The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

News on Criterion and Janus Films.
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tolbs1010
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2020 7:01 pm

Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#476 Post by tolbs1010 » Tue Mar 02, 2021 7:04 pm

Dirk Bogarde retrospective at the end of the month. This coming after the Pinter retrospective a few months ago. Giving me hope that The Servant might be coming to the Collection soon. It's the Losey film that makes the most sense for a Criterion release. I will keep beating the Losey drum on this forum until it happens!

Surprised that Fassbinder's Despair isn't part of this Bogarde retrospective. Not that it's a great film, but it's a visually-appealing muddle and Bogarde is in nearly every frame. The last line of that film ("I'm coming out"), spoken by Bogarde, was an interesting bit of mischief by Fassbinder.

ftsoh
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 10:59 am

Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#477 Post by ftsoh » Wed Mar 03, 2021 6:41 pm

I recall seeing some Paramount films on the Channel. With the Paramount discs going OOP and Paramount+ launching, it looks grim that we will get anymore Paramount films on the channel.

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aox
Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:02 pm
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Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#478 Post by aox » Fri Mar 19, 2021 10:48 am

The Hawai'i Shorts are up. Any recommendations?

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DeprongMori
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:59 am
Location: San Francisco

Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#479 Post by DeprongMori » Fri Mar 19, 2021 1:45 pm

I see the titles from the 5 Films About Christo and Jeanne-Claude collection, directed by the Maysles Brothers and previously released by Plexifilm, now streaming on the Channel, open with the “Criterion” and “Janus” logos, even though they don’t show up on the Janus Films website. However, Interview with Christo, Jeanne-Claude, and Albert Maysles from the Plexifilm DVD set was not being streamed as part of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Collection on the Channel.

Did anyone notice whether the other Maysles documentary on Christo that ran briefly on the Channel, The Gates (2007), also had the Criterion and Janus logos?

The versions of the 5 films that are currently running on the Channel are still in need of restoration (poor scans, subtitle typos, etc.), so I’m looking forward to these potentially getting a new release at some point.

A larger and much more complete set that included the Hissen Brothers documentaries, the Blackwood Productions documentaries, and the Walking on Water (2018) doc by Andrey M. Paounov that ran briefly and Antonio Ferrera’s 2007 memorial doc about Jeanne-Claude would be extremely welcome. I suspect we’ll only see a re-issue of the 5 Films set though.

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criterionsnob
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:23 am
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The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#480 Post by criterionsnob » Wed Mar 24, 2021 10:28 am

I’ll be disappointed if this doesn’t end up being California Split, seeing as she’s using a still from it.

On Twitter, Criterion Channel programmer Penelope Bartlett says: “R.I.P. to an absolute fave. One of his greatest movies will be on @criterionchannl in April..."

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dwk
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:10 pm

Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#481 Post by dwk » Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:07 pm


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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#482 Post by therewillbeblus » Thu Mar 25, 2021 3:38 pm

So California Split was the title, but it's part of their Gamblers series, so less of an indication that it's with Criterion- though I believe it was rumored? I guess we'll see if it opens with the Criterion/Janus logos

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DandyDancing
Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2020 8:27 am

Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#483 Post by DandyDancing » Thu Mar 25, 2021 5:42 pm

It's a Columbia movie. So even if it is being released physically it won't open with any Criterion or Janus branding.


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therewillbeblus
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Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#485 Post by therewillbeblus » Thu Mar 25, 2021 5:50 pm

Thought so, at this point it's whatever company gets to the finish line first

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tolbs1010
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2020 7:01 pm

Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#486 Post by tolbs1010 » Sat Mar 27, 2021 11:54 am

That other 1974 gambling gem, The Gambler, is another film that I have long-wanted to see in HD with proper extras. When Caan is at the blackjack table and hits the 18--"Give me the three"--it gives chills to all us degenerate gamblers out there. Reisz's use of Mahler and the way the camera is angled up at Caan on the reaction shot heightens the moment. It's the pinnacle for that character and it's all downhill for him after that.

Definitely a more angsty, existentialist take on the gambling life, compared to California Split's humorous ramble-shamble. Love them both but love California Split more. RIP George Segal.

As an aside, the Mark Wahlberg remake of The Gambler was horrid.

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domino harvey
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Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#487 Post by domino harvey » Sat Mar 27, 2021 4:51 pm

That one is with Paramount, so it could be coming to Criterion given they seem to be burning through their remaining licenses with the studio

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swo17
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Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#488 Post by swo17 » Sat Mar 27, 2021 5:03 pm


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tolbs1010
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Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#489 Post by tolbs1010 » Sun Mar 28, 2021 1:06 pm

Thanks for the heads up on this. No interview with Caan is disappointing but the other extras look interesting. Like the slipcase cover with the original poster artwork.

