|
Post by Mighty Jack on Jul 8, 2012 12:54:32 GMT -5
Yeah the age of the disc is slipping away, but it’s still the medium I primarily use and a good Criterion release, with it’s well written booklets, nice collection of extras and cleaned up pictures are still a treasure. Here are a few I’d like to see the company get their hands on.
The Apu Series Satyajit Ray’s acclaimed trilogy from the 50s deserves the royal treatment. What is available on DVD is pricey, and all you get is a picture that looks bad. The restored movies, with a look at their history would be welcome.
One Eyed Jacks Marlon Brando’s lone directorial effort has long been given the shaft. A bad print has been floating around for years. It did get a cheap blu-ray release but they did nothing to clean it up. I don’t know if anything from the mountains of footage Brando filmed survives, but it would be cool if cut scenes could be shown. Interesting stories about the film could make a great featurette and the movie itself. How nice it would be to finally see it cleaned up and restored to its original luster.
Gamlet I just watched this incredible Russian take on Hamlet, filmed in 1964. The problem is that the subtitles on both releases are bad. Sometimes characters talk but there’s no corresponding subs, the other release uses the colloquial rather than Shakespearian language. Boy it’d be nice to see some professionalism here. Subtitle ALL the dialog – and give them a Shakespearian flavor (and if the original film was spoken with common language, offer 2 sets of subs)
Kafka and King of the Hill Two of Steven Soderbergh’s best haven’t seen the light of day in ages. The director has been working on a new cut for Kafka for years but there’s little news on where he’s at on this project. I’d like to see Criterion do for these what they did for Wes Anderson’s films – which are packed with interesting extras. Oh, and please include both the theatrical and directors cut for Kafka.
Maborosi and After Life Koreeda’s films from the 2000s can be had, but these two from the 90s are scarce. I’ve also heard that the print for Maborosi isn’t wonderful (but I haven’t seen it, so I can’t say for sure). Criterion could do them justice, restore them, add some nice extras but more importantly… allow them to be seen!!
Raise the Red Lantern The releases I’ve seen for this look terrible and the translations are at times, laughable. Again, lets see some professionalism. Fix the darn subtitles and restore the picture. Zhang Yimou movies are noted for their lush cinematography -- the film is only 20 years old and shouldn’t look this shabby,
Those are some of mine. Is there anything I’ve forgotten? What would you like to see get the Criterion treatment?
|
|
|
Post by TheNewMads on Jul 8, 2012 18:05:40 GMT -5
i've wanted to see altman's first movie, That Cold Day in the Park, on criterion. Sandy Dennis is brilliant in it and as it is, it's only available in a non-US format that's i think just a VHS transfer. definitely deserves far better than that.
(Altman kinda remade/sequelized "Cold Day" in 2000 with the rather awful "Dr. T and the Women.")
|
|
Torgo
Moderator Emeritus
-segment with Crow?
Posts: 15,420
|
Post by Torgo on Jul 8, 2012 18:52:15 GMT -5
Transformers. Because it would piss everybody off.
|
|
|
Post by BJ on Jul 8, 2012 20:15:31 GMT -5
I've got to be honest here, and say I'd be happy never seeing another Criterion release. Criterion's business plan prices their movies far too high that it's just not worth it for a few extras and the slight chance of a better transfer. When you look at what's being done with Manos, you realize the technology's advanced to the point where a good transfer is cheap, and boutiques like Criterion just aren't necessary.
Basically, I'm just pissed that I can't buy Kurosawa movies because Criterion is a ripoff.
