Criterion and A24

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bainbridgezu
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:54 pm

Criterion and A24

#1 Post by bainbridgezu » Thu Jul 15, 2021 1:27 pm

Let's get this over with. Obviously Film Twitter™ is going to reach new heights of insufferability with this development, but no way Uncut Gems is a one-off. There's far too much money to be made for both parties, and Criterion just got the golden ticket to not only a smorgasbord of sure-sellers, but also a number of diverse new talents to bolster their current efforts towards a more inclusionary canon. That said, let's look at what might reasonably lie ahead.

I would say Spring Breakers, if not for the dark cloud over Franco and Criterion's seeming disinterest in Korine (give us Gummo, dammit). The latter also applies to Noé and Climax (again, Criterion, prove me wrong by scooping up the US rights to Irréversible).

Under the Skin seems like a decent possibility. Hopefully partnered with the long-overdue Birth.

Laggies is a personal favorite of mine, and would provide a great platform to collect some material on Lynn Shelton.

While We're Young should be a shoo-in, same (even more so) for Lady Bird -- unless, or course, A24 and Criterion mutually agree to start hating money.

Like Midsommar, A24 may want to keep The Witch (and possibly Hereditary) for themselves, but I could definitely see Criterion tackling The Lobster and maybe Killing of a Sacred Deer.

American Honey would be a strong contender, if LaBeouf's demons don't overshadow it.

Moonlight is pretty much a certainty.

I wouldn't be surprised to see 20th Century Women, A Ghost Story, or The Florida Project.

If Good Time were coming, I feel like they would've paired it with Uncut Gems.

No Disaster Artist (again, Franco).

First Reformed seems very likely.

Eighth Grade wouldn't surprise me. And maybe Jonah Hill can convince them to give mid90s the opportunity for a much-deserved reappraisal.

High Life could go either way, but I doubt it's at the top of their list.

I'd love to see them go for Under the Silver Lake, but not sure if there's enough general interest.

I would be shocked if they didn't release The Farewell at some point -- deservedly so.

The Lighthouse was unexpectedly popular. I could see them issuing it with, or instead of, The Witch.

Maybe we'll finally get that In Fabric release that was posited a while back.

The two Souvenirs are for sure a dual release.

First Cow's chances are certainly good.

Not sure about On the Rocks, due to Apple's involvement, but who knows?

Minari is another strong contender.

Zola is tricky, as I'm sure Criterion would love to work on it -- and could include all those great Bravo shorts from their channel -- but I'm not sure if A24 would be willing to part with it. At least not right away. Hopefully down the road.

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Finch
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Re: Criterion and A24

#2 Post by Finch » Thu Jul 15, 2021 1:46 pm

The possibility of a First Cow Criterion release almost makes me want not to pull the trigger on the existing Lionsgate (?) disc. Out of the others, Moonlight, First Reformed, American Honey, High Life and The Florida Project have the greatest auteur credentials. The only concern I have is, how worthwhile would a reissue of all of these with the wacky C be? The Fire Walk With Me disc was effectively redundant for most people that would have been its core audience. But if I recall correctly, most A24 titles have not been stacked with good bonus material so this is where Criterion could one-up the existing releases.

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bainbridgezu
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Re: Criterion and A24

#3 Post by bainbridgezu » Thu Jul 15, 2021 1:51 pm

Finch wrote:
Thu Jul 15, 2021 1:46 pm
If I recall correctly, most A24 titles have not been stacked with good bonus material so this is where Criterion could one-up the existing releases.
This. Most releases have a 15-30 min "making of" and maybe a commentary. Lots of room for improvement, especially things like directors' shorts (as seen with Uncut Gems).

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dwk
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Re: Criterion and A24

#4 Post by dwk » Thu Jul 15, 2021 1:52 pm

If I'm not mistaken, Under the Silver Lake didn't even get a proper, pressed Blu-ray.