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Red Screamer
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Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#490 Post by Red Screamer » Wed Mar 31, 2021 5:20 am

HinkyDinkyTruesmith wrote:
Tue Dec 22, 2020 12:08 am
Aside from HE WHO GETS SLAPPED (one of my favorite silents), the John Stahl collection is exciting. Although two of the films are only so-so and have blu-ray releases, the other two, BACK STREET and especially WHERE TOMORROW COMES, are both masterpieces and have never received proper releases.
I caught up with the three Stahl/Dunne films this week and I was impressed. Stahl has a precise visual style, a pared-down sense of narrative, and a surprisingly down-to-earth sensibility for the genre. Without being loud or inflated, his films have a tender register of emotional intensity all their own.

My hands-down favorite was When Tomorrow Comes, which sustains that register gracefully from start to finish in a range of moods. It's a class-conscious romance with poetic flourishes and a wonderfully detailed central relationship. Few social-mismatch romances feel as natural and appealing as the one here, though Stahl doesn't softpedal the stakes involved for Dunne's character, both emotionally and ideologically. Though it's not quite in the same league as Holiday, it invites comparison. Its compressed timeline and overflowing flavor of city life, not to mention the too-relevant natural disaster in the middle of the picture, helped push it over the top for me. It also doesn't hurt that Boyer is at his most charming. Back Street, which seems like it's been the rallying cry for Stahl's champions over the years, was also wonderful. The film was daring for its time in its amoral perspective on adultery and has an unusually fragmented, verging on conceptual approach to narrative, which I imagine is one reason for its popularity among critics. The fact that most of the couple's relationship happens offscreen made the film somewhat difficult for me emotionally, but Dunne's desperately naïve fantasy at the end hit me like a gut punch. I also see a connection between Back Street and Leave Her to Heaven in how both of their male leads have a mixture of bland appeal and clueless narcissism, and how that mixture translates into a deep, psychic pain for the women who love them. Magnificent Obsession was also good, though it's less focused in narrative or tone and the story is a little shaky. That Stahl creates something that's honestly moving out of the questionable material he's working with only makes me more convinced of his powers. In the end, the simple moments leave more of an impression than the occasional wackiness of the source. The gliding point-of-view shot when Taylor first sees Dunne might be the most memorable camera movement in all three of the movies and, while its ending can't stand up to the powerhouse endings of the other two films, I can't imagine a more elegant and touching realization of what could've easily been a silly or even repellant conclusion.

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FrauBlucher
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Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#491 Post by FrauBlucher » Sat Apr 03, 2021 7:27 pm

Question... I currently don't stream. Does the Criterion Channel list tech specs like whether they are presenting from restorations and what kind? The Hustler I see is airing this month and wondering if it's from a newer restoration (even though the Fox bluray is pretty damn good).

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wishhersafeathome
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Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#492 Post by wishhersafeathome » Sat Apr 03, 2021 7:36 pm

FrauBlucher wrote:
Sat Apr 03, 2021 7:27 pm
Question... I currently don't stream. Does the Criterion Channel list tech specs like whether they are presenting from restorations and what kind? The Hustler I see is airing this month and wondering if it's from a newer restoration (even though the Fox bluray is pretty damn good).
I haven't seen as much in any of the descriptive text accompanying each film. They don't even tell you what resolutions are available, for example some of the John Stahl films on there recently were only 480, which is pretty sad.

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FrauBlucher
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Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#493 Post by FrauBlucher » Sat Apr 03, 2021 7:44 pm

Thanks. That's too bad and surprising

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fdm
Joined: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:25 pm

Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#494 Post by fdm » Sun Apr 04, 2021 5:18 am

Well given they don't even offer dolby digital audio (which may be the one thing FilmStruck never had any problem with)...

flyonthewall2983
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Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#495 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Tue Apr 06, 2021 3:07 pm

The Hustler is pan-and-scanned

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FrauBlucher
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Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#496 Post by FrauBlucher » Tue Apr 06, 2021 4:35 pm

Yikes!

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domino harvey
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Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#497 Post by domino harvey » Tue Apr 06, 2021 4:37 pm

Robert Rossen’s Ghost is finally able to show it to us how he intended

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DeprongMori
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Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#498 Post by DeprongMori » Wed Apr 07, 2021 2:24 am

flyonthewall2983 wrote:
Tue Apr 06, 2021 3:07 pm
The Hustler is pan-and-scanned
Word has it this will be repaired shortly to the proper AR.

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dwk
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Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#499 Post by dwk » Fri Apr 23, 2021 10:50 pm


kekid
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Re: The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

#500 Post by kekid » Sat Apr 24, 2021 2:09 pm

dwk wrote:
Fri Apr 23, 2021 10:50 pm
May 2021's slate
May 2021 is a most awesome month on the Criterion channel.

I hope a box set including all the films of Satyajit Ray being shown this month comes out later this year. This is Satyajit Ray at 100.. His time has come.

If it does, all other Criterion problems will be forgiven.

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