|
|
|
Post by afriendlychicken on Jul 8, 2012 21:22:28 GMT -5
I've got to be honest here, and say I'd be happy never seeing another Criterion release. Criterion's business plan prices their movies far too high that it's just not worth it for a few extras and the slight chance of a better transfer. When you look at what's being done with Manos, you realize the technology's advanced to the point where a good transfer is cheap, and boutiques like Criterion just aren't necessary. Basically, I'm just pissed that I can't buy Kurosawa movies because Criterion is a ripoff. As a Kurosawa fan I sympathize, but I couldn't disagree with you more. Criterion prices are only in small part due to their treatments and restoration work. It's mostly due to the obscurity and limited availability of the majority of films that they acquire. Most companies will not take on and sell "art films" knowing the small market for them. Tarkovsky's "Andrei Rublev" is not going to sell a whole lot of copies; the LD version of it sold less than 500 copies and I was one of the very few who bought it; and the prices they need to charge to keep themselves afloat is actually quite reasonable. I don't even see how they're making a profit even with their average price being $40 for BD and $30 for DVD. That being said, I agree their prices can still drive most of us nuts. I always wait for 50% off sales and plan my buys way, way in advance. Since Criterion just released "Summer with Monika(!)" my pick wish would be for Criterion to buy; lock, stock and barrel; the majority of films being released by Kino International. Criterion had Kurosawa's "Dersu Uzala" on LD, but Kino has the only DVD release of it and it's not in great shape. Then there's more Satyajit Ray, Tarkovsky, Kieslowski, Antonioni and other great directors films they could get a hold of through Kino International. Oh well, I can dream can't I? Edit: As an addendum, Studio Canal left Criterion and sold their movie catalog to Lions Gate Films and they are charging the same prices for these films that Criterion did and in much worse quality than the Criterion releases were. An example is the Lions Gate blu-ray of "Ran." It is said to be worse than the Criterion DVD release, and Lions Gate is charging the $39.99 price for it. And than there's the whole "The Third Man" debacle...
|
|
|
Post by angilasman on Jul 8, 2012 22:12:41 GMT -5
I've got to be honest here, and say I'd be happy never seeing another Criterion release. Criterion's business plan prices their movies far too high that it's just not worth it for a few extras and the slight chance of a better transfer. When you look at what's being done with Manos, you realize the technology's advanced to the point where a good transfer is cheap, and boutiques like Criterion just aren't necessary. Basically, I'm just pissed that I can't buy Kurosawa movies because Criterion is a ripoff. I've never payed full-price for a Criterion release. Between Barnes & Noble having them half-off for about a month twice a year and similar sales quite frequently on amazon I usually pay $20-25. After several years I've got most of the Kurosawa films, but I'm still missing the two Eclipse sets, The Lower Depths, The Bad Sleep Well, and High and Low (although I've seen almost all the films). I've already replaced my Yojimbo/Sanjuro DVDs with the Blu-Rays and will probably upgrade most of my favorite Kurosawa films in time. As for films I'd like Criterion to do... hmmm... if they could license Universal's Marx Brothers films I'd be ecstatic. Those films badly need to be cleaned up and Criterion's heroic restoration of Godzilla makes me believe they'll do outrageously awesome things. Janus owns the wonderful Zatoichi films, of which the DVDs (by Image) are out of print. 3 Eclipse sets could get the job done, but Blu-Rays would be a dream. There are several Criterion titles that I've held off on buying because I'm waiting for an HD release: Spirit of the Beehive and Thief of Bagdad being the biggest wants.
|
|
|
Post by BJ on Jul 8, 2012 23:35:06 GMT -5
As a Kurosawa fan I sympathize, but I couldn't disagree with you more. Criterion prices are only in small part due to their treatments and restoration work. It's mostly due to the obscurity and limited availability of the majority of films that they acquire. I guess my problem is that I don't tend to care about obscure art films. If they only dealt with little films that would never receive a decent release, I wouldn't care about their pricing structure. Small niches yield high prices. However, when The Royal Tennenbaums DVD (used even) is still more expensive than many of the Blu-Rays I buy, there's something wrong. I get that it's just a business strategy, but I don't agree with it, from an artistic or financial perspective. I have the same problem with the MST3K releases, but at least they're exploiting a smaller customer base.
|
|
|
Post by afriendlychicken on Jul 9, 2012 1:04:32 GMT -5
As a Kurosawa fan I sympathize, but I couldn't disagree with you more. Criterion prices are only in small part due to their treatments and restoration work. It's mostly due to the obscurity and limited availability of the majority of films that they acquire. I guess my problem is that I don't tend to care about obscure art films. If they only dealt with little films that would never receive a decent release, I wouldn't care about their pricing structure. Small niches yield high prices. However, when The Royal Tennenbaums DVD (used even) is still more expensive than many of the Blu-Rays I buy, there's something wrong. I get that it's just a business strategy, but I don't agree with it, from an artistic or financial perspective. I have the same problem with the MST3K releases, but at least they're exploiting a smaller customer base. Criterion getting the rights to "The Royal Tennenbaums," "Robocop," some of the John Woo films and...gasp!..."Armageddon" on DVD was quite surprising, although on LD they had a number of mainstream films. They had "Lawrence of Arabia," "Casablanca," "It's a Wonderful Life," Forbidden Planet," "Jason and the Argonauts" and a few others. They lost the rights to all of these when the DVD market came along and I assume they then accepted any director of mainstream films that wanted their films done by Criterion so they could get something of a profit. From what I've seen most of these mainstream films later get released cheaper from their respective companies. And anyway, when you're the distributor of the films of Andrei Tarkovsky, Carl Theodor Dreyer and Ingmar Bergman you'll take anything that'll give you a buck!
