Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

[ianungstad]

Europa Europa and probably Certain Women.

[Cinephrenic]

Which reminds me when Cocktail Molotov (1980) and Cousin, cousine (1975) were listed in the printed catalogue next to each other as "coming soon".

15 years ago...in a galaxy far, far,away....

[sinemadelisikiz]

Doesn't Janus also have the rights to Sagan's Mädchen in Uniform? Did I hallucinate that?

[Minkin]

Doesn't Janus also have the rights to Sagan's Mädchen in Uniform? Did I hallucinate that?

It was released by Homevision on VHS - and appears to be owned by Janus, just not released on disc or put up on Hulu yet (along with some of their Pabst titles). Its on the forthcoming list, but I forgot that it was directed by a woman. I'd expect it at some point.

As to speculation: MGM and Sony seem to be the most apt at letting the entire contents of their vaults go, would there be anything prominent from either of those two studios? I've also wondered if Universal will ever let Criterion do Lost in Translation (the bluray already out really needs a better transfer).

[CSM126]

As far as contemporary female directors go, are they any closer to releasing Miranda July's Me and You and Everyone We Know? It's an IFC title (previously licensed to MGM for DVD), and it's got it's fair share of well-deserved critical praise, so unless there's some rights snafu I'm unaware of, I really don't know what the hold up is.

I'm probably the only person on here who cares about that, but damn I want that movie on Blu-ray already.

[Ashirg]

As to speculation: MGM and Sony seem to be the most apt at letting the entire contents of their vaults go, would there be anything prominent from either of those two studios? I've also wondered if Universal will ever let Criterion do Lost in Translation (the bluray already out really needs a better transfer).

Some suggestions from these 2 libraries -
From Sony - Allison Anders' Gas Food Lodging, Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette (blu-ray was announced, but never released), Lisa Cholodenko's Laurel Canyon, Agnieszka Holland's Olivier, Olivier (Europa Europa already mentioned above), Mira Nair's Mississippi Masala, Marleen Gorris' The Luzhin Defence, Barbra Streisand's The Prince of Tides, Sally Potter's Orlando (already out on blu from Sony, but that didn't stop Criterion before)
From MGM - Mary Harron's I Shot Andy Warhol, Claire Denis' Chocolat, Gillian Armstrong's High Tide

Then there are very unlikely candidates like Martha Coolidge's Valley Girl, Kathryn Bigelow's Blue Steel, Amy Heckerling's Look Who's Talking...

[jazzo]

I don't suppose there's much hope for a Nancy Savoca's DOGFIGHT or Tamara Jenkins' THE SAVAGES entering the collection, is there? I love both those films.

[jazzo]

And who's got RAMBLING ROSE?

[HitchcockLang]

As far as contemporary female directors go, are they any closer to releasing Miranda July's Me and You and Everyone We Know? It's an IFC title (previously licensed to MGM for DVD), and it's got it's fair share of well-deserved critical praise, so unless there's some rights snafu I'm unaware of, I really don't know what the hold up is.

I'm probably the only person on here who cares about that, but damn I want that movie on Blu-ray already.

I assure you that you are not alone.

))<>((

[Raymond Marble]

As far as contemporary female directors go, are they any closer to releasing Miranda July's Me and You and Everyone We Know? It's an IFC title (previously licensed to MGM for DVD), and it's got it's fair share of well-deserved critical praise, so unless there's some rights snafu I'm unaware of, I really don't know what the hold up is.

I'm probably the only person on here who cares about that, but damn I want that movie on Blu-ray already.

I assure you that you are not alone.

))<>((

Yeah, I'd buy that Criterion blu-ray in a heartbeat.

[domino harvey]

I don't suppose there's much hope for a Nancy Savoca's DOGFIGHT or Tamara Jenkins' THE SAVAGES entering the collection, is there? I love both those films.

I still can't believe the Savages hasn't made it to Blu-Ray yet. And Criterion would only need to C+P Chris Ware's amazing poster art for the cover

[jazzo]

Yeah, Ware's poster might be my favourite poster, ever. But pretty much anything he does might be my favourite thing, ever.

[colinr0380]

I'm really hoping that they're talking about Wanda, as that's a film which (like A Brighter Summer Day) needs much wider attention and appreciation than it currently has after decades of neglect and lack of restoration.

I'd also be really excited for more Margarethe von Trotta if possible - the film about Rosa Luxemburg in particular, which looks to have only had a New Yorker Video release.

[mteller]

Total longshot here, but any chance of Yasmin Ahmad? The "Orked trilogy" would be a dream come true for me.

[Jeff]

I see several people on Twitter saying, "I understand that there are rights issues, but..." and then they go on to demonstrate that they don't understand that at all. They'll suggest Criterion tackle the entire oeuvre of some filmmaker whose rights are spread across different catalogs, titles that are with another boutique distributor that would never license to the competition, or titles that already have great editions. All of that being said, there are probably several films directed by women that Criterion could conceivably access the rights to that also fit the company's mission. I have no doubt that they are already working on many of these.

As has already been pointed out, Mikey and Nicky, Europa Europa, Me and You and Everybody We Know, Emporte-moi, and Certain Women will all likely come from Criterion over the next couple of years. I'd say that Mia Hansen-Løve's Things to Come (IFC) is a very good bet too. More Varda and Akerman always seem like possibilities -- at least for Eclipse.

