Criterion and Buena Vista

News on Criterion and Janus Films.
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swo17
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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#76 Post by swo17 » Mon Mar 14, 2016 5:09 pm

Or maybe they aren't considering Buena Vista a major American studio.

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captveg
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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#77 Post by captveg » Mon Mar 14, 2016 5:15 pm

Nah. BV is an industry behemoth.

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cdnchris
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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#78 Post by cdnchris » Mon Mar 14, 2016 5:27 pm

They're still licensing out to other labels like Mill Creek, aren't they? So I'd assume if Criterion tried they could get other titles.

I wouldn't mind if they could port their Dead Presidents LaserDisc over. Also, there are some other titles released on DVD in the late 90s that might be worth their time, especially since most were non-anamorphic (I'm thinking firstly of Quiz Show).

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captveg
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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#79 Post by captveg » Mon Mar 14, 2016 5:32 pm

Yes, Mill Creek releases some lower tier Touchstone/Hollywood Pictures titles still, usually one a month.

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jedgeco
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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#80 Post by jedgeco » Wed Mar 16, 2016 1:54 pm

cdnchris wrote: Also, there are some other titles released on DVD in the late 90s that might be worth their time, especially since most were non-anamorphic (I'm thinking firstly of Quiz Show).
It'd be nice to see a Criterion edition of Kundun, which while far from my top Scorsese pictures, deserves better than the non-anamorphic DVD from 1998.

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Buttery Jeb
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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#81 Post by Buttery Jeb » Wed Mar 16, 2016 2:05 pm

cdnchris wrote:Also, there are some other titles released on DVD in the late 90s that might be worth their time, especially since most were non-anamorphic (I'm thinking firstly of Quiz Show).
Nixon and The Joy Luck Club are a couple of other ones deserving of better editions, but my dream Buena Vista get would be The Muppet Movie, which has never gotten the Disney-style Platinum Edition treatment it deserves.

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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#82 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Wed Mar 16, 2016 3:49 pm

I still hold out hope for The Insider. It'll go out of print at some point and I can't imagine Disney being interested in doing a special edition of their own.

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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#83 Post by beamish13 » Wed Mar 16, 2016 4:03 pm

jedgeco wrote:
cdnchris wrote:
It'd be nice to see a Criterion edition of Kundun, which while far from my top Scorsese pictures, deserves better than the non-anamorphic DVD from 1998.
I second this and Joy Luck Club (although I'd rather see one of Wang's earlier films like Eat a Bowl of Tea). Disney won't touch Kundun anymore out of fear of pissing off Chinese business partners. Dick Tracy would be great, too.

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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#84 Post by beamish13 » Wed Mar 16, 2016 4:05 pm

captveg wrote:Disney seems content to release their traditional "Walt Disney" branded live action titles through the Disney Movie Club, and no chance they would ever license out any of their animated titles (which are mostly released on BD at this point anyway).
Which is a shame, as they're still afraid of touching the original cut of The Black Cauldron and Song of the South

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Cinephrenic
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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#85 Post by Cinephrenic » Wed Mar 16, 2016 4:11 pm

I doubt you'll see Disney license out their babies. It would be nice if they released their Animated shorts on Blu like they did for Treasures sets.

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DarkImbecile
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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#86 Post by DarkImbecile » Wed Mar 16, 2016 4:32 pm

I'd love to see Nixon as well, though I'm not sure if getting Oliver Stone in the collection is Criterion's top priority. The Insider would, of course, be great to see, especially with a new transfer and some new supplements. I haven't seen it, but Ed Wood might be a good pickup as well...

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Ribs
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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#87 Post by Ribs » Wed Mar 16, 2016 4:36 pm

Yes, please, if we keep asking Criterion to release movies already available on Blu-ray they'll be sure to stop posthaste.

(Quiz Show looks great on the Australian BD, by the by - might be too much money but that's what makes it exciting as the movie will teach you)

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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#88 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Wed Mar 16, 2016 4:45 pm

The Color of Money would be a great addition too. The Blu-ray that's out got some rather horrible reviews for the transfer, so a re-do wouldn't seem to be out of the question.
captveg wrote:Per the Guardian article on Criterion UK, "For the first time in 30-plus years of business, we have licensing arrangements with all the major American studios."

So... just a generic statement since they do technically have some licensed titles from BV still in print, or maybe a few Touchstone / Hollywood Pictures might squeak through?
I'd imagine if everyone played it right, Criterion could get their hands on more than a few. With Disney now handling Marvel and LucasFilm, I cannot imagine that the Touchstone/Hollywood library is of much importance to them now.

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captveg
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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#89 Post by captveg » Thu Sep 08, 2022 11:49 am

Well, the WALL·E announcement today is either one of the more random one-offs ever, or a sign of Disney really letting go of packaged media concerns. Here's hoping other animation classics from the house of mouse are lent out for some Criterion collaborative contextualizing.

