Janus Films

[yoloswegmaster]

Janus is listed as the licensor for the 4K restoration screening of Masahiro Shinoda's 'Demon Pond'.

[Hogfather]

Interesting - that's not one of the Shinoda films on the Channel. Speaking of which, does anyone know what they're planning on doing with those?

[dwk]

Janus will be opening the new restoration of Sambizanga at Metrograph next month.

Sambizanga has been added to Janus' website.

[Matt]

Janus Films Twitter horny on main (NSFW)

Spoiler

[Computer Raheem]

Janus Films Twitter horny on main (NSFW)

Spoiler

Is there something in this image correlating to anything Janus is releasing (i.e. a film where the Hotel Roosevelt plays an important part)? Or is a poor intern about to lose their job?

[Matt]

The tweeter has something to do with Joe Bob Briggs, so she and the Janus Films social media staffer are probably acquainted via the vast film biz PR network. The previous like on the account was another hot dog-related tweet by someone who works at Criterion, so I think someone just forgot what account they were logged into.

No shame to her (she has a favorite Frank Henenlotter film, so she must be a decent person) or to the Janus Films person (who shouldn’t be disciplined for an honest mistake). I just don’t get a lot of tiddies in my timeline, so I was surprised to see these pop up courtesy of America’s favorite arthouse repertory distributor.

[dwk]

It really is a disgusting tweet. Ketchup on a hot dog [-(

[ianthemovie]

The tweeter has something to do with Joe Bob Briggs, so she and the Janus Films social media staffer are probably acquainted via the vast film biz PR network. The previous like on the account was another hot dog-related tweet by someone who works at Criterion, so I think someone just forgot what account they were logged into.

No shame to her (she has a favorite Frank Henenlotter film, so she must be a decent person) or to the Janus Films person (who shouldn’t be disciplined for an honest mistake). I just don’t get a lot of tiddies in my timeline, so I was surprised to see these pop up courtesy of America’s favorite arthouse repertory distributor.

Yes, she is the co-host of Briggs' series on Shudder, The Last Drive-In, and an avowed horror movie fan. My sense is that she is a prominent figure within the horror-convention circuit in addition to having a toe (so to speak) in the adult film world. Her persona on Briggs' show, "Darcy the Mail Girl," is a kind of self-aware bimbo character, reminiscent a bit of the shtick Rhonda Shear used to do hosting late-night movies on USA back in the early 90s. None of which I see anything wrong with, though the retweet from Janus' account is a bit of a head-scratcher as I can't see them collaborating with her or Joe Bob on anything.

[MV88]

Yes, she is the co-host of Briggs' series on Shudder, The Last Drive-In, and an avowed horror movie fan. My sense is that she is a prominent figure within the horror-convention circuit in addition to having a toe (so to speak) in the adult film world. Her persona on Briggs' show, "Darcy the Mail Girl," is a kind of self-aware bimbo character, reminiscent a bit of the shtick Rhonda Shear used to do hosting late-night movies on USA back in the early 90s. None of which I see anything wrong with, though the retweet from Janus' account is a bit of a head-scratcher as I can't see them collaborating with her or Joe Bob on anything.

The Last Drive-In fan base (they call themselves “mutants”) is a pretty eclectic mix of people, a lot of them just “I only like movies with blood and boobs” types who constantly complain that all horror after the ‘80s is tainted by political correctness, but there’s also a more than fair amount of people in that fan base who are definitely the type to also be interested in the sort of films Janus distributes, so it’s not entirely surprising that Janus themselves follow that account. In general, the line between the grindhouse and arthouse crowd is becoming increasingly blurred in some areas, which you can clearly see in some of the releases put out by boutique Blu-ray labels.

[ianthemovie]

In general, the line between the grindhouse and arthouse crowd is becoming increasingly blurred in some areas, which you can clearly see in some of the releases put out by boutique Blu-ray labels.

To be sure. If Scream Factory, Arrow, or Vinegar Syndrome retweeted Darcy nobody would have batted an eye. Who knows, maybe Janus will start to branch out in that direction!

[FrauBlucher]

Lost Highway now has a page

[Ribs]

Sideshow and Janus have acquired Jerzy Skolimowski's EO

[Ribs]

The new restorations of Three Colors will be premiering at Lincoln Center over the course of the summer

[ryannichols7]

Sideshow and Janus have acquired Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s Tori and Lokita

really glad Janus and Sideshow are keeping up. I'd been hoping they'd get something big like Broker (though ultimately Neon is the perfect fit for that) but these two are good picks by known directors that should do well. I just wish EO would get a better title

since Janus/Criterion will have the Dardennes around, can they please finally release The Son

[dekadetia]

Lost Highway trailer, restored footage looks incredible

[beamish14]

Does anyone here know if Janus continues to commission new 35mm prints, or are they exclusively focused on DCP’s? I cannot think of a new print they’ve struck since the re-release of The Makioka Sisters

[dwk]

Prints were struck of the "restoration" of In the Mood For Love.

[beamish14]

Prints were struck of the "restoration" of In the Mood For Love.

You’re right! I saw that a new 35mm print of it has played in a few venues. What a shame that it adheres to the terrible new color timing

[dwk]

Most likely nothing, but Janus tweeted a picture of a prototype head for a Tony Leung Infernal Affairs action figure

[yoloswegmaster]

Most likely nothing, but Janus tweeted a picture of a prototype head for a Tony Leung Infernal Affairs action figure

I believe the Infernal Affairs trilogy is with Media Asia, and we know that Criterion/Janus have a deal with them since they also licensed the first 2 WKW films and 'The Heroic Trio'/'Executioners' from them. Perhaps they were able to also license the new 4K masters for the trilogy from them as well?

[dwk]

Just checked Miramax's website and it seems that Infernal Affairs is no longer listed. So, maybe there is something to it.

[Computer Raheem]

Just checked Miramax's website and it seems that Infernal Affairs is no longer listed. So, maybe there is something to it.

It makes me happy to see all of these international titles that, only a few years ago, were thought to be forever trapped in Weinstein-approved hack jobs and/or subpar releases in Region A (whether they be early DVDs, the mess that was Dragon Dynasty, or the nightmare of the Echo Bridge releases) finally being issued by companies who actually care about the films they're releasing. Here's to hoping that other Miramax-licensed titles finally get the love they deserve, whether through Miramax losing the rights or with any new deals with Paramount [-o<.

[dwk]

I used Paramount+ on Sunday for the first time since last summer and all the HK titles that were added when they got the Miramax titles seemed to be gone. (However a lot of them are still present on Miramax's website.)

Hope Sonatine gets free soon.

[yoloswegmaster]

Just checked Miramax's website and it seems that Infernal Affairs is no longer listed. So, maybe there is something to it.

I wouldn't be surprised if the rights to a bunch of Miramax titles reverted back to the original licensor. I'm certain that the early Atom Egoyan films were reverted back to him, and that's how Criterion were able to acquire it.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

Miramax has been gradually losing catalog titles for years. The box version of Chungking Express was licensed directly from Block 2, Through the Olive Trees and the Three Colors trilogy from MK2, Europa from Trust Film, The Thin Blue Line from IFC, Dead Man from Jarmusch's company, etc. I imagine the various entities that have acquired the post-Disney Miramax catalog aren't interested in continuously shelling out more money to renew rights and eventually everything that Miramax didn't actually own will revert to the original rightsholders. That includes (probably) all of the HK titles and almost everything Miramax released before the Disney buyout.