Criterion Newsletter (Part 2)

[justeleblanc]

Repo Man? It looks more like Conner's "A Movie" to me.

It's funny that after that screenshot was posted, people are still guessing.

Shut it, you.

[Cold Bishop]

so is it too much to ask for a month of Repo Man with an upgrade of Walker, which would also feature Pontecorvo/Brando's Burn! (which, if you don't know, is about Walker)? that would be absolutely fantastic but I know I can dream.

There's absolutely no way that Burn! ends up as an "extra", if for no reason that an eventual release would have to include both cuts (unless the English track magically appears, although by last estimation it was never looped, as the decision to shorten the film for the U.S. preceded dubbing).

[zedz]

I was just about to post the same thing. In any scenario, Burn! outguns Walker commercially.

[ryannichols7]

no no, i mean be its own spine obviously. no way that movie could be an extra, it deserves its own set of extras.

kinda like how they upgraded If and released the Vigo set in the same month, as a theme kind of thing.

[whaleallright]

"Bruce Conner films are never, ever coming to commercial DVD or Blu-ray."

--I know that Conner's estate has been prickly about distribution of his films, but why would you say this? Simply because of clearance issues?

[Thomas Dukenfield]

"Bruce Conner films are never, ever coming to commercial DVD or Blu-ray."

--I know that Conner's estate has been prickly about distribution of his films, but why would you say this? Simply because of clearance issues?

There is a DVD that was sold to schools and that you can buy at art galleries.

It's probably just a situation where his catalog is only sold or lended to art galleries and schools, possibly just because it is more financially viable, although maybe Conner specifically forbid his estate to ever release a conventional commercial DVD of any of his movies.

[duck duck]

The current Sid and Nancy Blu is fairly sad extras wise...
Who owns Repo Man?

[flyonthewall2983]

Universal, right?

[willoneill]

The DVD was definitely Universal, and the MoC bluray says Universal.

[cdnchris]

And I'm pretty sure the Anchor Bay DVD I had mentioned Universal.

[ianungstad]

It says Focus Features right on the front cover.

[whaleallright]

Actually there was a DVD of numerous Conner films that was released in a limited (and very expensive) edition, and which you can track down on various torrent sites. So Conner or his estate don't seem to object to distributing his films on DVD. A poster earlier in this thread made a strong statement about his films never being distributed on "commercial" DVD (presuming he means wide release) and I was wondering if s/he has some specific knowledge of his estate's intentions to back this up.

Because I cannot imagine a worthier video project than collecting all of Conner's films on one Blu-Ray.

[htshell]

I'm aware of that DVD. It's prohibitively expensive and I feel that the torrenting of the contents of it only furthers the paranoia that some filmmakers (or representatives of filmmakers) have about releasing their films on video.

The comment I made was made because a representative of his films audibly scoffed at an earnest question from an audience-member about the possibility of the films being released in a high-quality home video release. She did say the phrase it would "never happen."

Avant-garde film-works on DVD/Blu-ray/digital are a difficult issue. It's amazing to be able to study the Brakhage films at home but I imagine that university rentals of 16mm/35mm Brakhage prints are probably way down because of it. University libraries pay the institutional license for the discs and then professors will likely screen the discs in-class, with increasingly less understanding and relation to students of the actual form that made these works possible. And in works like those by Brakhage, the form is integral to understanding how and why we're seeing what we're seeing.

Also, sorry for the hyperbolic statement before, but again I was relating a quote from someone representing the Conner Trust at a screening. I hope that I'm wrong and a Blu-ray release does come out in the future!

[Jeff]

Universal shifted distribution of Repo Man over to Focus five or six years ago. It still gets a lot of theatrical distribution thanks to midnight movie programs, and it was probably felt that the Focus division was better positioned to handle it. Of course Focus didn't exist when the movie was made, and earlier U.S. DVDs were released via Universal and under license from Universal by Anchor Bay.

[yoshimori]

I'm aware of that DVD. It's prohibitively expensive

Was only $30 from the Cohen Gallery, which is luckily just down the street from me, when it was available.

Bruce Conner called me (long story) a few months after the DVDs were on sale and seemed a bit peeved that they'd been made available - complaining about the DVD cutting into his 16mm rentals with Canyon. Hard to imagine he didn't approve in advance, but ...

[swo17]

Silly question: Does that Bruce Conner DVD happen to come with this book available from several sellers on ebay?

[yoshimori]

The DVD and the book, along with the exhibition of his works that showed in Minneapolis, LA, and elsewhere at the time, have the same title, but the book doesn't contain the DVD. Sadly.

[acroyear]

I am convinced by bamwc2's screen grab that it is indeed Repo Man hinted in the Dec 2012 newsletter drawing. My first thought was a box of sugar, which made me think it might be a blu-ray upgrade of Sweet Movie.

[Adam]

I'm aware of that DVD. It's prohibitively expensive

Was only $30 from the Cohen Gallery, which is luckily just down the street from me, when it was available.

Bruce Conner called me (long story) a few months after the DVDs were on sale and seemed a bit peeved that they'd been made available - complaining about the DVD cutting into his 16mm rentals with Canyon. Hard to imagine he didn't approve in advance, but ...

I bought it there too, along with a second DVD that came out later, to less fanfare. Nice for reference.

[aox]

[jwd5275]

Lord of the Flies on blu

[Harmonov]

Makes sense that it's Lord of the Flies, but what about Straw Dogs...that's what I thought when I saw the broken glasses.

[Ashirg]

For some reason, I thought of Straw Dogs as well, but Lord of the Flies makes more sense as Piggy's glasses get broken...

[captveg]

Definitely Lord of the Flies. One of the more blatant clues they've ever had.

[Forrest Taft]

Is it just me, or does the pig look like Woody Allen? Not that I think Allen+Pig+Broken Glasses+Blu is really a hint, but Allen was the first thing I thought of.