Criterion Newsletter (Part 2)

[Highway 61]

Unlikely as it is, I suppose the clue could refer to Directed by John Ford, assuming that Christmas refers only to the release date. This would tie into Warner's statement that they only licensed films from living directors upon their request.

[ianungstad]

I think we can pretty much discredit anything the Warner Rep. stated at the HTF chat considering Stephen Prince has confirmed that he's recording the commentary track for the Criterion release of Kurosawa's Dreams.

[Jeff]

Unlikely as it is, I suppose the clue could refer to Directed by John Ford, assuming that Christmas refers only to the release date.

If that were the case, they should have put a neckerchief and oversized glasses on the horse. Warner is releasing Directed by John Ford on September 15.

[Highway 61]

I think we can pretty much discredit anything the Warner Rep. stated at the HTF chat considering Stephen Prince has confirmed that he's recording the commentary track for the Criterion release of Kurosawa's Dreams.

If that were the case, they should have put a neckerchief and oversized glasses on the horse. Warner is releasing Directed by John Ford on September 15.

Didn't know about either of these. Thanks.

This is definitely the best clue in a long while. I have no idea what it could be.

[ianungstad]

So, is there a consensus that the clue refers to a John Ford western then?

I think it's pretty safe to assume the newsletter is referring to John Ford. Just about all of his Westerns in his late period (post-Fox) were shot in Monument Valley. The newsletter wouldn't be referring to the georgraphical location if it wasn't significant to the film being teased. Any search on Monument Valley, shows that the location's relationship to Hollywood is closely tied to that of Ford.

Though, as it's been pointed out, Searchers 2.0 by Alex Cox is a reasonable guess, as it's about two child actors returning to Monument Valley for a screening of a film in which they acted in, with plans to assault it's screenwriter. While a comedy, it's supposedly a tribute to the Westerns of Ford and Sergio Leone and a parody of Hollywood. The film is notable for capturing a rare occasion when Monument Valley was covered in snow...which doesn't really fit the "dry" part of the clue. I hope it's not Searchers 2.0, the few reviews I've read have mostly ranged from slightly dissapointing to awful. A few clips I've come across of the film through google also make it look like a bit of a turkey. IMO.

[solaris72]

Just remembered, DVDBeaver mentioned in its review of the Stagecoach 2-disc that there's a much better restoration out there which wasn't utilized for either one of Warner's DVD releases of the film, so maybe Stagecoach is a possibility.

[Cinephrenic]

Perhaps the obscurity of the clue means that several Ford films will show up, not necessarily a single release. A box of some sort for Christmas.

[ianungstad]

FYI, I emailed Alex Cox through his website and got an email from him a few minutes ago. Criterion does not have the rights to Searchers 2.0 but he did say they are still looking for an American distributor and to suggest it to them. I won't be doing that, but any Cox fans out there feel free to do so!

[Jeff]

Just remembered, DVDBeaver mentioned in its review of the Stagecoach 2-disc that there's a much better restoration out there which wasn't utilized for either one of Warner's DVD releases of the film, so maybe Stagecoach is a possibility.

I think we may indeed be looking at a Criterion release of Stagecoach. Warner does not "own" the rights to the film, they've licensed them. Its rights situation has always been fairly complicated:

The film was originally released through United Artists, but under their old seven-year-rights rule, surrendered its distribution rights to producer Walter Wanger in 1946. Many independent companies were responsible for this film in the years since. The film's copyright is currently held by 20th Century Fox, who produced a later 1966 remake of Stagecoach. However, distribution rights are now held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive on behalf of ancillary rights holder The Caidin Trust, with Castle Hill Productions and Warner Bros. Pictures representing.

The original negatives of Stagecoach were either lost or destroyed. John Wayne had one positive print that had never been through a projector gate. In 1970, he permitted it to be used to produce a new negative, and that is the film seen today at film festivals. UCLA formally restored the film in 1996 from surviving elements and premiered on cable's American Movie Classics network. The current DVD releases by Warner Home Video do not contain the restored print, but rather a video print held in the Castle Hill/Caidin Trust library.

Warner has been distributing the film through an arrangement with Castle Hill, which I believe may be about to expire. Warner is re-issuing the John Ford/John Wayne Collection on September 15 with Stagecoach and The Long Voyage Home (which was also licensed from Walter Wanger/Castle Hill) removed from the box. If this is the case, Criterion could have licensed Stagecoach from Castle Hill, The Wanger Estate, UCLAFTA, or The Caiden Trust -- maybe other films too.

While discs are currently still available, it certainly appears that Warner could be losing the rights to Stagecoach and other Wanger/Castle Hill properties. The fact that there is a major restoration available that Warner did not or could not use would certainly be incentive for Criterion to try and top the Warner disc, and if there is any film that screams "Monument Valley," this is the one.

[souvenir]

I had considered that Stagecoach was being removed from the Ford/Wayne re-release, but wasn't aware of the rights situation. Stagecoach aired just a couple of days ago on TCM and it certainly looked better than the screencaps DVD Beaver has. This seems like the best possibility yet. Who would have thought.

[Doctor Sunshine]

And I agree with fiddlesticks, the reins imply that a stagecoach would feature predominately, despite the saddle. Most of us probably instinctively dismissed Stagecoach as being too good to be true but had more people liked Benjamin Button, a current, Hollywood Oscar winner, that would have seemed too good to be true too. Where the major studios DVD sales are no doubt hurting with the recession, Criterion are evidently doing pretty good and that's opened a lot of doors, so I think Stagecoach is a good bet. And it would be kinda cruel to taunt us with the stagecoach/Monument Valley clue and come out with some random oater.

