Criterion Collection

[Ben]

Beat me and beat me to it!

Loving this, all except for the title, which is a pun but isn’t the best they could come up with. A shame that two of the docs I hoped for, from '93 and the I Am... doc, aren’t there, but somewhat understandable and they are available separately. Time to pick up the UK I Am... disc, me thinks, but glad that The Legend is indeed in there.

And two versions for ETD? Excellent! The interviews actually look like they may be I Am... outtakes, since a lot of the same names there, while I love love love the idea of additional Bruceploitation trailers: I hope the awful but insane Dragon Force gets a mention (starring a certain Bruce Li)!

And original English dubs? This just became my must-have big box of the year. Prepare for two at the November B&N Rand!

[Randall]

Okay! Hopefully I'm working by then....

[EricJ]

"We need......total...concentration..."

That's "Total conten-TWA-tion."
Now, again--This time with FEE-wing.

[Ben]

You have our gwatitude!

[Randall]

So, maybe the Lee set wasn't the BEST Criterion news this week...!

At long last.... WAR OF THE WORLDS!!!!!
https://www.criterion.com/films/29942-t ... the-worlds

[Dan]

I like that the Mercury Theatre radio adaptation is included as an extra.

[EricJ]

At long last.... WAR OF THE WORLDS!!!!!
https://www.criterion.com/films/29942-t ... the-worlds

(snicker!) "At long last..."
Criterion only got it because it's one of a package of Paramount movies that have [Ben will get mad again if I say "Sank into public domain"] since slipped between ownership cracks, and now show up everywhere on streaming and independent-label disc for free.
(I'm still holding out hope for a Criterion of "Bugsy Malone", also currently in Paramount-orphan status, but that's just me.)

They're making a policy of getting one of Paramount, MGM or UA's "orphans" once a month, like Princess Bride or Some Like It Hot, and it's definitely livening up the dull Criterion slates that used to try and get us excited about "A Marriage Story".

[Ben]

I don’t get your comment...WOTW is certainly not PD, and not a Paramount "orphan" either...the reason we have not seen a remaster on this and other titles yet is that Paramount have very much kept the leash on their catalog titles and it’s only really in the last year, since Viacom merged them again with CBS that they have started to look again at their old films and try and work out why no-one put them out on Blu-ray, hence their new Paramount Presents Blu-ray line that will explore classic and deep catalog titles...just like WOTW.

Couple that with Warners and Universal's new joint pact, coming into effect early 2021, which will also see them team up to consolidate marketing and distribution for new and classic catalog titles, and it looks like we might be heading into a new golden period where the bigger studios *finally* take note of the great work that the boutique distributors, as Twilight Time, Shout!, Arrow and the like, have been doing and work out that they can get a piece of that action.

I’m not aware of any independent issue for the film, either. I know there was one Blu-ray announced, but that was Paramount licensed and was the release that got Rand and I excited that a US issue might finally be in the works, but I don’t think either of us anticipated this! I had been hoping for a Warner Archive set of George Pal productions, since something like that is well overdue, but this is a great, great start. Hopefully this will spur Warners to issue more of the films they hold too.

What's A Marriage Story? Sounds like a Bergmanesque 70s Euro drama, but I think you might mean Marriage Story, without the A, the recent Netflix Oscar meh-movie? I’m all for them issuing what films that can on disc, and hoping that Klaus gets a shot near Christmas. After all, it did get a nom for Best Animated Feature.

[Dan]

My late grandfather would similarly re-title movies to add extra words, even extra letters, whenever he's trying to describe what he's watching or talking about. "A Marriage Story" would so be something he would call the movie.

Fingers crossed that Criterion does indeed look into possibly picking up Klaus for their collection. With Roma and now Marriage Story in their catalog, it wouldn't be all that far-fetched. I'm sure they're gunning for The Irishman.

[Ben]

I did think that Marriage Story and Irishman had/have already been confirmed for Criterion release, though no dates were announced (before Marriage Story today).

[EricJ]

I don’t get your comment...WOTW is certainly not PD, and not a Paramount "orphan" either...the reason we have not seen a remaster on this and other titles yet is that Paramount have very much kept the leash on their catalog titles and it’s only really in the last year, since Viacom merged them again with CBS that they have started to look again at their old films and try and work out why no-one put them out on Blu-ray, hence their new Paramount Presents Blu-ray line that will explore classic and deep catalog titles...just like WOTW.

