Indications of Incoming Indicator Entertainments

[MichaelB]

Indicator have only managed to get two Paramount titles so far for the UK - Badge 373 and Bullfighter and the Lady - and one one for the US (Murphy's War)

To pretty much recycle my last post in this thread, Murphy's War was licensed from HandMade Films, and it's a UK-only release.

[rapta]

Murphy's War was a UK-only release

Indicator have only managed to get two Paramount titles so far for the UK - Badge 373 and Bullfighter and the Lady - and one one for the US (Murphy's War)

To pretty much recycle my last post in this thread, Murphy's Law was licensed from HandMade Films, and it's a UK-only release.

Sorry, I misunderstood what you and another person were saying and for some reason assumed it was US too (but via Paramount). My mistake!

[Calvin]

Someone on Facebook has provided the full photo still for the clue in this month’s newsletter. It is Josef von Sternberg’s Jet Pilot (1957).

I wonder if we’ll ever get The Shanghai Gesture (1941).

We can but hope.

I'm hoping that Indicator will look into getting the restoration of The Salvation Hunters as an extra on one of their future von Sternberg releases. Though there's presumably a reason that no one ever seems to licence Edition Filmmuseum restorations...

[MichaelB]

Just a quick note to say that I'm updating the Indicator threads throughout the day to reflect the new announcements, but I have a ton of work on my plate today so it'll be intermittent.

I mention this because someone unhelpfully jumped the gun last time, confidently but erroneously announcing that Cold Eyes of Fear wouldn't be getting a US release (and attaching my name to this claim, which was also unhelpful), purely because I hadn't then finished updating all the links here.

I'm afraid all this stuff has to be entered manually, and I can't even start doing it until after the announcement has gone public (since indexing obviously relies on having Criterion Forum pages to link to, and I can't set up those pages until after the newsletter has gone out), so there's no fast way round this. But bear with me.

[Finch]

Apart from Jet Pilot which Michael has already given its own thread, we are also getting The Song of Songs, Night Has A Thousand Eyes, and Thunderbolt on July 24. I'll be getting the two pre codes and I need to watch Night first. The newsletter went out so I figured it was okay to mention the titles and they're up on the site too.

[ryannichols7]

another outstanding month, 4/4 for me. Jet Pilot may not be great but as always, Indicator's context and care to contextualize it in the filmography I care about is fantastic.

glad I held off on Kino for all of these, but there are a few commentaries (Imogen Sara Smith, David Del Valle, Nick Pinkerton) not being carried over. I wonder if anything can be done about that at this stage? Broken Lullaby did use Kino's excellent Joseph McBride track

[Furstemberg]

The two pre-Codes for me. Shame that Universal lets Imprint go region-free but requires Indicator, the best label in the business, to lock.

[MichaelB]

I honestly don't know why Imprint gets to release stuff region-free, but it is definitely a contractual obligation for Indicator. Is there some Australian law that forbids region-locking? (Unlikely, given that Australia is also in Region B.)

[brundlefly]

Obviously not the film in this month's clue photo, but it got me wondering: Who has the rights to The Upturned Glass? Checked it out after zedz' mention a while ago and fell for it. As he says, a lot of nice little touches. But the structure and Mason's performance as he slowly realizes where he is in his own story totally won me over. Would love to see it given proper treatment.

[MichaelB]

That’s almost certainly with ITV, so Network is the most realistic prospect.

(ITV titles are effectively off limits to most boutiques because they insist on huge bulk deals that simply aren’t financially or logistically viable - except for Network, which releases a large amount of ITV-owned television material.)

[brundlefly]

Thanks. A shame about the circumstances as it could use a little love, but I'll keep my eye out for it there.

[jlnight]

The photo in the newsletter is Olivia Hussey isn't it? I'll take a guess at The Summertime Killer!

[rapta]

The photo in the newsletter is Olivia Hussey isn't it? I'll take a guess at The Summertime Killer!

That'd be great but it looks like it might be Turkey Shoot (skimmed through the film on YT and found a scene that matches; assuming this is a promo shot or outtake). Also makes sense as Indicator mentioned more Aussie titles are on the way this year on a podcast not long ago.

[Thornycroft]

The photo in the newsletter is Olivia Hussey isn't it? I'll take a guess at The Summertime Killer!

I had a moment of quietly hoping it would be the other Olivia Hussey/Chris Mitchum film H-Bomb, a Thai action production shot in Hong Kong by the prolific Chalong Pakdeevijit. It's a terrible film overall, despite a few fun moments, but would make a decent entry-point into the world of more obscure second-string action cinema from southeast Asia. All the English language filmographies for Pakdeevijit appear woefully incomplete, a matter not helped by the wide variety of pseudonyms, spellings, and mis-spellings of his name, and there are plenty of directors like him whose work never caught on in the English export market (or was never exported to begin with). I would kill for a fancy boutique label boxset of Arizal films, or for someone to dig up however many of Mitr Chaibancha's Red Eagle films still survive.

