Why Won't They Release Only What I Want?

[Morbii]

(Morbii that's the last time I visit your classroom 'kay? Next time get mommy to help you on this Obvious Sensory Shit. Or read a trade paper, get a job in the biz... or put two & two together & construe the fricking obvious outside a the zone of your own sunrise.)

You call me a child whist spouting insults as if you're in high school? Nice going!

[Napoleon]

However, I disagree with the premiss that a film has to be "famous" (whatever that means) to matter.

That was never my point!

I'll try and explain my point as obviously as I can:

Consider an mad alternate reality where, say, Grand Illusion has never been seen on dvd. Now if GI were to be in the cc's 2006 schedule in place of, say Kind Hearts, would there be so much apparent antagonism? If you think yes, then I concede my point.

And for the record, I personally see nothing wrong with 2006 release slate, except it is possibly a little bit short on titles.

[Steven H]

David - I'm not sure I agree that Criterion should pay attention to what's being released around the world. I can't think of too many companies that pretend that most of the films they release *aren't* available in some other country (I blame the mixed blessing of Region coding and formats for this business.) Even Second Run, a company ostensibly devoted to only releasing films without another version available have broken down and given us The Red and the White and Blissfully Yours. I agree with Michael that region free is a small investment and pays off big time. Instead of blowing money on whatever crap that manages to trickle out of R1 every month, I've got a backlog of fantastic product to catch up with overseas.

I, for one, am enjoying this year's product from Criterion. The windowboxing is just one in a long line of "outer edge of the frame" issues with Criterion (at least cropping has gone down.) It does not hurt the enjoyment of the film (for me at least.) The booklet and archival material on the La bete Humaine disc were some of the best special features I've come across in a while. Finally having Harlan County USA, Fists in the Pocket, and Viridiana is fantastic. If the rumors from mid last year were true and Criterion wasn't going to include the Corinth version on Mr Arkadin, but then changed their mind (due to outpouring of sentiment, or maybe something else) then I would consider that "win" (though the inclusion of the ghostwritten novelization of the film is a mystery to me). I never would have picked up Metropolitan, but I'm very happy that I was introduced to it, now thinking it one of the best films of the 90s. So far so good.

Criterion is ecclectic as hell, and that has a lot to do with their credibility. There were a ton of titles last year I had no interest in. Personally, I would rather get a laugh or two out of Dazed and Confused than spend two and a half hours staring at An Angel at My Table waiting for it to be over. Vote with your dollars, they're dollar votes (this is the second time in a year I've quoted this line from Kids in the Hall on this forum... I need new material.) As far as big names go, aren't more Bresson, Bunuel, Mizoguchi, Powell, Bergman, Renoir, Naruse, and a regular "canonical who's who" right around the corner?

edit: used "their" instead of "they're"... for shame.

[rwaits]

I feel that concluding that Criterion is about to start releasing nothing but crap (Killer Tomatoes?!?) based on a few months output (that really isn't bad...in fact its pretty damn good) is ridiculous. And you know what? Even if more films that aren't considered by people in this forum to be "important" or "famous" make their way into the collection, I think we'll still get the big ones we've all been waiting for. And you know what else?? You don't have to purchase EVERY release.

[kekid]

Despite my disappointment with 2006 releases I remain very fond of Criterion. They have, over the years, added immeasurably to my enjoyment of films. I remember some years ago I used to be very fond of the "Bravo" channel on TV. It was the gold standard of international films on television. Where is "Bravo" today? So things change, and the early signs are often subtle. All we can do as the dedicated audience of Criterion is to let them know how we feel. I see no problem in the divergence of views expressed here. That reflects the audience they have. We will say our piece, and they will do what they will. When "Bravo" gave up what it stood for, other channels came in to take its place. That is natural evolution. You pays your price and takes your choice. I have not seen anything yet that makes me believe that Criterion is changing its course. But as a passionate consumer I would rather shout now than regret later.

[Anthony]

When "Bravo" gave up what it stood for, other channels came in to take its place.

Really? I wonder who these "other channels" are... cause they aren't on my basic cable system (TCM, IFC and Sundance don't count, cause you have to pay extra for them). Since Bravo became another E! channel, I'm left with crap, crap, and more crap to choose from. Even AMC plays mostly crap now, since they became a "classics light" channel.

[a spectator bird]

boys with down syndrome to some extent

Is it even possible to have down syndrome "to some extent"? I thought it was a bit like being "a little bit pregnant." (Just couldn't resist taking that out of context.)

