrace]

To say nothing of Tokyo Olympiad; which I'm banking on, I imagine that Fire on the Plains and The Burmese Harp will find their way into this series, though I'd gladly double dip on either for more extensive supplements or booklets.

Still, exciting, especially if they turn out to be a series similar to the Mizoguchi boxes.

[tavernier]

I saw (and loved) I Am a Cat last week at Film Forum, with Enjo on tap next week!

[Michael Kerpan]

I saw (and loved) I Am a Cat last week at Film Forum, with Enjo on tap next week!

I liked "Cat" -- but found it rather "dry" (compared to some of the earlier films).

[tojoed]

Hopefully his dark comedies like Kagi, A Full Up Train, and Ten Dark Women are on deck (and there's something darkly comic about Nakadai in Enjo, which kinda floats it in there as well.)

Kagi would also be especially welcome. I've been having to watch a bootleg of this for ages.

[Awesome Welles]

...the Mr. Pu/A Billionaire/Full-Up Train trilogy would be discerning choices.

Having seen and enjoyed A Full-Up Train last night I would be very pleased to see the other two in this loose trilogy of comedies.

[ellipsis7]

This article by Nick W from late 2003/early 2004 including critics' straw poll on films Unavailable on DVD then, makes interesting reading, and maybe contains more clues as to titles upcoming on MoC, as several mentioned in the piece have since made it onto MoC and others labels...

[peerpee]

I've been meaning to update that article for a while, but haven't had the time. Now, nearly five years on, it looks much better as a time capsule, leaving it as it is (especially because of that opening line!)

I would very much like to do a big follow-up article, five years on, and ask all the same people, plus many more -- what they'd really like to see come out. One for the ages!

That last article really helped stir things up for a lot of films that were languishing -- and a surprising number of them are now out in acceptable editions.

[akaten]

I take it this unhappiness about the state of film releases is what spurred you on to form MOC with Eureka (btw one of the contibutors mentions the state of Fritz Lang's Destiny, any change in terms of restoring the material available since then?) also the mention of an underrated Lang film Human Desire, surely this requires the intevention on the part of a cinephile label to bring it to DVD.

I would add that its not just a case now of festival screening films not receiving home releases, but also of television airings of films studios are sitting on, in the last six months alone have seen quite a number of films unavailable on DVD.

The aforementioned Human Desire (what a fascinating film for Lang to make after The Big Heat) with Glenn Ford and Gloria Grahame, maybe Lang never fully grasped human relationships but it wasn't for lack of trying, very unconventional (in a good way, the false hope at the end, the pragamtism towards male patriachy expressed by Grahame's character) at times too for a Hollywood film.

It also features some excellent documentary footage too (if his lack of sci-fi films in the Holywood is one great what if, the absense of a documentary in his ouerve is another!). Other most notable films being:

The Tall Target (Anthony Mann) - I just babbled about in The Furies thread...

World for Ransom (Robert Aldrich) shown on More4, again I already harped on about this hee before, print looked in great condition. Actually I was watching it again the other day, it occurred ot me that, when the two leads were speaking about their respective IRA and Black Tan fathers, rather than saying "rank counts for everything," I now believe he retorTs:

"Well you know what they say, rank accounts for everything."

Only increasing my enjoyment of this wonderful film that I hope, pray will become available for more to see, as will Samuel Fuller's incredible Riot in Cell Block 11, sneakily shown by Channel 4 in the early hours of the morning. There have also in recent months been a trio of Samuel Fuller films have been shown across the board:

The Crimson Kimono (shown on BBC2) shows Samuel Fuller further expose the issue of race and the contribution of Japanese Americans to the war effort, it also subverts the relationship dynamic between whites and no whites, romance role reversals abound!

Underworld USA (Sky Movies Classics) wow just wow, should be seen along with Shock Corridor and Naked Kiss as Fuller at his grimiest best.

Run of the Arrow - delirious western about a confederate who joins Native Americans in order to continue his fight against the union. Ralph Meeker "morally unstable," officer from Anthony Mann's The Naked Spur who the army doesn't understand returns back from the dead shown just a few weeks back on BBC4, preceded by an introduction by Alex Cox, MOC material I wonder, heck if even one of these films home release rights could be snapped up by MOC or anyone else for that matter, I would be over the moon.

