Criterion and Warner Bros.

[Moe Dickstein]

Yeah, I don't consider that doing anything with it. It's totally barebones and essentially unrestored. I believe at first it was only offered as an Amazon bonus with the Kane Blu, and then as an Amazon exclusive.

Not something they are really doing any justice to.

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

Is there any reason why Frankenheimer / Lancaster's The Train wouldn't make it to CC?

[CSM126]

The only reason I could see WB not licensing Ambersons is if they really, truly think they have a chance of finding the missing footage, which I doubt. I seem to remember they were supposed to be trying a London After Midnight-style approach with still frames and voice actors filling in the missing scenes, but that was years ago and I assume they never bothered. As it is, there's really no reason for WB to cling to Ambersons too tightly, and it would be nice to have the Criterion extras on blu so I won't have to haul the laserdisc out every time.

[John Doe]

I wonder if the missing-in-action The Lusty Men is going to turn up with a wacky C.

Sadly, no. Warner Archive has stated via Facebook page that DVD is in the works.

[Moe Dickstein]

The only reason I could see WB not licensing Ambersons is if they really, truly think they have a chance of finding the missing footage, which I doubt. I seem to remember they were supposed to be trying a London After Midnight-style approach with still frames and voice actors filling in the missing scenes, but that was years ago and I assume they never bothered. As it is, there's really no reason for WB to cling to Ambersons too tightly, and it would be nice to have the Criterion extras on blu so I won't have to haul the laserdisc out every time.

This. And some sort of reconstruction like this I could see Criterion attempting alongside the release version.

[captveg]

Is there any reason why Frankenheimer / Lancaster's The Train wouldn't make it to CC?

Not that I can see, but it would be licensed from MGM, not Warner.

Would seem like an obvious cross-promotion opportunity with Clooney's upcoming Monuments Men, too.

[captveg]

Random thought: I could see Warner being willing to part with Michael Moore's Roger & Me (1989).

[knives]

If Crit were to go with a Moore film I would hope it was Canadian Bacon over any of his docs.

[What A Disgrace]

I hope Criterion continues their fascination with late 60s / early 70s American cinema, and bring the OOP Petulia and Scarecrow both back in print, on Blu-ray, with some nice extras.

[domino harvey]

If Crit were to go with a Moore film I would hope it was Canadian Bacon over any of his docs.

Is this post performance art?

[duck duck]

Moore has popularized the "film essay" where a documentary is not subjective and has an agenda, not that he invented it but he's brought it main stream. I wouldn't mind something like Bowling for Columbine, with objective of counterpoint extras and an interview with the South Park guys and unedited segments of the Heston interview.
I find this type of film making fascinating but incredibility flawed and it's interesting how easy it is to suck people in.

[rrenault]

Wagon Master would be a good film for Criterion to release, and it's exactly the sort of Classic Hollywood film they'd go for. The question is can they license it. I prefer it to Stagecoach, which is certainly good but almost feels too perfectly constructed at times.

[criterion10]

So, it's almost the end of July, announcements are pretty much done for 2013 titles (minus the most important months, of course: November and December), and after Badlands, which was released in March, not a single other Warner Bros. title was released nor announced from Criterion.

So, what's everyone's thoughts at this point? Was Badlands was a one-off deal, or is Criterion holding a few surprises under their sleeve? Obviously, there's still plenty more time that they have to announce more titles, but I've always assumed that if Criterion had more titles from WB, we would have at least seen one or two more this year...

[matrixschmatrix]

Shout has been able to license some Warner stuff lately- it's gotten into the MST3k mix- so I assume that it represents a change in Warner policy, rather than a one-off.

[ryannichols7]

Criterion has confirmed several times they have a deal with WB.

[criterion10]

Criterion has confirmed several times they have a deal with WB.

The only time I'm aware of was during the Wexner chat, and their comments were very vague, not specifing how many titles they licensed or if it was anything more than Badlands. Where else have they confirmed a deal?

[Lowry_Sam]

Was Badlands was a one-off deal, or is Criterion holding a few surprises under their sleeve?

I'm sure the WB titles are kept under closer wraps than other titles because it's probably on ongoing thing & WB probably keeps Criterion on short notice for letting something go (with the ability now to just slap it on to a DVD-R) & Criterion probably wants to make any WB title a Special Edition, to make it lucrative & WB happy (so that the titles keep coming). And, I expect it also takes longer with a stuido like WB because of how big & bureaucratic it is. Also, Criterion probably only wants to release things that have been/can be restored, rather than dragging out any old print just to release it, if they're going to put effort into something (which they have to do for a WB release).

