What should Criterion do next (1 Viewer)

[Donald W]

It's been a long time since I've posted on here...and it's still seems that Criterion is still at the top of their game with great DVDs...and since Criterion hasn't done a chat over at HTF in a while hopfuly they will read this and take some of this imput in from us...What movies would we like to see Criterion get ahold of and get out on DVD-

Trainspoting- I'm still holding out for a SE of this movie...Criterion had the rights to the SE laser but I think Miramax will do the SE DVD if they ever get around to it
Lost Highway- USA films and Criterion seemed to do ok on there treatment of Traffic so let Criterion handle Lost if USA can't get around to it
Wild At Heart- I don't know who owns the rights now to this film but it would be great to have this film out sometime soon on DVD
A Nine Inch Nails dvd set of all of their music videos with extras
antyhing esle anyone can think of

 

[Rain]

I've said it before (and emailed Jon Mulvany about it), but I'll say it again:
Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Berlin Alexanderplatz.
I don't care how many discs it takes; I don't care what it costs.

 

[Donald W]

Criterion is the perfect company for anything of Fassbinder's...I forgot to add anything Pasolini to that list...I hope that one day MGM will get of their asses and let Criterion have back Salo or put out their own DVD of it and the rest of the Pasolini libary that they now own...

 

[Jeff Adkins]

Godard's Band Of Outsiders
Von Trier's The Idiots and Breaking The Waves
Kieslowski's The Decalogue
Jeff

 

[Darrell Bratz]

I think '02 has been an off-year for Criterion, following an outstanding '01.

I hope that the new Sight and Sound poll released last month (done once a decade) helps focus Criterion on what I'd like to think should be job one for them: release the best films of all time and do justice by them.

With that in mind, I hope they're scanning the Sight and Sound list and prioritizing Rules of the Game, lots of Ozu and Mizoguchi, some Bresson, the proposed Eisenstein: Silent Years box, La Dolce Vita, more Bunuel, some Ophuls (could we have at least one from Criterion please?), Ikiru, and A Canterbury Tale.

 

[Patrick McCart]

The Thief and the Cobbler for Miramax.

Disney is putting a lot into the reconstruction/restoration/completion of the film, but this is a film right up Criterion's alley. Think Brazil, but 10x worse.

I also think the Paramount (with Universal) Marx Brothers films would be good Criterion-ized.

 

[Randy_M]

How about more British Hitchcock's

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
Young and Innocent
The Secret Agent
Sabotage

 

[Bruce Morrison]

The Wajda trilogy ('A Generation', 'Kanal' and 'Ashes And Diamonds') would be a good start. Also, I hope they'll continue their Bunuel releases with 'Tristana' and 'Phantom Of Liberty'.

 

[george kaplan]

I couldn't disagree more.

As far as the future, it obviously all depends on rights, but I'd love to see them do justice to

The African Queen
It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (Robert Harris restoration)
Bringing Up Baby
Ninotchka
Up in Arms
Hail the Conquering Hero
The Palm Beach Story
Safety Last
Twentieth Century
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Top Hat
Laura
Out of the Past
This Gun for Hire
The Killers
The Blue Dahlia
Lifeboat
Suspicion
To Have and Have Not
To Be or Not to Be (1942)
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
The Ghost & Mrs. Muir

 

[Lyle_JP]

It's time for Paramount to ease up on their licensing restrictions and once again allow the Criterion Collection edition of "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" to be released.

-Lyle J.P.

 

[MichaelAW]

Kieslowski's The Double Life of Veronique is not available on DVD anywhere in the world, as far as I can tell.

Criterion would do this masterpiece justice. Some of his other Polish films (No End, Blind Chance, Camera Buff) would make a wonderful series.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

How about a Canadian film?: Why Shoot The Teacher

 

[Donald W]

I hope that they read this list cause there are a lot of great films that need there help that are listed here....Bratz thanks for listing Rules of the Game cause Criterion had the rights to the LD so I don't know why they have put off a DVD of this film...Doogan over at The Digital Bits put up a great list of films that aren't on DVD today, or need to be reissued... some of them I think Criterion should get ahold of....so here goes, I hope they read this.....

