Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

News on Criterion and Janus Films.
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CSM126
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2176 Post by CSM126 » Wed May 30, 2018 7:20 pm

Graphist wrote:
Wed May 30, 2018 12:58 am
I guess Andrei Rublev will be released on Blu sometime this year. The Janus page now shows Blu as one of the available formats.

http://www.janusfilms.com/films/1827
That only means they rent out Blu rays for projection. Janus listing a Blu doesn’t always lead to Criterion releasing a Blu (although in this case it probably will).

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yoloswegmaster
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2177 Post by yoloswegmaster » Wed May 30, 2018 9:05 pm

Agnes Varda's 'One Sings, the Other Doesn't' has a Janus page and is featured on the homepage.

http://www.janusfilms.com/films/1891

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Minkin
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2178 Post by Minkin » Wed May 30, 2018 9:17 pm

CSM126 wrote:
Wed May 30, 2018 7:20 pm
Graphist wrote:
Wed May 30, 2018 12:58 am
I guess Andrei Rublev will be released on Blu sometime this year. The Janus page now shows Blu as one of the available formats.

http://www.janusfilms.com/films/1827
That only means they rent out Blu rays for projection. Janus listing a Blu doesn’t always lead to Criterion releasing a Blu (although in this case it probably will).
Yeah, the individual pages on the Janus website can list any kind of format - but that listing a Blu doesn't mean they have an "upgraded Blu" sitting around waiting to be announced next month. Criterion are sitting on tons of films that they released on DVD; have had a restoration; yet they still haven't announced them. There's almost no predicting which film will be "upgraded/re-released" so its usually a futile effort to anticipate any of them. Only if its touring from Janus (on the front page), or we have direct confirmation somewhere of a planned upgrade (newsletter clue / employee or filmmaker statement) (though Nanook has been confirmed for several years) can these things be somewhat predicted.

All of that said, Andrei Rublev is actually touring from Janus right now (is listed on the front page) - so I would expect a new edition to be coming in the not too distant future.
===========================================
With Begone Dull Care listed as coming in June to Criterion's Filmstruck, I'm really hoping this indicates that they're working on a McLaren box. I know, we'll have to wait and see if it has a Janus logo, and being added to Criterion's Filmstruck doesn't really mean much of anything anymore.. but hey, they have the rights to the Maysles Christo films now (another Image box rescue), hopefully McLaren will be an eventuality.

patreig
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2179 Post by patreig » Fri Jun 01, 2018 7:46 am

I am unable to find the drawing for the newsletter clue. Is it hidden somewhere?

Pietersen
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2180 Post by Pietersen » Fri Jun 01, 2018 8:12 am

patreig wrote:
Fri Jun 01, 2018 7:46 am
I am unable to find the drawing for the newsletter clue. Is it hidden somewhere?
It is in the Criterion newsletter thread here.

patreig
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2181 Post by patreig » Sat Jun 02, 2018 1:43 pm

This is what I expected. But the drawing does not show up on my screen. I can still see the previous ones (post #699, post #744). The post #775 gives the answer but does not contain any image.

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Graphist
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2182 Post by Graphist » Sat Jun 02, 2018 1:46 pm

Post #778

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dwk
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2183 Post by dwk » Wed Jun 06, 2018 1:00 am

JonathanRosenbaum said he recently recorded commentaries for Criterion's The Magnificent Ambersons (scheduled for a November release) and Life and Nothing More for a Koker Trilogy set due early next year.

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swo17
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2184 Post by swo17 » Wed Jun 06, 2018 1:10 am

But I want them now

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FrauBlucher
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2185 Post by FrauBlucher » Wed Jun 06, 2018 5:56 am

dwk wrote:
Wed Jun 06, 2018 1:00 am
JonathanRosenbaum said he recently recorded commentaries for Criterion's The Magnificent Ambersons (scheduled for a November release) and Life and Nothing More for a Koker Trilogy set due early next year.
Here is his direct tweet Yes! Barnes and Noble Sale month!

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Luke M
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2186 Post by Luke M » Wed Jun 06, 2018 8:24 am

I’ve always wondered if people that work on extras like Rosenbaum are discouraged from discussing unannounced projects. I suppose both Ambersons and Koker Trilogy are known upcoming releases if still unofficially.

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tenia
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2187 Post by tenia » Wed Jun 06, 2018 8:44 am

The few leaks probably are only a tiny % of what Criterion pretty much know already they'll release in the say 2 next years, and they're usually not leaked many many months prior to their official announcements. I'd tend to suppose the releases which are further in the planning are the ones for which people are indeed discouraged (maybe even contractually forbid ?) to disclose.

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Roger Ryan
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2188 Post by Roger Ryan » Wed Jun 06, 2018 12:53 pm

Very happy to hear that James Naremore is joining the commentary with Rosenbaum on Ambersons.

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colinr0380
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2189 Post by colinr0380 » Wed Jun 06, 2018 1:03 pm

I am just more shocked to find out that Jonathan Rosenbaum is tweeting now!

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domino harvey
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2190 Post by domino harvey » Wed Jun 06, 2018 1:27 pm

Not as much fun as Russ Tamblyn joining Twitter has been though

Werewolf by Night

Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2191 Post by Werewolf by Night » Wed Jun 06, 2018 3:54 pm

Roger Ryan wrote:
Wed Jun 06, 2018 12:53 pm
Very happy to hear that James Naremore is joining the commentary with Rosenbaum on Ambersons.
That is good news. I hope they carry over the Robert Carringer commentary from the laserdisc as well, even if just for posterity.

