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From Criterionforum.org

Equinox

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067055/
http://www.criterionco.com/content/i...ox_348x490.jpg

À nos amours

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086650/
http://www.criterionco.com/content/i...ox_348x490.jpg

Equinox!!! :D

What a great movie! I haven't seen it in 15 years, but that will soon change.

Lemmie you win by a minute...

that Equinox cover is to die for.

Yea I love that Equinox cover also. Never seen the film, but I feel a blind buy coming on.

Wheres our dazed and confused.... :)

^better than that, where are all the two disc SE upgrades for Kurosawa...

I hoped for a Pialat boxset similar to the one already in existence but i have been wrong I guess. As to Equinox...very strange pick for a release...if it is real. I think it is a joke!.

Pro-B

I bet they will be out in December. That's when most re-releases occur.

As for it being a joke ... the pictures are from criterionco.com (rightclick - properties), and it was mentioned in an HTF chat in 2001, and again by Mulvaney as "upcoming".

Equinox has been rumored for years from Criterion, glad to see that it is finally coming out!

Sweet! I'm all over Equinox.

Once again, The Game is not part of a new Criterions thread. :(

Awesome cover for Equinox.

and it won't be, there's been talks of a new 2-disc SE coming out soon, since it's already being released in Belgium I believe.

Do THE HOLY MOUNTAIN already, Criterion!!!!

If you are region-free you can get the R2 MOC version at CDWow for about $17 shipped.

I think he was referring to Alejandro Jodorowsky's Holy Mountain, and not the 1926 movie of the same name that MOC put out.

There were a lot of rumors last year that Criterion was gonna put out this and other Jodorowsky films as part of their Eclipse line.

Any release dates?

Equinox got a score of 4.6 out of 10 at IMDB? Is it that bad?

That is, but remember Criterion releases films that they deem 'important', not necessarily good. Still, Equinox seems like an incredibly random choice, IMHO. Especially when there are films by some of their key directors (Kurosawa, Bergman, Godard, Ozu etc) still not on DVD.

It's bad but in a "cool/cheesy early 1970s horror" kind of way. I really love the film. It contains some neat-o claymation.

Variety is the spice of life! As much as I love foreign art cinema, what's great about the Criterion Collection is that there's room for stuff like EQUINOX, which is as eagerly anticipated in some circles as the newest Bergman or Ozu release is in others.

I may be off, but isn't Equinox a movie that supposedly inspired Evil Dead?

you would be correct. the premise is very similar. i am very excited to see this movie get the criterion treatment and will gladly add it to my collection.

now that would be cool.

The HiDef clips from 'El Topo' and 'The Holy Mountain' for the docu film: Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream I saw last June, hinted at some pretty amazing film to (HD) video transfers.

I like the equinox cover...never heard of it though. I like cheesy horror though.

I think the attraction of Equinox is that A) it is definitely very popular and esoteric item for horror cult film fans (ala Carnival of Souls) that has been seen only sporadically over the years since it was made; B) it has a very weird/surreal quality to it that was unusual for horror films of its era; C) it had a pretty notable influence on famous future surreal horror films like Evil Dead; and D) from a technical filmmaking history standpoint, it was an important early effort for FX guru Dennis Muren, who is now probably the biggest effect specialists in Hollywood.

Like most other folks, I first saw it as a scratchy/faded print on late night local TV back in the 1980's, which only added to the weird/otherworldly experience of watching it. I think it's great fun, but be aware - it is loooow budget and very cheesy, albeit with great special effects for its relative cost. I would compare it to something like Lemora. It is not as artful, but definitely has the same odd creativity and surreal quality that is strangely heightened by its low budget production.

It's not 'bad' bad, it's cheesy bad like LiquidSky said. I think it got that score because of the cheesy effects, but when you watch it you have to put into consideration that it was made on a shoestring bugget by film students, and in 1970 so computers couldn't be used for the monster effects. And, anyone can correct me on this as I'm not too sure of it myself, I think Equinox was a feature length version of a student film the director made called 'The Beast'.

The film is anything but that popular amongst horror fans.
http://www.1000misspenthours.com/rev...-g/equinox.htm

Furthermore, it is not just the cheesy effects that have spurred a wave of negative reviews, the reality is that it is simply not a good film. It is far from being the classic camp picture as well. All in all, one of the worst selections I have seen in a very long time from Criterion. No doubt the beautiful cover will make up for it.

I am most certainly NOT going to add this title to my collection.

Pro-B

Well, your single data point example aside, this IS a popular item among cult film fans. One needs only read the dozens of comments on various forums where news of the Criterion release of Equinox has been posted.