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ianthemovie
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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#90 Post by ianthemovie » Thu Sep 08, 2022 12:09 pm

I know it's already on Blu-ray, but a Criterion 4K edition of Sleeping Beauty would be sublime. The Disney transfer is now more than a decade old.

Hoping that when Criterion says "our first collaboration with Disney" they mean "first of several" and not just "first ever."

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Brian C
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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#91 Post by Brian C » Thu Sep 08, 2022 12:23 pm

ianthemovie wrote:I know it's already on Blu-ray, but a Criterion 4K edition of Sleeping Beauty would be sublime. The Disney transfer is now more than a decade old.

Hoping that when Criterion says "our first collaboration with Disney" they mean "first of several" and not just "first ever."
Not to nitpick but it seems like an important distinction - they actually said it’s their first collaboration with “Pixar”.

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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#92 Post by DimitriL » Thu Sep 08, 2022 12:28 pm

Their press release made of point of saying that for the first time, Criterion has ongoing licensing agreements with every major studio, so it seems clear that Criterion doesn’t view it as just Pixar?

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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#93 Post by cdnchris » Thu Sep 08, 2022 1:12 pm

*crosses fingers* Ruthless People, Ruthless People, Ruthless People *uncrosses fingers*

beamish14
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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#94 Post by beamish14 » Thu Sep 08, 2022 1:20 pm

Blood In, Blood Out would be absolutely tremendous

Jack Clayton’s original cut of Something Wicked This Way Comes still exists…

The Black Cauldron is begging for a 4K of its uncut version, which exists as the 65mm original camera negative

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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#95 Post by CSM126 » Thu Sep 08, 2022 1:23 pm

If this is an ongoing thing Dead Presidents, Evita and The English Patient seem like obvious Laserdisc to 4K pickups. I’d be surprised if the major animated classics are in play, but pleasantly so.

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ianthemovie
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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#96 Post by ianthemovie » Thu Sep 08, 2022 1:33 pm

Brian C wrote:
Thu Sep 08, 2022 12:23 pm
ianthemovie wrote:I know it's already on Blu-ray, but a Criterion 4K edition of Sleeping Beauty would be sublime. The Disney transfer is now more than a decade old.

Hoping that when Criterion says "our first collaboration with Disney" they mean "first of several" and not just "first ever."
Not to nitpick but it seems like an important distinction - they actually said it’s their first collaboration with “Pixar”.
At the risk of nitpicking further, the email announcement reads "our first collaboration with Disney and Pixar." WALL-E falls into both categories, obviously, but perhaps down the road we could see further Criterion collaborations on non-Pixar Disney films.

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swo17
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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#97 Post by swo17 » Thu Sep 08, 2022 2:30 pm

No Disney films before The Little Mermaid have 4K releases, that entire Walt Disney Treasures line never made it to Blu-ray, and lots of the early Disney features have been censored or otherwise altered in some way for home video, so if this deal is a step in the direction of giving these films higher quality and more historically accurate presentations with scholarly context added for material now considered problematic, then great! But if not :-&

beamish14
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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#98 Post by beamish14 » Thu Sep 08, 2022 3:14 pm

swo17 wrote:
Thu Sep 08, 2022 2:30 pm
No Disney films before The Little Mermaid have 4K releases, that entire Walt Disney Treasures line never made it to Blu-ray, and lots of the early Disney features have been censored or otherwise altered in some way for home video, so if this deal is a step in the direction of giving these films higher quality and more historically accurate presentations with scholarly context added for material now considered problematic, then great! But if not :-&
There is just so much that never hit home video and/or deserve serious critical analysis like Victory Through Air Power. I’m cautiously optimistic that this could be a long-term partnership

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swo17
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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#99 Post by swo17 » Thu Sep 08, 2022 3:32 pm

beamish14 wrote:
Thu Sep 08, 2022 3:14 pm
Victory Through Air Power
That's in the Walt Disney Treasures line, in the fascinating "Walt Disney on the Front Lines" set that also includes Der Fuehrer's Face, Education for Death, and Chicken Little, among others

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Finch
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Re: Criterion and Buena Vista

#100 Post by Finch » Thu Sep 08, 2022 3:49 pm

flyonthewall2983 wrote:
Wed Mar 16, 2016 3:49 pm
I still hold out hope for The Insider. It'll go out of print at some point and I can't imagine Disney being interested in doing a special edition of their own.
Seconded. Do we know if the revisionist color grade on the recent BD was supervised and approved by Michael Mann or simply a teal bias by the colorist that graded that transfer? I'd get a BD with a faithful presentation but preferably a UHD with the correct colors but if Mann approved this last BD grade, I might think twice about even getting a UHD of that compromised source if that's all on offer.

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