criterionforum.org

jindianajonz wrote:Post number 9, from July, says that Mulvaney confirmed Stalker. This and the fact that the posts I originally referenced went out of their way to emphasize DVD distribution rights certainly seem to lend support to bamwc2's story.

No, you're right. I told you I am unreliable. Then again, it's HTF, so...

Huzzah! Old man memory works again! Now if I really dig back, I think that the alleged acquisition of both films made it on to Criterion's home page in 2001 as one of their forthcoming announcements on the bottom of the screen (like they did on April Fools Day with Ran around the same time). When only Solaris showed up, the kerfuffle began, and Mulvaney--who can be quite talky when he wants to--spilled the beans. Also, I was president of the United States back then and dating several supermodels...I think.

It could be worth noting that the Image-distributed edition of Stalker was released in 2002, with the Kino first appearing in 2006. Kino has already said that they do not have the blu-ray rights to Stalker, and have expressed no interest (publicly, at least) in obtaining them. If Rusico is licensing the film in four-year contracts, Kino's second term will be coming up late next year. Having released The Sacrifice on Blu-ray, with (vague) plans for The Mirror and Nostalghia, it seems strange that they would hold onto the film for future DVD-only releases. Perhaps Stalker will be the next Persona?

swo17 wrote:How could Criterion being interested in Stalker ever be in question?

Sorry swo17, I wasn't doubting Criterion's interest in Stalker. I have no doubt that it's a film they would love to release. My comment was aimed at the HTF thread's info or lack there of on the matter.

I certainly hope Stalker gets released from CC and for the fact that Kino has said they don't have the rights makes a CC release possible.

FrauBlucher wrote:Bamwc2 then added another HTF link of a post that had Mulvaney's comments.

Er, did I miss something? I'm not seeing that in this thread...

Westchester films updated their website with their full catalogue. They added some good films that I wonder if Criterion might have picked up:

A Taste of Honey (Tony Richardson)
Raw Deal (Anthony Mann)
T-Men (Anthony Mann)

ianungstad wrote:Westchester films updated their website with their full catalogue.

Sheesh, I had no idea they owned so much stuff. There's a lot of great titles in there (some are public domain though, so one has to wonder if they really are the true license holders - like Atom Age Vampire, etc, but if they are, then all the better).

I wasn't aware that they had several other Godzilla films- which I certainly hope make their way to Criterion. For those interested, here's a few more to add to Ian's list:

RODAN - 1956
NIGHT IN CASABLANCA - 1946
BLOOD WATERS OF DR. Z - 1972
AFRICA SCREAMS - 1949
GHIDRAH: THE THREE HEADED MONSTER - 1964
GODZILLA VS. MONSTER ZERO - 1965
GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA - 1964
GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN - 1955
GODZILLA'S REVENGE - 1969
THE WAR OF THE GARANTUAS - 1966
TOMB OF TORTURE - 1965
The two Monte Hellman titles that we know are forthcoming: (Ride in the Whirlwind/The Shooting)

There's a ton more stuff, so perhaps someone more familiar with all of these films (mostly American studio stuffs), could browse through their site
Also note that some of the films (that I suspect Criterion passed on), have already been licensed elsewhere - BMX Bandits, Circle of Iron, A Boy and his Dog, etc.

Unless something has changed (and something may have changed), Westchester only has the streaming and broadcast rights to those Godzilla/kaiju films.

Classic Media was bought out late last year by Dreamworks Animation. I think Dreamworks just took the animation library and the rights to those characters. They probably didn't care for the rights to the old live action stuff and let Westchester have the Godzilla films and films like Room at the Top, A Taste of Honey, T-Men, Raw Deal and I;Mobster.

While a lot of those studio films are public domain titles; Westchester does rep official rights. Most have been licensed to Henstooth.

Isn't Room at the Top on Criterion's Hulu?

Yes.

Criterion chat at Wexner Center on Nov.19!

The link also reveals that Criterion will be releasing Wes Anderson's The Fantastic Mr. Fox in the near future.

Hopefully it will be paired with Moonrise Kingdom in the same month!

I will definitely buy Moonrise Kingdom Criterion BD, but I'm not really excited about The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Well; it's at least confirmation that they are about to release a bunch of new FOX titles.

ianungstad wrote:Well; it's at least confirmation that they are about to release a bunch of new FOX titles.

Any ideas what else could be coming down the pipeline?

The speculation is that Barton Fink is also coming soon.

Based off phantom pages there has been speculation about Phantom of the Paradise; Beyond the Valley of the Dolls; All that Jazz and a few other titles.

I wonder if "Fantastic Mr Fox" will be announced next week with the Jan releases.
It would be cool if this had some Roald Dahl inspired extras. For example some of the animated short films based on some of his other books 'Revolting Rhymes', 'The Magic Finger', etc

ianungstad wrote:The speculation is that Barton Fink is also coming soon.

Based off phantom pages there has been speculation about Phantom of the Paradise; Beyond the Valley of the Dolls; All that Jazz and a few other titles.

I've always believed 'All That Jazz' should be part of the Collection. We definitely need some Bob Fosse in there.

chatterjees wrote:I will definitely buy Moonrise Kingdom Criterion BD, but I'm not really excited about The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

And miss out on the inevitable, guaranteed-awesome Whackbat special feature?

If/when Fantastic Mr. Fox enters the Collection would it be considered the first animated release by Criterion?

Even if you don't count Brakhage's painted films as animation, there's at least Bluebeard from the Painlevé set.

Speaking of animated releases, I'd like to see a Criterion release of "Fantastic Planet".

ianungstad wrote:Well; it's at least confirmation that they are about to release a bunch of new FOX titles.

Is there any chance that Criterion may have licensed 'Hombre' or 'Julia' for example?

Superswede11 wrote:If/when Fantastic Mr. Fox enters the Collection would it be considered the first animated release by Criterion?

They released Akira on laserdisc in 1992.