Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol. 5

[Finch]

I'd be more interested in smaller Zatoichi sets and like the idea of 10 BDs covering the entire series which you could then break up into two sets of 5 BDs each.

[Mr Sausage]

How essential is continuity in the series? I think they would release the first few films together, then maybe pick the "essential" titles and box them together. Doing all the films in any form seems like overkill, though. I know they're popular but is there really a demand for all those later entries in the series?

About the same as a James Bond film: each film basically starts over again.

[domino harvey]

I think that Criterion has said that, genre-wise, their biggest sellers are samurai movies and noir-

Interesting that they haven't released too many noirs then-- I mean, they'e been sitting on Cry of the City for like what, eight or nine years now?

[Props55]

Do we know that they actually still have it? Or is it now up for grabs by TT? And yeah, it should have been out as part of that miraculous burst that gave us the THE KILLERS double bill, Fuller's PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET and the Dassin's. They seem to have "had it" at least as long as MINISTRY OF FEAR.

[andyli]

And they passed on In a Lonely Place.

[FakeBonanza]

And they passed on In a Lonely Place.

This morning, I was looking back at the board's speculation about the film, but couldn't find anything definite. Has this been confirmed? If so, I'm pretty crushed; In a Lonely Place is one of the films I was most hoping Criterion would release.

I guess I can still dream of a loaded La Dolce Vita blu.

[Jeff]

We don't really know what the deal was on In a Lonely Place. At any rate I can't imagine that the conversation went:

Grover Crisp: You guys wanna release In a Lonely Place?

Peter Becker: Pass.

[domino harvey]

Didn't that speculation come from Twilight Time wanting to release it and being told another company had already made the move?

[Jeff]

Didn't that speculation come from Twilight Time wanting to release it and being told another company had already made the move?

Correct, but then the Criterion reps at Wexner supposedly said they weren't doing it either.

[Vegeta84]

I think that Criterion has said that, genre-wise, their biggest sellers are samurai movies and noir- I don't doubt that with proper marketing, they could sell a giant load of fun samurai movies without too much trouble, even if their normal base was only vaguely interested.

They really haven't been releasing a ton of samurai films recently, and they are sitting on a gold mine. Hell, Hunter In The Dark, Bandits Vs Samurai Squadron, and Assassination are considered some of the best and Criterion is just sitting pretty with them.

[dwk]

Didn't that speculation come from Twilight Time wanting to release it and being told another company had already made the move?

Correct, but then the Criterion reps at Wexner supposedly said they weren't doing it either.

Grindhouse Releasing?

[domino harvey]

Code Red obv

[dwk]

Funny, but I'm serious. Grindhouse has announced that they are releasing two Sony titles, The Swimmer and The Big Gundown, on Blu, so I don't think them releasing In a Lonely Place is too much of a stretch.

[knives]

Those two Sony though are significantly more in Grindhouse's wheelhouse though.

[Gregory]

More accurately, Big Gundown and The Swimmer (and possibly more) will be coming from Grindhouse's sister company Box Office Spectaculars, right? So that would be much less of a branding problem. But I don't think it's necessarily definite that Twilight Time couldn't license it because another small label got it. There was a post (with no source cited) saying that TT had stated, "of course we requested it, but were turned down. It's quite possibly been licensed to another label..."

[Moe Dickstein]

Could be Shout! Factory too, they have deals with Sony.

Pretty much everyone has deals with Sony these days though...

[dwk]

I don't know knives, I think The Swimmer and The Big Gundown are a lot closer to In a Lonely Place than they are An American Hippie in Israel or Gone with the Pope.

Moe, I wasn't aware that Shout had any new(ish) deals with Sony.

[Moe Dickstein]

I don't know of anything specific, but the nature of this stuff is that deals happen all the time and aren't always announced...

[knives]

I don't know knives, I think The Swimmer and The Big Gundown are a lot closer to In a Lonely Place than they are An American Hippie in Israel or Gone with the Pope.

Moe, I wasn't aware that Shout had any new(ish) deals with Sony.

I'll have to politely disagree with that especially with the Perry which (as Perry is wont to do) is fairly transgressive it getting its message across even if it is probably the classiest of his films I've seen.

[bamwc2]

October Predictions:

I Married a Witch
The Ghost Goes West
History Is Made at Night
Europa Europa
Spirit of the Beehive BD
Ali Fear Eats the Soul BD
Second Czech New Wave Eclipse

[rrenault]

Are these all just wishlists or are there clues that point towards Ali: Feat Eats the Soul, for instance, being upgraded to blu-ray?

[RossyG]

So far, my only hope for a blu-ray release is the English upcoming blu-ray... (the UK Blu-Ray "editor" is not familar too me)

New Wave are a good company. It's run by ex-Artificial Eye people and shares a similar ethos. I've a couple of their Blu-rays and several of their DVDs and I'm very happy with their quality. I'm expecting this to be a good release.

[domino harvey]

I haven't played in a while:

I Married a Witch
Tess
Scanners + the Brood
Frances Ha + Kicking and Screaming Blu upgrade
Czech New Wave Vol 2 Eclipse

[bamwc2]

Are these all just wishlists or are there clues that point towards Ali: Feat Eats the Soul, for instance, being upgraded to blu-ray?

Neither a wishlist, nor an informed guess. Just pure speculation. We know that Criterion works secretly on upgrading bigger titles. It's just a guess that those two will be coming up next. For all I know neither of them are on the slate.

[ptatler]

Cronenberg Two-Fer (95% chance)
ERASERHEAD/MULHOLLAND (10%)
Seance on a Wet Afternoon (50%)
I Married A Witch (75%)
Picnic At Hanging Rock Blu upgrade (60%)
Fishing With John Blu upgrade (5%)
Eclipse Series 40: Shovelin' Shinoda (Fifteen Disc Set) (100%)