Well if you've seen Palindromes, the one kid, Skippy has down syndrome... But it's obviously not to a FULL extent because he could say things clearly and act like a normal person... Now if you have ever seen someone who has down syndrome to a full extent, they can't act like a normal person and can't say things clearly... GOD I REALLY HOPE NO ONE'S SIBLINGS HAVE DOWN SYNDROME ON HERE.

what is a "normal" person? someone who bases their understanding of the cognitive range of developmentally disabled persons on todd solondz movies they've seen?

[LightBulbFilm]

Correct... No, that was just an example.... That was the best example I could think of at the time...

[justeleblanc]

I had a thought that Criterion producers might eventually want to break away and start their own DVD company. This may already be happening (I'm not quite sure because I don't know their names) but it could explain why there's a relative change in direction for the company recently, and that could be a good sign for new labels that do what Criteron does.

I remember hearing somewhere that No Shame literally spawned from Criterion, I might be wrong. Maybe we'll see an R1 DVD company soon that focuses primarily on French films or Germanic films as well... just to keep the relatively optmistic.

[zedz]

However, I disagree with the premiss that a film has to be "famous" (whatever that means) to matter.

That was never my point!

I'll try and explain my point as obviously as I can:

Consider an mad alternate reality where, say, Grand Illusion has never been seen on dvd. Now if GI were to be in the cc's 2006 schedule in place of, say Kind Hearts, would there be so much apparent antagonism? If you think yes, then I concede my point.

I think yes. There have been several films on the 2006 release schedule that I prize more highly than Grande Illusion - including Kind Hearts. My complaint is that so few of the 2006 releases have been big news. Kind Hearts was already readily available in a decent transfer, for example. A definitive edition of Dazed and Confused is all well and good, but the film is, again, already out there. I'm perfectly happy with Criterion's 2006 releases on their own terms, but taken as an entire schedule it's far below the standard set in 2004 and 2005. In those years there would by now have been another ten or so films that would have added to the diversity of their output, as you note:

And for the record, I personally see nothing wrong with 2006 release slate, except it is possibly a little bit short on titles.

What you clarify above is indeed what I thought you were saying, but I still disagree. I don't think the notion that Great (and Marketable) World Cinema is synonymous with BergmanFelliniKurosawa has any real currency outside of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. We should be able to safely assume that the audience for those releases will be aware of a dozen or so other big names, and even more individual films. Is the audience hankering for Autumn Sonata really exponentially larger than the audience hankering for An Autumn Afternoon?

If you only count the important unavailable films of Major Names of World Cinema such as Bunuel, de Sica, Eisenstein, Mizoguchi, Ozu, Ray, Resnais, Rivette, Rossellini, Tarkovsky, Visconti, von Sternberg, and Wenders then you've got enough big titles to last another ten years at the rate of one every month or two. And if Criterion is smart, they'll also be cultivating markets for other, less obvious names (as we see them currently doing with Malle). And heaven forbid they actually start releasing the work of the major directors of the last quarter-century (such as Assayas, Denis, Erice, Kiarostami, Hong, Hou, Makhmalbaf, Yang).

[stroszeck]

Well put zedz, taken the argument directly from my brain and transcribed it into word.

Now if only the Criterion people would read it...

[porquenegar]

With all due respect, TW -- the cost of a multi-region player is so minuscule (the cost of a couple of high-tier Criterions) and English-friendly non-R1 releases are so plentiful, it seems almost perverse not to get a multi-region player.

I'll agree that non-R1 DVD players are very cheap and I have been tempted to buy one. I've stopped short on three different occasions because I wouldn't be able to afford all the very cool and desirable DVDs from other regions. All those Tarkovsky and Bergman films on Artificial Eye not to mention all the Fellini films that keep coming out that don't see the light of day in the US. I want to see 1900 again only because I want to see how it held up since I last saw it in college when it was first released. I would snatch up The Double Life of Veronique without a moment's hesitation. And then I would want to buy every single MOC title just because they release great stuff and they look far more captivating than Criterion. I would then need to buy every Second Run title simply because I know less than 15% of what they release and they always look so much more interesting than the tripe that lands at most DVD shops.

Players are cheap but the DVDs alone would kill me (and my addiction to albums never seems to die; I'd buy the impending double disc reissue of Daydream Nation before I'd buy anything on DVD, including The Double Life of Veronique).

