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What do you think? Should Criterion strongly consider this Christopher Columbus epic directed by Ridley Scott and starring Gerard Depardieu, Armand Assante, Sigourney Weaver and Michael Wincott, with music by Vangelis?

Although this movie got a bad rap when it was first released and it has some problems in regard to historical accuracy, it is probably one of the best Columbus films and it goes a long way to capture the flavor of the times and what happened when cultures collide.

It's a Paramount title and has never seen a R1 DVD release in North America. This seems perhaps ripe for the taking.

I say they should try and at least go for it.

Jeff wrote:Since we have several new members chiming in, I thought it might be time for an updated look at the Paramount deal.

Definitely Licensed from Paramount
If...
Ace in the Hole
Robinson Crusoe on Mars
Days of Heaven
The Naked Prey
The Furies
White Dog
The Wedding March
Sternberg silents (The Docks of New York?, The Last Command?, Underworld?)

Confirmed/Rumored by a Source Outside Criterion
Face to Face
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
The Friends of Eddie Coyle

Denied by Criterion staff
One-Eyed Jacks (email from Turrell to me)
The Mattei Affair (email to member Alain3000 from Tamara)
Don't Look Now (email to member kaujot from Tamara)
Harold and Maude (email to member LightBulbFilm from Turrell)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (email to member Derek Estes from Tamara)

Could we please get this inserted into the first post of this thread? It's helpful and sort of buried in the sludge. Thanks!

The Friends of Eddie Coyle

Isn't this also rumoured? What was the source for this?

Cinephrenic wrote:

The Friends of Eddie Coyle

Isn't this also rumoured? What was the source for this?

It belongs firmly in the "rumored from a source outside of Criterion" camp. The only source was a comment posted in this thread about Eddie Coyle at Hollywood Elsewhere:

Wells: Coming from Criterion in 2008. No B.S.

Tamara has confirmed to me that Criterion has picked up the rights to The Friends of Eddie Coyle and plans to release it "at some point."

There better be an entire second disc filled with nothing but Mitchum extras

I'd like to see an edition of Medium Cool that includes the 2001 follow-up doc Look Out Haskell, It's Real: The Making of 'Medium Cool' (and what the heck, maybe even some bonus '68 Chicago Democratic Convention riot footage)

Since the beginning of Criterion's dealings with Paramount I hadn't even thought of Medium Cool! Maybe in the back of my mind it just seems like it would be too good to be true. Yeah, you describe what would be an incredible disc.

Medium Cool - Has anyone asked Criterion about this?

Medium Cool. That could be right up Criterion's alley.

What about Robert Mulligan's "Love With the Proper Stranger" (1963), which is also in Paramount's hands, if I'm not mistaken? It's unsettling this endearing gritty romance has yet to be released on DVD. Is this something Criterion would be interested in, or could acquire rights to?

AisleSeat wrote:Medium Cool. That could be right up Criterion's alley.

What about Robert Mulligan's "Love With the Proper Stranger" (1963), which is also in Paramount's hands, if I'm not mistaken? It's unsettling this endearing gritty romance has yet to be released on DVD. Is this something Criterion would be interested in, or could acquire rights to?

That would be sweet, although I wouldn't hold my breathe...unless there exists six-degrees of separation between this film and Ozu.

HelenLawson wrote:

AisleSeat wrote:What about Robert Mulligan's "Love With the Proper Stranger" (1963), which is also in Paramount's hands, if I'm not mistaken? It's unsettling this endearing gritty romance has yet to be released on DVD. Is this something Criterion would be interested in, or could acquire rights to?

That would be sweet, although I wouldn't hold my breathe...unless there exists six-degrees of separation between this film and Ozu.

Setsuko Hara was in Chushingura - Hana no maki yuki no maki (1962) with Toshiro Mifune
Toshiro Mifune was in Midway (1976) with Cliff Robertson
Cliff Robertson was in Brainstorm (1983) with Natalie Wood (I)

Excellent!

The Criterion 2-disc edition of Love With the Proper Stranger--complete with the 90-minute documentary, Yasujiro Ozu and Natalie Wood: Cinema's Forgotten Bond--is on its way!

