Radiance Films General Discussion & Wishlist

[DJBillyMac]

I thought it sounded familiar! Should have double checked.

[Toby Dammit]

Sandra (Vaghe stelle dell'Orsa) has not been released in proper aspect ratio anywhere. That would be a good choice if Radiance could get it.

The recent death of Claudia Cardinale should prompt the reissue of some of her lesser-known titles, particularly "Sandra."

[domino harvey]

Your lips to Fran’s ears (bring on Bebo too)

[rapta]

Sandra (Vaghe stelle dell'Orsa) has not been released in proper aspect ratio anywhere. That would be a good choice if Radiance could get it.

The recent death of Claudia Cardinale should prompt the reissue of some of her lesser-known titles, particularly "Sandra."

Sadly I think Sony control it, so you'd have to ask Criterion why they haven't done so yet.

Your lips to Fran’s ears (bring on Bebo too)

When some Cardinale was specifically teased a couple of years ago, I'd assumed it would be either Bebo's Girl or Handsome Antonio, but it turned out to be Girl with a Suitcase.

Perhaps one of those other two will come from Radiance eventually, particularly the Comencini as he's an auteur they do keep returning to. It actually did screen at Il Cinema Ritrovato a few months back, which I believe some of the Radiance team attended, so there's that.

[criterionsnob]

Radiance has hinted an upcoming Almodovar film.

Happy Birthday to the extravagant and bold Pedro Almodóvar (BOTD, 1949). Look out for one of his works in our future catalogue...

[domino harvey]

Excellent, presumably this will be one of the films not held by Studio Canal or Sony (High Heels would be most welcome). Though I could see them being fearless enough to license Kika for a US release!

[criterionsnob]

I remember Fran posting a photo of some fake test covers and I think one was Matador.

[domino harvey]

Interesting. Do they have a Sony deal, or is it distro'd by someone else in the UK?

[criterionsnob]

It was just a fake cover he posted a few years ago when designing the templates for Radiance, so maybe not an indication of what will actually be released. I stupidly sold all of my early Almodovar DVDs, so I'll be happy with anything that doesn't already have a Blu-ray release.

[ryannichols7]

I do lean towards it being High Heels as well and would greatly welcome it. Almodovar has been much needed in the Radiance world

[rapta]

Matador or Live Flesh were my first suggestions, and I think the former might be with StudioCanal and the latter with Pathé (both libraries accessed by Radiance recently). Pepi, Luci, Bom would be quite radical too, but might be 'a bit much' for the uninitiated (though was my precise entry point to Almodovar).

Might be as simple as Matador seeing as it was one of the early mock-up Radiance 'dream titles', or could be something freshly restored and/or surprisingly ignored until now. High Heels is another good suggestion though, would fit the bill and also with StudioCanal AFAIK.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

I'm pretty confident this will be a UK-only release, since Sony now has his entire filmography in the U.S. bar Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! That includes High Heels and several others that they've never released on physical media but currently distribute through iTunes and other digital storefronts. Yes, even Kika.

As for what might be licensable in the UK, Matador and Pepe, Luci, Bom are listed in the catalog of Mercury Films, from whom Radiance licensed the Buñuel titles. StudioCanal's UK site lists almost all his other features, but High Heels isn't among them even though it's on their global site. Talk to Her is in the same boat and Labyrinth of Passion is on neither the UK or global site. Pathé UK had most of the recent Almodóvars, but they've pulled out of the distribution business and those rights were picked up by Canal.

[rapta]

It was announced that StudioCanal would begin distributing Pathé titles, but for some reason Tchao pantin was licensed solely through Pathé and no mention of SC on the back of the Radiance release.

Just checked the Park Circus site and Live Flesh is listed as Pathé, as are several others (Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, All About My Mother, Talk to Her, Bad Education, Volver, Broken Embraces, The Skin I Live In, I'm So Excited!, Julieta, Pain and Glory, The Human Voice, Parallel Mothers, Strange Way of Life). Might be a clue as to what ends up being picked, but then again the Mercury titles seem just as likely.

PS: Worth noting there are plenty of great films in the Pathé catalogue I could see Radiance being interested in. Boudu Saved From Drowning (Renoir), Les enfants du paradis (Carné), Fever Mounts at El Pao (Buñuel), No Fear, No Die (Denis), Kafka (Soderbergh), Ratcatcher (Ramsay), In the Cut (Campion), Eastern Promises (Cronenberg) and Hunger (McQueen) to name a handful.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

It was announced that StudioCanal would begin distributing Pathé titles, but for some reason Tchao pantin was licensed solely through Pathé and no mention of SC on the back of the Radiance release.

Just checked the Park Circus site and Live Flesh is listed as Pathé, as are several others (Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, All About My Mother, Talk to Her, Bad Education, Volver, Broken Embraces, The Skin I Live In, I'm So Excited!, Julieta, Pain and Glory, The Human Voice, Parallel Mothers, Strange Way of Life). Might be a clue as to what ends up being picked, but then again the Mercury titles seem just as likely.

