Criterion and StudioCanal

[FrauBlucher]

If you read KL Insiders response it sounds like a little brother complex. Haha

[yoloswegmaster]

What? How? To me it sounds like a normal response to someone else's stupid claim.

[FrauBlucher]

Really?! Sounds insecure to me. "Well, we had them first." Tongue sticking out.

I still don't buy that Criterion will not get back the Lionsgate/SC releases. It doesn't make sense to me. Most of them are already close to 10 year old releases with poor PQ quality, Criterion can do a much better job with them at this point, except for maybe La Grande Illusion which is the best of the bunch. Maybe they'll have to wait for the Lionsgate deal to end for those titles, or maybe CC can put out their own version a la the Universal deals.

[yoloswegmaster]

What source does the blu for 'La Grande Illusion' use?

[FrauBlucher]

I have the Lionsgate version. It doesn't say on the disc but this came from the Blu-ray.com review...

Studio Canal and the Toulouse Cinematheque (where the negative resides) sponsored a sparkling new 4K scan and restoration, done by Bologna, Italy based Ritrovara Lab. The new restored version was screened theatrically recently and now home video enthusiasts can see the fruit of the restorative labors on this gorgeous new Blu-ray.

And I did see it when it toured, which was advertised as a 4k restoration. Surprised it doesn't say on the Lionsgate release. Although there are supplements that discuss the restoration.

[yoloswegmaster]

Alright thanks. I was just asking since TIFF is playing the restored versions of La Grande Illusion and Pierrot Le Fou and I just thought that was something interesting.

[bad future]

I wonder if the placement of Nights of Cabiria in the Criterion Channel loading screen is a good sign for them having that one back? Are that and Chungking the only OOP titles in the graphic? (I’ve only got the iOS portrait version. I also see Thief of Bagdad, still awaiting blu ray upgrade, though that’s off topic for this thread...)

[Mario G.]

I wonder if the placement of Nights of Cabiria in the Criterion Channel loading screen is a good sign for them having that one back? Are that and Chungking the only OOP titles in the graphic? (I’ve only got the iOS portrait version. I also see Thief of Bagdad, still awaiting blu ray upgrade, though that’s off topic for this thread...)

I recall the The Third Man being pretty conspicuous on the Roku loading screen...

[yoloswegmaster]

The Third Man' opens up with the Criterion Collection and Janus logo on the Criterion Channel.

[FrauBlucher]

I wonder why the Janus logo. It’s still touring under Rialto Pictures.

[yoloswegmaster]

I wonder why the Janus logo. It’s still touring under Rialto Pictures.

Was it ever with Janus?

[FrauBlucher]

I don’t believe so.

But Janus has teased Ran recently which is also with Rialto, so not sure what’s going on. Maybe Janus secured streaming rights only for these titles.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

Janus definitely distributed The Third Man around the mid-'80s, since that's when they went to court against another company selling it (and several other Janus titles, including The Lady Vanishes and The 39 Steps) on video. Interestingly the text of the ruling says that Janus actually owned the copyrights to the stories on which the films were based, the films themselves having lapsed into the public domain. The Third Man copyright was restored in the '90s under GATT provisions and the Criterion DVD/Blus were licensed from Rialto, but perhaps this history has something to do with why the Janus name and logo appears on those editions, as well as the Criterion Channel stream.

[FrauBlucher]

Awesome. Thanks for that. It goes to show how complex a lot of this stuff is.

[yoloswegmaster]

I emailed a representative from Rialto about the "The Third Man" rights and I got this in response:

Studiocanal is also the owner of The Third Man. As their US theatrical representative, we have all theatrical and non-theatrical rights to it here. Criterion licensed streaming from them and to my knowledge retains those rights only. Why they would add the Janus logo to the film is anyone’s guess.

[unclehulot]

The Third Man extras on the Criterion Channel are also the old Criterion ones rather than those on the StudioCanal disc, so perhaps their streaming rights include the use of their previous transfer?


