What defines a Home Vision release vs. a Criterion release? (1 Viewer)

[Dave F]

I received this weeks batch of discs , which included Spirits of the Dead. When I preordered, the disc was described as a Criterion release, yet turns out to be a Home Vision release. A few months back, The Night Heaven Fell and Plucking the Daisy were both described by multiple sites as Criterion releases, but were actually Home Vision discs.
Do some titles start out as Criterion, but end up on Home Vision? Or is it just a mixup with distributor info due to the Home Vision/Criterion connection (which I am admittedly fuzzy on)? Or is there something else going on?
-Dave

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Yeah, I think this is more distributor error than anything. As to why a Janus title falls under either banner, I can only assume that films of a particular merit are released as Criterion (what merit that may be, I can't say exactly), while other s aren't. I wouldn't really class Plucking the Daisy alongside Mon Oncle myself, but...

 

[Steve Tannehill]

Criterion is a Home Vision label, just as Infinifilm is a New Line label. Not every title that Home Vision releases is going to be part of The Criterion Collection, just as not every disc that New Line releases is going to be tagged Infinifilm.

- Steve

 

[Steve_Ch]

And I guess what's listed in Criterion's website are the "official" and "true" Criterion label dvds.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

I wish that Spirits of the Dead had been a Criterion release; perhaps they would have taken more care with it. As it is, without Terence Stamp's legendary performance in Toby Dammit (it's dubbed over in French, for Pete's sake), it's a maimed and less than satisfactory effort.

 

[Mark Cappelletty]

I was pretty stoked to get Spirits of the Dead until I realized that it was all in French. The old Image laserdisc has an optional English-language track which, while dubbing all of the Italian extras in "Toby Dammit" in English, at least retains Terence Stamp's performance. This new disc may look better, but it still seems like a half-assed attempt.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

While Criterion is a division of Home Vision, until very recently HVE was strictly a VHS company. Since HVE does have rights to the two Barbet Schroeder films I want - More and La VallŽe - I hope they release them sooner than later, though I'd prefer a commentary by Schroeder and Roger Waters and David Gilmour for these....

 

[John Henry]

I doubt if SPIRITS OF THE DEAD was a Criterion release they would have included the proper English dub for it either. Criterion just released Fellini's 8½ without the English dub.

 

[Rich Malloy]

I doubt if SPIRITS OF THE DEAD was a Criterion release they would have included the proper English dub for it either. Criterion just released Fellini's 8½ without the English dub.

What's "proper" regarding the audio of Spirits of the Dead is debatable, but Stamp's cockney accent lends such a wonderful tinge to TOBY DAMMIT that it seems to be far and away the preferred version. IMO, it's one of his best performances and must surely lose something in the translation.

(I say "must surely" because I actually didn't listen to the French track on the old Image disc, but I can't imagine it could be better. And while I love TOBY DAMMIT, I positively loathe the other two entries, which may well mark the lowest points in Malle and Vadim's careers.)

Conversely, the Italian track on "8-1/2" is definitely the way to go (even though all Fellini's films were post-synced). While I'm sure there must be an English dub of this film out there somewhere, I've never heard it and certainly don't wish to. Hearing Guido speaking English throughout this utterly Italian, utterly Fellini film would be no way to properly experience it.

But, out of interests sake, John, where did you hear the English dub and why do you prefer it?

 

[Moe Dickstein]

Here's the scoop on Home Vision

They do not OWN or CONTROL Criterion.

Criterion is a Division of Janus.

Home Vision is a division of Home Vision Entertainment, which was until recently known as Public Media Inc.

Janus and Public Media have been in partnership for many decades.

Janus started out in foreign film distribution, and PMI was more into educational and institutional films, and the two owners decided to team up when it came to video.

The Janus library was distributed by PMI on video, as they had experience with this.

Laserdisc was done by Image for the same reason, but titles that Criterion controls via Janus have always been released by Home Vision on video.

When DVD came along, Janus decided to go with Home Vision again, and the Criterion relationship is this:

All title selection and production etc is totally handled by criterion

the marketing and distribution, i.e. dealing with stores is handled by Home Vision.

Home Vision DVDs are produced totally independently from Criterion, and the only overlapping is titles that are owned either by HVE or Janus, and Criterion and Home Vision work in partnership to decide which titles each will get, for example, if HV had titles that would fit in their collection, that title might go there

It isnt an issue of "The best films go to Criterion and the rest go to Home Vision"

Criterion is not a label of Home Vision.