Criterion Newsletter

I'd like to think it's a reference to Ford, but I reckon I'm way off the mark.

EDIT; hang on, someone on Amazon is claiming that the re-issue of the Ford/Wayne box from Warner does not contain Stagecoach. Can this be so?
Edited by John Hodson - 7/11/2009 at 08:39 pm GMT

 THREE GODFATHERS.

3 Godfathers was filmed in and around Death Valley, not Monument Valley. It will be interesting to see what this turns out to be, I hope it is a Western.

Monte Hellman's Ride In the Whirlwind and The Shooting, probably.
Filmed back-to-back in 1965 on 150,000 "Roger Corman dollars."
2 masterworks for the cost of 1.
Shot in southern Utah which many people mistake for Monument Valley.
Remarkable suspense westerns, austerely produced and intelligently written.

Or, could it be a reference to Blake Edwards The Wild Rovers (1970)?

Richard

While I don't think so, I sure wish it would be The Wild Rovers.  I think real clue is dry.

Or the hint could refer to the much-rumored One-Eyed Jacks (1961) now that Criterion has a relationship with Paramount.

But I'm inclined to think the hint refers to The Shooting and Ride In the Whirlwind simply because Monte Hellman the director has publicly stated that Criterion will be releasing them.

Incidentally, the later is often given a release date of 1967, which is not accurate. Both films were shot n 1965 and had screenings as early as 1965 although I no longer remember the details. The correct date for both films is 1965.

Would/has ever WB ever licensed a film out to Criterion (or any other homevideo venue)?

Nope, and with their new Archive Program, the odds of them ever licensing out their title is now even slimmer.

Warner is working with Criterion now. I believe Akira Kurosawa's Dreams has been discussed at criterionforum.org as a high possibility.

However, even more interesting is this newsletter clue, which does have a decent chance of being Stagecoach (1939). Some speculation on the part of someone at criterionforum.org:

"I think we may indeed be looking at a Criterion release of Stagecoach. Warner does not "own" the rights to the film, they've licensed them. Its rights situation has always been fairly complicated:

Wikipedia: 'The film was originally released through United Artists, but under their old seven-year-rights rule, surrendered its distribution rights to producer Walter Wanger in 1946. Many independent companies were responsible for this film in the years since. The film's copyright is currently held by 20th Century Fox, who produced a later 1966 remake of Stagecoach. However, distribution rights are now held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive on behalf of ancillary rights holder The Caidin Trust, with Castle Hill Productions and Warner Bros. Pictures representing.

The original negatives of Stagecoach were either lost or destroyed. John Wayne had one positive print that had never been through a projector gate. In 1970, he permitted it to be used to produce a new negative, and that is the film seen today at film festivals. UCLA formally restored the film in 1996 from surviving elements and premiered on cable's American Movie Classics network. The current DVD releases by Warner Home Video do not contain the restored print, but rather a video print held in the Castle Hill/Caidin Trust library.'

Warner has been distributing the film through an arrangement with Castle Hill, which I believe may be about to expire. Warner is re-issuing the John Ford/John Wayne Collection on September 15 with Stagecoach and The Long Voyage Home (which was also licensed from Walter Wanger/Castle Hill) removed from the box. If this is the case, Criterion could have licensed Stagecoach from Castle Hill, The Wanger Estate, UCLAFTA, or The Caiden Trust -- maybe other films too.

While discs are currently still available, it certainly appears that Warner could be losing the rights to Stagecoach and other Wanger/Castle Hill properties. The fact that there is a major restoration available that Warner did not or could not use would certainly be incentive for Criterion to try and top the Warner disc, and if there is any film that screams "Monument Valley," this is the one."

(And other Castle Hill film properties that Criterion would possibly be interested in: Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent, Lubitsch's To Be or Not To Be, Kazan's A Face in the Crowd, and Welles' Othello.)

Other Castle Hill films that I'd love to see cpme out on dvd:  HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT (Borzage) and I MARRIED A WITCH (Rene Clair).

Sounds like Stagecoach is the most likely possibility then.
I'll buy it in an instant if that's the case.

Someone else on criterionforum.org made this pretty keen observation:

"I believe that that it will be Ford's "Stagecoach." And with a December release. The key clue word is "dry." Doc Boone dries out (sobers up) to do his job as well as deliver the memorable closing line."

