Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol. 6

News on Criterion and Janus Films.
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Yaanu
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2476 Post by Yaanu » Thu May 07, 2015 11:59 am

An article about the Tribeca screening of "Speedy" (and the live score by DJ Z-Trip) essentially confirms that "Speedy" is coming soon via Criterion.

I mean, we already knew that, but now it's in an article on the Internet.

flyonthewall2983
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2477 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Thu May 07, 2015 3:42 pm

Came out the same year as Badlands too.

criterion10

Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2478 Post by criterion10 » Thu May 07, 2015 3:44 pm

Incredible news about Day for Night, which might be my favorite Truffaut (although I also love The 400 Blows). Regardless, this is also definitive proof now that Criterion indeed has licensed out however many titles from WB (at the last Wexner talk, Kim stated they were still waiting for approval from them on a list of titles), and they should slowly but surely begin to trickle down.

Jack Phillips
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2479 Post by Jack Phillips » Thu May 07, 2015 4:40 pm

The Narrator Returns wrote:In an AVC piece about the Apu Trilogy restoration, Lee Kline revealed that Criterion is working on The French Lieutenant's Woman and Day for Night.
Yeah, this bit in particular had me paying attention:
We’re working on Truffaut’s Day For Night, and [cinematographer] Pierre-William Glenn is still alive. He helped us with the restoration, and when we were doing it, we found a lot of crazy close-ups that looked super grainy and weird. I asked why they were like that, and he told me that when Truffaut was editing the film, there were moments when he wanted close-ups that he hadn’t filmed. So, he optically printed other shots—medium shots, say—and blew them up into close-ups. He flung those in rather than reshooting, and by blowing them up, they became ugly pieces of film that really looked inferior to everything surrounding them. Glenn said he wished they could be fixed, and we told him we could with various grain techniques. I asked him if he thought Truffaut would be okay with our doing that, and he said Truffaut wouldn’t have cared. As a director, he made the choice because he cared more about having a close-up there than he did the quality of the image. It seems safe to assume that he wouldn’t have wanted anyone to think about the filmmaking at that moment, so he wouldn’t have been averse to easing the quality of the image.

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EddieLarkin
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2480 Post by EddieLarkin » Thu May 07, 2015 4:53 pm

Wasn't a good idea with To Kill a Mockingbird, won't be good idea with this film either.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2481 Post by hearthesilence » Thu May 07, 2015 5:02 pm

I'm guessing they no longer have the original camera negative for those particular shots, but if they did, it would probably make more sense to scan those and blow them up digitally, correct? It will still take a hit in quality as each pixel/particle would be expanded, but at least they wouldn't need to re-copy those shots on to new film in the process of blowing them up (i.e. the final product wouldn't be generations removed from the original negative, with the additional grain and degradation that comes from that).

Zot!
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2482 Post by Zot! » Thu May 07, 2015 5:26 pm

Perhaps it's a courtesy to the reader, but the idea that a film restorer wouldn't know what a optical blow-up is without consulting the DP is hilarious. I tend to agree, that unless you could identify the original negative it was blown-up from, just leave well enough alone.

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Drucker
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2483 Post by Drucker » Thu May 07, 2015 6:08 pm

Criterion just teased a picture of them restoring Dressed to Kill on Facebook and Instagram.

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Minkin
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2484 Post by Minkin » Thu May 07, 2015 6:25 pm

domino harvey wrote:Not rumored, it's one of about a half dozen remaining MGM titles on the "secret list" of acquisitions
I was thinking of this Criterioncast rumor page from nearly five years ago. It was also on the old Forthcoming list, under the "Distinct Possibilities" section before it was all revamped (but whatever, rumored or not, its great news). Criterioncast also had their companion list of possible MGM films - of which Roma, Europa Europa, and Burn haven't been announced yet. I'm assuming this first wave of MGM titles is different than a newer deal that we've seen some titles from lately (Mad World, Black Stallion, Dressed to Kill, etc).

