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CSM126 wrote: Mon Jul 17, 2023 9:34 pm Does anyone actually think that criterion gives one shit about Polanski being a horrible person? They’ve been releasing his films since the laserdisc era and everyone knew back then that he was a rapist. If they can make a buck off of his films, they will.

I don't think they care, but rather the internet. Criterion is the largest of all these players - while there have been surprising leaps into "cancelled" stuff this year (Romeo and Juliet and the Von Trier box), I don't think it's coincidental they haven't worked with Polanski in quite some time. Shout Factory released The Tenant and The Pianist, two titles we long assumed would go to CC, and Knife on the Water still hasn't been upgraded. believe me, I'd be glad to be proven wrong, but I just don't see them doing it. especially when you consider how much damage control they pulled off after the NYT piece!

Arrow, Kino, and other labels have shown they can move forward on this stuff with little issue. Kino is even releasing Pretty Baby!

In the final analysis, the bottom line dictates. I’m sure if Paramount offered Chinatown, they would be all over that. Eventually, other other “boycotted” films, such as Annie Hall and Manhattan, will be released, regardless of online social media scolds.

I think Criterion are more focused on content than surrounding controversy of figures/background, unless that's being featured prominently in the news. Like, they're not going to release Sixteen Candles if the content is dated and will trigger people, but might release a Polanski, just as long as they don't get new extras featuring him like Shout! did. They also probably wouldn't release a musical with blackface (i.e. Swing Time) since summer 2020 when every show erased episodes featuring blackface in the wake of George Floyd, etc.

Is it all that likely they’d release the current master of La Dolce Vita on UHD though? It’s technically a 4K master but still quite old, and the OCN is heavily damaged as far as I know, so from a technical standpoint I don’t know how likely a La Dolce Vita UHD release is given the currently available elements. I’d sooner expect 8 1/2 on 4K frankly.

All the same, Days of Heaven is the only one of the Paramount Six that’s desperately in need of an upgrade. Don’t Look Now has multiple UHD releases. La Dolce Vita has multiple 4K-sourced Blu-ray releases the world over (including an in print Paramount Blu-ray in the US), and the other three are digitally available in 4K HDR.

I’ll admit I’m in the camp of “do we really need UHD upgrades of films that already have strong 4K-sourced Blus” aside from obvious “must be on 4K” titles like Barry Lyndon, PlayTime, or Tree of Life or what-have-you.

therewillbeblus wrote: Mon Jul 17, 2023 11:43 pm I think Criterion are more focused on content than surrounding controversy of figures/background, unless that's being featured prominently in the news. Like, they're not going to release Sixteen Candles if the content is dated and will trigger people, but might release a Polanski, just as long as they don't get new extras featuring him like Shout! did. They also probably wouldn't release a musical with blackface (i.e. Swing Time) since summer 2020 when every show erased episodes featuring blackface in the wake of George Floyd, etc.

see, it's an approach I wish they'd take more. with Swing Time and High Sierra both, they had scholars contextualize both scenes with little issue. I hope they release Polanski's work again, there's little I want more from them than an upgrade of Knife in the Water but I'm just not holding my breath. I would hope Criterion knows better, but it's just been so long.

rrenault wrote: Tue Jul 18, 2023 11:31 am Is it all that likely they’d release the current master of La Dolce Vita on UHD though? It’s technically a 4K master but still quite old, and the OCN is heavily damaged as far as I know, so from a technical standpoint I don’t know how likely a La Dolce Vita UHD release is given the currently available elements. I’d sooner expect 8 1/2 on 4K frankly.

All the same, Days of Heaven is the only one of the Paramount Six that’s desperately in need of an upgrade. Don’t Look Now has multiple UHD releases. La Dolce Vita has multiple 4K-sourced Blu-ray releases the world over (including an in print Paramount Blu-ray in the US), and the other three are digitally available in 4K HDR.

I’ll admit I’m in the camp of “do we really need UHD upgrades of films that already have strong 4K-sourced Blus” aside from obvious “must be on 4K” titles like Barry Lyndon, PlayTime, or Tree of Life or what-have-you.

they used an older master for The Red Shoes so it's not out of the question I guess. I definitely see 8 1/2, Juliet of the Spirits, or Nights of Cabiria for sure being more likely candidates. 8 1/2 is the biggest of the three and its new transfer looked rather fantastic, I'm surprised it hasn't been released anywhere yet

Days of Heaven is gonna just be dependent on Malick and his priorities. it's in desperate need of a redo - it looked amazing in 2008 but watching that master now, it's clearly limited compared to even Badlands. I agree with you on your latter point though, I don't see Badlands on UHD nearly as much a priority, since the current BD is 4K sourced and looks rather good. I appreciated the upgrades of Wings of Desire and especially Branded to Kill (cause it's a title I never expected CC to upgrade), because both of those BDs were quite dated at this point. any BD sourced from an older master should be a priority for a bump, and there's some really compelling cases to be found as new restorations come in. ironically, quite a few of the Paramount titles fall into this

Criterion and Paramount have teamed up to work on a new restoration for Days of Heaven, which will be premiering at the Venice Film Festival this year.