The DVDs aren't as expensive as all that. Just like everywhere else, they go on sale. Look at the CD-WOW thread in the bargains forum. I just bought two Master of Cinema DVDs of for $9.95 each. I've also bought a couple of them for $14.95. These prices include shipping and are cheaper than the standard dvd at Best Buy. They also have the really good R2 Repulsion disc with the old Criterion LD commentary for $10.

Depending on your tastes, R3 vendors are a great resource where often, the quality of the dvds exceed the R1 releases and they are cheaper than their R1 counterparts even including shipping from Korea or Hong Kong.

Amazon.uk was selling some Artificial Eye dvds recently for a ridiculous price. I got the best available version of the Apu trilogy for about $18 total.

Every once in a while, I spend a little more for something that I really like and can't wait to have even if it isn't on sale.

Once you go Region-free you'll never go back.

[YKdvd]

Amazon.uk was selling some Artificial Eye dvds recently for a ridiculous price. I got the best available version of the Apu trilogy for about $18 total.

I knew I wasn't seeing things! I was on Amazon.uk checking into ordering the upcoming R2 "Double Life of Veronique", since it looks like it isn't coming out in R1. I thought I'd pick up a couple other inexpensive £5 discs as well, one of which was Sally Potter's "The Tango Lesson". I put it in a WishList, but when I went back to order it was showing up at £20! It is also an Artificial Eye release, and now I'm cursing myself for not placing the order immediately.

[domino harvey]

Shouldn't you all have bailed as soon as Chasing Amy was announced?

haha

[justeleblanc]

To go back to Kicking & Screaming...

I watched Mr. Jealousy last night for the first time and, while not expecting too much, I was fairly impressed. For those who might still on be on the fence about Criterion's decision, I suggest you take a look at this minor work that plays between Lubitsch and Truffaut.

Something that no one has seemed to mention yet about Baumbach is his handling of the actors, who pretty much give their best performances in his films. Squid goes without saying. In Mr. Jealousy, Eric Stoltz and Annabella Sciorra give stellar performances in roles that they seemed to always play, and one would think that it would feel routine but it never does. In fact, Sciorra is fairly unrecognizable from the girl in Mr. Wonderful or The Night We Never Met as is Stoltz from Naked in New York or Some Kind of Wonderful. For a simple 1990s American independent romantic comedy, a genre that painfully cluttered the "Coming Soon to Videocassette" trailers on a blockbuster rental, this one is much more mature. Not to mention it is nice to see Peter Bogdanovich in something other than Disc 2 of a DVD.

Now I anxiously await July.

[Dear Catastrophe Totoro]

I think if we all step back and look at, say, the last 6 months, instead of looking at 2006 as the only thing that matters, we'd see that there have been several classic films released, such as Le Samourai, Ugetsu, Pickpocket, Shoot the Piano Player, Ran, Tales of Hoffmann, and Kind Hearts & Cornets. That's more than one internationally praised classic film per month. Why are we condemning the overall direction of the Collection based on this year alone? Maybe this is an anal and unimportant point, but most of the complaints I'm reading state that Criterion is forsaking the cinematic elite for hack directors, abandoning their mission statement, etc, when in fact, people are only taking issue with the first three months of 2006 (and only three films). Why are we forgetting the last three months of 2005 when discussing the status quo of Criterion? And why did we get over the announcement of another Ozu so quickly? It's been a long, painful wait, but now that there's an Ozu on the horizon, I can enjoy my "minor" Bergman, Kurosawa, Renoir, De Sica, and Ford.

I suppose I'm saying that it's possible we're all being a tad too subjective about all of this. I can see the sloppiness of the release dates (delays, fewer releases than last year) as a point of concern, but their choices for releases have been pretty consistent. They've always released "filler", it's just that this year, they are releasing newer films. If they were old films, we would praise the collection for saving a quirky little film from obscurity for future generations, regardless of the actual content. A "that's nice, I won't buy it, but a nice thought" sort of thing.

I honestly have no idea why, but it seems Metropolitan was the first sign of weakness and the last straw. It was bedlam around here when the film was announced. I bought it when it was released as a cold buy, and ended up loving the film. It is small, but very charming, very compassionate about its world, its characters, not condemning but illuminating their faults, as if to help them come of age. No, it is not a perfect film, but I would argue it was worth releasing, as it probably would never have been released if not for Criterion, not to mention it was a noteworthy film in the indie movement (especially with the Oscar nod). I'm not saying you have to agree on the film's merits, but could you possibly see that the addition of this film, along with Dazed and Confused, Equinox, and Kicking and Screaming, expands the boundaries of the collection by including new genres (from what I'm reading, Equinox is, what, stop motion-fantasy-horror/camp?) and modern-day directors? I'm starting to wonder if this is a bias against newer films and/or "less serious" genres.

