Forthcoming Lists Discussion and Random Speculation Vol. 5

[swo17]

I'll tell my boss you guys like his movie

So you work for John Badham...who works for Criterion?

[knives]

Maybe they picked up his Dracula? I'd actually be happy for that.

[Moe Dickstein]

Black Hat, are you not in NYC? John has "The Assassin" Japanese poster up in the office that he prefers, and the original title for his version (After the charming "Untitled John Badham") was "The Specialist", which is what is printed on his leather bound shooting script. I had to puzzle over that one on the shelf before I cracked it open lol.

The problem is that another producer claimed dibs on that title, and it was put on a delightful (gag) Stallone/Stone film.

That left them with Point of No Return in the US and The Assassin elsewhere. There was never any talk of calling it La Femme Nikita or anything like that though.

Best irony of all is that John is in Toronto right now directing his third episode of the CW "Nikita" series.

And, sorry SWO, my Criterion info has nothing to do with Badham...

[Moe Dickstein]

OMG Knives I know you're not going to bring up the color timing on Dracula, right?

*makes puppy dog eyes*

[knives]

I actually have no clue what you're talking about on that. I just really like the film with Langella giving a great performance and the rare non-embarrassing performance by later day Olivier. A stacked Blu would just be fun.

[Moe Dickstein]

Oh good! You're the first person on the whole internet that didn't bitch about the color. I would recommend the current DVD to you because John has a pretty fun commentary on it. I don't know what more they might do with a special edition.

The basic issue with the color is that JB shot the film to be treated in the lab to have a very muted palette, nearly black and white (Much like his next film Whose Life Is It Anyway? was intended for B&W but the studio won the battle to do it in color). The lab was unable to achieve the intended effect, so the film went out in theaters and initial home releases in a vibrant color. When they did the DVD remaster, John was finally able to get the colors they way they had been planned and art-directed for.

[Black Hat]

I am in New York but for a few years in the early 90s my parents decided to move to London so I saw it as The Assassin and have called it that ever since. I remember The Specialist, Sharon Stone was painfully hot in that movie, as she was for that two, three year stretch. Maybe I'm missing someone but Stone to me was the last real cinematic sex symbol.

[Moe Dickstein]

Stone is amazingly good in Casino too, but I just think the movie that came out under that title is pretty horrible.

[CSM126]

Bodies, Rest, and Motion is OOP... the Collection is sorely lacking in Bridget Fonda and this would double their Eric Stoltz output

Oh dear God, perish the thought. That piece of shit makes Border Radio look good by comparison. In the entire history of Criterion, I can't fathom a worse film they've ever released than Bodies Rest and Motion.

[knives]

Any film with Phoebe Cates and Tim Roth is automatically better than Border Radio.

[zedz]

I'd be plenty happy to learn such things in the future, and if you really aren't endangering anyone's job, or the possibility of some of these releases coming to fruition*, go right ahead and tell us all you know.

*Remember that Eraserhead initially fell through years ago because the internet went crazy over a premature rumor. Though if that were to happen over The Big Chill, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

I'm prepared to lie through my teeth about how excited I am to see this piece of shistory (phew, close shave) come out if there's a chance it might get it cancelled!

[dwk]

I think Moe mentioned on another message board that Sony asked Criterion to handle The Big Chill, so it isn't getting cancelled.

[Matt]

I suppose I can rest more easily thinking that for every Big Chill Criterion is asked to release, they get to release an On the Waterfront or Repulsion.

[kingofthejungle]

I suppose I can rest more easily thinking that for every Big Chill Criterion is asked to release, they get to release an On the Waterfront or Repulsion.

By that logic, they must be getting the proverbial mother lode from MGM.

[FakeBonanza]

I suppose I can rest more easily thinking that for every Big Chill Criterion is asked to release, they get to release an On the Waterfront or Repulsion.

By that logic, they must be getting the proverbial mother lode from MGM.

You don't want to know how far Criterion is willing to go for Persona.

[Moe Dickstein]

I think everyone should take a breath and realize that from here on out you're going to be seeing a lot more mainstream Hollywood titles on Criterion. It's finally going to be more like the good old Laserdisc days again. Criterion never wanted to stop releasing such films, they just didn't have access again until the business shifted.

[Mathew2468]

I wish they released more recent films that I didn't know about. Like Artificial Eye.

[Lowry_Sam]

You don't want to know how far Criterion is willing to go for Persona.

November's Releases:

Poltergeist III
Meatballs III
Robocop III
Moonstruck
Solarbabies
Valet Girls

[Matt]

Moonstruck doesn't belong on that list. I would 1000% buy a Criterion Blu-ray of that movie.

[vsski]

I think everyone should take a breath and realize that from here on out you're going to be seeing a lot more mainstream Hollywood titles on Criterion. It's finally going to be more like the good old Laserdisc days again. Criterion never wanted to stop releasing such films, they just didn't have access again until the business shifted.

I can literally see the smile on Moe's face as he types this (and no, it's not meant as a snide comment at all - I just know that you like these films and I'm sure are looking forward to it).

[bdsweeney]

Maybe I'm missing someone but Stone to me was the last real cinematic sex symbol.

Penelope Cruz?

Channing Tatum???

[Lowry_Sam]

Moonstruck doesn't belong on that list. I would 1000% buy a Criterion Blu-ray of that movie.

I saw it with my mom when it came out & both of us found it to epitomize the banal Hollywood dramedy (and my mother usually goes for that stuff) even more than The Big Chill. We were both dumbfounded that so many people liked it & that Cher could be nominated for an Oscar for playing Cher. It was the first time I realized people weren't awarded Academy Awards for truly outstanding performances, but rather because the Academy neglected to reward them for an earlier outstanding performance & now were making up for it by giving it to them in a passable followup in a crowd-pleaser.

[Matt]

Well, maybe now that a quarter of a century has passed you might give it a second glimpse. It's a model modern romantic comedy with a flawless cast.

[Moe Dickstein]

I think everyone should take a breath and realize that from here on out you're going to be seeing a lot more mainstream Hollywood titles on Criterion. It's finally going to be more like the good old Laserdisc days again. Criterion never wanted to stop releasing such films, they just didn't have access again until the business shifted.

I can literally see the smile on Moe's face as he types this (and no, it's not meant as a snide comment at all - I just know that you like these films and I'm sure are looking forward to it).

LOL Was I too subtle? The first Criterion I ever owned was Ghostbusters and the more varied title selection of the Laserdisc days is the Criterion I first fell in love with. Since the studios are barely doing any special editions these days, thank god Criterion is getting some bigger titles again and doing them justice. Don't forget that profits from those sorts of easier to market titles can support work on more obscure Czech masterpieces and the like as well. It's a wonderful symbiosis.

[Moe Dickstein]

You don't want to know how far Criterion is willing to go for Persona.

November's Releases:

Poltergeist III
Meatballs III
Robocop III
Moonstruck
Solarbabies
Valet Girls

I know you're kidding but I would welcome Poltergeist III. The director Gary Sherman is a pretty innovative horror filmmaker (and one of my teachers in film school), and the film is almost solely done with practical effects done live with mirrors and other tricks. the FX are worth checking the movie out for, I think there's like one matte shot of lightning.