Seeing as it'll be coming up in two or three month's time, anything seem likely for Spine #900? Whilst I don't think Criterion goes out of their way in any huge capacity for them I certainly feel that the past two big milestones were held specifically for the special numbering. Grand Budapest Hotel should be coming soon-ish (Moonrise Kingdom came out 3 years, 4 months following its release, which for Grand Budapest would be July) which seems as likely as anything.

Grand Budapest Hotel seems the most likely. Possibly The Tree of Life or The Koker Trilogy as well.

They've been picking up alot of stuff that MGM has failed to renew. Since they picked up Persona, the rest of the former MGM Bergman titles were nearly a sure thing (I'm not sure if they picked up the rights at the same time, or if they became available more recently). We typically don't find out about these things until released (Janus/homevideo) / Filmstruck.

I had to look up which trilogy you were referring to (Shame, Hour of the Wold and Passion of Anna) - so I'm not sure if its as cemented as a trilogy as the one Criterion has already released (even though Bergman didn't see those films as a trilogy either!). But they've released so much Berman already (only one title away from matching Kurosawa - and they have far more Bergman films left to release) - that I wouldn't be surprised by any way for them to creatively package/sell the titles left.
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Great, although very expected news about John Waters. I rather hope he means more than just his two laserdisc WB films - Polyester + Pink Flamingos (although a re-release of Polyester would be a dreamland come true). That said, wasn't Multiple Maniacs originally distributed by WB (New Line Cinema)? It looks like those rights reverted back to Waters - so I wonder if the two mentioned above + Desperate Living, Female Trouble, and Hairspray (all New Line Cinema as well) might have reverted - thus be in play (as though WB wouldn't let Criterion handle them anyway). I could see further Janus tours of all of these. Perhaps they could even finally solve the Mondo Trasho music clearances. I just hope whatever we get, we get an Odorama card included.

I hadn't seen this posted anywhere else:

Dino Risi's I Mostri (1963) (AKA Opiate '67 / 15 From Rome) played at MOMA in December in a new restoration with credit to Janus.

This was one of the titles on the strange AFI list of Janus films that I found awhile back.

If ever there was any doubt that the days of years between acquisitions were behind us.

Add this one to their busy release schedule alongside the David Lynch doc and The Lure (both of which seem firmly targeted at the cult film demographic). Kaurismaki's latest could well net them a second Oscar this decade, between its topical subject matter, seeming baseline quality, and the likelihood that Finland won't submit a different film.

Do you, guys, think the David Lynch documentary will be released on its own or as a supplement to one of his films? I suspect the former.

This needs a better release. Italian DVD is really poor and the French one contains what I understand to be the original French cut of the film with a sketch or two missing.

not in his prime anymore, unfortunately. He used to be funny, now he tries to be topical and political. Doesn't succeed. The film feels lazy both, intellectually and artistically.

Yeah, definitely the former. They'd be foolish to tack it onto a release of Lost Highway or The Straight Story, although I'd much prefer that. Maybe I've just kicked and screamed in a college town for too long, but the cult of personality around Lynch is well and alive and includes plenty who'd rather rewatch Blue Velvet for the twentieth time on a big screen rather than explore, well, Kaurismäki. I don't intend to disparage---film is a massive investment of time---but the level of pre-awareness for this film at least exceeds Burroughs and perhaps even Bergman, these days. A July/August release seems likely, as it will presumably line up with his new Twin Peaks show run.

You're totally right. I think that along with Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, David Fincher and Christopher Nolan, Lynch has ascended/descended to contemporary Western filmdom's royalty,
the class of director the casual cinephile is willing to follow the career of and could recognize on the street. More than any of the others from said group, though, Lynch has become
famed for his personality and eccentricities, and that seems to imbue him with an especially rabid following. There are scores of directors with oeuvres as challenging and varied as Lynch's, and
it is frustrating to not see them get nearly as much press attention or adoration as him.

On the other end, I doubt that a Criterion release of documentary about Lynch would gather as much attention and sales than a release of one of his movies.

The other question would also be : what would Criterion include as interesting (sales wise) extra features with the documentary (except deleted and extended scenes, I suppose) instead of keeping them to accompany a movie release ?

It's still need to look as an interesting-enough package to support the relatively higher price point of a Criterion release, and I'm not sure the documentary alone could.

After the Ingrid Bergman debacle, I don't know how anyone can claim they wouldn't release a far more marketable doc like this solo

I imagine that Criterion will include the rest of David Lynch's short films they have as extras on the doc.

Didn't Liv & Ingmar have a Janus release also?

I can see Criterion releasing Blue Velvet and including the doc on there to justify the re-release.

If they had the go-ahead to release Blue Velvet it could be barebones and that would be justification enough to give it a spine number

Are they still working on Lost Highway?

While it's easy to blame the distributions who don't push directors who make even challenging fare then Lynch, I think the issue lies with those filmmakers not working in the same operation and not having a strong personality that would spurred a massive cult following. The Lynch fanbase with established when Eraserhead would play weekly in local college towns during the after-hours, with escalating to semi-mainstream stature when Twin Peaks was on the air in the early 1990's. You also have to account his involvement with Transcendental Meditation and other promotions of his other art work. While it bugs certain cinephiles such as yourself that Lynch is stealing the attention away from more interesting filmmakers, I find it impressive that someone of his style has became such a name figure over the years, which has helped him become the "popular surrealist".

I like Lynch, love Mulholland Dr., but still think this doc should be tacked on to something. Yes, there is a cult around him. I'm just wondering if it is as big as we're making it out to be, especially compared to the Nolan and Tarantino perennially defended by fans crowd. Just now I looked up Lynch's last couple of movies, by the way his most recent movie is now eleven years old and had a stint of a release in this country and scant home video presence, and by and large his movies are low budget productions that haven't seen huge returns--though they end up cult favorites.

It is bigger than we're making it out to be, certainly bigger than Tarantino or Nolan

People who don't even give a shit about movies give a shit about Lynch, I wouldn't be surprised if his films are among Criterion's all time best sellers

There are people at my job who aren't big on film but like Lynch to varying degrees. So he's well known. I don't see these people buying a documentary on him on the other hand.

I've no argument he's absolutely one of this elite group that have crossover appeal as an American Auteur with the general population but, come on, do you really think it's more than Tarantino? Tarantino's movies regularly make small fortunes and rack up awards conversation and major actors. Lynch himself is known but I really don't feel any one particular one of his films has entered the popular zeitgeist like Tarantino's have.

Television>Film when it comes to the popular zeitgeist.

Some time ago, I'm sure I saw something in this forum to the effect that Criterion were preparing a Blu-ray edition of Bertolucci's 'The Sheltering Sky'. Has anyone heard anything about this - is it still in the pipeline? Or did I dream it?