Too awesome. I love Criterion.

criterionco.com has all these titles up, but they have The Man Who Fell To Earth listed as Non-Anamorphic, despite it's widescreen aspect ratio. I hope that's a mistake...

Indeed, I use to own the laser version ages ago. Man, that was one expensive 2-disc set. I got lucky and recouped about 80% of the crazy original price via ebay.

Question is, will all the original music be there? I kind of doubt they were able to get the rights to it so I'm expecting some dissappointment here. Hope I'm wrong.

On the website, it has this as the synopsis:

I don't know why they wouldn't use the original music. This isn't a tv show.

I could be wrong, though.

What in the world does that mean? TV shows aren't the only things that need to clear music rights for home video release. Long before the age of TV on DVD boxsets, video releases of feature films contained substitute music when the rights were not secured. Some famous examples include The Thing (1982) and Blood Simple. Indeed, Robert Altman's California Split had never been released on video whatsoever, until the current DVD release, due to music rights (and the DVD reportedly cuts an entire scene as a result of the continued inability to obtain a license for some music).

This entire issue goes back to the early 80s, when Federal courts began ruling that older licenses that covered theatrical releases did not apply to video releases.

DJ

Obviously OT, but:

I must know how often rights holders even notice, especially when it comes to an obscure track. And even if the owners discover, what percentage of the time do they actually bring it to litigation? What are the precedents in this regard?

Could someone please give examples as to any music issues Criterion has had with its DVDS? This is what I am asking. As I am unaware of any titles having music changes.

What's the concensus on double-dipping on "The Man Who Fell Too Earth"? yay or ney?

Yay

Hell yay.

MWFTE not anamorphic?

Shirley you jest!

It says anamorphic now at the website.

From another message board

"My only concern, based on a recent interview with Roeg, is that they may have had to replace some of the original music for this release, in particular Keith Jarrett's "Koln Concert." That would be tragic, as it concludes the movie."

That would be IMDB would it not? I saw that a few days after I posted my message on this forum.

Like I said, you never know...with Criterion stating their love of classic and important films and how they come to make everyone believe they are one of the best dvd studios, I could see why they would not try to get every thing right for the dvd release.

And if they do not include some of the original music, it would be quite upsetting that they did not say so in the original "press release".

Covers for the two Roeg films are up:





While I do like it, this cover for the Man Who Fell To Earth gives me kind of an odd '50s sci-fi vibe that isn't quite befitting for the film. *shrug* I'd expect larger digipak/box style packaging here, like with Short Cuts, which also came with a book.

And I'd imagine you're right. This news item on Criterion's site a few weeks ago opens a world of possibilities:

"This extensive retrospective--presented with the support of the French Cultural Services and Nouvelles Éditions de Films S.L., and in collaboration with The Criterion Collection and Janus Films--will include all of the great director's feature films and nearly all of his documentaries, including the rare seven-hour Phantom India. After its run at Lincoln Center, the retrospective will go on tour across the U.S. and Canada. Malle's thriller Elevator to the Gallows will also receive a theatrical release this summer, courtesy of Rialto Pictures. For more information on the Rialto release and a brand-new trailer, click here. Keep an eye on this spot for information on Louis Malle screenings near you and on upcoming Malle DVD releases from Criterion."

This is unrelated to the September Criterion Releases, but I figured that this would be the best place to get my question answered.

I'm looking for two Criterion's that no one seems to carry (Jules et Jim, George Washington). I called around to a few places in my area and no one had them in stock, or even had a clue as to what movies I was talking about. So, when you buy your Criterions, do you usually get them online? If so, where is the best place to buy them cheap? Do some stores usually carry them while others don't? Anything would be helpful. Thanks.

david12:

The online DVD Planet carries all of the Criterions (except those OOP), and offers them at 35% off retail. [They also have two California-based retail stores.]

A good resource for online pricing is DVD Price Search.

As far as brick & mortar stores, it depends on your location. In general, Borders tend to stock many Criterions, but their pricing is close to full retail.

Also, I should mention that CriterionDVD.com only sells Criterion DVDs, though their discounts aren't as steep as DVD Planet's.

Criterion's site now has the cover art for An Angel At My Table:

http://criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=301

As usual, classy and appropriate.

ok so the man who fell to earth dvd looks awesome....thick box with the book and all. But it looks like the feature from anchor bay didn't get ported, and no DTS ES. I need to see some visual comparisons...