[Orlac]

Does anyone know what the heck this is about?

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php? ... unt=116707

[yoloswegmaster]

Does anyone know what the heck this is about?

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php? ... unt=116707

This could be a reference to a (now deleted) post made by Kat Ellinger months ago, in which she called out the heads of Indicator for apparently belittling her work and implied that this is the reason why her documentary on Jean Rollin wouldn't appear on any Indicator release. However, I never actually saw her post and I'm just getting this info from someone who did see it.

Even if the above is true, none of this actually makes the label filled with "misogynist abusers" mind you, so this is just the typical nonsense from your average BR forum user.

[hearthesilence]

Unless more info is presented, I think the most reasonable claim one can make is that they didn't like her work and she didn't take it well.

I don't want to stray too far off-topic, but this reminds me of similar accusations of misogyny that have come up against three rock critics that I'm very familiar with, and in each case the criticism seemed a bit of stretch while certain individuals have pushed hard on those accusations. (One of the critics in question is probably one of the most feminist male critics of the '70s and '80s at a time when it wasn't exactly common.) All three are fairly cantankerous and brutal towards the stuff they don't like, which is unfortunate but sadly not exactly unusual among rock critics, and after reading all the arguments in detail, I think the issue was more about that (and how their targets or fans of their targets took their harsh criticisms badly) rather than any belief or worldview that was really against women. A more credible accusation would've been "so-and-so can be a colossal dick and a what he's said here and here crosses the line between criticism and being a mean little shit" but there's a big difference between that and saying they had some misogynist agenda when a comprehensive look at their enormous body of criticism proved otherwise.

[EddieLarkin]

Futher posts on the subject here and here.

I hadn't realised that Ellinger and Indicator had parted ways. Strange, as they seemed to champion her work if anything (and I recall Michael Brooke defending her when the brouhaha with Adrian Martin happened, so it's doubly odd to see him mentioned in one of the posts). Also, what's this about Indicator having new people in charge?

Interesting that she was apparently annoyed about not being credited as anything more than a podcaster; it's been debated on these forums a few times about the proper use of terms like film historian. It would be funny if all this was simply Indicator adopting a more hardline policy on such terms and Ellinger wasn't happy about it.

[Adam X]

I've heard Indicator employed someone to oversee the various disc producers a while back, which apparently impacted the experience for some freelancers working with the label in a negative way. Someone else has said they no longer work with them for this reason.

[ryannichols7]

elsewhere on the internet, the hint has been cracked as Good Dame (or Good Girl) from 1934. since they've teased You & Me, it could be a Sylvia Sidney boxset (as many, myself included, wonder where You Only Live Once has been in the UK, but its a different licensor). they've done only three actor boxes so far, right? Mae West, Bogart, and Dietrich

thinking the movies would be these, for a hypothetical Sylvia Sidney at Paramount box...

An American Tragedy (1931, Josef Von Sternberg)
City Streets (1931, Rouben Mamoulian)
Good Dame (1934, Marion Gering)
Behold My Wife (1934, Mitchell Leisen)
You and Me (1938, Fritz Lang)

there's a few others but I doubt know if they'd fit in as well, maybe someone who's seen them can chime in?:
Confessions of a Co-Ed (1931, David Burton and Dudley Murphy)
Ladies of the Big House (1931, Marion Gering)
Madame Butterfly (1931, Marion Gering)
Jennie Gerhardt (1933, Marion Gering)
Thirty Day Princess (1934, Marion Gering)
Accent on Youth (1935, Wesley Ruggles)

and if I'm not mistaken, the Walter Wanger library (which included You Only Live Once, Mary Burns, Fugitive, and Trail of the Lonesome Pine) is owned by someone else now. either way, many possibilities

[domino harvey]

elsewhere on the internet, the hint has been cracked as Good Dame (or Good Girl) from 1934.

Wow, this is a great film and not one I expected to be coming from anyone. It must have had a resto, because the circulating copy looks like garbage

[sabbath]

newsletter clue:

[reaky]

Mamoulian’s LOVE ME TONIGHT.

[soundchaser]

Great, great film. No doubt that Indicator will best the Kino in supplements.

[Furstemberg]

Wow. The 30s Paramounts keep coming and I couldn't be happier. Indicator's recent releases of those titles prompted me to go region-free recently, and with more Mamoulian and at least one Sylvia Sidney on the way I don't think I've ever regretted anything less. I received Song Of Songs and Thunderbolt yesterday - sumptuous, stacked, loving editions that put the amateurish region A editions to shame.