If we're talking Criterion and Malick, personally I'm hoping Criterion revisits THIN RED LINE for 4K UHD, though I've not heard a whisper about it.

ford wrote:If we're talking Criterion and Malick, personally I'm hoping Criterion revisits THIN RED LINE for 4K UHD, though I've not heard a whisper about it.

If I recall, TTRL is Fox and therefore likely to be out of bounds.

4K release in November then? what a great turnaround. and Criterion and Paramount working together on the restoration bodes very well for other titles. this is eternally a top 10 movie for me, so I'll admit my total bias, but I'll happily buy it for something like the fifth time

I'll be curious to see if Malick assisted with the restoration or not. I know he did with the original Criterion DVD (and that master has since been used for the CC Bluray, as well as the Paramount and Imprint copies) so maybe they're just working off of that? it'll be exciting to see. maybe White Dog will end up being upgraded after all this time - was smart for Criterion to prioritize their Fuller titles from Fox, maybe now they can move to this one

Shame Criterion didn’t get a chance to release Fuller’s House of Bamboo before the Disney/Fox embargo. At least the Masters of Cinema edition, now OOP, is decent.

There’s no indication they wanted it, since Twilight Time put it out

Got it. I didn’t realize Criterion tends to avoid films previously released by a competing boutique label.

Crimlaw25 wrote: Sat Jul 22, 2023 8:46 pm Got it. I didn’t realize Criterion tends to avoid films previously released by a competing boutique label.

I don't think this is what Domino meant. Criterion have released a bunch of films that various boutiques released before Criterion. I think Domino means Criterion doesn't seem to want it.

Indeed the Rosemary's Baby UHD is indeed coming from Paramount and this is their cover

FrauBlucher wrote: Sat Jul 22, 2023 9:49 pm

Crimlaw25 wrote: Sat Jul 22, 2023 8:46 pm Got it. I didn’t realize Criterion tends to avoid films previously released by a competing boutique label.

I don't think this is what Domino meant. Criterion have released a bunch of films that various boutiques released before Criterion. I think Domino means Criterion doesn't seem to want it.

yes, it's definitely clear they passed on it, as they could've duplicated the MOC Fuller at Fox boxset, instead only going for Forty Guns and upgrading Pickup on South Street. Twilight Time and Kino split the difference on the other three

FrauBlucher wrote: Sat Jul 22, 2023 10:16 pm Indeed the Rosemary's Baby UHD is indeed coming from Paramount and this is their cover

brutal cover, but glad we're getting it. hopefully they do it better than they did Liberty Valance

EDIT: just saw the cover at full size on the other forum. I think we know the winner for Worst Cover in the polls this year. gotta be one of the worst I've ever seen, even worse than the Roman Holiday cover

edit: nevermind

Another Paramount title coming out, this time it's Trainspotting coming out in January.

Harlem Nights would be an interesting title, especially if Criterion could get Eddie Murphy to participate in the features.

Interesting that they started the year and ended the year with a Paramount title featuring Kelly Macdonald as the female lead about drugs and people who want them (or money from them in the case of our friendo Anton Chigurh) that people had been begging for a quality upgrade of for a fairly decent amount of time.

Let It Ride would be cool

flyonthewall2983 wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2024 12:31 am Let It Ride would be cool

God, I love that film so much. Unbelievable performances from Dreyfuss and Garr

I haven’t seen it in a long time honestly but I can remember just about the whole thing right now. It’s brilliantly cast, and looks superb.

flyonthewall2983 wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2024 12:56 am I haven’t seen it in a long time honestly but I can remember just about the whole thing right now. It’s brilliantly cast, and looks superb.

It’s amazingly frantic, and Dreyfuss is great in performances which demand that of him. Kind of a twin to Quick Change based on how it takes place within a limited time frame, and they’re both from novels by Jay Cromley

That brings to mind Funny Farm, which I believe was Cronley’s too. It’s Chevy Chase's finest work, making more out of his comic persona by George Roy Hill matching it with enough calamity and chaos but at a 1988 PG level I haven’t seen in many comedies since, bar the ones mentioned already.

flyonthewall2983 wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2024 1:21 am That brings to mind Funny Farm, which I believe was Cronley’s too. It’s Chevy Chase's finest work, making more out of his comic persona by George Roy Hill matching it with enough calamity and chaos but at a 1988 PG level I haven’t seen in many comedies since, bar the ones mentioned already.

You are correct, it is. 4 feature adaptations of his work within 5 years, including the original French-language version of Quick Change