[Taketori Washizu]

Can I reiterate again, The Big Chill and Ghostbusters were released by Criterion on laserdisc. It isnt the end of the world.

[pzman84]

All I want is this:

2006 is the Centenial for both Roberto Rossellini and Billy Wilder. Both of these directors have many detractors in this present day, however, both are very important directors. Rossellini's 100th Birthday will be in May and Wilder's in June. While they have no Rossellini titles in May, I can't really complain about the titles scheduled for release (Late Spring, Harlan County USA, and the long delayed Viridiana). However, I'm pretty sure I speak for many when I say I would rather see a special edition of Double Indemnity than either another edition of Dazed and Confused or the release of Equinox. Also, given the inability to find the the R1 version of the Wilder classic, I think a SE of DI would sell a lot more than the Linklater or Woods film.

Do I want Criterion to add on a Rossellini and Wilder film for their birthday months? No. All I demand is they release one film from each of these directors by the end of the year. Is that too demanding to you critics who think Whit Stillman is an equal to Orson Welles?

[ben d banana]

You're demanding now?

Are you suggesting that by releasing Dazed & Confused and Equinox instead of the guaranteed sales smash Double Indemnity (which I found sealed for $10 a couple years ago), that Criterion is maybe doing it for the love of the movies they're releasing, not just the money? Do you think Criterion wouldn't release Rossellini and Wilder discs if they had the rights, top-notch materials, and thorough extras expected of them? Did anyone say Stillman was Welles' equal? Are each of the prior 300+ films in the collection a consensus qualitative equivalent of Citizen Kane?

The last I checked, Criterion's mission statement doesn't open: "The Criterion Collection, a continuing series of what I, (insert self-righteous, film aesthete's name here), deem important classic and contemporary films..."

[Narshty]

I'm starting to wonder if this is a bias against newer films and/or "less serious" genres.

Did you ever doubt it?

The thing is, everyone was saying EXACTLY the same thing this time last year. The only "major" titles we'd had up until June were Kagemusha, L'eclisse and Jules and Jim, despite the schedule being littered with little-known gems which people dismissed as "unimportant" (in terms of uncovering hidden treasures, 2005 was unsurpassed).

[Napoleon]

I'm starting to wonder if this is a bias against newer films and/or "less serious" genres.

Did you ever doubt it?

The thing is, everyone was saying EXACTLY the same thing this time last year. The only "major" titles we'd had up until June were Kagemusha, L'eclisse and Jules and Jim, despite the schedule being littered with little-known gems which people dismissed as "unimportant" (in terms of uncovering hidden treasures, 2005 was unsurpassed).

Well, the moaning wasn't as bad as its been this year, but then this year hasn't seen anything as anticipated as l'eclisse or Kagemusha. I think I'm starting to rest my case about "important" film anxiety and mailing JM to release Potemkin ASAP in order to get the moaners to STFU.

[toiletduck!]

Well, the moaning wasn't as bad as its been this year, but then this year hasn't seen anything as anticipated as l'eclisse or Kagemusha.

Ummm.... Arkadin? Viridiana? Yasujiro freaking Ozu?

-Toilet Dcuk

[Michael Kerpan]

Ummm.... Arkadin? Viridiana? Yasujiro freaking Ozu?

Don't confuse us with any facts.

;~}

[Gigi M.]

Ummm.... Arkadin? Viridiana? Yasujiro freaking Ozu?

What about La bête humaine, The Virgin Spring, The Bad Sleep Well, Young Mr. Lincoln, Kind Hearts & Coronets, 3 Films by Louis Malle....

[Napoleon]

To reiterate, my opinion is simply that if a previously unavailable 8 1/2, Grand Illusion, Seven Samurai, Seventh Seal, etc was on the schedule, a minority wouldn't be getting bent out of shape over Equinox, K & S, whatever. But as almost all films of this level of recognition have all already been released in decent versions, cc can no longer use them as 'highlights' of the release schedule

Of course if anyone thinks that Late Spring, Viridiana, Virgin Spring, Bete Humaine, Arkadin, whatever, are at that level of recognition to the general cc punter (ie not to them as an individual) then so be it.

And granted, last years schedule didn't have many super 'big name' films either. So maybe I am talking rubbish.