Criterion and Warner Bros.

[CSM126]

Paired spine releases: Letty Lynton and Mommie Dearest.

Yes, I'm still holding a torch for Mommie Dearest on Criterion, damn it all.

[Moe Dickstein]

MD is Paramount so it's possible.

I think what would be a great film for them to get from WB would be Truffaut's Day For Night.

[Matt]

I think what would be a great film for them to get from WB would be Truffaut's Day For Night.

Unlikely to happen. They just put it up on Warner Archive Instant. But hey, if you want to see it in 1080p, there's now an option.

[albucat]

Well no, they wouldn't give it to Criterion for streaming on Hulu, but I don't feel like that rules it (or anything else in their library) out for a physical release. I kind of assumed WB would retain their films' streaming rights, regardless of what they allowed Criterion or elsewhere to put in stores. None of the big American studios have given Criterion streaming rights.

[Matt]

No, but they might limit a film's availability on streaming to favor the revenue from Criterion's license. For example, Badlands is not available on Warner Archive Instant (or any other streaming service, for that matter).

[Moe Dickstein]

Also WAI titles aren't there permanently, but rather constantly rotate in and out of availability, according to them.

[criterion10]

From the recent Reddit with George Feltenstein:

Do you see Warner ever working with third party distributors like Criterion or Shout! Factory on releases they might not want to release themselves. I'm thinking about Ken Russell's The Devils on Blu-ray.

The company does, on occasion, sublicense content to third parties where appropriate. Thanks.

I think the emphasis needs to be placed on the phrase "on occassion", implying (to me at least) that WB isn't really interested in a massive deal a la MGM, but rather a few one-off titles here and there.

And also...

Better get this one out of the way: Is there any chance for a Region 1 / Region A release of Ken Russell's mad-sterpiece, THE DEVILS? Or would another company with discerning criterion, be willing to buy the license for such a release?

Not up to us......Sorry that we have no news. Thanks.

[ShellOilJunior]

Digital Bits

Also today, we’ve heard back from Warner Home Video: They currently have no plans to release Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise and Before Sunset on Blu-ray. This despite the fact that Sony is releasing the third film in the series, Before Midnight, on BD on 10/22. But I think we can change their minds on this, so be sure to let them know you want these titles on BD in any way you can.

[sir_luke]

I'm brand new 'round these parts (I've been reading for several weeks in order to get the feel for things), and I have a question. I'm fascinated by everyone's information on these studio deals, but I'm wondering how you gauge the probability of a certain film's inclusion in the Collection.

For instance, I would love Local Hero, which was distributed by WB in the States, to be released by Criterion. It was released on a very barebones DVD many years ago, and has not been upgraded since. The going rate for a copy is over $40.00 on Amazon. And with this WB deal, it all adds up to a good possibility in my untrained eyes. But how do you find out what plans (if any) WB has for the film?

Thanks in advance! I'm excited to be part of the forum.

[Moe Dickstein]

Aside from working there or knowing people who tell you things there really isn't a way to know. Best bet is to try to get an answer when Criterion folk do interviews at public forums like Wexner Center events where certain titles have been teased in the past. I wouldn't hold my breath for more from Warners

[ianungstad]

Local Hero was not produced by Warner Brothers. It was produced by Goldcrest films. Warner's rights will expire at some point. They could renew the rights or let them lapse. If they lapse the title will be put back on the market and shopped to distributors.

I would email Goldcrest if you have specific questions about the film:

http://www.goldcrestfilms.com/libraryfi ... ncxFyPn9Co" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Feego]

FYI, Local Hero is still available from Warner/TCM in this Burt Lancaster set.

[Noiradelic]

As Moe hinted, Warner didn't use to license titles to Criterion at all and though they've loosened their grip a little, as long as they hold the rights to Local Hero, it's considerably less likely to get a release than if it was with another studio.

[Sandman]

What is the likelihood of Criterion securing the rights to Blow-Up? The WB dvd appears to be out of print.

[Dylan]

What is the likelihood of Criterion securing the rights to Blow-Up? The WB dvd appears to be out of print.