Breaking the Waves- they had the rights to the LD, but Artsian I think has the rights now...not to sure
El Topo- Never has been out on VHS or DVD legaly in this country, have no idea who owns the rights anymore
The Game- was supost to have been out last year, I don't know if MGM has the rights or USA films has them
Holy Mountain- same as El Topo, I have a bad LD trasfer from Japan
Kieslowski's Three Colors Trilogy- I don't think that Miramax is going to do anything with these films anytime soon
The Magnificent Ambersons (Wells)- perfect for a SE with a good doc on the lost parts of the film
Napoleon (1927)- I don't think anyone has any plans for this film also...A nice box set with all the versions would be great
Ran- only Criterion should be able to handle this film
Santa Sangre- the NC-17 version
Zulu- shouldn't be hard since it's in public domain, a nice new trasfer would be great

 

[Ryan_TD]

next criterion:
THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE
i'm not even joking
this would be really cool if they considered it

 

[Donald W]

is the Image DVD SE of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE that bad????

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

I would love Criterion to put out an edition for two (2) films:
Irma Vep and
El Norte
Bruce

 

[James L White]

Sling Blade
Indiana Jones Trilogy (we can dream can't we )

 

[Rain]

Bruce, I actually submitted El Norte as a suggestion to them a while ago.
I forgot to mention...I'd love to see them do some more old Hollywood stuff ala My Man Godfrey. Maybe even some old B&W musicals that are pretty much ignored by all the other studios.
How about the original version of Tuck Everlasting? I've heard it's pretty good and I think it was an independant, so they might be able to get their hands on it...wouldn't be a bad idea since a new film of the same story is coming out soon.

 

[Darrell Bratz]

george,
Well, I guess it's a pretty subjective issue!
On a less subjective level, I see it as a down year as measured by sheer quantity of releases - I count 41 for '01, and 30 for '02 (I assume they're about done for the year after Monterey Pop, and I'm counting boxes as one release).
On a vastly more subjective level, I find when I count releases I own or have significant interest in owning, I find lots more in '01 than '02. For me, I was struck by:
'01
Eisenstein the sound years
Black Narcissus
I Know Where I'm Going
Do The Right Thing
L'Aventurra
The Lady Eve
Spartacus
The Scarlet Empress
My Man Godfrey
Rififi
The Hidden Fortress
Sullivan's Travels
Billy Liar
Grey Gardens
Haxan
Notorious
Rebecca
8 1/2
That Obscure Object of Desire
as well as stuff I doubt I'll buy but recognize as important like the Dreyer box, the three Hulot films, Cries and Whispers.
'02 on the other hand:
Children of Paradise
Wild Strawberries
In The Mood For Love
Rashomon
The Royal Tenenbaums
The Importance of Being Earnest
Red Beard
Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
and that's about it - and not a whole lot that I don't personally want but see the overwhelming significance of - Contempt, maybe the Rene Clairs. The year started well, then went thud for me in a hurry.
Interestingly, I've noticed that I seem to appreciate Criterion's releases more in odd-numbered years than even: I liked '99 and '01 a lot, was left a little underwhelmed by '00 and '02. '98 is an incomplete grade to me - their first year, and not even a full one, undercut a little by so many titles going OOP so fast. Given all that, I guess I'm hoping '03 will continue the trend and please me greatly!
George - I guess I interpret from your reply that you thought '02 a better than average year for Criterion - which titles are setting the year apart for you.
Lots of good things on your wish list too, though outside of the two Sturges they look like real longshots for Criterion to get a crack at.

 

[george kaplan]

Darrell,

I don't even have a list of the releases by year, so some that I'm thinking of as 2002, may have actually been 2001. But for me (and I suspect many will disagree, but that's OK), just Hopscotch itself is worth the price of admission for the Criterion Collection in 2002. However, looking at your list I do see a better overall selection in 2001, and admit I thought a couple of those Hitchcocks were more recent than that.