Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

[yoloswegmaster]

September Titles:

Moonage Daydream 4K
Walkabout 4K
Princess Bride 4K
The Trial 4K
La Bamba

[guyetgenevieve]

La Bamba feels like the biggest surprise to me. Would love to see more Mexican-American cinema come over to Criterion (Real Women Have Curves comes to mind).

[beamish14]

La Bamba feels like the biggest surprise to me. Would love to see more Mexican-American cinema come over to Criterion (Real Women Have Curves comes to mind).

Mi Vida Loca would be great, and they’ve already worked with Allison Anders on one of the collection’s most universally beloved titles

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

Selena is another film that has no Blu and is by a director already in the collection too.

[fdm]

Selena: Warner Archive Collection blu-ray

[Feego]

Yeah, Selena is out and the Blu has a considerable load of supplements and two cuts of the film. Another Nava worth considering is My Family/Mi Familia.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

Selena: Warner Archive Collection blu-ray

Wasn’t aware! Good to know

[Peacock]

Not a single new to Blu title this month, very disappointing!

[FrauBlucher]

A couple of thoughts...
30s and 40s Hollywood output has slowed down the last few years. Last year CC released 3 with one being a UHD release (Love Affair, Double Indemnity and Arsenic and Old Lace) and so far this year (9 months) just two, one being an upgrade (Mildred Pierce and Imitation of Life)

Do we think Abel Gance's Napoleon is still in the pipeline or have we misspeculated because of a phantom page?

[SeizureMilk]

Do we think Abel Gance's Napoleon is still in the pipeline or have we misspeculated because of a phantom page?

The only post I could find was regarding the BFI release as advertisement for it's theatrical and home media releases so unless they're doing a Grand Illusion and waiting until they receive the new cut to release then I highly doubt it could be coming.

[Never Cursed]

At yesterday's MOMA screening of Not a Pretty Picture, director Martha Coolidge made sure to note that she presumed Criterion would eventually put the film out, and that she was in negotiations with them to do so (the restoration is distributed by Janus)

[beamish14]

At yesterday's MOMA screening of Not a Pretty Picture, director Martha Coolidge made sure to note that she presumed Criterion would eventually put the film out, and that she was in negotiations with them to do so (the restoration is distributed by Janus)

That’s great. I figured it would eventually he put out by them. Rambling Rose would be nice as well (and the 4th Laura Dern film in the collection, too)

[Peacock]

That’s great. I figured it would eventually he put out by them. Rambling Rose would be nice as well (and the 4th Laura Dern film in the collection, too)

5th

[yoloswegmaster]

Criterion is listed as the license holder for Julian Schnabel's Basquiat on iTunes and Vudu.

[spectre]

At yesterday's MOMA screening of Not a Pretty Picture, director Martha Coolidge made sure to note that she presumed Criterion would eventually put the film out, and that she was in negotiations with them to do so (the restoration is distributed by Janus)

That's great to hear. Some kind of DVD release is certainly long overdue!

[jwd5275]

Roberto Gavaldón's Macario is now listed on the Film Foundation site as a WCP restoration. Hopefully this bodes well for a future release, if only in the next box.
Additionally three other new films are listed with WCP restorations:

Tewfik Saleh's The Dupes
Bahram Beyzaie's The Stranger and the Fog
Idrissa Ouédraogo's Yam Daabo

[A Tempted Christ]

Bahram Beyzaie's The Stranger and the Fog

Wow! I'm just speechless. This is the only film of Beyzaei that I haven't seen yet (besides his unreleased Talking with the Wind) because the only available copy was an unwatchable TVRip with horrible image and sound quality. A few seconds of a slightly better-looking version was used in a recent documentary about Beyzaei (here, looks a lot closer to available versions of Ballad of Tara and Death of Yazdgerd) but I never managed to track down the full version and gave up hope of ever watching it. But now it's being restored and from "the original camera and sound negatives" too! I mean, how did they even get their hands on them? Beyzaei said in an interview that all original elements of his pre-revolution films were thrown away and Downpour was restored using his own personal copy but this looks like a different situation altogether. And nothing was reported on this inside Iran. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same case as Chess of the Wind with them accidentally finding the negatives and smuggling them out of the country quietly in order to avoid the attention of authorities.

[Calvin]

Criterion/Janus performed the 4K restoration for Ousmane Sembène's Ceddo, which will screen at the Ritrovato festival later this month. Lee Kline and Alain Sembène will be there to introduce the film.

There's no details as to its provenance but the BFI Southbank's Sembene series (presented in partnership with Janus) will screen a 4K restoration of Xala, which I expect will also come from Criterion at some point.

[yoloswegmaster]

Criterion/Janus performed the 4K restoration for Ousmane Sembène's Ceddo, which will screen at the Ritrovato festival later this month. Lee Kline and Alain Sembène will be there to introduce the film.

There's no details as to its provenance but the BFI Southbank's Sembene series (presented in partnership with Janus) will screen a 4K restoration of Xala, which I expect will also come from Criterion at some point.

A 4K restoration is also being used by the BFI for the screening of Emitaï. The rest of the films are being screened from 35mm prints except for Camp de Thiaroye which doesn't have a format listed yet.

[yoloswegmaster]

Stanley Kwan's 'Love Unto Waste' and Jackie Chan's 'Miracles' are the latest newly added titles to the Channel that open with the Criterion and Janus logos.

[jwd5275]

Stanley Kwan's 'Love Unto Waste' and Jackie Chan's 'Miracles' are the latest newly added titles to the Channel that open with the Criterion and Janus logos.

Cy Endfield's Hell Drivers too...

[revchu]

Stanley Kwan's 'Love Unto Waste' and Jackie Chan's 'Miracles' are the latest newly added titles to the Channel that open with the Criterion and Janus logos.

Very exciting to see Criterion acquire more HK new wave (or new wave era) titles. I wish they would pick up some Patrick Tam, they are in dire need of restoration, and apparently there's an HD remaster of the Sword floating around.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

The HD scan of The Sword and Final Victory floating around are unfortunately upscales. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if they pick up the new 4K scan of Nomad. It played once locally and would love to get the chance to see it.

[Elizabeth Corday]

I'm still praying for The Heroic Trio. I just have this encroaching fear....

I am convinced Dog Day Afternoon is coming too.

I just thought of another film. The Witch with White Hair starring Brigitte Lin. I believe it got picked up by Eureka in the UK.

[spectre]

Do we have any indications/clues/precedents as to when we should be expecting the disc of The Mother and the Whore (and/or Jean Eustache set, as the case may be)?