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Jeff wrote:Rialto still has the theatrical rights for Grand Illusion and most other StudioCanal releases in the U.S, but Lionsgate retains the video rights.

According to a post from blu-ray.com, the territory option on the Grand Illusion blu-ray shows only Germany, France and UK, which means the film will only be issued as part of StudioCanal Collection in those countries. Previous experience indicates if Lionsgate is to distribute a release from StudioCanal Collection, you will fiind the US territory option and Lionsgate logo in the respective European blu-ray disc (they are pretty much the same disc anyway). So what I'm speculating is either Lionsgate finally lost interest in selling StudioCanal Collection in US, or Studio Canal themselves were withdrawing from their grand illusion of making Studio Canal Collection a truly global banner.

Or, maybe Lionsgate is just planning to give the film a stand-alone release, considering the 4k restoration too big an event to be diminished to a sub-banner? But again that involves extra cost of authoring a different disc, which seems quite unecessary to me.

Lionsgate hasn't released a StudioCanal Collection release since, what, Delicatessen? I'm not holding my breath.

Satyricon and Roma on BD - and properly mastered - would be a dream come true indeed.

Brian C wrote:Lionsgate hasn't released a StudioCanal Collection release since, what, Delicatessen? I'm not holding my breath.

Which could have ticked off StudioCanal. I mean, the lack of interest in the films that Lionsgate has shown (what - 5 releases?) would tick me off if I was SC. It doesn't help their brand at all in a major market like the US. I can see SC looking to make an agreement with another US distributor.

captveg wrote:

Brian C wrote:Lionsgate hasn't released a StudioCanal Collection release since, what, Delicatessen? I'm not holding my breath.

Which could have ticked off StudioCanal. I mean, the lack of interest in the films that Lionsgate has shown (what - 5 releases?) would tick me off if I was SC. It doesn't help their brand at all in a major market like the US. I can see SC looking to make an agreement with another US distributor.

Ticked or not, they'll have to wait for the Lionsgate contract to expire first.

It's not inconceivable that the contract could provide a right for SC to terminate if Lionsgate isn't exploiting the catalog. Surely SC didn't enter into the deal for Lionsgate to just sit on the films.

This again.

jedgeco wrote: Surely SC didn't enter into the deal for Lionsgate to just sit on the films.

Of course not. They entered into it because it made financial sense and as long as it still makes financial sense in their eyes, how well Lionsgate uses their catalogue is of secondary importance.

andyli wrote:Or, maybe Lionsgate is just planning to give the film a stand-alone release, considering the 4k restoration too big an event to be diminished to a sub-banner? But again that involves extra cost of authoring a different disc, which seems quite unecessary to me.

To a studio like Lionsgate, a Grand Illusion restoration is a non-event. These are the guys who passed on From Dusk Till Dawn, a more lucrative property by several magnitudes.

Noiradelic wrote:

andyli wrote:Or, maybe Lionsgate is just planning to give the film a stand-alone release, considering the 4k restoration too big an event to be diminished to a sub-banner? But again that involves extra cost of authoring a different disc, which seems quite unecessary to me.

To a studio like Lionsgate, a Grand Illusion restoration is a non-event. These are the guys who passed on From Dusk Till Dawn, a more lucrative property by several magnitudes.

Or rather passed on the batch that contained FDTD since it seems highly unlikely bids were taken on just the most desirable titles.

Predictions:

Shallow Grave
M.Hulot's Holiday
Weekend
Le Havre
The Gold Rush
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold

I doubt they would do another Bergman so soon, but I really want Wild Strawberries.

ShellOilJunior wrote:Predictions:

Shallow Grave
M.Hulot's Holiday
Weekend
Le Havre
The Gold Rush
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold

Shallow Grave and Gold Rush seem like givens. As for the rest...who knows. Personally I'm hoping for The Trilogy of Life, but we'll see soon enough.

How is Shallow Grave a given? Was there any hint?

Yes, they put up a still on Facebook last week (see here).

I really hope we get more Hal Ashby in June. I know it's probably wishful thinking, but maybe Harold and Maude got pushed to June 12 because they're releasing Coming Home or The Last Detail on that date.

I'm still not giving up hope for The Quiet Man.

Any news on Rocco and His Brothers?

Could this finally be the month for Quadrophenia? I wonder if that could end up being the bare bones release...

Given that there is now one-or-two Universal titles per month, and there hasn't been talk of any other Universal title, Quadrophenia could be released in June. But I don't think it will be the bare-bones title. There hasn't been a Kurosawa release in a while, so Madadayo is my guess for the bare-bones title.

The Narrator Returns wrote:I really hope we get more Hal Ashby in June. I know it's probably wishful thinking, but maybe Harold and Maude got pushed to June 12 because they're releasing Coming Home or The Last Detail on that date.

Alas, if I remember correctly, when they hinted at Harold and Maude at the end of the last year, they either explicitly stated or implied that they were only working on one Ashby title. I don't have the exact quote in front of me, but I'm sure that someone else could whip it up in no time flat (probably to show that I'm wrong ). More of his works in HD would be quite welcome though.

As for more hopes (rather than predictions) I would love to see either Things to Come or Three Cases of Murder make the leap from Hulu to disc soon. While the latter is bound to be on the horizon for a special edition at some point, the latter is a plausible candidate for their new monthly barebones release. While I absolutely adore both films, Three Cases of Murder is probably my favorite film that Criterion released on LD that hasn't been on DVD yet.

bamwc2 wrote:I would love to see either Things to Come or Three Cases of Murder make the leap from Hulu to disc soon. While the latter is bound to be on the horizon for a special edition at some point, the latter is a plausible candidate for their new monthly barebones release.

Out of curiosity, what did you like about Things To Come? I tried watching it on DVD a few months ago and found the film extremely frustrating and felt it really didn't deliver for me.

Hoping for a left field Heaven's Gate. That one is made for Criterion, and I refuse to watch the DVD of the Dir Cut.

I don't know if these are leaks or just predictions but Ryan tweeted these earlier this morning (when I assume he was already in possession of a sell sheet):

Spoiler

Samurai trilogy
An Autumn Afternoon

Spoiler for a release title?

Spoiler

Assuming they will never break up the Late Ozu eclipse set for BD upgrades, An Autumn Afternoon is one of my most anticipated titles! That would be good news for me indeed.