Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

[black&huge]

I'm actually seriously hoping they will upgrade Armageddon and The Rock to 4k and not leave them for a standard studio upgrade release

[cdnchris]

Dead Presidents still seems like a no brainer. I watched it for the first time in twenty years fairly recently and was surprised that it was much better than I recall.

I finally caved and bought it on DVD (the UK one, which is anamorphic but also a flipper disc), so I'm fully expecting it to be announced on 4K in the next few months.

[Finch]

From the letterboxd list, I'd love to see Robin Hood, El Cid and Dead Presidents upgraded the most. Who owns El Cid in the US?

[domino harvey]

It was Miramax, they released it and the other Mann epic in deluxe DVD sets as part of a short lived boutique label Miriam riiiiiiight before Blu-ray took off

[Finch]

I did have their two disc set! Well, since Criterion got The English Patient from Miramax, they hopefully picked a few other titles including El Cid, to go along with the Minghella film.

[Buttery Jeb]

From the letterboxd list, I'd love to see Robin Hood, El Cid and Dead Presidents upgraded the most. Who owns El Cid in the US?

I believe the Weinstein own El Cid and other films produced by
Samuel Bronson outright. El Cid made the jump from Miramax to The Weinstein Company, and was released alongside 55 Days at Peking, The Fall of the Roman Empire and Circus World as part of their Miriam Collection series.

In the meantime, maybe Criterion will finally release The Lacemaker on disc. I remember seeing brand new laserdisc copies of that film (along with Vengeance is Mine) well into the DVD era.

[MichaelMiles]

Thoughts to anyone on the Stray Dog BFI blu ray and whether Criterion will be doing an upgrade? Kurosawa upgrades by Criterion have come to a crawl for a number of years. I mean can't we at least get Stray Dog and Red Beard? Madadayo, Quiet Duel and and any others would also be nice.

[dwk]

About El Cid, someone reportedly bought the titles that Weinstein personally owned, I assume we'll find out who bought them whenever Dogma gets announced.

As for Kurosawa, they dried up because Toho, but now that theey are letting those restorations be released outside Japan, I assume Criterion will continue upgrading them.

[ryannichols7]

quite a musical month with two titles about musicians and an actual musical

[Finch]

Thrilled about Midnight. The Mishima 4K might tempt me to seek out the film for the first time.

[Mr.DarjeelingLimited]

Wasn’t Saving Face supposed to be this month?

[ryannichols7]

Thrilled about Midnight. The Mishima 4K might tempt me to seek out the film for the first time.

it's one of my 10 favorite movies ever, and still remains one of Criterion's best ever editions for a single title. I can't recommend it enough

happy about Midnight too

Wasn’t Saving Face supposed to be this month?

are they releasing that?

[andyli]

Are they back in business recording new audio commentaries? I count two new tracks for this month alone.

[Mr.DarjeelingLimited]

Thrilled about Midnight. The Mishima 4K might tempt me to seek out the film for the first time.

it's one of my 10 favorite movies ever, and still remains one of Criterion's best ever editions for a single title. I can't recommend it enough

happy about Midnight too

Wasn’t Saving Face supposed to be this month?

are they releasing that?

Yes. Alice Wu and Michelle Krusiec confirmed it and showed the emails they got saying it was licensed and being prepped for June probably to go along with pride month.

[ryannichols7]

Are they back in business recording new audio commentaries? I count two new tracks for this month alone.

they're also announcing 6-7 titles a month and have twice in recent months announced on Friday when the 15th falls on a weekend

is Criterion back???

I'll start sounding the alarm when they hire Adrian Martin to record a commentary for the first time. or release No Other Land

Wasn’t Saving Face supposed to be this month?

are they releasing that?

Yes. Alice Wu and Michelle Krusiec confirmed it and showed the emails they got saying it was licensed and being prepped for June probably to go along with pride month.
[/quote]

missed that entirely. an interesting curiosity but I totally get why they're releasing it

[dwk]

Are they back in business recording new audio commentaries? I count two new tracks for this month alone.

Three:
Michael Koresky on Midnight
Michael B. Gillespie and Alfred L. Martin on The Wiz
François Girard and cowriter and actor Don McKellar on Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould

[Mr.DarjeelingLimited]

Are they back in business recording new audio commentaries? I count two new tracks for this month alone.

they're also announcing 6-7 titles a month and have twice in recent months announced on Friday when the 15th falls on a weekend

is Criterion back???

I'll start sounding the alarm when they hire Adrian Martin to record a commentary for the first time. or release No Other Land

No Other Land would be incredible.

[TechnicolorAcid]

In the latest upload of Eddie Mueller’s Ask Series, he just confirmed an upcoming 4K Criterion release for The Big Heat that he was asked to do a commentary for that he declined.

[DimitriL]

Are they back in business recording new audio commentaries? I count two new tracks for this month alone.

Three this month (Midnight, Glenn Gould and The Wiz). Yeah, I've been noticing since at least February that we're regularly getting 2-3 new commentaries a month. Night Moves is when I really started to pay attention bc I'm pretty sure they would've punted on a commentary for that in recent years.

[ryannichols7]

In the latest upload of Eddie Mueller’s Ask Series, he just confirmed an upcoming 4K Criterion release for The Big Heat that he was asked to do a commentary for that he declined.

now we're talking! maybe they'll hire Imogen Sara Smith for that, here's hoping

[FrauBlucher]

Perhaps the influx of capital from Steven Rales has allowed them to increase spending on commentaries and other goodies

[DimitriL]

Perhaps the influx of capital from Steven Rales has allowed them to increase spending on commentaries and other goodies

I've mentioned before Peter Becker talking about (I think at NYFF) Rales' sales pitch, "What would you do if you had access to capital?"

[beamish14]

For my money, the strongest batch of all-new titles in years

[Lowry_Sam]

In the latest upload of Eddie Mueller’s Ask Series, he just confirmed an upcoming 4K Criterion release for The Big Heat that he was asked to do a commentary for that he declined.

How dare he! Did he say why he would decline such a major noir?

[ryannichols7]

In the latest upload of Eddie Mueller’s Ask Series, he just confirmed an upcoming 4K Criterion release for The Big Heat that he was asked to do a commentary for that he declined.

How dare he! Did he say why he would decline such a major noir?

I love Mueller but I think it was said elsewhere on here he didn't like doing commentaries as much, though he is really good at them. I'd be happy with ISS, I'd say Tony Rayns too since he's somewhat of a Lang expert, but he did an extended interview on the Indicator release so I'm game to hear somewhere else. there's no shortage of people who would deliver a good track for this movie though, and I'm glad if Criterion do put it out on 4K. Indicator's release is good but I can imagine an upgrade looking astounding