Radiance Films General Discussion & Wishlist

[Lowry_Sam]

Yes, but Max Headroom has never been upgraded from dvd.

[ryannichols7]

No, it’s a reference to the famous Max Headroom signal intrusion that occurred over a repeat of Doctor Who on US public television. No idea what it means but I would be extremely surprised if it correlated to anything that actually incorporates Max Headroom - my guess is they’re launching an imprint that has a bit less of a classy focus then the films in the first half of that teaser, effectively something that feels like someone has broken in and taken over.

ah yes, the "Arrow Video" arm. this seems plausible, but I also feel like that gets out in the weeds and puts things in the predicament Arrow had...and why they ended up merging the two lines

[DeprongMori]

I would have guessed that they are doing this month’s announcements for the first time via video transmission (TX) instead of just a post, but the date for the TX is one day before the official new releases announcement date.

[Calvin]

Fran did say a few months back that they were "working on another separate label but it's nothing to do with Radiance" so whether or not they'd announce it via Radiance's socials we'll have to wait and see. I wonder if it's a TV label given the tease?

[beamish14]

Yes, but Max Headroom has never been upgraded from dvd.

That would be an incredible release, particularly if they could snag the pilot and appearances from Headroom on other shows

[Peacock]

Personally I think it’s brilliant. We all know that horror and genre titles bring in the dough and ultimately Radiance needs money for their main line releases. I’m glad Fran is actively trying to stick to the initial mission.

[Aunt Peg]

Are there any clues as to what Radiance will be announcing for their November release schedule?

[Calvin]

Are there any clues as to what Radiance will be announcing for their November release schedule?

We're expecting The Ogre of Athens and Le notte bianche at some point. Not specifically November but it would seem likely.

[yoloswegmaster]

Has it been confirmed that the ogre clue is intended for 'The Ogre of Athens"? I was thinking that the clue was for a Swiss/French film called 'L'Ogre', as there is a new restoration that is playing at Locarno Film Festival.

[Calvin]

Has it been confirmed that the ogre clue is intended for 'The Ogre of Athens"? I was thinking that the clue was for a Swiss/French film called 'L'Ogre', as there is a new restoration that is playing at Locarno Film Festival.

I don't think it's 100% confirmed, but we also know that there's a Greek film coming, it has also had a recent 4K restoration, and Fran was pursuing it when Radiance first started. I'd be quite shocked if it wasn't.

[ellipsis7]

Next month, a meeting on a bridge!

That's LE NOTTI BIANCHE...

[TMDaines]

Another heck of a month.

[rapta]

Really interested in the Hossein set and Greek title, and even the first Transmission release, but Oshima takes ultimate priority in November. Huge, huge set, best of the year by far and easily the past 5 years to be honest (closest have been MoC's Feuillade and Zulawski sets and Criterion's Wong set), but there has been a general drought on big, ballsy arthouse box sets from UK labels since certain individuals moved on from Arrow and BFI (Chabrol, Bergman and Akerman aside).

My only minor complaint is that I wish Radiance would opt for slim cases to house the discs, as BFI and sometimes Arrow and Eureka do, as it'd be nice to have individual cases and artwork for each disc (albeit not full-height artwork). That being said they have made the artworks reversible and are obviously conscious of shelf space as it looks like it'll be housing three Scanavo cases (plus the 160 page book). Density is key at this point; please continue to make your sets as heavy and as small as possible.

[Finch]

If The Ogre of Athens sells well enough, maybe Radiance will then port over The Fear for the UK. I haven't seen it yet but Mondo Macabro collectors regularly call it one of the best films Jared has released.

[Peacock]

The start of an ongoing series, this first volume of Radical Japan

Just noticed this! I wonder who else we can expect boxsets of? Surely Terayama is one of them? I’d love Yoshida but I worry that both the Arrow set and the Radiance single limited editions were slow sellers so will Fran take the risk? I really hope he does.

It would be lovely to get a Teshigahara set - Summer Soldiers, Face of Another, Pitfall, Man Without a Map.

An Imamura documentaries set.

And of course a Wakamatsu set including Go Go Second Time Virgin, Violated Angels, Ecstasy of the Angels, Red Army, The Embryo Hunts in Secret etc etc …

[domino harvey]

Presumably MoC no longer has the rights to their Imamuras, so maybe bring all those over into a new box?