|
|
|
Post by Mighty Jack on Jul 10, 2012 1:38:57 GMT -5
Yeah prices can be a bear, but I think it's sour grapes to get on their case about it. Fer christmas sake. Most of Carl Theodor Dryer's and Lariso Shepitiko's efforts were ignored and forgotten until Criteion came along. For that alone I'll get on my knees and kiss their hand (and other unmentionables) And when you suffer through print after horrid print of One Eyed Jacks for 30+ years of your adult life... Hell, I'm at the point where I'd pay Criterion any amount they wanted to charge if they restored and released this movie in a way that made it viewable. And has been stated, there are sales. I got my 2 disc special edition "Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou" for under 15 bucks. And it was worth every penny... and more.
|
|
|
Post by Mighty Jack on Jul 10, 2012 4:53:15 GMT -5
Speaking of Summer With Monika... don't foget Hulu. They offer many Criterions, Monika among them. $8 a month is another way to watch these classic movies and not break the bank. I never would have seen The Ear or Danton or Profound Desire of the Gods without Criterion (and the Hulu deal -- where they also share many of the extras).
|
|
|
Post by ratherdashing on Jul 10, 2012 10:10:43 GMT -5
I would love to see After Life get a criterion release. Plus, the price of the current After Life dvds are already inflated
|
|
|
Post by angilasman on Jul 12, 2012 13:36:10 GMT -5
Watch Hulu. Even if you don't have a subscription Criterion cycles through their catalog of titles offering several available for free streaming at a time.
Which reminds me: I need to watch Au Revoir Les Enfants. It gets taken down in 3 days...
|
|
|
Post by afriendlychicken on Jul 16, 2012 0:51:16 GMT -5
I'm watching some Georges Melies films on TCM and it dawned on me that there's an artist I'd love to see Criterion obtain the film rights towards distribution. Karel Zeman. His films seem like a perfect fit for Criterion. At the least I'd like to see them get the rights for Baron Prasil and The Fabulous World of Jules Verne.
|
|
|
Post by Mighty Jack on Dec 26, 2012 5:28:44 GMT -5
I thought of this thread because I've been reading up on Italian cinema and feeling much frustration over the fact that many of the movies being discussed are not available. And not all of it is obscure -- I mean seriously, how is De Sica's "Miracle in Milan" not easily had in the states?
I'd also like to be able to see "Two Cents' Worth of Hope", "To Live In Peace" and "The Bandit" to name just a handful. Add them to my Criterion wish list.
|
|
|
Post by Shep on Dec 26, 2012 7:31:34 GMT -5
Yeah the age of the disc is slipping away, but it’s still the medium I primarily use and a good Criterion release, with it’s well written booklets, nice collection of extras and cleaned up pictures are still a treasure. Here are a few I’d like to see the company get their hands on. One Eyed JacksMarlon Brando’s lone directorial effort has long been given the shaft. A bad print has been floating around for years. It did get a cheap blu-ray release but they did nothing to clean it up. I don’t know if anything from the mountains of footage Brando filmed survives, but it would be cool if cut scenes could be shown. Interesting stories about the film could make a great featurette and the movie itself. How nice it would be to finally see it cleaned up and restored to its original luster. Those are some of mine. Is there anything I’ve forgotten? What would you like to see get the Criterion treatment? Absolutely! (All your choices look good, MJ. I'll try to check them out) I'd also love to see: "The Last Movie" (with the "American Dreamer" documentary as a bonus). An interesting Dennis Hopper misfire. Elaine May's "A New Leaf." "Love Streams." John Cassavetes' last personal film and one of his very best. (Also I'd just like to say Criterion's release of "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" with both versions is one of my favorite dvds ever) "Song of the South" (since Disney apparently has no interest in releasing this). I was lucky enough to see this in theaters in the 80s. I still love it!
|
|