2014 New Year's Day Drawing

[ianungstad]

Someone posted on Criterion's Facebook wall that they caught a screening of Breaking the Waves and it opened with the Janus Films logo.

[George Kaplan]

Shrubberies and zigzags on a hillside can only mean THROUGH THE OLIVE TREES right?!
Which will almost certainly mean the "Koker Trilogy" at long last.

[dwk]

Kim Newman tweeted that he has finished a draft of his liner notes for Scanners.

[Gregory]

Shrubberies and zigzags on a hillside can only mean THROUGH THE OLIVE TREES right?!
Which will almost certainly mean the "Koker Trilogy" at long last.

I don't see zig-zagging paths in the drawing, though. Shrubbery could mean lots of things.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

Shrubberies is a reference to the knights who say "ni", so Criterion is putting out Monty Python and The Holy Grail. I am thinking about asking my psychic about it.

[jindianajonz]

One thing to keep in mind while deciphering these drawings is that "What does this drawing remind me of?" is a less meaningful question than "If I were an artist asked to draw something for a particular film, how would I draw it?"

Some of the more "out there" movie ideas in this thread surely could have been drawn in a much more logical way. The old Summer with Monica drawing shows that they can be quite unoriginal when they need to be.

[Lowry_Sam]

None of those bushes looks remotely close to those in the picture. It could as likely be a word pun as it is a still from some film. How about a documentary on the Bush crime family.....though the only one I can think of is the Greg Palast one off hand, not a very likely candidate (particularly by itself @ 1 hour).

[swo17]

Speaking of Bush, I'm not just seeing this because I want it to happen (because I don't want it to happen) but the Ms = upside-down Ws = Oliver Stone's W.

[Cinephrenic]

I hope not.

[zedz]

One thing to keep in mind while deciphering these drawings is that "What does this drawing remind me of?" is a less meaningful question than "If I were an artist asked to draw something for a particular film, how would I draw it?"

So the four bushes might be for Mr Forbush and the Penguins (penguins not depicted).

If that part of the drawing is a clue, and not just local colour, it seems pretty vague. Is there a better suggestion for the deer than The Deer Hunter (which also seems pretty loose)? If not, I'd look for something that ties those two together, since the deer is in the odd position of crouching behind one of the bushes.

[George Kaplan]

Shrubberies and zigzags on a hillside can only mean THROUGH THE OLIVE TREES right?!
Which will almost certainly mean the "Koker Trilogy" at long last.

I don't see zig-zagging paths in the drawing, though. Shrubbery could mean lots of things.

I meant by that those small W or M like marks no doubt meant to read as grass, too, but that seem conspicuous.

[FrauBlucher]

Is there a better suggestion for the deer than The Deer Hunter (which also seems pretty loose)? If not, I'd look for something that ties those two together, since the deer is in the odd position of crouching behind one of the bushes.

How about Buck Privates for the deer hiding behind a shrub? Just kidding of course.

I still think the little Ms are clues for a dual format release of the latest restoration of M.

[swo17]

If that part of the drawing is a clue, and not just local colour, it seems pretty vague. Is there a better suggestion for the deer than The Deer Hunter (which also seems pretty loose)? If not, I'd look for something that ties those two together, since the deer is in the odd position of crouching behind one of the bushes.

A deer in the bush is worth two in the Out 1?

[CSM126]

One thing to keep in mind while deciphering these drawings is that "What does this drawing remind me of?" is a less meaningful question than "If I were an artist asked to draw something for a particular film, how would I draw it?"

So the four bushes might be for Mr Forbush and the Penguins (penguins not depicted).

If that part of the drawing is a clue, and not just local colour, it seems pretty vague. Is there a better suggestion for the deer than The Deer Hunter (which also seems pretty loose)? If not, I'd look for something that ties those two together, since the deer is in the odd position of crouching behind one of the bushes.

Well, it's a white reindeer, so why not... White Reindeer, a recent IFC title?

[Harmonov]

Shrubberies and zigzags on a hillside can only mean THROUGH THE OLIVE TREES right?!
Which will almost certainly mean the "Koker Trilogy" at long last.