Warner has talked about working with Criterion on certain titles.  If it is indeed "Stagecoach" then I hope it's released on BRD too.  The current hints seem to point to that title because it's a western famously filmed in Monument Valley and is being released around Christmas time with Doc Boone drying up to deliver a baby.

Seeing how the horse's reins are arranged for pulling an object, that gives more evidence that it may be Stagecoach

Two of my favorites! If Criterion put out a Blu edition of Dreams I would be over the moon!

 The problem with Stagecoach is that since the ONeg is long gone, there's no way to salvage the thing. Criterion can't do "their magic" for the transfer if the best quality source element isn't that good. I'd like to be proven wrong... but... no.

Of course this could be refferencing a blu-ray of the new Once Upon a Time in the West restoration but that would involve a train.

I would seem like a perfect opportunity for a Blu ray release.  Criterion's Blu ray's have been outstanding so far.

And it would involve Paramount handing the film to Criterion. It does appear that they intend to release it themselves.

I doubt it. The previous CE didn't really sell very well IIRC.

Paramount will probably do a DVD and Blu-ray release of the new restoration of Once Upon a Time in the West. It makes sense to earn some money back from an expensive project.

Take this at surface-level value, but as John on the HD Software board pointed out, the 'company credits' section of Once Upon a Time in The West on IMDB under 'dsitributors' it now says:

•  Paramount Home Video (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

From Wikipedia:
The original negatives of Stagecoach were either lost or destroyed. John Wayne had one positive print that had never been through a projector gate. In 1970, he permitted it to be used to produce a new negative, and that is the film seen today at film festivals. UCLA formally restored the film in 1996 from surviving elements and premiered on cable's American Movie Classics network. The current DVD releases by Warner Home Video do not contain the restored print, but rather a video print held in the Castle Hill/Caidin Trust library.

The newsletter clue from a couple months back has been confirmed as Stagecoach. I'm hoping that a Blu-ray release accompanies it.

The Kurosawa newsletter clue has been clarified as a 25-disc Box Set. I suspect some of that will be new stuff, with a few individual Blu-rays as well. However, Dreams is not likely to be part of it, as negotiations with Warner are still ongoing.

And they've confirmed that the Chaplin films are indeed being negotiated.

All of this can be read about here: http://theplaylist.blogspot.com/2009/08/exclusive-criterion-collection-unveils.html

You and me both...

It is always good news when a vintage title like STAGECOACH gets the Criterion treatment; in all likelihood I will purchase it and hopefully it will be a popular seller for them (so ignore me as I quietly complain to myself that they selected a film so recently released when great films are going the archive route or not being released at all.) 

That being said, I am thrilled beyond belief they are bringing out 2 Paramount silents in 2010; THE DOCKS OF NEW YORK and UNDERGROUND. I have seen both and they are amazing films.

I thought that the WB Stagecoach dvd was pretty good, i'll buy it.

Great news about both Kurosawa and Chaplin

Kurosawa box

If the four early titles come out in a separate Eclipse set, I see no reason to buy this.  Even if they don't, I wouldn't buy this.  I think this is designed for people who only recently discovered Kurosawa.

Why do you say that without any details on the specs?

It does indicate that every single film will feature a new digital transfer (which of course could mean anything) but why would you determine its for people only recently "discovering" Kurosawa based on the little onformation offered? As long as the supplements are there and the packaging doesnt suck (which it probably will- really hoping it wont be a book style with plastic pages like the Janus arthouse set), but Im pretty excited for the potential with this set. Even if I own a majority of these titles already. Supposedly theyve all undergone extensive remastering, possibly for hd. I'll wait for reviews and more info..

They just put out a remaster of High and Low a year ago and they've gone back and revisited it again?  Something seems a little goofy here.  It's also interesting that Ran isn't on that list.

As much as I would love this set, I've already got the latest versions of all the Criterion releases so it's just the four new ones for me.  I doubt this thing is going to come in under two bills and that's just way too much for me to spend on a massive double dip.

I'd be willing to bet the encode on High & Low is identical.

Ran isn't on the list because it is OOP.

There's actually five titles new to Criterion, with Madadayo being the 5th. There was an old Fox Lorber DVD, and it's quality is pretty dreadful.

I see the following happening:

Box Set released

In following months, Eclipse set of the earlier 4 titles.

At some point a Criterion/Essential Art House release of Madadayo.

Additional Blu-ray releases of the bigger titles (Seven Samurai, High & Low, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, etc.) throughout 2010.