That Tribeca link includes a 5 minute sample of the DJ event (of which the Lloyd estate really loved and plans to do more showings/other films). I must admit that it is pretty entertaining, and I'd certainly watch it if it were included as a secondary audio track on the forthcoming disc (although who knows how likely that would be with all of the music clearances). The Street Fighter II effects were probably the highlight.

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domino harvey
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2485 Post by domino harvey » Thu May 07, 2015 6:44 pm

There were five initial MGM licenses, then a further 25 in 2009, and an additional pair in 2010. I'm not privy to MGM licensing details beyond this period, but from that initial 32 licenses, one was eventually abandoned and five remain unannounced/unreleased (including the French Lieutenant's Woman, which I foolishly just publicly confirmed earlier because I thought Criterion themselves had already dropped a clear hint in the past? Whoops!)-- the titles you mentioned may or may not be part of that list, I was sworn to secrecy years ago and I'm gonna try to not slip up again (cue organ music)

vidussoni
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2486 Post by vidussoni » Thu May 07, 2015 7:28 pm

domino harvey wrote:There were five initial MGM licenses, then a further 25 in 2009, and an additional pair in 2010. I'm not privy to MGM licensing details beyond this period, but from that initial 32 licenses, one was eventually abandoned and five remain unannounced/unreleased (including the French Lieutenant's Woman, which I foolishly just publicly confirmed earlier because I thought Criterion themselves had already dropped a clear hint in the past? Whoops!)-- the titles you mentioned may or may not be part of that list, I was sworn to secrecy years ago and I'm gonna try to not slip up again (cue organ music)
Are you allowed to mention which title was abandoned? :-k

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Minkin
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2487 Post by Minkin » Thu May 07, 2015 7:39 pm

vidussoni wrote:
domino harvey wrote:There were five initial MGM licenses, then a further 25 in 2009, and an additional pair in 2010. I'm not privy to MGM licensing details beyond this period, but from that initial 32 licenses, one was eventually abandoned and five remain unannounced/unreleased (including the French Lieutenant's Woman, which I foolishly just publicly confirmed earlier because I thought Criterion themselves had already dropped a clear hint in the past? Whoops!)-- the titles you mentioned may or may not be part of that list, I was sworn to secrecy years ago and I'm gonna try to not slip up again (cue organ music)
Are you allowed to mention which title was abandoned? :-k
My guess would be How I Won the War - as most people here had thought it was guaranteed to be forthcoming from Criterion, and then it ended up on the idiotic MGM DVD-R line (to which everyone was obviously disappointed). I'm guessing elements, expensive restoration, or something held it up.

Whatever newer deal with MGM that is currently going on seems to be focused on re-releases of already existing titles (with Criterion doing new transfers + extras). Thus we've seen a second blu-ray emerge on the market in Region A for a few films. I assume that Criterion licensed a bunch more of their former laserdisc titles or films that directors pushed for, etc. Looking through the old laserdisc list might give some ideas as to what to expect. I'd at least hope for Sid & Nancy + Great Escape (which desperately needs a new transfer/restoration) + Carrie. I'd assume the James Bond films were clearly off the table, as I doubt those hilarious Criterion commentaries will ever make it to disc again. Crazy times these days - as nearly everything is up for grabs.

Don't blame yourself Domino, I think the French Lieutenant's Woman rumors have been going way back.

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dwk
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2488 Post by dwk » Thu May 07, 2015 7:52 pm

Didn't Jonathan Turell confirm The French Lieutenant's Woman during an interview with The Playlist, like 6 years ago?

ianungstad
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2489 Post by ianungstad » Thu May 07, 2015 8:37 pm

Since we are re-stating the obvious; I'd also like to bring up those very Criterion-y titles that Warners discontinued in one fell swoop a few months ago:

Dreams (Akira Kurosawa)
Blow Up (Michelangelo Antonioni)
The Breaking Point (Michael Curtiz)
Barcelona (Whit Stillman)
Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles)
The Asphalt Jungle (John Huston)
A Face in the Crowd (Elia Kazan)
Klute (Alan Pakula)
Day for Night (Francois Truffaut)
Before Sunset (Richard Linklater)
Cat People (Jacques Tourneur) .
Before Sunrise (Richard Linklater)
The New World (Terrence Malick)

You pretty much have to assume that some low rank employee punched in a few keyboard strokes and had these officially discontinued without knowing that it would be pretty easy for the average joe to read the tea leaves and figure out a chunk of Criterion's licensing deal with Warner Brothers. (probably many more titles in addition to those listed above)

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movielocke
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2490 Post by movielocke » Thu May 07, 2015 10:55 pm

Ah but which four of that list will they actually bother releasing before the licensing deal expires in five or six years?