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bainbridgezu
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Re: Criterion and A24

#5 Post by bainbridgezu » Thu Jul 15, 2021 1:56 pm

dwk wrote:
Thu Jul 15, 2021 1:52 pm
If I'm not mistaken, Under the Silver Lake didn't even get a proper, pressed Blu-ray.
Correct. And with just two 10-minute featurettes, more extensive supplements could really help kick start the Donnie Darko-like cult the film deserves.

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domino harvey
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Re: Criterion and A24

#6 Post by domino harvey » Thu Jul 15, 2021 1:57 pm

dwk wrote:
Thu Jul 15, 2021 1:52 pm
If I'm not mistaken, Under the Silver Lake didn't even get a proper, pressed Blu-ray.
There’s a pressed Blu in the UK

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Boosmahn
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Re: Criterion and A24

#7 Post by Boosmahn » Thu Jul 15, 2021 3:15 pm

Please let this be American Honey's chance for a good release. I've been wanting this for years. [-o<

In Fabric is surely on the horizon.

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Drucker
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Re: Criterion and A24

#8 Post by Drucker » Thu Jul 15, 2021 3:35 pm

If major studio libraries (Fox, Paramount) are licensing less, then I'm all for A24 and others to pick up the slack.

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FrauBlucher
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Re: Criterion and A24

#9 Post by FrauBlucher » Thu Jul 15, 2021 3:37 pm

“Ribs” wrote: Uncut Gems is licensed from Lionsgate, not direct from A24.
Maybe you shouldn’t be getting all juiced up yet. This was posted on the Criterion & Lionsgate thread.

And I would think the Safdies have as much to do with CC releasing it as anyone
Last edited by FrauBlucher on Thu Jul 15, 2021 3:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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bainbridgezu
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Re: Criterion and A24

#10 Post by bainbridgezu » Thu Jul 15, 2021 3:48 pm

FrauBlucher wrote:
Thu Jul 15, 2021 3:37 pm
“Ribs” wrote: Uncut Gems is licensed from Lionsgate, not direct from A24.
Maybe you shouldn’t be getting all juiced up yet. This was posted on the Criterion & Lionsgate thread.
Fair point, but even if that's the case, I still expect there will be more. If Lionsgate could be persuaded to sub-license a film starring a popular actor that received loads of mainstream attention, I don't see what's stopping other filmmakers like Barry Jenkins and Greta Gerwig successfully pushing for similar arrangements.

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cdnchris
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Re: Criterion and A24

#11 Post by cdnchris » Thu Jul 15, 2021 4:28 pm

To be fair it is more than likely possible A24 does have some sort of deal with Criterion or are at least building a relationship, but chances are very good Lionsgate has say in what they get access to due to whatever home video distribution agreement they have with A24.

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bainbridgezu
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Re: Criterion and A24

#12 Post by bainbridgezu » Thu Jul 15, 2021 4:39 pm

cdnchris wrote:
Thu Jul 15, 2021 4:28 pm
To be fair it is more than likely possible A24 does have some sort of deal with Criterion or are at least building a relationship, but chances are very good Lionsgate has say in what they get access to due to whatever home video distribution agreement they have with A24.
For sure. I just meant Lionsgate isn't a total roadblock here, and that if they allowed Criterion to release a recently popular title like Uncut Gems, they're likely open to the overtures of other filmmakers Criterion is friendly with.

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Luke M
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Re: Criterion and A24

#13 Post by Luke M » Fri Jul 16, 2021 2:16 am

I'm voting for a one-off. It's the Safdie brothers.

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colinr0380
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Re: Criterion and A24

#14 Post by colinr0380 » Sat Jul 17, 2021 9:47 am

domino harvey wrote:
Thu Jul 15, 2021 1:57 pm
dwk wrote:
Thu Jul 15, 2021 1:52 pm
If I'm not mistaken, Under the Silver Lake didn't even get a proper, pressed Blu-ray.
There’s a pressed Blu in the UK
From Mubi, no less!

