Kino Lorber Studio Classics

[domino harvey]

[…] as the campy-aspects to films are not always handled well by Kino in their supplements, also,

Pretty early on in the run of the label, Mister Lime said they would no longer include any extras derisive of the feature after complaints over a Trailers From Hell inclusion, of all things

[dwk]

Blu-ray.com's Kino thread has the typical Kino Insider losing it in the face of criticism/questions about the No Way Out interview, so the January release schedule was buried. So here it is:

January 14th
Fade-In (1968) 2021 HD Master by Paramount Pictures – From a 4K Scan
Murder by Decree (1979) 4KUHD New UHD SDR Master by StudioCanal
Reindeer Games (2000) 4KUHD New HDR/Dolby Vision Master by KL (Theatrical Cut)
Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973) Kino Cult #24
WHORE (1991) Kino Cult #25
That Funny Feeling (1965)
The Spiral Road (1962)

January 21st
April Fool's Day (1986) 4KUHD New HDR/Dolby Vision Master by KL
Body Parts (1991) 4KUHD New HDR/Dolby Vision Master by KL
Orca (1977) 4KUHD New HDR/Dolby Vision Master by KL
Frances (1982)

January 28th
Sea of Love (1989) 4KUHD New HDR/Dolby Vision Master by KL
Houseboat (1958) Brand New HD Master by Paramount - From a 6K Scan of the 35mm VistaVision Camera Negative
Teacher's Pet (1958) Brand New HD Master by Paramount - From a 6K Scan of the 35mm VistaVision Camera Negative

[beamish14]

Glad I held off on buying the Blu of Body Parts
They’re really unloading a ton of Paramount titles

[MichaelB]

[…] as the campy-aspects to films are not always handled well by Kino in their supplements, also,

Pretty early on in the run of the label, Mister Lime said they would no longer include any extras derisive of the feature after complaints over a Trailers From Hell inclusion, of all things

To be fair to Kino, this is often a direct stipulation on the part of the rightsholder - in my own first-hand experience MGM, Paramount and Sony have cracked down on extras that they deemed to be insufficiently respectful of the main feature. The most extreme example of this was when Sony vetoed all the extras for Indicator's Ishtar after deciding that no mention could be made of the film's chequered past, and since this would have left a barebones-plus-trailer-but-no-booklet edition Powerhouse decided to scrap the release altogether.

Shortly afterwards, Johnny Mains and I recorded a commentary for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, also a Sony property, for which we were given a list of topics and angles that were forbidden - no mockery, no negative comments about people who were still alive (especially those who could potentially work with Sony in the future; they're particularly sensitive about that), no quoting from negative reviews, no mention of anything other than stellar box-office performance, you name it. They also required all quotations, no matter how brief and clearly qualifying for "fair use" they may have been, to be cleared with the relevant copyright holder - and because of that clause I double-checked with them upfront that it was OK to quote from Mary Shelley's original novel, which was unambiguously in the public domain (and, thankfully, they agreed), but you just never know.

Even after all that, we had six minutes censored because we mentioned an uncredited co-writer (also a no-no), although I simply replaced that with six minutes on a completely different topic, mixing in Johnny going "yeah" and "mm-hmm" as though he was still in the room with me.

Although, that said, that's the only commentary I've recorded under those conditions - for all the others (and I can't be far off my thirtieth) I've had total freedom. And Johnny and I are pretty happy with the way that the Frankenstein commentary turned out - it's a lot more in-depth and scholarly than it might have been if we'd been allowed to go down the more obvious pointing-and-laughing route.

[tenia]

I suppose there might be a position in-between though, like being allowed to point out consensually-accepted issues and discussing them in a matter-of-fact way ?
It seems like you went a different route for Frankenstein, but it seems like just that, a different path. The freer one would have yielded a different result, but possibly one as interesting, though in a complementary way ?

I don't listen a lot to audio commentaries anymore, but the ones I listened to recently were able to do that (and some of them were by people within the movies' own teams !), and I do think it's interesting to provide this kind of things. Movies rarely are perfect, even fewer have had perfectly smooth productions, and I think it's fair to take that into account. For instance, it can be of interest to talk about that uncredited co-writer as maybe it has an impact on the final result ? (haven't seen this Frankenstein, so maybe it doesn't, but you get the idea)

[MichaelB]

Believe me, I'm speaking from experience when I say that none of these arguments will cut any ice with the legal department of a large international megacorporation - if they veto something, that's that. Their function is to protect the company's reputation and not jeopardise its relationship with current and possibly future clients - and it's their film and their rules, so if they want something taken out, it gets taken out (or not put in in the first place).

[Orlac]

[…] as the campy-aspects to films are not always handled well by Kino in their supplements, also,

Pretty early on in the run of the label, Mister Lime said they would no longer include any extras derisive of the feature after complaints over a Trailers From Hell inclusion, of all things

To be fair to Kino, this is often a direct stipulation on the part of the rightsholder - in my own first-hand experience MGM, Paramount and Sony have cracked down on extras that they deemed to be insufficiently respectful of the main feature. The most extreme example of this was when Sony vetoed all the extras for Indicator's Ishtar after deciding that no mention could be made of the film's chequered past, and since this would have left a barebones-plus-trailer-but-no-booklet edition Powerhouse decided to scrap the release altogether.