Here's a couple more Paramount titles that Criterion could possibly put out (with permission, of course):

Hud (1963, Martin Ritt - whose Spy Who Came In From the Cold will be coming out from Criterion in the near future)
The Red Tent (1969, Mikhail Kalatozov - both Russian and American versions could be included)
Atlantic City (1980, Louis Malle - 'cause CC just loves their Malle!)
Pretty Baby (1978, Louis Malle)
Seconds (1966, John Frankenheimer)
and
Sands of the Kalahari (1965, Cy Endfield) (Off topic here, but Criterion could pair this with Zulu - if they ever got their hands on both titles)

MEDIUM COOL and SECONDS are great choices, although we have pretty good DVDs of those already. I'm still holding out for BLOOD AND ROSES, which needs to be rescued from the hell of the old Paramount/Gateway VHS version that was P&S and duplicated in the crappy ELP (6 hour) mode.

Seconds is OOP

Faux Hulot wrote:I'd like to see an edition of Medium Cool that includes the 2001 follow-up doc Look Out Haskell, It's Real: The Making of 'Medium Cool' (and what the heck, maybe even some bonus '68 Chicago Democratic Convention riot footage)

Seconded, as long as it fixes the rights issue with the Wild Man Fischer song. (Which should be possible to do now, as the same song - "Merry-Go-Round" appears in the Fischer documentary Derailroaded. According to a credits listing it does - I've not seen the film.)

If it does this, the alternative version of the roller derby scene (with "Sweet Georgia Brown" on the soundtrack), plus the redone end title card, could be included as an extra or Easter Egg.

It's become quite difficult to see the theatrical version of Medium Cool in the UK. It used to be shown on British TV (I have a video recording of it somewhere) but the last two showings on BBC2 have been of the homevideo version - which is the one on the Paramount DVD.

If Criterion were to do this, I'd be there like a shot - please could it be while Haskell Wexler is still with us.

Random Paramount speculation:

Dorothy Arzner films

Jobla wrote:MEDIUM COOL and SECONDS are great choices, although we have pretty good DVDs of those already. I'm still holding out for BLOOD AND ROSES, which needs to be rescued from the hell of the old Paramount/Gateway VHS version that was P&S and duplicated in the crappy ELP (6 hour) mode.

I have asked about Blood and Roses and Seconds. Got no's on both. Some of the other Paramount titles I've asked about include The Elephant Man, Welcome Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, The Miracle at Morgan's Creek and various titles from the Republic Library.

The only title that got any reply other than no, was Samson and Deliah which Mulvaney told me "We do not have plans at this time, ask again in a few months." Which is hardly a confirmation but not a definite denial either I guess.

Anyone else think Cassavetes' Too Late Blues could be on the plate? It's an incredibly rare film, owned wholly by Paramount, and it seems right up Criterion's alley. I haven't actually seen it, but I've heard nothing short of raves about it, some think it may be the closest a mainstream film got to capturing the essence of jazz music. I think it would make a great addition to the collection.

I see this film as a Legend DVD release in the future.

justeleblanc wrote:I see this film as a Legend DVD release in the future.

Please tell me you know something! Any skinny on this? Or will you be targeted for death for revealing national security secrets?

Hypnohelio, you wouldn't perchance be that really pretentious kid from my 12th grade english class, would you? To this day I remember the title of some essay he wrote and waved at the class: "Hallowed Halogen Halos"
If not then you both love crazy combinations of H words.

Absolutely no inside information on this. But my guess is Legend will do another batch of films from Paramount at some point, and certainly this film would seem reasonable. It's more likely to see a bare bones release from Legend than a full out release from Criterion.

Hopscotch wrote:Hypnohelio, you wouldn't perchance be that really pretentious kid from my 12th grade english class, would you? To this day I remember the title of some essay he wrote and waved at the class: "Hallowed Halogen Halos"
If not then you both love crazy combinations of H words.

Uh... nope, not me. Must be some other pretentious asshole. My name's from an episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000".

Justleblanc- you're probably right, hopefully Legend could get around to some more Paramount titles. But this would be such a perfect Criterion release, whether or not the film is any good. I just want more Cassavetes is all.