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

Re: Criterion and A24

#15 Post by dwk » Thu Feb 10, 2022 8:51 pm

Geek Gab, everyone's favorite are they reliable or not twitter/instagram feed, is saying that Criterion will be releasing First Reformed on UHD.

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The Elegant Dandy Fop
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Re: Criterion and A24

#16 Post by The Elegant Dandy Fop » Fri Feb 11, 2022 12:56 am

Sort of curious about why A24 would license more titles out when they just released Lamb as "the first in line of A24 Blu-rays"? To me in makes more sense (and more buck$) to just self-release. At this point, seeing as they're starting to self-release and license to Criterion, how does Lionsgate even fit in? I know Red Rocket is getting a standard release next month.

guyetgenevieve
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Re: Criterion and A24

#17 Post by guyetgenevieve » Fri Feb 11, 2022 3:04 am

It is genuinely quite confusing how A24 is approaching home media. The Lamb release has me thinking that they’ll probably self-release The Souvenir Part II, though if they feel like licensing, I feel like Criterion would welcome a 2-pack with both of those films. I don’t know. Also On the Rocks got a Blu-ray release, but not Boys State, so what does that mean for The Tragedy of Macbeth? And where’s C’mon C’mon?????????

okay I’m done

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willoneill
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Re: Criterion and A24

#18 Post by willoneill » Fri Feb 11, 2022 9:14 am

C'mon C'mon is getting a Canadian release next week if you need a Region A option. Looks like it's bare bones though.

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yoloswegmaster
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Re: Criterion and A24

#19 Post by yoloswegmaster » Fri Feb 11, 2022 10:42 am

dwk wrote:
Thu Feb 10, 2022 8:51 pm
Geek Gab, everyone's favorite are they reliable or not twitter/instagram feed, is saying that Criterion will be releasing First Reformed on UHD.
I'm pretty sure that they are using the news from the French 4K release and just adding Criterion's name to it. I believe that GeekGab does have sources for major label releases, but I highly doubt that they actually have sources regarding boutique labels and most likely is using his attention-seeking antics to try and be the next Digital Bits. I recall them making claims that Da 5 Bloodz and Mank were going to be receiving Criterion releases in 2021 (which they haven't), as well as saying that the first Criterion release was going to be region-locked (which it hasn't). I'm not saying that there isn't a chance for Criterion to release First Reformed, but I would take anything that they say with a massive grain of salt.

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dwk
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Re: Criterion and A24

#20 Post by dwk » Fri Feb 11, 2022 11:33 am

Oh yeah, I definitely take what they say with a grain of salt, just sharing a rumor while nothing else is going on in Criterion land.

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yoloswegmaster
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Re: Criterion and A24

#21 Post by yoloswegmaster » Fri Feb 11, 2022 9:46 pm

Geek Gab is now claiming that Criterion will be releasing a 4K UHD of 'In Fabric'.

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ryannichols7
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Re: Criterion and A24

#22 Post by ryannichols7 » Fri Feb 11, 2022 11:52 pm

how does every single response to that Twitter just blindly believe everything they say?

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What A Disgrace
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Re: Criterion and A24

#23 Post by What A Disgrace » Sat Feb 12, 2022 2:13 am

I imagine that neither Lionsgate nor Criterion were that keen on Lamb, hence A24 - knowing they nonetheless have a unique title of some note (and notoriety) and prestige - releasing it on their own, to launch their own line, something I imagine they've been aiming at for some time. But that is a rather unique title (non-English, not actually produced by A24), so its up in the air if future releases between the studios will follow this sort of pattern - Uncut Gems is a big enough title that you'd expect Lionsgate themselves to want to do a 4K release; its certainly an easier sell (on the face of things) than The Witch or Moonlight, but here it is at Criterion. Where will Lighthouse inevitably end up, when they decide to release it on 4K? What boutique orifice will that Green Knight director's cut emerge from? Will Red Rocket be blasting off again on 4K?

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