Shortly afterwards, Johnny Mains and I recorded a commentary for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, also a Sony property, for which we were given a list of topics and angles that were forbidden - no mockery, no negative comments about people who were still alive (especially those who could potentially work with Sony in the future; they're particularly sensitive about that), no quoting from negative reviews, no mention of anything other than stellar box-office performance, you name it. They also required all quotations, no matter how brief and clearly qualifying for "fair use" they may have been, to be cleared with the relevant copyright holder - and because of that clause I double-checked with them upfront that it was OK to quote from Mary Shelley's original novel, which was unambiguously in the public domain (and, thankfully, they agreed), but you just never know.

Even after all that, we had six minutes censored because we mentioned an uncredited co-writer (also a no-no), although I simply replaced that with six minutes on a completely different topic, mixing in Johnny going "yeah" and "mm-hmm" as though he was still in the room with me.

Although, that said, that's the only commentary I've recorded under those conditions - for all the others (and I can't be far off my thirtieth) I've had total freedom. And Johnny and I are pretty happy with the way that the Frankenstein commentary turned out - it's a lot more in-depth and scholarly than it might have been if we'd been allowed to go down the more obvious pointing-and-laughing route.

I noticed quite a few awkward silences on the Kim Newman and friend commentary for CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT.

[MichaelB]

Please don't read anything into stuff like that - there are plenty of gaps in Robin Askwith's commentary for Confessions of a Pop Performer, but that's because he genuinely didn't have much to say about what was his least favourite film in the quartet, not because Sony got out the scissors.

[tenia]

Believe me, I'm speaking from experience when I say that none of these arguments will cut any ice with the legal department of a large international megacorporation - if they veto something, that's that. Their function is to protect the company's reputation and not jeopardise its relationship with current and possibly future clients - and it's their film and their rules, so if they want something taken out, it gets taken out (or not put in in the first place).

I understand that. I meant my post more specifically in response of your "pointing-and-laughing route" remark.
But yeah, I totally imagine there's 0 margin regarding this kind of veto : it's in or it's not, and there's 0 nuance in-between.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

Although, that said, that's the only commentary I've recorded under those conditions - for all the others (and I can't be far off my thirtieth) I've had total freedom. And Johnny and I are pretty happy with the way that the Frankenstein commentary turned out - it's a lot more in-depth and scholarly than it might have been if we'd been allowed to go down the more obvious pointing-and-laughing route.

As much as I appreciate the scrupulous and informed research in your commentaries, I've always enjoyed Branagh's capacity as a comic performer so it's too bad you weren't allowed to make merry at all. Given Sony's terms and the film's more serious reputation it's completely understandable of course.

[yoloswegmaster]

Kino allegedly used the Roger Donaldson interview for No Way Out from the the UK release with out licensing it

The KL insider has been providing some hilarious commentary:

[colinr0380]

I suppose there might be a position in-between though, like being allowed to point out consensually-accepted issues and discussing them in a matter-of-fact way ?
It seems like you went a different route for Frankenstein, but it seems like just that, a different path. The freer one would have yielded a different result, but possibly one as interesting, though in a complementary way ?

I don't listen a lot to audio commentaries anymore, but the ones I listened to recently were able to do that (and some of them were by people within the movies' own teams !), and I do think it's interesting to provide this kind of things. Movies rarely are perfect, even fewer have had perfectly smooth productions, and I think it's fair to take that into account. For instance, it can be of interest to talk about that uncredited co-writer as maybe it has an impact on the final result ? (haven't seen this Frankenstein, so maybe it doesn't, but you get the idea)

One of the most daring things the Wachowskis ever did was put their pair of 'duelling commentaries' out in the first release of the Matrix trilogy (as it was at the time) on DVD in 2004, where in lieu of the usual director's commentary they put out a negatively biased "Critics" commentary which after being positive for the first (which funnily enough is the only one currently online) gets more and more relentlessly negative through Reloaded and Revolutions (spoilers: they hate the Zion stuff and the final mech battle) getting contrasted against the more purely celebratory "Philosopher's" commentary tracks. In the liner notes they say pure space restrictions prevented them from adding a 'positive Critic' and 'negative Philosopher' track too! Which seems like the Wachowskis anticipated the online commentator culture by decades!

[thekeystobarton]

On the forthcoming Kino releases of the Universal Airport films, Kino has responded on their Facebook page to clarify:

All four of the films will be released in 4K individually, as well as in a boxset.
Kino also stated that the TV-cuts with the alternate scenes are not available for release, due to legal reasons.

So far no word on any specific special features which will be included though, but many many people have been asking on the Kino page about commentaries and so far Kino has not responded (seems a no brainer that if Kino knows up-front that contractually they were not able to release the films with commentaries included, they would have said as much by now).

