Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

News on Criterion and Janus Films.
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Luke M
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:21 pm

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3826 Post by Luke M » Fri Aug 07, 2020 9:51 pm

I was reading up on the controversies surrounding West Side Story, the original movie was plagued with the brownface and problematic stereotypes. The 2020 Broadway revival faced protests for it's casting of an actor accused of sexual harassment. And the new upcoming movie will likely meet protests because lead star Ansel Elgort has been accused of sexual assault.

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soundchaser
Leave Her to Beaver
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2016 12:32 am

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3827 Post by soundchaser » Fri Aug 07, 2020 11:10 pm

Denying the world Rita Moreno’s performance would be a far worse sin than anything the movie does. (Although I don’t see why Criterion necessarily needs to release it? The current Blu is pretty good and just needs a repressing.)

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whaleallright
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 12:56 am

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3828 Post by whaleallright » Fri Aug 07, 2020 11:22 pm

CSM126 wrote:
Fri Aug 07, 2020 6:56 pm
domino harvey wrote:
Fri Aug 07, 2020 6:46 pm
Not a surprise, was hinted in the new year’s clue a few years ago, but one I think many assumed was stalled
To be fair, the clue was a Cuban flag and some music notes, which could just as easily have been referencing Buena Vista Social Club.
??? West Side Story features Puerto Ricans (well, some of them are pretending to be Puerto Ricans, as noted above).


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whaleallright
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 12:56 am

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3830 Post by whaleallright » Fri Aug 07, 2020 11:44 pm

Ah... Oddly, one of those appears to have more stripes than the flags of either place. Maybe Criterion is releasing a film from some other, hitherto unknown Spanish-speaking island in the Caribbean?

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FrauBlucher
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
Location: Greenwich Village

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3831 Post by FrauBlucher » Sun Aug 09, 2020 9:54 am

Look for Criterion to announce a boxset before the end of the week and maybe as early as tomorrow. I suspect it will be the Wong Kar-wai box. The restorations of La Strada and Juliet of the Spirits haven't hit the Janus site yet.

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yoloswegmaster
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:57 pm

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3832 Post by yoloswegmaster » Sun Aug 09, 2020 11:22 am

FrauBlucher wrote:
Sun Aug 09, 2020 9:54 am
Look for Criterion to announce a boxset before the end of the week and maybe as early as tomorrow. I suspect it will be the Wong Kar-wai box. The restorations of La Strada and Juliet of the Spirits haven't hit the Janus site yet.
Do you know something or is this just a hunch?

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swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3833 Post by swo17 » Sun Aug 09, 2020 11:32 am

Probably just that we're due

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FrauBlucher
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
Location: Greenwich Village

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3834 Post by FrauBlucher » Sun Aug 09, 2020 1:08 pm

Deduction
Image

beamish14
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 3:07 pm

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3835 Post by beamish14 » Wed Aug 12, 2020 12:45 pm

Kino just said they don't have Marat/Sade. Fingers crossed for an eventual Criterion.

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3836 Post by therewillbeblus » Sat Aug 15, 2020 5:45 pm

With the WB blu of The Best Years of Our Lives skyrocketing in OOP prices since I checked back even last month, I’d imagine Criterion or Warner Archives will jump on a release sooner rather than later. Maybe I’m too optimistic but this doesn’t feel like a title destined for longterm OOP status

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FrauBlucher
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
Location: Greenwich Village

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3837 Post by FrauBlucher » Sat Aug 15, 2020 5:55 pm

I think if it was Warner Archive they would have put it out the same time it went OOP from the big company. Criterion releasing this seems more likely

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3838 Post by therewillbeblus » Sat Aug 15, 2020 6:04 pm

I won’t even pretend to imagine what goes on behind the scenes in WA release-picking rooms, but their choices are perplexing enough that I’d go the opposite route of the sensible option! Either way, I won’t complain tho


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yoloswegmaster
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:57 pm

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3840 Post by yoloswegmaster » Mon Aug 17, 2020 10:28 pm

It sounds like it's come back to Criterion. The only other U.S distributor that has a deal with Fortune Star is Film Movement but I highly doubt that they would have gotten the rights to both films.

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3841 Post by therewillbeblus » Mon Aug 17, 2020 10:31 pm

Woo box

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yoloswegmaster
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:57 pm

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3842 Post by yoloswegmaster » Mon Aug 17, 2020 10:35 pm

They do have the rights to 'The Last Hurrah for Chivalry', so you could be onto something. I would also like to see a proper release of 'A Better Tomorrow' 1 and 2.

