Eclipse (was Criterion Cult Film Sub Company)

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Morbii · #276 Post by **Morbii** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 2:13 am

maybe it's an HD line

Gregory · #277 Post by **Gregory** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 3:15 am

It's not. They're going to wait out the contest between HD-DVD and Blu Ray.

Jean-Luc Garbo · #278 Post by **Jean-Luc Garbo** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:24 pm

My take on that "C" in the newsletter is that it is part of the "Eclipse" logo. Otherwise, why would Criterion make a big deal about it? Why stir anything up if all they had to say was "Hey, new font for the Criterion Collection banner!" It would be funny if they did that just to punish us for the hubbub over "Viridiana" though.

Anyway, I hope to see a "Subspecies" boxset from the Eclipse line. Who's with me?

bunuelian · #279 Post by **bunuelian** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 10:01 pm

I think it's perfectly obvious that they're just going to retire "Criterion Collection" altogether and replace it with "Eclipse."

Derek Estes · #280 Post by **Derek Estes** » Tue May 02, 2006 2:18 am

Who want's to bet the Samuel Fuller titles will be released under Eclipse?

Anonymous · #281 Post by **Anonymous** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 2:27 am

16 months worth of posting in this thread and, unless I missed it (entirely possible) not one shred of real evidence that there will ever be a "cult" line from the CC.

And they're certainly not withholding potential titles -- many likely candidates have since been released on the CC label proper.

I'm disappointed but not surprised.

ByMarkClark.com · #282 Post by **ByMarkClark.com** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 9:00 am

The name Eclipse is owned by Criterion -- how's that for evidence? Besides, they will eventually have to do something with those Richard Gordon films.

godardslave · #283 Post by **godardslave** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 2:18 pm

http://www.eclipse.com/

arsonfilms · #284 Post by **arsonfilms** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 2:29 pm

In July of last year, it was pointed out that Criterion owned the domain name http://www.eclipsedvd.com. Since then, that domain registration had lapsed. At the moment, the page seems to be "under construction," but no owner is listed.

#285 Post by **kinjitsu** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 2:36 pm

arsonfilms wrote:In July of last year, it was pointed out that Criterion owned the domain name http://www.eclipsedvd.com. Since then, that domain registration had lapsed.

It hasn't lapsed, at least according to Network Solutions:

Registrant:
The Criterion Collection/Janus Films
210 E. 52nd St.
New York, NY 10022
US

Domain Name: ECLIPSEDVD.COM

Record expires on 08-Dec-2007

Edit: added link

arsonfilms · #286 Post by **arsonfilms** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 2:42 pm

I don't know how you found that, nor do I care.

That's fantastic.

#287 Post by **Jeff** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 3:17 pm

dontguess wrote:16 months worth of posting in this thread and, unless I missed it (entirely possible) not one shred of real evidence that there will ever be a "cult" line from the CC.

Well, Criterion may have cancelled their plans, but it was certainly in the cards at one time. There had been murmurings about a cult-line from Criterion for some time. Then, in June of 2005, Mark Clark broke the news thusly:

I spoke with Dick Gordon this weekend about the fate of the CORRIDORS OF BLOOD, HAUNTED STRANGLER, FIRST MAN INTO SPACE and ATOMIC SUBMARINE discs, then confirmed those details with 2 other sources intimate with Criterion.

I was told that the Gordon films, as well as EQUINOX, GOKE: BODYSNATCHER FROM HELL and some other titles, will be released under a new CC imprint that known as "Eclipse," and that we could see its first batch of releases as early as October. However, the details have not yet been finalized. There's still a chance they could pull the plug on Eclipse, and issue these titles under the CC and/or HVE banners instead.

And in a very surprising (to me) turn, I was further informed that the CC is also exploring the possibility of an erotica imprint.

About one month later, I discovered that Criterion had registered eclipsedvd.com. All of this takes place on pages four, five, and six of this thread.

When Criterion announced "new look, new line" coming this year, I (and, I think, almost everyone else) assumed that the new line was referring to Eclipse. The problem lies in the fact that Eclipse would have most likely been a joint venture with Home Vision. Maybe Criterion has decided that it's not something that they want to tackle on their own. The release of Equinox on the Criterion label (especially in light of Richard Gordon's comments) does not bode well. Criterion's work on Equinox had been done for some time (possibly years), yet they had held on to the title. The most logical explanation was that they were holding it to release as part of the Eclipse line. Again, the fact that they have released it now certainly makes me think that they have shitcanned the idea. As Mark points out, the fate of the Richard Gordon box set will be the deciding factor. If you see Criterion put it out themselves (*shudder*) or let Image release it via their Home Vision imprint, I think that we'll know for certain that Eclipse is dead in the water.

Tribe · #288 Post by **Tribe** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 3:27 pm

Jeff wrote:
Again, the fact that they have released it now certainly makes me think that they have shitcanned the idea. As Mark points out, the fate of the Richard Gordon box set will be the deciding factor. If you see Criterion put it out themselves (*shudder*) or let Image release it via their Home Vision imprint, I think that we'll know for certain that Eclipse is dead in the water.

