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Criterion Horror/Suspense Wishlist (1 Viewer)

Wes Ray

Supporting Actor
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May 11, 2001
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507
Ken's fairly successful Anchor Bay wishlist has made me wonder what kind of films you guys would choose if you had to pick five Horror/Suspense films for Criterion to release on DVD. Some horror/suspense films that they've already released on DVD include The Lady Vanishes, Carnival of Souls, The Blob, The 39 Steps, Diabolique, Sisters, Silence of the Lambs, Peeping Tom, and Fiend Without a Face.
Do you guys have any suggestions? Like Ken, I will e-mail this list to Criterion when it is complete. Let's come up with some good ones, guys!
Wes
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Ken_Jones

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
May 11, 2001
Messages
138
The Blob: Special Double Feature Edition
Friday The 13th Parts 1-8: Special Director's Cut Editions
Return Of The Living Dead Part 1 & 2: Special Double Feature Edition
[Edited last by Ken_Jones on July 18, 2001 at 01:33 AM]
 

Peter M Fitzgerald

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Peter Fitzgerald
My 5 picks:
1. THE UNINVITED (1944)
2. SEVEN DAYS TO NOON (1950-British)
3. ONIBABA (1964-Japanese)
4. SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON (1964-British)
5. SPIRITS OF THE DEAD (1968-French/Italian)
 

Christina_DQ

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
May 8, 2001
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142
Friday the 13th series uncut- especially the most heavily censored ones parts 2,5,6,7.
Black Christmas
The Burning uncut
From Beyond ('86) uncut
Return of the Living Dead
 

Mark Edward Heuck

Screenwriter
Joined
Jul 25, 2000
Messages
1,187
Again, forewarned is forearmed, so here are the people Criterion is doing business with:
UNIVERSAL
DISNEY / MIRAMAX
CARLTON COMMUNICATIONS (selected Rank Organisation titles)
Also, they have worked in collaboration with Mike Thomas' Rialto Pictures reissue company to put selected titles on DVD from GAUMONT and STUDIO CANAL (again, only the European and EMI section of that library, not the Embassy titles)
DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR THEIRS asking for stuff from major studios other than those; it is clear those companies will not license them out to outside firms. And while Criterion at one time did issue great laserdiscs of MGM, UA, Columbia, and New Line movies, they no longer have those rights, so those special editions cannot be duplicated.
So, what horror movies deserve the Criterion treatment:
1. DUST DEVIL
Seeing that they were able to get all the warring factions on BRAZIL to give their sides of the story, why not get both Richard Stanley and les freres Weinstein to each argue their side on this ambitious, maligned outing?
2. THE HILLS HAVE EYES
It seems to me there's some mystery party unconnected to any major concern that owns Wes Craven's vacation nightmare. IF they can get a print equal or better than IFC's from last fall, this could help revive it's reputaion against it's hindering obscurity.
3. HELL
I caught this mindblowing Japanese film last year at the Cinematheque, and it has never been legitimately released in America. This is exactly the kind of hidden treasure a company like Criterion loves to help people rediscover.
4. A COLD WIND IN AUGUST
Okay, it's not a gross-outer, and it's more Bergman than "Burning," but it's a psychological love/terror outing that has been cited as a favorite of John Waters and for a while was quite a cult item in selected parts of the U.S. during its initial release.
5. BAD TIMING: A SENSUAL OBSESSION
Again, more psychosexual horrors, but this is an unforgivably rare Nicolas Roeg masterpiece that is unavailable in any form here in America, and the mere thought of the "climax" of Art Garfunkel and Theresa Russell's relationship chills me.
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"As I looked back over my life, I realized that I enjoyed nothing--not art, not sex--more than going to the movies." -- Gore Vidal
 

JulianK

Supporting Actor
Joined
Oct 3, 2000
Messages
843
Mark, no disrespect for your very interesting list, but if Criterion are to release another Nic Roeg film I think it should be the little-seen United Artists film EUREKA (Link Removed) or DON'T LOOK NOW (Link Removed).
(EUREKA and DON'T LOOK NOW were released on VHS in the UK by Warner Home Video. The latter is available on DVD in some European countries, without any significant extras).
There seems to be some problem with THE HILLS HAVE EYES on this side of the Atlantic, too. The last VHS release it had here was from Palace, in the early 90s. (They, IIRC, then sold on the budget-label rights to Channel 5 aka 4-Front aka Polygram).
ONIBABA would be a terrific companion piece to Criterion's beautiful KWAIDAN.
Personally, I'd be more than delighted if they re-released either THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER or CAT PEOPLE on DVD, but the rights have probably reverted to whoever owns the RKO catalogue these days...
 

