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New Criterions

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New Criterions

Old 04-14-06, 03:37 PM
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I would love a Crash (1996), and 1492: Conquest of Paradise Criterion release.
Old 04-14-06, 04:57 PM
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Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist
And this shows you how far off I was. I was talking about La Notte...which also is a moot point
Yeah, I kinda wondered what happened with you.

I don't know which I would prefer more - La Notte or Deserto Rosso, so the only solution is that they should release both!
Old 04-15-06, 09:30 AM
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They've taken the Olivier box set down from their website. Yi Yi and Koko for July, then...interesting. But then, as I've already bought four of this year's titles, I can't complain too loudly about this alleged "bad year" for Criterion.
Old 04-15-06, 09:32 AM
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Oh, and as for Yi Yi's price: maybe it will get bumped up to a two disc set? It happened with Young Mr. Lincoln and Kind Hearts and Coronets (announced with a higher price tag and one disc, soon upgraded to two discs). But then, the one-disc Metropolitan was $39.99, so....
Old 04-15-06, 10:18 AM
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Originally Posted by Skoobooz
Oh, and as for Yi Yi's price: maybe it will get bumped up to a two disc set? It happened with Young Mr. Lincoln and Kind Hearts and Coronets (announced with a higher price tag and one disc, soon upgraded to two discs). But then, the one-disc Metropolitan was $39.99, so....
Plenty of 1-disc Criterions come in at the $39.99 tier. Typically, the inclusion of an audio commentary bumps the price into the higher tier. I believe audio commentaries cost about $10,000 to record.
Old 04-15-06, 02:45 PM
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Since Yi Yi has a running time of nearly 3 hours, and there will be two audio tracks (the second for the commentary) present on this release, depending on the bitrate of the encoding, there won't be much room for extras unless Criterion chooses to go with a second disc.

The Yang-Rayns commentary was recorded for the UK release from ICA Projects/Manga Films in 2002, so Criterion's only cost would be the licensing fee (and probably the cost of subtitling the commentary track, as they usually do).

I don't normally complain about Criterion's prices, but the $39.95 seems a bit steep given the announced specs. I'll buy it regardless (a rare triple-dip for me), because it is (IMHO) a masterpiece that improves with each viewing. I will hope that the Rayns overview of the New Taiwanese Cinema is substantial, with generous clips from other Yang--and perhaps Hou Hsiao-Hsien--films that I hope Criterion will release in the future.

Last edited by FilmFanSea; 04-15-06 at 02:47 PM.
Old 04-15-06, 03:17 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by illennium
Plenty of 1-disc Criterions come in at the $39.99 tier. Typically, the inclusion of an audio commentary bumps the price into the higher tier. I believe audio commentaries cost about $10,000 to record.
i actually produce DVD content, including audio commentaries, and they cost less than $10,000. talent is rarely ever paid for their work. half a day of studio time is needed at about $1000 a pop. the editor takes a day to cut it at $500. then there is my rate for producing it. so i'd say its an average of $2000 to $2500 for a commentary track. and you can't really pad these things. i never make any real money off a commentary like i do for making of featurettes.
Old 04-15-06, 10:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Cygnet74
i actually produce DVD content, including audio commentaries, and they cost less than $10,000. talent is rarely ever paid for their work. half a day of studio time is needed at about $1000 a pop. the editor takes a day to cut it at $500. then there is my rate for producing it. so i'd say its an average of $2000 to $2500 for a commentary track. and you can't really pad these things. i never make any real money off a commentary like i do for making of featurettes.
Thanks for setting us straight on that, Cygnet74. That $10,000 figure was quoted in a magazine article or interview (I can't remember which) at one point, and it's pretty much gone unchallenged ever since. Thanks for giving us a more realistic figure.
Old 04-15-06, 11:53 PM
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Originally Posted by FilmFanSea
Thanks for setting us straight on that, Cygnet74. That $10,000 figure was quoted in a magazine article or interview (I can't remember which) at one point, and it's pretty much gone unchallenged ever since. Thanks for giving us a more realistic figure.
Yes, I remember that figure from an article or interview. However, as I recall, it was Jon Mulvaney who gave the quote. I have tried to find the source to no avail. But if it came straight from the horse's mouth, I am inclined to believe it. Perhaps Criterion pays its commentators? After all, they are often independent scholars, rather than actors and directors (who are compensated for such things as part of their contract with the studio).
Old 04-15-06, 11:58 PM
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I've heard of Criterion paying their commentators in Criterions. No joke. There was a post on the Criterion Forum awhile back about one of the Kurosawa commentators getting paid in Criterions for doing a commentary. True or not true I doubt they get paid much.
Old 04-16-06, 04:46 AM
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Originally Posted by illennium
Yes, I remember that figure from an article or interview. However, as I recall, it was Jon Mulvaney who gave the quote. I have tried to find the source to no avail. But if it came straight from the horse's mouth, I am inclined to believe it. Perhaps Criterion pays its commentators? After all, they are often independent scholars, rather than actors and directors (who are compensated for such things as part of their contract with the studio).
isn't it true that the entity known as "jon mulvaney" doesn't exist? it's just a persona criterion created thru which to do PR?

if criterion is paying out $10,000 for their commentaries, its no wonder they are in trouble. maybe criterion's vendor is screwing them over. and maybe i should write them a letter and send them a reel. i've produced and edited (I'm what they call a "preditor") bonus features for dozens of library titles now. in my experience, the studios' home entertainment divisions just don't have that much money to throw at catalog titles. and its the scholars and film historians that are even less likely to get paid, they're just happy to have been asked. right now, i'm working on a well known a pair of 60's spy movies and i have a former CIA agent who paid his own plane ticket to Los Angeles so he could take part in the commentary and featurettes. the son of the films' composer elected to do the same thing. he's also providing stills of his father at no charge. i'd pay them if i could, but the budgets don't allow for it. the only time anyone on camera gets paid is if the program is over 30 minutes and they're in a union. now, there is a difference in the budgets for library titles ($10,000 to $50,000) and new titles ($150,000 to $250,000. but even in the case of new titles, talent doesn't get paid. my partner is flying to philadelphia to interview a director on his ranch for the dvd of his new "bedtime story" and i know he isn't getting paid for his time.

so, in short... i'm actually not dismissing that criterion is charged $10,000 for an audio commentary. but that isn't close to what it really costs.