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Newsnayr
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2192 Post by Newsnayr » Wed Jun 06, 2018 4:30 pm

colinr0380 wrote:
Wed Jun 06, 2018 1:03 pm
I am just more shocked to find out that Jonathan Rosenbaum is tweeting now!
Just for clarification, he has (apparently) two Twitter accounts, but those are used just for posting links to his re-uploaded articles. I took that screenshot of his post from his Facebook.

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The Elegant Dandy Fop
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2193 Post by The Elegant Dandy Fop » Wed Jun 06, 2018 5:27 pm

It's a it's a relief Naremore will be there too as Johnathan Rosenbaum can easily get on my nerves once he starts name dropping the filmmakers he's met.

The Robert Carringer commentary from the old laserdisc is excellent, but doesn't last the entire length of the film. It's only about an hour long. The laserdisc also includes an extensive amount of information including production notes, the entire script and tons of storyboards along with excerpts from the earlier film adaptation, Pampered Youth and a Mercury Theater radio performance of Ambersons. If they don't include Carringer's commentary, I highly recommend picking up his book on the production of Ambersons and how everything that went right with Citizen Kane went so wrong with his second feature. I'd imagine hardcore auteur theorists like Rosenbaum would hate Carringer's books as it doesn't always make the argument that Welles' was a cinematic savant, but attributes a lot of the success and failure of both films to the technicians and crew who made Welles' vision possible (that said, Welles is a genius with a very specific mind's eye for his art).

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Drucker
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2194 Post by Drucker » Wed Jun 06, 2018 6:03 pm

I'm a Welles fanboy and I think a contribution from Carringer is pretty critical for this release. Even if you don't read his book on Ambersons, the writing on it in the tail end of Making of Citizen Kane is excellent as well.

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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2195 Post by cdnchris » Wed Jun 06, 2018 7:08 pm

They might include it as an audio only feature maybe, like they did with the track on Here Comes Mr. Jordan

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Roger Ryan
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2196 Post by Roger Ryan » Thu Jun 07, 2018 8:39 am

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote:
Wed Jun 06, 2018 5:27 pm
...If they don't include Carringer's commentary, I highly recommend picking up his book on the production of Ambersons and how everything that went right with Citizen Kane went so wrong with his second feature...
Carringer's "The Magnificent Ambersons: A Reconstruction" is essential to understanding how Ambersons was altered, but the "Oedipus in Indianapolis" essay which opens it is unconvincing in its attempt to prove that Welles had a psychological block which prevented him from ever performing as "Hamlet" so, instead, he vicariously explored the Shakespeare character by adapting the Tarkington novel. As you might guess, the "Hamlet" connection became so uncontrollable that Welles had no choice but to sabotage his own film! As "Drucker" notes, the ending of Carringer's book "The Making of Citizen Kane" has some excellent information on Ambersons and is much more level-headed in its assessment of how the production went awry. In fact, I believe the commentary track on the Criterion laser disc was recorded before Carringer had done much of his considerable research on the film, so there are a number of errors/misunderstandings included in the track that the author corrected in his later writings.

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Malickite
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2197 Post by Malickite » Fri Jun 08, 2018 7:29 am

Sorry if this was brought up already, but I was reviewing the special features for Melville's Le silence de la mer and saw that there is, peculiarly, an image for Shinoda's 1971 film Silence included in the slideshow section of the page. Were there any rumors of criterion releasing this?
https://www.criterion.com/films/27979-l ... -de-la-mer

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yoloswegmaster
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2198 Post by yoloswegmaster » Fri Jun 08, 2018 9:26 am

Malickite wrote:
Fri Jun 08, 2018 7:29 am
Sorry if this was brought up already, but I was reviewing the special features for Melville's Le silence de la mer and saw that there is, peculiarly, an image for Shinoda's 1971 film Silence included in the slideshow section of the page. Were there any rumors of criterion releasing this?
https://www.criterion.com/films/27979-l ... -de-la-mer
I believe that it was confirmed to be distributed by Janus on the MoMA website.

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Ribs
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2199 Post by Ribs » Fri Jun 08, 2018 9:29 am

Janus has had the rights for years and years, it's probably just a weird database thing where they pulled assets for "Silence" and it just happened to be that title. It could just as likely have brought up images of Bergman or Demme films, it just happens to be from something Criterion itself hasn't put out! (I think there was a bit of expectation they'd try to do a tie-in release in the months leading up to the Scorsese, but that came and went)

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dwk
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Re: Criterion Discussion and Random Speculation Volume 7

#2200 Post by dwk » Fri Jun 08, 2018 10:14 am

In Robert Harris' review of Scream Factory's Curse of the Cat People Blu-ray, he said
Best to keep an eye out for these films, as they should finally be showing up on Blu-ray, as WB has licensed some to Criterion and Shout.

Cat People - 1942

I Walked with a Zombie - 1943

The Leopard Man - 1943

The Seventh Victim - 1943

The Ghost Ship - 1943

The Curse of the Cat People - 1944

The Body Snatcher - 1945

Isle of the Dead - 1945

Bedlam - 1946

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