[colinr0380]

This sounds like a good opportunity for some other enterprising label to piggyback on the Airport films being released and do the unofficial fifth TV movie entry in the series (directed by Airport '77 director Jerry Jameson) Starflight One: The Plane That Couldn't Land, loading that one up with all the extra features and commentary tracks covering the other entries to get around the contractual stipulations! Its a ridiculously premised film but quite exciting (almost anticipatory of the Apollo 13 film - or more likely taking cues from the real incident itself - in its subplot of having to patch together an improvised solution to a leak using items from around the plane) and pretty much on a par with Airport '75 and '77. And of course far better though less amusing than The Concorde: Airport '79!

[domino harvey]

Coming October 15th!

ENOUGH ROPE (1963)

Wow, been a minute since they've released a French film I haven't seen. And even rarer, the English title is much more interesting than the original French one ("Le meurtrier")

Bigger wow: I hope no one else blind bought this piece of shit. Two hours long but feels like twelve. Four of the five main performances from Ronet, Hossein, Furneaux, and Froebe are all plausibly the worst perfs you’ll ever see in your life. Hossein doesn’t even turn up until halfway through but provides enough extra annoyance to make up the difference almost immediately. A screenplay that spells out every single detail eight times over and direction that lingers over each instance so that you don’t miss it, can’t miss it, won’t miss it. Plus scenes that have no impact on the plot and introduce elements that will never be relevant (if you see this— and God help you if so— explain the function of Hossein’s last scene, and while you’re at it, explain how the final scene in the film even connects to it). Yikes City!

[captveg]

More OOP based on previously being in the "While Supplies Last" sale and now no longer appearing on the website:

4D Man (1959) (DVD) (BD still available)
12 Angry Men (1997) (BD) (DVD still available)
The Astro-Zombies (1968) (DVD) (BD previously OOP)
Black Moon Rising (1986)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978) (Code Red)
The Internecine Project (1974)

Female on the Beach (1955) was previously out of stock, but apparently not OOP, as it is still currently available. Additionally, 4D Man (1959) BD is back in stock and not OOP, though the DVD is now seemingly OOP as stated above.

[yoloswegmaster]

The following 4K titles have been added to the While Supplies Last sale:

12 Angry Men (4KUHD)
Dressed to Kill (4KUHD)
The Great Escape (4KUHD)
In the Heat of the Night (4KUHD)
Killer's Kiss (4KUHD)
The Killing (4KUHD)
The Manchurian Candidate (4KUHD)
The Night of the Hunter (4KUHD)
Paths of Glory (4KUHD)
Some Like It Hot (4KUHD)

Surprising that they lost the rights to these titles.

[dwk]

Why did they even bother picking those UHD rights up if they weren't going to keep them in print for more than, what, 3 or 4 years?

[domino harvey]

I think some of these were actually released even more recently than that

Since these are all Criterion titles, I think we can guess what comes next

[yoloswegmaster]

Believe it or not, none of those titles have even been out for 3 years. No idea why KL didn't bother renewing the rights to them, especially since they look to be strong sellers. Maybe MGM decided not to renew the rights to them. I'm just hoping that Criterion aren't planning on releasing these titles anytime soon.

[captveg]

Of all the licensing studios MGM certainly seems to be the most fickle. It's possible their asking price for these titles on UHD has changed to something Kino doesn't find worth it to renew, especially if Criterion was outbidding them to get the UHD rights back with their BD rights.

[captveg]

Also added to the WSL sale:

Alice Guy-Blaché Vol. 1: The Gaumont Years (1897-1907)
Alice Guy-Blaché Vol. 2: The Solax Years (1911-1914)
Gaumont Treasures 1897-1913 (DVD)
Gaumont Treasures 1908-1916 (DVD)

[MichaelB]

No idea why KL didn't bother renewing the rights to them

It may not have been their decision. While it's customary to give the existing licensee first refusal when it comes to rights renewal, it's by no means compulsory - and I remember the BFI basically rejigging an entire pre-Christmas schedule after they unexpectedly (and very reluctantly) lost the rights to their Jacques Tati cash cows; they quickly rushed all the ones that they hadn't yet released in high-def onto Blu-ray, knowing that they'd be compulsorily OOP in a matter of weeks, but hoping for a last crack at the Christmas market.

[dwk]

Criterion had that with the four ABC titles in the DVD era, they even had a limited edition sticker on Straw Dogs because it was only in print for a year.

Still that is an incredibly short time for those titles. Of note, it appears, right now, that they held onto Silence of the Lambs. (Unless that is nearly sold out and they just don't feel the need to put it in the WSL sale.)

[dwk]

Nate and Hayes (1983) Blu-ray
Brand New HD Master - From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative

Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Michael O’Keefe & Jenny Seagrove – Shot by Tony Imi (Ffolkes, Enemy Mine) – Music by Trevor Jones (The Last of the Mohicans, Cliffhanger) – Screenplay by John Hughes (Uncle Buck) & David Odell (The Dark Crystal) – Directed by Ferdinand Fairfax (The Rescue).