Haven't read further than this post, but I can confirm that the Koker Trilogy is coming. Criterion is filming supplemental materials at the end of this month at the Indiana University Cinema when Kiarostami is there (the director of the cinema himself told me that Criterion reached out to him about filming them there). Here is the list of films that are showing.

[Jeff]

I can confirm that the Koker Trilogy is coming. Criterion is filming supplemental materials at the end of this month at the Indiana University Cinema when Kiarostami is there (the director of the cinema himself told me that Criterion reached out to him about filming them there). Here is the list of films that are showing.

WOW! That is incredibly good news. It's been rumored before, but I saw no reason to think that Criterion actually had the rights to all three, with Miramax presumably still having Through the Olive Trees. Criterion has previously credited The Traveler as "courtesy of Kanoon," though The Report receives no such credit. Where Is the Friend's Home? and Life, and Nothing More... should come from Kanoon as well, so I wonder if Criterion has access to all of the shorts and docs, and what kind of elements might exist and be made available to Criterion.

It's odd that Chungking Express went out of print, but the Qatsi release, this news, and the speculation regarding The Young Girls of Rochefort have me wondering if Criterion hasn't indeed worked something out with the owners of the Miramax library. Has anyone noted that Criterion has a "People" page for Miramax before?

[Moe Dickstein]

The Miramax library has divided home video rights.

[Jeff]

The Miramax library has divided home video rights.

I knew that around 550 titles were licensed to Lionsgate, with another 250 going to Echo Bridge. That should be pretty much everything that they own the rights to. The Qatsi film is credited to both Miramax and Lionsgate on the Criterion packaging, so obviously they worked out some sort of sub-licensing arrangement. I'm wondering if the potential release of Through the Olive Trees indicates that arrangement might not extend to a small handful of other titles.

[Yaanu]

Has anyone noted that Criterion has a "People" page for Miramax before?

I think that's just a technicality due to the Presented By credit.
They need to optimize their system better. You can find Harry Dean Stanton under "Harry Dean Stanton", "Harry Dean Stanton", and "H. D. Stanton".

[John Doe]

Haven't read further than this post, but I can confirm that the Koker Trilogy is coming. Criterion is filming supplemental materials at the end of this month at the Indiana University Cinema when Kiarostami is there (the director of the cinema himself told me that Criterion reached out to him about filming them there). Here is the list of films that are showing.

Great news! Thx for sharing

[zedz]

It's been rumored before, but I saw no reason to think that Criterion actually had the rights to all three, with Miramax presumably still having Through the Olive Trees. Criterion has previously credited The Traveler as "courtesy of Kanoon," though The Report receives no such credit. Where Is the Friend's Home? and Life, and Nothing More... should come from Kanoon as well, so I wonder if Criterion has access to all of the shorts and docs, and what kind of elements might exist and be made available to Criterion.

Wouldn't it be fantastic if a prospective Koker Trilogy box was stuffed to the gunwales with the early shorts and documentaries?

Also, I presume Miramax's original licence for Olive Trees would run out at some point (it's twenty years since its release this year) - and it's not as if they're doing much with the film.

[ianungstad]

It's still listed on the Miramax website.

[George Kaplan]

Shrubberies and zigzags on a hillside can only mean THROUGH THE OLIVE TREES right?!
Which will almost certainly mean the "Koker Trilogy" at long last.

Haven't read further than this post, but I can confirm that the Koker Trilogy is coming. Criterion is filming supplemental materials at the end of this month at the Indiana University Cinema when Kiarostami is there (the director of the cinema himself told me that Criterion reached out to him about filming them there). Here is the list of films that are showing.

Thanks, this is great news!

Wouldn't it be fantastic if a prospective Koker Trilogy box was stuffed to the gunwales with the early shorts and documentaries?

Indeed!

On to Rivette and more Naruse!

[bugsy_pal]

When I saw the dancers...



I immediately thought of The Party, and this girl, who is wearing a long string of beads:



It's a classic scene, and I want it to mean we're getting The Party from Criterion.

[ianungstad]

I would rather have that Blake Edwards/Peter Sellers Pink Panther box the Huffington post wrote about last year as being in the works.