CRITERION: Great chat! Please consider these 'Wish List' titles (1 Viewer)

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

Thanks much for participating in Tuesday night's chat; yours was among the more thoughful we've had. I was particularly pleased to see your continued dedication to THE DEVIL & DANIEL WEBSTER, Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger, and all things Kurosawa.
I was able to ask a question very early on, but due to problems with my computer, I nearly missed my turn, so I was sort of a 'deer in the headlights' when I was typing my question out, and thus I didn't want to waste anybody's chat time trying to remember & type any specific title requests. This is what this thread is for. Not a long list (for me, anyway), but limited to things that Criterion and/or Home Vision have a reasonable chance at tackling.
Janus Films/Home Vision titles:
* THE TROUBLEMAKER (1964) - ideally with a commentary track featuring the film's writer-director Theodore J. Flicker & co-writer Buck Henry
* THE LAST HOLIDAY (1950) - a terrific, low-key Alec Guinness comedy, on par with his best Ealing Studios work
* THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE (1933) - Fritz Lang
* HOBSON'S CHOICE (1953) - David Lean
* THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN (1960) - classic British heist film
* ALLEGRO NON TROPPO (1976) - fine Italian spoof of Disney's FANTASIA
Universal titles:
* MURDER HE SAYS (1945) - a cult screwball comedy, starring Fred MacMurray & directed by George Marshall
* THE PHANTOM LADY (1944) - terrific film noir from Robert Siodmak
* THE ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1933) - an all-time classic horror film
* THE BIG CLOCK (1948) - another top film noir
* THE GOOD FAIRY (1935) - an early Preston Sturges comedy, directed by the great William Wyler
* EASY LIVING (1937) - another early Sturges comedy classic
* THE UNINVITED (1944) - supreme ghost story
* GAMBIT (1966) - a deft heist comedy, directed by Ronald Neame
* ARABESQUE (1966) - a suspenseful spy spoof from Stanley Donen, a perfect follow-up to Criterion's excellent CHARADE dvd
* PETER IBBETSON (1935) - unusual romantic fantasy, starring Gary Cooper, directed by Henry Hathaway
* IF I HAD A MILLION (1932) - all-star, multi-director opus
* MILLION DOLLAR LEGS (1932) - a classic of crazy comedy, featuring W.C. Fields
Misc:
* INVADERS FROM MARS (1953) - a classic sci-fi flick, always in rough-looking shape, and a perfect candidate for a Criterion restoration
I hope you'll seriously consider giving the Criterion (or Home Vision) treatment to these worthy films. Thanks again for your time, and keep up the great work.
-Peter M Fitzgerald

 

[Jun-Dai Bates]

Thank you Criterion. There are so many titles that I'd love to see you put out, but I really have no complaints with the collection thus far, and am sure that I'll like whatever comes next. I do hope that Visconti moves from being a "question mark" to showing up in the Criterion Collection.

 

[Wes Ray]

Please consider trying to get The Hills Have Eyes.
I heard that someone asked you about this title during the chat tonight (I myself could not attend) and that your response involved having rights problems with it. Does this mean you've attempted to obtain the rights to this title?
I'd love to see this horror rarity become a Criterion disc.
If someone from Criterion is reading this, I'd appreciate an ellaboration on the status of this title and it's rights troubles. No one around here seems to know who owns this title at the present time. Thanks!

 

[Justin_S]

It was I who asked them about it in the chat. Actually, I recommended it to them for release. Being a huge horror fan, I recommended them the following: Videodrome, The Sentinel, John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness, and of course The Hills Have Eyes. I am REALLY hoping they can work something out with these titles. They are all favorites of mine, thus why I recommended them.

 

[Ricky f]

Here is another vote for The Hills Have Eyes
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www.petitiononline.com/UncutDVD

 

[george kaplan]

Metropolis has always seemed to be an obvious choice.
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13-time NBA world champion Lakers: 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001

 

[Jeff_A]

Hmmm... Perfect criteria for Criterion? Obscure, yet beautiful and classic films!

The Fearless Vampire Killers
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The Dark Tower

Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)?

 

[Rain]

I've said it before, I'll say it again:
Berlin Alexanderplatz - How beautiful it would be as a Criterion release. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh.

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"Imagine all the people, living life in peace..." - Imagine by John Lennon
Anyone in the Vancouver Canada area interested in a meet? Click here

 

[Carlo_M]

Transformers: The Movie
Come on! It's Orson Welles' last film! That has to count for something, right? OAR and uncut is all I'd ask for (and restored).
Thanks!

 

[David Lambert]

Transformers: The Movie - Criterion Collection would rock!

Seriously, I'll second the vote for Uninvited. This is my favorite B&W era ghost story, and blows away most modern spookers. I pull out the VHS copy I taped off cable back in the mid-80's every year around this time (end of October).
SOMEone please put it out! I'd love a Criterion Collection treatment of this fabulous film.
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DAVE/Memphis

MORE TV ON DVD, PLEASE!