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sir_luke
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2491 Post by sir_luke » Thu May 07, 2015 11:14 pm

The Before trilogy has been confirmed, right?

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hearthesilence
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2492 Post by hearthesilence » Fri May 08, 2015 12:22 am

Not quite but they're actively trying to do a trilogy box set. (Remember, Sony's got the rights to #3)

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cdnchris
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2493 Post by cdnchris » Fri May 08, 2015 9:43 am

Sony's Twitter account did post a Tweet about how Criterion was releasing the trilogy, though the Tweet simply linked to a quick sound bite from Ethan Hawke saying that Criterion was trying to get the rights to them. And since I assume it was an intern or something that posted it who knows how definitive that is.

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PfR73
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2494 Post by PfR73 » Fri May 08, 2015 11:02 am

Minkin wrote:
vidussoni wrote:
domino harvey wrote:There were five initial MGM licenses, then a further 25 in 2009, and an additional pair in 2010. I'm not privy to MGM licensing details beyond this period, but from that initial 32 licenses, one was eventually abandoned and five remain unannounced/unreleased (including the French Lieutenant's Woman, which I foolishly just publicly confirmed earlier because I thought Criterion themselves had already dropped a clear hint in the past? Whoops!)-- the titles you mentioned may or may not be part of that list, I was sworn to secrecy years ago and I'm gonna try to not slip up again (cue organ music)
Are you allowed to mention which title was abandoned? :-k
Don't blame yourself Domino, I think the French Lieutenant's Woman rumors have been going way back.
Yeah, French Lieutenant's Woman has already been reported by several forum members over the years, including ianungstad & Antoine Doinel. So you should be safe.

John Doe
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2495 Post by John Doe » Fri May 08, 2015 11:45 am

hearthesilence wrote:Not quite but they're actively trying to do a trilogy box set. (Remember, Sony's got the rights to #3)

The Before trilogy was confirmed recently by Criterion producers at the SCMS Montreal conference.

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Gregory
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2496 Post by Gregory » Fri May 08, 2015 1:32 pm

cdnchris wrote:Sony's Twitter account did post a Tweet about how Criterion was releasing the trilogy, though the Tweet simply linked to a quick sound bite from Ethan Hawke saying that Criterion was trying to get the rights to them. And since I assume it was an intern or something that posted it who knows how definitive that is.
There was also this, posted at Blu-ray.com and here a couple months ago:
A pal is at the SCMS conference, where Criterion just mentioned that the Before Trilogy is coming this year

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Derek Estes
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2497 Post by Derek Estes » Fri May 08, 2015 4:58 pm

Day For Night would not be coming from Warners. Warners was taken to court for the last release, because it conflicted with an expired agreement.

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jwd5275
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2498 Post by jwd5275 » Fri May 08, 2015 5:13 pm

Day for Night was streaming from Warner Archive Instant recently. It is coming from WB.

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FakeBonanza
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2499 Post by FakeBonanza » Fri May 08, 2015 7:30 pm

What are the odds that Criterion has exercised the IFC option on The Duke of Burgundy? It's been several months since its limited US release, and as far as I can tell, there is no wider on-demand, streaming, or home video release in sight. I suppose Criterion did pass on Berberian Sound Studio, and subsequently it didn't get any North American home video release, so that is a possibility.

Unfortunately, I have no legitimate option to watch Burgundy as it stands, but it seems to have been very well received. Maybe Criterion would be more likely to express interest in this film.

ianungstad
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Re: Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol.

#2500 Post by ianungstad » Fri May 08, 2015 7:53 pm

MPI released Berberian Sound Studio on dvd.

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