[Jeff]

If I'm right, The Long Voyage Home (possibly as a sequential spine with Stagecoach), Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent, Lubitsch's To Be or Not To Be, and Kazan's A Face in the Crowd may not be far behind. Castle Hill also has the rights to Welles' Othello.

Warner had the bulk of the classics, but Castle Hill's library is licensed out all over the place. Criterion previously licensed all of the Cassavetes films from them.

[Highway 61]

Wow. Nice work Jeff. If this is indeed the case, what a coup for Criterion! And unless there's some rights complication there's no way this doesn't get released on Blu. And while I may be getting ahead of myself here, I can foresee some excellent supplements for this. Hopefully, Tag Gallagher is involved in some way.

If I'm right, The Long Voyage Home (possibly as a sequential spine with Stagecoach), Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent, Lubitsch's To Be or Not To Be, and Kazan's A Face in the Crowd may not be far behind. Castle Hill also has the rights to Welles' Othello.

You're killing me. I'm euphoric. \:D/

[ianungstad]

Stage Coach does seem like the likely answer after reviewing the rights information you dug up. As for the other titles controlled by the studios...would the 7 year rule apply to them as well? Or is that something that was unique to the John Ford films? Those would all be great future Criterion releases....

I'd be more excited if any of these possible films were out of print but they are all readily available for sale. It makes for excellent speculation! I assume, like most production companies, distribution contracts are dealt with on a case by case basis.

[Jeff]

Foreign Correspondent is the exact same rights situation as Stagecoach (Wanger>Caidin>Castle Hill), and Warner's Hitchcock box containing the title is out of print (though the individual disc seems to still be available). Warner may be allowed to sell off all of their remaining stock of these. Of course this is all just idle speculation on my part.

[Derek Estes]

For me, a Criterion release of Stagecoach would easily be the release of the year! The last Warners release was awful. I thought it looked worse than the original. One of my favorite movies.

Also, isn't Hitchcock's Mr. & Mrs. Smith in the same Castle Hill group?

[Jeff]

Also, isn't Hitchcock's Mr. & Mrs. Smith in the same Castle Hill group?

No, I think it's RKO.

[knives]

Castle Hill also has the rights to Welles' Othello.

That would be the release of the year for me. Maybe with Chimes at Midnight? [-o<

[swo17]

Nice detective work Jeff! Of course, now if it's anything other than Stagecoach, it's going to be a massive disappointment.

[Ashirg]

You can see the complete list of Castle Hill titles here.

[Jeff]

Nice detective work Jeff! Of course, now if it's anything other than Stagecoach, it's going to be a massive disappointment.

That's what I'm afraid of, and it is indeed just a wild guess. Something is definitely up with Warner pulling those two titles though.

Fritz Lang's You Only Live Once is another Walter Wanger production now owned by Castle Hill.

[AfterTheRain]

Here are some other Castle Hill titles that I think Criterion should look into:

America, America (1963, Elia Kazan)
Baby Doll (1956, Elia Kazan)
Breaker Morant (1980, Bruce Beresford) - previously released on LD by CC
David and Lisa (1962, Frank Perry)
History is Made at Night (1937, Frank Borzage)
I Married a Witch (1942, Rene Clair)
Intervista (1987, Federico Fellini)

[Amazing Goose]

This has quickly gone from "bland clue" to "pretty dang awesome."

Interesting, Criterion's seeming shift to more "mainstream" titles: Benjamin Button, and, well, if it is Stagecoach...

Are they trying to reach a broader audience in a tighter economy, or is it because of these new studio deals?
Or are these just anomalies?

[ianungstad]

Nice detective work Jeff! Of course, now if it's anything other than Stagecoach, it's going to be a massive disappointment.

That's what I'm afraid of, and it is indeed just a wild guess. Something is definitely up with Warner pulling those two titles though.

Fritz Lang's You Only Live Once is another Walter Wanger production now owned by Castle Hill.

I'm actually a little surprised that You Only Live Once hasn't been issued as a Criterion. It's of a handful of Lang titles that Image Entertainment has had the rights to for years, including The 1000 Eyes of Dr.Mabuse, etc. It would be easy enough to get the rights from Image.

Hopefully on Monday Mulvaney emails someone on the forum, elaborating on the clue. I think it would be somewhat funny if the clue was Three Godfather's and someone at Criterion didn't bother to fact check and just made the assumption it was shot in Monument Valley like most of the later Ford Western films.

[cdnchris]

Here are some other Castle Hill titles that I think Criterion should look into:

America, America (1963, Elia Kazan)
Baby Doll (1956, Elia Kazan)
Breaker Morant (1980, Bruce Beresford) - previously released on LD by CC
David and Lisa (1962, Frank Perry)
History is Made at Night (1937, Frank Borzage)
I Married a Witch (1942, Rene Clair)
Intervista (1987, Federico Fellini)

I've always hoped for a Breaker Morant from them. Also the Kazan's would be nice. A Criterion Baby Doll and/or A Face in the Crowd (which Jeff mentions is also a Castle Hill title) would make my day.

The clue is throwing me off and it's getting a little frustrating. I'd love it if it was something like Stagecoach (3 Godfathers I guess I could live with) but my gut is telling me it might be Koyaanisqatsi (possibly a set with the other films) with a Christmas time release date and that the horse is just a thoughtless addition. As far as I remember those films were confirmed as being licenced from MGM. Unless that's changed of course.