Secondly, I am well aware there are lots of film snobs out there who dislike low budget cult films for the very reasons cited in the review you linked. This includes films such as Carnival of Souls, Night of the Living Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Lemora, Eraserhead, Phantasm, Evil Dead, and others. I've read scathing reviews of each of those films, from both professional and self-appointed critics. And yet all of those films are appreciated, revered, and even considered to be "classics" by cult film fans and many mainstream film fans alike.

I'm not saying that Equinox is necessarily a film that's on equal footing with the aformentioned, but it does have a considerable cult following, as Criterion is well aware (your personal objection notwithstanding). While I certainly appreciate the art house classics that Criterion usually specializes in (and I have several dozen of them in my own personal collection), there is also room (and a good market) for cult items like Equinox, as well. I am reasonably certain it will outsell the Criterion release of the Brakhage films, for just one example.

I am certainly not willing to go into a heated discussion as to what the actual merits of this film are. Suffice to say that the very forum that carries the Criterion name is not exactly perplexed by the news of this upcoming release.

Furthermore, the films you cite above are quite frankly as foreign to Equinox as is the Seven Samurai. With other words, I can hardly draw any parallels between the above-mentioned titles and Equinox. I wonder how you determined that Equinox belongs in the same category (certainly I do not see Equinox being comparable to Evil Dead). To be considered a "cult film", seeing that you have described Equinox as such, i would think that the film in question must have some substantial following. I am certainly not aware of Equinox being such a fan-favorite release...hence my humble opinion is that the film does not qualify as such.

The final comment regarding how this film will sell I would like not to comment on at this point.


Ciao,
Pro-B

I'm glad to see some Pialat make its way into the collection (finally). Sorry it's not <b>Sous le soleil de Satan</b>, but <b>À nos amours</b> is an excellent film.

Now, what about some Rivette or Eustache?

Oh, and <b>The Game</b>? -ohbfrank-

Though he has a nice body of work, I think the KNB guys are well above him as far as SFX work is to be had.

There are people (many of them) who would say that any film Criterion releases on DVD, is an important piece of world cinema. Equinox is definitely not one of them, and it is almost embarassing to hear people stick up for this decision to give it the SE treatment. Have you ever even seen this film? I, for one, am glad that Criterion is mixing things up and choosing different genre films to release, but I have to think they could have found something better than this.
I don't mind if they give trashy "B" movies the deluxe treatment, in fact that would be pretty awesome if Criterion started a series just for these kind of flicks. Just don't pretend they're more than what they really are.
But whatever, it's just a DVD release. If you don't like it, don't buy it.
I wonder if they'll ever do Cronenbergs "Crash"?

I LOVE Equinox and have been waiting patiently for it since Criterion hinted that they were working on it for laserdisc.

Neither of these look that interesting. I am waiting for the Mr. Arkadin set, personally.

Yeah, big deal. I like that they mix it up as well. I'm excited for anything they release, trusting that I'll see something different from the norm almost every time.

And here's another HELL YEAH to Cronenberg's 'Crash'. I would sell body parts for this to happen.

http://www.criterionco.com/content/i...ox_348x490.jpg
Scheduled for June

Cronenberg's Crash would be a welcome SE, but I don't see it happening. It is owned by New Line who is a subsidary of Warner that just recently has went on record saying they will not allow their titles to be released by third parties.

So your only hope is a vista series, infinifilm, platinum, or whatever they call special editions in the near future.

I gotta say, I am also glad to see some mix to the catalog. Criterion seemed to have a more diverse choice in genre titles a few years back, and while they knock it out of the park almost every time with the two discers...nothing they put out was a real suprise.

Yah, there are some titles, I know they have access to that I would rather see than Equinox, but It sounds fun just the same. (Then again I do own the Hideous Sun Demon so bad movies are up my alley) Now where are the Sam Fuller movies we were hearing about?

And at the end of the day, that's all that really matters. No one has a got a gun to anyone's head forcing them to like a movie or to make them buy it. Criterion could, if they wanted to, select films by Jess Franco or Uwe Boll, and while I would wonder what they were thinking, I'd simply pass and I'd do it without needing to make smug insults about well designed box covers. Equinox is one of those movies I've heard of but never seen, so I can't speak to its merits and it does sound like it would be more at home as part of a cult-centric DVD line rather than the collection proper but I'm sure they have some kind of criteria in place & market research which justifies it's release in their eyes. As for the title's popularity, I recieved three emails today from friends asking if Criterion releasing Equinox was true. They were all pretty excited about it, so yea for them.