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willoneill
Joined: Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:10 am
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3843 Post by willoneill » Mon Aug 17, 2020 10:38 pm

I have a soft spot for Bullet in the Head; a nice looking copy of that would be grand.

Supporting_Character
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2017 10:16 am

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3844 Post by Supporting_Character » Tue Aug 18, 2020 2:56 pm

In the announcement for the 58th New York Film Festival Revivals lineup, in addition to the restored version of In The Mood For Love, Hou Hsiao-hsien's Flowers of Shanghai is listed as being a Janus Films release, "restored in 4K in 2019 from the 35mm original negative by Shochiku in collaboration with the Shanghai International Film Festival at the L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory."

Joyce Chopra's Smooth Talk is also billed as being a Janus release, a "new 4K restoration undertaken by the Criterion Collection".

https://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2020/daily ... -festival/

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Yaanu
Joined: Sat Aug 10, 2013 12:18 am

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3845 Post by Yaanu » Tue Aug 18, 2020 3:58 pm

Supporting_Character wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 2:56 pm
In the announcement for the 58th New York Film Festival Revivals lineup, in addition to the restored version of In The Mood For Love, Hou Hsiao-hsien's Flowers of Shanghai is listed as being a Janus Films release, "restored in 4K in 2019 from the 35mm original negative by Shochiku in collaboration with the Shanghai International Film Festival at the L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory."

Joyce Chopra's Smooth Talk is also billed as being a Janus release, a "new 4K restoration undertaken by the Criterion Collection".

https://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2020/daily ... -festival/
We also have Mohammad Reza Aslani's The Chess Game of the Wind and Jia Zhangke's Xiao Wu as World Cinema Project restorations, which means a Criterion release could happen in the future.

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Minkin
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2009 11:13 pm

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3846 Post by Minkin » Tue Aug 18, 2020 7:10 pm

With the shot of a gun ringing out in the distance, we round the pass and find ourselves at another Speculation Rodeo (Nov 2020 edition).

The Irishman - Confirmed as part of the Netflix deal

Girlfriends - No speculation, a surprise!

Moonstruck - There were some rumors when there was the Jewison page, but otherwise this is a surprise!

Ghost Dog - Confirmed via email asking for Qs for a Q&A

Essential Fellini - Confirmed via New Years clue (Fell E box)
=============================================
-218 upgrades remain (7 upgrades are part of the Fellini box)

-49 Criterion titles remain OOP (3 were rescued as part of the Fellini box)

-Only the Wong Kar Wai Boxset remains of Jason Polan clues
===================================
And that brings us to our month's All-Around Cowpoke. It was a tough battle with plenty of people getting twos, but only one person prevailed with a three second ride, and that winner is:

kcota17!

You can pick up your golden lariat at the concession stand.

And with that, we have another successful Rodeo, until next time, let's all have some kale

black&huge
Joined: Tue Dec 26, 2017 5:35 am

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3847 Post by black&huge » Tue Aug 18, 2020 10:12 pm

Something I realized that aside from the Fellini set which is its own special circumatance every main release in the month is a film from the US. Has this ever happened before?

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The Pachyderminator
Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2017 9:24 pm

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3848 Post by The Pachyderminator » Tue Aug 18, 2020 10:33 pm

Yes, multiple times I believe, including May of this year. (The Great Escape, Dance Girl Dance, Husbands, Scorsese Shorts, and Wildlife.)

EDIT: And also March this year: Bamboozled, Leave Her To Heaven, Show Boat, The Prince of Tides.

black&huge
Joined: Tue Dec 26, 2017 5:35 am

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3849 Post by black&huge » Tue Aug 18, 2020 10:44 pm

Wow..... i did not even notice.

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Boosmahn
Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 10:08 pm

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#3850 Post by Boosmahn » Tue Aug 18, 2020 11:36 pm

Supporting_Character wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 2:56 pm
Joyce Chopra's Smooth Talk is also billed as being a Janus release, a "new 4K restoration undertaken by the Criterion Collection".
I like the short story this is based on (Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?), though it never seemed like material that would lend itself to a feature-length film. I've had the Olive Blu-ray on my wishlist for a while, but I'll hold off for the Criterion (I don't have much of a choice, anyway, since the Olive edition is now OOP). I hope they include the story for comparison.

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