October Criterions (1 Viewer)

[Lord Dalek]

Well I know Criterion got one of their Bunuel's from Fox. Maybe I got it confused with Phantom of Liberty.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Yeah but it was still a sublicence deal with MPI hence their logo at the start of the film and on the packaging.

 

[Jeff Newcomb]

You are correct that MPI collaborated on Carnival of Souls, but they don't actually own it. Criterion has let me know that as of right now they have no plans to work on The Darjeeling Limited, whereas with The Life Aquatic they were working on it while it was still filming.

Ignoring the stuff licensed from Studio Canal, Image, Wellspring, Anchor Bay, MK2, and various European rights holders, here is a somewhat complete list of the films have been directly licensed from major American studios. I’m probably forgetting some stuff too.

Disney
Armageddon
Chasing Amy
Indiscretion of an American Wife/Terminal Station (part of Disney’s ABC/Selznick library)
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Notorious (part of Disney’s ABC/Selznick library - now OOP and licensed to MGM)
Rebecca (part of Disney’s ABC/Selznick library - now OOP and licensed to MGM)
The Rock
The Royal Tenenbaums
Rushmore
Spellbound (part of Disney’s ABC/Selznick library - now OOP and licensed to MGM)
Straw Dogs (part of Disney’s ABC/Selznick library - now OOP and licensed to MGM)

Fox
3 Women
Heaven Can Wait
House of Games (MGM? remains to be seen)
Kagemusha
The Leopard
Naked Lunch
Night and the City
Pickup on South Street
Thieves Highway
Unfaithfully Yours
Young Mr. Lincoln

Lionsgate
Kicking and Screaming

New Line
An Angel at My Table
Hoop Dreams
Naked
Short Cuts
Sid & Nancy (part of Embassy/Nelson library – now distributed by MGM)
This is Spinal Tap (part of Embassy/Nelson library – now distributed by MGM)

Orion (all out of print – Orion purchased by MGM)
Robocop
The Silence of the Lambs
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (rights reverted to Saul Zaentz – now distributed by Warner)

Paramount
Ace in the Hole
Days of Heaven
If…
Robinson Crusoe on Mars

Universal
All That Heaven Allows
The Bank Dick
Brazil
Charade (technically in PD, but elements from Universal)
Dazed and Confused
Do the Right Thing
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
La Haine
In the Mood for Love (originally licensed from USA films – now Focus/Universal)
The Killers
The Lady Eve
The Last Temptation of Christ
My Man Godfrey (technically in PD, but elements from Universal)
The Scarlet Empress
Sullivan’s Travels
Traffic (originally licensed from USA films – now Focus/Universal)
Trouble in Paradise
Under the Volcano
Videodrome
Written on the Wind

 

[Derrick King]

Even if they start to release titles in HD, there is no guarantee that Criterion will be able to release HD versions of any of the titles they've licensed from the major studios. The special features might end up being found only on the dvd.

 

[Mark Edward Heuck]

I think the confusion is because at one time Fox did release both DISCREET CHARM and THE PHANTOM OF LIBERTY theatrically. (Producer Serge Silberman had a deal with the studio in the '70's) In fact, my ancient Image laserdisc of PHANTOM (when it was released by Media's "Cinematheque Collection") still opens with a Fox logo. I have not seen either DVD of the film, but I would not be surprised if those prints perhaps still open with a Fox fanfare, though Fox no longer owns either film.

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

Wow, I'm surprised to see Days Of Heaven is being put out by Criterion... maybe Badlands isn't far behind either?


And of course, I'm thrilled to see Breathless being issued as well. I've yet to pick up the Fox Lorber release so god knows I've waited long enough. Guess that paid off!



Is Under The Volcano a safe buy or should I go with a pre-rental?

To be honest, I don't think I've seen any of Huston's films post-Night Of The Iguana, but of course I've never been let down by his directorial work.

I was searching the listing on IMDB and was very surprised to see a cameo role by one Jim McCarthy... is that who I think it is?

 

[Lord Dalek]

Well they weren't able to reissue Traffic in HD so there's a release that adds credence to your theory.

I'm still hoping that if the Fox/MGM theory holds up, we might see a Criterion edition of Koyaanisqatsi.

 

[WillardK]

Well, I'll be the first(?) to applaud the release of Mala Noche. I remember long ago that Plexifilm had this one on it's schedule then it disappeared.

 

[Brandon Conway]

Badlands is distributed by Warner, and they don't license to third party publishers.

However, if Warner wanted to do a new release I'm sure it would be great.

 

[Elijah Sullivan]

Interesting that Days of Heaven is getting an aspect-ratio change. The previous release is 1.85/1. The new transfer gives us 1.78/1.

This is going to be strange, cuz I've seen Days a couple dozen times in 1.85, but if it's Malick-approved them I'm dying to see the new disc!!

 

[Jeff Newcomb]

 

[Ray H]

Nice cover.

 

[Elijah Sullivan]

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice. Those guys at Criterion really know how to do a DVD cover.

That said, my only qualm is that the figure at the bottom of the image is obviously photo-shopped in. It's odd having an artificial image representing a movie famous for it's naturalism. A minor quibble, though. I like it, definitely.

 

[Marc Colella]

Really like the cover art, but I agree about the figure at the bottom.

I think it would look much better without the figure while leaving everything else the same.