Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol. 5

[zedz]

Of note:

Saturday, September 14, 2013
8:30 p.m. The French Connection
• Written by Ernest Tidyman, based on the book by Robin Moore. Photographed by Owen Roizman. With Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey, Tony Lo Bianco. (104 mins, Color, 35mm, From Criterion/20th Century Fox)

Wrong Criterion.

[med]

And there's already a Region A blu of Medea.

[bainbridgezu]

But this does confirm that Janus snatched up the rights to Fassbinder's delirious Querelle after Sony's license expired. With stand-alone blu-rays in both France and the UK, hopefully we'll be seeing this join the mainline sooner than later.

The French release is from Gaumont, but it's a quality transfer; I wouldn't be surprised if it was part of the batch Criterion is currently working through.

[knives]

Yes it does, while at the same time more or less confirming sadly that the old Fantomas titles seem to be with SC.

[Lowry_Sam]

And there's already a Region A blu of Medea.

I was just qualifying my "no mention of any restorations" statement by including it. The Entertainment One blu didn't get very good reviews though & only provides lossy Italian audio, whereas the import is BD50, lossless Italian & English 2.0 (which is why I picked up the BFI)...not that that should make Criterion try to give it a proper release any time soon.

[bainbridgezu]

more or less confirming sadly that the old Fantomas titles seem to be with SC.

Which is a real shame. I was hoping that at least In a Year of 13 Moons would find its way into the collection.

I wonder if Criterion might be interested in getting Tony Richardson's Mademoiselle from MGM (who surely have no plans for it) to make Genet/Moreau sister-spines with Querelle?

[zedz]

That's drawing rather a long bow for 'twinship'! I dare say there are any number of randomly adjacent spine numbers with as much in common!

[Lowry_Sam]

Wrong Criterion.

and neither one has sued? Surely they can't both be US companies.

[zedz]

Yep. (Isn't this in the FAQ?)

EDIT: Indeed it is:

Q. I saw a movie and in the credits it said "A Criterion Pictures Release of a 20th Century Fox Film." Is Criterion Pictures part of the Criterion Collection?

A. No. Criterion Pictures (http://www.criterionpic.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) is "a rental distribution and licensing non-theatrical distributor of feature entertainment movies licensed for public performance." Despite the name, they have nothing to do with the Criterion Collection. Films distributed by Criterion Pictures in Canada or the US are in no way owned or licensed by the Criterion Collection.

[Lowry_Sam]

and neither one has sued? Surely they can't both be US companies.

Yep. (Isn't this in the FAQ?)

Yes, I've seen it. I thought the sarcasm was inherent in my comment & smileys are such an eyesore, so I try to avoid using them.

Back to Fassbinder/Pasolini. It's a pretty safe bet that if there were new prints/restorations out there, they'd show up in the retrospective, which is why we probably only got a Fassbinder Eclipse & because there are new prints we did get Eureka/MOC blu-rays for much of the Pasolini, which probably bodes well for Pasolini blu-rays (Mamma Roma upgrade). 2 of the Fantomas (Whity & Pioneers In Ingolstadt) are among those absent from the retrospective, so who knows what that bodes.The Stationmaster's Wife (New Yorker) is also absent, but looks to be back in stock & at a reasonable price on Amazon.

[Matt]

Maybe I'm prolonging the agony by pointing out that Criterion Pictures is actually a Canada-based company (though they have a US office).

[SpiderBaby]

But this does confirm that Janus snatched up the rights to Fassbinder's delirious Querelle after Sony's license expired. With stand-alone blu-rays in both France and the UK, hopefully we'll be seeing this join the mainline sooner than later.

Would much prefer to finally get some confirmation on if they have Lili Marleen or not.

Also is it just me, or has every Fassbinder/ex-Wellspring/Janus related post excluded Rio das Mortes and The Niklashausen Journey? I own all of the Fassbinder/Wellspring dvds, so was curious if Criterion passed on these 2 for some reason.

[BillWatkins]

The Niklashausen Journey and Rio das Mortas are not listed and they're former Wellspring titles...did Janus snatch up the rights to these? Also absent is Lili Marleen, which I thought Criterion was going after the rights for years ago.

Edit: Beat me to it

[SpiderBaby]

Edit: Beat me to it

At least we know more people are wondering the same.

[Lowry_Sam]

The Niklashausen Journey and Rio das Mortas are not listed

I hadn't heard of these for the longest time & when I did, never picked them up because they received poor reviews. I would imagine they'd be at the bottom of the priority list if & when Criterion does actually get the ok. Lili Marleen is quite a different story. Hopefully the recent releases of Repo Man, Heaven's Gate, & Sunday Bloody Sunday bodes well for more United Artists releases soon.

[nolanoe]

The fassbinder foundation is where to send your requests.
They are apparently work on 8 Hours has a day now.

[zedz]

The Niklashausen Journey and Rio das Mortas are not listed and they're former Wellspring titles...did Janus snatch up the rights to these? Also absent is Lili Marleen, which I thought Criterion was going after the rights for years ago.

Edit: Beat me to it

I could understand passing on The Niklashausen Journey, as it's a strong contender for Fassbinder's most atypical film (and it's a co-direction job), but Rio das Mortes seems to me very much of a piece with the surrounding features. I can't see why it would be singled out. They're also the two films with the clearest debt to Glauber Rocha (though in the latter case it really only extends to the title), so maybe it's all part of Criterion's great anti-Rocha conspiracy!

[swo17]

I just happened to watch Niklashausen over the weekend and would welcome it as part of the Collection. If they don't want to market it as a Fassbinder film, perhaps they could do it as a Godard?

[zedz]

I really like it too (what other film stops dead for an Amon Duul II jam?), but it'd be quite a hard sell for Criterion, and doesn't clump easily with any other Fassbinder films. Even the other Fengler collaboration is extremely different and, at any rate, unavailable.

[SpiderBaby]

I just don't see how they would pick up every film Wellspring had except 2. Either way, I already have the Wellspring dvds so I really don't need to see them in another Eclipse anyways. Just hope most of the others get blu-ray releases from Criterion.

They're also the two films with the clearest debt to Glauber Rocha (though in the latter case it really only extends to the title), so maybe it's all part of Criterion's great anti-Rocha conspiracy!

Sad but true.

[Bruce]

Any conjectures on when we might see Short Cuts in Blu? It would be wonderful if that was released the same month as Nashville.

I agree 100%. 'Short Cuts' is probably the Criterion upgrade that I want above all others (well, maybe 'Ace In The Hole' would run it close...)

[movielocke]

Buy the DVD of Short Cuts at the BN sale and resell it afterwards? Comments by Criterion on Mishima indicate the current run has to sell out before it's being upgraded, so sales of existing stock of DVD would help to push a title towards upgrade.

Man, maybe the Criterion film club November selections should all be DVDs that deserve an upgrade and need to clear some stock, L'Avventura, Bicycle Thieves, etc.

[swo17]

Man, maybe the Criterion film club November selections should all be DVDs that deserve an upgrade and need to clear some stock, L'Avventura, Bicycle Thieves, etc.

How would we ever come to a consensus on a definition of "DVDs that deserve an upgrade"?

[HerrSchreck]

...and I can think of films that are in screamingly worse shape than friggin Ladri & L'Avventura.

Er... I Know Where I'm Going! anyone? The above Antonioni and DeSica are almost embarrassingly pristine perfect compared to that P&P. I can't see how IKWIG sits quietly in such horrendous shape for so long.

[swo17]

Er... I Know Where I'm Going! anyone?

It would certainly be on my shortlist.