Well, then, it's probably the package of 70's/80's back-catalog titles that Paramount gave home-video rights to Warner back in the early-mid 10's, which digital-happy Warner promptly ignored, that's the reason streaming is suddenly being deluged with Clue, Clueless, The Untouchables, 3 Days of the Condor, the Harrison Ford Jack-Ryan movies, and, yes, WOTW. (Among others.)

We know the current deluge of 70's-90's MGM, United Artists and Orion titles (including Golan/Globus and "Platoon"'s Hemdale) are due to bankruptcy in the 00's-10's, but that doesn't explain the Paramount titles, OR why Columbia has been shoving Gattaca, Eyes of Laura Mars and And Now For Something Completely Different down streaming's throat.

Couple that with Warners and Universal's new joint pact, coming into effect early 2021, which will also see them team up to consolidate marketing and distribution for new and classic catalog titles, and it looks like we might be heading into a new golden period where the bigger studios *finally* take note of the great work that the boutique distributors, as Twilight Time, Shout!, Arrow and the like, have been doing and work out that they can get a piece of that action.

The failure of Ultraviolet and digital-purchase is finally (delayed-reaction) starting to hit home for the studios, while the indie disc labels like Shout Factory, Criterion and Warner Archive only strengthened their disc-buff cults online. Sony certainly sat up and noticed when "Christine" and "Fright Night" routinely sold out within hours at Twilight Time.
Studios aren't eating crow quite yet, but they are thoughtfully plucking a feather or two and wondering what to set the oven for--Warner and Universal are putting a toe back into disc waters, and like Paramount, Columbia is also looking at "Select" labels for the remaining core of studio-icon vintage catalog titles. (Think: the ones that the studios held onto for Fathom screenings, and the dozen or so Paramount runs for their PlutoTV "Paramount Classics" channel).

...Told ya they'd come crawling back.

[Randall]

After a huge haul in the Warner Archive sale last weekend, I had to keep to just a few titles in this month's Criterion sale (at Unobstructed View in Canada). After hesitating, I did allow myself to pick up the Bruce Lee set, plus of course War of the Worlds, and a couple of others. Given the Lee set, it was still a big enough order dollar-wise. But I still have some catching up to do, even though I also watch a lot on the Criterion Chanel. (Thank goodness I watched the awful Blow Out there first, before taking a chance on a blind buy!)

But I dropped by here to mention the October releases, announced this past week. Parasite gets a nod, even though Universal's own 4K just came out in June, and it's BD earlier this year. Of interest also are two Fox titles, Claudine and The Gunfighter. My guess is that they have been in the pipeline a long while, predating the Disney acquisition.

Plus Peirrot Le Fou and The Hit. Not sure whether I will buy any of them, but that's a pretty solid month.

[Dan]

I managed to snag Peirrot Le Fou before it previously went out of print. It's a heck of a movie (loved the cinematography and the sudden shifts in mood and atmosphere benefit from what I thought was solid pacing) and Godard could be seen as a forerunner for experimental storytellers like Tarantino. Seeing it back in print is nice to see.

[Ben]

I went opposite to Rand on the Archives and Criterion sales, picking up only three 4 4 44s (and one that I didn’t realise *wasn't* on sale yet, duh), but stocking up on a bunch of Criterions, including Bruce Lee, natch.

For the upcomings, Peirrot would probably be my single buy, too. I was not one who was totally enamoured by Parasite, which after a terrific series of setups in the first hour degenerated into a series of convoluted conveniences that just started to get annoying, ending with a cop out and, date I say it, pretty dumb way of finishing. Beautifully designed and shot, but I don’t believe it’s a true Best Picture with longevity outside basically being realised for not being about a white American family (cue a remake with Will Ferrell!)...

[Dan]

My pick-ups from the sale:

- Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits
- Eric Rohmer's Six Moral Tales
- Taste of Cherry
- The Lady Eve
- Army of Shadows
- The Inland Sea
- Le Petit Soldat
- Show Boat
- The Great Escape
- Scorsese Shorts

They just announced that a big Fellini box-set will be released in November, in time for the next sale.