Tom Rhea

Second Unit
Joined
Jul 31, 2000
Messages
292
I don't know any specific titles off the top of my head, but I'd love to see Criterion release more Japanese horror movies, like the excellent job they did with Kwaidan.
 

Wes Ray

Supporting Actor
Joined
May 11, 2001
Messages
507
Excuse me, Mark, but Criterion issued a DVD this past year of Warner Bros' Sisters. So while I appreciate your help, coming into a helpful thread like this with an attitude isn't the way to get things done. So please have all the facts before you condemn the rest of us for our requests. This is a "wishlist" so whatever films the posters want to list can be listed. Who knows, maybe Criterion will try to obtain the rights to something they've not previously issued as a laserdisc. For instance, I e-mailed them about Black Christmas this past week, and I got a reply (a different reply than previous ones about other movies, so you can't say it's the standard reply they give everyone and that they say the same thing all the time) saying that they would pass the e-mail along to the higher ups and that they would look into it. So it's not impossible for Criterion to listen to fan feedback and take things into consideration. So please, help us out and don't put us down. Thanks.
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Bill McA

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Wes
Mark is quite correct!
Sisters was an American International release, not Warner Brothers.
Warner did briefly hold video rights to this film in the U.S.
These video rights had expired before Criterion released their DVD version, therefore Warner did NOT license the rights to Sisters to Criterion.
The rights to Sisters are now held by the film's producers, Pressman Williams Enterprises, just read the Copyright notice on the back of the DVD.
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Link Removed
[Edited last by Bill McA on July 18, 2001 at 04:35 PM]
 

Mark Cappelletty

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A couple come to mind.
George Franju's EYES WITHOUT A FACE (1959) is brilliant, haunting and unforgettable. I think Home Vision or Kino just reissued this on VHS, so I don't know what the rights situation is.
ONIBABA is a good one (already mentioned) that's already been released by Criterion on LD.
And I know Criterion/Janus has the rights to SPIRITS OF THE DEAD and apparently their VHS release of this blows the old Image DVD/LD out of the water.
I'd love the RING trilogy as well, but I think that's in the hands of DreamWorks, who -- naturally -- are planning a remake. And a creepy little Dutch film called BESAT (POSSESSED) with Udo Kier that I saw at the Cinematheque last summer would be a good addition too.
 

Dick

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Rick
Good titles, Peter. I second the motion for THE UNINVITED, which Universal could license to Criterion, should they choose not to release it on their own. Roeg's DON'T LOOK NOW may be getting a DVD release from Paramount next year...stay tuned for Martin Blythe's announcements regarding our wish list.
 

Mark Edward Heuck

Screenwriter
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I apologize if my manner appears curt. I am certainly not interested in condemning ideas or keeping people down. But it has been my experience in the film industry that if you have not done your homework about the company you are talking to, they will not take you seriously. You can make many requests to improve the taste of Tab soda, but if you send those requests to the Pepsi company insead of Coca-Cola, nothing is going to get done.
This is why I make my admonishments so stern. All of us love our favorite films and want to help their cause. And the best way we can is to know who and where to address our requests for the maximum impact.
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"As I looked back over my life, I realized that I enjoyed nothing--not art, not sex--more than going to the movies." -- Gore Vidal
 

Larry Sutliff

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I would also love to see THE UNINVITED receive the Criterion treatment. Also, since the Universal release of BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN was such a disappointment transfer wise, I'd love to see a Criterion Special Edition of BRIDE with a remastered picture and some other goodies thrown in.
 

Justin_S

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1: Black Christmas
2: The Pack (1977)
3: Videodrome
4: The Sentinel
5: Prince of Darkness
 

Brook K

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Feb 22, 2000
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1. Zentropa (unsure who has US rights) - They already did Element of a Crime, so this should be right up their alley.
2. Kingdom 1 & 2 (rights may be held by Artisan or USA, this was dist. by October films here, but it's possible that they didn't have the DVD rights)
3. Anamorphic re-release of High and Low
 

Wes Ray

Supporting Actor
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May 11, 2001
Messages
507
Lots of good suggestions guys, let's keep it going a bit before I e-mail Criterion.
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Jay E

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4 Public Domain titles that I would love to see Criterion release are:
Things to Come
Little Shop of Horrors
Metropolis
Repulsion (I think this is Public Domain)
And some Universal titles:
Curse of the Werewolf
Black Cat, The
Island of Lost Souls
Brides of Dracula
Colossus, The Forbin Project
And I too would love to see the Uninvited released by Criterion.
 

Jeff_A

Screenwriter
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Mar 6, 2001
Messages
1,454
How about Criterion versions of Hammer Films? Now there is an awesome combination!
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The Dark Tower
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