Last edited by Cygnet74; 04-16-06 at 04:50 AM.
Old 04-16-06, 09:20 AM
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I just watched Yi Yi yesterday (had never seen it before), and I must say that it's a welcomed addition to the Criterion library. However, it seems to continue this 2006 trend of "coming of age" films, in a sense (Metropolitan, Dazed and Confused, the upcoming Kicking and Screaming, the whole Louis Malle set...even Young Mr. Lincoln is a sort of "coming of age" story). It's likely all coincidental, but an interesting theme, nonetheless.

Either way, I certainly hope that Yi Yi will be expanded to a two disc set, as further insight into the film would be appreciated. Of course, the almost-three hour commentary might fully suffice, so.... Good news, though.
Old 04-16-06, 09:56 AM
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Originally Posted by Cygnet74
if criterion is paying out $10,000 for their commentaries, its no wonder they are in trouble.

...

so, in short... i'm actually not dismissing that criterion is charged $10,000 for an audio commentary. but that isn't close to what it really costs.
It's been a while since I read the article everyone is talking about, but I thought that the $10,000 quote was a maximum that Criterion set aside to spend on all extras for some high-end titles. I never thought it had to do with the average cost of just their commentaries. I mean, I love their release of The Browning Version and I enjoy Bruce Eder's commentary tracks, but I can't imagine that they paid Eder eight grand to record his commentary for that DVD.

But I may not be remembering the quote correctly.
Old 04-16-06, 10:07 AM
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Originally Posted by Cygnet74
isn't it true that the entity known as "jon mulvaney" doesn't exist? it's just a persona criterion created thru which to do PR?
I'm pretty sure you're correct about this. I was standing behind two people, a man and a woman in line for a screening of The Leopard at the Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater a couple years ago. They were talking about writing cover text for DVD releases or something like that, which kind of got my attention. Anyway, at one point she asked him, "So, are you still at Criterion doing the Mulvaney thing?" He kind of rolled his eyes and said he was, but they didn't carry the conversation beyond that. I don't remember his name (I believe she said it), but it certainly wasn't Jon Mulvaney.
Old 04-16-06, 11:43 AM
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Originally Posted by Cygnet74
my partner is flying to philadelphia to interview a director on his ranch for the dvd of his new "bedtime story" and i know he isn't getting paid for his time.
Ooh, Shyamalan! What do I win?
Old 04-16-06, 12:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Cygnet74
isn't it true that the entity known as "jon mulvaney" doesn't exist? it's just a persona criterion created thru which to do PR?
I recently had to deal with them about a small matter and I went through
Jon Mulvaney to start (using e-mail as the form of correspondence). During
this time he went on vacation and I had to conclude it through another
person. If Mulvaney was a fabrication why would there have been any
mention of a vacation (including one bounced mail stating that he was
away), wouldn't someone else just have taken over the mails? I'd never
heard of it being a role instead of an actual person before.
Old 04-16-06, 01:07 PM
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There may once have been a Jon Mulvaney, but over the years the concept of a "Jon Mulvaney" (a helpful, responsive, all-knowing source of information, advice, and troubleshooting) became more important to Criterion than the person him(her)self. JM is the faceless public face of Criterion.

It's well-known now that a group of Criterion staffers rotate through the Mulvaney "role".
Old 04-17-06, 08:04 AM
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And sending him 'on vacation' once in a while completes the illusion.
Old 04-17-06, 08:23 AM
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Yi Yi will be a blind buy for me, as I've been fruitlessly trying to track down the R3 for some time, never wanting to give in to the sub-par R1 (and it never quite hitting the top of my Netflix queue). A nice surprise from Criterion and giving some hope to the idea that they might finally start releasing more Asian films than just classic Japanese fair (of which, admittedly, I'm not much of a fan).

The Koko disc is a little puzzling, but I've been watching a good number of docs lately and have yet to encounter one from Criterion that wasn't at least worth a viewing, so I can't write this one off.
Old 04-19-06, 04:10 PM
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http://www.image-entertainment.com/d...roductID=55070
Old 04-19-06, 10:05 PM
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Awesome News! Another one of the most requested titles coming true.
Old 04-19-06, 10:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Cygnet74
i'm working on a well known a pair of 60's spy movies and i have a former CIA agent who paid his own plane ticket to Los Angeles so he could take part in the commentary and featurettes. the son of the films' composer elected to do the same thing. he's also providing stills of his father at no charge.
Could special-edition "Flints" be on the horizon?
Old 04-20-06, 01:41 AM
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Originally Posted by PopcornTreeCt
Awesome News! Another one of the most requested titles coming true.
I viewed this recently, being part of my HMV 9-disc R2 set and I really liked it. Maybe 49th Parallel will arrive down the road.
Old 04-20-06, 02:18 AM
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Originally Posted by man*machine
Could special-edition "Flints" be on the horizon?
I can neither confirm nor deny.
Old 04-20-06, 01:10 PM
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Since Criterion seems to have a relationship with Richard Linklater like they do with Wes Anderson, I predict A Scanner Darkly to be released through Criterion when it's probably limited release ends later this year.

Speaking of Anderson, there's always Bottle Rocket.

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