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I'm very intrigued by this...I thought that Criterion wouldn't tackle any other Cox, but I sure am glad that they are. I have a feeling that this would be a release like Under the Volcano looks to be, where, even if the movie doesn't suit your fancy, the context the special features provide will make the overall experience a worthwhile one to anyone even remotely interested in Cox and the material at large.

Even more intrigued in re-reading Ebert's extremely negative review. I think that he, in my younger days, scared me off of later Cox, but now I feel that it's a mistake to have not even given the later films a chance yet. Looking forward to some catching up...

Person wrote:Great news. Walker is fascianting, odd, iconoclastic film that has begged for a Cox-approved SE DVD for years. If ever there was a film that needed contextualisation, this might just be it.

How about a simultaneous release of the restored integral version of Burn! as contextualization? We can live in hope!

That would indeed be awesome, and not just because the two films' main characters share my name.
EDIT- What a stupid post...forgiveness please.

As I post this, the only Dec. releases are the Bergman set and Two-Lane Blacktop. Please tell me that's not all!!

What's the logic behind the Bergman set? Are they updating the transfer and asking folks to buy it in a boxset? There are too many great movies still unreleased in R1 to keep going back to Bergman over and over and over again.

jbeall wrote:What's the logic behind the Bergman set? Are they updating the transfer and asking folks to buy it in a boxset?

There's a gift set every year, they will be the existing DVDs in a new slipcase only.

jbeall wrote:What's the logic behind the Bergman set? Are they updating the transfer and asking folks to buy it in a boxset? There are too many great movies still unreleased in R1 to keep going back to Bergman over and over and over again.

I think it's more that they are capitalizing on his death... they're trying to appeal to the casual Bergman viewer (because they're probably aware that the Bergman nuts already have it all)

the Bergman set retailing for $99.99 when each individual title together would be a little under $150 MSRP is actually a great deal, especially when you factor in DVDPlanet's 35% off (~$65)... so for someone like me who only owns Virgin Spring, I'd be saving about ~$5 buying these films like this, even when I own one of the titles... a title which can then easily be sold on eBay etc.

reminder that seventh seal will be released on a Tartan region free Blu-ray disc. Time to jump!

I'm holding out for the DivX release

jbeall wrote:As I post this, the only Dec. releases are the Bergman set and Two-Lane Blacktop. Please tell me that's not all!

Yes, if that's all it's most disappointing. I sincerely hoped for Huston's "The Dead" as a Christmas release

This might have been a last minute idea from Criterion regarding the Bergman box, expecially if nothing else was prepared for December. I mean capitalizing on Bergman's recent death.

Realistically though, it makes sense. They were past due for another collector's set, and Bergman is as legitimate a choice as any - probably more so than most, considering how many titles of his there are. I had been holding out on the Seventh Seal out of hope that it would be reissued, but I'm awfully tempted by this box.

It is a shame this seems like such a light month, if in fact there won't be anything else. Two Lane Blacktop was a given, and it looks like a great release, but I was really hoping for Salo and Last Emperor. I guess it'll give my wallet a chance to heal after Berlin Alexanderplatz, Blade Runner, Kubrik, and Saura, but still...

Wise Blood's on the way. Not The Dead, though, at least for now.

Narshty wrote:Since you've got UNDER THE VOLCANO, is there any chance Criterion might release WISE BLOOD too (it's a Universal title too as far as I know). Also, is there any news on Huston's last movie THE DEAD?

Tamara at Criterion wrote:I believe we do have plans to get to "Wise Blood" at some point in the future, but not "The Dead." I hope this helps, and thanks for your email!

Oh damn... how long must we stick with that Network disc...? Perhaps MoC could do it, considering that Network seem to dare to do their own version of "Vampyr" just when Nick announced MoC's. Only dreaming...

Wise Blood is a cool movie. I saw that recently for the first time. Glad to see Criterion will be putting it out.

Plus Brad Dourif is great in it.

Aw fuck me! I was hoping for The Dead. Wiseblood is only so so compared to that one, which is absolutely a masterpiece!

I can confirm that Criterion has Malle's Les Amants (previously rumored to be acquired from New Yorker). Starz FilmCenter in Denver will be showing it this weekend, and Janus is credited as distributor.

On that note, I asked about Le Feu follet recently and was told nothing was on the current schedule, but to expect more Malle in 2008. Hopefully not too deep into 2008, since they own virtually all of his unreleased in R1 films and haven't put out any of the non-documentaries since April of last year.

2007 brought some new directors into the collection. Some big names as well as minor ones.

Allison Anders
Dent Lent
Kurt Voss
Robert Day
Spencer Gordon Bennet
Dudley Murphy
Saul J. Turrell
Oscar Micheaux
Kenneth Macpherson
Zoltan Korda
Thorton Freeland
Pen Tennyson
Leo Hurwitz
Paul Strand
Sidney Gilliat
Mikio Naruse
Mathieu Kassovitz
Stuart Cooper
Chris Marker
Claude Berri
Dusan Makavejev
Lindsay Anderson
Hiroshi Teshigahara
Billy Wilder
David Mamet
Carlos Saura
Bryon Haskin
Nathan Kroll
Terrence Malick
John Huston
Monte Hellman

Criterion seems to love its Malle boxes...what box would we put together of what is left?

If The Fire Within is not in the works, my guess is that they could roll some of his American films into a box...I'm not crazy about his American films..I used to love Atlantic City but it seems overwritten on repeated viewings...Pretty Baby may be an interesting release, even though it was a snooze fest the first time I saw it...I have not seen My Dinner with Andre...

I doubt we will see another box, but you bring up something interesting. Atlantic City and Pretty Baby are both Paramount owned. If they get a release at these, i'm interested in what they could do with them. But they already have a handful of Malle films still in need of release.

A Criterion Battleship Potemkin is not necessarily dead. I wrote Jonathan Turell and asked him if the Kino Potemkin release spelled the end of a Criterion release. He answered:

Jonathan Turell wrote:The whole Kino thing is a disappointment but we've gone back to Russia and have finally been able to access film elements. We're still hopeful but can't promise at this point. I hope that helps. We should know more after we take a longer look at this film.

When I ask him if I could post his response here he adds:

Jonathan Turell wrote:Feel free. We'd love to do an edition that we're proud of and my guess is that it'll probably happen.

Interesting response.

Tribe

Jonathan Turell wrote:my guess is that it'll probably happen

Amazing!! This is marvelous news!

Amazing!! This is marvelous news!

It will happen, but just a matter of when. Maybe another revolution will happen in Russia by that time.

denti alligator wrote:

Jonathan Turell wrote:my guess is that it'll probably happen

Amazing!! This is marvelous news!

I wish they'd go back and re-master Ivan and fix the sound issues on Nevsky first.