I don't know that we can put much stock in that ancient Criterion catalog that promised Cocktail Molotov. If Criterion did have access to it, I would think it would most likely be paired with Peppermint Soda. This may be one of those situations where two different companies own the rights and Criterion is waiting until they can get both in the Janus catalog, or it could just be that they haven't been able to get access to quality elements. Entre Nous actually seems like the most likely candidate from Diane Kurys, and we know that Criterion has slowly acquired a good chunk of the former Fox Lorber catalog. Of course it could be with Kino Lorber now.

IFC has Rebecca Miller's first three films. I could especially see Criterion doing Personal Velocity. IFC also has Laurie Collyer's Sherrybaby, Mira Nair's The Reluctant Fundamentalist, and Mary Harron's The Moth Diaries, but those all seem like long shots and I can't imagine anyone getting too excited over them.

We seem to be in an era in which any studio will license just about any film, so Lost in Translation seems as likely as it ever has. I'd be equally excited for releases of The Virgin Suicides (with Lick the Star), Somewhere, or even Marie Antoinette though. Criterion has great, fruitful, and ongoing relationships with Focus, Paramount, and Sony, so all seem like reasonable requests for their next batch of licenses.

Claudia Weil's Girlfriends was independently produced, but distributed by Warner who continues to hold the rights. I don't think that this is one of the initial Warner titles that Criterion licensed, but I think they'd consider it if they get a shot at another batch. Warner has only seen fit to give it an Archive DVD.

I'm really hoping that they're talking about Wanda, as that's a film which (like A Brighter Summer Day) needs much wider attention and appreciation than it currently has after decades of neglect and lack of restoration.

Does anyone know what's going on with the rights to Wanda? The "restored" version that came out a decade ago from Parlour Pictures appears to be out of print.

[Buttery Jeb]

Does anyone know what's going on with the rights to Wanda? The "restored" version that came out a decade ago from Parlour Pictures appears to be out of print.

Castle Hill Productions/Westchester Films distributed the film for a number of years; but last I heard, their rights had reverted back to Barbara Loden's family.

[zedz]

I can see where people are coming from, but all these suggestions of tepid studio films (or outright dreck like The Luzhin Defence) aren't exactly doing the cause of women's cinema many favours! It seems to me there are lots and lots of genuinely great films by significant female directors that don't seem to currently be spoken for, rights-wise, in the US - though of course that may be only the first availability hurdle Criterion has to clear. All those Muratovas, Ildiko Enyedi's My Twentieth Century, anything by Rakhshan Bani-Etemad or Ann Hui, Pascale Ferran's first two features, Lidia Bobrova's first two features, Martine Dugowson's Mina Tannenbaum, documentaries by Heddy Honigmann or Kim Longinotto (there you go: two spectacular Eclipse sets just waiting to happen), a Yoko Ono collection (we're well overdue for a follow-up to Frampton and Brakhage), and, when Hell freezes over, an Ulrike Ottinger box set.

[swo17]

I thought we were friends.

[knives]

The Makhmalbaf women also are missing out a number of films in America. I think only Samira's first two films have distribution here.

[beamish13]

Joan Micklin Silver's Between the Lines and Chilly Scenes of Winter are both going to Kino or some other company, right?

Sally Potter's The Gold Diggers (released by the BFI in R2 with no special features), The Tango Lesson and early films like Thriller

Christine Choy and Renee Tajima-Pena's Who Killed Vincent Chin?

The works of John & Faith Hubley (and their daughter Emily)

[antnield]

Sally Potter's The Gold Diggers (released by the BFI in R2 with no special features)

It contains five of Potter's short films, including Thriller.

[beamish13]

Sally Potter's The Gold Diggers (released by the BFI in R2 with no special features)

It contains five of Potter's short films, including Thriller.

I guess I haven't re-watched it in a while
I DO remember that it doesn't have a commentary, and I'd love to get some more background on it.

[Raymond Marble]

What about Lynne Ramsay's Morvern Callar? Seems like a no-brainer, on account of it being the second film from a director whose first is already in the collection (Ratcatcher), and is one of the new millennium's truly great films. Has anyone in the world released it on Blu-ray before? I don't know anything about the state of the rights to the film or the availability of an HD master.

[Jeff]

What about Lynne Ramsay's Morvern Callar? Seems like a no-brainer, on account of it being the second film from a director whose first is already in the collection (Ratcatcher), and is one of the new millennium's truly great films. Has anyone in the world released it on Blu-ray before? I don't know anything about the state of the rights to the film or the availability of an HD master.

The U.S. rights are with Palm Pictures, who have never licensed to Criterion before. Cowboy Pictures initially had the U.S. rights, and when they folded Janus ended up owning a lot of their titles (George Washington, Ratcatcher, Fat Girl, La Ciénaga, Cure). Somehow though, with Morvern Callar, Palisades Tartan and Palm both became involved with the release (Cowboy may have been struggling financially at the time), and Palm ended up with the video rights. I'd say it's likely out of contention for now. Great, great movie though, and never released on Blu-ray anywhere.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

The Palm DVD is evidently out of print, and indeed Palm themselves seem to be a "zombie company"—they still have a website, but AFAIK they've released nothing since 2009, and despite being called "The Palm Store" there's no way to actually order anything through the site. If the rights are still tied up with Palm, it's probably just a matter of waiting, since I can't imagine whatever remains of the company would bother to re-up.