Is Image in fact issuing new releases through the HVE imprint, or are the things that have been trickling out over the past couple of months things that were already in the HVE pipeline when Image acquired HVE?

I agree that the Eclipse sub-lable made much more sense when HVE was around as an independent entity. With HVE pretty much out of the picture, I'm not sure that it's worth it for Criterion to do it any longer.

Tribe

#289 Post by **Jeff** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 3:39 pm

Tribe wrote:Is Image in fact issuing new releases through the HVE imprint, or are the things that have been trickling out over the past couple of months things that were already in the HVE pipeline when Image acquired HVE?

Well, that's certainly a possibility -- one that I hadn't thought of. I think that there are HVE titles scheduled through September or October though. Do you think that they would have had a year's worth of stuff in production?

Tribe · #290 Post by **Tribe** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 3:57 pm

Jeff wrote:Well, that's certainly a possibility -- one that I hadn't thought of. I think that there are HVE titles scheduled through September or October though. Do you think that they would have had a year's worth of stuff in production?

Good question. Someone here has to have some insight into something like that. HVE, which tended on the whole to be particularly meticulous with their releases, might indeed have a year's worth of stuff backed up. They're aren't that many new HVE releases forthcoming on the Image site...and when HVE was in full swing, they'd typically have three-four releases a month.

Tribe

tryavna · #291 Post by **tryavna** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 4:06 pm

It's also worth noting here that the Merchant-Ivory Collection was the result of a partnership between HVe and CC. Maybe Eclipse was meant to be similar, and the whole Image deal has set that project back. Sounds like a real possibility....

djali999 · #292 Post by **djali999** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 7:15 pm

Or that Equinox had been done for so long that it no longer made financial sense to continue to hold it back for Eclipse to get straightened out... although Jigoku really messes up my theory there to be honest. I think in light of that announcement that Eclipse is probably DOA for the immediate future.

ByMarkClark.com · #293 Post by **ByMarkClark.com** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 3:05 pm

We should know soon.

I remain optimistic, given the recent newsletter hint. My hunch is that if Eclipse is coming, it's coming in October. If we don't hear anything by the time they announce the October Criterion slate, Eclipse may be toast.

That will leave at least a handful of titles (including the Gordon films) in limbo. I suspect that the Gordon films, like EQUINOX, have been completed for some time. I have videotape of some of the interviews that will be included as special features on these discs, and those interviews were completed 2 years ago.

Personally, I don't read much into the fact that EQUINOX and JOGOKU are now Criterion titles. I was always somewhat puzzled by how they would decide which titles would fall under each heading. As with Criterion/HVE, the division seems arbitrary. (Why are some Suzukis HVE and others Criterion, for instance?) Lord knows there's no hard-and-fast rule about which titles are "Criterion-worthy" and which aren't. If there were, we'd have nothing to post about!

ByMarkClark.com · #294 Post by **ByMarkClark.com** » Thu Jun 22, 2006 3:07 pm

>>It's also worth noting here that the Merchant-Ivory Collection was the result of a partnership between HVe and CC. Maybe Eclipse was meant to be similar, and the whole Image deal has set that project back. Sounds like a real possibility....<<

I think that is the most likely explanation.

dadaistnun · #295 Post by **dadaistnun** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 2:44 pm

From Savant's Jigoku review:

Disc producer Marc Walkow began work on the title over two years ago, when Criterion was planning a second branded label called "Eclipse" to handle genre cinema. The focus was eventually changed to include more general overlooked and lesser-known cinema, a category for which Jigoku certainly qualifies. Eclipse hasn't been abandoned altogether, but both this film and Equinox were re-routed to the standard Criterion banner. Nobuo Nakagawa's Ghost Story of Yotsuya (Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan) was acquired at the same time and so may appear in the future.

godardslave · #296 Post by **godardslave** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 5:16 pm

so basically they still havent decided.

a.khan · #297 Post by **a.khan** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 3:09 am

Any chance for the upcoming Richard Gordon criterions to debut on Eclipse? That would make sense, although I suspect it won't happen so soon...

ByMarkClark.com · #298 Post by **ByMarkClark.com** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 10:52 am

I'm told the Gordon films will be Criterion titles. This probably means that the Eclipse concept has been abandoned.

Lino · #299 Post by **Lino** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:06 pm

dadaistnun wrote:From Savant's Jigoku review:

Disc producer Marc Walkow began work on the title over two years ago, when Criterion was planning a second branded label called "Eclipse" to handle genre cinema. The focus was eventually changed to include more general overlooked and lesser-known cinema, a category for which Jigoku certainly qualifies. Eclipse hasn't been abandoned altogether, but both this film and Equinox were re-routed to the standard Criterion banner. Nobuo Nakagawa's Ghost Story of Yotsuya (Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan) was acquired at the same time and so may appear in the future.

Glad to see that more Nakagawa is on the way and that title they have lined up is simply gorgeous. In fact, just the other day I took it off my from the shelves because the prospect of receiving my Criterion Jigoku reawakened my love interest with him. Great news!

Cinephrenic · #300 Post by **Cinephrenic** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:44 pm

They may actually release this with Kinoshita's Yotsuya Ghost Story Parts I and II in which Janus holds the rights. Would make a nice double feature.