I believe it's been bandied about - somewhere - as being a strong contender for a blu ray release from Warner themselves. I can't remember where I read that now, though. It would certainly be my most Criterion WB release, if it's possible.

[Dylan]

It also desperately requires remastering and correct color timing. The old DVD looks like it has a gray undercoat and color palette is totally flat. It never looked like this theatrically. They might also seriosuly consider offering it in dual masks of 1.85 and 1.66. (The latter was not unknown on first release outside the USA.)

It seems bizarre that various Italian labels can get up marvellously remastered 2k or 4k restorations of early first period MA but Warner doesn't seem to give a fuck about upgrading the two MGM titles, let alone revisiting the image scans.

I saw a 35mm print of Blow-Up five years ago (before the "digital projection takeover") and half of the reels looked amazing, way better than the DVD, so while the other half of the reels looked worse than the DVD I've seen part of what you're talking about at least (this is sometimes the problem with archival prints). I can't imagine Warners giving any attention or care to Zabriskie Point, which hardly has any fans (though I'm among those who like it) and seems destined to be revived as an archive title, but hopefully either they realize the market value for Blow-Up's (growing!) iconic status & will either do their own DVD or license it to Criterion.

[zedz]

Both of those films seem like obvious candidates for licencing out to Criterion. Zabriskie Point is never going to be a comfy fit for Warner (and never was), but Criterion has a ready made audience for it. Warners would have been all over a deluxe BlowUp in the good old days, but that ship has sailed and the most sensible (and probably profitable, at this point) option for them would be to place it somewhere where it would maximize exposure and sales. The longer these titles languish, the more marginal they become, and eventually Warners will end up with properties whose value has been drastically reduced through simple neglect.

[Gregory]

Warners would have been all over a deluxe BlowUp in the good old days.

And yet they weren't all over it, and (unless I missed it) didn't even bother to carry it over from the old snapper case line to the simple keepcase reissues (some of which were announced as "special editions" but were just repackaging jobs). I remember them letting Blow-Up drop out of print around four years ago, and they haven't even made it a Warner Archive title, which confirms my impression that most of this is decided by bean counters who don't have any kind of plan even with many of their best-known catalog titles. "Simple neglect" sums it up nicely, and needless to say they could have made money from licensing deals on many of these titles if they didn't stubbornly avoid that.

[colinr0380]

The longer these titles languish, the more marginal they become, and eventually Warners will end up with properties whose value has been drastically reduced through simple neglect.

Not to mention that it would be fascinating and a great coup to hear Rod Taylor or Daria Halprin talk about the film in some form of interview before it is too late.

[captveg]

The "Warner deal" has never been more then conjecture and rumor. For all we know it may have been isolated to Badlands specifically.

[domino harvey]

The "Warner deal" has never been more then conjecture and rumor. For all we know it may have been isolated to Badlands specifically.

Well, we know an undetermined "pre-code" Warner title is coming, so it's more than a one-off

[captveg]

I'm still skeptical that the pre-code comment was meant for Warner. I always saw the quick hush-hush that occurred as a possible sign that such a release was not Warner related and the question that prompted the utterance was misheard/misunderstood.

[criterion10]

I'm still skeptical that the pre-code comment was meant for Warner. I always saw the quick hush-hush that occurred as a possible sign that such a release was not Warner related and the question that prompted the utterance was misheard/misunderstood.

This is what I've been arguing ever since that Wexner Chat two years ago. (Wexner actually uploaded that conversation onto their Vimeo page, and so anyone can watch it again if interested.)

[jindianajonz]

The "Warner deal" has never been more then conjecture and rumor. For all we know it may have been isolated to Badlands specifically.

Well, we know an undetermined "pre-code" Warner title is coming, so it's more than a one-off

At the last Wexner talk, Peter Becker said they now had deals with all the major studios, for whatever that is worth.

[feihong]

If only Warner could let Criterion have Blow-Up, McCabe & Mrs. Miller and Zabriskie Point, that would be deal enough for me.