fiddlesticks wrote:Maybe they could pair this up with The Candidate?
kaujot wrote:The Candidate was announced as having a new release scheduled for 2008, but apparently that didn't happen. Good work on the timing, Paramount.
The Candidate belongs to Warner. They are apparently still working on their special edition. I don't know what the holdup is. Redford recorded a commentary nearly two years ago.
Jeff wrote:The Candidate belongs to Warner. They are apparently still working on their special edition. I don't know what the holdup is. Redford recorded a commentary nearly two years ago.
I amend my statement. Good work on the timing, Warner.
I would like to see Criterion release special editions of Hud, The Tenant, and a little known gem called The Counterfeit Traitor. The latter is (believe it or not) based on a true story and is one of the finest WWII espionage stories that I've seen.
Not really related to this topic...but interesting none the less...
We all know that several Paramount titles went OOP at the end of 2007, including The Tenant, Seconds, Elephant Man, Mahogany etc. This seemed sort of strange as there was some high profile stuff in the mix. I was talking to Brenda Ciccone at Paramount and it turns out that a portion of these titles were licensed to Lions Gate Films as part of a licensing deal in 2007. Which is quite annoying...as they've had the Republic Pictures catalogue from Paramount for years and have never utilized that library at all. Why did they need to acquire a stack of high profile catalogue titles from Paramount in addition to the relicensing the Republic titles? It's been two years and I haven't heard any peep about any of these titles coming back into print at Lions Gate. I'm sure that Criterion could have done a wonderful job on The Tenant and others, while I would not be surprised if Lions Gate continues to let these films collect dust.
Anyways, I'm trying to weasel some Criterion info out of her. If I have any luck, I'll share!
I believe that Paramount put the Elephant Man has something to do with Lynch acquiring the rights again or some type of agreement so he could release it as part of the Lime Green boxset.
kaujot wrote:I really can't see Criterion ever doing Woody's films.
PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM is not even a Woody film. He wrote/stars in it. And it's pretty weak. Even if Criterion spent the next twenty years releasing every film Woody has ever been associated with in any capacity, they'd probably get to PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM just after ANTZ and right before PICKING UP THE PIECES.
You're nuts. Though it exhibits a little more visual flourish than the typical Allen film (one of the few ways to differentiate it from one he did direct), it's still the most laugh-out-loud funny Woody Allen picture there is
It's a minor film by Nicholas Ray but I could see Criterion being interested in Run for Cover. It would be nice to see another western in the collection.
Because Woody opposes all forms of special features for the DVDs of his films, and they respect a director's wishes, for good or ill.
Would sales of a completely bare-bones Criterion Allen disc be that great? What about the features-obsessed consumer? Would they buy it just for a great transfer? Would it be cost effective, even if they sold it at a lower tier (say $25MSRP)?
I just can't see them doing it. I'm not at all opposed, but I can't see it happening.
Strangely enough, I had a dream about a Criterion edition of "Take the Money and Run" last week. It had "Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story," archival interviews with Allen and footage from his stand-up days as supplements; and a simple mugshot of Allen-as-Virgil-Starkwell for a cover.
Granted, this dream also featured Johnny Depp sleeping with my ex-girlfriend; as well as a violent argument involving a game of Uno. So please take all of this with a grain of salt before considering it a predicator of future events.
I now leave you with your regular scheduled Paramount speculations, now in progress.
Doesn't Paramount have the rights to Sleuth? You think they would have released the film when the remake came out. Classic film, a shame that it's been MIA for so long. Maybe Criterion could pry it away from Paramount.
Siegel's INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS is now in iTunes as a Paramount (rather than Lionsgate) title. I wonder if this means at least some of the Republic library is back with Paramount. Regardless, it makes a Criterion BODY SNATCHERS release feasible.
jaredsap wrote:Siegel's INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS is now in iTunes as a Paramount (rather than Lionsgate) title. I wonder if this means at least some of the Republic library is back with Paramount. Regardless, it makes a Criterion BODY SNATCHERS release feasible.
Maybe...or maybe Lionsgate's license from Paramount only extends to DVD. I wouldn't be surprised if Paramount retained broadcast and broadband rights when they licensed the Republic catalog to Lionsgate.
kaujot wrote:Because Woody opposes all forms of special features for the DVDs of his films, and they respect a director's wishes, for good or ill.
Would sales of a completely bare-bones Criterion Allen disc be that great? What about the features-obsessed consumer? Would they buy it just for a great transfer? Would it be cost effective, even if they sold it at a lower tier (say $25MSRP)?
I just can't see them doing it. I'm not at all opposed, but I can't see it happening.
Well, Allen finally switched from mono to stereo on his last few recent films, so maybe he'll change is mind. Although, I honestly feel the extent of extras on his films ought to just be trailers and music-only tracks.
I was looking up something on the IMDB this morning and noticed that today is Liza Minnelli's birthday, which reminded me that Pakula's The Sterile Cuckoo still isn't out on DVD. Might make a good candidate for Criterion.
Arthur House wrote:I was looking up something on the IMDB this morning and noticed that today is Liza Minnelli's birthday, which reminded me that Pakula's The Sterile Cuckoo still isn't out on DVD. Might make a good candidate for Criterion.
I've asked Turell about THE STERILE CUCKOO. He told me no at the time, but it is definitely a good candidate for Criterion. I saw a print recently and the film holds up quite well. It's not what people would expect from Pakula if you're only familiar with his seminal 70s work, but it is still a logical and essential precursor to KLUTE. You can look at STERILE CUCKOO as Minnelli playing Bree from KLUTE as a young woman and you can watch as the romanticism of the 60s dissolves into KLUTE's 70s-fueled paranoia.
This film has been mentioned before... but I would REALLY like to see Looking for Mr. Goodbar get the treatment. Its never been on DVD before and while its not a well recieved film, it does have a performance largely considered Diane Keaton's best.
Plus, not many nowadays have seen the film due to its lack of distribution.
