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ryannichols7 wrote: Thu Dec 11, 2025 1:04 am there were minor murmurs that Criterion have Letter From an Unknown Woman stateside. at this point I don't care either way - it's a masterpiece film deserving of a royal treatment 4K to finally make sure it's in the conversations it deserves to be in (probably top 10 of the 40s for me, maybe even top 5?)

but this is such a broad hint really, any number of interesting possibilities. could easily be Almodovar but also Buñuel's Susana probably qualifies - I know we've brought that one up for Radiance before

and what I'd give for Fassbinder's Martha

Fassbinder was my first thought as well

My first wish would have been for Sirk's Imitation Of Life, but I would imagine Criterion might have designs on a twofer with the original or a Sirk box and Radiance hasn't tackled the Golden Age of Hollywood yet.

If we're not talking English-language releases, Almodovar would be most likely candidate, but what title would fit the bill that Criterion doesn't have designs on (especially if it's a masterpiece)? Fassbinder also would be a good choice, but I imagine his masterpieces are kept together by the foundation & it's largely the more obscure titles that get picked up by other labels. Criterion hasn't released Belle Du Jour in the UK yet but are probably trying & don't know that Tristana or El Bruto qualify as a masterpiece.

As far as a play on words, Manhattan Melodrama is more likely to be picked up by Indicator and Mélodrame looks to be a lost film, so hardly a masterpiece.

Letter From An Unknown Woman has had many releases outside UK & Second Sight never upgraded their dvd. When Criterion's Ophuls in Vienna box never materialized & we ended up with individual releases, I hoped they would at least do a Hollywood era box (including a reprint of Max Ophuls In The Hollywood Studios was probably asking too much, but one can dream), but clearly not possible in the UK with Indicator's The Reckless Moment still in print. It's my favorite of his Hollywood era & I would definitely upgrade my Olive blu if it were a UHD.

Martha would be really great but I wouldn’t really describe it as melodramatic masterpiece, more of a horror masterpiece! There are other Fassbinder films which fit that description more neatly.

Fingers crossed Domino is right here. Although Letter has a great Blu as well as a 4K so it shouldn’t be a priority really.

next teaser: "a commedia all'italiana classic"

Big Deal on Madonna Street

Has Radiance ever given a reason why they doggedly avoid providing the original language release title of the films they issue? It's a policy I can see no justification for, but they're so weirdly committed to it that even in a booklet essay comparing the film with a bunch of other films, all those other films will come complete with original title and common English translation, but not the one that's actually on the disc.

(See also Arrow and original release years, but I gave up on that being remedied long ago. Did Radiance feel like they needed to have bizarre crediting affectation of their own?)

Well a lot of them have the original language title on the reverse cover

swo17 wrote: Fri Dec 12, 2025 1:22 am Well a lot of them have the original language title on the reverse cover

And a lot of them don't, or they won't be transliterated:



I still don't think that's a good excuse to leave the original title of the film out of the booklets when any other film mentioned therein has it provided.

Glad I’m not the only one to hate Arrow’s seeming booklet policy of including the release year for every film mentioned in their essays but not the one on the disc! Frustrating when you have to look it up yourself online to make sense of an essay.

latest tease: "A newly restored giallo never previously on DVD"

Dark Purpose?

Today's clue: "A gothic horror classic, newly restored in 4K"

Almost certainly The Ghost, which Severin is releasing soon. Hopefully theirs will be a UHD release.

Next teaser: a Zulawski classic

“Classic” makes me think Fidelity and My Nights are less likely. Fingers crossed it’s La Femme Publique in UHD or She Shaman.

That Most Important Thing: Love would be my dream

This year's teasers and failed licenses have dropped.
Teasers:
WN5 HAS2 ROM
TW HM MAR AOB CON
SOL JNB HAS LEP POR
IMP HIS WW NEA JLP
HAW MAT BOX DOU RJ2
MV ROZ NAD FAN WRB

Failed licenses:

Blues Harp - can't figure out who owns the film
Sholay - various legal issues that will tie up the release a bit longer
Tange Sazen and the Pot with a Million Ryo - material issues
The Consequences of Love - couldn't get a deal with licensor
Pola X - couldn't locate current rightsholder
Arturo Ripstein films including Castle of Purity - materials issues
Little Otik - 'we were on the cusp of licensing but ultimately found it difficult due to a mixture of complex issues'
Le Chat - Film's licensor doesn't have rights in region A/B (that's my understanding, correct me if I'm wrong)
Dream of Light - didn't hear back from owners
Lifesize - unable to locate current rightsholder

Just a few initial thoughts:
WN5 - World Noir 5
CON - Confessions of a Police Captain? (cross-reference: previous failed license, 'a confession' monthly clue)
IMP - That Most Important Thing, Love (cross-reference: a Zulawski classic advent hint)
HIS - Histoire du Cinema (cross-reference: sight and sound top 100)
JLP - Jeanne La Pucelle (aka Joan the Maid) (cross-reference: a French epic)
MAT - Matador (cross-reference: early Almodovar from bundle list)
RJ2 - Radical Japan 2
NAD - Nadja (cross-reference: newly restored vampire classic)

and finally, other advent clues so far:
Erotic classic never on UK DVD
French epic
New Hollywood satire
Crime film from Japanese New Wave
Melodramatic masterpiece
Commedia all'italiana classic
Newly restored Giallo never on DVD
Gothic horror classic newly restored in 4K


Don't see Shinobi or World Neo Noir...

I wonder what material issues prevent A Pot Worth a Million Ryo getting released, since the Japanese blu-ray has been out for what, two years?

Little Otík also wasn't included in the batch of Jan Švankmajer titles that New Wave Films put out on DVD a decade or so ago.

Channel Four's financial involvement might have complicated the UK rights situation in a way that wasn't true of the others.

What was HAS1?

HAS is in the third row, interesting that they listed 2 before 1

Didn't realize there would be a second volume to Radical Japan. I thought it's just something used to describe what Oshima does from the period. It'll probably be a different director this time...

Could ROM and POR signal films from Romania and Portugal, respectively? Both country's cinema are not well represented since the blu-ray era and there are some good auteurs to explore in both cases.

EDIT: the CON could refer to the 'confession' clue left from the last newsletter... unless this giant bowl of alphabet soup is actually strictly sequenced in the release calendar?

ROZ… are we sure Criterion has UK rights to Rozier’s retrospective?

DOU - A double tour?

AOB - Art of Breaking Up (English title for Deville’s Un fil a la patte)?