I didn't make anything of Tchao pantin (and Symphony for a Massacre, another Pathé licensed) because as 2024 releases they were probably licensed before Pathé abandoned UK distribution at the end of 2023. Alternatively, Pathé UK may have never had any rights to those films and they were licensed directly from the French parent company. As for Park Circus, it's far more likely that they haven't updated their listings to reflect the shift to Canal than it is that Pathé never left the UK distribution game after all. (They still have Chicken Run, James and the Giant Peach, and The Magic Roundabout with Pathé even though all three have been spotted on UK TV/streaming with new StudioCanal logos.) Amazon UK's listings for the Almodóvar BDs originally issued by Pathé UK also now list them as StudioCanal titles, except for Pain and Glory which seems to have gone OOP some time ago. But I doubt Radiance will be doing anything already out on Blu in the UK (and I personally hope they avoid any overlap with Criterion as well).

[Boosmahn]

It would be nice if The Skin I Live In were reissued sometime soon.

[rapta]

It was announced that StudioCanal would begin distributing Pathé titles, but for some reason Tchao pantin was licensed solely through Pathé and no mention of SC on the back of the Radiance release.

Just checked the Park Circus site and Live Flesh is listed as Pathé, as are several others (Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, All About My Mother, Talk to Her, Bad Education, Volver, Broken Embraces, The Skin I Live In, I'm So Excited!, Julieta, Pain and Glory, The Human Voice, Parallel Mothers, Strange Way of Life). Might be a clue as to what ends up being picked, but then again the Mercury titles seem just as likely.

I didn't make anything of Tchao pantin (and Symphony for a Massacre, another Pathé licensed) because as 2024 releases they were probably licensed before Pathé abandoned UK distribution at the end of 2023. Alternatively, Pathé UK may have never had any rights to those films and they were licensed directly from the French parent company. As for Park Circus, it's far more likely that they haven't updated their listings to reflect the shift to Canal than it is that Pathé never left the UK distribution game after all. (They still have Chicken Run, James and the Giant Peach, and The Magic Roundabout with Pathé even though all three have been spotted on UK TV/streaming with new StudioCanal logos.) Amazon UK's listings for the Almodóvar BDs originally issued by Pathé UK also now list them as StudioCanal titles, except for Pain and Glory which seems to have gone OOP some time ago. But I doubt Radiance will be doing anything already out on Blu in the UK (and I personally hope they avoid any overlap with Criterion as well).

Apologies for splitting hairs, as it's clear StudioCanal have a deal with Radiance either way, so whether it's through them or not Matador, High Heels or Live Flesh are likely to be available, and none of those will overlap with Criterion.

Anyway, I'm sure the title selection will probably depend on quality of masters, and from what I've seen it does look like Live Flesh is in the best condition, followed by High Heels which looks pretty healthy too. Matador may be in need of further restoration, which Radiance seem equipped to do, but not sure if that would instead be handled in-house by either StudioCanal or Pathé (can't think if anyone who licensed from StudioCanal before now has done more than simple cleanup/regrading work).

[GaryC]

PS: Worth noting there are plenty of great films in the Pathé catalogue I could see Radiance being interested in. [snip], No Fear, No Die (Denis),

That one is unlikely, given that it could well be cut by the BBFC, for animal-cruelty reasons - the cockfighting subject matter. I saw it at the London Film Festival and I am told that a UK cinema release was intended but cancelled due to the issue. There is a caption onscreen saying that the cocks weren't harmed - fitted with plastic spurs rather than steel ones - but the Animals Act forbids "goading to fury" so the film could still violate the law. (I am not a lawyer.)

[ellipsis7]

Tomorrow, prepare yourselves as we launch 2026 with films from , and ...

[eerik]

Films from the same three countries as pretty much every month. Not complaining, but a bit boring and predictable.

[MichaelB]

The recent death of Claudia Cardinale should prompt the reissue of some of her lesser-known titles, particularly "Sandra."

For what it's worth, this pretty much never happens. By the time a film has been licensed, materials have been tracked down and disc production has been completed, a "recent death" will most likely have happened some time the previous year, if not earlier. I've been in this business nearly two decades, and I honestly can't think of a single instance in which someone's death has inspired a physical-media release.

Unless of course it's a case where someone's death finally removes a rights-based obstacle, but that's a somewhat different issue!

[beamish14]

Films from the same three countries as pretty much every month. Not complaining, but a bit boring and predictable.

It is starting to get a tad stale, I agree. There are a number of restored Canadian films that I would love to see. Many neglected gems from the Netherlands, too

[domino harvey]

I wish every label could be expected to release a French title every month. It’s not like the other ones are prioritizing them

[beamish14]

I wish every label could be expected to release a French title every month. It’s not like the other ones are prioritizing them

I kind of wonder what French titles would appeal to a label like Shout Factory. Maybe something from Breillat or Noe, but that’s it

[DJBillyMac]

Yeah, they definitely had a stint last year where it felt like every month was France/Italy/Japan, but to be fair the last four months also had Spain, Belgium, Greece, and South Korea. Of course I'd love to see more from the less-represented countries still! I wonder when they'll get to the hints for 2026 (assuming they do them again) and/or the subscription - I've been saving up to get one this year.

[criterionsnob]

Very excited for tomorrow's announcements, and to see the new member packages, as my three-year gold membership is finally running out. Hopefully, there will be some 2026 clues as well. The Discord members seem to think the last newsletter clue for January ("Corpses!") will be Rosi's Illustrious Corpses, which sounds pretty on brand.