[Calvin]

Presumably MoC no longer has the rights to their Imamuras, so maybe bring all those over into a new box?

It's possible that he'll reconsider, but Fran isn't keen on re-releasing titles that have already had adequate releases and said in 2022 that he "offered on the Imamuras but Nikkatsu wanted all the films together and [he] wasn't willing to re-buy all the films that have releases."

The start of an ongoing series, this first volume of Radical Japan

Just noticed this! I wonder who else we can expect boxsets of? Surely Terayama is one of them? I’d love Yoshida but I worry that both the Arrow set and the Radiance single limited editions were slow sellers so will Fran take the risk? I really hope he does.

Terayama seems to be a bit of a holy grail for Radiance. They've been trying since they first came into being - you might recall the Pastoral mock up cover. Again, a 2022 quote from the Discord: "ATG is a complex beast. I've drafted up many proposals, but some don't want their films labelled as ATG, Toho own a lot and are difficult, materials aren't only owned by Toho so that's another issue that needs working out - doable but adds more work. Then you have the Terayama films in particular which I suspect may have some estate issues and would fall afoul of the BBFC, not that it would stop me personally. In short, I'm trying"

There's definitely no chance that Emperor Tomato Ketchup gets past the BBFC, though none of his other titles have obvious red flags to me.

One name I wouldn't be surprised to see would be Kazuo Kuroki: Silence Has No Wings is one of Fran's favourite films and appeared on his Sight and Sound ballot a few years ago. So its absence on home video is a bit conspicuous - particularly as there haven't been any obvious issues blocking it like the Angelopoulos and Chabrol (until now). I could see a set with Silence Has No Wings / Cuban Lover / Evil Spirits of Japan / The Assassination of Ryoma / Preparation for the Festival.

[Calvin]

If The Ogre of Athens sells well enough, maybe Radiance will then port over The Fear for the UK. I haven't seen it yet but Mondo Macabro collectors regularly call it one of the best films Jared has released.

I really liked The Fear, but I'm not sure Radiance could easily best the Mondo Macabro release which I think is already region-free.

I could see them doing Alexis Damianos' Evdokia, Michael Cacoyannis' Stella, Costas Ferris' Rembetiko, or Tonia Marketaki's John the Violent if The Ogre of Athens sells well - all films critically acclaimed in their own country that don't seem to have any releases in print.

[domino harvey]

Would love to see Lisa and the Other Woman, though I don’t know if there’s any HD source out there

[Peacock]

Lots of exquisite suggestions by everyone above! Fingers crossed.

Calvin - Do you reckon Radiance would release Emperor Tomato Ketchup as a standalone US-only title? Due to its length and subject matter I’m not so sure. It would be such a shame if such a major film slipped through the cracks if Terayama got his only Western release in the form of a career spanning boxset.

I also wonder if, in this hypothetical dream boxset, Fran would include Grass Labyrinth but not the anthology film it came from - Private Collections? Am I the only person who got that DVD? It would maybe be a little weird to include minor Borowczyk in a Terayama boxset and possibly it would muddy the complex rights situation even more.. who knows.

[beamish14]

The start of an ongoing series, this first volume of Radical Japan

It would be lovely to get a Teshigahara set - Summer Soldiers, Face of Another, Pitfall, Man Without a Map.

An Imamura documentaries set.

Imamura’s documentaries look so awful on Icarus’ DVDs/website. I’d love to see fresh restorations. Teshigahara is a no-brainer, too

I’d love more Sogo Ishii, though particularly if they can get early shorts like Shuffle

[dda1996a]

So its absence on home video is a bit conspicuous - particularly as there haven't been any obvious issues blocking it like the Angelopoulos and Chabrol (until now).

I forgot, what is/was holding the Chabrol and Angelopoulos films?

[domino harvey]

Dispute between previous rights holders and the family, I believe (for Chabrol)

[beamish14]

So its absence on home video is a bit conspicuous - particularly as there haven't been any obvious issues blocking it like the Angelopoulos and Chabrol (until now).

I forgot, what is/was holding the Chabrol and Angelopoulos films?

Angelopoulos’ works are pretty much 100% with his estate, and they’re focused on theatrical distribution right now. They have produced new prints and DCPs of everything he released

[Maltic]

Angelopoulos on home video almost seems like a contradiction in terms (I would buy it though).