Radiance Films General Discussion & Wishlist

[therewillbeblus]

Fran Simeoni has said on Discord that the films Raul Ruiz is high on their list of titles that they want to release.

I'd send Fran a chef's kiss if he does a UHD of Mysteries of Lisbon (I know, I know but one can dream). More likely, Blu-Ray editions of some or all of titles in the English-friendly French DVD box set from a few years back. Do we know if City of Pirates and other key films have had a recent restoration?

I doubt the label is going UHD anytime soon. Indicator built up a strong, dedicated fan base and are still in the process of launching their first attempt at the format five-ish years in- Plus this is the only Ruiz film I can think of with a solid English friendly HD release, so I’ll literally take anything else by him first!

[Finch]

Fran did say that they'd do UHD for the right titles but yes, unlikely to be soon.

[therewillbeblus]

Fran did say that they'd do UHD for the right titles but yes, unlikely to be soon.

Interesting, in that case I can still think of countless visually inventive Ruiz titles that I’d prefer on the UHD format. (Not to get greedy or anything, but) bring on the surreality of City of Pirates, Manoel and the Island of Marvels, and Treasure Island in 4K

[Finch]

I guess my pitch would be that Lisbon is comparatively more accessible and has a nice Proustian sweep to it (and I'm biased as it is one of my top three all-time favorite films) but I could see the running time turning a lot of people off (at the same time, it'd be nice to be able to have the entire film on one single disc and not have to get up and change discs). Did Mysteries even get a Blu-Ray release in the UK? I have the Portugese and the US Music Box BDs. Don't get me wrong though: I'd welcome the other films as much!

[therewillbeblus]

I should clarify that I adore Mysteries of Lisbon too, and there are plenty of reasons why it would look good on the most pristine format possible! I also don't believe it ever received a U.K. release. We'd definitely need multiple discs to get the same options of the truncated/altered film or TV version to watch that other releases offer, but would they still fit the longer TV version (my preferred cut) on one disc? Even Lawrence of Arabia's UHD is spread across two discs

[Calvin]

Worth noting that Fran had said that there was nothing restored that was "acceptable" and that he'd rejected Three Crowns of the Sailor. It's a bit depressing that a restoration done less than 10 years ago apparently isn't up to scratch - I think it was released on DVD in France in 2016 but I haven't heard any reports. DVDClassik gave the Blaq Out Blu-Rays of Time Regained and Three Lives and Only One Death a good review, though they wouldn't be at the top of my Ruiz wishlist. Treasure Island and Dialogue of the Exiles also have restorations in existence. It'd be pretty depressing if they were all poorly done.

[diamonds]

Worth noting that Fran had said that there was nothing restored that was "acceptable" and that he'd rejected Three Crowns of the Sailor.

](*,)

[therewillbeblus]

Fran also said that he looked into some Michel Deville titles, but since they weren't restored he might come back to them down the line. My interpretation based on these responses is that he'll start off with what's available that looks good, and then maybe come back to these directors with titles that need more work done once the capital/consumer base is there (it didn't sound like he was assuming someone else would do restoration work on the Devilles!) Anyways, seems like a safe business model

[swo17]

Here's exactly what he said about Ruiz:

"Raul Ruiz is top of our wish list. Nothing restored (that’s acceptable, we had to reject Three Crowns of the Sailor) so hopefully something comes off soon enough"

[domino harvey]

Has anyone asked him on the Discord about Hers’ Amanda, which as far as I know has no English friendly physical release anywhere? That’s certainly HD ready

[therewillbeblus]

I mentioned it but didn’t get a response

[swo17]

Well, you included it in a list of a couple dozen recommendations. Might be more likely to get a response with a single, more focused post

[domino harvey]

You might mention that almost everyone who sees it is deeply moved, many to tears, and yet inexplicably it never had a chance to find an audience and looking up anything about the film spoils for no reason the core conceit of the movie due to pure carelessness on the part of those providing plot summations

[therewillbeblus]

Well, you included it in a list of a couple dozen recommendations. Might be more likely to get a response with a single, more focused post

True, I'm trying to circle back to those over time in more focused plugs, and not flood the thread with repeat door knocks less than two weeks in, but... who cares I'll do that now

[swo17]

Ha, beat you to it!

[yoloswegmaster]

Did anyone ask about licensing any Mabel Cheung, Ann Hui, or Clara Law films from Fortune Star, or any HK films in general? I wouldn't mind them releasing and fixing a release of Center Stage. Hell, I would love to see them release a boxset of the Hui Brothers films (with Wai Ka-Fai's remake of The Private Eyes as a bonus!).

[therewillbeblus]

Ha, beat you to it!

Not fair, I was off watching Pushing Daisies! Well, in any event, I've piggy-backed on yours. And now that I've brought it up, I can't do it again or I'll kill the idea. Or will I kill another great film from Fran's radar by having waited more than a minute from my post?

[swo17]

Did anyone ask about licensing any Mabel Cheung, Ann Hui, or Clara Law films from Fortune Star, or any HK films in general? I wouldn't mind them releasing and fixing a release of Center Stage. Hell, I would love to see them release a boxset of the Hui Brothers films (with Wai Ka-Fai's remake of The Private Eyes as a bonus!).

Ann Hui and Center Stage have been specifically mentioned.

Hong Kong we're in discussion on some really cool things that I doubt very much are on many other labels' radars and some really interesting stuff from further afield I'm really excited about.

[soundchaser]

If anyone in the Discord could stress this board’s immediate purchase of any and all Mouret titles, that would be fantastic.

[therewillbeblus]

Done

[swo17]

One of the first things I (or anyone) posted on the Discord was a much more concentrated version of the list I posted earlier in this thread, a top 10 of director priorities that included Mouret. After I and just a couple others had posted similar lists, Fran responded "Thanks for the recommendations" and "We are in discussion on some of those titles but cannot give anything away just yet." I think it would be a lot to ask for him to individually respond to every single recommendation made in the thread, and even more for him to have to release something just because we dutifully requested it, but it's nice to know that we have his ear. Anyway, he's certainly been made aware

[swo17]

Another interesting tidbit: Fran asked Paramount about their Jerry Lewis titles, but they said "they want to do those themselves"

[diamonds]

I think it would be a lot to ask for him to individually respond to every single recommendation made in the thread, and even more for him to have to release something just because we dutifully requested it

No. He is obligated to focus on the directors we mention[...]!

[swo17]

Well, at least I'm consistent

[therewillbeblus]

Another interesting tidbit: Fran asked Paramount about their Jerry Lewis titles, but they said "they want to do those themselves"

Paramount seems to be a connection- which is great, cause Starting Over still has no blu-ray release