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932), directed by Ernst Lubitsch. It's a 1930s Paramount movie, so the rights are owned by MCA/Universal. This is one of the greatest comedies ever made (in my opinion, the greatest), it has never been available on VHS, and it could really use a restoration. Plus there is almost no Lubitsch on DVD, and Criterion has never done a Lubitsch movie in any format. Please try to get this one, Criterion.

 

[Derek M Germano]

Add these to the wish list please:
THE PALM BEACH STORY
THE GREAT MCGINTY
MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION
IMITATION OF LIFE
THE COMPANY OF WOLVES
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Derek M. Germano
THE CINEMA LASER
DVD reviews, news and more...
www.thecinemalaser.com
[Edited last by Derek M Germano on October 24, 2001 at 10:07 PM]

 

[Chris Kr]

Put my vote in for The Game. Great movie, horrible ending. I'd love to get a disc with an alternate ending. Was there ever one made where at the end he gets handed a card saying " Welcome to Round 2." ? That would be an awesome ending. Also, I'd love to see some classic 80's films done by Criterion, although i know you don't really do them. Going Berserk, Armed and Dangerous, Valley Girl, Just One of the Guys, Critters, Munchies, Out of Bounds (1986), King Solomon's Mines (1985) , Ernest Goes to Camp, The Principal, Taking Care of Business, Loverboy, Can't buy me Love, stuff like that. Thanks.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Of those in the Janus catalogue:
MORE - Barbet Schroeder (recently released on VHS by HVE)
LA VALLEE - Barbet Schroeder (recently released on VHS by HVE)
add PINK FLOYD AT POMPEII (not a Janus title) for a nice little box set (commentary by the band would be sweet!).
If the Holy Grail allows access to Columbia's vaults:
Frank Perry's THE SWIMMER - extras may be hard to come by, but I have all the trailers here on 16mm. This is a great and original film.
and finally:
WHY SHOOT THE TEACHER - Silvio Narizzano to add some much needed Canadian content to your catalogue
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Link Removed | Burt Lancaster is Link Removed | dOc
[Edited last by Jeff Ulmer on October 25, 2001 at 11:31 AM]

 

[Ali B]

Anything more by Abbas Kiarostami would greatly be appreciated - Taste of Cherry is my favourite Criterion release.
ali

 

[Wes Ray]

I can barely speak about a Criterion Collection disc of The Game, as I'm excited beyond the capacity for rational thought at the idea of it.
I'll second the votes for The Uninvited and Transformers: The Movie. Transformers would be a heck of a way to kick off their animation titles (which they seemed interested in getting feedback on in the chat).

 

[John Stone]

I was unable to attend the chat, but the transcript was great. The tone of the transcript was very pleasant, and Jon & Peter were knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Criterion has my highest respect.
Warner should read it as well, and maybe make a few notes.
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John
http://www.twowiresthin.com

 

[Donald W]

Well this is my first post on here so I thought that I would post something about the best DVD and Laserdisk company ever! First off being a fan of Criterion I have the list of Laserdisks that Criterion made over the years and yes they did do a edition of The Game. And from what I had heard they were going to trasfer it over to DVD sometime soon or in the next year *this was said over at digital bits*. But the big problem is this, The Game was made by Polygram Films which I'm not sure if it got sold to MGM in the buyout *Fargo was a Polygram film that MGM now owns* soooo if that is so MGM won't let Criterion do a Speical Edition DVD *anything that MGM has now is out of print if Criterion had it at one time* I hope that at least if this is true that we get to see some sorta SE for The Game from MGM sometime....as for that there are a lot of LD's that Criterion did that havn't got out on DVD or for that matter the film getting a SE if the rights went back to the home company *like Trainspoting, Evita, Crash* soooo....
Ok back to the post...my wish list for Criterion-
I third The Hills Have Eyes cause other than Anchor Bay no one would a good SE for this film
Watership Down * I don't know if Warners still owns the rights to it....I know that they put out the VHS copy I have*
Shallow Grave *The first film from the Trainspoting guys...I don't think it's ever been out on DVD*
Breaking the Waves *they had out the LD, and Artisan I think may have the rights...not sure again*
thats about it....
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"What is life? It is the beginning of death. What is death? It is the end of life."

 

[Jay E]

I would also love to see The Uninvited & Metropolis given the full treatment by Criterion.
And the original Little Shop of Horrors, would make a great Criterion DVD, and it's public domain too.

 

[PhilipG]

My favourite film not yet on DVD (in R1) is A Matter of Life and Death (AKA Stairway to Heaven). I would definitely put it amongst the very best films of all time, and it well deserves the Criterion treatment.
The R2 release is OK - it could have been great because the film had just been gloriously restored, but Carlton added a whole heap of ugly Edge Enhancement to the DVD. Cretins.
...And of course I will second the excellent sci-fi classic, Invaders From Mars (the decent b&w one).