Surely you can wait another year if it means a loaded 2-disc blu-ray of the longest possible cut of The Devils & documentaries, rather than a WB DVD-R of a worn print of the US theatrical edit.

[Timec]

Criterion has confirmed several times they have a deal with WB.

The only time I'm aware of was during the Wexner chat, and their comments were very vague, not specifing how many titles they licensed or if it was anything more than Badlands. Where else have they confirmed a deal?

I think they did confirm that they at least had a Pre-Code title from Warner, in addition to Badlands.

[criterion10]

Surely you can wait another year if it means a loaded 2-disc blu-ray of the longest possible cut of The Devils & documentaries, rather than a WB DVD-R of a worn print of the US theatrical edit.

Considering that The Devils is my favorite film after A Clockwork Orange, you can be certain that I am hoping this comes to fruition. (In the meantime, the BFI release has been able to satisfy my desires for the whole kit and kaboodle of this film.

I think they did confirm that they at least had a Pre-Code title from Warner, in addition to Badlands.

I watched the Wexner interview live, and while Criterion does confirm that they have a Pre-Code title, it still remained unclear as to which studio it was licensed from. The interviewer makes note of this film right around the time that Kim Hendrickson confirmed Criterion had a deal with WB, though when he asked about the Pre-Code film, she quickly shut him down. Most people jumped to conclusions and assumed that the title was a WB film, though if you were to watch the interview closely, you'd see that it really is unknown what studio that Pre-Code film has been licensed from.

[Dylan]

It occured to me that a Criterion of Letty Lynton doesn't seem like a stretch if WB has sorted out the rights situation. The film hasn't been commercially available since the 1930's, which alone makes it a fascinating subject for the special features. That, and Adrian's famous costumes.

[jindianajonz]

I don't have the link handy, but about a week ago somebody posted a video of Peter Becker and another guy (John something?) on a panel in Italy. Becker stated that they now have deals with every major American studio.

[MongooseCmr]

Would it be in the realms of possibility for Warner to license the 1936 Showboat to Criterion, with the 1928 version as a supplement? They seem to have no interest in ever releasing a home video, and on Criterion's end they can reprint their laserdisc supplements and it would put their Paul Robeson set in perspective more of people could see his defining role first.

[Ashirg]

It occured to me that a Criterion of Letty Lynton doesn't seem like a stretch if WB has sorted out the rights situation. The film hasn't been commercially available since the 1930's, which alone makes it a fascinating subject for the special features. That, and Adrian's famous costumes.

They talked about Letty Lynton on the last Warner Archive podcast. The film can't be released due to it being too close to Edward Sheldon's play Dishonored Lady. They are in talks now with Edward Sheldon's estate to get the film cleared for release, but they said it's a very long process and I don't see them giving it to Criterion after all is cleared with its release. They just released a film that has been unavailable legally since 1950's - Three Faces East with Erich von Stroheim, Constance Bennett and "the original William Holden".

[bamwc2]

Would it be in the realms of possibility for Warner to license the 1936 Showboat to Criterion, with the 1928 version as a supplement? They seem to have no interest in ever releasing a home video, and on Criterion's end they can reprint their laserdisc supplements and it would put their Paul Robeson set in perspective more of people could see his defining role first.

That's another favorite from my laserdisc collection, and it's purely on the strength of Paul Robeson's performance. I haven't seen it in thirteen years or so, and barely remember anything that's Robeson's not featured in, but have his "old Man River" indelibly etched in my consciousness. He was both one of the greatest entertainers and humanitarians of the last century.

[Dylan]

They talked about Letty Lynton on the last Warner Archive podcast. The film can't be released due to it being too close to Edward Sheldon's play Dishonored Lady. They are in talks now with Edward Sheldon's estate to get the film cleared for release, but they said it's a very long process and I don't see them giving it to Criterion after all is cleared with its release.

Yes, WB has been attempting to get Letty Lynton's rights cleared and the film re-released for many decades, but given that even reputable pre-code John Crawford films (that IMO are better) like Possessed end up in the Archive I'm not sure Lynton would be any different even with the fascinating story behind it. Another company would have to pick it up to really give it the celebratory treatment. You mentioned that Three Faces East - a film commercially unavailable for almost 60 years - has recently been released but it too went to the Archive even though I'm sure it had potential for a better release. At best, I can see Letty Lynton ending up as a supplement to a blu-ray of Mildred Pierce (because that's the biggest and most popular Crawford title), the same way The Magnificent Ambersons ended up in that Citizen Kane set. Another scenario I can see is a Joan Crawford blu ray box set with an emphasis on Letty Lynton's premiere release, but that seems too good to be true. I'm sure Criterion will try to get this one, otherwise it will end up as a supplement, in the archive, or part of a box set.