[Stefan Andersson]

Ichikawa from MoC! Great! In principle I´d love to see all of the films mentioned above, from famous titles like FIRES ON THE PLAIN and THE BURMESE HARP to MAKIOKA SISTERS, I AM A CAT and ALONE ON THE PACIFIC. Maybe MoC´s deal will allow for 2-title-packs Mizoguchi-style. I´d also like to see BEING TWO ISNT EASY and GENJI MONOGATARI (1966, from the famous novel), two titles that I don´t think have been mentioned above.

Here´s a vote also for more Pialat releases, principally ones not otherwise available with Eng subs: LA MAISON DES BOIS, NOUS NE VIEILLIRONS PAS ENSEMBLE, PASSE TON BAC D´ABORD, SOUS LE SOLEIL DE SATAN, LE GARCU. Pialat made some really strong films, and he´s always interesting.

MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW is soon out on French DVD along with RUGGLES OF RED GAP, SIX OF A KIND and a Mae West title.

Some years ago London Film Festival ran a restoration of an intriguing-sounding German silent called MYSTERIES OF THE GRAY HOUSE. Perpee?

The restoration of THE BIG COMBO would also look nice in the MoC line. Some years ago I e-mailed Film Foundation. They said they were looking into rights issues, but no definitive info.

[Fan-of-Kurosawa]

I am also very happy about the Ichikawa releases. I just hope that this does not mean that the planned Mizoguchi releases for April 2009 have been cancelled. Because I find it difficult to believe that MoC will release both Mizoguchi and Ichikawa films in the same period. But I hope they do because we need both early Mizoguchi and early Ichikawa.

[John Hodson]

Apologies if this has been mentioned elsewhere; I see the BBFC has passed 'The Devil & Daniel Webster', 'The Clouded Yellow' and 'The Horse's Mouth' for Eureka - are these to be in the MoC line?

[Andrian Film Revival]

I hope not! Optimum seem a more logical choice for Ralph Thomas and Ronald Neame and the Criterion of Devil & Daniel Webster is more than adequate...

Now if they are releasing Alec Baldwin's directorial debut - then it's a resounding YES! from me.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

The BBFC specifically lists Eureka as the distributor, so Optimum is out -- the question is whether they'll come out on MoC. But Eureka Classics seems a more logical home for those titles.

[John Hodson]

I hope not! Optimum seem a more logical choice for Ralph Thomas and Ronald Neame and the Criterion of Devil & Daniel Webster is more than adequate...

Now if they are releasing Alec Baldwin's directorial debut - then it's a resounding YES! from me.

Criterion haven't turned their noses up at Neame, so I don't see why not - but yes, I agree, Eureka Classics is probably the destination, though personally I'd like to see what MoC could do with these.

[zone_resident]

Nick, is it possible to comment on whether the upcoming 2009 Mizoguchi releases have some overlap with the recently announced Eclipse Mizoguchi box set?

[peerpee]

We currently do not have any Mizoguchi titles on our release schedule radar for 2009/2010. I don't know where the information began (other than Gary's announcement on a DVDBeaver page).

We'd very much like to release more Mizoguchi, and had hoped to release more in the future (this hope may have been the source of Gary's comment) but at the moment, the eight we've just released have not sold as well as Eureka had hoped. Together with the imminent rise of Blu-ray the future becomes more difficult to predict. These are transitional times.

We're into our fifth year now, our DVD release schedule is full until 2010, and our Blu-ray schedule is filling up too. Future acquisitions will be geared around Blu-ray releases.

[zone_resident]

Thanks Nick; for the reply and the great titles MoC has released so far.

Although personally I am not enthusiastic about the BluRay technology, it is not difficult to
understand the problems associated with these transitional times.

[Michael Kerpan]

We'd very much like to release more Mizoguchi, and had hoped to release more in the future (this hope may have been the source of Gary's comment) but at the moment, the eight we've just released have not sold as well as Eureka had hoped.

How sad. If ever a series deserved brilliant commercial success -- this (along with the Naruse one) was one.

Is it safe (although lamentable) to assume that there also is no additional Naruse in the picture for the next couple of years?

[peerpee]

We're keen to bring new directors into the MoC Series, and with 3 x Naruse, and 8 x Mizoguchi already, I can't seen any openings for Naruse in our release schedule for a while I'm afraid.

Eureka have been very willing to try new things, but if something barely breaks even, they're obviously not keen to repeat the experience so soon after.

[Michael Kerpan]

I can't seen any openings for Naruse in our release schedule for a while I'm afraid.

Eureka have been very willing to try new things, but if something barely breaks even, they're obviously not keen to repeat the experience so soon after.

If these DVDs have not sold the way they deserved to sell, it is quite understandable that Eureka would not want to double down.