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[FrauBlucher]

OFFICIALLY RETURNED TO CRITERION
Lola
--------- ---------- --------- -------- ---------- ----------
Returning to this thread like a kid returning to the toy store window contemplating.

So far based on what Kino has released and what the KLinsider says, the films that are strongly suggested coming back to Criterion:
Army of Shadows
Le Cercle Rouge
Pierrot le Fou
Tales of Hoffman
Peeping Tom
Diary of a Chambermaid

Maybe these will return to Criterion or there is a chance Cohen has swooped in to take them as the KLInsider has said other companies have joined the party:
Le Trou
A Diary of a Country Priest
Forbidden Games
Discreet Charm
Phantom of Liberty
Nights of Cabiria
Variety Lights
The White Sheik
Films of Carlos Saura


Film that wasn't with Criterion but the Kino Insider has said Kino didn't get it even though they wanted it:
The Trial

Prediction: The shitty Lionsgate/SC releases will be replaced by Criterion releases at some point (Ran, The Third Man, Contempt, La Grande Illusion and The Obscure Object of Desire)

Please add to this if I missed something...
(Fixed)

[yoloswegmaster]

The wait for Criterion to announce the upgrades of these titles is killing me.

[DRW.mov]

I feel like Criterion more than likely would have gotten Discreet Charm and Phantom of Liberty back. Had Kino gotten them they would have released them to coincide with Milky Way and Death in the Garden. That Obscure Object is one of the Lionsgate hold overs, but I can totally see CC fighting to keep the two bigger Buñuels and letting Milky Way slide.

Speaking of unannounced, do we know if Losey’s The Servant is spoken for yet? Seems like one Kino would have jumped all over but they’ve already announced and teased some other Losey titles but I haven’t heard about this one. It also seems VERY MUCH up Criterion’s alley.

[FrauBlucher]

My list is from what the KLInsider has said about those specific titles. I haven't seen him mention Bunuel titles specifically. That doesn't mean he hasn't. If there is anyone that hangs on the bluray.com Kino forum (the KLInsider is chatty on that site, not so much here) and knows he has made references to what Bunuel titles they're releasing please post those comments here. And yes The Obscure Object of Desire is part of the Lionsgate fiasco that could makes it's way back to Criterion one day.

[Blutarsky]

My list is from what the KLInsider has said about those specific titles. I haven't seen him mention Bunuel titles specifically. That doesn't mean he hasn't. If there is anyone that hangs on the bluray.com Kino forum (the KLInsider is chatty on that site, not so much here) and knows he has made references to what Bunuel titles they're releasing please post those comments here. And yes The Obscure Object of Desire is part of the Lionsgate fiasco that could makes it's way back to Criterion one day.

If I recall correctly I believe KLinsider did state that they had both no other Buñuel’s and not one Bresson.

[yoloswegmaster]

They also said they had no Fellini's.

[Blutarsky]

I just caught a screening of Contempt in San Diego and while no signs point to a rerelease, the DCP of StudioCanal’s version is piss poor. I dislike how Delerue’s score is in the wrong key and I really hope August is the month of reprints Of Godard.

[dwk]

According to the packaging shots of the BRD trilogy, Lola is licensed from StudioCanal. So it is officially the first StudioCanal returner.

Edited to add:
Actually Lola appears to be a case similar to The Vanishing, where it is licensed from StudioCanal but Janus/Criterion seem to have never lost the rights. Since Lola was OOP, I guess it would be more accurate to say it is technically the first OOP StudioCanal to return to print since the mass OOP, but it isn't really a returner.

[FrauBlucher]

Hoping it's Le Deuxième Souffle (1966). Not sure if that's with StudioCanal or not.

It's not with StudioCanal. And I'm sure it's still with Criterion. They just need to release it on BD.

Only problem is with Criterion, they have a stockpile of films that they do nothing with. There is a decent chance that a Blu-ray could be years away or never happen. Oh well.

Yeah, but they've been to sit on a title for 5 years, not release it and renew it for an additional 5 years.

Interesting. Does this sound like a complaint about the way Criterion does biz from the KL Insider.