Jun-Dai Bates
Stunt Coordinator
- Joined
- Aug 16, 1999
- Messages
- 148
I know that Criterion greatly appreciates feedback and that requests affect their decisions on which films to release. I email them every once in a while, and that's probably the most effective way to get your voice heard. But I thought it would be interesting to see what films other people would like to see Criterion put out on dvd. So I thought I'd start this thread.
I'd like to limit the list to feasible titles (i.e. not films owned by companies like Warner that have a no-licensing policy), although that would make an excellent secondary list. In any case, if anyone knows who owns the rights to any of the films mentioned, please say so.
For short films, you can mention a collection that you'd like to see the film in (e.g. "Roman Polanski's short films"), which would of course make a much more practical release for dvd.
It would be nice if you offer some reason, however brief, as to why the Criterion Collection should undergo the effort and expense of putting out the film you've recommended. If you second an opinion, I'll add a number to the list, indicating how many times people have "voted" for it, and I'll order the list by the number of "votes" that it has accrued.
I'll add other films I'd like to see them release later, and for now I'll just mention one film for which I think a Criterion release would be valuable:
Ossessione
This film is important mostly because it began the neorealist movement. It had a tremendous impact on all of the neorealist directors, and it showed a perspective of Italy that Italian audiences had never seen before. The indirect influence that this film has had is tremendous--you could simplistically divide the films of the 20th century into two somewhat meaningful categories: those that came before Ossessione (or came shortly enough afterwards to be unaffected) and those that came after and were influenced by it. From Ossessione came neorealism, and from neorealism came the French New Wave and all of the other new waves. Even though it was made in 1943, before the fall of Mussolini, it could be thought of as the first postwar film; certainly it heralded what was to become of cinema, and came to be known as the "July 25 of the Italian Cinema" (July 25, 1943 was the day that Mussolini's regime fell), because it marked the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.
This film should be restored as best as possible, and it should be released by Criterion with an illuminating commentary track, and some special features that help put it in perspective.
I'd like to limit the list to feasible titles (i.e. not films owned by companies like Warner that have a no-licensing policy), although that would make an excellent secondary list. In any case, if anyone knows who owns the rights to any of the films mentioned, please say so.
For short films, you can mention a collection that you'd like to see the film in (e.g. "Roman Polanski's short films"), which would of course make a much more practical release for dvd.
It would be nice if you offer some reason, however brief, as to why the Criterion Collection should undergo the effort and expense of putting out the film you've recommended. If you second an opinion, I'll add a number to the list, indicating how many times people have "voted" for it, and I'll order the list by the number of "votes" that it has accrued.
I'll add other films I'd like to see them release later, and for now I'll just mention one film for which I think a Criterion release would be valuable:
Ossessione
This film is important mostly because it began the neorealist movement. It had a tremendous impact on all of the neorealist directors, and it showed a perspective of Italy that Italian audiences had never seen before. The indirect influence that this film has had is tremendous--you could simplistically divide the films of the 20th century into two somewhat meaningful categories: those that came before Ossessione (or came shortly enough afterwards to be unaffected) and those that came after and were influenced by it. From Ossessione came neorealism, and from neorealism came the French New Wave and all of the other new waves. Even though it was made in 1943, before the fall of Mussolini, it could be thought of as the first postwar film; certainly it heralded what was to become of cinema, and came to be known as the "July 25 of the Italian Cinema" (July 25, 1943 was the day that Mussolini's regime fell), because it marked the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.
This film should be restored as best as possible, and it should be released by Criterion with an illuminating commentary track, and some special features that help put it in perspective.
